The Marriage Proposal

This is a story about the marriage proposal between two frequent travelers, Flier and Fliera. They first meet on a flight that is scheduled to fly from New York to Los Angeles. They are seated next to each other and there is announcement that there will be a slight delay before the flight leaves. They are both frequent travelers and start a conversation about some of their experiences. Flier lives in Los Angeles and is flying back home after a business trip. Fliera lives in New York and is flying out to Los Angeles for a business trip. They both frequently fly from one coast to the other.

A few minutes later, there is another announcement indicating that they will need to change planes. They are provided the new gate number and departure time. They depart the plane and walk to the next gate. They stop to get a cup of coffee before they reach the new departure gate. They are not seated next to each other on the new flight so when they begin announcing the rows that can begin boarding, they say goodbye. They don’t think much about their introduction. They see themselves as two frequent travelers who were seated next to each other.

About six months later, Flier and Fliera are both scheduled to take a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to New York. Flier is flying to New York for a business trip and Fliera is returning to New York after a business trip. 

Flier sees Fliera in the boarding area and walks over to her, and says, “I don’t know if you remember me, but we were on a flight from New York to Los Angeles a few months ago. There was a delay and we had to change planes.”

Fliera responds, “I do remember. Are you on this flight?”

Flier responds, “I am.” 

They spend a few minutes talking while they wait for the plane to begin boarding. Once their rows are called to begin boarding, they say goodbye. Again, they don’t think much about their meeting as they both tend to travel back and forth from Los Angeles to New York. They were bound to run into each other.

A few months later, they once again see each other at an airport. This time they are both in Chicago. Flier is flying from Los Angeles to New York with a layover in Chicago. Fliera is flying from New York to Los Angeles, and also has a layover in Chicago.  Fliera and a colleague have stopped to get a cup of coffee before their flight. 

As they are preparing their coffee, Fliera sees Flier standing in line. As Fliera and her colleague leave, Fliera stops to say hi and says, “Don’t tell me you are on a layover to New York. We are on layover to Los Angeles.” She introduces her colleague and they spend a few minutes talking.

A few months later, Fliera is on a flight from New York to Los Angeles with a layover in Chicago. It is during the winter and there was flight delay. Fliera misses her connection and the next available flight does not leave until the next morning. The airline provides a voucher for a car rental and hotel. A lot of flights have been canceled due to the weather and the closest available hotel is several miles away. It is late in the evening when she reaches the car rental counter. She is tired and questioning whether or not she should consider driving to the hotel because of all the snow.

Flier sees Fliera and says, “I can’t believe we keep running into each other. Has your flight been cancelled?”

Fliera explains her situation and Flier offers to drive her to the hotel that he is staying at for the night. Once they arrive at the hotel, she can reserve a room. Her flight leaves early in the morning and she should be able to take a hotel shuttle to the airport. Once they arrive at the hotel, as they say “goodbye”, they exchange business cards. Fliera says, “Let me know the next time you are in New York. I will take you to lunch.”

Flier and Fliera begin seeing each other as they travel from one coast to the other as their schedule permits. They often meet for lunch or dinner.  On a few occasions, they have extended their trip or arrived a day in advance so they could meet each other on the weekend.

For the first few years of their relationship, they arrange to see each other when their travel schedule allows. In addition, Flier’s company has an office located in New York and he is able to work out of it.    

Flier is promoted, and with some of his new responsibilities, his position will be primarily based in the Los Angeles office. He will not be required to travel as much. Fliera arranges to have most of her clients based in the Los Angeles area so she can frequently visit, and eventually relocates to the Los Angeles area, but still travels back and forth from coast to coast to meet with the main office.

When Fliera travels, she typically takes a cab ride or drives to the airport. When she returns, she either picks up her car or takes a cab ride home. Flier often drives her or picks her up from the airport as well.

On one trip, Flier is expected to pick Fiera up from the airport. He typically parks in short-term parking and waits for her. Once she arrives, she calls him and he lets her know where he is parked and she walks out to his car to meet him.

Fliera has been traveling for the week. She left Sunday evening and is returning late on Friday evening. She is eager to return home. It takes some time for her luggage to arrive. She has called to let Flier know that she is waiting at baggage claim.

To Fliera, the wait for her baggage seems to take forever. Flier has approached and is waiting with her. Her bag arrives and Flier goes to pick up her bag. They begin walking. They walk past baggage claim carousels that are vacant. As they pass one, Flier says, “There is something attached to your bag.”

Fliera was not paying attention to her bag as she is busy carrying her other travel bags including a laptop, tote bag, and purse. She stops to look at her bag, and sees a small gift bag hanging from the handle. Flier often surprises her with little gifts, and assumes it must be a small gift.

She smiles, and removes the bag. Inside she sees a small dark blue velvet box. She immediately knows that it must be an engagement ring, and bursts into tears. She opens the box, and sees a beautiful engagement ring. 

Flier asks her, “Will you marry me?” 

Fliera nods and says, “Of course”. 

Meanwhile, a small group of their friends begin to approach. They knew Flier was going to propose and have arranged to meet them. They congratulate the engaged couple and hug Fliera.

They all enjoy a small engagement dinner at a nearby restaurant and Flier and Fliera marry one year later. For their honeymoon, they decide to drive to a resort located a few hours away. An expected outcome for the two frequent travelers who enjoy a week of rest and relaxation before heading back into the skies.