In Reverse

Chapter 1 - Finally

Chris and Eliza had known each other for nearly twenty years now.   They were best friends but didn't get to see very often anymore.   He rarely had a chance to visit her new hometown of Nashville.  His job didn't bring him to Music City, U.S.A. often, and with her new job, she didn't have the time to visit him wherever he happens to be at the moment.  When he was filming with Marvel, he'd be close enough in Atlanta for one of them to drive over but he had completed that contract over a year ago now.  The two of them always stayed in touch, grateful for modern technology.  Eliza was glad that Chris was busy doing what he loved but also missed him greatly.  You know he missed seeing you too.  The two of them had been inseparable once upon a time but as with the passage of time, different paths, and living on opposite ends of the country from each other, it forced a separation neither of them dealt well with.  They both called and texted as much as possible but always got the "itch" to see each other by month two.  They were now going on five.  It was a new record, one neither cared to have.

Chris was currently in Boston filming a new series.  He offered to fly Eliza home for a visit but her job just wouldn't allow for it.   One day she would have the flexibility.  Afterall, this new job was supposed to allow her to work from home.  But as with the start of a new job, comes new lessons to learn and new expectations to meet which meant, she needed to be in the office more before she got the luxury of working from home again.  She started this new editing job four months ago which of course is one of the big obstacles in her way of seeing Chris.  Prior to that, he was all over the world promoting his last Marvel film.  She was so incredibly proud of him and he was proud of her too but every time she spoke about the new job, he always seemed to be aggravated by it instead of encouraging which was not like him.  It had been frustrating, especially in the early months of the job.   It was definitely an adjustment on several accounts.  Sometimes she wondered if she should have taken this job at all and gone out on her own.  Truth be told, she had been too scared to.

Speak of the devil, she thinks, when her iPhone chimes alerting her to a text message.  Chris had his own text and ringtone alerts so she wouldn't ignore it.  Due to her job, she had so many people calling and emailing for their updated edits that she usually ignored them until she was ready to respond.  She always made time for Chris, even if she couldn't physically visit.

CE - Can you talk?

Instead of responding to the text, she called.  "Hey Cool Ranch, what's up?"

He laughed at her Doritos nickname for him.   She had adopted the whole Doritos reference that RDJ had said years ago in reference to Chris and turned it into her own nickname for him.  It stuck just as it had for RDJ.  Everyone, especially in high school called him Cevans but she had always called him Cool Chris which morphed oddly into Cool Ranch.  His fond nickname for her was simply, Dork.

"I have the holiday weekend off.  I'm coming to visit you dork.  I know it will be late but can you pick me up from the airport?"

She couldn't contain her excitement and leapt out of the bed.  "Of course!   When?  Where?"

"In probably about three hours.   I'm taking a private plane to the executive airport.  I'm leaving in like...fifteen minutes."

"Of course, I'll pick you up.   I'm so excited you're coming!"

"I'm dying to get there so let me find this pilot and I'll text you when we're in the air."

"Sounds good.  I'll see you soon!"

She hung up the phone, excited at the new change of events.   Quickly, she cleaned up the two bedroom apartment she had lived in for the past three months.   It wasn't huge but it was just enough for her.   This was the first apartment on her own.  She'd always had roommates or lived back at home in Boston.   Since starting this new job, which came with better pay, she found it was time to live on her own.  Besides the fact that she was circling her mid-thirties, she felt it was about time.   Knowing all the goals she had for herself in life, living alone was one of them, which came later in life as all of her goals seemed to do.  Patience was not her best virtue but life's circumstances seemed to force it uponher and had given her plenty of practice.

Changing out of the pajamas she'd thrown on long ago, she hopped into a pair of jogging shorts, a old ratty sweater and tennis shoes,  She eagerly awaited Chris' second text to let her know that he was descending.  He left on time and was scheduled to arrive at eleven-eighteen.  Way past her bedtime, but he was worth it and with the idea of Chris coming to visit, she was no longer tired.

Right as she expected, the phone buzzed in her hand, signaling that Chris' plane was descending.  It would only take about ten minutes to get there, she hurried down to the car, leaving the parking garage in her dust.

Despite never having been to this little airport, she found it easily.  Once inside she inquired with the nice older lady sitting at the front desk if a plane had landed yet.  When she replied with a no, she invited her to sit outside and watch it come in.  He was due any minute.

Eliza couldn't sit still as she waited.  She paced back and forth.  The airport employees were also outside with her, waiting on the plane to land so they could have something to do this time of night.

"Here it comes, ma'am" the long haired man closest to her said between taking drags on his cigarette.

She could hardly contain herself.  In mere minutes, Chris would engulf her in one of his famously good hugs, one of the few places she felt at home.  Watching the plane slowly descend, finally coming to a stop near where she was waiting, she stopped pacing and waited for any sign of him.  As if he couldn't wait, he began to descend the stairs of the plane before they even finished unfolding.  He wore one of his hats low on his head, sunglasses at night (in which she rolled your eyes at), carrying that same backpack he always traveled with on his back and a smile on his face.  He bounded down the stairs and jogged over to meet her on the tarmac.

"Eliza" he whispers with that smile still on his face.

He quickly took off his sunglasses then immediately engulfed her in a hug.  She gladly hugged him back with all her might.

"Finally. God, I missed you" he said through an exhausted breath.

"I missed you too. You look good."  She saya pulling away to give him a good once over as if she hadn't seen him in four months.

He laughed, "Do I look different?"

"Eh," she begins but he laughs, cutting off her thoughts.  If there was anything she couldn't get enough of, it was his laugh.  Chris had the most genuine and infectious laugh.  His fans even made videos of just him laughing.  He had different kinds of laughs, a nervous one, a drunk one, a deep belly laugh which was usually paired with his famous "left boob grab" that she now took upon herrself to make fun of, then he had a little chuckle which sometimes accompanied a cute little smirk that all the women seemed to fawn over but to Eliza he was just Chris.  He had always just been Chris.

The whispers of the guys securing the airplane broke her out of her thoughts.  "Do you want to go?" She asked.

He pulled away, letting her go from his embrace to readjust the backpack on his back.  "I gotta wait on my bag."

Mere seconds later one of the employees rolled the small suitcase over to him.  She was always amazed at how light he could pack. "Thank you" Chris said. 

The employee appeared to be starstruck but he didn't ask for a picture or an autograph which Chris was grateful for.  It's not that he didn't like doing that for people, he just enjoyed his privacy too.  He was more of an introvert than people thought.

Taking his free hand, he entwined his fingers with hers, pulling her towards the exit.  Smiling, he said, "Let's go home."