airports, sappiness

Maybe I'm just in a sappy mood, but I found this story incredibly poignant.

Anyway, I finished my "Okaeri" sign, and on the Saturday she was due to arrive in Japan, I headed for the airport. She'd bought her tickets a few months ago, and then a schedule change allowed her to come back 3 days earlier than the original ticketing. At first, we planned to keep the schedule change a secret - she'd come and spend the time with me, and then go back to her family. However, her parents ended up finding out about the schedule change and, none too happy, demanded she come straight home after her flight arrived. She told me that, in light of this, I didn't have to meet her at the airport.

And perhaps it would have been wise to stay at home. From where I lived, a round-trip to Kansai International Airport costs 4000 yen. I had about 4500 yen to my name. I could stretch 4500 yen into basic meals for 2, maybe 3 weeks. But, I wanted to meet her at the airport. I knew all too well the sadness of arriving at an airport and having no one be there to greet you. I wanted to at least ride the train back with her to Kyoto. I'd worry about eating some other time.

... [snip] ...

suddenly I gained an almost Jedi-like sense of clarity here. Literally, it was like someone turned on a switch in my head, and suddenly I knew. I really should have known before, but now everything was crystal clear.

"There's someone else, isn't there?" I ask her.

Her head drops. "Yes." She says softly.

It reminds me of an article I read once about Brad Pitt. When he was in his early 20s, he was dating an actress who has since faded into obscurity. He only had $900 to his name, but he spent $700 of it to fly to Europe, where she was filming.

When he got there, he discovered that she was already dating her new co-star.

I bet she regrets it now! She gave up Brad Pitt, yo!