COMPLETE THE CIRCLE - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

As with previous holidays, David Lutman’s parents took him to the airport. He never bothered with the train because of its inconvenient connections, and the buses never seemed to run at the right times. But one difference this time was the addition of Jeannie. Dennis and Janice Lutman knew beforehand that she was coming with him, but not for the first time were they to be disappointed when told she was only a friend.

But a part of David Lutman was still trying to convince himself that this was the official line.

After collecting Jeannie from her flat they set off in the Saturday morning darkness; dawn was still over an hour away. Although their flight was not scheduled to depart for a number of hours, Lutman always preferred to give himself plenty of snag time to get to Gatwick, London’s second airport, which was located forty miles south of the other side of city. And as with all the other trips to the airport with his parents, they arrived without a hitch.

His parents dropped them off at the front of the terminal, which was already very busy. Jeannie grabbed a baggage trolley and wheeled it up to the back of the car, onto which Lutman and his father put their bags. They then said goodbye to his parents, and together wheeled the trolley inside the building. They quickly found the departures board to confirm their flight. They still had to wait two more hours before the check-in desks would open.

After processing their bags, it took another forty-five minutes to get through passport control and the routine tight security. Then they had to wait around for another two hours before being able to board the flight, which would in fact leave on time. All this waiting around had elicited a little impatience from Jeannie, and she sat quietly most of that time, entertaining herself by flipping through several magazines she had picked up from one of the departure hall shops.

She spent most of the flight dozing, stretched out over her seat and an aisle seat which, fortunately, had remained vacant. Lutman was next to the window admiring the Arctic ice, enjoying the videos, doing some puzzles from a book he had bought at the airport, and occasionally reminding himself about why he was doing all this.

The uneventful ten-hour flight ended just as uneventfully as the Boeing 747 began its approach to Los Angeles International Airport. This prompted a little animation from Jeannie, who was displaying all the excitement of someone who had never experienced the conclusion of a long-haul flight or set foot on American soil. Lutman obligingly let her have the window seat so she could enjoy the view and the sensations of the landing in all their glories.

It took them a while to clear American customs, having to wait in line for an hour at immigration. Once this was dispensed with, they were relieved to find all their luggage was waiting for their collection at baggage reclaim.

         They ordered their shuttle bus for their hotel from one of the marked special phones at the airport for this service, and soon found the bus stop placed under a green marker just a short distance from the terminal building entrance.

Five minutes later, a small white bus appeared, and they and their luggage duly boarded. Ten minutes later, after collecting three other people from around the terminal, they arrived at their hotel, a low-rise innocuous-looking block.

There would not be any Mr. & Mrs. Smith jokes. Having booked the trip separately, Lutman and Jeannie were assigned separate rooms, informed that same-sex roommates would be joining them later. Whilst the desk clerk dealt with the rest of the formalities, Lutman struggled to stifle a jet-lag induced yawn. Their pre-trek instructions stated that everyone was to meet up in the hotel lobby at 7.30pm. They still had a couple of hours to spare, and so they agreed to meet up downstairs a few minutes beforehand.

After her customary ‘See ya!’ Jeannie entered her room. He continued three further rooms along the corridor.

Closing the door immediately behind him, Lutman threw his bags into a corner, chose a bed, and collapsed straight onto it. As he closed his eyes, he pondered on the fact that so far everything had been running incredibly swimmingly; no disasters, no delays, no problems of any kind. Unless, of course, he counted his little run-in yesterday with Meade, his boss. Normally he would worry himself constantly about these kinds of minor incidents, but for some reason that he could not explain to himself, he felt a sensation of relief, a sense of closure, a sense that his time at the office was over. Finished.

Fate was ensuring he was going to carry out everything he was meant to do. Now all he could do was wait and see what was going to happen next.

*

David Lutman’s roommate arrived about ninety minutes later, his entrance arousing him from what had been, for all intents and purposes, a deep sleep. It would be several minutes before he could rouse himself completely.

His new roommate was Raoul, a young man in his mid twenties. He was a medium-height black-haired Frenchman with a little bit of black fluff on the end of his chin. Unfortunately for Lutman, he spoke very little English. He was not that much better with his French, but somehow they managed to acquire some kind of rapport – enough, to establish, that they were definitely on the same trip.

With still half an hour until he was expected to meet up with Jeannie, Lutman took a quick shower to completely freshen himself up. Afterwards, he put aside the clothes he wore on the flight and changed into something more casual. After a few seconds rummaging through his clothes bag, he found the green baseball cap, took it out and gripped it in his hand. Raoul also cleaned himself up briefly, and soon the pair were making their way into the spacious lobby shortly after 7.20pm.

Jeannie had not yet made an appearance down there, but Lutman could see plenty of prospective fellow travelers who were happily milling around. Some were already interacting, others remaining quiet and alone.

After donning his cap he was pleased to see that the girls outnumbered the men. He was aware that there were probably two or three other groups that were going on separate trips, and that these trips all began from the same hotel, and at the same time.

Although he scanned the group for bridal possibilities, his attention on the girls was soon broken when Jeannie arrived with her roommate, an overweight girl who was very pretty with her long blonde hair but, he thought to himself, would have been extremely attractive without all that fat. After momentarily reunited with Jeannie and exchanging pleasantries, he learned that she was a Danish girl called Helga, and that she would not be joining them on the Indian Adventure.

Jeannie did not waste any time getting to know all the other girls in the lobby. Lutman soon found himself talking to a tall, short-cropped bespectacled Canadian named Marcus, a gangly individual who was wearing a Banff National Park tee-shirt and long shorts. He was on their trip.

More trekkers filtered into the lobby, and then three trek guides – recognizable by the fact that they were all wearing the same polo shirts in the company’s corporate colors – emerged from a small room next to the main desk. Positioning themselves in the centre of the lobby, they called for everyone’s attention.

As everyone fell silent, one of the guides, who announced herself as Janet, produced a clipboard and began to reel off the names for the first group who would be embarking on a trip known as the South Western Adventure Trek. As trekkers peeled off one by one to their assigned leader, Lutman - still standing next to Marcus - watched the girls who were disappearing, mentally crossing them off his list. Along with five men, five girls were joining a blond-haired guide announced as Andy, who was a fit-looking American who was being eagerly eyed-up by his female party, a group that included two young, but very pretty, Europeans. Once they left, Lutman noted there were eleven girls left in the room. But there were still eight men too.

Janet then announced the group for the West Coast Adventure. This time, the slightly hefty Helga, along with four other girls, joined tour guide Brian, along with five other men.

After they all headed to the lobby exit, Lutman looked around to see who was left. These would be the people joining him for The Indian Adventure.

He smiled. All the girls in this trip looked pretty good.

After the West Coast Adventure group departed, Janet greeted the remainder, and reeled off the names of David, Marcus, Raoul, Jeannie, and the remaining six girls, Andrea, Kathrine, Marianne, Cindy, Sylvie, and Claudia from her list. After announcing that she was to be their guide, they were all invited to a bar just five minutes walk away from the hotel.

It was now dark outside. It was only 8.00pm, but Lutman’s day had now lasted well over twenty-four hours.

*

After two large tables had been seconded for the group, Lutman and Marcus continued their small talk, with Raoul and his limited English sitting alongside for mutual male support. Jeannie was already chatting away merrily with the other girls; they were all now relaxed, each of them engaged in conversation with the other. The bar itself was nothing remarkable, and neither was it all that bright inside, but their table was reasonably well lit and close to the entrance. The ambience did, however, allow enough darkness to offer some impression of privacy. Soon the beers, ordered courtesy of StatesTrek, arrived and distributed among everyone that made up the Indian Adventure party.

After two minutes as the thirsty group downed half their glasses, Janet gently rapped a spoon on the wooden table for attention. ‘Hi…’ she began in a west coast accent, ‘…as you already know, my name’s Janet, and I’m originally from Denver, but I’ve spent the last ten years living in Sacramento, California.’

Lutman learned that Janet was only a couple of years older than himself, although she looked more in her mid-thirties, and was slightly plumpish. She was not what he would call glamorous, but with her shoulder-length curly hair certainly not unattractive. She revealed that she had a young daughter, although the father – or for that matter, any man in her life – was never mentioned. He quickly dismissed her as a possibility, but knew very well that love had its own strange ways of deciding otherwise.

The boys were first up for introductions. Lutman voluntarily began the proceedings, deliberately putting on the baseball cap as he stood up, and eager to make a good impression. As he delivered his personal information, he looked at each of the girls. They all sat in polite rapt attention, although apart from smiling courteously, none expressed surprise or bewilderment at either he or the cap. When he finished, he removed it and stuffed it into his pocket. Plenty of time, he thought.

The lean Marcus followed with his introduction. Despite his short cropped brownish/ginger hair and large, thick, black rimmed glasses that gave him a slightly nerdish appearance, he was equally confident and drew a few smiles all round.

Raoul was next. Although his broken English speech took only fifteen seconds to deliver, his very Frenchness was enough to impress some of the girls.

Now it was their turn. First was a brown haired girl, who was a good six centimetres taller than Lutman, and she introduced herself as Andrea from Dresden, Germany. She was a student studying medicine, and despite a heavy German accent and slightly husky voice that suggested she may be a heavy smoker, she had no problems being understood. Lutman stared at her, assessing her, marking her out of ten. She was okay, but in his mind just a little tall.

Then there was Kathrine from Skien, Norway. She was the youngest of the group – eighteen, petite, with quite short, cropped blonde hair and elfish features. She had a lean but very fit figure. Her quirky presentation was such that the whole group knew she was going to be quite a character on this trip, and she hit it off immediately with everyone. Unsurprisingly, she revealed that her favorite activity was keeping fit.

The next two girls had come on the trip together from Melbourne, Australia. Friends and workmates for many years, they introduced themselves as Marianne and Cindy. Marianne was in her mid twenties, about Lutman’s height, and had long, black, slightly straggly hair. Her skin was dark, her features suggesting a touch of aborigine which made her quite attractive. Her introduction was brief and to the point, and made without smiling. Lutman wondered if she really wanted to be on the trip. Not a likely proposition for a wife.

The brown-haired, pony-tailed and bespectacled Cindy delivered her introduction with a heavy Australian accent. She was well built but without looking fat; indeed, it suited her. Lutman was surprised to learn that she was, in fact, just over thirty years of age, and she did look pretty good for it. Although not unattractive, he thought she was perhaps the least glamorous of the group. In her presentation, also short, she explained that she and Marianne had flown in from Australia that afternoon, so she asked everyone to forgive them if they were being a little stroppy. But she held up a video camera, explaining that she was a keen videographer and would be filming the trip. She offered to make copies for anyone who wanted them.

Jeannie was up next, her bubbly personality almost but not quite matching Kathrine’s.

Sylvie from Neuchatel, Switzerland followed, a very attractive girl of Lutman’s age with short, very tidy light brown hair that was tied up behind, and make-up applied with a lot of care and precision that suggested she may be a model. But he had to smile, along with everybody else when they learned she was actually an engineer. Smiling, Lutman then noticed that Raoul had perked up considerably. He now had someone to talk to.

Finally up was Claudia, an attractive girl in her early twenties, and who came from Olomouc in the Czech Republic. She was slightly shorter then Lutman with brown hair that reached down to her neck but not quite to the shoulders. She had blue eyes and a few freckles around a little nose which, in his mind, made her look very cute. She was wearing a sleeveless tee-shirt and white shorts which showed off a lean but shapely figure. Her English was almost fluent, and she explained that this was only her second trip outside of her home country. She planned to stay on in the States for a further two weeks to check out the possibilities of working as a nanny. She then hoped to return to the States the same time the following year to do another trek and get a job.

It was Claudia that made the biggest impression on him.

Pleasantries over, everyone relaxed again and congregated into little groups to discover more about each other. Everyone mixed with everyone else, with Lutman spending some time, and feeling comfortable, with Sylvie, Kathrine, and especially Claudia. She seemed to very much enjoy talking to him.

Eventually the introductory party ended, and everyone returned to the hotel at 10.00pm. They all had an early start to make the following morning.

Chapter 11 >