The plane ride home was excruciating. He couldn't sleep like he had hoped. He had barely slept since the incident with Persephone. Maybe a couple of hours here and there.
He kept replaying things over and over. If he could have only talked to her, he was going to tell her everything. He knew if anyone could keep the secret, it would have been her. He knew the type of person she was. She would have understood. She would have believed him. At least, he hoped she would have.
"Can I get you something to drink, Sir?" the steward asked. "Maybe a cocktail?"
He thought about it. "I'll have water in the bottle, please." No more alcohol or me.
"Here, Sir." He handed him the water. "You look really familiar. I swear I have seen you somewhere before."
"Maybe I have been on one of your other flights."
"Possibly, but I don't think that's it. I'm sure it will come to me. Let me know if you need anything else."
"Thanks," Bodhi said.
He pulled out his phone. He had downloaded some movies to watch on the way home. He wished that he could text Perri. His life has crumbled like a sandcastle being hit by a wave. He decided to reread the texts between him and Perri.
Reading about how much she loved him, how she trusted him, and how she wanted to be with him brought tears to his eyes. Towards the end of her stay, business as usual went out the window. They were having the long-distance relationship she said would never work.
He put in his AirPods and started watching all the videos she had sent him. He smiled, laughed, and cried as we watched the videos and selfies she sent him. He saw her transformation. We watched her become healthy right before his eyes.
"She's so beautiful," he whispered, touching the screen.
He came to the pictures he took of her in his jersey. That's the straw that broke the camel's back. The tears flowed, and his nose started running.
An older woman across the aisle offered him a small pack of tissues.
"Thank you. I appreciate it," he said, taking them. "I'm Bodhi."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Martha. I am not going to ask if you are okay because clearly you are not. Would you like to talk about it? It's not like I am ever going to see you again."
He wanted to take her up on her offer, but the truth is she could easily see him again being a public figure.
"Do you ever go on YouTube?"
"No. I am not in the YouTube generation. I think putting your life out there for all to see is ridiculous, and anyone anywhere can see you and maybe even find you. I don't think people should be famous just for being famous, if you get my drift. Whatever happened to privacy? In my youth the phones were stuck on walls, the computer couldn't leave the house, the way we texted involved a piece of paper and a pencil."
He laughed at what she had just said. "I wish life was still like that. Except for the computer. I do like taking my laptop and sitting in a coffee shop sometimes."
"Oh, Honey, don't even get me started on coffee. Why mess with a good thing?" Martha smiled.
"I don't know. I do enjoy a Frappuccino every now and then." He laughed.
"You have a beautiful smile."
"Thanks. I have a feeling I'm not going to be using it much anymore."
"You were using it before you started crying. So, is it about a girl?"
He sighed. "How did you guess?"
"Oh Honey, I have been around a long time, and chances are it's about a girl. Or a boy if that's your thing. I don't judge. I'm woke." She smiled, and he laughed. "So, I will ask again. Do you want to talk about it?"
The steward came up to him. "I know where I've seen you before! You're that basketball player who's in that viral video. You have some really good moves. And you are really easy on the eyes, if I may say."
He took a deep breath. "Yeah. That's me. Mr. Saturday night fever."
"See, I knew I knew you from somewhere! I can't wait to tell my friends I met Bodhi O'Neill. They are going to freak out. Umm. Can I have your autograph? If it's not too much trouble."
This was the first time he had ever been asked for an autograph. "Sure. You got anything I can sign?"
"Yes. I'll be right back!"
"You're famous? And you have a viral video? Whatever that is, is it a good thing?" she asked.
"I'm not famous. I play basketball in England, and depending on the video, viral can be a really good thing."
"I'm going to say that this video of yours is not a good thing?"
"It ruined my life, Martha. I lost the love of my life because of it."
"Oh, my. Is it really that bad?"
"It's not bad. It was just bad for one person out of three million who saw it. Like you said, privacy doesn't exist. Not anymore, and now, definitely not for me."
The steward came back with three others. "See, I told you it's him." He handed him a Sharpie and a Sky Mall magazine. Bodhi looked at it. "It's all I can find."
"Well, I will never forget my first autograph."
"I'm your first! An autograph virgin! Can you make it out to 'Dear Justin, Here's my first-ever autograph? When you become uber famous one day, I can say I took your autograph virginity."
He smiled and laughed. "Sure." He wrote the message and signed his first-ever autograph. The three people behind him wanted one, too, so he gave his second, third, and fourth autographs, as the messages stated.
"Thank you! Now I am going to have to start watching the BBC!" The four of them took off talking to each other.
"Wow. Can you sign one for me that says To Martha, thanks for watching me sign my first, second, third, and fourth autographs?"
He laughed. "I will write whatever you want. Apart from will you marry me? That's reserved for one person." He looked out the window. "If she ever lets me talk to her again."
"Time heals. Is she the type of person to hold a grudge?"
"I don't think so. She's such a wonderful person. She's strong, smart, funny, and beautiful, and I have loved her since the first day I met her. We were only kids."
"No offense, but you aren't exactly signing up for social security anytime soon. You're still a kid. You look like two smushed together, but you have a lot of life left to live. I doubt she's going to hate you for the rest of her life. Not if she is the person you described. Give it time, Bodhi. What is her name?"
He smiled. "Persephone. Persephone Athena James."
"Wow. Interesting choice of name," Martha said.
"Her father is a professor of Greek Studies. Her sister is named Andromeda. They are identical twins. But they couldn't be more different. Annie relished her sister's pain. The pain I caused her."
"Bodhi, tell me what happened. I can tell you are holding onto something very painful."
"I don't want to dump my issues on you."
Martha patted the empty seat next to her. He got up and sat beside her. He proceeded to tell her the entire story, starting with the day he first met her and ending with the minute he got on the plane. When he was done, they were both crying. Bodhi did feel lighter. He really did need to talk with someone about it.
He spent the rest of the flight sitting next to Martha and talking about her life and his. Martha lost her husband after forty years of marriage. He was a soldier. She met him when she worked with the USO. She talked about the good parts and the bad parts of their relationship.
"You must have challenging times to appreciate the good ones. No relationship is perfect, and if someone tells you theirs is, they are lying. And fighting is not a terrible thing. People should be heard, and they should be able to share their feelings and opinions. Me and my Charles had a rule. Only argue about the issue at hand. You don't drag in things that happened in the past. And no matter how angry you may be, always kiss each other and say I love you. You may not have a chance to do it ever again if you don't get a tomorrow with them. Lucille Ball once said, "I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done." Do you know who Lucille Ball is?"
"Yes. I am familiar with her. Really smart lady."
She patted him on the knee. "If it's meant to be, it will be. Baby, just let it be. Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line."
"You go, Martha," he said, surprised.
"Music speaks when words fail. You will meet again someday, and if you love each other as much as you say you do, then it will be."
He gave her a shocked expression. "We would say that to each other all the time. Then we would swap songs. Not all of them she sent me were positive."
"Do you and your Periwinkle have a special song? You told me you danced in her room. My Charles and I danced to Unchained Melody. Oh, those Righteous Brothers sure can make you feel."
"We danced to Here Without You. It's a song by a band called 3 Doors Down," he said, sighing.
"Oh, that's a heavy song."
"You know it?"
"Bodhi, I am old, not deaf." She smiled, and he laughed. "I also thought that was a sad song."
"It's a matter of perspective. If you're sad, it's sad. If you are in love, it's beautiful." He stood up, retrieving his phone and AirPods. "Here." He handed her one of them. She tucked it in her ear, and Bodhi did the same in his. "Now, think of the love you have for Charles."
The song played, and a tear rolled down Martha's cheek. She wiped it away. His eyes were getting blurry with the unshed tears. When the song ended, they took the buds out.
"I see what you mean. It's tragic and about loss, but it's about a love that never fades, no matter where you are. I think that song is more than perfect. You may not have known when you chose it, but look where life led you. Halfway around the world but still loving her like you can just reach out and touch her." She patted his knee. "I would, however, pick a different song for your wedding dance."
He smiled. "That might be a wise idea. I will definitely do that."
The announcement came that the plane was going to begin its descent.
"You have been one of the kindest people I have ever met. I will tell Perri all about you. If I get to talk to her again."
"You will. I have faith even when you don't remember the nosey lady on the plane has it for you."
He stood up and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "I hope Charles knew how lucky he was to have a lady like you."
"Oh, he did. I told him all the time." She smiled and gave Bodhi one last laugh. The last one he would have for a long time."
He walked into the head office to see Oliver and get caught up on things he may have missed.
Oliver was on the phone when Bodhi got there. He held his finger up and motioned for him to sit down.
Bodhi took a seat and patiently waited.
Oliver hung up the phone. "Wanker," he said, annoyed. "Bodhi, how was your trip?"
"It was horrible, but thanks for asking. So, what has been going on around here?"
"I have great news. Wonderful news. You are going to have the cover and full spread in MVP- Ultimate Basketball Magazine. And they are going to pay you fifty thousand euros! Isn't that wonderful?"
"Yeah, it is, but why me? I haven't been on the team very long."
"Bodhi. You are the reason our ticket sales are up. We have a shift in the demographic because of you. And the fact that you have that video blowing up the internet! Any press is good press, right?"
"Yeah, you'd be happy to know that a lot of people in the States know of it, and it's shedding light on the league," Bodhi said, sounding melancholy.
"Really! That is just wonderful! Wonderful! I knew signing you was a great decision. You are going to be the face of the British Basketball League if you keep this up!"
"Fantastic," Bodhi muttered.
Oliver handed him an address and a date with time. "Be there on time. The shoot will take at least four hours, so keep that in mind. Let me know how it goes."
He stood up, folded the paper, and stuffed it in his back pocket. "Will do."