A Twist in My Story

“We are now arriving at Gate 20 at Heathrow Airport. The temperature is 30 degrees Celsius and it is partly cloudy. Thank you for flying British Airways and we hope you enjoy your stay in London,” the stewardess stated in her pleasant British accent.

Joe waited until the light above his head told him it was okay to unbuckle his seatbelt before getting up from his seat and walking towards the front of the plane. He had to wait until people got out of his way before he could get off the plane. Walking down the long tunnel with his hands shoved in his pockets, he followed the group of people walking over to baggage claim. He had to wait a couple of minutes, but soon enough the conveyor belt started spewing out luggage and he caught sight of his duffel bag. Hoisting it off the belt, he slung it over his shoulders before walking away from the baggage claim. Once he was out of customs, he found himself surrounded by a massive airport. He had traveled abroad during college (thank God he already had his passport), but he had gone to Germany and the airport he had arrived and departed from had not been nearly as big as Heathrow Airport.

The flight here had been long, so he had plenty of time to think about what he was doing. His decision to buy a ticket had been a rash, hasty one. He had finally had enough of his dad ragging on him the entire summer, always comparing him to Kevin. He just had to get out of his house and away from him before things got any worse than they already were. He really did feel bad for his mom though—he knew that she didn’t feel the same way as his dad, but she couldn’t do anything about it. For that reason he really hoped she had found his note and that she wasn’t too upset with him. He just had to do this for himself. He needed to get away from his father and take some time to figure out what he wanted to do with himself.

So, on the flight he made up his mind—he was going to backpack through Europe. And the first thing he had to do was buy a map of Europe and plan out his trip. Stopping at a gift shop, Joe bought himself a map of the continent, then went to a nearby café, ordered himself a cup of coffee and sat down to plan out his trip. He had just finished marking all the places in Italy he wanted to visit when the sound of the chair across from him screeching across the linoleum floor made him divert his attention from the map. Looking up curiously, he saw a pretty woman with a thick head of blonde curls, which were tucked under a fedora, staring at him with curious, brooding blue eyes.

“Looking for something in particular on that map?” she asked curiously.

Joe recognized the familiar British accent as he shrugged off her question. “Not in particular. I was planning on backpacking through Europe and was just plotting out the places I wanted to go see,” he responded.

“Ah, you’re an American then,” the woman stated more than asked, leaning back in her seat and angling her body so that she could easily cross her long, lean legs.

“Are we that obvious?” Joe asked, his eyes quickly scanning her legs as an amused smile tugged at his lips.

The woman smiled back at him, amusement reflected in her smile as well. “Your kind seems to be fond of ‘backpacking’ through our great continent,” she replied.

“Ahh,” Joe drawed out.

“Tell me,” the woman started, leaning back in towards him, showing a decent amount of cleavage. Her smile grew wider when Joe’s eyes momentarily flashed down, continuing a few seconds later, “what is this fascination you Americans have with strapping a knapsack to your backs and wandering across the continent?”

Joe chuckled, amused and fascinated by the creature before him. “I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m here to clear my head a bit,” he responded.

“Fascinating,” she stated, leaning back and smiling teasingly at him. She stared at him for another second as Joe took a sip of his coffee, before speaking up again. “Say, would you mind if I accompanied you on this trip of yours?”

All those years of Joe hearing not to trust strangers when you go abroad made alarms go off in his head. “What?”

“Yes, I can show you the sights, seeing as I am European after all. Plus, at the same time, I can keep you company,” she added with a smile and a few bats of her overly done eyelashes.

Joe glanced at her suspiciously. He had been warned not to trust random strangers before he went abroad in his college days, but this woman seemed to be nice enough. And now that she brought it up, he really didn’t want to travel across a continent all alone. And she looked like she would be…fun…company. “Sure, I’d like that,” he finally responded.

“Great,” she exclaimed with a wider smile. She threw her curls over her shoulder, showing off some more skin, on her collar bone this time, before speaking up again. “I do have a fee though,” she added.

“Oh,” Joe stated, looking back at her face, taken aback by her comment. “Uhm, okay, what’s your fee?” he asked, a bit nervous about what her response would be.

The blonde before him was just about to name her price when another figure loomed over them. Both Joe and the blonde turned to see a stunning olive-skinned brunette with fierce brown eyes glaring down at the blonde. “Lay off the American. Your scams won’t be working here,” she said, her accent clearly not British—Joe couldn’t quite place what it was though.

“Excuse me!” the blonde huffed.

“You heard me. Now leave before I call the airport security. I’m sure they’d love to know what you’re doing here,” the brunette said threateningly.

The blonde woman just gapped up at her, turned back to Joe and then back to the brunette. With a huff she got up and stalked off. Joe raised his eyebrows, stunned by the exchange that just occurred. “Wow,” he mumbled.

“You might want to be a bit more careful with who you trust around here. Not everyone is really interested in helping you out,” she stated, giving him a small smile before turning to walk away.

“Whoa, wait,” Joe called out, standing up and reaching for her arm before she could walk away. The brunette looked down at his hand, which was latched around her wrist before looking back up at him with raised eyebrows. Joe removed his hand, but still stared at her. “Thank you for that. I had no idea I was being scammed,” he stated.

“You Americans stick out like sore thumbs and are so gullible. Don’t worry; I’m sure you’re not the first, nor the last one to fall for a trap like that,” she responded, once more turning to leave.

“Wait. Will you please let me buy you a cup of coffee—to express my gratitude,” he added.

The woman stared at him curiously for a few seconds before conceding to his request. Joe grabbed his things before walking with her over to the counter, allowing her to order her espresso before he paid for it. Afterwards they settled at a different table, inside the café this time.

“So, I didn’t quite catch your name,” Joe started as they settled in together.

The woman looked at him for a second before responding, “Luciana.”

“Luciana. Wow, that’s pretty. I’m Joe,” he stated.

“Joe. Wow, that’s…so American,” she said in her intriguing accent, a teasing smile pulling at her lips as she mocked him. Joe chuckled bashfully before smiling at her.

“So, uhm, thanks again for saving me back there. That was nice of you.”

“It was no big deal,” she shrugged off his appreciation, averting her gaze as she took another sip of her espresso. Joe bobbed his head before looking back down at his map, adding another star on a place that caught his eye. “So, what is this ‘backpacking’ thing?” The sound of Luciana’s inquiry made Joe look back up at her. Her brows were scrunched in the middle of her forehead in curiosity as she tried to peek at his map.

Joe just shrugged before responding. “We just strap a book bag, or in my case a duffel bag,” he paused, tilting his head to the ground where his duffel bag was securely tucked between his feet, “and travel across the continent, looking at tourist attractions, staying in hostels, that sort of thing,” he finished explaining.

“Why would anyone ever do something like that?” she asked with a chuckle.

Joe shrugged once again, feeling a bit silly for what he was about to say next. “I’m on a quest of sorts, trying to find myself, figure out who I am and what to do with my life, away from the constant watch of my family,” he mumbled, hoping she didn’t make fun of him—she had already bashed the idea of backpacking across the continent.

After a few seconds of her not saying anything, Joe looked back up at her. She was staring mindlessly at her cup of coffee, twirling it around in her hands. “Luciana?” Joe inquired, a bit worried by the forlorn look in her eyes.

“I’m doing the same thing,” she mumbled, so low that Joe barely heard her.

Joe watched her, curious about her sudden demeanor. It was a few seconds later when he spoke up again. “Why don’t you join me then? We can find ourselves together. That way we’re not alone when we finally do find ourselves,” he offered, a part of him being hopeful that she’d agree to join him.

To his surprise, Luciana snorted and shook her head. “I’m never alone,” she muttered.

“What?” Joe asked, confused by what her statement could mean.

Luciana’s head snapped towards him, her eyes wide. She quickly recovered, clearing her throat as she tried to shake off the disapproval she held towards herself—she had already said too much about herself. “Haven’t you learned anything with what just happened? You were almost scammed by that woman and now you’re asking another stranger to join you.”

Joe smiled ruefully at her. She didn’t come across as a scam artist, so he trusted that she would be good company on his journey. And he let her know that. “I have learned my lesson, thanks to you. But I highly doubt you’re going to try to get money out of me. You seem like a nice enough person and I would be truly honored to have you accompany me on my quest,” he stated.

Luciana couldn’t help but giggle at his cheesy offer. But something about this stranger, Joe, had her hooked. She was a bit curious about him and couldn’t help but concede to his offer.

“Fine,” she stated, after a few minutes of making him sweat it out. “I’ll help you find your way, you poor American, but it will only be around England. After that, you’re on your own,” she stated.

Joe chuckled at her, already knowing that they were going to have an interesting time together. “You know, you can just call me Joe. It’s a lot easier than saying ‘the American’ every time you refer to me,” he stated, folding his arms across the table that separated them and leaning in to her, a wide, breath taking smile tugging at his lips.

Luciana’s eyes narrowed at him, as if she were annoyed by him already when in reality she was annoyed with herself for the reaction she just experienced when he invaded her personal space. “Whatever. Just let me see that map,” she snapped, grabbing the edge of the map and tugging slightly on it so that it wouldn’t rip, but still hard enough so that he’d get the message and move his arms.

Joe raised his arms peaceably, allowing Luciana to take the map and turn it towards her. She looked over the spots he had already mapped out and shook her head at all the tourist spots that were marked. She would have to really show him around the country. She had been traveling around on her own long enough to discover the places that made different countries in Europe really great and lively.

The feel of Joe’s breath on her neck made her aware that he was sitting next to her and leaning over her shoulder to look at the map as well. “What are you doing?” she inquired, jolting away from him.

“Just looking to see what places you’re marking. I’m going on this trip too,” he said with an amused smile. “Do you mind?”

Luciana let out a sigh. “If you insist,” she replied, splaying the map out in front of both of them.
Joe chuckled once more as he leaned in a bit closer. “I can already tell we’re going to have fun on our little adventure together,” he stated.

Luciana just rolled her eyes at him without even bothering to look at him. “Whatever,” she said before they both brought their heads together and planned out their trek around England.