Run, run, run away

Where else do you get so far inside a complete stranger's personal space as when you're seated next to them on an airplane. Especially a crowded plane, all three seats in the row taken and even more so when you're at the window and she is in the middle and on the outside is one of those people who claim your armrest and spill even further over into your space. At first, I think she moved closer to me out of necessity, then even closer to avoid further encroachment from her right side. I hate when someone does that and she obviously did too. I caught her eyes when she slid into the middle seat after stowing her carryon in the overhead and excusing herself to get by the encroaching one who was a rather large business type in yesterdays suit and last months haircut. She smiled the small smile and crammed a soft briefcase under the seat in front of her. It looked like it contained a laptop and I could see the spine of a book sticking out also. She shoved a Coach under there that was worth twice the aisle guys suit and she had to stretch her legs to one side or the other and of course she picked my side given that the encroacher was on the fat thighed side and as is so often the case when you splay with one part of your body you generally splay the rest. His sloppy existence was beginning to tip the scales of my day as skyward as this aircraft was soon to be. She sighed that sigh that you do when you finally get boarded, situated, and seated after an hour of line standing, bag checking, security screening and photo ID waving that you have to do to move about the country these days. Like I said, where else do you get to be inside someones space like that and I was already considering my good fortune and trying to recall exactly what color her eyes were cause they weren't brown and they weren't blue and I always get confused about what the other colors are. If eyes can be grey, I think they were but I'm not sure I know grey from hazel from whatever other colors there are that aren't brown or blue. If Elton John can get away without knowing if they're green or they're blue so can I and I'm sure he knew her whoever she was better than I knew this young woman of the slightly weary but smiling eyes of a color yet to be positively identified. I just knew how wonderful life was getting to be with her in the seat next to me. I'm not sure color has to have a name, suffice it to say they were of a pleasant hue and it was probably just my imagination and wishful thinking that they danced ever so slightly as she mouthed a polite hi with an even slighter nod upon acknowledging me as her cross country neighbor. I have a really good imagination but her scent was real, understated, expensive like her watch and you have to look crosseyed to actually see out of the very corner of your eye and that's what it took to catch a glimpse of a glint of sparkle of earring that seemed to be of the same sparkle as the ring on her left thumb which was next to the ring on her index finger which was two fingers away from her bare ring finger. I was becoming grateful for the length of this flight and starting to really like this girl alot having not found one thing about her so far that annoyed me in any way and when the mouth breather on the aisle exhaled and drove her even closer and she whispered (being so close all you have to do is whisper and she had the softest, best whisper ever) this is going to be a very long flight and hiding my glee I nodded and conjured up my best only slightly reckless grin, the one with the trust at the corners of my mouth, and whispered back.......maybe it won't be so bad