27
July 18, 2009
London Heathrow Airport
Joanna sipped her bottled water, waiting for Jill to return. They hadn’t been able to contact their parents on the phone the last few days, and when Jill finally reached them fifteen minutes ago, Joanna had agreed to listen for the announcements at the gate while Jill finished the conversation at the pay phone. Their zone had just been called when Jill jogged into the waiting area, dumping her empty water bottle in a nearby trash bin.
“Mom and Dad say hi,” Jill said as the twins took their place in the boarding line. “They’re fine. Mom says they didn’t worry about us at all. Dad asked me if I’d seen anything in England that made me want to stay.”
Joanna raised her eyebrows. “And what did you say?”
Jill got a mischievous look in her eye. “I told him, ‘Not yet.’”
The twins laughed.
“I shouldn’t have drunk all that water,” Jill lamented. “Now I’ll have to use the bathroom on the plane.”
“It’s a nine-hour flight,” Joanna reminded her. “Most people have to go to the bathroom at least once during that amount of time. At least, normal people.”
“Are you implying I’m not normal?”
“I’m stating directly that you think it’s some kind of weakness to use an airplane bathroom.”
Jill shrugged. “What can I say? I have a bladder of steel.”
Joanna rolled her eyes.
A few minutes later, they made their way down one of the aisles in the 747, looking for their row.
“We should be window and middle,” Jill said.
“Which means I’m middle.”
“Hey, I rode backwards on the train so you wouldn’t get carsick.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”
When they found their seats, Jill stashed her backpack in the overhead compartment and headed toward the lavatory.
“I’ll go brave the toilet before it starts to stink.” Jill crinkled her nose, anticipating her disgust.
“Just remember, you’ve gone in worse conditions.”
Jill acknowledged Joanna’s reference with a head nod and scooted down the aisle.
Joanna dumped her purse, new spiral-bound notebook, and package of pens into the aisle seat, intending to store them momentarily. As she contemplated if there was anything else she needed from her backpack, she heard a man’s voice speaking with a crisp British accent.
“Excuse me. I believe I have the aisle seat.”
Joanna reached quickly for her purse, notebook, and pens to transfer them to the window seat before she stashed her backpack. “Sorry. I’ll just be another second or two.”
“Cheers.”
With her backpack zipped and ready, Joanna stood to place it in the overhead compartment when her eyes widened at the sight of the man who would be sitting next to her. He could have been Robin Hood’s twin brother. He was the same height and weight with the same handsome features and twinkling eyes, only he had no beard and his hair, instead of being curly, was straight and short. He wore a light green polo shirt and khaki pants. Joanna noticed the Rolex on his wrist and a big ring she couldn’t see clearly on his right hand.
“Do I know you?” Joanna asked before she had time to think about the words coming out of her mouth.
The man smiled politely. “I don’t think so.” He pointed to the backpack she was holding. “Would you like some help?”
Joanna recovered from her shock. “Yeah. Thanks. Here I am, holding up the line. I’ll slide on over here to my window seat.”
He nodded as he stowed her backpack and his rolling suitcase in the overhead compartment and slid a black laptop bag monogrammed with the GDB Oil logo under the seat.
“GDB Oil?” Joanna asked. “You work there?”
“I do.” The man settled into his chair. “You know it?”
“My sister works at the Houston office.”
His eyes widened. “Really?”
“She’ll be back in a minute.” Joanna glanced back to see if Jill was on her way. “I’m Joanna, by the way.”
“I’m Rob.”
They shook hands.
“So, Rob, what do you do at GDB?”
He shrugged. “I’m in operations. I’ve been working at the London office but now I’ve been transferred to Houston for a few years.”
“Have you been to the States before?”
“I’ve visited often. My brother’s lived in the U.S. for several years.”
“You’ll love it,” Joanna assured him. “There’s lots to enjoy.”
If this man’s name was Rob and he looked like Robin Hood and he also had a brother…
“Is Houston home for you as well?” Rob asked.
“No, I live in Minneapolis, but I met my sister in Houston so we could fly to London together. This was our first time overseas.”
“I hope you had a nice holiday.”
“Very nice,” Joanna assured him. “It was full of adventure.”
Rob pointed to the notebook Joanna had set on the fold-out tray table. “Are you a writer?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Have you published anything I would know?”
“Not yet, but I will.”
Joanna glanced again toward the lavatory, wondering what was taking Jill so long. She could hardly wait to see Jill’s face when she saw who was sitting next to them. Rob stretched a little in the seat and searched his pockets, frowning.
“Everything all right?”
“I forgot my phone,” Rob replied. “I loaned it to a colleague who’s also on this flight. Will you excuse me for a moment?”
“Of course.”
As Rob crawled out of his seat and worked his way forward, Joanna marveled at his similarity to the legendary outlaw.
“Hello,” Jill said with obvious irritation. “You’re in my seat.”
Joanna grinned mischievously. “I’ll be taking the window this trip. Sit down quick.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The guy sitting next to you, he works in operations at GDB Oil in Houston. He’s British, his name’s Rob, and Jill—he could be Robin Hood’s identical twin.”
Jill’s eyes widened as she flopped into the middle seat. “What?”
“He’s coming back! Act natural.”
Rob paused when he noticed Jill, and if Joanna read him right, his attraction to Jill was immediately evident as he said, “Hello. You must be the sister.”
Jill blushed and waved but didn’t speak.
“Rob, this is Jill. Jill, Rob.”
Rob shook Jill’s hand, and as he did so, his eyes traveled to the medallion that hung outside her shirt.
“That’s a unique necklace you’re wearing.”
Jill fingered the medallion and seemed to be searching for the words before she finally said, “Thank you.”
Rob buckled his seat belt. “I feel like I’ve seen it before. It reminds me of something that’s been in my family for generations. See?”
He held out his right hand, revealing his ring which bore the same heraldry as Jill’s medallion. Joanna didn’t think it was the exact ring Robin had worn, but the resemblance to that piece of jewelry, much like Rob’s resemblance to Robin, was uncanny.
“My father left me this ring when he died,” Rob said. “It’s been in my family for years. This medallion you’re wearing is remarkable. I’d be interested in hearing where you got it.”
“It’s an interesting story,” Jill admitted. “Maybe I’ll tell it to you sometime. My sister says you work at GDB?” When he nodded, she continued, “What department?”
“Operations.”
Jill raised an eyebrow. “You’re Rob Goodwin, the new vice president, aren’t you?”
“I’m trying to keep a low profile.”
“Why aren’t you flying first class?” Joanna asked. “I wouldn’t suffer in coach if I didn’t have to.”
“My father started the company, but that doe
sn’t entitle me to waste money on special treatment, especially after that horrible mess in the Gulf of Mexico. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and I thought flying coach would be a way to show I’m part of the team and conserving company resources.”
Jill flashed a sly glance at Joanna before she turned to Rob. “Nicely done.”
■ ■ ■
Once Joanna was assured that the conversation between Jill and Rob wasn’t going to need any further assistance from her, she put in her earbuds to give them as much privacy as she could and scrolled through the albums on her mp3 player before she found the Backwater Bandits western album. As the music played, she opened her newly purchased notebook to the first page, clicked her pen, and started writing. She wanted to remember everything that had happened. Of course, the irony was that if she wrote down exactly what had happened, no one would believe it. She would have to fictionalize the story if she ever hoped to make it into a novel, but first, she had to record the details before she forgot them.
When the plane began its descent hours later, Joanna flexed her hand, cramped from hours of writing, and turned off her music. Rob and Jill had been talking the entire time, their attraction to each other becoming more evident with each passing hour.
“Are there any good archery ranges near the plant?” Rob asked with obvious enthusiasm. “I like to get in a little target practice when I can.”
“There’s one at the park by the lake,” Jill said. “What kind of bow do you shoot?”
“Compound and recurve. But I’ve taken up the longbow recently. I bought a rough hewn version not too long ago, but I haven’t had much chance to try it out. Maybe we could visit the range together.”
“I’d like that.” Jill reached for her purse and pulled out a business card. Flipping over the card, Jill held out her hand, signaling Joanna to give her a pen. When Joanna complied, Jill jotted her telephone number on the back and presented the card to Rob.
“This is the best way to reach me after work,” she said.
Joanna almost laughed out loud. She had never seen Jill give her number to anyone before.
Rob studied the number, then smiled and nodded before he put it into his wallet. “It will be nice to know someone in the area. My brother has a flat downtown. I’m staying there until I get my own place.”
Joanna picked up her ears at further mention of a brother.
“Say,” Rob began, “do you have any plans after we land?”
“Just home and shower,” Jill said with a shrug, as though getting back to her apartment after a long vacation was the last thing she wanted to do.
“I was going to meet my brother for dinner. Would you two like to join us?”
Jill looked at Joanna, and the look said, We’re definitely going.
“Are you sure we wouldn’t be in the way?” Joanna asked, not wanting them to seem too eager.
“Not at all.”
“Then we’d love to,” Jill replied.
“I have a car waiting. Would you like to ride with us? We could drop you off at your home after we eat.”
Remembering Jill’s car sitting in long-term parking, Joanna barely concealed her surprise as Jill answered, “Sounds good.”
Rob and Jill continued their conversation as the three exited the plane and walked toward immigration. The three had to separate when the twins joined the U.S. citizen line, but Rob was waiting for them on the other side and they picked up their luggage together. Since Rob and Jill talked so amiably, Joanna had little to contribute and instead was free to consider the identity of Rob’s brother. Rob already seemed much smarter and better suited to Jill than Robin. If this time period held an improved version of Robin Hood, what could that mean for Guy of Gisbourne?
When Rob’s cell phone rang, he answered and excused himself for a moment. Finding themselves alone for the first time in hours, the twins looked at each other with wide eyes. Jill was the first to speak.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I say we don’t question it too much. Go with it.”
“Okay.”
“And we never, ever talk about what happened in Sherwood or Locksley to anyone else. Not even Mom and Dad.”
“Good idea,” Joanna agreed. “I’m already questioning if it really happened. Except, of course, that’s Robin Hood you gave your number to.”
“Rob Goodwin,” Jill corrected. “There’s a difference—an eight-hundred-year difference, to be exact.”
“Ladies, our car is waiting.” Rob was back, gesturing toward the door. “If you’ll follow me.”
When they stepped outside, Joanna gasped at the black limousine pulled up to the cub. As the driver took their luggage, the door of the limo opened and from the shadowy interior stepped a tall, thin man dressed in a black suit. He had short, light brown hair, smoldering gray eyes, and a low brow, indicating a predisposition for brooding. When he saw Joanna, he smiled warmly. Her chest tightened. He looked just like Guy of Gisbourne—minus the scar.
“You must be Joanna.” He spoke in a perfect BBC accent, his voice dripping with charm. “I’m Gavin Fountaineau. Pleasure to meet you.”
She felt her cheeks go hot as she said hello.
“Please.” Gavin gestured for Joanna to enter the limo.
Needing reassurance, Joanna turned back to Jill who gave her a thumbs up. As Joanna crawled into the limousine and Gavin slid next to her, she marveled at this turn of events.
Truly, life didn’t always go as planned.
Sometimes, it was better.