|
I have occasional bouts of vertigo, so when it hit me again on vacation, I wasn't surprised. I just had to somehow get
back to my hotel without falling down. I was only a block away, so it shouldn't be too hard. So I thought. I had only walked
a quarter of the way when a man came out of one of the shops a little too quickly for me and I wobbled right into him.
"Are
you alright?" he asked, giving me a look like I might be drunk.
"I thought I was. I'm sorry I bumped into you. I'm having
some vertigo problems," I explained, holding on to the side of the building.
"That's dizziness, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I'll
be okay once I get back to my hotel."
"Do you need help?"
"Honestly, I don't know."
"Where's your hotel?"
"Just
in the next block."
"Let me take you in my car. It's right here."
"Parking in front of where you want to be. I could
get used to that."
He smiled as he helped me to the car. "Where are you from?"
"San Francisco."
"Now I understand.
I've tried to park there myself. "
He opened the car door and took my hand. "I've got you. Take it slow."
I did take
it slow as I sat down in the front passenger seat of his car. Once I was inside, he closed the door and came around to the
driver's side and got in.
"Are you sure it's just vertigo? Maybe you need to see a doctor."
"I was fine this morning.
It just hit me all of a sudden. I've got medication in my room," I told him.
"I have a friend who could take a look at
you."
"I don't have the money to see a private doctor."
"She's not a private doctor. She's with the Air Force, and it's
no problem. I'm on my way to meet her anyway. If there's any charge, I'll take care of it," he
assured me.
"You being
very nice to someone who is a total stranger."
He just smiled and started the car. It took us about fifteen minutes to get to where his friend was and I did not enjoy
a single minute of the ride. I was not a happy camper. Upon arrival, he carefully helped me out of the car and up to the house.
A short woman opened the door as we approached. I was holding on to him for
complete support with one hand and my other
arm was sticking out for any type of additional balance I could get.
"Daniel? What happened?"
"She has vertigo that's getting worse by the minute. Could you give her a quick check?"
"Take
her into the kitchen."
I was seated at the kitchen table and given a quick exam with a few questions about my sinus history.
I found out that her name was Janet Fraiser.
"You have an inner ear infection. I'm sorry, but I didn't get your name."
"Carrie
Stevens. An inner ear infection? I'm supposed to go back home tomorrow."
"I'm afraid you're not going anywhere for a few
days. Do you have anyone you can stay with?"
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"She'll be staying with me."
His name
is Daniel Jackson. I'm cuddled by his side with a mug of the best cocoa to wash down my antibiotics. I don't mind getting
sick on vacation if this is the help I'm getting.
Katie
*****
I've lived in the San Francisco Bay Area all my life. I love going to the City as much as I can, but there are some things
I've never done and places I've never been to there. One of the places is Alcatraz Island aka "The Rock" and one of the things
is a bay cruise.
Today, I'm scratching off the bay cruise from my list. The cruise goes out into the bay along the waterfront towards
the Golden Gate Bridge. Then it goes under the
bridge, turns around and heads towards Alcatraz. It was a beautiful
day and I had my new digital camera to play with. I went aboard the boat and climbed the stairs to the next deck. The bow
of the boat was open for people to stand in front of the cabin. I wanted nothing to be in my way (like pexiglas) when I was
taking pictures. Once the boat was underway, I was joined by a few other people. The ride was fun so far and they cruise company
had a tape of SF's history playing as we went by parts of the city. I chose to ignore it since I already know a lot of the
history from my own studies.
"The Marina District was built on the ruins of the earthquake?" a man next to me asked. "Is that true?"
I turned from
the view and looked at him. "I'm sorry. I wasn't listening."
"The speaker is two feet away. How can you not hear it?"
"I
already know all they're going to tell me. I hear it, but I'm not listening."
"You already know the history of San Francisco?
Are you a historian?"
I looked at the man, wondering if he was trying to pick me up or something. He didn't look like the
other beer drinking guys on the boat. He was well dressed. He had short brown hair and glasses emphasizing his blue eyes.
"No,
not exactly. I love the city and I want to learn all that I can about it."
I turned away from him in time to take a picture
of the Palace of Fine Arts. It was kind of hazy today and I hoped the picture would come out okay.
"The Marina District.
Did they really build it on the ruins of the 1906 earthquake?"
"I could give you the short answer of I could give you the
long answer."
"How long is the long answer?" he asked with his blue eyes sparkling.
"Do you want to know because you're
interested in the subject, or are you trying to pick me up?"
"Both. I'm a bit of a historian myself, and I'd like to take
you out to dinner tonight."
"I don't even know you. What makes you think I'll say yes?"
"Your eyes."
"My eyes. Yeah.
Right."
"You want to tell me. You're intrigued by my questions and, you're attracted to me. Am I right?"
"We'll see."
I forced myself to turn my back to him and concentrate on the view that we were coming up on. The Golden Gate Bridge.
I started taking lots of pictures. After we had turned and headed back into the bay, I noticed that the man had gone somewhere
else. Oh, well.
After we went around the far side of Alcatraz, the boat returned to Pier 39 and everyone made their way to the main deck.
While I stood there with the others
waiting for the boat to dock, I felt a touch to my arm. I turned and saw the man again.
"Have you though about my offer?"
"I still don't know who you are."
"I'm Daniel. Would you like to have dinner
with me tonight?"
"Well, Daniel, you don't know what you're asking for. I tend to go on and on when talking about the Great
Quake and fire."
"I think I can handle it," he replied with a wink.
I did have dinner with Daniel with history on
the side.
Katie
*****
There was a big charity ball on Saturday night and my old high school friend asked me to go with him. It was something
he had to attend and he had to have a date--a female date. Tommy is gay. It's known by all his friends and family, but not
by the high rollers of the city that he's trying to impress. In order to get me to say yes, he even offered to buy my ball
gown. That was okay by me until he had to be there to help me pick it out. I knew he was going to do that. He's going to get
the most revealing gown there so that everyone is looking at me and no one is paying any attention to him. In the end, we
came up with a compromise. It was a halter style in a pale blue. I didn't want the halter, but Tommy did.
When we arrived
at the ball, Tommy dropped the other shoe. It was a masked ball. I found out when he handed me my mask. It was made of blue
feathers and tied on to my head with ribbons. The night was a fairytale come true. Every man wanted to dance with me. I hardly
had a chance to get off my feet before another would be asking for a dance.
"It looks like it's finally my turn to dance with you."
"I'm sorry, but I can't dance anymore. My feet are killing
me. You will have to ask someone else," I told him.
"Well how about I take you away from here to rest your feet?'"
I looked at him and could only see his brilliant blue eyes shinning out from his mask. I let him take my hand and lead
me off the dance floor. He found a quiet place with a sofa well away from the throng of people.
"Wait here while I get us something to drink."
He was gone before I could answer. He had put me where I wasn't bothered by anyone. It was nice to be able to sit
and relax and not worry about dancing. He returned with a couple glasses.
"I hope you're not going to get me drunk with what ever's in those glasses."
"Only if fruit juice effects you
that way."
"Wine is fruit juice," I pointed out.
"True, but this is too fresh for wine."
I took the glass from him
and sook a sip.
"Mmm cranberry. Excellent choice! Thank you for the rescue."
"It was the only way I could spend time
with you if you didn't want to dance anymore. I've been waiting all night to be with you."
I felt myself blush and was
thankful for the mask.
"I'm sorry you had to wait so long. I wasn't planning on being so popular."
"Where's your date?
Shouldn't he be rescuing you from the dance floor?"
"Ah, well, he's here for political reasons. I came along to help him
get in the door. We're old friends from high school."
"So you aren't involved with him?"
"No. We're just friends."
At that moment, all the clocks began to strike twelve. It was the traditional time to remove you mask. I wanted to
see who he was but I didn't want to take
mine off.
"May I?" he asked and then untied my ribbons, removing my mask. Fresh air cooled the skin on my face. He took his
mask off and was glad that I was sitting down. He was so incredibly handsome! The eyes were just part of the whole package.
I decided that his face should never be covered. He interrupted my thoughts by touching my cheek before giving me a light
kiss.
"My name is Daniel Jackson. Would you like to join me for a late dinner somewhere else?"
I would have been stupid to say no.
And I didn't.
Katie
I was driving down the highway when I saw the best outcrop of rocks! I had to get a sample! I found a place to pull of
the road and dug my rock hammer out of the back seat. It only took me a moment to get to the rocks. The veining in the rock
was beautiful! I was just about to swing my hammer into the rock.
"HEY! What are you doing?" A man yelled at me.
There was a car behind mine and a tall man was walking from it towards me. He had short brown hair and sunglasses on
so I couldn't see his eyes.
"Excuse me?"
"What are you doing?" he asked again.
"I haven't done anything--yet. I was about to get a sample of
this outcrop. Is this your land?"
"No, but I'm keeping an eye on it for the owner. I thought you were a vandal. We've had
some problems around here. You're a geologist?" he asked.
"A geology student. I like to collect rock samples wherever I
go. Would your friend mind if I take a rock?"
"Only if you don’t have dinner with me."
"That's out of the blue."
"I
don't have any problems with you taking a rock, but I'll never hear the end of it when I tell my friend how I let a beautiful
geology student get away without a date," he explained and took off his sunglasses.
It took almost everything I had from
letting out a moan when I saw his intense blue eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"Um, yeah. I'm great. What were we talking about?"
"I
wanted to take you to dinner."
"Um, yeah, sure. That sounds great."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I've just never
seen eyes as blue as yours before, that's all. I'm, uh, staying at the motel just down the road."
"I'll pick you up at
seven. "
"Yeah. Seven. Oh, maybe I should introduce myself. My name is Lynn."
"Daniel. I'll see you at seven."
Dinner,
Daniel, and even some dancing! Tomorrow he's taking me to some more places for rocks--after breakfast.
Katie
|
