Seat belt.

It happened so quickly. Less than it takes to intake a single breath. Never mind the exhale. One second Nora was unscrewing the bottle cap of her water bottle. Then her life changed.

The flight started and continued safely for four hours. A pocket of turbulence here and there but nothing serious. Announcements were made to warn them all of the potential. Wear your seat belt and all that.

The woman sitting in between them was none the wiser. She slept for most of the journey.

Nora had just started her own company and was en route to Chicago to sell her franchise. She was about to make millions. In the time it takes to switch a light on or off, her world changed.

She didn’t realise that the next time she would open her eyes was from a hospital bed after seven hours of surgery. Life saving surgery.

She had consumed one little quart bottle of white wine with her rubber chicken dinner.

She watched a bad French movie of love and intrigue that did nothing but continue her abhorrence of subtitled films. It did pass the time though.

They shared little glances. She listened to Irish music for twenty minutes that sent her to sleep for about forty. Waking up, she glanced at her seat side companion.

She noticed him getting on board. His quiet demeanour.

Almost too quiet.

He was dressed smartly, wearing a thin pin-striped black suit. The stubble was about two days old, and it suited him. He had short stubby fingers, but his wedding finger had an empty tan line at the base.

Taking off her headphones that were still tuned to the Irish lilt, she got up to use the bathroom. It was located only a few rows away from her seat. She had to wait in line for around a minute.

Before she retook her seat, she stood in the aisle sipping her water bottle. She stretched her torso and was sure he spotted her bare midriff. 

She pulled her itinerary out of her handbag and read her onward connection from O’Hare.

And then she met her seat side colleague.

With her head.

Hitting his.

Crack.

The plane dropped one thousand feet in one and a half seconds.

An intimate exchange that changed Nora’s life.