Seatmates

by Terra Mortenson

My husband and I were traveling to the EU in 1997 two days after Lady Di was killed. On our layover in Ontario en route to London, we started talking to two girls our age who looked cool. Turns out they were from Atlanta, not far from where we lived in Birmingham. When it was time to go, we boarded our plane, a HUGE 747, and found we had seats beside them. We talked for six straight hours in flight and agreed we all had to get in and out of London before it was overtaken with mourners. We planned to meet in Munich a month later at Octoberfest on 10/3 at 3:00 under the town square clock. Tim & I were surprised but happy to see them there, and had a great time. We planned to meet in Prague a month later, but when the time came, we were late, and so were they. After waiting a while, we left, and figured we'd never see them again. A few days later, we literally ran into them walking around in Prague. We agreed that the friendship was meant to be. We exchanged home phone #s (this was pre-cell phone and email) and went separate ways, promising that we'd get together in the states in a few months. Tim & I changed our return flight go home a couple weeks early. Michelle's money was stolen so, unbeknownst to us, she also had to fly home early. Our flight was delayed something like 4 hours and we missed our connection in Paris. We were walking though busy Charles de Gaulle when we heard our names called from across the crowd. It was Michelle. Such a strange coincidence, it still gives me chills. We declared we were platonic soul mates and vowed to go back to Prague the following year to live, which we did. Fast forward to 2013: We've all moved around the country some, but have settled in our home towns, about 2.5 hours apart. Last year Tim and I shared out 15 year "friend anniversary" in October with her and her husband. I have never had a girl friend I love more or have felt such a connection to. If I believed in God I might say s/he was puling strings, but I'll settle for luck and serendipity.