David used to hate these trips. Not so much anymore. After he and his wife divorced and his daughter started college there wasn't much reason for him to stay at home. Besides, it was nice to get out and meet new people and travel to places he otherwise would never see. And the fact that it was all on the company's dime made it that much better. Need somebody to go to Pawtucket? David is your man. Des Moines? Rochester? Cleveland? Yep - he'd been there and done all of those. And more. A lot more. David was racking up the frequent flyer miles and before long would be able to treat himself to a nice vacation.
So when the boss needed somebody to go to Chicago of course David volunteered. But he wasn't really looking forward to this trip. It was January. The last time he'd been in Chicago was in the fall two years ago. And even in the fall it was cold. He knew the weather would be brutal. Little did he know it was going to be worse than he expected. Much worse.
There was heavy snow in the forecast but as David's plane landed at O'Hare he looked out the window and saw nothing but sunshine in the late afternoon sky. Maybe I can catch a break this time he thought to himself.
He took the EL into downtown. When he got off at his stop the Chicago winter hit him in the face like a back-handed slap. Damn it was cold. At least his hotel was only a couple of blocks away so he wouldn't be outside for very long. As he approached the hotel he saw a truck from The Weather Channel parked nearby. He thought it a little odd, but didn't pay it much attention as his only concern at the moment was getting out of the cold.
He checked into the hotel and went upstairs to his room. He glanced out the window to see what kind of view he had. Not much - just a parking deck across the street. But he noticed the later afternoon sun had given way to a cold gray sky. It would be dark soon. David quickly made a game plan. Dinner soon he thought to himself. Then I'll come back to the room and get prepared for meetings the next two days. Won't take very long. Then early to bed so I can rise early in the morning and be at my best in front of the clients.
David didn't fancy going back out into the cold for dinner so he decided to eat in the hotel's restaurant. He was seated at a table next to the window which had a nice view onto Michigan Ave. As he ordered a cocktail he noticed that the Weather Channel truck had set-up nearby and he could see people walking around it as if they were going to do a remote broadcast. Great - he thought to himself. They must think we're really going to get some snow if they're doing a remote.
As David ate his dinner he noticed the snow starting to fall from the sky. The streetlights were on now and they cast a strange orange glow onto the snowflakes. David finished his dinner and headed back upstairs to his room.
His preparations for the meetings didn't take long. He had done this a million times it seemed. A quick check of his e-mails and his work was done for the day. He got a mini-bottle of Jack Daniels from the mini-bar, mixed it with some Diet Coke and flipped on the TV. One drink, a little TV and then I'm off to bed he thought. As he flipped through the channels he came across the Weather Channel and sure enough they were talking about the snowstorm expected to impact Chicago. Could be quite heavy they said, and in a moment they cut to the live remote going on right there at this hotel.
David nearly dropped his drink when he saw her. Right there on his screen was Cathy Kelly. And even though she didn't exactly look glamorous in her scarf, parka, and hood pulled over her head she was still beautiful. David had lusted over her for years. She had always been his favorite on the Weather Channel. He had been disappointed when her appearances seemed to be fewer and fewer and when she was on at all it seemed to be late at night or on the weekends. He assumed her career was beginning to suffer as it seemed the powers that be kept putting younger and perkier women on the screen and since Cathy was now a MILF instead of a twenty-something babe her role had diminished.
She still looked like a hottie to David though. In fact he found her much more attractive than the little pixies that were now getting her airtime. Guess they've relegated her to doing remotes in shitty weather now he thought to himself. Still he was excited to know that the hottie MILF he had lusted after all these years was nearby.
David watched for another half hour or so but the next time they cut to the remote some guy had taken Cathy's place. He thought they must work in shifts. Can't really expect anybody to work around the clock. At least Cathy got the day shift instead of the night shift. Seniority he guessed. Oh well - gotta get some sleep he thought. He looked out the window one final time and noticed the snow had covered everything but it didn't look too deep. He drifted off to sleep imagining what Cathy Kelly would look like underneath all that winter gear.
The sun had yet to come up when David awoke the next morning. As he pulled back the curtain his jaw dropped. It was still snowing like hell. But not only that. What had been a light snow when he went to bed had now covered everything in sight. From his window he couldn't tell how deep it was but it was obviously significant.
No sense in worrying about it he told himself as he showered. Life goes on in Chicago no matter what the weather. He was awfully glad though that his appointment at the Markson Company was only about a block away from his hotel. He could trudge through almost anything if he only had one block to go. He went downstairs and ate a quick breakfast. As he exited the hotel he stepped out onto the sidewalk now covered by at least a foot of snow. The street hadn't been plowed and he didn't see a taxi anywhere. Hell - he thought. It's only a block. Not really worth a taxi anyway. And off he went.
The morning meetings were uneventful. Someone had ordered lunch for the group from the deli downstairs. Everyone ate in the conference room and somebody decided to turn on the TV. The local news channel was covering the storm which had only gotten worse. The forecast was even gloomier. There could be as much as three more feet of snow in the next 24 hours. Even for Chicago this storm was turning out to be a major event. Even though the TV people were urging everyone against travel the group decided to press on with their meeting.
Around 4:00 pm a secretary interrupted the meeting with an announcement. The mayor had declared a state of emergency. Markson was closing for the day and everyone should get home before the storm got any worse. Tom, David's contact at Markson, apologized but said that everyone's safety must come first. They would try to reschedule the meetings at some later time.
David understood and agreed. But he was still pissed. Great - he thought. Here I am stuck in Chicago with nothing to do in the middle of the worst snowstorm in a decade. The damned airport is closed and I can't leave. Oh well. If all these trips had taught him anything it was to be flexible and try to make the best no matter what the situation. David gathered his belongings and headed back to his hotel.
Once he got there he couldn't help but notice the place was unusually quiet. He went to the front desk and explained to the lady there that even though he wasn't supposed to check out until tomorrow he might need to stay one additional night depending on what the storm did and whether or not he'd be able to get a flight out of O'Hare.
"You can stay as long as you like sir," she explained. "Since the airport is closed no one can get into Chicago and most of the reservations we had for the next few days have already been canceled. Most everyone that was here checked out this morning to try to get out on the last flights before they closed the airport. It kind of worked out well for us since we only have a skeleton crew that's sleeping here in the hotel since nobody can get to work. We'll do the best we can to take care of you and our remaining guests."
David thanked her and headed off to his room. He sent an email to his boss letting him know he was stuck in Chicago until the weather got better. He called his daughter to check on her and let her know where he was and the situation he was in.
By now it was dark outside again. He took a quick shower and walked downstairs and went into the bar. The place was nearly empty and quiet. David took a seat at the bar in front of the television and ordered a drink. As he took his first sip he noticed a woman sitting at the other end of the bar from him. He could see she was staring down into her mobile phone and her hair was hanging down blocking her face from David's view. The hair color looked right to him. And it looked to be about the right length. Could it really be her? Could it really be Cathy Kelly sitting at the other end of the bar?
David tried not to stare as he sipped his drink. Every time it seemed that she looked up she was facing away from him. He caught a glimpse of her face once in a while, but he still didn't know if that was her or not. Finally he decided he had to know. He walked down to the end of the bar where she sat.
"Excuse me miss," David began. She turned to look at him and sure enough it WAS her. There was no doubt in David's mind. But something didn't look right. She seemed upset.
"Are you Cathy Kelly from The Weather Channel?"
"No," she stammered. "I get that all the time. I'm not her. Please leave me alone."
"I'm sorry," David said. "I didn't mean to upset you. Enjoy your drink."
And with that David retreated back to the seat where he started. As he sat there he wondered what was wrong with her. He KNEW it was her. He had seen that beautiful face many, many times before. There was no question in his mind he had just spoken to Cathy Kelly. But why did she deny it?
He looked down the bar and noticed the bartender brought the woman another glass of wine. As he finished his drink the bartender approached him. "Would you like another sir? Compliments of the lady at the end of the bar."
