As Svetlana and I were saying our goodbyes after a wonderful weekend together, with sadness in her eyes she asked, “When will I see you again?” She was anticipating the beginning of her massage courses for recertification, and knew that this would require her full attention.
One week of nightly phone conversations inched by as I heard her low-spirited voice tell me, “I miss you, my Mark.” Learning that her course was not yet scheduled to begin, and realizing the upcoming day of romance, Valentine’s Day, would fall on Monday, after what would begin another week of “I miss you,” phone calls, I decided to surprise my Svetlana with a visit to her on the following weekend, preceding Valentine’s Day.
Under normal circumstances, I would have planned to visit for more than a weekend, enabling me to be with her on that romantic day. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of receiving a ten-day massage and needed to be back in Illichevsk for massage number six on Monday. I began making my plans. I would, of course, take my zero degree sleeping bag, a must for any of my winter travels in Ukraine. My new lamb’s wool sweater and long johns would be changed into after my Friday massage. In my mind’s eye, the process of my travel passed by, step-by-step. At 2:30 PM, I would take the bus from Illichevsk to Odessa. This late of a beginning would require the 4 PM rather than the 3:20 PM bus to Nikolayev, arriving at 6:30 PM. The final two steps would be, a 30 minutes ride on bus number 12, crossing Nikolayev, and then bus 102 to the village. It was a plan!
In our conversations, I asked Svetlana a number of times, “Will you be in the village at your parent’s home or at your home in Nikolayev on Friday?” It was settled; she would be at the village. But had she caught on to my plan?
Friday arrived and my emotion was high with excitement. So high, in fact, that after my massage I forgot to change into my warm clothes. All of my thoughts were focused on getting to my Valentine. Well, as fate would have it, I did not anticipate any problems or need for adjustment in my plans. Many things could have gone wrong in this journey encountering four different buses. And, of course, something did go wrong. I did not realize my dilemma until it was staring me in the face.
I had made every connection, and had arrived at the correct location to board my final bus number 102, but as I looked across the street, (the time being 7:55 PM), where this bus should have been waiting, the street was empty. I had missed the last bus to the village by about thirty minutes. Had my big surprise failed?
Helpless in the very cold temperature, there was nothing else to do. Unaware of what possible solution may be available, I called Svetlana. My LIFE phone service is not so good when calling to the village, and such was the case on this windy and cold night. When she answered, of course she thought that I was calling from Illichevsk. Svetlana answered with her normal “Hello my Mark, how are you?” After the normal reply, I said, “Svetlana, I have a problem; I missed the last bus to the village.” The signal was not so good, and we were cut-off a few times. In the process, she was thinking, “What is he talking about?” Finally, I explained my location and she understood, totally surprised and jumping with joy, as I learned later.
She arranged with her nephew to drive her to collect me at the Foxtrot store on the edge of Nikolayev. Svetlana has a smile that will light up a room, such is the meaning of her name, “light.” That night, as she walked to me from across the small parking lot, her smile was radiant! As we rode back to the village, we held each other tightly, expressing how happy we were to see each other! - Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
No comments:
Post a Comment