Amanda was feeling terrible as she left the restaurant. She stood on the sidewalk outside and tried to think of what she wanted to do that day but had lost all desire to do anything. She looked down at her phone just to confirm there were no messages.
“Are you okay?” a male voice next to her suddenly intruded on her thoughts.
She turned toward the sound and saw a man just a couple inches taller than her with blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in khakis and a blue shirt standing next to her with a look of concern on his face. He looked about her age but it was hard to tell for sure. He was handsome and appeared to be fit.
“I’m fine, thank you,” she smiled.
“Are you sure?” he asked, not quite believing her. “You seem very distressed.”
Surprising herself she blurted, “You ever been abandoned while vacationing in Europe?”
His expression morphed from concern to sympathy. “No. But I can imagine how that might feel.”
Her eyes teared up a little, not expecting such a genuine and warm response from a total stranger. She took a deep breath and looked away.
“I’m very sorry,” was all he could think to say.
She let out a slight laugh. “Why are you sorry? You didn’t do it.”
“Because I can see how sad you are.”
“It’s my friend who should be apologizing … She met some rich guy … I don’t even know where she is.”
“Could she be in trouble?” he asked.
“I don’t even know. I asked her not to go. She wouldn’t listen.” She shook her head. “She told me I needed to get out more.” Amanda ran her hand down her face. She didn’t know why she was telling all of this to a complete stranger on the street.
Her phone dinged just then with a message. She was still connected to the Wi-Fi at the restaurant. The message was from Sheila.
I’m sorry. I overslept. I’m going to hang with Gavin today. I’ll catch up with you later. Have fun!
Amanda now just felt angry. “Well I guess she’s okay.”
“That was your friend?” he asked.
“Yeah. She’s going to hang with her new guy friend.” She turned to him. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to unload on you. I’m fine. I’m just going to go now. Thank you for your concern.”
She started to walk away. She felt like just curling up in a ball and crying for hours.
“Well, now wait a minute.” He took a step towards her. “I’m traveling alone too.”
She paused and looked back at him.
“I just finished with work," he continued, "and was hoping to do a bit of sightseeing myself. Maybe we could go together?”
“You don’t have to do that,” she said, feeling like a charity case.
“My name is Viktor.” He held his hand out to her.
She shook it. “Amanda.”
“Nice to meet you, Amanda.”
“Likewise.” She smiled, not sure what to make of him. He smiled right back and it made her feel nervous. Not a scared-nervous, but the kind of nervous she felt around a guy she liked.
“If you are unsure about traveling around town with me, perhaps you would at least like to meet me for dinner? You would save me from having to eat by myself.”
She thought about it for a minute. “Where would you want to eat?”
“You can choose. I’m not picky.”
“I’m kind of new here,” she playfully replied, implying she didn’t really know where to go.
He chuckled. “I know a place, if you like. I’ll give you the address.”
She nodded in agreement. “Okay.”
“Good.” He smiled. “Let me leave you my number.”
They exchanged numbers and agreed to meet up that evening at the restaurant to have dinner. Amanda walked away feeling like maybe she had dreamed that whole interaction. As she walked back to the hotel she scrolled through the list of things she wanted to do in Scotland and thought touring Glen Coe would be nice since the weather was so beautiful. It was a 3 hour drive though and she would need to rent a car. Plus it was already late morning. She should have headed out early if she wanted to do that. The thought of doing all of that alone was also depressing.
She went back to her room and tried to think of what else she wanted to do while feeling like she was burning daylight. Her phone dinged. She saw it was from Viktor. He texted her the address of the restaurant. She thought about his invitation to do some sightseeing with him and wondered if he had any interest in going to Glen Coe. Rallying up the courage to ask she texted him back, Do you have any interest in touring Glen Coe?
She waited for a reply.
I was actually heading out now to do just that, he replied.
Amanda felt a flutter in her stomach and couldn’t help but grin. Another text came in.
Would you like to join me? I don’t bite.
The smile on her face grew and she suppressed a giggle. I think I would really like that, she replied.
Where are you staying? I’ll pick you up.
She texted back with her hotel information and he said he would only be a few minutes. She put a small backpack together with some snacks, a bottle of water and a couple other things she might need and went to the lobby to wait for him.
A few minutes later a black Audi pulled in front and Viktor stepped from the car. She quickly made note of the license plate as she began walking towards him and sent a text to her mom telling her where she was going and giving her the license plate of the rental car she was taking. She left out the fact that she was traveling with a man she just met. She didn’t want her mom to worry. But on the off chance that something did happen to her, she left enough information to help an investigation.
Viktor smiled when he caught sight of her.
“Thank you,” she said
