She was so beautiful. Fate brought us together in business class on a long flight from Israel to Newark. I boarded the plane, took my seat and wondered who was going to sit near me on this long flight. An interesting person can make it feel shorter.

She appeared like a queen. As she went through the pockets of her bags and started organizing her place. She didn’t waste a moment of her time and not one movement was without purpose. Slippers on her feet and she was ready to sit. It showed that she had a lot of experience in this department. The flight attendant offered her wine to drink and she chose Chardonnay to start.

I snuck glances at her and waited for a hint that showed attention on her part.
“Business or pleasure?” I asked and her answer gave me a sign of what was to come. “Business that brings me pleasure.”

She told me that she was returning from a meeting in an Israeli high-tech company headquarters which she represents in the U.S. The company deals with special sensors; ones that can sense anything from faraway.

I suggested she hire my mom because she can sense a problem with me from the other side of the world.

She smiled and dimples lit up her face. I told her about my business in construction and development, but I didn’t go into details. How could I compare brick and mortar to science fiction type technology?

Asia was in her early forties, born and raised in Beijing, studied seriously and achieved high grades. After university, she traveled to the U.S.A. on a full scholarship to study business management. Asia spoke fluent English in contrast to the level of my adopted language. Mrs. Shapira, my high school English teacher, told my mother that, unfortunately, I would probably never speak proper English. I just proved to her that she was right. But Asia understood my “Near English Quality,” (for those who remember the “NLQ” printers), and we could share ideas.

The conversation slowly moved on to more personal topics. I showed her pictures of my wife and kids. I was especially proud of my first grandson. She didn’t have anything to show me.
Asia told me her story. Years ago, she married a university professor who turned out to be interested in porn instead of reality. One day she made a decision to end that chapter of her life and begin a new one.

The new life she built was work and only work. From our back and forth I understood that she is very clever, her management style and business savvy were similar to my own. Attention to detail, and the search for endless improvement that leaves no time or energy for anything else. Her words were joyless; just technical lingo without any signs of life. In my mind’s eye, I saw a gloomy picture of a lost soul, captive within a business world that could easily go down the drain at any time and take her whole world with it. I decided to pull out the “roadmap to happiness” which I had at my disposal and my proven “navigation tools for a perfect life” to try and guide this good soul to a better life.

Very gently I began to explain to Asia that, in my opinion, God did not intend for people to live the way she did. His intent was not for a life of all work and no joy. Work is critical and valuable, but in life there are other values that are just as important. Asia seemed to be receptive to my ideas and it gave me the confidence to plot a route.

For me, sailing is a true joy. The cruises I’ve been on, brought me to many magical places. I knew she was captive in her world and one way to free her would be to introduce her to my magical places. I told her about Caribbean islands that are only three hours away from New Jersey, where time moves slower and those hours can pass sitting under a palm tree while gazing out at the azure seas with a rum punch in hand. In such an atmosphere everything looks different and life’s priorities adjust accordingly.

Asia took out a notebook and started taking notes. I didn’t want to sound like a travel agent, so I buried the details in cruise stories. I even told her stories about island hopping sailing trips she could join, even though I knew she wouldn’t dare do that.

I told her how my friend tipped out over the bow of our rubber dinghy head first only to come out of the water with his hat and glasses still intact. Asia and I had a good laugh over that only to notice a fellow traveler signaling us to quiet down. We realized that while he was trapped in a flying tin can, we were in the Virgin Islands, sailing free in a rubber dinghy. What a dichotomy!

Asia asked many questions and while I answered she continued her prolific note taking. At that time, I felt that she was comfortable with “sharing.” Her captured soul was releasing from its confinement.

I recalled my mother saying: “Only a stone lives alone,” (taken from a Polish saying).
In front of me sat a beautiful woman, not a stone, and she was very much alone.

With a smile I told her she needed to find a groom to visit the most romantic place I’d ever been. Sailing in the bay of Naples introduced me to the magical islands of Ischia and Capri, but especially, the Amalfi and Positano coasts. A perfect setting for a honeymoon.
We were still chatting when the captain suddenly announced it was time to prepare for landing. “What? We’re in Newark already?” she said and I also felt that this flight had been too short. I wasn’t ready for the landing.

When we got off the plane, we walked together and for a moment I lost touch with our surroundings. A tap on my shoulder brought me back to reality. It was my wife! It seems, I was so focused on my conversation with Asia that I didn’t notice her standing there. She was confused and didn’t understand what was going on. I introduced Asia and quickly explained about our journey-long conversation. Her look told me I was in store for a longer conversation later.

We said farewell to Asia and went on our way.

On the way home, I told my wife the story of the flight and thanked her for arranging a place for me in business class. A few days later I found a lovely note in my Inbox from Asia:

“It was nice meeting you. You made a long, boring flight so enjoyable!”

I felt good and life went on as usual. After a short while Asia wrote to me about a long weekend spent in St. Bart’s in the Caribbean which she enjoyed immensely. I wrote back that I was very happy to hear that. I realized she had taken the first steps on a new path.
A few months later, she wrote to me that she was dating a Jewish doctor and she hoped that I could meet him. I immediately invited them to our house for Saturday lunch. She had one request: “I want you to listen to his heart during the meeting and tell me if it is warm and
wide and if he is a good man.”

They arrived in a shiny new black sports car and Asia wore a fur coat over princess clothing. In my simple clothes, I felt like a mechanic whose client brought him a car so that he could check the engine. I shook these thoughts out of my head and invited them to catch up before we ate lunch. Because he grew up in the local area, we tried to find common places that we knew. I encouraged him to describe his work without getting into too much detail about his patients. He was a divorcé with young twins, little older than Asia, seemed responsible, was weak in the “small talk” department, didn’t feel good onboard boats, but otherwise appeared to be a good guy.

We had lunch and before dessert I took Asia outside to show her the yard. I left the guest with my wife, hoping that she would scope out any blemishes in his character. After all, she’s always been the best in finding mine.

Asia approached me and asked for my opinion. Her eyes twinkled and I realized she was probably in love with this man. “Good guy,” I said, “big heart.”

In her next e-mail, she told me they had taken a trip to the Amalfi Coast and Capri and that now they were preparing for their wedding. The wedding invitation arrived shortly after.
I knew right then and there that my part in her life was over. I was ready to land from our 30,000-foot journey.

I hope she lives happily ever after.