Olivia sat at her desk reading the latest postcard she had received. This one was from a group of young musicians from a middle school in Scarsdale. There were fourteen of them on this particular trip, and Olivia had assisted them with their entire journey. While she was creating their itinerary, she couldn’t help but feel a bit envious of the lives these young adults had. She could hardly imagine traveling from New York to Florida when she was eleven or twelve, let alone going to Germany and Austria! But these talented students were exploring cities such as Munich, Vienna, and Salzburg. They would be performing a concert in Salzburg on their last night in the refined city. Olivia just stared at the card, reading words of gratitude and appreciation for her assistance. From what was written on the postcard, she was happy to read of the amazing time they were having. She was also glad to know that she had successfully created lifelong memories for yet another group of travelers. She carefully hung the card on her desk wall, the front of the card was a gorgeous shot of Neuschwanstein Castle—it had been a lifelong dream of Olivia’s to make her way to the fairy-tale castle, “someday”, she thought, “someday I’ll get there…”
Olivia often found herself living vicariously through her clients. She would arrange the most spectacular trips, and would include cities, towns, and villages that she herself wanted so desperately to experience. Of course, she had made her way to Europe many times, but mainly just Western Europe. Destinations such as Paris, and Rome, and London could be found numerous times in her passport. But of course, being in the travel industry, and reading the latest travel magazines, destinations in Europe are more than what they used to be. Sure, travelers are still going to Paris, and London, but mainly just using these cities as a starting point. Once they arrive in a major city, a whole world awaits them. People are getting adventurous, traveling to smaller towns and villages throughout France, Switzerland, and Italy. Then there are the truly seasoned travelers who are looking to experience places like Prague, Budapest, Zagreb, and Dubrovnik. With the many advances in transportation, these places are so easily reached now.
Her thoughts disrupted by the ringing of the telephone, Olivia quickly answered.
“Get Ya There Travel, Olivia speaking, how can I help you?”
The voice on the other end was not that of a customer, it was Brian. Brian and Olivia had been an exclusive couple for just under five years. Their friends and family were puzzled at the fact that they had not yet tied the knot.
“I’m sorry to return your call so late, trying to finish up my paperwork for this case. I wanted to let you know early on in the day that I can’t make it for dinner tonight, I have so much work to do for court tomorrow.”
Olivia and Brian live separately, they have tried to follow a traditional courting. They spend quite a bit of time together despite their separate dwellings though. Times like now however, Olivia barely sees him. Brian is a Defense Attorney, currently assigned to a huge case. They’ve been trying to meet for dinner for the past four days with no luck. In just under a month’s time they will be celebrating their 5th anniversary together. The dinner that they keep postponing is to make plans for their anniversary. The fact that Brian keeps canceling is getting Olivia a bit paranoid. She’s managed to convince herself that he doesn’t want to make plans because he’s found someone else and just doesn’t know how to break it to her. Not wanting to get into a confrontation with him, she says “okay, no big deal, there’s always tomorrow. Oh, I have to go, my other line is ringing.” He says, “ok, love you”, and hangs up. She didn’t really have to go, the other line hadn’t rung at all. She just knew she was going to get upset carrying on the conversation and didn’t want to make him feel bad. She stared at the phone; the curls in her long brown hair outlining her porcelain-like face with a gentle tear resting on her cheek. She quickly wiped her face with a tissue and stopped thinking about the call.
Olivia gets back to work, and tries to focus on her next clients. She has been hired to work on an itinerary for four High School seniors. Two couples which have evidently been together forever. They called in and advised what they were looking to do.
“We want to have fun, but also want to visit some romantic spots, and in general visit the touristy places in Europe.”
That didn’t give Olivia too much to work with. She attempted putting together a sample itinerary, but then realized she had no idea how long they were looking to travel for. The group was coming in this afternoon to discuss their plans further. Their appointment was rapidly approaching, so Olivia jotted a few hot spots down, and awaited their arrival. “London, Paris, Amsterdam, Prague…” all places that Olivia felt had charm and style and would be enjoyed by high school graduates. Three o’clock finally came around, and Keith brought her clients to her desk.
Keith, an older man, owned the agency where Olivia was employed. He was a very attractive man, tall, light brown hair with hints of blonde, and the brightest blue eyes you’ve ever seen. Keith had been married twice, and after the second marriage didn’t work out, he decided to buy a town house, and move in with his beagle, Toby. If you were to ask Keith why his marriages failed, he would tell you it was because he was too much of a gentleman for his wives. He was into buying flowers just because, and going out for a nice dinner, followed by a relaxing stroll through Central Park. The women he was with were way too independent for him. They did not want to be wined and dined, rather they wanted to be in control of the relationship and make all of the plans and decisions. It always brought a glimmer of hope to Keith when he would see couples in love. To see hand holding, and other displays of affection, just gave him hope that romance does still exist.
“Allow me to introduce you to our very best coordinator, this is Ms. Olivia Green, she will assist you with your travel plans.” Keith left the group of four in very capable hands. Olivia greeted the group of teens and invited them to take a seat. She spoke with them for a few minutes to get a feel for what type of people they were. This was something she often did with her clients.
“Well, after spending the previous thirteen years in school, we want to go out and see the world, and have as much fun as we can while doing it!” Another voice spoke up, “Hi, I’m Jack, this is my girlfriend Monica. We want to go to Paris and stand at the top of the Eiffel Tower, hand in hand, watching the spectacular city all around us.”
“Ms. Green, you see, we’ve been friends since Kindergarten, we’ve shared so many memories. This trip is kind of like a last gathering before we part ways for college. My boyfriend, Connor, has enlisted in the US Marines, and I will be going to school in California, far from Jack and Monica. Our lives are about to change, and we want to be able to look back at this summer as some of the best times we ever had.”
Olivia now understood the intent of the trip and she began putting destinations and ideas in their heads. In two hours time, Olivia had created a magical trip that she wished she could be a part of! She had gotten to know so much about these four people that she felt like she had been part of their group.
“Okay, I think we’re set here. I’ll begin checking availability and working out the details and will contact you with the final cost, and final itinerary.”
“Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us, and creating such a fantastic trip.” The four walked out, and Olivia began to think.
She was remembering her high school and college days. She attended a small rural high school where everyone knew everyone else, there were no secrets, and life seemed great! When she left for college, she had hopes of keeping in touch with high school friends, but things sometimes don’t work out the way you plan them to. In a very somber mood now, she looked at the clock, 5:15pm, “wow, can’t believe the day is over already” she thought. She was packing up and getting ready to leave for the day when Keith came up to her desk.
“So, what exciting plans do you have for this evening, Liv?”
Looking at him, she shook her head and said “absolutely none. Brian and I were supposed to meet for dinner this evening, but he’s so busy working on his deposition that he canceled on me, again.”
“Aww, that’s a shame” Keith replied.
“What about you, what are you up to tonight?” Olivia asked.
Keith responded, “oh, well it turns out a friend of mine wanted to take me to dinner, so I’ll be heading home to change, and meet him.”
“Sounds nice, enjoy yourself! Goodnight Keith, see you bright and early tomorrow morning…”
“Goodnight Olivia, try to relax, you look a bit out of sorts today. I’ll be home later this evening, if you want to talk, please give me a call.”
Olivia thanked him, and walked out. |
