by Dusty
It was to be a day of traveling. A short trip for her. A non-stop 2 hour flight to Memphis. For him it would be three changes of planes, in four cities, taking over 9 hours to arrive in Memphis. They talked every day. They hadn�t seen each other for 8 months.
Two other tired travelers boarded the plane in Oslo. They had barely recovered from their trip to Oslo two days earlier. This concert tour has been great. A lot of exposure, tickets sold out in every arena, and just plain fun. But today their mission was to travel to Memphis, the beginning of their US tour. Their dreams had come true. They had formed a band, worked hard, and now they were known and adored throughout the world as �Savage Garden�.
He was prepared for the journey. Most of what he was bringing to the US was in his suitcase, which he checked at the baggage counter as soon as he got to the airport. He smiled to himself when he thought of all the gifts he was bringing to her��but the biggest smile was the thought of her squealing with delight at the map of Norway he had gotten her.
He had concealed a liter of Norwegian moonshine in his vest�an idea he had gotten from his daughter. Sipping moonshine and reading his book (a paperback story of the American West) would get him through the long flight just fine. Belt buckled securely, seat in the upright position, tray table securely fastened �.he had followed all the rules put forth by the aging flight attendant with the heavy make-up and large ass.. He reached for his book.
Damn!! No book! He had left it on the ticket counter! Too late now to retrieve it. The plane would be leaving in a few minutes. But he patted the stash of moonshine in his vest, sat back, closed his eyes, and waited for the rest of the passengers to finish boarding and the plane to take off.
�Are you in row 19?� Magnum was startled awake from his short nap. He opened his eyes to two pleasant-looking young men, who were eyeing the seats on either side of him. �Yes, this is row 19, and I believe these are your seats� �Welcome!�
Darren and Daniel glanced quickly toward each other. You never know who you end up sitting with on these flights, but this guy looked pleasant enough�..a distinguished looking man in his�.um, 50�s?�..dressed comfortably in jeans, a tee-shirt and a black leather vest (with a bulge under the left pocket) white beard, blue eyes and a Norwegian accent. They took their assigned seats. They heard the roar of the engines. Soon the flight was air born.
After a few minutes, Magnum was already missing his book. What to do??? The flight attendant had delivered Cokes. He felt the weight of the hooch in his vest pocket. He glanced at his seatmates�one on either side of him. �Hi, my name is �Magnum� he said to either of his companions. Darren and Daniel both were feigning sleep, and telepathing to each other, deciding who would be the one to speak first and end up talking with this guy. Darren finally said �hello�.
Magnum said, �I am traveling to Memphis to see my American girlfriend. We haven�t been together in 8 months, and I am so excited to see her. I�m bringing her a map of Norway!� �Where are you guys heading?�
Darren was tired. Ok, he thought to himself. No sleep for us this flight. Here we go.
�We are Darren and Daniel, members of an Australian band called Savage Garden. We have just left a gig in Oslo and tomorrow night we will start our American tour in Memphis.
�OH��.MY��.GOD� were the only words the Norwegian could sputter.
�My name is Magnum.. My daughter is a beautiful girl who worships Secret Garden! She was at your concert last night! Hell, she dropped me at the airport this morning!!�
Daniel slightly opened one of his eyes �SAVAGE Garden�.not Secret Garden�.
�Sorry� said Magnum. But his head was reeling already. He was on a plane with two of Cleo�s idols. This was gonna be a damn good flight after all! Imagine Cleo, if she only knew he was speaking to Darren and Daniel of Secret Garden!!!!
He reached into his vest pocket, pulled out the concealed container of moonshine, and poured some into his Coke. �Care for some?� he asked Darren and Daniel. �It�s homemade Norwegian moonshine!� �No thank you sir� they replied.
Magnum gushed on�..�My daughter loves you! She has a website devoted to Secret Garden! She would be so jealous to know that I am sitting with you right now! My girlfriend also knows of you and loves your music. Did I mention I�m on my way to see my girlfriend Cassie? I�m bringing her a map of Norway.
He ordered another Coke and poured in some more moonshine.
Daniel talked this time. �Well, that is very flattering to hear, Magnum� �And by the way, the name is SAVAGE Garden�. But he couldn�t help but begin to like this enthusiastic Norwegian who kept calling them �Secret Garden�. �What the hell, give me a slug of that moonshine!�
And so the flight went. Magnum, Darren and Daniel talking, laughing, trading stories, and over and over again, reminding Magnum that the name of the band was SAVAGE, SAVAGE, SAVAGE Garden! Throughout their day of travel they stuck together�.Magnum because he was so happy to meet the celebrities�.Darren and Daniel because this new Norwegian friend of theirs was just too drunk to leave on his own. Magnum was their responsibility now. Once they were in Memphis, they could deliver his body to his American girlfriend, Cassie, and they could be on their way.
Cassie boarded her plane in Minneapolis. She was excited to finally see Magnum again, but worried that he wouldn�t be there when she got off the plane. She loved him, but had to admit she was worried. He wasn�t a savvy traveler. The first time she met him, he had missed his connection in Newark, and he was over 24 hours late in arriving. She talked to him before he left Oslo and reminded him to pay attention�..just bring a book along to read and DON�T GET DRUNK!!!
The engines throttled up for the landing. She was finally in Memphis. Would Magnum be there? Did he remember the map???
Cautiously she left her seat, got in the single file line and slowly made her way off the plane. She followed the sounds of the footsteps ahead of her. A bright light�.the entrance into the terminal! Ahead of her she saw her fellow passengers being met by their loved ones�flowers, hugs, kisses, laughter. �.
She sat alone. All of the passengers had been met and swept away. They were probably already retrieving their bags at the baggage claim carousel. The only people left in the giant expanse of the terminal were a neatly groomed, gay flight attendant at the counter, and in the corner, two men leaning over a man who was obviously sick.
Damn! She was a nurse, but she had the next 10 days off of work. Now during the first hour of her vacation she was confronted with a situation like she�d seen hundreds of times before. She should probably walk over and see what the problem was. She could help the young men with the older sick man. By the time she was done helping, maybe Magnum would be there. She rolled her eyes, sighed and walked toward the pathetic group.
It hit her like slow lightening. As she approached, she heard someone say the word �Cassie�. One of the young men was slapping the face of the man on the floor. �What is her last name?� he said. The other man said, �Magnum, you�ve got to sober up. We�ve got a concert to play in 4 hours!� �We�ve got to get going, man�. �We just want to help you find Cassie before we go.� She recognized the vest that the man on the floor was wearing. She bought it at Christmas�.for Magnum!! She quickened her step toward the curious group of 3 men.
Their eyes met.
�Hi honey,� he said
�Oh you poor baby, get up!� Cassie said softly.
Magnum smiled a huge grin�..�Cassie honey�.these are my new friends, Darren and Daniel. They are from the Australian band���the one Cleo loves so much��.Schrecret Gshdarden�
The Savage Garden members looked toward Cassie with obvious relief. �Savage Garden� they said in unison.
Cassie introduced herself, and offered her thanks, and apology for the trouble they had taken with Magnum. They smiled and said, �no problem�.we enjoyed the old guy�. Daniel pulled an envelope from his pocket. �Here, get this to Cleo from us�.
�Thanks� said Cassie. �I will make sure she gets it�.
Darren and Daniel walked toward the hallway to the baggage claim. Cassie helped Magnum get up from the floor and brushed the dirt off his shirt and pants. He kissed her. They slowly made their own way to the baggage claim. Him staggering, her stopping and waiting.
The only bag left was Magnum�s. While he stumbled after it on the rotating carousel, she looked into the envelope Daniel had given her for Cleo. Inside were tickets to ALL of the upcoming Savage Garden US concerts, along with airfare and pocket money. She smiled. Cleo was going to be one happy girl!!!
Magnum limped back with his suitcase.
�I love you�
�I love you too�
�I remembered the map!�
�Good boy!�
They hopped into their rental car, a Corvette convertible�
On the freeway from the airport they passed a car�
Another convertible���.
Darren at the wheel��..
He and Daniel spotted Cassie and Magnum and waved��.
Magnum stood up on his knees in his seat�..with his arms high in the air, he shouted out into the Memphis sunset�. �.
�Secret Garden Rocks!!!!!!�
Darren and Daniel looked at each other�.
hesitated just a few seconds�.
then threw their heads back in laugher!!
