She's my reward.

I'm airborne. On a 2-hour flight (Feb. 9) to Beauvais, north of Paris. First leg on my way home to Minnesota. I'm the next to last passenger to board. No reserved seats on RyanAir, one of Europe's many economy airlines. You find your own seat. And many rush to board. To get premium choice. But I don't hurry. Doesn't matter where I sit. It's a relatively short flight. And cheap. Only 54 euros. Passengers limited to one relatively tiny carry-on bag. Maximum weight 10 kilos or about 22 pounds. That can be a problem. A purse or briefcase counts as a bag. Anyway, no need to rush. The plane is maybe 10 percent vacant. I get an aisle seat. Just over the wing. The middle seat vacant. The window seat occupied by a young woman. Maybe in her 20s. Don't know yet if I'll attempt a chit-chat. Likely she doesn't speak English. Unless she's a tourist. Might be. She's alone. And assuming that most women tourists don't travel alone. Though maybe I'm wrong about that. My Italian true love, for instance, used to travel alone. All the time. To Britain. To the Scandanavian countries. Even to Africa. Now we travel together. To Scotland. To Iceland. To Germany. To the Italian Alps. To Venice. To Trieste. To Rome. Today, I'm alone. And comfortable with it. Because in most European countries, English is a second language. Easy to get by. With English. Not so much in Italy. But certainly in Germany. I'm more comfortable in the company of my true love. She's an experienced traveler. I rely on her know-how. Oddly, when we are together, getting lost is more likely. Maybe it's that I pay more attention to where I'm going when traveling alone. I'm more careful. I too often assume my true love is paying attention. That she'll be the trusted pathfinder. The navigator. That she knows the route. Knows the routine. Everything. Often, she doesn't. So we get lost. Doesn't scare me. I like getting lost. With her. For the sake of adventure. She gets rattled. Easily. I tell her, don't worry. Be happy. Savor the experience of finding our way once again. We always do. My true love gives me courage. To travel. That's the way I get to see her. I am motivated. By my true love. In the end, she's my reward. --Jim Broede