The Next Person You Meet in Heaven(4)

“It’s all right,” Paulo said.

“I’ll get the next one—”

“That’s fine—”

“Normally, I have my GPS—”

“It doesn’t—”

“But I left it at home—”

“Don’t worry—”

“That guy came up so fast—”

“It’s OK,” Paulo said, squeezing Annie’s fingers. “We’re enjoying the ride.”

He smiled at his bride and she smiled back, with no idea of how the world had just changed.



As the limo made its turn, heading back onto the highway, Annie noticed, through the rain, flashing taillights up ahead. A small, boxy vehicle was pulled over on the shoulder, and a man was crouched beside it, soaking wet. As the limo approached, the stranger stood and waved.

“We should stop,” Annie said.

“Really?” Paulo said. “He’s drenched. He needs help.”

“He’ll probably be fine—”

“Sir, can you pull over?”

The driver eased in front of the stalled car. Annie looked at Paulo. “We can start our marriage with an act of kindness,” she said.

“For good luck,” Paulo said.

“Right,” Annie said, although she was tempted to add she thought their marriage was already good luck.

Paulo pushed the door open. Rain drummed the pavement. “Hey, buddy!” Paulo hollered. “Trouble?”

The man nodded as Paulo approached. “My wife’s car,” he yelled. “The tire’s flat. And of course she doesn’t have a jack in the trunk. Do you have one?”

“A wife?”

“A jack.”

“I’m kidding.”

“Oh.”

Rain ran down both their faces. “I bet the limo has one.”

“That’d be great.”

“Gimme a second.”

Paulo darted to the trunk of the limousine, smiling at Annie and making exaggerated arm motions, like a movie actor running in slow motion. The driver hit a button, the trunk opened, Paulo found the jack, and ran back to the stranded motorist.

“Thanks a lot,” the man said. “Wives, you know?”

“Well, I’m not an expert,” Paulo said.



Eight hours left. Annie watched through the rear window as Paulo and Tolbert wiped their palms on a rag. The tire had been changed. They chatted in the rain.

Annie fingered her wedding ring. She saw the men laugh. Paulo, standing closest to the highway, turned towards Annie and raised the stranger’s wrist, as if signaling they were champions. For a moment, she felt amazed at her good fortune: a new husband in a wet tuxedo, so handsome he nearly glowed.

And then she realized the glow was from headlights. A car was coming up fast behind Paulo, illuminating his silhouette. Annie felt a rush of panic. She yelled his name. But Tolbert grabbed Paulo’s arm and yanked him aside.

The car zoomed past.

Annie slumped in her seat.



“Hey, look at this,” Paulo said, sliding in all wet beside her and holding up a business card. “The guy runs hot air balloons—”

Annie grabbed him. “Oh, my God!” she gushed, between kissing his wet cheeks and his wet hair and forehead. “I thought that car was going to hit you.”

“Yeah, he was going fast. Good thing that guy—” Paulo saw her relief and took her face in his hands. “Hey. Annie. Hey.” He squinted as if peering deep inside her. “I’m fine. No big deal. Nothing’s gonna happen to me. We just got married.”

Tears filled Annie’s eyes.

“Let’s get to the hotel,” she whispered.

“To the hotel!” Paulo announced.

The driver pulled away.



Do you know what causes wind? High pressure meeting low pressure. Warm meeting cold. Change. Change causes wind. And the bigger the change, the stronger the wind blows.

Life is much the same. One change blows in another. After the flat tire, the balloonist named Tolbert, concerned about driving on a spare, changed his plans and went home instead of to work, as he normally did this early on weekends. He called his assistant pilot and said, “Handle things until noon, OK?”

That assistant, a bearded young man named Teddy, changed his plans as he groggily replied, “No problem.” He made coffee and got dressed.

Annie and Paulo, having shed their wedding clothes and shared a bed for the first time as a married couple, changed their plans as the sun began its rise through their hotel curtains. Annie stroked Paulo’s hair as Paulo pushed into the pillow.

“Oh, man, I am beat!”

But Annie did not want things to end.

“If we don’t go to sleep, technically it’s still our wedding night, right?”

“I guess.”

“In that case …”

She leaned over him and swiped a business card off the nightstand.

“A balloon ride!” Annie said.

“Noooo—”

“Yessss—”

“No-no-no—”

“Yes-yes-yes—”

“Annie—so impetuous!”

“I know. It’s not like me. But I saw a balloon as we were saying our vows. Maybe it was a sign. The card says ‘sunrise trips.’ ”