I saw her nervously roaming around the lobby of the hotel I was staying at and decided to confront her.
Surprised that I had recognized her in what she insisted wasn't a disguise but merely her "summer outfit," she finally broke down and confessed to having travelled all the way from India to see me.
She said she never would have imagined doing anything so crazy as to fall in love with a married man who lived halfway around the world.
When I told her I wasn't married, she broke down into tears.
I took her in my arms to comfort her and she kissed me passionately on the lips, apologizing afterwards for being so forthcoming.
She was relieved by what I had just told her and at the same time overwhelmed by the whole experience, blaming jet lag and her long trip for the indiscretion.
I told her I had admired her from afar all these years but never considered pursuing her taking into consideration the fact that she lived so far away and was famous back in her own country.
I said I would marry her and she broke down into tears again as she threw herself into my arms.
I looked her in the eyes and asked her if she had really given serious consideration to the fact that she would be marrying a much older man.
She quickly recoiled and asked me how old I was and when I told her, a look of dread appeared on her face; she then expressed her anger towards me for never telling her how old I was.
I replied by saying how it never came up in our conversations and that she should have clearly known I was older by the mere fact she knew I had older adult children.
Incensed, she started to walk away but I quickly grabbed her hand and told her that marrying an older man was a good thing; that I had a lifetime of experiences, children she could call her own and, perhaps the most interesting "perk" was that I would die while she'd still be young enough to marry again and enjoy a long and happy marriage to a new husband.
She reluctantly agreed to stay and suggested we go out for lunch.
Shocked to discover that it was almost lunchtime, I suddenly remembered I had only booked my hotel room for one night and seeing how it was already 1:42 in the afternoon and I had missed the 12:00 check-out, I told her I needed to get to my room and collect my things and check out before we headed out to lunch.
Running to the elevator, I realized I had left my wallet, phone and, more important, my hotel keycard in my room.
I decided to go to the reception desk to tell them I had overslept, forgotten my keycard in my room and ask to be let in so I could get my belongings.
I noticed a long line at the reception desk but I took a place and soon a hotel employee told me to go to window 3 to the left.
Due to COVID-19 protocols I could not approach the window and had to awkwardly speak to the front desk clerk through a speaker behind a plexiglass barrier.
I told her I had locked my key in my room and had overslept past the check-out time.
Looking at me with an expression on her face that suggested she had heard it all before, she responded by saying "I suppose you want to talk to the manager."
Then I woke up.
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