Page 6 of Fly with Me

He was wrong, because making the race tomorrow was something she couldn’t do. She was happy about what she’d done for the man on the plane. As soon as she’d sat down in the first empty airport terminal chair she saw, she wished she knew his name. Wished she’d be able to make sure he was okay.

Saving the man’s life would have made Jake so proud. She’d never gotten to tell Jake how proud she was of him because that wasn’t really a normal thing to tell your brother.

Olive’s phone battery had died at some point during the flight. She’d spent the day checking to see if her family had texted her back. It didn’t make sense that she wished they were coming tomorrow. She closed her eyes and visualized the photo of Jake at the finish line from last year. His freakishly tall form was flanked by her parents and her then very pregnant sister. The medal was around his neck, and an amazingly goofy smile was on his face. Olive was supposed to have been there, and she wasn’t.

So much had changed in a year.

Her parents probably canceled their hotel room. There was no way Heather would be coming either. She hadn’t seen her sister or her niece and nephew for months. Probably for the best. Every conversation ended in threats and accusations involving lawyers and doctors and probate court.

It was all too much.

Olive’s head bowed over her knees.

They would see her missing the race as another piece of evidence against her.

Selfish, thoughtless, and a complete disappointment.

For now, she might as well sleep here until she could rent a car and drive in the morning. Race or not, she had a three-day stay planned at Disney World already paid for, and she’d make the best of it.

“You’re crying,” said a melodic voice.

Allied Airlines pilot Stella Soriano stood in front of her.

Olive wiped her cheeks. “I know I’m crying.” Fuck, she had snot dripping out of her nose too. So attractive.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Olive wrapped her arms around herself and sniffled.

“But you’re crying.” She accentuated the last word as though Olive didn’t know what the wet stuff leaking onto her cheeks was.

“I know.” Olive stood, disliking the way it felt to have this gorgeous pilot towering over her while she blubbered like an idiot. Though even standing, Olive was five inches shorter than Stella. “I’m fine is the socially acceptable response when you’re having an emotional breakdown in public and you don’t want to make people feel like they need to comfort you.”

“But it doesn’t actually explain whether you do, in fact, need to be comforted. Notwithstanding whether or not the person witnessing the outburst would feel compelled to comfort you. The question is whether or not you should be comforted, which, my assumption based on the tears is that you do. Need to be comforted, that is.”

It took Olive several seconds to parse the meaning of those sentences. “You talk really fast.”

The corners of Stella’s eyes crinkled in amusement. Olive stared down at her feet, which looked so informal in their scuffed-up Chuck Taylors beside Stella’s perfect patent leather.

“I get that a lot.” Stella appraised her. “What’s wrong, Olive? It is Olive, isn’t it? I realized that we didn’t actually give you a chance to introduce yourself, so I had to look up your name on the register.”

“Yeah, Olive Murphy.”

“So, what’s wrong?”

Olive shifted her weight between her sneakers, looking anywhere except at Stella. “I’m supposed to be running a half-marathon tomorrow.”

“Are you disappointed to miss it after spending a lot of time training?”

“No… I probably didn’t even train enough.” Olive’s forehead dipped.

“Maybe it’s for the best you can’t do it, then.”

Can’t. God, Olive hated that stupid word.

Olive wiped her face, happy at least that the tears had stopped flowing. “It’s complicated. And I really wanted to be there. Needed to be there.”

“If it’s so important, why did you decide to go out with so little schedule padding? What if there was a weather cancellation?” The words weren’t impatient. But their tone was like what Olive used with pediatric patients when she asked why they decided to put the quarter/jelly bean/Monopoly piece up their respective noses.

---