Page 8 of Love at First Flight

“Well, that’s why I study the pi-ball. I noticed at one thousand feet up, the balloon shifts directions, the wind going north, northwest. But look at it now.” She pointed toward the pi-ball as if it was clear. “At fifteen hundred feet, it’s now going south. By taking the hot-air balloon up and down to catch these different streams, I can better control the direction. When you’ve been doing it awhile, you start to get a feel of the wind, letting it work with you. Flying a hot-air balloon is both science and art.”

“Yeah, it sounds like it,” he replied, his eyes reflecting amazement and admiration. She blushed but took a quick drink from her coffee to hide it.

“Dex? What the hell? Am I allowed to open my eyes yet?” The annoyed voice came from the open door of the van, snapping them from their current conversation.

Dex shuffled away as though he’d forgotten something important. “God! Sorry, yes!”

The other passenger poked her head from the vehicle as she looked around with an expectant expression on her face, bracing her hands against the sides of the van opening, as though anticipating something amazing before her.

Dex spread his arms, as if making a big reveal. “Surprise!”

Her expression fell to befuddlement with a hint of disappointment, her lips twisting in a slight frown. “You brought me out to... a field?”

Selah exchanged a look with her sister while taking another busy sip of her coffee. To be fair, theywerein the middle of a field and with only the gondola, and the fuel tanks for the burners visible at this point, it didn’t appear to be much. But, on the other hand, it was a big goddamn basket, enough to fit at least six people, and should have given some kind of hint.

Dex didn’t appear to be discouraged as he took the woman by the hand, drawing her out of the van. “Come here. I want you to meet someone.” He brought her over to Selah, and she was struck by the woman’s appearance. She looked like she could be a flamenco dancer, simply based on her sharp, striking facial features and graceful height.

Selah could understand why someone like Dex, or anyone, would want to marry this woman. It was silly of her to even consider she’d have a shot’s chance in hell at pulling anyone’s attention when this woman existed in the world... that wasifshe was trying to capture anyone’s attention, which she wasn’t, because she was a professional.

“Ava, this is Selah, our pilot. She’s going to take us on a hot-air balloon ride this morning.”

To the woman’s credit, the disappointment evaporated from her face, replaced with a happier expression. “What? Really? You’re taking me on a hot-air balloon ride? Aw, Dexy.” Ava curled into him, her voice purring.

With that, everything was well again, and Selah went through the process of explaining safety rules for passengers before they pulledThe Blue Wonderfrom the black nylon bag to set things up.

Their two passengers willingly got involved in getting the balloon ready, stretching it out across the surface of the ground in front of the gondola. Although Dex was more into it than Ava. She treated it like a task and with efficiency. Dex asked a lot of questions, wanting to understand everything. Selah may have caught Ava rolling her eyes once or twice, but Selah found his curiosity entertaining. She liked that he took an interest in everything.

Selah distracted herself from thinking about it too much by dragging out a giant fan that would partially inflate the envelope while it was on the ground and the chase crew hooked up the burners inside the basket. Taking people up in a floating device made of fabric, wicker, and metal, with a couple of fuel tanks and the wind to make the whole thing work, was something any pilot took seriously, especially since people were putting their lives in her hands. She needed to get in a pilot frame of mind, and this meant forgetting about Dex and how cute it was when his eyes crinkled with pleasure.

When everything was hooked up, she fitted herself into the gondola, which still rested on its side, and turned on the main burner. As the envelope filled with the heated air, the gondola lifted upright. This was when she felt the coolest, when she let the burner blaze, feeling like the flame-throwing guitar player in the movieMad Max: Fury Road, as she got the basket in position for loading.

Time to get serious.

He was no different from any other passenger.

He was getting married, and she didn’t need the distraction anyway.

*

“Uh, and there’sCrescent Moon Farms. You can see all the alpacas are already grazing.” Selah made sure to switch to the secondary or whisper burner as she did a burst, creating more hot air pressure within the envelope. It wasn’t as powerful as her main burner, but it was quieter, so as not to scare the animals below.

Even those who grew up in Central Oregon were excited to see things from an entirely new perspective. Except this was one of the few times where Selah struggled to keep things interesting. She was the opening act to something better, trying to keep the audience’s attention until the main act (the proposal) came along. So far, the audience (Ava) was a tough crowd. The woman wasn’t rude, but Selah had the impression that riding in a hot-air balloon wasn’t meeting her usual level of excitement. After making Dex take a dozen photos and videos of her for social media accounts, Ava became resigned to watching the landscape lazily slide by while sighing every so often.

There was a reason High Desert Tours no longer allowed children under twelve on their flights. After the initial excitement in launching up into the air, traveling in a hot-air balloon was a very chill experience. Kids would get bored after about ten minutes, and it made for a long hour-and-a-half flight when they’d start to fuss. Ava wasn’t a child, and she didn’t fuss, but it was clear that she was growing bored as she leaned forward, resting her elbow on the edge of the basket with her chin propped on her hand. Dex didn’t notice her lack of excitement as he pointed out surrounding landmarks, offering regional nature facts like in-flight snacks. If it weren’t for Ava, Selah would have enjoyed this tour immensely. She liked Dex’s enthusiasm. Plus, all she had to do was pilot and leave the tour guide part to him.

“Do you guys ever offer bungee jumping off the balloons?” Ava asked her, interrupting Dex.

“Oh, uh, no.” Her sister, Naomi, may come up with some unique ideas for the business, but even she would never come up with something that wild. Imagining how it would increase their insurance rates, more than they already were, gave Selah sweaty palms.

She pretended to be busy as she checked her tablet and brought out a small handful of the petals her sister packed in the paper bag. She’d much rather have used bark or, even better, a bag of chips because then she’d also have a snack, but the flower petals worked well too. Dropping them off the side of the basket, she watched the petals flutter downward before they were swept away by a strong breeze about two hundred feet below them. This was the stream she planned to take on the return trip.

Ugh, what was taking Dex so long? For some unknown reason, Selah wanted the whole proposal to be done so everyone could move on with their lives. She looked over, catching him watch the petals float away, his hand going to the pocket on the right side of his chest.

God. Was the ring loose inside his pocket at two thousand feet in the air? She didn’t notice any jewelry box outline or anything. When her gaze lifted, it caught his. It was a pair of eyes she wanted to look right back and see her.

Of course, this wouldn’t happen because he was already taken... and also because she was wearing a pair of aviators and a hat, giving her protection from the weather and any unwanted scrutiny. Dex blinked, his attention shifting away as he cleared his throat and nervously ran a hand through recently trimmed hair, as though trying to make himself more presentable as he positioned himself closer to Ava.

“Hey, is that an eagle over there?” Dex asked, pointing in a direction for his girlfriend to follow.

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