Page 62 of Hale Yes
Helix’s eyes flash to me, and I shrug that I don’t really care. “Sure,” he replies. “We can all go.”
Ma and Angelica come downstairs just as we’re putting the food on the dining room table. We discuss tonight’s party while we eat, and my sister is in her element, the center of attention, just how she likes it.
Rory rests an arm on the back of Angelica’s chair. “Babe, Helix is taking us to the airport to check out his plane. We all get to go. Won’t that be cool?”
Her head whips to the side like something out of a horror movie, her eyes burning like lasers. “Wewon’t be going anywhere. Have you forgotten our engagement party is tonight?”
He chuckles and darts his gaze nervously around the table before coming back to his fiancée’s. “Baaaabe, that’s, like, eleven hours away. And you said you got that event planner lady so you wouldn’t have to do anything today and could just relax.”
An event planner? Who the hell paid for that?
Not my circus, not my monkeys,I try to remind myself on repeat.
After Angelica forbids Rory from going with us and Ma declines, Pop, Helix, and I head to the airport.
My dad is in hog heaven. He’s toured the entire plane and even got to sit in the cockpit. Now he’s up on one of those moving ladder things with one of the mechanics inspecting the engine.
“You’ve made his day. Heck, probably his entire year,” I tell Helix as we watch Pop check his phone, frown, and tap out a message before sticking his head back near the engine.
“I hope it was okay that I offered. He seemed genuinely interested, but I didn’t want to come across as… you know…” He shrugs, and his lips twist to the side.
I grip his bicep, andholy beakers! This man is firm. “Not at all. I appreciate you indulging him.”
Helix loops an arm around my shoulders, playing the part of the doting boyfriend. Only… the feel of his warm body next to mine makes me wish this wasn’t fake.
“I wanted to run this by you before I mentioned it to your dad, but I asked Eliora how long it would take to get a flight plan approved. I thought maybe Mr. Bell would like to go for a quick ride.”
Eliora Dubois is the pilot that flew us here. She’s a lovely woman in her forties with dark-brown eyes and a no-nonsense raven bob that hits about chin length.
My eyes almost pop out of my head. “He would freaking love that! What did she say?”
“She said for a short trip, the FAA would probably approve it within the hour since it’s not too busy here today.”
It’s impossible to describe how excited I am for my dad, and my affection for Helix Hale grows by leaps and bounds. The costto just fire up this plane is probably more than Pop makes in a month.
“I think it’s been years since he’s been on an airplane,” I say, “and as far as I know, he’s never been on a private jet.”
Helix’s grin is as big as my own. “Let’s talk to him and see what he thinks.” He seems genuinely happy, as if doing this for a man he met yesterday brings him actual joy.
I look up at Pop to find him scowling at his phone again as he types. “Pop, can you come down here for a second?” I call, and a few seconds later, he’s back on the ground. I nudge Helix since this is his plane and his idea.
When he presents the offer, my father’s neck cranes in astonishment. “Are you fucking serious?”
Helix laughs. “Yes sir, Mr. Bell. Can I assume you’re interested?”
“Well, hell yes, I am. And call me Albert.”
“Okay, Albert. I’ll give the pilot a call.”
When Pop’s phone rings, he checks it and then rolls his eyes as he holds up a finger. “Let me just grab this. It’s Bridget.”
He walks off and places the phone against his ear. We can’t hear my mother’s side of the conversation, but we get the gist of it from what Pop is saying.
“I thought we paid the venue extra since they have an in-house florist… Then why do you want me to come back? I don’t know anything about flowers… Seriously, Bridget? You need me to come and help you decide where to put the centerpieces? Put them in the damn center of the tables… What? I don’t even know what an aesthetic is. Sounds like some kind of anti-inflammatory pill.”
I’m getting a bad feeling about this, and when my eyes meet Helix’s, I can tell he’s getting the same vibe.
Pop throws his hands in the air, and his voice lowers, though it’s still audible due to the echoing acoustics in the hangar.
