Page 46 of Sparks
I felt awful for getting so defensive. I put my face in my pillow and inhaled the lavender oil Cheryl had sprayed. Screw this day and the one before it, and the one before that too.Exhale. Tomorrow was a new day and I was going to make things right.
My stomach was in a tight knot when I rolled my bag into the Omega Skies crew room. I spotted Silas down the hall talking to a handsome, middle-aged pilot I assumed was going to be our captain today. Silas looked dapper in his navy slacks and white dress shirt with a navy tie. His sleeves were rolled to his elbows. He could be the poster boy for the airline.
Silas glanced down the hall and his whole face lit up when he saw me. It made my insides light up too, just as it always did, but now there was a new awareness that made our relationship seem less innocent than it was before yesterday. I gave him a small wave and sidestepped into the lounging room with all the recliners and couches. I sat in the first chair and put my face in my hands. I needed to analyze these feelings quickly before we set off for the day.
We were friends. Good friends. His face always lit up when he saw me after being away a few days. And my reaction was the same happy feeling I got when I saw one of my girls after we’d been apart. A friendly feeling, and that was okay.It’s okay, Harlow.Nothing weird or wrong was happening here. Just because other people might see it and misinterpret it doesn’t mean I have to let that affect me. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“You okay? Headache?”
I dropped my hands and looked up at Silas, his brow furrowed.
“Yeah, just a little groggy.”
“I know the problem.” He waved his hands at my hands. “You have no coffee.”
I nodded because he was partially right. “I was running a little late and didn’t have time.” I wasn’t going to tell him I ran out of pods and couldn’t get more until Friday. Until then I’d be drinking airplane coffee, which was a good brand but sometimes tasted like it’d been sitting around too long.
“We’ll get you some on the plane,” he said brightly. “Time to hop to it.”
God, he was such a morning person.
He tugged my high ponytail and I reached up to tighten it before following him down the hall. That touch meant nothing. Completely innocent. I let out another slow breath as we walked, feeling better, because everything was normal between us. It was time to put my roommates’ words out of my head. Silas opened the door to the tarmac, blasting us with frigid air and exhaust fumes. I held my scarf against the wind and nearly groaned when I saw the tiny prop plane we’d be on for the next couple days. People hated these little puddle jumpers. Something about being able to see the propellers really scared them. They were extremely loud, and it sucked having to walk out on the tarmac to manually board, versus walking down the enclosed jetway.
Silas motioned for me to climb the narrow, steep steps onto the plane. He reached for my bag, but I swiftly lifted it in front of myself and began climbing. I heard him chuckle behind me and yell that I was stubborn. He was right on my heels on the steep steps and at one point my butt was directly in front of his face, making me practically leap up the last step to board. If he noticed me acting weird, he didn’t say anything.
Onboard with all the doors open, we had to shout over the burr of the engine and propellers.
“See you on the flip side, Robinson!” He tipped his hat and I gave a smile and wave.
The food and beverage van pulled up alongside us and passed me a box carafe of coffee and hot water for tea. I went through all of my drinks and filled out the inventory paper, making sure it matched with the last flight attendant’s. Then I handed it over and received what we needed. I made quick work of getting everything organized and put away before it was time for passengers to arrive on the oversized trolley-vans.
I rubbed my frozen hands together and stuck my head into the cockpit where the men were going over all their checklists. The pilot looked up and I held out my hand.
“I’m Harlow Robinson, sir.”
He took my hand and looked me over appreciatively, making me a little uncomfortable with how long he held the handshake. “Pleasure to be flying with you, Harlow. I’m Jake.”
Jake still held firm until Silas said, “Our first captain here was just telling me how he lives in Minneapolis with his wife and three kids.”
The captain’s face fell a little and he hazarded a quick glance toward Silas before dropping my hand. “That’s right.” He glanced from the window. “Here come the masses.”
Sure enough, the gigantic contraption ambled down the side of the runway holding an overcapacity of people shoved in like sardines. I rushed to the open doorway to be ready to greet them. An Omega Skies rep came out first, dashing through the cold in her pumps and holding out a Starbucks cup up the stairs to me. I darted down and took it, confused.
“Second captain Silas placed an order for you,” she shouted over the propeller noise. “Have a good one!”
Oh, my fucking gosh. I looked at the cup. In messy scratch it said “Harlow. Flt 1051.” I took a sip. Vanilla latte. My favorite—damn it, Silas! For a second my mind whirred. Silas was always thoughtful. If I were to ask around, he probably took care of all his FAs. I didn’t have time to overthink this right now. I took another sip and moaned at the pure deliciousness, rushing to set it down and get back to the passengers.
The worst thing about these planes was getting frail people up the stairs. It was an archaic process. I leaned forward and took the carry-on luggage from several people, so they could hold the rail as they ascended. They thanked me profusely and I gave them all my best smile. When the last person boarded, the rep on the ground shoved the stairs upward and I grabbed hold of the handle, pulling the door closed with a grunt and using all of my body weight to yank the safety lock into place until the green placard lit up. Once everyone was comfortably seated and the luggage was all stowed, I dialed up the cockpit on the system phone.
“Yell-oh.” Silas’s greeting made me grin.
“All set in the cabin.”
“Roger that.”
“And thanks for my coffee. You shouldn’t have done that.”
“A grumpy flight attendant is bad luck.”
