Page 56 of The Romantic Agenda
“Your grumpy mind,” Joy says. “I love it.”
It’s a short trip from the parking lot to the launch pad walkway. Their pilot meets them there, shaking Malcolm’s hand and confirming the registration and destination, and goes over the particulars of the ride.
“It’s even smaller than I thought.” Fox has suddenly gone full grump—tense jaw, furrowed brow, and angry glare.
“Careful there or you’ll make the jump from grump to grinch,” Joy teases.
That earns her an amused side-eye. “Grinches are very misunderstood creatures. Green ones hate Christmas. My nemesis would be that.” He gestures with his chin to the helicopter just as the blades start up. The sound is a lot to take in—loud, uncomfortable, and almost piercing.
“Are you scared of flying?”
“No.” His worried face implies otherwise.
“No?”
“Maybe.”
Joy raises her eyebrows. “Maybe?”
“It’s heights more than flying. That thing is small. There’s no way to avoid looking out a window.”
“You could keep your eyes closed the entire time. You could also hold my hands. I’ve been told they have incredible comforting powers.”
Fox scoff-laughs as Summer runs from Malcolm and the pilot over to them. “Okay, so they don’t have a helicopter available that will fit all four of us, so we have to take two. Who do you want to ride with?” She’s asking Fox.
“I’m fine with Joy.”
“Are you sure?” She turns to Joy. “He’s afraid of flying. I was just thinking he might be more comfortable with me being there.”
“Oh. I had no idea. Hmm.” Joy can feel how bad her acting is but keeps going. “Malcolm went through all this trouble for you so you should probably stay with him. Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Fox.”
Their helicopter is bright purple with two tan seats for passengers in the second row. Itissmall, nearing claustrophobic levels. Their seats are so close together their shoulders touch. The sound is surprisingly more bearable once they’re inside, and the pilot hands them each a headset and instructs them to put on their safety belts.
Joy holds out her hand. Fox takes it, then promptly squeezes his eyes shut. “Feeling better already.”
Takeoff feels more like being on a roller coaster than an airplane—anticipation builds low in Joy’s stomach as they begin to ascend into the sky. Except there’s (thankfully) no drop. They move forward, the helicopter balancing out and staying in the air.
Fox might be afraid to look down, but Joy isn’t. She takes in the view of the wide sparkling lake on the opposite side of their cabin as the pilot gives a guided tour, telling them facts and history about the area. Once upon a time, this area boomed during the California Gold Rush. The tops of the trees look like green bushes instead of a small forest, and even though they can’t see it there’s also a river that winds straight through. Farther in the distance she can see the freeway, neighborhoods full of blocky streets and houses, and large buildings jutting out of nowhere to create the downtown business area. The most breathtaking part of the trip is the horizon. A light blue sky slashed with wispy whiteclouds covers everything like a sheer blanket. There’s no end to it, no mark of delineation between the sky and everything else. It’s just simply there and perfect as they fly through it.
Thirty minutes later, they touch down on the winery property. Joy taps Fox’s shoulder. “We made it! We’re alive!”
He cracks one eye open, staring directly at her. “Is this a trick? I can’t feel if we landed or not.”
Joy squeezes his hand. “We landed. You can see the vineyards from here.”
Fox opens his other eye, but it takes several heartbeats before he’s willing to look past Joy’s face. Outside, a worried Summer is standing anxiously next to Malcolm, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she stares at their helicopter. Fox waves at her before carefully taking off his safety belt, hands still slightly shaking.
Golf carts are waiting to take them on a tour of the flat vineyards, then down to the winery itself. There’s a museum and a separate restaurant where they have a lunch reservation, which would be followed byanothertour of the elevated vineyards.
“Was it okay?” Summer stands in front of Fox, concern written all over her face. “Do you need anything?”
The changes in Fox post-flight are subtle. His skin has a slight greenish-gray tint, his forehead is damp, and there’s a slight tremor when he inhales.
He touches the top of Summer’s head affectionately. “I’m fine.”
“I’m so sorry. He didn’t know—”
“It’s okay.”
