Page 289 of Mountain Grump
I could hire someone else.
Anyone else.
But…
I don’t want it to be anyone else.
The next time I fly, I’m going to be scared.
And I don’t want to do it alone on a giant commercial plane.
And I can’t do it on a little plane with someone else.
So… it has to be him.
The man who broke my heart.
The man I can’t stop thinking about.
The man I want to see again, even if it hurts.
I turn off my engine and exhale.
It has to be him.
The soles of my tennis shoes hit the blacktop.
Just in case something…goes wrong, I wore my most comfortable pair of walking shoes.
And because I want to look cheerful for a man who’s possibly dying, I wore my floor-length rainbow-striped dress.
It has a high neckline, leaving just my arms exposed. But in my bag, my largest purse, I have a light blue sweater. And some protein bars. And a bottle of water. And an extra battery charger for my phone. And a bag of nuts. And a Swiss Army knife that I found in the garage.
Just in case.
I hoist the bag onto my shoulder and slam my door shut.
I’d hoped that the stress of flying and the stress of seeing Ethan would maybe cancel each other out. Dull my senses.
But as my heart continues to gallop, I accept that’s not true.
It honestly feels like the stress might kill me.
Hopefully before a plane crash does.
I fill my lungs.
Stop it, Matilda.
I brace myself, then I step through the side door into the hangar.
It’s the same.
Looks just the same.
Except the plane is different.
It’s similar. Same size. Possibly the same type.
