“I understand. I’m flying to Memphis tomorrow evening, then I have my first red-eye to Atlanta. We’re there until the next morning, then on to Milwaukee, then Minneapolis, and back to Chicago.”
“Damn. They really don’t give a fuck about the routes they give the newbies. Shit is crazy.”
“It’s definitely a good way to weed out the people who aren’t serious.”
“True, but I think a few good ones are lost as well. I know you don’t want me to pull any strings?—”
“Sylas, don’t. I’m good. I swear.”
He sighed and rubbed his hand down his face. “Baby, it sounds like it’ll be at least a week before we see each other, and I don’t like that shit.”
“It’s not ideal, but we can manage.”
“Would it upset you if I used my connections to get you on my crew?”
“I don’t need any special treatment.”
“That’s not what I asked you. Answer the question, and if that’s truly not what you want, I’ll respect it.”
“No, I wouldn’t be upset.”
“Say less, baby. I don’t want to keep you from your friend. I’ll call you in the morning.”
“Okay.”
The call ended, and I went back to the living room to find Mena scrolling through her phone.
“I hope I wasn’t gone too long,” I said, returning to my spot on the end of the couch.
“You good, sis. I’d never interfere with love in bloom. Everything good?”
“Yeah. He just landed in Miami and is waiting to fly to New York.”
“I still can’t believe you snatched up a pilot on your first day on the job. That’s what the fuck is up. Maybe I need to reconsider my career choice.”
“You know damn well you have no interest in being a flight attendant.”
“I don’t, especially with their application process.”
“I still can’t believe I went through with it. Anyway, Sylas wants to use his connections to get me on his crew. He doesn’t like waiting weeks to see me in the flesh because our schedules don’t align.”
“Is that cool with you?”
“I wouldn’t mind seeing him a little more often. I just hope it doesn’t mess up how things are going.”
“If he’s meant to be your man, it’ll work out fine.”
“I hope so. Let’s get back to the show.”
We ended up watching all three seasons ofHarlembefore calling it a night. The next day, Mena was gone by noon, and I slept a few more hours before getting ready for work. I wouldn’t be back home until late Monday night, unless there were delays.
It had been two weeks since I’d last seen Sylas, and I missed him a lot more this time than before. I hadn’t had more than a day off between my routes, and when I was off, he was in the air. I wasn’t scheduled to work for the next three days, and Sylas was off for two of those, so I was on my way to his place.
“Hey, Ma,” I answered through my Bluetooth when her name flashed on my dashboard.
“Hey, sweetheart. It sounds like you’re on the road.”
“I’m headed to spend a couple of days with Sylas since we’re both finally off at the same time.”
