For the first time, I appreciate her using my last name. Had she called for “Nathan,” Joey might have looked for me.
“What are you doing, silly boy?”
I’m wondering what my ex is doing at the airport with the other man. Did they go on a vacation together? Did he take her to the places we’d planned to venture on our honeymoon? Did she marry him? If so, was she afraid of running into me here?
It would have been the proof I needed of her infidelity. She never confessed when I confronted her, but if she’s on vacation with the guy, then there’s obviously something going on, as I suspected. The same way there had been when I caught my mom cheating on my dad.
I reach the top of the escalator and stand tall to step off. Joey still won’t be able to see me from her angle.
Eva can still see me though. She’s watching me act like a psycho. “Stuart? Where are you going?”
I hold up my finger to her, then walk away. How long do I have until I’m safe to return? I better pretend I forgot something.
I pull out my phone to message Eva. I never saved her to my contacts, so it takes a minute to find the photos she sent me as part of an old crew, the same way Claire did.
I forgot something.
My sanity.
I’ll be back. Just leave my bags with a baggage agent. I can give your boyfriend flying pointers another time.
She’s probably thankful now that I never asked her out. How low do I have to sink to be the bullet Baby-Talk Girl is glad she dodged? If she’s better off without me, then Claire definitely is too.
Chapter Nineteen
Claire
Birds born inacage think flying isadisease.
—ALEJANDROJODOROWSKY
While go-home day usually means I’m working my way back to base at the end of a trip, today it means I finally get to return to San Francisco. I’m not getting paid for this time in the air, but I’ve been seated in first class next to an actual window. For free.
That’s a benefit of my crazy job. That and my view of Mount Rainier. The sunrise displays its jagged white peak in a golden spotlight. While the rest of the cabin sleeps in the dark, I’m enjoying the peace of an early morning above the clouds.
I still haven’t figured out the sleep thing, and having woken up at 4:00 a.m. after working early mornings the past couple of days, I’d just dressed and headed to the airport. Wyatt had planned to pick me up when I landed this evening, but I’m going to surprise him with lunch at his office instead. There’s a lot you can’t plan with a career in the airlines, but it also creates the possibility of fun surprises like this.
I lean back in my extra-large seat and sip creamy coffee from a porcelain mug. I could be flying anywhere right now. I could have gone to the airport, logged into my app, and selectedFly Anywhere. It would have shown me which flights had the most open seats, from Japan to Sydney. Ilook forward to trying that soon, but at the moment there’s nowhere I’d rather be than in Wyatt’s arms.
We’ve got so much catching up to do. Even over the past couple of days, I’d worked a trip where I got to go jogging in warmer weather with another flight attendant known as Runner Renée. I’d been excited to jog through Savannah’s iconic squares, but I’d had no clue that Tulsa also offered a cute river-walk area called the Gathering Place. Renée had run circles around me as I’d stopped to catch my breath and snap pictures every quarter-mile, but now I have a ton of photos to show Wyatt.
“Aren’t we lucky to get first class?” a voice whispers.
I look over to find my seatmate sipping an adult beverage at this early hour. She appears middle aged and middle class, with a chin-length red bob and delicate features.
“We?” I ask. “Are you a flight attendant too?”
“Oh no.” She shudders. “I’m the captain’s wife. My kids and I are joining him on this work trip. I homeschool and figured I’d take them to see Alcatraz for a history lesson.”
“That’s cool,” I whisper back. Yet another perk I’d never considered. When Wyatt and I have children, they’ll be able to travel for free too. I’ll take them to Boston and Philadelphia to learn about the Revolution, Gettysburg for the Civil War, and Pearl Harbor for World War Two.
I look around for this woman’s kids, wondering how old they’d have to be to really absorb such history. I don’t see anyone under the age of twenty-one. “Are they flying coach?”
She hiccups. “Yes. Another perk.”
I offer a polite smile and turn back to my window. Maybe her kids are teenagers and don’t want to sit with her either, but her inattentiveness still rubs me the wrong way. While she’s happy to be separated from her children, people like Nathan are knocking down walls to deal with the disappointment of not yet having kids.
I’d kept my promise to Wyatt by not hanging out with Nathan any longer than required when dropping off Maverick, but he’s still been on my mind. He encouraged me by believing there’s a purpose in my position asa flight attendant, then helped me find satisfaction in my new hobby of running by lending me his dog. I want him to have his dream fulfilled too, but I’m not sure how I can help him get the family he wants. I can’t bring his girlfriend back.
