Until he lost the war on staying quiet. “It’s okay, Miss Kalina.”
“Misha,” Alexsei warned from the front side again.
“It’s okay,” Misha said, not disregarding his father’s warning not to speak but more like he was rolling with it. “I used to be nervous too.”
Of him?
I needed so many answers but was too scared to ask.
“I was nervous about traveling, too.”
“Misha.” Again, Alexsei’s gaze was stern on the boy through the reflection in the mirror. “I made myself clear. You could come with us on this getaway so long as you’re quiet and don’t bother her.”
Misha sighed. “I am. I’m not bugging her. But maybe it’stooquiet and that’s bugging her more.” Bravely pushing on, Misha smiled at me. “It’s okay to be nervous about traveling.”
It was almost sweet that he assumed that was all that was bothering me right now.
“Once you get there, it’ll be all over and you can see how it wasn’t so bad after all,” Misha concluded. “We’ll be right with you the whole flight.”
Flight?
I went rigid as my eyes popped open wider.
I was going on a plane?
My heart raced.
“Misha, enough,” Alexsei warned.
Misha cringed and looked out the window, muttering, “Sorry, Miss Kalina. But it’s not that scary.”
Not that scary?
It was easy for him to say that. I was doing my best not to hyperventilate at all this newness.
Soon enough, though, we were at an airport and Alexsei took charge. Noticing how nervous I was, he asked if I’d prefer if I was sedated for this next step of traveling.
I shook my head, not in any conscious means of wanting to communicate with him but to reject being drugged. I couldn’t handle any more loss of control.
“Okay. Okay.” He held his hands up. “No sedatives. I just don’t want you to panic any further.”
Misha pushed closer to me as we boarded a small plane. A private aircraft. It had to be because no other passengers were on board.
“Have you never flown before?” Misha asked, indicating for me to sit next to him.
I’d forgotten how to use a seat belt. I’d never been on a plane. I was going to pass out in an anxious mess. Yet, his guidance of a suggestion to sit next to him was a plan I could latch on to. I could move toward that little goal.
Sit.
Buckle in again.
And… wait.
Misha couldn’t want to hurt me. Sitting next to him convinced me that he couldn’t be all that bad.
“Never flown before?” he asked again.
I shook my head.
