“Security was touch and go. They did a swab test and confiscated the liquid.”
“Is that why you asked me along?” Now they were walking side by side down the ramp. “For sex?” Since he hadn’t seemed in the least happy to see her, it was the only conclusion she could draw.
They stepped into the jet. “Middle section,” the flight attendant said.
“Among other things.” Daniel moved down the aisle, the duffel bag in front of him.
“I didn’t come along for your amusement,” she said.
“Why did you come, Cleo?”
She’d come because she loved him, but she’d be damned if she’d tell him that now. She tried to think of a scathing reply, but she was too hurt. Her brain was too numb.
Their seats weren’t together. Thank
She should get off the plane. She should just get off the plane and go-where? Where would she go? She had no home. She thought for a moment and decided she would go to San Francisco. Yes, she would find work somewhere, reading palms and tarot cards. She would tell people about all the wonderful things she saw in their future, while her own lay before her like an empty swimming pool.
She finally decided to stay on the plane and fly to Scotland. Once there, she didn’t have to stay with Daniel. It wasn’t as though she’d signed a contract.
She wiped at her cheeks.
Something kicked in, and air in the cabin began to circulate. Her ears rang.
There was a lot of movement in the aisle. She looked up through blurry eyes to see Daniel taking the seat next to hers. Somehow he’d convinced the woman to trade.
Cleo stared straight ahead, as if she were taking in every word of the cabin crew’s safety instructions. Then the plane was taxiing, coming to a stop near the end of the runway to wait its turn.
She felt Daniel’s elbow prodding her arm. She looked down to see that he was handing her a napkin.
Did he know she was crying? Was that why he’d handed her the napkin? She was about to tuck it away when she noticed the ink scrawl. In strong, sharp, slanted handwriting was a question:
She stared at the question. Cleo wasn’t afraid of flying. She loved it. But she also knew how unfair life could be. She knew how quickly someone could be taken from you. She knew that the plane could crash and Daniel would never know how she felt about him.
She took the pen Daniel was holding out to her, and wrote beneath his question:
At that moment the plane’s engines went to maximum power and the noise in the cabin increased. They began to roll.
A lot of people were afraid of takeoff, but for Cleo it was the best part. There was nothing so incredible as the moment the plane’s wheels lost contact with the ground and you became airborne.
As the plane shuddered along, picking up speed, she handed the napkin back to Daniel. She watched as he read it, watched as the disbelief in his face blossomed into joy, his expression telling her what words had not. Daniel Sinclair loved her.
There was no way to be heard above the roar of the plane.
He reached for her, grabbing her hand, threading his fingers through hers. She smiled at him and looked at his beautiful hair, his beautiful blond hair with its dark roots, his beautiful blond eyebrows, into his eyes, into his blue, blue eyes that were damp and shining, and thought,
He kissed her hand, kissed her knuckles, kissed her palm. And then she saw a to-hell-with-everybody expression cross his features. He boldly took her face in his hands and kissed her mouth with a kiss that was a mind-blowing combination of exquisite tenderness and passionate desire. And when he pulled away enough to look at her, he mouthed the words
At that very moment, the plane broke free from the bonds of earth, and they were suddenly gliding, soaring, unfettered, transcending.
About the Author
To learn more about Theresa Weir, please visit her homepage at www.annefrasier.com, or visit her blog http://monkeywithapen.blogspot.com/. Send an email to [email protected].
