by Nova Rain
Walter gave a brief laugh. “Benson!” He called out his assistant editor’s name, his gaze still on me. “Benson, get over here!”
“Sir?” He gasped, hurtling down the hallway.
“Green isn’t taking that job in L.A.” Walter informed him. “You owe me fifty bucks,” he added, holding his hand out, palm upward.
“Oh, crap!” Benson banged his head in a spasm of frustration and shoved his hand into his pocket.
“You’d bet I wouldn’t go?” I asked, surprise sending my voice up an octave.
“That’s right,” my editor affirmed. “I’ve known you a long time, Penny. You love the Bulletin too much to leave it, especially for some West Coast snob paper. Now, excuse me. I need to go gloat some more.”
“Am I that transparent?” I wondered, shifting my attention to Ava.
“I think you became transparent in the days after you received that job offer,” my friend voiced her opinion. “I know of a few people around here who would party for days if they got a similar opportunity. You didn’t. You didn’t even quit.”
“Ahem…” A man to my left cleared his throat. His presence in the building both puzzled and intrigued me. I recognized him in an instant. I still remembered him sitting next to Jake in that press conference. It was his friend, Michael Compton. “Hey, girls. Penny, do you have a minute?”
“Sure,” I nodded and gestured to the door to my office.
Your timing couldn’t have been worse.
I didn’t know him; I hadn’t even met him, but Michael had just ruined something important to me. This was one of the rare occasions where I had taken my mind off Jake’s demise. I was preoccupied with work, perhaps the only thing that could distract me. His visit had acted like a shadow over my heart, threatening to pull me back into the abyss of sorrow.
“How have you been?” He said, sauntering towards my desk.
I heaved a long sigh. “I’ve been trying to cope.”
“That makes two of us,” Michael remarked, a sullen look in his eyes. “You must be wondering why I wanted to see you.”
“I am,” I admitted. “I’d heard about you, but never had the pleasure of meeting you.”
“Here’s why.” He told me, placing a set of keys on the desk. “Jake mentioned you found Caitlyn’s wardrobe when you guys went to my place in Vermont. I want you to go back up there and take it. I’d bring it down here myself, but I just don’t have a car to carry all that stuff.”
“Michael, are you serious?” I asked, discomfort deepening my voice. “These clothes belonged to your cousin, and you want me to have them? First of all, Caitlyn was a lot taller than me. She had to be…”
“Six feet tall,” he interrupted. “I know you’re a lot shorter than she was, but she was a model, Penny. She had tons of clothes. I mean, there are like six or seven suitcases of them in my basement. There’s got to be something in there that’s not too big for you.”
“Sell those clothes on EBay,” I advised. “Why do I have to take them?”
“Because Jake would want you to have them,” Michael pointed out, his voice losing its nerve. “He loved you, girl. He hadn’t mentioned it, but I could see it in his eyes every time your name came up. There was this…” He paused. “Spark. I saw that same spark while he was dating my cousin. He even mentioned you during the final seconds of our landing in New Orleans. His exacts words were: ‘I’m not coming back to you in a body bag, Penny. That’s a promise.’”
“Oh, my God…” I whispered, averting my gaze from him as I sensed the sting of tears in my eyes. “All right. I’ll go to Vermont this weekend. Is that okay with you?”
“Yeah.” He said with a nod. “I’ll come back for my keys sometime next week. Take care, Penny.”
How?
That tiny little word was on the tip of my tongue. Yet, I could not burden Michael with my problem. He was coping with a loss as well. Ranting about how hard it had been for me to accept Jake’s passing wouldn’t make any difference. It wouldn’t bring back my pilot. It would just lead to another emotional outburst, and those were getting harder to handle by the day. This was what I couldn’t fathom. “Time is the ultimate healer” people used to say. To me, time was my worst enemy, because with every moment that passed, my sorrow didn’t diminish. It kept on growing and gnawing away at me, like a hungry beast that fed off my soul.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Penny
For the remainder of the week, I had second thoughts about going back to Vermont. I had amazing memories from that place outside the scenic town of Manchester. Playing in the snow, having Jake chase me around the property, kissing him by the fireplace, making love to him… I believed I fell in love with him up there. Not during the lovemaking or the games we played outside. I cherished those moments, yes, but it was our stroll in the town that had stolen my heart. On an empty main road, with the snowfall as our companion, he revealed to me his thoughts about our relationship. From the very beginning, he had faith in us. He refused to believe that he would become an old flame. In fact, he seemed annoyed when I spoke of such a possibility. To my amazement, he had seen all the signs that I had somehow missed.
Physical attraction.
Chemistry.
Compatibility.
Still, anyone could have missed those signs. A distraction or two would be enough to take my mind off our bond, and I had plenty of those in Vermont. I should have known that we had started something special, when he drove me up there. No man in his right mind would drive for six hours just to have some fun in bed with a woman. There were hundreds, if not thousands closer and more convenient destinations than a secluded house in the middle of nowhere. However, Jake wanted more than just passionate sex. He wanted the whole package: Romance. Great food. Lots of sex and all-night long conversations. In other words, he wasn’t the average guy who thought with his penis instead of his head. He was different, and I had failed to see that.
Nevertheless, Michael’s short speech compelled me to indulge him. I agreed with him. Jake would want me to have those clothes, even if most of them were not my size. Were he still alive, I had no doubt that he would offer me that wardrobe someday, because he was a giver. He had no use for it, and would rather see me wearing some of those pieces, instead of letting them rot in his friend’s basement.
With a heavy heart and three empty suitcases in the trunk, I set out from New York on Saturday morning. In minutes, I realized that going up there alone would be a mistake. In essence, I would have to spend the most part of the day in that place. Without someone to talk to, without a shoulder to cry on, I was going to go through hell. It would be so much easier if I had Ava with me. We’d chat throughout the drive about this or that. Once we got there, she wouldn’t let me surrender to agony. She would be the good friend she had been for well over a decade and comfort me.
Dark clouds and light snowfall welcomed me to Vermont. Snow was piled up on either side of the road, the trees behind them wearing their bright winter clothing. One of my favorite sights in the world, had now become a synonym for gut-wrenching pain. That crystal-white coat would never appeal to me the way it had once. It had deprived me of Jake, trapping him in a blazing inferno he could not escape from. The more I thought about Ava’s words outside that morgue, the more grateful I was to her for preventing me from going in. I remembered Jake as a big, handsome man, whose smile could take my breath away. Seeing what remained of him would definitely have haunted me for the rest of my life.
Michael’s house emerged into view as my Prius rolled along the uphill road. Its suspension creaked in protest, the bumpy surface shaking me from head to toe. Settling my gaze on the front yard, I smiled in bitterness. It was covered with at least twice the amount of snow that Jake and I had found on our trip there. I eased on the brakes and brought the car to a gentle halt outside the property. Getting in there would require a four-by-four.
My boots sinking in the snow, I noticed something peculiar. Both the kitchen window and the bed
room window above it were wide open. To add to my surprise, melodic, piano notes were lingering in the air. It didn’t take me long to recognize the song. It was Queen’s “Love of My Life,” the ballad I’d been avoiding listening to for weeks, because it would tear me apart. Any desire to check who was in the house was gone in the blink of an eye. Freddie Mercury’s magnificent voice caressed my ears, pulling me into a journey of memory and emotion, snowflakes landed in my hair….
Love of my life, you've hurt me
You've broken my heart
And now you leave me
Love of my life, can't you see?
Bring it back, bring it back
Don't take it away from me
Because you don't know
What it means to me
Love of my life, don't leave me
You've taken my love
And now desert me
Love of my life, can't you see?
Bring it back, bring it back
Don't take it away from me
Because you don't know
What it means to me
You will remember
When this is blown over
And everything's all by the way
When I grow older
I will be there at your side
To remind you how I still love you
I still love you
Back, hurry back
Please, bring it back home to me
Because you don't know
What it means to me
Love of my life
Love of my life…
I stared into the void, tears rolling off my face.
“I miss you,” I whispered, a picture of Jake’s smiling face dominating my mind. That ballad scorched my insides, serving as a reminder of what I’d had with him. My dream of being with my ideal man had gone up in flames. I was standing alone among its dying embers, knowing that I had to live without him.
At that moment, I felt a strong grip on my shoulder. In a split second, someone spun me around. He towered over me. The edges of his black hair were reaching almost all the way down to his eyebrows. Long stubble gave his face a rugged look. His honey colored eyes seemed darker in the snowfall.
“I missed you.”
My heart fluttered in my chest at the sound of that deep, familiar voice. My mouth shot open and my eyes widened as his identity was revealed to me.
Jake…
Alive. Standing in front of me. Looking at me. And before I could utter a word, he leaned in and rested his forehead against mine. His warm skin sent sparks of electric current through my body. I gasped in utter shock, tremors taking over my entire existence. I couldn’t control my lips, my hands or anything else for that matter. Unable to force a single word from my throat, I jumped up and tossed my arms around him. He held my body tight as more tears spilled from my eyes. I flexed my muscles again and again, as if I meant to check the reality of what I was experiencing. He didn’t disappear in a puff. The skin of his neck was filling my hand. I could feel his hair in between my fingers.
“My God...” I sobbed, snowflakes crashing on my scalp. “I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t leave me.”
“I’m so sorry, Penny,” he whispered, gliding his hands up my back, until they dived into my hair. “I brought you so much pain…”
“Shhhh…” I hissed, splaying my fingers over the back of his neck. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Jake said, his voice a breathless whisper, the moment he eased me back. “Look at that pretty face.” He tucked some tendrils of my hair behind my ear. “I can’t believe I stayed away from this face for so long.”
“This face broke your heart,” I reminded him, putting some force in my voice. “God, I wish I could take that back, but I can’t. I’m sorry, Jake. I’m so sorry.”
“I broke your heart even more,” he claimed, his voice bass deep. “Follow me. There are a lot of things you need to know.”
My heart was still pounding like a drum when he took me by the hand. In silence, the two of us walked into the house. I sat down on the couch by the door, before he headed to the kitchen. He closed the window and jogged back while I wondered what in the world had led him to fake his own death.
“I think you’ll recognize this woman.” He stated, pointing the remote control to the TV across from us. He wasn’t mistaken. Her silver hair was just touching her shoulders. Jake had her eyes, that beautiful shade of honey. With her legs crossed, she was sitting in a brown armchair by her fireplace.
“Hello, Penny.” His mother began, a smile gracing her face. “If you’re watching this, it means you and Jake are reunited. I’ve got a lot of explaining to do, so, I’d like your undivided attention.
When Jake came to visit me, he was nothing like the son I had raised. He’s a vibrant man. He likes to make his presence known. But the man that knocked on my door that day was…” She paused. “A beaten dog. Depressed, because you broke up with him. Silent. Afraid that he was going to lose everything. I couldn’t blame him. Getting laid off from work is one thing. Having a giant like United Airlines suing you is completely different. There was no doubt in my mind that he would win, but that was not the point. Jake would enter a long, costly court battle, which would probably bankrupt him and me, too. Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to help out my son, but we both realized that even if he won, the chances of him getting hired by another major airline were next to none. Corporations don’t like employees who claim their rights. So, I suggested he disappear. His supposed death would put an end to that legal battle before it even began. Carrying out my plan wasn’t as difficult as it sounds. You see, I live in New Hampshire. The coroner owed me a favor. He burned a John Doe’s body, I identified him and voila. Jake was in the clear.
By now, I’m sure you think of me as a very good actress. I mean, why else would I snap at you in that morgue, right? That’s not true. I’m a terrible actress. What you saw back there came straight from the heart. You see, I didn’t like what you did to my boy. I found it extremely selfish and cruel of you to ditch him when you did. I believed you hadn’t set your priorities straight. I wanted to punish you, and faking Jake’s death sounded like the best option. But…” She smiled in embarrassment. “What you did at the funeral changed my mind. I don’t mean what you said about Jake. I loved how you exposed United’s practices. You showed guts. You proved to me how much you loved him.
Anyway, I hope I didn’t bore you. And kids, come visit first chance you get. Bye!”
“Wow…” I said on an exhale. “That was quite a story. I just have one question. How did your Corvette end up wrapped around that tree?”
“I drove it there and jumped out at the last minute,” he explained. “My shoulder still hurts a little from that fall down the slope.”
“Weren’t you scared you wouldn’t jump out in time?” I spoke in a tender voice, seeing the world in his eyes.
Jake snorted in amusement. “Sweetheart, I’ve landed a two-hundred ton jet on mud. That was scary. This was a little dangerous, because I could have hit a rock, but the snow was just too thick. Oh, before I forget,” he paused and rubbed his forehead. “The NTSB were able to determine why the engines failed in mid-flight. Hail had gotten into their core. It melted during the flight. It shouldn’t have affected them, because they were designed to withstand that huge amount of water at high speed. But that’s where the automation failed us. The plane’s computers automatically reduce power to the engines during descent. At a lower power setting, the engines just couldn’t handle so much water and flamed out. And since they weren’t spinning anymore, there was a lot less air going into them, which mixed with too much fuel. The flames then migrated into the turbines and overheated them. That’s why they burned up from the inside when we tried to restart them.”
“Honestly? I don’t care.” I told him, my tone calm. “I’m more worried about what you’ll do from now on, Captain Turner.”
“I was just about to get to that,” he explained, slipping h
is hand into his pocket. “My brother Ben is an exceptional hacker. He and his friends hacked into United’s database, pulled the file with my personal information and edited it. They added a recent picture of mine, with all this hair and the beard. Then, they replaced it with the name of a ‘John Williams.’ That way, my record could still be used for job applications. Afterwards, they made me this.” He added, holding up an identity card with that name on it. “Michael and I are starting work next week at ‘Swift Cargo,’ a regional airline that operates in the Northeast US and Canada. It’s perfect. We’ll be landing in small airports. I won’t have to be going in and out of big terminals, where people can identify me. I’ll just have to wait for the aircraft to be loaded and unloaded, and pick up the manifest from the shift supervisor. That’s it.”
“That’s fantastic!” I cheered, a huge smile bursting upon my lips. “What about your schedule? Will you have any time to catch your breath, or…?”
“Yeah, I will.” He interrupted. “I’ll only be flying three, maybe four times a week, which is why the money won’t be that great. I’ll be making a little more than fifty thousand a year.”
“Again, I don’t care,” I repeated, shaking my head, the sound of the wind giving me an idea. “Come with me outside,” I requested, rising back up to my feet.
My eyes met once more with that enchanting sea of white. The small town of Manchester spread out in front of me, snow covering rooftops and trees alike. In a matter of seconds, I realized that Jake had the exact same idea. Stepping in front of me, he tilted his head down. Snaking his arms around my waist, he pulled me in. I cupped his face in my hands, the moment I felt the sweetness of his kiss enveloping my existence. A powerful gust of wind tossed my hair back, a mix of freshness and his masculine scent pouring through my nostrils. Just like earlier, I was pressing my hands into his skin, to check if this was real or not. It was… He stood right there, reminding me of the magical kiss I thought I would never taste again.