“Did you enjoy your meal?”
“Yum, you know how tasty airplane food is!” said Sebastian, somewhat disgusted.
“Yeah, well at least it fills you up!” I answered, then grabbed the two trays.
I didn’t feel like talking with the first officer. I would have preferred to hear John’s voice but he simply smiled at the short conversation. I looked through the spyhole to ensure nobody was waiting on the other side ready to intrude the cockpit, and came out with the trays. Then, I grabbed the two coffees and re-entered, closing the door again behind me.
I gave the first coffee to Sebastian, carefully handing it over to him on his right-hand side, to avoid the horrible mess that would affect the dashboard in the event of a sudden turbulence. I did the same for John, on his left-hand side. He thanked me by saying, “Thanks, missy,” which made me blush. He didn’t notice a thing as it was still nighttime and the only light around was the faint glow of the hundreds of buttons in the flight deck. In order to stay close to him a little longer, I asked Sebastian if the sun was rising soon. I had, obviously, spoken to the first officer solely to avoid appearing over-interested. I was doing everything I could to appear independent, so I barely looked at John. A stupid game, I’ll admit, but I couldn’t help it. Just as I was waiting for Sebastian’s answer, John cut in.
“About thirty minutes from now, you’ll see the sun rise right in front of us. I’ll call you, if you’d like to come in for some pictures,” he kindly offered.
“Ah! Yes, I’d love that. If I’m not too busy,” I answered, hoping I wouldn’t be.
As ten minutes had already gone by, I asked John to call Barry so that he could keep an eye on the door, allowing me to exit the cockpit. The security procedures started off again.
Exhausting? Absolutely! Procedure #1: Call the captain to advise we’re coming into the flight deck. Procedure #2: Make sure no nutcase is trying to hijack the plane. Procedure #3: Dial the entry code. Procedure #4: Call again in order to exit the flight deck. Procedure #5: Look into the spyhole to make sure no one can come in. Procedure #6: Quickly exit. Procedure #7: Kick the damn door closed. Procedure #8: Shoot, I forgot to bring the captain’s coffee! So, there we go again! It’s a never-ending ordeal.
When I got back to the galley, Barry and Megan were chatting. She was asking him the same questions she had asked me previously.
“It’d be cool to go out for dinner with the whole crew. It’s my first time in Dublin. Apparently, it’s THE spot to go out to a pub. Do you know any restaurants?”
“Yeah, I know a couple. I’m up for going out somewhere. Let’s have a look when we get to the hotel,” he enthusiastically answered.
Well, that was perfect. There were already a few crew members planning to go out for dinner together. The evening looked like it’d be a lively one. I was hoping John and his first officer would join us. I’ll investigate when the time comes, I thought.
I wondered how Lady Sombrero was going. I asked Barry.
“Ah! Don’t get me started! I can’t put up with her anymore! She’s such a princess!” he whispered.
“I told you she thinks she can get away with anything! Is her boyfriend as bad as her?” I was curious to know who she was traveling with.
“No, he’s fine. He lives in Dublin and seems to think very highly of American stars.”
“Ah, really? Our local celebrity making it in the big world, huh? He must think we’re all worshiping her here, letting them sit in first!”
“I know! He seemed quite impressed.”
“Ah! Ridiculous! Do you still find her as charming now?” I teased him.
“I hate her! I’m never buying one of her albums again.”
“You should have known, Barry. How can you not have read through her I’m a famous singer with a sombrero on my head, so obey me kind of attitude?”
“Yeah . . . Well, I fell for her blond hair.”
“Of course! You should always be wary of blondes,” I concluded, laughing and getting up to go pick up the garbage in my section.
There were only two and a half hours left to the flight. The sun would soon be rising. There was an incoming call from the flight deck. I immediately picked up:
“Hello, Scarlett speaking.”
“Hi, Scarlett, it’s your captain, John, speaking.”
Was he teasing me? I couldn’t tell. Maybe he was a pretentious pilot after all? No way! I settled on replying with as much attitude.
“Yes, John . . . I know who you are,” I confirmed, carefully pronouncing every word.
“I’m kidding, Scarlett” he said, amused. “I just wanted to tell you that the sun is rising, so if you still want to take pictures, you’re more than welcome to.”
I looked at the time and turned the ovens on to warm up the meals. I then advised Barry that I was going into the cockpit to take a couple pictures before the breakfast service. I dialed the code, pushed the door open with my hip, and entered.
“Wow, how beautiful!” I exclaimed, as if I was witnessing the sunrise from the flight deck for the very first time.
“Yeah, amazing!” confirmed the first officer.
“The clouds make all the difference, don’t you think?” John asked me.
“Yes, you’re right. They’re so fluffy!”
So far, I quite liked our little interaction. He had teased me and hadn’t ignored my comments. Who knows, maybe I stood a chance? I sat on one of the jump seats inside the cockpit and silently started taking photos. After a couple shots, Sebastian contacted the air traffic controller and I decided to flatter John’s ego.
“Who is he talking to?” I whispered, as to not disturb the first officer.
“To Ireland’s air traffic controller.”
“Ah, really? Why is he talking to him?” I asked, as if I knew nothing about aviation.
“To advise him of our position.”
“Hm, the air traffic controller is there so that we don’t fly into anyone else, right?”
“Yeah, among other things. He also, for example, gives us authorization to change our altitude.”
“Wow! So many things to know, huh?”
“Funny you should say that. I was just talking to a flight attendant the other day who gave me the usual speech: You pilots, you’re all overpaid for the work you do. It really made me laugh.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t get paid for what I do, but for what I know.”
“Well, you’re right!”
I obviously knew how to make men feel like a big deal. It was working like a charm and John’s words were flowing much more smoothly. I thanked him for the valuable information about aviation, without letting him know that I already knew the answer to all of my questions.
The sun was now high in front of us, and I had to return to work. Once I was standing next to the armored door, John called out to me one last time.
“Sebastian and I were just talking about a good restaurant he knows in Dublin. You guys are welcome to join us if you’d like,” he said.
“I already know that a couple people want to go out so it should work out. I’ll mention it to them,” I said, over the moon about going out to dinner with him.
“Great!”
Then he picked up the phone to advise Barry of my exit from the flight deck.
“Thanks! See you soon!”
Barry and I started the breakfast meal service as there were only two hours left to the flight. He made an announcement to wake the passengers up.
“Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. We are now two hours away from our arrival in Dublin, where the local time is nine a.m. A few minutes from now, we will come down the aisle with a continental breakfast . . . ”
I hated that announcement! It sounded like a military wakeup call! One minute earlier, the cabin was as calm as a millpond, and then, action! Passengers still half asleep were yawning away, letting out quite unpleasant smells into the cabin. Some, on the other hand, were furious and made sure th
at I, the trumpeter, knew it. Sorry! We have no choice! I thought. We had to start the service right away because, compared to the economy class, first class’s service was a lot more elaborate.
Once the meal trays had been distributed, we served hot buns, marmalade, and coffee. Lady Sombrero, who had just woken up, lifted her colossal hat up to see me and requested a cup of coffee.
“May I please ask you to put your cup on my tray?” I asked.
She obliged and I filled her cup with the liquid. Once it was full, I moved my tray towards her so that she could grab her cup and I advised her to be careful.
“Watch out, the coffee is very hot.”
She rolled her eyes and immediately took a sip.
“Ouch! Ouch!” she screamed, waking up the rest of the cabin. “It’s burning hot!”
“Are you all right, ma’am?” I quickly asked.
“No! I burned my tongue! You served me boiling coffee!”
If I could have poured the whole pot on her head, I would have done so. I really wanted to! Her beige hat would look so much better in brown. I had to calm her down.
“Sorry, Ms. Hanks. I didn’t know it was that hot. Would you like a glass of ice water to ease the burn?” I suggested, not knowing what else to say.
“No! Nothing at all! My vocal cords are ruined! Thanks to you!” she accused.
How rude! Her vocal cords? If you asked me, she already sang like an amateur anyway. The little incident just happened to be a great opportunity for her to consider a career move. How about theater? She already looked like an actress, making a scene for her audience in first class.
Hearing her accusations suddenly gave me some courage. I had to go on with my service and whatever I did would never satisfy such a passenger. Might as well give her her money’s worth!
“Again, I’m sorry, Ms. Hanks” I said, in an extremely compassionate manner.
I pretended to move down the aisle to serve the passenger behind her but stopped in my tracks. I took a step backward and, still holding my coffee pot in one hand and the tray with creamers in the other, I slowly leaned toward her and whispered in her ear:
“Anyway, ma’am, whether it’s hot or cold, it won’t help you sing any better.”
I didn’t even look at her reaction. But I knew she was speechless. Her boyfriend, sitting next to her, wouldn’t have heard a thing, and I’m sure she wouldn’t provide him with the details. She probably didn’t want to make a fool of herself any more than she already had. Throughout the rest of the flight, I ignored her and only offered what she dared to asked for.
Finishing my work in the galley, I was overtaken by a triumphant pride. I had finally shut Lady Sombrero up, without making the situation worse. I started quietly humming while cleaning the dirty counter. Hearing me sing, Barry inquired:
“You seem happy. May I know the reason why?”
“Thirty minutes from now, 2B will finally be out of my life!” I explained, dramatically gesticulating. “Isn’t it a good reason to sing?”
“Oh yes! It sure is! A delicious Guinness and she won’t be more than a fleeting memory!”
“For me, a Bulmers cider!” I added before I continued humming.
Lost in thought, I dedicated the melody to the evening I had been dreaming of. Would it end the way I hoped? Would John show me a noticeable sign of interest?
Chapter 20
Dublin (DUB), Ireland
“Everyone who wanted to come out for dinner is here?” Barry asked the group.
“Diane is missing,” I said.
“She’s coming,” mentioned Megan. “She just called me before I came down to say she wasn’t ready yet.”
“Okay! Let’s wait for her,” said Barry.
Some flight attendants are always late, no matter what. Diane is one of them. On the plane, we would look for her to start the services. At the hotel, she would check out at the last minute. The crew would already have been on the bus for ten minutes when she would finally arrive, with her hair still wet. It was always the same reason: insomnia. What could one say to that? That tragedy had affected every one of us at one point or another. We all had suffered from sleep problems before and knowing how grueling counting sheep in the middle of the night could be, we couldn’t hold it against her. This time, however, I wondered what her reason would be. She finally appeared, jogging toward us.
“Sorry, everyone! I fell asleep when we arrived and the alarm didn’t go off when it was supposed to,” she explained, out of breath.
“That’s okay!” we all responded in unison.
“So, where are we going for dinner?” asked Barry.
“Sebastian knows a restaurant close by, if you’d like,” answered John.
“Yeah, and it’s located just across from a small traditional pub. We could go there after,” he suggested, selling everyone on the idea.
“Perfect! We’ll follow you,” said Barry, speaking for everyone.
When we came out of the hotel, we crossed the street and entered the large park where I had gone jogging earlier, after my nap. It was called St Stephen’s Green and was one of the city’s biggest parks. We followed the central path. In front of me, I noticed that Megan was talking with the first officer. They seemed to be hitting it off. I was hoping the evening would be one to remember.
A few yards farther along, we arrived at the center of the park. Children were splashing around a beautiful water fountain. John was on my right-hand side and we hadn’t said a word since we had left the hotel.
“Children are so lovely! No malice. They only think about playing,” he said, charged with emotions.
“They remind you of yours?” I asked, curious to know what his kids were like.
“Of course! It’s hard not to think about them, being so far away,” he confided.
“Do you feel guilty for leaving?”
“Always! If anything were to happen to me . . . ”
“You mean a plane crash?”
“Yes, among other things. I know, it’s silly to think that way since I’m in the best position to know just how safe my aircraft is.”
“Precisely, John! Flying is the safest means of transportation there is! I think we both have a higher risk of getting hit by an Irish car by forgetting to look in the right direction than crashing on the runaway!” I vividly explained, pointing to the street near us.
John smiled at my remark and made sure we crossed safely. He rested his hand on my back and let me go in front of him. I could feel him paying attention to my every step. What a gentleman! I thought.
“Anyway, seeing how you landed that aircraft, I’d never worry about my own safety!” I teased.
“If I understand correctly, you feel safe around me?” he asked smoothly.
Whoa! He was putting words in my mouth. Was he trying to seduce me? Did he really want to know if I felt safe around him or was he being sarcastic? He was most likely playing the same game I was, so I shouldn’t let the cat out of the bag. I would not let him know my deepest thoughts unless he gave me a very clear sign first. There was no way I was going to make a fool of myself by answering his question seriously. I continued with the teasing.
“Oh! Absolutely, John! You’re the only one I trust on a plane! Without you in the front, I’m lost! I can’t work and my passengers suffer the consequences! Come fly with me, John! Fly!” I sang on the sidewalk of Merrion Row.
My little scene grasped his undivided attention. He looked as if he was admiring me. The more I was gesticulating, the more he was smiling. Therefore, I was far from wanting to end the show but as I ran out of ideas, I finally stopped. John stopped in his tracks as if to lecture me.
“Nice one, Scarlett! But completely unrealistic. I don’t believe you!” he said, faking disappointment.
We were both laughing loudly when we arrived at the restaurant. Going in, we immediately felt the very cool vibe, which confirmed we had made a great choice. A young woman greeted us from the counter.
“Good evening!”
“Hello! We’d like to know if you have availability for a party of six?” asked the first officer.
“Hm! Let me check what I can do,” answered the woman, and then went inside the restaurant to investigate.
She came back a minute later.
“Please follow me!” she enthusiastically announced, guiding us to our table.
We followed her, happy to have gotten a table in such a crowded restaurant. I wanted to sit close to John but also didn’t want to seem too interested. I decided to take a seat in the middle of the table and have him inevitably end up near me. On my left, there was Megan, and on my right, Diane. Sebastian sat in front of Megan, and Barry in front of Diane. As for John, he sat in front of me. Yeah! Nothing could have made me happier. Megan, amused by our arrangement, took the floor.
“Well, we couldn’t have been more organized than this!”
“This layout suits me just fine,” said Sebastian, smiling at her.
His comment made her blush and made us laugh. Hearing his remark, I wondered if John had thought the same as Sebastian, having me in front of him. I looked up and our eyes met. His gaze was as sparkling as ever and I couldn’t figure out if his eyes naturally gleamed or if they did so only when looking at me. I was intimidated. He looked so self-confident. I couldn’t hold his gaze for long. I looked down at the menu.
◆◆◆
Three bottles of wine later, having finished dessert, none of us felt like going to bed. The night was still young, so we crossed over to O’Donoghue’s pub. Upon entering, we could see two men playing traditional Irish music at the very back. Right away, we went up to the bar to order some drinks. John leaned in to speak to me.
“What would you like to drink?” he softly asked in my ear.
Call Me Stewardess Page 19