“Hey sport,” the FA said as he walked away from their row. “My name’s Christopher and I’ll be taking good care of you today. But right now, I need to help with the safety briefing. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
Jahnni nudged Crutch to pay attention to the flight attendant’s briefing. They were pointing to exits and showing what to do if the oxygen masks are released, and just in case no one had used a seat belt in a while, they showed how it unlatches.
“I already know all that,” Crutch told her. “I can say that speech myself,” he said as a passing bit of trivia.
Jahnni shook her finger in a joking way at him, “Doesn’t matter. We should act like we are listening to it for the first time. It sets a good example for the other passengers.” Then she asked him, “So, you must travel with your family a great deal?”
“Oh, I kinda do. I love planes and my dad loves planes. My uncle loves planes. My grandpa loves planes. My great-grandpa loves planes. My great-great grandpa loved planes. Basically, our whole family loves planes. A LOT,” Crutch said as he rolled his eyes about his crazy plane-loving family. “You know what? My great-great grandpa knew Charles Lindberg.”
“Is that right? How incredible!” Jahnni gushed.
“Of course,” Crutch added, “I never met him. My great-great grandpa that is. My dad said his great-grandpa died before I was born. Did you know anyone famous like that?”
“Yep!” My dad used to write music for Walt Disney. I met all the famous people there when I went with my dad to a meeting with Mr. Disney once. Mickey, Minnie, Donald...” Jahnni said, smiling with pride.
“That doesn’t count!” Crutch said as he laughed, practically doubling over. “They aren’t real.”
“Au contraire, mon frère!” Jahnni said. “They are as real to me as you are sitting next to me. They helped raise me when I was lonely. Not in the real-life sense of course. My parents traveled. They were musicians. I had every stuffed animal to sleep with. I watched every Disney cartoon and my parents bought me every Disney movie on VHS!”
“VHS! You must be O-L-D!” he laughed. “I’ve only owned DVD’s. And now Blue Rays. I own every Disney movie too! I have a HUGE collection of all kinds of movies. About 400 to 500 I think. When I was stuck in the hospital so long, I had my own collection in my room. The nurses would sit and watch them with me. Guess what my favorite movie of all times is?”
“Oh, I couldn’t even guess. What is it?” Jahnni asked.
“Fly Away Home. I think I have watched that movie one thousand times. Do you like that movie?” Crutch asked.
“I sure do!” Jahnni said as she shook her head, remembering. “I always cry towards the end, when she is flying all by herself and the song 10,000 miles comes on. I think it’s Mary Chapin Carpenter. Anyway, Amy, the girl in the movie, floats over the land, looking for her destination. Everything is quiet as she cuts through the air. Her geese are following her because they trust her like their mama. She’s quietly cruising through the air, guiding her geese to their new promised land. The beauty of the gentle rolling land and calm waters below her is like a quiet strength bidding her well; confirming to her that she did it. As soon as that song starts, I always feel free. My heart hurts, yet it feels happy. I don’t know what that means, but I always cry during that song.”
Crutch was silent for a few seconds while he looked at his lap. “Ya, it makes me cry too. I watch her fly towards her final destination, her dad looking for her, her friends searching, everyone anxiously waiting. She’s being so brave, and I always wondered if that is what it is like when you make it to heaven. Are people who have loved you, waiting for you? Knowing that you are coming? Watching. Waiting. And you arrive, sailing through the air softly and landing exactly where you are supposed to, exactly when you are supposed to.”
Jahnni had watched him talk, tears welling up in her eyes. “You must have wondered about that while you were in the hospital. Were you afraid?”
Again, he was silent as he chose his words. “I wasn’t at first because I was so young, I just believed that the doctors would keep giving me medicine until I got better. But about the third time I was put in the hospital, I noticed that my friends there, didn’t always ‘go home’ in the way I thought they did.” By this time, Crutch had tears in his eyes and he wiped at one that trailed down his cheek. “My mom would tell me, ‘He went home.’ Or, ‘She went home last night.’ I didn’t understand until I was older, what she meant.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through so much. Life can be so... so... not what we ever expected, or... planned,” Jahnni said softly. “What do you feel about it now? Or is that too personal?”
“I’m kinda good with it. I think that is why I loved that movie so much. It helped me know the feeling of freedom. It gave me a taste of, ‘You’ll be okay.’ Now that I’m in remission, I just live with ‘I don’t worry.’ I know that today is a great day. Tomorrow may not be. I do everything I can. Try everything. Yesterday, when everything kept going wrong, I knew. I knew in my heart we were going to be okay. I just went with it. It was exhilarating. And... I knew right when it all started. You and Sam were going to make it all okay. Then Beau and Mr. T joined us. Thanks, by the way.”
Jahnni had tears flowing down both cheeks now. “Look what you’ve done... you’ve made me cry!” She laughed as she wiped her cheeks with her thumbs. “I don’t think you should thank me. I really screwed up. I am not sure exactly what else I could have done right yet... but I keep thinking about it.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong! You did everything right. You never gave up. You kept me safe. You kept Mr. T safe. You and Sam kept your cool. Beau was there if the worst happened. Well... I guess the worst did happen, huh? But when things went wrong, you didn’t stop. You always kept trying. You never quit, even when it was a tiny bit scary... like when we went swimming,” he said, trying to convince her.
“Thanks. I’m not sure I believe it yet, but thanks,” Jahnni whispered.
Crutch kept looking towards the galley. He would turn to talk to Jahnni, then it would catch his attention and he would turn back. “It looks like the food cart rolled itself out,” he mumbled, then shrugged his shoulders and reached for his backpack.
A man, averting his eyes, came around the corner from the galley, walked through the first-class cabin and disappeared into the coach cabin. His hat was large and floppy, covering most of his face. Jahnni glanced up but then back down as she fiddled with Crutch’s new backpack when he couldn’t get everything stuffed back into it. After she put his backpack back under the seat in from of them, she glanced to the galley to see what Crutch had been looking at but she couldn’t see quite far enough in there from her seat.
“Maybe they forgot to drop the lock levers when the FAB agents loaded the carts for the flight. I’ll let the flight attendant know.” Then Jahnni pressed the overhead light to summon Christopher, the first-class FA.
Crutch seemed confused. “Does that guy work for the airline?”
“What guy, honey?” Jahnni asked, turning to Crutch to see who he was talking about.
“That guy that just came from the galley.”
“I didn’t see someone come from the galley. Maybe a passenger was waiting for the lav and got tired of waiting.” she answered.
Christopher was asking the couple behind Jahnni and Crutch what their beverage of choice was. He finished, reached up and turned off the light that called him to Jahnni and leaned down. “Is there a problem? Can I get you anything?”
“Oh, no problem really. I was just wondering, oh, never mind, it was nothing.” Jahnni decided not to say anything about the silly cart. “Could I have a Coke and my friend here have a Sprite?” Jahnni asked.
Crutch said, “Hey, I want a Coke.”
“Nope... not on my watch, Mr.! Too much caffeine. You’re lucky I am letting you have anything carbonated,” she said laughing. “We’ll get a great little snack of cheeses and fruit on this flight in a bit. And warm cookies becau
se we are in first-class.”
Soon, the cabin was served and everyone appeared to be happily enjoying their trip. Jahnni and Crutch looked out the window, pointing and discussing what they could still see.
A flight attendant came from the aft and whispered to Christopher, who was in the middle of refreshing beverages in first-class. “Oh. Really? Okay...” he said. He traded duties with the her. She took over refilling drinks as he went to the flight deck door, pulling a food/beverage cart forward to block access to the flight deck. The flight deck door opened briefly and Christopher went into the flight deck after the pilot came out and he closed the door firmly behind him. The pilot clumsily placed a tray on the counter in the galley then turned and accessed the lav door. The lock flipped to ‘occupied.’
After several minutes, Crutch leaned over to Jahnni and whispered, “He sure has been in there a long time. You think he is okay?”
“Really?” Jahnni said. “I didn’t really pay attention. I’m sure he’s fine.” But it made Jahnni watch a little closer. After a few more minutes, she decided to push the call button.
“Hello. I’m Rochelle and I’ll be helping Christopher for a few minutes. Can I get you something?” the aft FA that took Christopher’s place asked.
“Well,” Jahnni said, “The pilot has been in there for some time. Is he okay? Should someone knock on the door to check on him?”
“Uh, no. At least not yet. They don’t like to be bothered if they are taking their time. If we knock on the door, passengers get worried and start staring at the door. Then when they finally come out, they feel like everyone is staring... which of course they are... but they don’t like it,” she explained.
“Oh... okay. We’ll avert our eyes when he comes out,” Jahnni said jokingly, holding a hand over her eyes as she turned her head in a mock averting tactical maneuver.
The tone sounded that alerted the flight attendants that the flight deck was calling them. Rochelle went to the phone and answered, turning sideways and covering her mouth as she spoke. Her shoulders went a little stiff and she looked casually around the first-class cabin. She nodded, then hung up the phone. She walked to the lav and knocked lightly on the door. She knocked harder. She spoke softer through the door after he mumbled to her. She went back to the phone to talk to the flight deck. Nodding a few times, obviously humming her answer into the phone, she hung up and walked into the galley. She picked up the used tray that had fed both pilots, and looked all over the remaining food. She used a fork to move the left-over grapes and cheese around as if looking for something. She looked in the glasses that held their beverages, swirling the left-over liquid and ice but seemed not notice anything unusual so she set them back down.
Crutch watched intently. “What is she looking for?”
Jahnni frowned. “I have no idea.”
Crutch craned his neck a little further. “She’s like, inspecting the captain’s finished plate. Why would she do that?”
“First of all, how do you know it was the captain’s plate?” she asked.
Crutch was still moving his head around to get a better look. “I guess I assumed, since it was the captain that brought out his tray as the flight attendant switched places with him.”
“But how did you know it was the captain?”
“By his bars of course, silly. He has four gold bars on the shoulder of his shirt,” Crutch said. “You don’t know that?”
Jahnni acted a little insulted. “Of course, I know that. I was surprised that you knew that.”
“I have a pretend jacket at home that my dad’s boss gave me. It’s a whole uniform in my size. It was a gift the last time I was sick. Mine is a captain’s uniform and my brother’s is a first officer uniform. He said I earned it.”
Jahnni shrugged. “Hmmm. How did you earn it?”
“Just because. I practiced all the time.” Then Crutch started looking out the window, leaning his face on the cool glass.
Chapter 44
WHAT?
Jahnni eyes followed Rochelle. She knew that the ‘D’ FA mainly assisted the ‘A’ or first-class FA when needed. She was having trouble gathering up dishes. She was working very quickly and kept dropping silverware and napkins. She must be nervous doing everything by herself I guess, Jahnni surmised. A couple overhead lights dinged but she was so busy she seemed to ignore them.
“Is there something that I can help you with?” Jahnni asked when she passed by.
“Uh, no, not yet. I think I got this. I’ll let you know if I do. We are just a little shorthanded right now.” she blurted out in a whisper. “You non-revers are so helpful when you fly with us. Thanks.”
“Oh, you’re welcome. We have to make good on our free travel, right?” Jahnni said teasingly.
Crutch was falling asleep so Jahnni left him alone. She glanced behind in coach and saw the aft FA’s working quite quickly there as well. The intercom phone dinged and Rochelle rushed to grab it. She was shaking her head no, slightly, but didn’t speak. She started arguing or talking firmly then hung up. Jahnni saw the two aft FA’s in the coach aisle with the beverage cart when she had glanced back, so she assumed it was the flight deck that she was speaking with. Rochelle picked up the phone again and the familiar tone sounded overhead. Her face appeared pale and Jahnni noticed it glistened, enough that she took a napkin and began patting her face and neck. She hung up, walked to the galley, and pulled out her manifest, unfolding it and running her fingers down a list like she was looking for someone. She started again at the top of the list, but obviously, as far as Jahnni could tell, she didn’t see what she was looking for. She looked up again and moved to the right to look down the aisle. She picked up the mic as she planted a smile on her face and made an announcement to all the passengers onboard.
“Could I have your attention, please? Is there a physician on board this flight? Again, is there a physician onboard this flight? Please hit your call button to summon a flight attendant if you are a physician.”
She glanced down the aisle again but no one seemed to be responding. She brought her mic to her lips and made another announcement. “If you are a nurse, please hit your call button. Again, if you are a nurse, please hit your call button to let us know.” Still no one responded. She finally added, “If you have any medical training, please hit your call button.”
Gosh, I wonder if I should push the call button. I have first aid training, but I think all the FA’s have more than me, Jahnni wondered as she craned her neck again to look back into coach.
Finally, a tiny sweet voice in 6C said, “Sweetheart, I pushed my call button but no one is answering it.”
One of the aft FA’s heard her speaking to Rochelle and rushed forward to the passenger’s seat and asked, “Are you a nurse?”
The sweet voice said back, a little too curtly, “No. I’ve been trying to call you to tell you that I’m a doctor. What can I do to help?”
“Thank God. I mean, oh, thank you. Please follow me to the front,” the flight attendant begged.
Jahnni watched the little lady who was probably in her 60’s, grab her purse from the overhead bin and rush forward with the FA. Jahnni realized that she knew the flight attendant as someone who transferred to in-flight from customer service not long ago. Oh, it’s Kristy, I should let her know I can help if they need me to do anything. The flight attendants and the doctor began speaking in the galley then Kristy shrugged and said to the doctor, “I am sorry, I have to.”
“Okay dear, just hurry. I need to get in there!” She raised her arms out and Kristy hand-patted her down, very thoroughly. Jahnni realized that she was doing a hand pat-down search before she allowed her in the flight deck. But no one goes into the flight deck, so Jahnni realized that something was definitely wrong.
Kristy knocked on the flight deck door while she was talking into the phone. The door came open and Christopher came out and Rochelle went in with the doctor. The door closed immediately. He turned to look at the passengers before he grabbed the
manifest, running his fingers down the seating chart as he and Rochelle had done earlier.
What, or who, are they looking for? Jahnni moaned in her head as she fought off the trepidation that was growing. She smiled at Kristy as she walked past. She wanted to ask questions but her lips seemed glued shut; no specific questions came to mind. Kristy returned the blank yet knowing look, then paused to take a breath as she stared straight ahead at the curtains that separated coach from first-class. She suddenly raised her head and smiled as she opened the curtain, entered the coach section and drew the heavy curtains back together.
Christopher looked at Jahnni and asked. “You are a non-rev, flying positive space? What do you do?”
“I’m a CSS for us at PDX. Why?” Now Jahnni was getting nervous. There were passengers all around them, so she didn’t want to show her angst as she waited for the reason he asked.
He motioned for Jahnni to lean closer and whispered, “Our captain is extremely ill in the lav. He told the F/O that if he wasn’t back in five minutes, it would be because he can’t even stand. He had said that he thought he was going to pass out before he left the flight deck. He’s been in there for quite a while. We need all the first-class passengers moved to coach. Weight and balance will be fine so they can sit wherever they find an open seat. But they need to be moved quickly so we can help the captain out of the lav.” Christopher glanced around the first-class cabin then leaned back to Jahnni. “They can’t see him like this. Our first officer has fallen gravely ill as well. Just don’t mention any of this to the passengers. Can you handle that?”
Jahnni took a moment to process what he was saying. She noted that his eyes were wide as he spoke and there wasn’t a grin or smile hiding anywhere on his face that would have assured her he was teasing. Why would he tease about a thing like that anyway? Okay... Be Calm. Just jump in and help where you can. First things first. Move the passengers out of first-class, she told herself in a numb obedient manner.
“So, how many seats are available in back?” she asked.
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