by Kaylie Kay
Lucy stalled, seemingly unsure, before going on. ‘It was nothing, no, he’s fine, we were just having a chat.’
Susan’s heart was beating faster; so there was something. Lucy looked sad almost, but not accusing, she didn’t feel that she knew anything about what had happened between them. ‘Oh, I didn’t know that you knew Luke that well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you two talking before. You’re always inside and he’s always outside!’ she said, trying her best to sound casual.
‘Oh, no, he’s my nephew, my sister’s son. It was me who recommended him to your husband, I thought you realised that?’ Lucy was obviously surprised that she never knew the connection.
‘No, no I never knew that,’ Susan said slowly, quite shocked. Luke had just appeared one day last summer, replacing the old man who used to come. She knew Jeff had found him by recommendation whilst she’d been away, but never realised it was through Lucy. Well, well, she thought, now that’s all news to me.
‘Yes, him and his girlfriend have just had a baby,’ Lucy went on.
‘A new baby, how lovely,’ Susan said. That was welcome news, Luke had as much to lose as her, well almost, by letting their indiscretion get out. Susan felt the weight lift off her shoulders and a smile spread across her face.
‘Yes, a beautiful little girl, but his girlfriend is struggling a bit, and poor Luke is taking the brunt of it.’
‘Oh dear, hopefully she’ll feel better soon,’ and keep Luke happy, Susan finished the sentence in her head.
‘I’m sure she will, it’s just a bit of post-natal. Anyway, I’m off to do the bathrooms, anything specific you need from me today?’
‘No thank you, Lucy, you always know exactly what needs doing.’
Susan sipped her coffee, deep in thought. She was positive that Luke hadn’t told Lucy anything, and now knowing about his family she was quite sure that he wouldn’t. No, he was just a man, happy to have a one-night stand, or one-afternoon stand anyway. It was a shame he didn’t live abroad, maybe they’d have had a fling, but not here. She felt lighter, able to put it all in perspective now.
Susan put down the phone to her travel consultant. She had told him exactly what her requirements were for their holiday and he had just called her straight back with his recommendation, which she had taken happily; business class travel, October 23rd, seven nights in a family suite at The Atlantis. She had always wanted to stay there, and the children would love it with its aquarium and water park onsite.
She picked up the phone and dialled the number for Jeff’s office in Canary Wharf. She wasn’t quite sure exactly what it was Jeff did, something to do with other people’s money. He had tried to explain it to her many years ago, on landing day, and she had fallen asleep. He had never tried again since, even when she had asked, pretending to be offended, but she knew that he wasn’t really. When he put on that jacket in the morning he was going to his world, just like she did when she went to work; well, maybe not quite the same!
‘Kennedy Holdings,’ Janice’s voice grated on Susan.
‘Hi, Janice, it’s Susan.’
‘Oh, good afternoon, Mrs Kennedy, what can I do for you?’
Grrr, what was with the stuck-up cow? Susan always used her first name, and she would never use it back. She had been Jeff’s PA for years now, since she had Lewis, so eight, and had always been so frosty. Of course, she was indispensable to Jeff so he wouldn’t hear a bad word about her, and it wasn’t like she had to socialise with her so she had to just let it go.
‘Jeff asked me to let you know the dates for our holiday so that you could plan his diary. Please can you keep him free from October 23rd until the 30th?’
‘Certainly. Is there anything else I can do for you, Mrs Kennedy?’
‘No thank you, Janice.’
‘Goodbye then.’ Click, and she was gone.
Susan looked at the phone and rolled her eyes; what a delight she was.
‘I’ve booked the holiday,’ Susan called down the stairs when she heard Jeff coming in. She was supervising showers between the children’s rooms, not quite trusting Lewis not to flood the bathroom quite yet.
‘Fabulous, where are we staying?’ he called back up.
‘The Atlantis.’ Susan couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice, now standing at the top of the stairs, hoping he would be just as pleased.
He looked back up at her, smiling broadly. ‘Sounds great, I had better try and lose some of this before I have to get my body out.’ He rubbed his tummy.
‘Well it wouldn’t hurt to lose a little,’ she teased, secretly hoping that he meant it this time. ‘Think of your health.’
‘Okay, okay, point taken, diet starts tomorrow,’ he said derisively as he walked through to the kitchen.
Chapter 12
Things were changing at home, for the better, Susan thought happily as she drove to work. Jeff really had embraced the diet, and started working out again. After all, they had a fully equipped gym that just gathered dust above the double garage, so he had no excuse not to. In just a few days she was starting to see the difference in him, liking it a lot, having to pretend less.
The problem with Luke had just disappeared, it was as if it had never happened. She could even bring herself to acknowledge him now without blushing, and he seemed as keen as her to act like things were completely normal between them, so much so that she was starting to believe that they were.
She felt happy and contented, not so desperate to get away as she had been for a long time now, not needing to switch to Susan Harrison the moment she drove out through the gates. In fact, she might even miss them all this trip, maybe a little. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to tell Jeff that, she thought as she called his number.
‘Kennedy Holdings.’ Ugh, Janice.
‘Hi, Janice, it’s Susan, can I speak to my husband please?’
‘Sorry, Mrs Kennedy, but he is busy right now, he’s asked not to be disturbed.’
‘Oh okay, can you tell him I called please?’
‘Yes, I will do that. Goodbye.’ Click.
Susan was speechless; what had she ever done to the uptight cow to make her so horrid? Maybe she would have to start paying some visits to the office soon. Put her in her place.
‘Well, good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and a very warm welcome on board this Osprey Aviation flight OS556 to San Francisco.’ Susan Harrison realised she hadn’t been paying attention in the pre-flight briefing and listened intently to the next part of the announcement. ‘The captain informs us that the flight time today will be approximately eleven hours....’ She looked at her watch and quickly worked out the landing time, and more importantly, the time she would get to the hotel.
Alone in the rear galley of the Boeing 787 as the safety demonstration played, she dug deep into her handbag, taking out the phone that lived there, the one that never came out in England. She waited for the screen to come on, quickly going to messages.
Will be ready by 5 xxx, she typed and pressed send.
Couldn’t come soon enough xxx
‘Naughty, naughty,’ teased Darren, the purser, as he walked into the galley; it was strictly forbidden to use your phone on board.
‘Oops, glad it was only you,’ Susan said, relieved it wasn’t the flight manager who had caught her. She hadn’t flown with this one before, but judging by her briefing she was a bit of a stickler.
‘Haha,’ said Darren in his West Country accent. ‘I couldn’t give a shit, love, but I’d watch ’er if I were you.’ He nodded to Fiona walking down the aisle, checking that the passengers were all secure, that the crew had done their checks right. ‘We’d better just do things by the book today, or she’ll ’ave us all up for a debrief, she loves a debrief she does.’
Susan laughed inwardly, smiling broadly at Fiona as she came into the galley, checking that every latch was down and every brake on, sighing loudly when she found one that wasn’t. She knew how to play these ones, they believed they did the job better than everyone els
e, and so you had to tell them they did, then they could relax, not needing to prove anything anymore.
‘Oh, so sorry, Fiona, I must have missed one, good job you’re checking. That’s why you’re the manager.’ Not a hint of sarcasm, and the sincerest of faces, despite Darren’s pretend vomiting behind her.
‘Yes, well you won’t miss one next time, will you,’ said Fiona, satisfied that her charge had learned her lesson and acknowledged her seniority.
‘How could you say that with a straight face? Arse licker,’ Darren laughed when she had left.
‘Oh, I’m quite good at disguising my true feelings,’ Susan replied smugly.
‘Flight manager to flight deck.’
Susan wasn’t sure if she had heard it right, somewhere between awake and asleep in her crew bunk above the galley. She heard the others moving around, murmurs of confusion, and fumbled around on the sidewall for the button to turn her light on. In all of her years of flying she had only ever heard that announcement on her annual safety training. She quickly pulled on her skirt and shuffled to the end of her bed, waiting for her turn to go down the narrow stairwell and through the door into the galley below.
The lights in the galley made them all squint, and the ones who had just got up rearranged their clothes and tried to come around quicker than they normally would have to. No one was saying much, but Susan could see the looks of concern on their faces; that command was only to be used in an emergency.
They waited for what seemed an age for Fiona to come to the galley, her face now more serious than ever.
‘Okay, listen up everybody,’ she started, and no one made a sound as she began to deliver the details of the situation. ‘There seems to be a problem with one of the engines, and we will be diverting to a military airfield on the east coast of Canada in approximately twenty minutes. The captain intends to make a normal landing, and is presuming that the engine will still be okay by then, he’s just not happy to continue all of the way to San Francisco in case it gets worse. There is a chance it is just a faulty reading so please try not to worry.’ They all listened intently, and Susan could feel the atmosphere lighten when they realised they weren’t about to ditch over the Atlantic. She hoped that she would never have to find out if those slides really did hold as many people at the manufacturers said that they did, whilst riding the waves of the North Atlantic!
‘Anyway, let’s get the cabin secured, and the galleys,’ Fiona concluded, looking at Susan as she said the last bit.
Susan listened to the captain telling the passengers about the diversion, and that they had absolutely nothing to worry about. Despite his assurances she couldn’t help feeling a little emotional, the fact that there might be something wrong with an engine could never be something not to worry about, surely? Most of the time at work she forgot that she was in a metal tube in the sky, but right now the 37,000 feet between her and the ground were very real. She consoled herself with the fact that at least they weren’t over the ocean though, that would have been much, much worse!
She closed her eyes for a moment as they made their final descent, wishing away the next few minutes. Her worry wasn’t for her, but for her family, especially the children, who needed their mum, and Mum always came back.
Chapter 13
It was never going to be easy, landing at a military base in the middle of nowhere, with two hundred and fifty passengers and no facilities to talk of. There were also none of their engineers there, and no spare engines funnily enough, so they just sat and waited for updates on what the hell they were going to do.
Even worse, there was no phone signal, no way of getting hold of anyone, to let them know that you were going to be very late. The airline had contacted their loved ones, in case they heard about the diversion and worried, but she could hardly ask them to call the married man that was driving from San Diego to meet her in secret, could she?
Yes, Mark was married, but then so was she, so she could hardly judge him on that count. He was a little older than the others, but she had nothing against older men, just ones that didn’t age well. He had only ever mentioned his wife and kids once, the first time that they met in a speakeasy bar in San Francisco, but never since then, and her likewise. The same rules applied with him as with all of the others. She hoped that he had checked to see if her flight was delayed before setting off.
Two hours passed, the passengers strangely accepting of the situation, watching their TVs and taking the drinks that the crew offered them gratefully. If she had imagined how it would play out she would have pictured them all standing up demanding they be taken to their destination immediately, blaming the airline and their incompetence. But it seemed they were all mostly of the same mind, grateful to be in one piece on the ground, that today their number wasn’t up.
‘I want to speak to the captain,’ came the voice from behind her as she stood in the galley with Darren. Well there was always going to be one.
‘I’m sorry, sir, but the captain is busy right now, anything I can help you with?’ Darren said, all politeness and professionalism.
‘I doubt it,’ said the unsavoury looking little man that had just come in. ‘I doubt you know any more than I do. I have a very important meeting I need to get to and I want to know what the hell the plans are.’
The captain’s voice came over the PA, saving Darren the pain of having to deal with this person who was obviously going to be difficult and condescending. Darren held his hand up at him, signalling that he needed to shut up and listen.
‘Well please accept my apologies, ladies and gentlemen, we finally have a plan and are hoping to get things moving very shortly. An aircraft is currently being readied in Detroit to come and pick us all up.’ A few of the passengers cheered, a little prematurely. ‘Unfortunately though, because of duty hours and limitations, the crew on the relief aircraft will be unable to take us all the way to San Francisco, but will be taking us back to Detroit, where we will all be clearing immigration, before catching a domestic flight to our destination.’ The cheers were replaced by groans; there was still a very long day ahead. ‘We really appreciate your patience, I know you are all as frustrated as we are right now, and I sincerely apologise for the delay, but I do ask that you do not in any way take your frustrations out on my crew, who I know have done their utmost for you, and are ultimately in the same situation as all of you.’
Darren and Susan couldn’t help but look at the man as the captain said the last bit, defying him to make any derisory comments, and he scurried back to his seat. They both huddled behind the galley bulkhead, where no one could see them, knowing that the mood in the cabin would not be great right now. Susan felt sorry for her colleagues who couldn’t hide as they sat on their jumpseats opposite passengers at the doors further up, wondering if she should go and relieve them, but deciding against it.
Susan switched her phone on as they landed in Detroit; they should have arrived in San Francisco an hour ago.
Just landed in Detroit, we had to divert, won’t be getting in until midnight now, sorry. She sent the message, hoping he had known already and not made the journey.
Oh no. Where shall I meet you?
Susan looked at the phone. She was tired already and knew that in another six hours even she would struggle to be on form. But he had come to see her and it wouldn’t be fair not to see him at all. Would it?
I think I will be too tired to go anywhere tonight Mark, I’m sorry xxx
He took a while to reply.
It’s fine, I understand, I’ll get a room tonight, how about breakfast tomorrow?
Sounds great, Pick me up at 9:30 xxx
Well that wasn’t so hard after all she thought. Mark was probably the most emotional of her beaux, and she had wondered if perhaps he liked her a little too much sometimes, only agreeing to her rules because otherwise he wouldn’t see her at all. Anyway, she knew he would always go home to his wife, and she spaced out her trips here enough to stop him getting too attached; thank goodnes
s she was part time and able to move her flights easily enough.
The crew and the passengers landed in San Francisco like something out of a zombie movie, all exhausted from their almost twenty-four-hour adventure. In the hotel Susan climbed into her bed and set her alarm, falling asleep immediately after, glad that she had no one to interrupt her dreams. Tonight’s dreams were of home though, of Jeff and the children, and she woke up the next morning feeling a little unsettled that Susan Kennedy had been here, in Susan Harrison’s world.
Chapter 14
Exactly on time Mark’s shiny black Chevy drove onto the hotel forecourt. Susan jumped into the passenger seat, giving him a quick kiss and settling into the soft leather seat as he pulled off. The smile on his face told her that he was pleased to see her. She studied him as he drove them along Fisherman’s Wharf, noticing that the silver in his hair was starting to spread further. It made him look even more distinguished though, with his chiselled jaw and bright blue eyes. In some ways he reminded her of Jeff, like how she and Jeff would be if they were ever to have a weekend away somewhere beautiful on their own, ever. She couldn’t remember such a time since before the children, all there had been were a few family holidays. She left the children enough when she came away, and didn’t want to leave them any more than that, so she didn’t push for romantic breaks, and he certainly never mentioned having one.
‘How about Sausalito?’ He turned and smiled at her, the lines that framed his eyes adding to his attraction. ‘Let’s take the ferry over.’
He turned opposite Pier 39 and parked up, taking her hand as they crossed over to the ferry building. Twenty minutes later they stood on the deck of the ferry, leaning against the railings and taking in the beauty of San Francisco Bay. The morning mist was just clearing from the Golden Gate Bridge, and the sun reflected off its orange steel. They passed Alcatraz, the decaying prison standing on its rock defiantly, tourists snapping away, taking pictures with it. Mark too was taking pictures.