Runway Romance (Love in the Air Trilogy) (10 page)

There was a slight pause before the women began laughing.

“Now there’s an offer we can’t refuse,” Geri said. “Get drunk, sleep with the captain and several of your friends, then wake up with a hangover and a yeast infection. Lovely.”

“Damn, Geri, I think we need to cut you off.”

“Don’t like the truth, cap’n?”

“Just don’t like a mean drunk.”

“You haven’t even seen me drunk, baby.”

“I think this may be my cue,” Jenny said.

“Me, too,” Aida agreed.

“Now you’re all leaving?” Brendan said.

“I’m staying, Bren. You can count on me.”

“Great. The only one I didn’t want to stay.”

“Hey!”

“Don’t like the truth, Ger?”

“Are you okay to get to your hotel?” Aida asked Geri.

“I’m fine. Ol’ Bren will take care of me, if I’m not. Won’t you, Bren?”

Brendan leaned back in his chair, eyeing the three women. “This is the last time I crash a Skirt party.”

Aida rolled her eyes. “Say good night, Gracie.”

“Good night, Gracie,” Jenny said.

“Who’s Gracie?” Geri asked.

“Oh, man,” Brendan said.

“Are you sure you don’t want a ride back to the hotel?” Aida asked Geri again.

“I’ll make sure she gets back safely,” Brendan said.

“You’re a good man, Bren.” Geri patted his hand roughly.

“Or something like that,” Brendan said.

“He’s a real saint,” Jenny said.

Brendan lifted his glass up toward Jenny, “Back atcha, babe.”

Chapter Twelve

After a restful sleep, Jenny enjoyed a morning swim in the heated hotel pool, then showered and gathered her belongings so she could check-out. She had plenty of time to get to the airport for her flight.

The only excitement on the return trip to Seattle was the pop star Allysa McMasters obvious presence in first class.

“I hate celebrities!” Cassidy Reynolds dumped the diet cola with extra ice down the sink. “Her highness says the ice is too cold.”

“Sensitive teeth?” Jenny asked.

“Ice is ice. It’s supposed to be cold. If it was warm ice, it would be water.”

“Can you see nipple yet?”

“No. I’m guessing in another ten minutes.”

“That would make Miranda the winner.”

“Is it really that hard to find a shirt that fits over your boobs?”

“Maybe you can fill her in on where to shop.”

Miranda Barton made her way toward the duo. “Allysa wants her soda now. No ice. But, it has to be cold. Not too cold, but cold.”

“Anyone have a thermometer?”

“Bring her two or three choices and let her pick,” Jenny said.

“Good idea. It will save me from having to come back here again when she’s not happy.”

“Hey, did you hear about the ghost flight tonight?” Miranda said.

Cassidy stopped in her tracks as she juggled four soft drinks. “Ghost flight?”

“The only thing aboard will be body bags.”

“Why?” Jenny asked.

“They’re moving a cemetery from the West Coast to the East Coast.”

“Why?” Jenny asked again.

“Something about property lines, bodies not being buried deep enough and no room to rebury them.”

“I’m glad I’m not working that flight. You shouldn’t disturb the dead,” Jenny said.

“Have you ever worked a ghost flight?” Cassidy asked.

Jenny shook her head.

“I have. It’s creepy. Not a passenger in sight, yet you can feel their presence.”

“Do they have to run with a full crew on that kind of flight?” Miranda asked.

“Skeleton crew.”

“Is that story real or did you just want to use that punch line?” Jenny asked.

“It’s real all right, but I did want to use the punch line.”

When the flight touched down and the passengers were safely on their way to their destinations, the FAs wasted no time heading to the Ballinger Air flight lounge. They filled out their paperwork and submitted it, then said their goodbyes.

Jenny found herself lingering by the large windows overlooking the runway. Several baggage vehicles were making their way along the tarmac.

“Richard, are you in one of those trucks?” Jenny bit her lower lip, then headed over to the scheduling counter.

“Stacy, can you tell me if Richard Novatney is working today?”

“Is that the baggage handler? You found out his name before I did.”

“I ran into him again in the corridor.”

“Do I still get the cookies?”

“Of course.”

“Let me check.” It only took a few taps of her fingers on the keyboard for the answer to be revealed. “Yes. He’s assigned to flight #212.” Stacy shuddered.

“What?”

“Ghost flight. He’ll be loading bodies for quite a while.”

“Not by himself, though, right?”

“He’s alone for the first hour, then Charles Peterson will be joining him.”

“How many bodies?”

“Six hundred and nine. They’ll have to stack one on top of the other.”

Both women felt a chill shimmy down their spine.

“Is there some way I can get a pass to be on the runway?”

“During a ghost flight? Heavens no. Everyone will be on high alert. They don’t want even one body unaccounted for or there’ll be hell to pay.”

“Thanks, Stacy. I appreciate your help.”

“Anytime.”

Jenny returned to the lounge, waiting for another FA to show up so she could bum a ride home. She’d be seeing Rich tomorrow anyway for her first driving lesson. It was only a day away.

As she pressed her fingers to the glass, she wondered what Rich thought of handling all those bodies.

“Hi, Jenny. What are you still doing here?” Captain Alexander asked.

“Waiting for a ride home.”

“Is someone coming to pick you up?”

“No. I need a mercy ride.”

“I’m headed toward Mill Creek. I’d be happy to give you a lift if you’re going that way.”

“That would be great! I live in Mountlake Terrace.”

“This is your lucky day.”

Captain Alexander insisted on giving her curbside service.

“You really didn’t have to go so far out of your way. I just wanted you to drop me off at the intersection closest to the freeway.”

“That’s two miles from here.”

“Walking is good for me.”

“It may be good for you, but you shouldn’t have to do it in heels lugging cargo.”

“I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know. I’m getting my first driving lesson tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll be able to drive myself in the near future.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

The house seemed to welcome Jenny when she opened the door. Even though she’d only been gone a couple of days, it always felt good to come home.

“Pajamas, here I come. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.”

As she snuggled under her thick comforter surrounded by the familiar scents of her bedroom, she thought of Rich and Charles picking up black body bags with silver zippers, carrying them through dense fog and placing them inside the cargo hold of the plane. Again and again as the hour grew late and the sky darker.

She imagined they heard a sound; a low moan coming from one of the bags. Would they dare unzip it and look inside? Why weren’t the bodies buried in caskets? Were holes dug so long ago, before they used wood and nails to fashion a coffin, that bodies were simply placed inside and covered with soil?

What would it feel like to hold a body in your arms? Even if it wasn’t flesh-to-flesh, you knew you were holding more than skin and bone. This person had dreams, felt sorrow, experienced joy and pain, lived a life.

Do they know they’ve been uprooted? Does it change anything about their afterlife?

Jenny saw Richard hesitate before slowly lowering the zipper. The ripe stench of decay filled his nostrils. He coughed as bile rose high in his throat, but he didn’t stop.

He pulled the two sides of the bag apart to reveal its contents. Emaciated flesh with protruding bones met his eyes. Clothing half disintegrated and half embedded in such a way that you couldn’t tell what was leathery flesh and what was fabric.

Charles backed away slowly, not believing his eyes as the corpse’s mouth seemed to move ever so slightly as a whispered moan escaped through shredded lips.

Jenny thought she heard a word wrapped around the moan. She strained to hear as the vision became muddled and blurry. This time the words were unmistakable. “Richard.”

Jenny sat upright in bed, sweat dripping down her face and her heart beating rapidly. She jumped out of bed and ran to the light, needing to illumine every inch of space to blot out the images running through her mind.

As she looked around her room, her breathing began to even out. When it was steady again, she retrieved her cell phone from the charger, found Richard’s card and called him.

“Your dime.”

Jenny took a deep breath as her shoulders relaxed, allowing her neck muscles to slack their tension. “More like a quarter these days.”

“Jenny?”

“Yeah. I’m surprised you recognize my voice.”

“I’d know it anywhere. What’s up?”

“I was just… I had a… Are you okay?”

“Sure, why?”

“You’re working the ghost flight.”

“You heard. Everyone’s a bit freaked out by it all. I consider it an honor. We’re being entrusted with people’s loved ones. I’m usually carrying luggage around, that’s just possessions.”

“I never really thought about it like that. You have such a different perspective than I do. It’s fascinating. I want to sit at your feet and learn.”

“Just call me Buddha Novatney. Seriously, though, I think we learn a lot from each other.”

“I don’t want to keep you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I had sort of a weird dream.”

“Will you tell me about it tomorrow? We’re still on, right?”