Painful Flight

The plane boarded late, but Jake was still cheerful. Once he was buckled in, he stretched his legs out straight and ran his miniature fire truck up and down his thigh. Elaine collapsed next to him, shoved the bag of toys under the seat and looked at her watch. As long as they departed in the next thirty minutes, Jake wouldn’t get overly hungry and would be ready for a distracting snack as they made the ascent. Her hands felt shaky, just thinking about their last flight – JFK to Heathrow, he’d screamed for two hours. She was so tired of this, flying without Ben by her side. It was easy for him to say: he was working for them, traveling for them, she was fortunate she could join him on some of his trips. Let him fly alone with Jake while she entertained clients. Sometimes, she felt like a single mother, with Ben gone 2-3 weeks a month.

Meg turned her body toward the window of 23A, stuffed her ear buds deep inside, hoping to reach her ear canal and scrolled through her iPod to The Doors double live album. With eyes closed, she let Jim Morrison’s scream wash over her brain, her heart, fill her entire body, blending with her own silent scream. Once she arrived in San Francisco, she really didn’t know how she was going to continue her life without Alan. Suddenly, her seat shuddered with a solid kick from behind.

Julia clutched the pages of the Wall Street Journal. She hated flight delays. The sooner this big bird got up in the air, the sooner the attendants would lurch down the aisle with their tiny bottles of vodka for sale. Her fingers trembled and she stilled them by adjusting her glasses. She forced herself to think about dinner at the grill she loved off Union Square instead of the botched presentation to four vice presidents.

Craig bent back the cover of his paperback. The words swam in front of his eyes. He’d known his father was a bastard from the time he was four years old. Why did his eyes keep filling with tears now that the old crank was in the ground, his sneering lips buried forever? Craig stared hard at the words on the page of his thriller, but digested none of them.

The plane was full. Meg hated the press of a bulky arm against her shoulder. She tried to make herself small, pressing the ear buds until her cartilage ached. The concert in her ears blasted through her sinuses, making her feel she was there. The pounding helped press down the tears collecting inside her nasal cavity. Her seat shuddered again. Then a steady beat began, a thumping that jarred her out of the imaginary world where she was twenty again, dancing wildly at a rock-n-roll concert, oblivious to the realization the human heart could be broken. She wrenched around in her seat and glared at the mother of the child behind her. The woman stared back at her, failing to comprehend the withering look.

Hungry, said Jake.

Just a few more minutes. Elaine smiled.

He whimpered. Elaine reached under the seat and tugged at the bag.

Leave the bag under the seat Ma’am. We’re about to taxi.

I’m just…

You’ll have to wait.

As soon as the flight attendant moved down the aisle, Eileen yanked the top of the bag open, fished her hand inside and pulled out a stuffed rabbit. That would last for three minutes, at best.

Lunch. Jake’s whimper was louder, rising over the sound of the air blowing into the cabin. He slid down so the seatbelt was under his armpits and slammed both feet into the seat in front of them.

Julia gripped the edges of the newspaper. She could not tolerate another flight with a screaming brat. Why couldn’t these parents control their children? Hellions.

Elaine pressed her fingers around Jake’s ankles. Don’t kick, honey.

The woman in the seat ahead of Jake turned and glared through the narrow gap between seats. Elaine turned her face to Jake. What was she supposed to do? The plane was late. She tried to plan the trip to adjust his needs to their flight schedule, but she could only do so much.

Now Jake was slamming his feet against the woman’s seat. She rose up on her knees, a single earphone dangling from a thin, white wire. Control your child. I’m trying to rest.

Elaine leaned over and stroked Jake’s hair with a gentleness she didn’t feel. What a bitch. What did she know? She leaned close to Jake. Honey, you have to be quiet. We’re bothering the other passengers.

I’m hungry! Jake screamed. His face was read and his cries swelled to a full-scale bellow. I want Daddy.

So do I, whispered Elaine.

Behind them, Craig coughed and bit down hard on his lip. Daddy.

© 2009 Cathryn Grant