Two
Jolene
There aredays that I wish I could call in sick. This is one of them. I groan as I roll across my bed and turn off the alarm blaring in the quiet morning. It’s still dark outside and if I didn’t absolutely need my job, I wouldn’t be going in.
This is the first time in a few weeks that I’ve been able to sleep in my own bed. Laying in my own bed with my own pillows is so much better than the crappy hotels with the loud noises of the adjacent rooms. It’s the life I chose when I applied to be a flight attendant at International Airlines, much to my parent’s dismay. They wanted me to do the normal thing. Go to college. Find a steady job, then a husband, and start a family.
It’s not that I’m against any of those things, but when you grow up in a small town, the first thing you want to do is leave. I wanted to spread my wings and explore the world. Being a flight attendant helps me fulfill that dream. The exhilaration of not knowing where you’re going until the week before is everything. Meeting new people, experiencing new things. I’m living my best life. Well, mostly.
I need to stop lying around and get ready. It’s a good thing I always have my bag packed. The plane won’t wait for me. I just hope Lana is working with me on this trip. She has a way of keeping me distracted whenheis the one flying. Carter Clines broke my heart and though he’s with someone else, someone he loves and cares about. It still stings. Before Kendall, I lasted two months with the pilot. That’s the longest he had ever been with anyone. I thought that meant I was special. Turns out, I was just another woman in a long line of women before me.
I can’t think about him right now, even if I will see him in a few short hours. Well, more like hear him. This is another international flight, and that means he’ll be singing to all the passengers. Making sure there are headphones in my bag is a must. It’ll give me something to listen to while blocking him out. It’s not that I’m bitter or anything. I’m happy for him. He’s found “the one”. But that doesn’t lessen the sting of rejection. Especially when I thought we were going somewhere. And…that’s the last bit of attention I’m going to give Triple C. For now, anyway.
Rolling out of bed, I groan. “Goodbye, sweet and comfortable bed,” I pat the bed as if it were my pet. “Until we meet again.” Dramatic? Maybe. Do I care? Not even a little bit. A person never really appreciates the small things until they’re sleeping on a rock-hard mattress to the tune of banging headboards on the other side of the wall. Not all places are like that, thank God. But the ones that are, I never get a good night’s rest.
A quick shower is all I have time for. I hurry to my small bathroom and turn on the water, not even letting it completely warm up before I jump in. That extra time in bed I spent agonizing over working with Carter cost me precious minutes. I don’t have the luxury of letting it get hot before I wash my hair and body. I’m in and out in less than five minutes. The steam hasn’t even had the chance to build up in the tiny space. Next time, I will not drag ass when the alarm goes off.
Still in my robe, I grab my phone off the nightstand and perch on the edge of my bed while I blow-dry my hair. Normally I’d do this in the bathroom, but I’m not ready to say bye to the bed. The low hum of the blow dryer is my soundtrack as I check social media and email. It’s all mostly junk, and I don’t know why I even bother. A message from Lana pops up on the screen and I hope that means she’ll be flying with me today.
Lana: How long until you get to the airport?
Jolene: I don’t know. Thirty, maybe forty-five minutes.
Lana: Why so long? I need someone to bitch to about my long horrendous night.
Jolene: I still need to put my makeup on. What happened?
Lana: Put it on here. And nothing too bad. Just douchy guys at the hotel bar.
Jolene: Why didn’t you tell me you were staying here overnight? You could have stayed here.
Lana: It was late when I got in. And I didn’t want to chance waking you up. I know how much you love to sleep when you’re actually home.
Jolene: I’m almost done blow drying my hair. I’ll use the makeup in my suitcase and put it on while you fill me in on the guys.
Lana: See you in a few. Be careful.
Jolene: Always. And I’ll be catching a cab. As long as they get me there in one piece, I’ll be happy.
It’s a relief she’ll be on the same plane as me. At least, I think she will be. She never said we had the same schedule. Things between us have been strained for a while. After I started messing around with Carter, I almost cost us our friendship. But we’re working past that. We’ll be back at best friend status before I know it. Hell, she didn’t even give me a mocking “I told you so” when he broke things off. I can’t believe I almost let a guy come between us. Especially one that had zero intentions of making us a permanent thing.
Turning the blow dryer off, I unplug it and toss it on my bed. I keep an extra, smaller one, in my suitcase so I won’t need it. I pull a brush through my hair a couple of times, and toss some clothes on. I should change into my uniform, but there will be time for that at the airport. Lana needs to vent. Listening to her is the least I can do after all the crap I caused between us.
I grab the bag that holds my uniforms and my suitcase. We’ll only be gone for a few days, but something feels different about this trip. And it has nothing to do with the hot pilot all the women swoon over. With nothing left to do, I walk out of the apartment and lock up. I should have called a cab as soon as I told Lana I’d be there early. Luckily, I live downtown and there’s sure to be a cab driving through to the airport.
* * *
Lana is sitting outside the gate when I walk up. She grins as soon as she sees me. “It’s about time you got here.”
“I told you it’d take me a bit.” I set the bag holding my uniforms across a couple seats and wrap my arms around Lana’s shoulders. “I forgot to call a cab before I left and had to wait until one passed by.” Letting go of her, I take a step back. “You’d think I’d be used to sharing a small space with someone I don’t know. But, no. The person I ended up in the cab with was awful.”
“More awful than asshole guys at a bar?” She sits down and pats the seat next to her.
“I think so.” The small plastic seat is cold against my thin leggings, and a shiver courses through me. “He was picking his nose behind his hand and then wiping it on the side of the seat. It was disgusting.” I’ve seen some crazy things while working as a flight attendant, but I don’t think anything beats what I witnessed. It’s way too early in the morning to deal with that nonsense.
“You might have me beat, girl.” She turns until she’s facing me and slides one leg under her butt.
“What happened last night?”