Author's note. All characters and events in this story are imaginary and bear no resemblance to real people or what they may or may not have done. Please also note that characters are all over the age of 18.
Jessica's Sister
I picked up the phone on the third ring. "David Marshall."
The voice on the other end was somewhat hesitant. "Hi David, it's Chloe." There was a pause, as if she was waiting for me to respond, but the name did not ring a bell and I was silent. She hurried on to explain. "You know, Jessica's sister -"
My mind spun back, placing her. Chloe...my wife's sister, whom I'd met once before only. Initial impressions: thin, unsmiling, unfriendly - and yet here she was talking to me. She must want something I thought, but I put enthusiasm into my voice.
"Chloe! Of course. I wasn't expecting to hear from you."
"No. Well, I've only just heard that you're in town - in fact I hear that you're flying out tomorrow and I wanted to ask a favour."
"Ask away."
"I wondered if you would have a spare seat for me."
I thought quickly. Jess must have told her that I was ferrying an aircraft back to the east coast and that I might have a spare seat. I was surprised that she was asking - it wasn't as if we were particularly close. I
did
have an empty seat though and maybe this would be an opportunity to mend bridges - or to find out why the hell she'd burned them in the first place.
Her voice interrupted my thoughts. "I'd be really grateful, David."
"How much luggage would you have?"
"As little as you wanted me to."
"You know it's a long and boring flight in a very small aircraft?"
"That's not a problem." She sounded almost defensive.
"We'll be stopping off one night on the way."
"I'm happy to pay my way."
"Very well. You need to be at Flight Facilities at the airport at five tomorrow morning - one small suitcase only. Wear warm clothes and bring something to wrap up in, and a packed lunch. Can I pick you up somewhere?"
"I'll manage, thanks."
"Don't be late - I won't be able to hang around."
Her voice was cool. "I won't be. See you then." The line clicked as the connection was broken.
I put the handset back on the cradle and thought about what had just happened. Chloe was the youngest of my wife's three sisters, and we'd only met once - at our wedding a couple of years ago. She'd been a bridesmaid and I remembered her as a mousey blonde with somewhat pinched features and a snooty air about her. She hadn't actually said that she didn't approve of me as a brother in law, but she certainly gave that impression - or perhaps it was just her superior attitude: either way, we hadn't hit it off at all. Still, this was an opportunity to get to know her a bit better and if we didn't like each other by the end of this trip it would at least be based on more than just first impressions.
So much for the solitude of flying, though. I really didn't need the company.
*****
She stood by the check-in counter at five the next morning, dressed in jeans and a blue blouse with a hooded windcheater. She had filled out a little since I last saw her, and she looked better for it - an oval symmetrical face with full, well shaped lips and a slightly upturned nose. Her eyes were blue, almost azure, and the hair that fell softly around her shoulders was the colour of ripe wheat with bronze highlights. An interesting package: not classically beautiful but definitely the sort of girl that caused men to look twice.
She didn't kiss me but instead took my hand in hers and gave it a small, formal shake.
I smiled. "Good to see you, Chloe. Do you have a warm coat or a blanket? It will get very cold up there."
She indicated a folded blanket on her bag and I nodded in approval. "Good. Are you ready?"
"Yes. What time do we leave?"
"As soon as we can. The flight plan's in and I've checked over the aircraft."
"How long to get home?"
I looked at her. "Tomorrow - about four pm if all goes well. I'll make a special landing to drop you off and then I'm going on to deliver the aircraft to its owner."
"I'm sorry if I put you out."
"No problem - you're family."
She looked as if I'd just said something unpleasant and I smiled.
"Have you been to the toilet? There's no facilities on board."
"Yes."
"Have you flown in a light aircraft before?"
"Not really."
"Do you want me to explain what's going on during the flying?"
She shrugged. "I guess."
"I'll take that as a yes, then." We walked over the apron towards the aircraft and I talked to her about it, what to look for, safety tips, checks. I stowed her baggage in the nose and did a final walk around.
She peered into the rear cabin, noting the large green container that filled it. "What's that?"
"Long range fuel tank. It transfers directly into the main tanks in each wing with an electric pump."
"It looks very heavy."
I nodded. "We'll be at max gross weight on take off. I had to take a little fuel out for you."
She grimaced. "Will that be a problem?"
"Nope, we have a big safety margin so I used up a bit of that." I looked at her. "Besides, you're so slim it was really only a couple of gallons." She didn't acknowledge the compliment, so I helped her into the small cockpit and strapped her in.
We lifted off just before dawn, the high intensity runway lights rotating away below us, their perspective suddenly changing as I lifted the aircraft nose. The wheels housed with a solid
thunk
and we were up and free, climbing into the dark sky with the lights of the city spread below. They slipped rapidly behind us and soon there was nothing to indicate any sign of habitation - we were alone, the two of us in a little cocoon suspended in a world of black with only the throb of the engines and the sibilant whisper of the slipstream over the canopy to keep us company.
As we passed through six thousand feet the first stirrings of dawn appeared on the horizon's rim: a band of gold and red, the sky above turning from black to dark indigo and the stars fading. The first rays of the sun speared above the horizon, lancing out into the firmament like golden fingers, reaching up to spill their light over the aircraft so that the paintwork gleamed red and orange and black and the propeller discs spun like fat gold coins either side of the cockpit. And then suddenly the sphere of the sun appeared, climbing rapidly over the horizon and the soft and sleepy colours of the dawn surrendered to the crisp, fresh light of another day.
We climbed through the transitioning colours of the sky -indigo giving way to the soft pastel pink and blue of dawn, hardening rapidly into a bright, cobalt blue that stretched for ever over the vast brown land below us. For a while it just belonged to the two of us - until at last we reached our cruising altitude and I leveled her off and adjusted the throttle and mixture settings and then engaged the autopilot before jotting down the time and other details. I glanced across at Chloe but she was looking straight ahead, apparently unmoved by nature's display.
"Did you enjoy that?"
"What?" Her voice sounded very close in the headphones.
"The sunrise. I never get tired of seeing it - you get a whole different perspective from up here."
"It was nice." She glanced at me, noting my hands weren't on the controls. "Shouldn't you be flying the 'plane?"
I laughed. "It's on autopilot."
"Oh - so your job really isn't that difficult." There was just a trace of scorn in her voice.
"It gets more difficult when something goes wrong."
"Like what?"
"Like anything that might cause this aircraft to stop flying."
"Are you trying to frighten me?"
I sighed. So this is how it was going to be. "No, I'm not." I looked at her again, but she remained staring ahead. "Look, Chloe - we've got about twelve hours together in this cockpit until we get to where we're going, so why don't we try to be pleasant to each other? It won't cost you anything and it'll sure make the time go a bit more quickly."
She glanced at me, a brief turn of the head before she looked away again. "I don't know what you mean." Her face was expressionless, staring through the perspex, but I could see from the set of her mouth and the way that she leaned forward that she was tense. I wondered why she was like this, but then shrugged. It was her problem, not mine.
We flew on through the morning, and Chloe sat by my side without speaking. Sometimes she closed her eyes, leaning against the window to try and find a few inches more room, but it was uncomfortable and she didn't sleep. At length she gave up and pushed her pillow behind her seat, and then opened her packed lunch.
She waved it in my direction. "Want a sandwich? It's - er, cheese and pickle."
I didn't really want one but perhaps it was a peace offering. "Thanks."
She handed it to me, her fingers long and slim. "'Scuse fingers."
"No worries." I regarded her. "Was that a wedding ring I saw on your finger?"
"Nah. I wear it just to keep the guys off." She held up her left hand to show me the thin gold band.
"I see. Do you have someone, though?"
She shook her head. "I had someone - Michael. I really thought he might be the one. He was an engineer - good looking, hard working...seemed a nice guy." Her voice turned bitter. "That was, until I told him I was pregnant. He couldn't get out of the house fast enough, and next I heard he'd gone up north to work in the mines. I never heard from him again."
"I'm sorry."
She laughed briefly. "And the irony was that I miscarried at ten weeks. We could still have been together - but I guess he did me a favour by letting me know what he was really like."
"You're young and pretty Chloe. You'll find someone."
"You're very kind." She stared out of the window for a while, watching the brown earth slowly moving below us. I thought she'd done talking, but she suddenly spoke again.
"The truth is that I really don't want to have another relationship - not yet, anyway. I'd rather just beat my head on a brick wall every night. It hurts less."
"I understand, believe me. But something will come along, probably just when you least expect it."
"Maybe. It won't be me looking for it though."
We sat in silence for a few minutes while I checked the fuel calculations and checked the navigation, but I liked hearing her voice and seeing her smile so I asked her how she got on with Jess.
"So-so," she said. "I really don't hear much from her."
"You know that she's very proud of you."
