“Sweetness, we’re here.” An elbow nudges me in the arm and I swat at it.
“Shhh, Jade sleeping. Bye bye.”
“So, I’ll board the plane by myself, shall I?”
The words penetrate my slumber and I jerk awake. “Plane?”
“Yeah, that one.” Kaine points out the window to a charter plane sitting on the tarmac, the stairs lowered and a flight attendant standing on a short red carpet.
“Oh my God, if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m going to push you into that plane’s propeller.”
“Er, planes don’t have propellers anymore, sweetness.”
“Some do!”
“Not ones of that size. Now, how about we just take this one surprise at a time? First, let’s board the plane, those peanuts aren’t going to wait for just anyone!”
I stare at him, my mouth wide open for a minute, trying to process. It’s been years since I last flew on a plane, anywhere. It’s simply been a luxury I just couldn’t afford. Not to mention not wanting to leave New Yorkin case Gabriel would need me.
“Where are we going?” I ask, trying to process it all.
“Somewhere special,” is all he gives me.
“Kaine.”
“Happy birthday, Jade.”
I kiss him, hard and fast.
“LET’S GO!” I yell and jump out of the car and run to the plane.
“Good morning and Happy Birthday, Miss Sinclair,” the flight attendant greets me. “Please, right up these stairs,” she says and points to the open plane door.
Kaine wanders up behind me, carrying the purse I’d left in the car in my excitement. “Go on, then,” he encourages me.
I teeter on my heels up the small stairs, turning around just before I climb in, the wind whooshing through my hair, blowing it all over my face. A feeling of euphoria floods me, and I laugh, the sound disappearing into the sky. It’s the freest I’ve ever felt in my life.
“Come on, Ashley! Or we’re going to take off without you!” I yell at him as he remains watching me from the ground.
He grins and hands the flight attendant my bag then runs up the stairs after me. I squeal and duck into the plane, stopping as soon as the extravagance of the interior greets me.
“Wowwww,” I let out a slow breath, taking it all in.
It’s a large luxurious plane, with about 12 seats in all. Oh, but what seats they are! They’re laid out in single rows, with a wide aisle in between. Each is a single leather recliner, and there’s a table in between each row. There’s luxurious wood panelling along the skirts of the plane walls, and large tv screens on each side.
“Hey, is there room for me?” Kaine whispers into my ear as he comes up behind me.
I spin around and wrap my arms around his neck, kissing his cheek wildly, over and over.
“Whoa, whoa! Careful or else you’ll push me down the stairs!” He laughs and presses his hands against my back, pushing us both into the middle of the plane. “So, is this okay?”
“Okay? This is… this is… like no private plane I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Oh, been on a lot of private planes, have you?” he winks.
I throw him a look, “You know I’m a peasant, don’t tease.”
“No, you’re a queen. Mine,” he says, and presses a kiss onto my palm.
There’s a mechanical whirring and the plane grows a little darker, as the stairs pull up and lock into place.
Kaine pushes me towards the middle rows of chairs and into a seat. I’m so excited I can barely sit still and he admonishes me as he tries to do up my seatbelt.
“Stop squirming!” he scolds, not sounding mad at all.
I hold still as long as I can before twisting to peer out the window again.
“Where are we going?”
“Well, where do you want to go?”
I think about it for a moment, my mind fogging up with city names and towns I’ve never thought I could visit.
“I know,” I finally say.
“Where?”
“I want to go somewhere, you’ve never been before. I want to see you experience a new place for the very first time.”
“I’d hoped you’d say that,” he says, which makes no sense. He presses a button on the remote in his seat and there’s a buzzing of the intercom.
“Yes, Mr. Ashley, this is the captain speaking.”
“Captain, we’re ready. Location… where we discussed.”
“Yes, sir. We’re next in line to take off, but we should be in the air soon. It’s a bit windy out, but we should make good time.”
Kaine presses the button on the remote and the buzzing stops.
“You ready?” he asks, looking almost excited as I feel.
“Yes! Except I don’t even know where we’re going.”
“Well, you picked a place I’ve never been. So, I did.”
“But… you already discussed it with the pilot. How did you know I wasn’t going to say something else?”
“Luck?”
“So where are we going?”
He reaches over and takes my hands in his.
“Harrisonburg, Virginia.”
I can’t believe what he’s said. I turn and stare at him, the hoodie is pulled back and he’s smiling. I shake my head, unbelieving. He nods and runs his thumb along my cheek.
“No…”
“Yes, we’re going to go celebrate your birthday. With family.”
HER
You know how they say when you die, you see your life flashing before your eyes? Pictures of people you love and videos of your most memorable experiences?
I hope mine will just be a slow-motion re-enactment of my flight from Teterboro, New Jersey, to Harrisonburg, Virginia, on my 28th birthday.
The first fifteen minutes of my flight are spent staring out the window in awe.
Watching as the houses and factories of New Jersey grow smaller and smaller as we ascend to the sky while the heavens soar closer and closer.
Finally, at cruising altitude, I sigh and sink back into my seat. Kaine reaches over and taps me on the knee.
“Happy?”
“Happy,” I reply and hope he can see it in my eyes.