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But I’m…numb.
“Brianna…”
I turn to Jesse, look into his dark eyes. He gently removes the yellow oxygen mask from my face.
“I was so scared.” My tone is robotic.
“So was I, baby.”
The flight attendant, Bethany, who seems not nearly as shaken as we passengers are, walks down the aisle. The stench of vomit drifts toward me, and I swallow back my own nausea.
My left hand is in Jesse’s, while my right hand clutches the armrest of my window seat with white knuckles.
Outside, the sky is still pitch black with no lights from below. Either we’re above clouds, or there are no boats on the English Channel.
Or blackness has just descended…
No.
I breathe in.
We’re okay.
I didn’t lose my dinner, and neither did Jesse, but someone did.
As reality sinks back in, I realize the entire episode lasted less than a minute. It felt longer, and yet it also seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.
I swallow.
Bethany stops and smiles at Jesse. “Do you two need anything?”
“I’d love to have the ten years that turbulence just took off my life back,” he says.
I can’t tell if he’s trying to be jovial or if he’s covering for how nerve-racked he is.
She nods. “The captain and co-captain are so sorry. There was irregular atmospheric motion, and the wings lost some lift in the process. Everything is fine now, and the captain has the aircraft under control. These things happen sometimes, and the pilot is almost always able to regain control.”
I swallow. “Almost?”
Bethany’s eyes widen. “Forgive me for my poor word choice.” She gives a weak smile. “I promise you, I’ve been doing this flight back and forth every day for the last eight years. As the captain said, the kind of turbulence we just experienced is rare but not unheard of. A plane is always the safest place you can be.”
Jesse looks around, eyeing the fallen suitcases and the sheet-white faces of our fellow passengers. “It sure as hell doesn’t feel like it.”
Bethany nods. “I know. But trust me on this one. Is there anything I can get you?”
“A stiff drink?” he says.
She smiles. “Right away. What would you like?”
He blinks. “Nothing. I couldn’t possibly drink. I’m not sure why that came out of my mouth.”
“Water then?” she asks.
“Sure.” He looks at me. “Brianna?”
I simply shake my head. Anything that goes down is likely to come right back up. I still need to get my bearings.
Once Bethany is gone, Jesse turns back to me and plants a vigorous kiss on my lips. “Fuck, Brianna. I love you so much. If I wasn’t sure before, I sure as hell am now.”
