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“Oh? What is it?”
“It's a surprise.”
Arianna rolled her eyes. That was Elle's cue to hold her hand to their next destination.
Still, what could the surprise be?
I have to tell her. Tonight.
Elle came to that conclusion after Arianna arrived, not as a result of thinking her girlfriend would be trapped in Seattle should she not like the truth. The more we're together, the more I realize we can't go on with this unsaid between us. It hurt to think about, but it hurt even more to envision a scenario where the truth was forced out by a third party and Arianna never forgave Elle for being less than forthright.
Besides… shouldn't she want to confess everything to the new love of her life?
She kept thinking about it that first full day together in Seattle. While Arianna went into the kitschiest shops and ate foods that reminded her of home in Southeast Asia, Elle watched after her, sneaking photos of Arianna’s candid enjoyment and wondering what it would be like to see that every day for the rest of her life.
Elle didn’t know how it would affect them in the long term. Her, living in Seattle… Arianna, living in Singapore. Even if Elle relocated to LA, would it mean anything? Los Angeles isn’t my favorite city. It was convenient, though. And if Arianna wanted to move there with her…
Why was Elle getting so far ahead of herself? Did love have something to do with it?
They enjoyed dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse as famous for its cocktails as it was known for its entrees. Elle kept herself to one drink, but Arianna had two, wanting to try both the “world famous” pina colada and the locally brewed beer that she deemed “exceptional.” Not like she’s driving. Besides, Elle had seen how much liquor her girlfriend could hold. This was a woman who sometimes drank two glasses of wine or had two cocktails before dinner was over, only to be shocked when she realized her cups were empty. Elle was used to that in Singapore, not that she could ever keep up.
“Are you concerned about my alcohol intake?” Arianna asked in Mandarin, which loosened her up more now that she was tipsy. Elle had commented on how quickly her girlfriend drank that beer, not that she knew any better. “I will be perfectly fine when we get back to your place later. I know what you’re thinking about, Ms. Sparrow.”
She even said Sparrow in Mandarin. Maque had a ring to it. If only that was my real name. Perhaps that was the first thing Elle should confess.
“You know how I said there was something I needed to tell you earlier?” Elle kept her tone light as she spoke, hoping to dilute any worries she may stoke in her girlfriend’s stomach. “My name isn’t Elizabeth Sparrow. That’s a code name I use in the industry when I don’t want people to know who I really am.”
The smile slightly fell off Arianna’s face. “Is that so?”
“My real family name is Sabin. My name is Elizabeth Sabin.”
“I’m confused. Why would you use a fake name? It’s a passenger manifest. It has to be your legal name, right?”
“Not unless I’m doing business with the airline and only the pilots have to know.”
Arianna chewed on that for a moment. “You said you do business with Royal Asia… what is it, exactly? Why would they conceal your name even though you’re a passenger?”
“I may be one of the people who has been secretly reporting what I think of the service to your higher-ups. If you knew my real name, you could look me up, realize who I am, and treat me differently. My goal was to get a feel for how you treat the average passenger. That’s why I was in Economy a couple of times.”
Understanding dawned on Arianna. “You were undercover? Like a secret shopper?”
“Yes. Especially in the beginning, I would compile a report after every flight, whether my destination was Seattle, Los Angeles, or Singapore. There were secret flyers on other routes, too, but those were mine. I commented on the service, the food, and even the onboarding and deplaning processes. Some of the changes you saw in those first several weeks were because of passengers like me. Ah, don’t worry…” Elle immediately saw the worry on her girlfriend’s face. “I only had nice things to say about your crew. But the reason I didn’t stop earlier is because, to be frank, we started dating. I was afraid that if I went back to my actual name for the passenger manifest, you would have questions. Ones I wasn’t yet ready to answer.”
The music softly playing over the speakers faded away, a long lull presenting itself as live music prepared on the stage. Arianna considered everything Elle said, a look of consternation coloring her face. “Do you work for Royal Asia?” She held her breath. “Are you an employee?”
“Aria…” Elle cursed herself for bringing this up right now, when her girlfriend was incredibly savvy. “It’s more complicated than that. I’ll explain it later.”
“All right.” Arianna drew her cloth napkin across her lap, in preparation for the appetizers about to hit their table. “Can I still call you Ms. Sparrow?”
Elle grinned. “Call me whatever you want. As long as it’s nice.”
That could have gone much worse, especially when Elle realized a critical mistake in presenting part of the truth. When I tell her I’m actually a board member… I must use a lot of tact. That included going over her word choice once again. The last thing she wanted was for Arianna to think that her girlfriend assumed she was stupid.
The matter was quickly forgotten, though, as Arianna delved into asking questions about the area and mused on her potential future.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want from my career,” she confessed after they finished dinner and dithered over dessert. “I’m almost thirty. I’ve got the stamina to keep being a flight attendant now, but how long will that last? I envy the positions of my superiors, but they don’t make that much more than I do. Especially with my level of experience. The company paid good money to ensure I defected from Singapura. Women like Boss Tan make more than me, but it’s not enough for me to get a one-bedroom in my current building. And what happens when I want to settle down with someone? To be blunt, even if you asked me to move in with you and you took care of me, I could go down to part-time and do a couple of routes a month. But I would still be tired. Wouldn’t you be tired of traveling around and missing each other all the time?”
“I think this is the kind of thing most couples in our industry come up against at some point.” Elle sighed. “It’s why my ex left, you know.”
