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Thiswas amazing.
Theroar of the wind thundered in her ears.Aloud whoop started in the pit of her belly and travelled up her body and out through her mouth. ‘Idid it!’ she screamed.Kjellspun her around in circles.Outof the corner of her eye, she detected the no-fear cameraman diving and somersaulting around them to get the best angles of her fall.Showoff.
Inthe distance, she clockedStonehenge, standing strong for thousands of years.
Thatdeep sensation of peace she had been chasing came over her again, reminiscent of the helicopter ride.Sheloved this.Heck, she was going to train as a skydiver.Shewanted this feeling all the time.
From15,000 feet, the website said the free fall would last about a minute.Jesshad developed a system for categorising minutes.Aplanking minute—that is, the length of time that passed while one is holding a plank position—always seemed to last forever, whereas a reading-a-good-book minute always flew by too fast.Unfortunately, this minute fell into the latter category and, before she knew it, the parachute opened up, pulling them backwards.Theengine-sound of the air transformed into silence.Theyfloated gently, weightless as feathers, and she thought about a book she read to her kids aboutAlbertEinstein, and how he came to link motion with gravity.Shewas experiencing science!
Kjelllet her take control of the parachute ropes for a moment, which thrilled her.Beingin charge even for just a few seconds gave her a powerful feeling in her gut.Shehad done this!Whatnext?
Below, she saw her photographer about to land and watched him avidly, taking mental notes.Hisfeet touched down, he ran a few steps, and came to a stop.Thenhe deftly detached from his parachute.
Theground was rushing towards her now.Notime to think.Shelifted her legs into a tuck as instructed and waited forKjell’sfeet to make contact with the earth.Assoon it happened, she dropped her feet to the ground, running her legs.Thesudden pull of gravity on her body made her feel temporarily heavy.
Theeuphoria was instantaneous.
Sheyelled, ‘Iwant to go up again!’ and danced around, hugging members of the ground team.Whata buzz!Twomonths ago, she never would have considered doing something like this, but look at her now.
Thisfelt right.Thisfelt like who she was meant to be.
Exitingthe hangar,Jessheaded back to her car, still grinning from ear-to-ear.Theroar of another plane taking off with another load of expectant passengers ripped through the air.Ifthey’d had space, she would have gone up again, but at £300 a pop, that could get expensive, fast.Shewas serious about getting qualified.Thisexperience had definitely given her the bug.
Shewound her way through the jammed parking lot.Closerto her car, she noticed something propped on her front windshield.
Asshe approached,Pierre, her broken piggy cookie jar fromParis, materialised.Goldenlines crisscrossed his body, repairing the breaks where he had cracked.
Gabriel?
Shespun around and searched for him.Anotherjolt of adrenaline shot through her body, and her breath hitched.Shethought her heart had been beating fast before the jump; now, it hammered as though driven by a machine.
Holdingher hand above her eyes, she studied the people in the nearby queue, checking in for their jump.Nope.Nosalt-n-pepper heads.Shecouldn’t see him anywhere.Wherewas he?
Swingingaround in the other direction, she saw him step out from behind a black van, a big self-satisfied grin on his face. ‘Bonjour,Jess.’
Herstomach fluttered.Hisdeep, amused voice was the sweetest sound she’d ever heard.
‘Whatthe hell?’ she gasped and ran up to him.
Don’tget excited, she warned herself.He’sprobably just here on business.Sheshouldn’t jump to any conclusions, even though delicious expectation and need surged through her.Awashwith confusion and hope, she acted automatically and thwapped him on the chest.
‘Ow!’ he said, rubbing the spot over his heart.
‘Howdid you knowIwas here?’ she asked.
‘Mymeddling sister, of course.’
Elodie.Shehad told him after seeing it onJess’sFacebookpage.Andthen there was that donation…
Hadhe been here the whole time?Hadhe watched her jump?Hadhe?—
Waita second.Athought took hold, but surely it couldn’t be true.Sherecalled smelling his cologne when she was in the plane…
‘Wereyou my photographer?!’
‘Guiltyas charged.Themost overqualified skydiving photographer in the world, at your service, ma’am.’Hepretended to doff an imaginary cap.
Shehad so much adrenaline coursing through her system that only one reaction seemed right: she grabbed him and kissed him.Hisarms wound tight around her.Sheremembered the way their bodies fit together so perfectly like it had only been minutes since they last held each other.
