Flight to Paradise (Flight Trilogy, Book 1) (18 page)

The first two days exceeded all of his expectations, but on day three his dreamy honeymoon in paradise began unraveling when Emily started her period and was bedridden with severe menstrual cramps—explaining her snappy attitude on the flight over. Laid up in bed, she became bored, whining to be back in California. As she put it, she was tired of “lounging around and doing nothing.”

By the time she was up and about, thanks to a “swim with the sharks” TV special, she refused to go anywhere near the water, convinced her bleeding would draw sharks. He tried to be understanding but with her constant complaining about being weak and her generally bitchy attitude, sharks didn’t sound like such a bad idea.

After doing everything possible to entertain her, he finally gave in and negotiated to leave two days early on the Friday night red-eye back to Los Angeles. The sudden change in plans cost him two days of his honeymoon special, plus the cost of two full-fare coach tickets to LAX. If he had it to do over, he would have packed up on day three when she first complained. For all practical purposes, that’s when the honeymoon ended.

After flying all night, they arrived back in California early Saturday morning and spent most of the day in bed, sleeping.

Sunday morning, first thing, they stopped by the condo in Del Mar to see Rex and check the mail. Ryan hoped to find his letter of acceptance from the airlines. He had applied with two companies, both of which had given him a verbal indication they were interested. Depending on the airline, he knew they would either be moving to Dallas or Atlanta. He had an apartment on hold in Texas and if the Atlanta-based airline hired him, they planned to stay with his mother until they could find their own place. Emily was hoping for Dallas, mostly because she wasn’t too keen on getting to know Martha Mitchell.

When they opened the door to the condo, things appeared quiet. “Rex must be out for a run or at the gym,” Ryan said.

“I think he’s already had his workout,” Emily said, holding up a red-laced bra she picked up off the back of the sofa. A closer observation revealed a trail of clothes leading to Rex’s bedroom, including the bra’s matching bikini bottoms.

Rex slithered out of his bedroom looking like road kill. He stood naked, except for a pair of boxer shorts. “Well, well, the newlyweds are home. I didn’t expect to see you two until tomorrow.”

“For God sake, Rex, put some clothes on,” Ryan said.

“Emily doesn’t mind. After being with you, I’m sure she’s dying to see what a real man looks like.”

“What happened to you? You look like crap,” Emily said.

A woman’s voice groaned from the bedroom, “Rexy, come back to bed?”

He pulled the bedroom door closed. “So, Emily, did you take good care of my buddy on his honeymoon?” He smiled seductively.

“Where’s the mail?” Ryan asked.

“Over on the counter. Hey, dude, I’ll save you the trouble. We’re both going to the Big ‘D’.”

“Yes!” Emily screamed. She ran over to Ryan and wrapped her arms around him. “We’re going to Dallas. I’m so excited! When can we leave?”

“Honey, calm down. I told you, we’re leaving Friday.

Ryan pulled the letter from the already opened envelope and read it. “When is your class date? Mine is August 20th.”

“Same,” Rex said.

“You mean we’re in the same class?”

“Yep.”

“That’s great!”

Ryan folded the letter and slid it back into the envelope. “So, when are you leaving?”

“I’m not in a big hurry. I’ll probably wait and leave the first of August. I need to take care of a few things around here before I go.”

“That reminds me.” Ryan turned to Emily. “I need to call and confirm our apartment in Texas and let them know we’ll be arriving on July 1st. They were nice enough to hold a one-bedroom for me until Wednesday.”

“Dude? One bedroom?” He raised his hands. “Where am I going to sleep?”

“Rex, you’re full of it.”

“Hey, that’s okay. I don’t mind sleeping between you two.”

Ryan turned to Emily. “Honey, let me run to the bathroom before we go.”

* * *

When Ryan headed for the bathroom, Rex eased over closer to Emily. She couldn’t help but notice that his boxers were not doing the best job of hiding his manhood.

“So, you cut your honeymoon a little short,” Rex said. “What’s wrong, did you miss me?”

“Rex, get real. I’m married.”

He ran his hand slowly down her left arm, pausing to adjust the solitaire diamond on her finger. “That didn’t seem to stop you from enjoying our little going away kiss at the wedding.” He moved closer and whispered. “Emily, why don’t you just admit it. You want me, and you know it.”

“Have you lost your mind?” She stepped back. “Ryan might see you. Why don’t you go take care of little miss prissy pants.”

“Oh, how sweet.” He chuckled. “You’re jealous, that’s it.” Rex eased away at the sound of a toilet flushing. “Don’t you worry, when we get to Texas there will be plenty of opportunities.” He winked at her.

Ryan emerged from the bathroom moving at a quick pace. “Rex, I’ll call you tomorrow and we can head over to the base.”

“Sounds good, brah.” Ryan turned to leave, but Emily delayed long enough for Rex to lock eyes with her. “I’ll see
you
in Texas.”

* * *

The drive back to her parent’s house was quiet. Emily knew Ryan was busy going over a mental checklist of every hour, of every day, for the upcoming week. Her mind, free to roam, wandered off into forbidden places.

The scene back in the apartment was her first stop. If she did make herself available, would Rex
really
risk sleeping with her? Surely not, she thought. He would never jeopardize his friendship with Ryan.

She took another step into her fantasy and asked herself, if alone with Rex, what would
she
do? She closed her eyes. Her mind recalled the image of him in his boxers: tanned, rock hard abs, and….

“How big does it need to be?” Ryan asked.

“What? How big? What are you talking about?

“The truck. Do you think an eighteen footer is too big?”

“How should I know?” The last thing she wanted to think about was a truck.

“Sometime tomorrow, we need to sit down and look at what we plan to take with us.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.”

Ryan turned and looked at her. “I thought you were excited about all this?”

“I am. I just have a headache. I guess I’m still hung over from the trip. I’ll feel better tomorrow.”

“You looked like you were in another world. Are you sure you’re okay?” Ryan reached over and massaged the back of her neck.

“I’ll be fine. I was just thinking about what it’s going to be like living in Texas, just the two of us.”

And
Rex
.

“It’ll be great.” He put his hand back on the wheel. “Just like your friend J.R.: A whole new world of exciting opportunities await.”

“Yeah.” The thought of Rex lingered. Something about him intrigued her.

CHAPTER 29

Ryan knew the move to Texas would be Emily’s first trip east of the California state line. Having spent her entire life in Southern California, his primary focus for the next thirty days would be to help his new bride mentally prepare for the inevitable culture shock he knew was imminent. Trying to explain Texas to a person who had spent their entire life in beautiful Southern California would be hard enough, but trying to describe Texas in the middle of the summer—there were no words.

By the end of business on Wednesday he had officially resigned from the Navy, sold his old car, and—with Rex’s help—had everything organized and ready to load into the eighteen-foot rental truck he had reserved to pick up the next morning. They planned on spending most of Thursday loading and launch-out on the three-day drive to Texas early Friday morning.

When the moving truck wheeled into the driveway, it must not have dawned on Emily that with one truck and one car she would be expected to drive her car behind the truck. Once she put two and two together, she screamed. “I am not driving all the way to Texas—alone!”

Although they had reviewed the plan at least a thousand times, for some reason she hadn’t made the connection.

After an intense twenty minutes of arguing, realizing he was losing valuable time, and Emily was not about to budge, Ryan returned the truck to the rental company and swapped it for the largest trailer the car could pull. Emily’s parents agreed to store the things they couldn’t fit into the trailer.

He woke early Friday morning, slipped out of bed, and headed for the kitchen. He hoped a strong cup of coffee would help prepare him for Emily. So far, married life had not been what he’d imagined. The honeymoon was a disaster, and—since they returned—they argued at least daily about something. The thought of being locked up in a car with her for twenty-two hours was daunting, at best.

He was sipping his coffee, contemplating the details of the next month, when Emily bounced into the kitchen as excited as a four-year-old at Christmas.

“Good morning, Sweetie,” she said. “Are you ready for our great adventure?”

“Ready to go.” The change in her attitude amazed him. He was afraid to question it—so he didn’t. He only hoped it would last until they reached Texas.

The cross-country continued to find Emily excited and playful. She sang, laughed, and marveled at the Arizona desert as they rolled along the barren freeways. She dreamed out loud about their future and how wonderfully happy they would be. Each motel stop became a romantic rendezvous—glorious nights and early morning surprises made up for the sexless “honeymoon from hell.” Each morning she was up early, eager to grab a quick breakfast and hit the road, like some trucker being paid by the load.

Ryan felt satisfied on the surface, but—like a sailor might sense a storm brewing by the smell of the air, or the way animals scurry about in fear when there appears to be no sign of visible danger—he had his concerns.

It all started when the dusty car and loaded-down trailer finally rolled up in front of the apartment complex in Bedford, Texas. Emily’s first words let him know he was in trouble.

“Is this it?” she asked.

“I’m sure it’s not as bad as it looks,” he lied.

During the next few days, the
idea
of Texas was replaced with reality. The small one-bedroom apartment he had rented, sight unseen, primarily because of location and price, was smaller and older than he had imagined. Located beside a major freeway interchange, the merciless hum of traffic and occasional diesel horns blaring at all times of the day and night, cut through the paper-thin walls and poorly sealed windows like a knife through hot butter. The air-condition compressor ran constantly, grinding and thumping like a jet engine trying to overcome the hellish summer heat. But even the compressor wasn’t loud enough to drown out the barking dog on one side, and the bawling baby on the other.

With the air-conditioner set on MAX COLD, the temperature in the apartment seldom dropped below seventy-five. Thank God there was a pool.

Emily quickly grew homesick for California. She didn’t know a soul and once school started, Ryan’s training schedule robbed her of his full attention. She soon grew cold and distant toward him. No longer did she dote on him as she once did. Her bubbly, cheerful, fun-loving attitude vaporized with the heat, replaced by constant flurries of negative comments and complaints.

She drew inward becoming despondent, always teetering on the edge of depression. Ryan bore the steadily growing burden of challenges and pressure from his school and from his new wife’s growing bitterness and unhappiness with her new life. Each week of the five-week-long training program presented Ryan with new challenges, mostly at home.

Always there to offer his support and encouragement, Rex would say, “If she gives you any crap, just dump her. Send her packing back to her momma where she belongs.”

For Rex, being in Dallas—a major flight attendant training base for the airline—offered many opportunities. Like shooting fish in a barrel, he found the big-haired Southern speaking women from Texas an interesting novelty and a relatively easy challenge. “Picking up cowgirls at the local saloon,” as he often bragged, “is about as easy as it gets.”

With one week left in training, assignments were out. Ryan approached the bulletin board where a piece of paper hung listing the names of each student and their initial assignments.

Dallas was his first choice but knew it was highly unlikely. Only on occasion were new-hires assigned anywhere other than New York. Practically all the available slots at the better bases were taken by those pilots who had already “done their time” in New York. However, with each class, one or two of the better assignments did slip through.

He heard the groans and expected expletives as pilots located their names and assignments. He was searching the list at a distance, far enough to satisfy any eye exam, when he heard a “Yes!” rise from among the huddle. Everyone turned to see who might have been blessed by the gods in crew planning.

Rex stood beaming. “I got it! Yes!” His arms were raised as if he had won first place in an Olympic marathon. “L.A. here I come!”

When the crowd thinned, Ryan’s eyes zoomed back to the list: MITCHELL – LGA (New York). He sighed. Studying the list, he noticed one other new-hire had been assigned ORD (Chicago), but everyone else, except Rex, was headed to New York.

His thoughts turned to Emily. Although she was aware of the strong possibility of his being assigned temporarily to New York, he was concerned about how she would react when she put two and two together, realizing she would be spending
at
least
the next six months in Dallas—alone. He should have never mentioned the
possibility
of his being assigned to Dallas.

He grabbed Rex by the arm. “I’m going to New York.”

“Yeah. I saw it. Sorry, dude,” he said, not sounding too concerned; obviously still basking in the thought of his returning to California.

“Thanks for the sympathy.”

“I’ll bet Emily’s going to be one pissed-off female.”

Rex had been around the apartment enough to witness the slow transformation in Emily’s behavior. He even witnessed a few of her little tantrums.