Flying Backwards (7 page)

During one evacuation drill, it was Nora’s turn to be in the mock flight attendant jump seat. Other trainees sat in the passenger seats and stared at her. At the right moment, she would be responsible for leading the passengers during an emergency. Nora inhaled deeply and rehearsed her memorized commands. The trainer turned off all the overhead lights, leaving only the emergency lights illuminated, which gave off an eerie glow. The instructor began to speak in the silent cabin. “You have prepped the cabin for an impending emergency landing. It is night. You have instructed your passengers to cross their arms in front of them and lean forward in the brace position. The captain gives the signal and you chant, “Brace for landing!” Once you recover from a jarring crash landing, what do you do? What if the emergency lights have malfunctioned and flicked off? What if you are in total darkness? You are in charge–what do you do next?” Nora and the other trainees felt the gravity of the scene the trainer had established. After a moment of stunned silence, Nora started calling out the next sequence of commands. The drills were repeated several more times.

The next day–running hijacking drills–was emotionally difficult. The shadow of airplane terrorism in 2001, only a few years before, lingered in everyone’s mind.

* * *

The fourth week covered trip scheduling, which functioned on a seniority-based system. The trainers warned that the senior flight attendants always picked the best trips, and new employees got what was left–if there were any trips left. If you were junior and didn’t get a trip, then you were on call in case a senior attendant cancelled a trip for some reason.

On Saturday the group trained at the facility’s Olympic-sized pool. Nora brought a conservative swimsuit and wore a T-shirt over it, as many women did. A few trainees claimed they couldn’t swim, as swimming was not a requirement, so they wouldn’t have to get their hair wet. Nora had to jump into the pool, don a life vest, and manually inflate it. Next, trainees worked together to inflate a raft in the pool, climb inside (Nora needed a hoist from a couple guys to slip over the jumbo edge), and set up its built-in tent cover. She’d had no idea she would learn survival techniques to become a flight attendant. She felt pumped that she’d overcome so many obstacles in such a short period of time. She could not be happier that this was her new life.

On Sunday morning, Bree came out of the bathroom after her shower. Her hair was wrapped in a towel turban on her head. She was smearing lotion up and down her arms when she saw tears in Nora’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Bree joined her friend and sat on the bed.

Nora smiled at her friend’s genuine concern. “Nothing’s wrong. I just hung up with my sister, Victoria. She told me I’m going to be an auntie.” Nora’s eyes glassed over again. “She’s been trying for so long to get pregnant. I’m truly happy for her. She’s wanted to be a mom since we were kids.” Nora sniffed at the memory of her sister hogging the baby dolls. “It’s funny. I thought my big sister seemed to have the perfect life. In high school Victoria was captain of the varsity cheerleading squad, and she dated Perry Reynolds, the glory-boy football quarterback. Of course the dream couple reigned as homecoming king and queen. They got married the summer after Victoria graduated from the Pennsylvania School of Culinary Arts. They had a big wedding at the country club and honeymooned in the Poconos–” Nora’s pause was reflective. “But she couldn’t seem to get the one thing she’s always wanted–a baby. And now…”

“Aww, that’s so nice. I don’t have any siblings. I envy you.”

“Yeah.” Nora paused before she confessed, “I just wish I could be there.” Nora realized she was missing out, and she had only herself to blame. She was the one who left to pursue her dreams.

“I’m sure your sister understands.”

Nora shrugged.

In four weeks Nora and Bree’s friendship had blossomed. Nora learned so much about Bree in that short time. Bree thought of herself as a pawn for her divorced parents. She went to private schools and spent many summers in England with family friends. Bree played tennis and rode horses. Her favorite pastime was shopping. Bree had gone to a good East Coast college. Since college, she worked at her father’s favorite country club in Potomac, where she’d lived with her mother until now. Nora felt compelled to tell Bree her story–why she’d left and who she’d left.

Bree raised her eyebrows when she heard Nora had been engaged, but she was sympathetic. When Nora spoke about feeling obligated to help her family with their business, even though she wanted to pursue other things, Bree understood. Bree confessed she sacrificed what she wanted in order to keep the peace between her parents. The girls talked about the fears they’d face if they didn’t make it through training. They both had so much riding on this opportunity to make a fresh start. They’d become the friend the other could lean on.

For the first time since high school, Nora had connected with someone outside of her family unit.

* * *

The last two weeks of training went by quickly. Sixty-two trainees had gone home by then, about half of the group that started. The most nerve-wracking aspect of the training that came next was working a
real
flight with
real
passengers, many of whom leered at her
Trainee
badge. Nora had been nervous as she boarded and settled passengers and checked equipment. She was social and friendly with the other flight attendants, but she did not share that she’d rushed to the oppressively small washroom and vomited. After her anxiety was flushed down with the blue toilet-bowl solution, she returned with a smile plastered onto her face.
Fake it to make it
, she told herself.

Nora was one of the sixty-six graduating trainees. Brittney, who rode on the bus that first day with Nora, went home the second week. Miguel’s roommate Chris went home the third week. Others Nora had befriended were gone. But Bree, Rebecca, Jackie, and Miguel had also made it to this day. Nora was relieved she had survived. She could not think of an alternative possibility if she had not made it. How embarrassing it would be to fail “Barbie boot camp,” as some had joked. She had nothing she wanted to go back to. She was forging her own future, finally ready to leave after the six weeks that had changed her life.

Bree was still applying makeup for the ceremony while Nora finished packing. Nora watched Bree for a moment, admiring how she looked in her flight attendant uniform. Bree would look good in a paper bag, but the uniform gave her an essence of respect and authority. Nora wondered if she projected that. She smoothed her hand over the polyester dress and double-checked her appearance in the mirror. Smoothing her hair back into a bun at the nape of her neck had quickly become her style, and she wore it that way today. She felt professional and assertive as she tried on her uniform for the first time. She was proud of herself for succeeding when so many had already gone home.

Nora glanced down at the sheet of paper she held containing departure details. “We should head down soon. They want our luggage in Ballroom B, before the ceremony, which is in Ballroom A.” After the ceremony they’d be handed an envelope with their Meade base assignment. That envelope would determine where she, and everyone else graduating, was going to live. She knew her choices had narrowed down to Philadelphia, Washington, or Boston, as those were Meade’s international bases. She did not want Boston. Phillip would be there, not that she would ever see him. She had not moved to Boston with him before, so it would just be awkward now. Of course, Philadelphia was closest to Nora’s parents. It wasn’t that Nora didn’t want to see her parents and her family; it was that she craved a lifestyle change, and some distance from them would certainly make that happen. Washington, DC, would be a fresh start. It seemed like a hip, metropolitan place to live. Bree’s parents were there, so Bree wanted to be based far away from them as possible. But Nora would miss her new best friend if they were based in different cities.

“I’m ready,” Bree declared. She had twice the number of suitcases as Nora. Luckily for her, Meade had said they were allowed unlimited bags on the flight home.

“I can’t believe we are done. Do you think we’ll end up in the same city?”

“I hope so! Then we can get a place together.” Bree surveyed her pile of luggage. “I think we need a bellhop.”

The ceremony went swiftly. The wings they would wear during all future flights were pinned to their uniforms. Afterwards everyone ran around to find out who was assigned to which base. Nora and Bree both got Philadelphia and hugged enthusiastically.

Meade had given the new employees one week to get their affairs in order; they needed to be on base and on call after that.

“I’m calling Mr. Royce right now so he can get us set up in Philly.” Bree dug out her cell phone. She had made it through flight attendant training all on her own. It was okay if Mr. Royce helped with one last thing now.

Rebecca ran over, waving her orders. “I got Philly. What did you get?” It turned out that the majority of new flight attendants would be based in Philadelphia, due to added flights there. Even Jackie and Miguel were joining them in the City of Brotherly Love.

Nora called her parents. They were thrilled with the good news.

Chapter Five

In March, Nora returned to her parents’ house a new woman, with a new career and a fresh outlook on life. Her mother remarked that she could tell that Eleanor had made the right decision just from the way she carried herself. “A mother knows her daughter,” she said proudly.

Her father, a man of few words, treated Nora exactly the same.

After Victoria filled Nora in on her pregnancy so far, she then wanted to know more about her sister’s future plans. Nora smiled; she knew that as the older sister, Victoria felt compelled to give Nora advice whether she wanted it or not.

Lizzy just wanted to know if she could fly for free. Nora explained she would be able to request a buddy pass, but that was a free pass for a fellow companion who traveled on standby along with her. A spouse or her parents would use a different pass that enabled them to fly for free without her.

No one spoke of Phillip, who was long gone in Boston by now. Nora did wonder about him. Had he moved into the townhouse he’d told her about? Had he spoken to her family? Nora could not bring herself to ask. It was over, and she did not want to look back.

Nora took the beginning of the week to clean out her bedroom at her parents’ house. Purging and packing things away helped her shed her old persona, propelling her into her new identity. Nora got organized, feeling energized as she tackled her projects. First she revamped her wardrobe. After spending six weeks with Bree, the fashion guru, Nora reassessed her fashion style. She filled several donation bags with rejected clothes. By midweek, Nora was packed and ready to make the move to Philadelphia.

She could not believe the airlines only allowed employees
one week
to find a place to live in a new city. New employees were expected to be packed, moved, and ready to work within that time. How could Nora have managed the feat of finding a place to live so fast without Bree?

Bree’s father managed not only to get them into a townhouse, but he got them in immediately. Nora didn’t know exactly what he did for work. When she’d asked, Bree had mentioned something about acquisitions–apparently he had connections in high places. Nora packed her bags into her car and kissed her family good-bye once again. She promised this time it wouldn’t be as long as six weeks before she visited again. Being away from her family for so long had been hard for them all.

Their townhouse, an authentic Philadelphian brownstone, was not far from trendy South Street, and shops, bars, and restaurants were within walking distance. When Nora met Mr. Royce he insisted the girls would not be paying for the place.

“You girls aren’t going to start out making much money. Save it,” he said, holding up his hand against protest. “It’s the least I can do for my little girl.” There was no arguing with him.

Nora was starting to understand how challenging it was for Bree to get away from
Them
. Bree’s father was overbearing, but he came through for his daughter. “You can’t fight City Hall,” Bree said in defeat, and her father nodded and chuckled.

The brownstone was long and narrow. The front door opened onto a living/dining room combination. The stairwell ran up along the right side of the wall across from the front door. The kitchen was at the back of the house; a back door led out onto a small deck and patio surrounded by a fence. Bree occupied the larger bedroom on the second floor with a private bath. Nora’s bedroom was smaller, but the closet was a good size. Nora had the hallway bathroom to herself, unless company came. There was a washer and dryer in the upstairs hallway, next to her bathroom.

Mr. Royce checked everything out to be sure things were in working order, and then he took the girls to dinner. Before he left that evening, he gave Bree a credit card and told her to buy whatever she needed for the house. The girls went shopping for essentials and splurged on a high-end television.

Nora had purchased, with her own money, a full-size bed, pillows, sheets, and towels. The one window already had blinds. She chose bathroom essentials: a shower curtain and shower organizer. She added a framed pin board to hang in her room. She’d taken pictures with her new friends over the past couple months and wanted to hang them alongside pictures of her family. Nora selected a small desk that doubled as her nightstand, plus a chair. From her bedroom at her parents’ house she brought a spare quilt her grandmother had made, her laptop computer, her portable stereo and CDs, some photos for her pin board, and her personal items. It amazed Nora that she really didn’t need much stuff. It was like she was a vagabond, living out of her suitcase, she and her belongings fitting in one small room.

* * *

Her first working flight was scheduled in early March, a week after she moved into the townhouse. It would take her to London. After she’d dressed in her pressed uniform that afternoon, she looked at herself in the mirror and felt so proud.
I did it. I am a flight attendant.