Ebb & Flow
THREE
The commotion at the front of the plane was loud and unsettling. It had the attention of every passenger aboard. A man was being escorted off because he refused to move to the seat printed on his ticket. The flight itself was almost cancelled, because of his suspicious behavior.
Bridgette wasn’t too concerned. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen a display like that, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last either. She was just glad that they were stilled cleared to take off. It was commonplace for her to fly and she knew too well that having a canceled flight or a layover was no fun. For seven years she’d been flying back and forth across the country having to contend with the custody agreement with her ex-husband over their son.
Bridgette was once a well-paid chief before her marriage and took her parents advice about putting the money away. Her ex tried to convince her to get a joint account with him, but she refused. In the end it was the right choice. The divorce was bloody. Bridgette didn’t realize how many connections her ex had or how much money he had hidden from her. While flying ate up her accounts, she was lucky as well. She encountered some interesting people flying. One thing led to another; she now lived off royalties from a cookie recipe she permitted a company to use.
Flying wasn’t too bad, Bridgette actually enjoyed it. The horrible part came when she saw her son rushing over to his father, not only giving his father more love than he showed her, but hugging his father’s wife as if she was really his mother. It was gut wrenching. It sometimes made Bridgette want to turn to the bottle, but she would completely lose her son if she did that.
The custody agreement was highly unusual and in Bridgette’s opinion was unfair. Her son stayed with her ex for the entire school year and Christmas. This left Bridgette with the entire summer, but that was slowly diminishing. Her ex was trying to take the time go on family vacations. The worst part was when her son would beg her to let him go. Bridgette knew she was slowly losing him. It hurt to see him hate her, but she would hang on for as long as possible.
“Ok Nicole this is your seat if you need anything just hit this button.” Bridgette tore herself out of her thoughts as she quickly stood up to let the little girl pass to the window seat. Her blond pigtails bounced as she hopped into her seat.
Bridgette smiled as she sat down. The flight attendant cleared his throat and gave Bridgette a tight smile.
“You won’t mind?” He asked gesturing to Nicole. He looked slightly embarrassed to ask, but Bridgette could tell he didn’t really want to lean over her to help the little girl.
“No it’s fine. I have a son about her age.” The male flight attendant looked utterly relieved. Bridgette quickly helped Nicole fasten her seat belt. The little girl gave her a toothy grin.
“Are you alright? Do you need anything?” The male attendant asked Nicole. She shook her head giving the man the same toothy smile. He returned her smiled then smiled gratefully at Bridgette.
“If you or Nicole need anything just flag one of use down.” Before Bridgette could say anything, he was moving towards the back of the plane letting the line of passenger continue to flow.
“Is this your first time flying?” Bridgette asked turning back to the girl. She shook her head.
“Nope.” She popped her ‘p’. “It’s my third.” Nicole started swinging her legs and stared out the window. Soon the sound of the shutter opening and closing could be her. Bridgette just smiled at Nicole’s antics. An older man took the other seat next to Bridgette and smiled widely, taking in both ladies.
“What a cute girl. She has your hair.” The crow feet around his eyes appeared as his smiled widened at Nicole’s display of boredom.
“Oh she’s not mine she’s an unattended minor.” Bridgette responded. She was a little fluster by the comment. She always wanted a little girl, but had a son. And she wasn’t sure if she wanted to have any more children. She was losing the battle for the love of her son, and wasn’t sure if she could survive if it happened again.
The ‘Fasten your Seatbelt’s’ symbol came on, followed by a demonstrations of proper seatbelt use, air mask use, and what to do in case of an emergency. It wasn’t long before they were waiting for their turn at the tare mate. Nicole clapped her hands and giggled in excitement. Bridgette wished her son still got as excited at flying as Nicole did, but it was more of a ‘seen it done it’ kind of thing for him now. The good old days were in the past. All Bridgette had to comfort her were her memories.
The lift off was fast, and soon they were at cursing altitude. Bridgette looked out the window and could see dark clouds on the horizon. The flight attendants were scurrying around, collecting trash and securing the food cart. The male attendant was going up and down the aisle, asking for people to secure their food trays and put their chair in the upright position.
Bridgette couldn’t help but grin at the grim situation. She knew what was going on and she was filled with excitement. A quick silence filled the cabin as the Capitan came over the intercom.
“Due to the brewing storm, we are expected to hit turbulence. Please stay seated with sit belts fastened.” Seconds later the plane started to shake and rattle.
The little girl squeaked. Bridgette could see her face was wide with terror and fear in her eyes. Nicole may be a frequent flyer, but Bridgette could tell it was her first time with turbulence. The older man had his head back, and his eyes closed tightly. He had a white knuckled grip on the arm rests and was muttering under his breath.
Nicole cried out as the plane suddenly dropped into a free fall. The cabin was filled with terrified screams. The plane was quickly righted and gaining altitude. Bridgette knew they were trying to get above the storm.
“Do you like rides?” Bridgette turned to Nicole asking her calmly. She closed Nicole’s window shutter at Nicole’s confused look. “You know like theme park and carnival rides?” At this the little girl nodded weakly. “Good. So do I.” Bridgette smiled reassuring. The plane dropped again. Tears were silently slipping from Nicole’s eyes.
Once the plane was righted again, Bridgette laughed loud enough for only the girl to hear. ”Just think of it as a ride?” This was one of the techniques Bridgette used to get her son used to turbulence. He no longer feared it, but he no longer got giddy about it.
“A ride? Like those big slides at the fair?” The girl asked unsure what was going on.
“Yeah. Remember those drops.” The plane dropped a little as if on cue. This time Nicole didn’t cry out. She had a faraway look in her eyes as if trying to remember a less scary time. The plane dipped again and the girl giggled a bit. It was tentative, but the fear was no longer in her eyes.
Bridgette sat back as Nicole continued to giggle at the butterfly feeling of falling.
”Daughter of the winds.”
Bridgette wasn’t too concerned. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen a display like that, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last either. She was just glad that they were stilled cleared to take off. It was commonplace for her to fly and she knew too well that having a canceled flight or a layover was no fun. For seven years she’d been flying back and forth across the country having to contend with the custody agreement with her ex-husband over their son.
Bridgette was once a well-paid chief before her marriage and took her parents advice about putting the money away. Her ex tried to convince her to get a joint account with him, but she refused. In the end it was the right choice. The divorce was bloody. Bridgette didn’t realize how many connections her ex had or how much money he had hidden from her. While flying ate up her accounts, she was lucky as well. She encountered some interesting people flying. One thing led to another; she now lived off royalties from a cookie recipe she permitted a company to use.
Flying wasn’t too bad, Bridgette actually enjoyed it. The horrible part came when she saw her son rushing over to his father, not only giving his father more love than he showed her, but hugging his father’s wife as if she was really his mother. It was gut wrenching. It sometimes made Bridgette want to turn to the bottle, but she would completely lose her son if she did that.
The custody agreement was highly unusual and in Bridgette’s opinion was unfair. Her son stayed with her ex for the entire school year and Christmas. This left Bridgette with the entire summer, but that was slowly diminishing. Her ex was trying to take the time go on family vacations. The worst part was when her son would beg her to let him go. Bridgette knew she was slowly losing him. It hurt to see him hate her, but she would hang on for as long as possible.
“Ok Nicole this is your seat if you need anything just hit this button.” Bridgette tore herself out of her thoughts as she quickly stood up to let the little girl pass to the window seat. Her blond pigtails bounced as she hopped into her seat.
Bridgette smiled as she sat down. The flight attendant cleared his throat and gave Bridgette a tight smile.
“You won’t mind?” He asked gesturing to Nicole. He looked slightly embarrassed to ask, but Bridgette could tell he didn’t really want to lean over her to help the little girl.
“No it’s fine. I have a son about her age.” The male flight attendant looked utterly relieved. Bridgette quickly helped Nicole fasten her seat belt. The little girl gave her a toothy grin.
“Are you alright? Do you need anything?” The male attendant asked Nicole. She shook her head giving the man the same toothy smile. He returned her smiled then smiled gratefully at Bridgette.
“If you or Nicole need anything just flag one of use down.” Before Bridgette could say anything, he was moving towards the back of the plane letting the line of passenger continue to flow.
“Is this your first time flying?” Bridgette asked turning back to the girl. She shook her head.
“Nope.” She popped her ‘p’. “It’s my third.” Nicole started swinging her legs and stared out the window. Soon the sound of the shutter opening and closing could be her. Bridgette just smiled at Nicole’s antics. An older man took the other seat next to Bridgette and smiled widely, taking in both ladies.
“What a cute girl. She has your hair.” The crow feet around his eyes appeared as his smiled widened at Nicole’s display of boredom.
“Oh she’s not mine she’s an unattended minor.” Bridgette responded. She was a little fluster by the comment. She always wanted a little girl, but had a son. And she wasn’t sure if she wanted to have any more children. She was losing the battle for the love of her son, and wasn’t sure if she could survive if it happened again.
The ‘Fasten your Seatbelt’s’ symbol came on, followed by a demonstrations of proper seatbelt use, air mask use, and what to do in case of an emergency. It wasn’t long before they were waiting for their turn at the tare mate. Nicole clapped her hands and giggled in excitement. Bridgette wished her son still got as excited at flying as Nicole did, but it was more of a ‘seen it done it’ kind of thing for him now. The good old days were in the past. All Bridgette had to comfort her were her memories.
The lift off was fast, and soon they were at cursing altitude. Bridgette looked out the window and could see dark clouds on the horizon. The flight attendants were scurrying around, collecting trash and securing the food cart. The male attendant was going up and down the aisle, asking for people to secure their food trays and put their chair in the upright position.
Bridgette couldn’t help but grin at the grim situation. She knew what was going on and she was filled with excitement. A quick silence filled the cabin as the Capitan came over the intercom.
“Due to the brewing storm, we are expected to hit turbulence. Please stay seated with sit belts fastened.” Seconds later the plane started to shake and rattle.
The little girl squeaked. Bridgette could see her face was wide with terror and fear in her eyes. Nicole may be a frequent flyer, but Bridgette could tell it was her first time with turbulence. The older man had his head back, and his eyes closed tightly. He had a white knuckled grip on the arm rests and was muttering under his breath.
Nicole cried out as the plane suddenly dropped into a free fall. The cabin was filled with terrified screams. The plane was quickly righted and gaining altitude. Bridgette knew they were trying to get above the storm.
“Do you like rides?” Bridgette turned to Nicole asking her calmly. She closed Nicole’s window shutter at Nicole’s confused look. “You know like theme park and carnival rides?” At this the little girl nodded weakly. “Good. So do I.” Bridgette smiled reassuring. The plane dropped again. Tears were silently slipping from Nicole’s eyes.
Once the plane was righted again, Bridgette laughed loud enough for only the girl to hear. ”Just think of it as a ride?” This was one of the techniques Bridgette used to get her son used to turbulence. He no longer feared it, but he no longer got giddy about it.
“A ride? Like those big slides at the fair?” The girl asked unsure what was going on.
“Yeah. Remember those drops.” The plane dropped a little as if on cue. This time Nicole didn’t cry out. She had a faraway look in her eyes as if trying to remember a less scary time. The plane dipped again and the girl giggled a bit. It was tentative, but the fear was no longer in her eyes.
Bridgette sat back as Nicole continued to giggle at the butterfly feeling of falling.
”Daughter of the winds.”