Love at First Flight (Love is in the Air)

Prologue

F ate sometimes had terrible timing.

In her twenty-nine years, Selah Moreno had found this to be true more times than not. How unfair it all was when Robert, her stepdad, used to tell her about how he’d dreamed of nothing more than becoming a commercial airline pilot, only to work his family’s farm for most of his life instead. Sure, he could have run off, joined the Air Force, found any way to make it happen, but that wasn’t the kind of man he was.

“A military way of life just wasn’t for me, and besides, then I met you and your mom,” he’d told her one time. A younger Selah decided then and there that a military life wasn’t for her either. It wasn’t until she was older did she realize Robert meeting her and her mom was one of those fated roadblocks keeping him from his dream, even if he’d never stated this directly. This roadblock was followed by more, first with the death of his father, which was soon followed by the death of his mother, resulting in Robert inheriting the Central Oregon alfalfa farm.

Despite having two of his own biological daughters with Selah’s mother after marriage, he’d always made special time for her. Perhaps because, like her, he was also adopted and raised by a father who wasn’t his biological one. They’d often take short car rides to the next town over to watch planes land and take off at the small Redmond airport. Sitting on the car hood while drinking blue raspberry slushies from 7-11, he’d wrap a big arm around her small, bony shoulders and blow her young mind with things he’d learn about the weather or flying. Such as when the sun warms the Earth’s surface, it can create strong, unpredictable winds, so the best time to fly is early morning, at sunrise. This was what he considered to be the best, most peaceful time of the day, the golden hour.

He was a collector of weather gadgets, put-together model planes, was obsessed with shows like Star Trek , and would tell her about his plans to take aviation lessons. And because Selah loved the man so much, she’d come to love any topic he was interested in.

As a kid, she realized there were people who should have loved her but didn’t. Her biological father, for example. Then there were people like Robert, who came into her and her mom’s life when she was five years old and didn’t have to love her, but he did, anyway. Selah was lucky because she’d been chosen when he didn’t have to pick. And while they didn’t share genes or physical similarities—she had a tanner complexion due to her Mexican-American heritage for one—she’d always felt included. Robert was her dad, and she was his daughter in every respect of the word. She was a Moreno.

Robert and Selah’s shared love of the sky was something that connected them together. When he watched his favorite movie, Galaxy Quest, or episodes of Star Trek , there was Selah right beside him, resting her head on the worn arm of her mother’s floral sofa, sharing a bowl of microwaved movie theater popcorn with him.

Finally, the day came when, after years and years of planning, Robert was going to take flight lessons at a small private airport in Prineville, a town not too far from their farm in Terrebonne. Selah had been ten at the time and was never more excited or proud. Her dad was doing it—he was going after his dream. He promised her when he’d put in enough flight hours, he’d take her on a special ride.

“You’ll be my Number One,” he told her.

“Like Commander Riker?”

“Yup, that’s right.”

Selah started teasingly referring to him as Captain Picard, referring to the famous officer from Star Trek: The Next Generation , which soon became Captain for short, much to the annoyance of her younger sisters. They didn’t always understand their bond. They didn’t know Selah had already planned on being a captain, too, just like their dad.

Except the special flight never happened because, as fate would have it, soon after completing his flight certification, he got a detached retina in his right eye. He had a medical procedure, so the vision returned in that eye, but not well enough to make being a commercial pilot a viable option anymore. So his piloting dreams floated out of reach once again.

“It’ll be okay, Number One,” he’d tell her. “We’ll figure it out. We’re going on that special flight together someday.”

Amazingly, Robert did figure it out. He got certified, bought a secondhand hot-air balloon setup, and started High Desert Tours right on the farm. Her mother, Elena, bought him a leather bomber jacket. He wore it and a blue baseball hat with Captain embroidered across the front almost every day. “She’s called The Blue Wonder . Hot-air balloons are like ships of the sky. It’s good luck to name them,” he’d proudly told his family.

When he’d go on a flight, he’d point to the sky and dorkily say in his best fake Captain Picard impression, “Engage.” This elicited eye rolls from her sisters, but never failed to generate a chuckle from Selah. She found it especially funny since the balloon would gracefully float upwards at a rate not even close to warp speed.

Being a captain of a hot-air balloon may not have been what some people considered to be a “real pilot,” but Robert and Selah knew differently. She was right there by his side to help and be his Number One. Eventually, Selah had saved enough from years of working at a local grocery store and attended the same aviation school as he had.

“Permission to come aboard, Captain,” she said one morning after being part of the chase crew, helping to tether the basket, technically known as the gondola, upon landing and assisting passengers as they disembarked.

Her dad gave her his usual crooked smile, the one showing a chipped front tooth he’d never bothered getting fixed, the result of an old boyhood accident. “Permission granted, Number One.”

She saddled the edge of the gondola while retrieving an email on her phone, displaying her final license acceptance. Selah then excitedly told him about a job interview with a transport airline company that promised to continue training her. She hoped to make enough money from this to eventually pay for commercial pilot flight school. It was a unique opportunity that had been brought to her attention by one of her flight instructors. There was a sparkle of tears in his eyes at this news, but then he grabbed her, pulling her into the basket, and wrapped her in a rough hug.

“Did you tell your mother?” The question was muffled, with his face pressed into her hair.

“Not yet. I’ll talk to her after the interview. You know she’s not going to be happy if I tell her I might be moving to Portland.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t blame her. I don’t want you to leave either. But I’m proud of you, kid. I’m going to miss having my Number One around.”

“You’re going to be okay... you know, with the business?” Selah had always tried to help and learn about the business as much as she could between school and work. It helped that her father mostly booked flights early in the morning, the best time, after all. Still, she worried about her parents, with them growing older. Her sisters didn’t necessarily pitch in as much as they should. Naomi was better than Hailey. The latter seemed to have gotten into a frame of mind that she was the designated princess of the family and didn’t need to be responsible for anything.

“Sure. You know I can handle it. Besides, you’re going to be a big-shot pilot soon. When they see how good you are, you’ll be in the captain’s chair before you know it.”

Despite her initial excitement, she sniffled, because the reality of the situation was sinking in. She was possibly leaving, striking off on her own to create a different future, to be away from her family. Part of her wondered why she was doing it, and thought maybe she didn’t want to leave. Unlike Hailey, she didn’t have the confidence of thinking of herself as the greatest thing ever. Propping herself up alone was a little scary.

She resigned herself to the single sniffle while pressing her face into his strong shoulder, and allowed no other emotions to escape because pilots weren’t supposed to cry.

“You’re going to take me on that special flight soon, right?”

“Yeah, of course, Dad. I’m going to take you on all the special flights.”

He gently patted her back. “Good. Did I tell you I’m getting a new envelope?” The envelope was the balloon portion of a hot-air balloon setup.

“What’s wrong with The Blue Wonder ?”

“Nothing. It’s just time for a change, and it’s blue.”

“I thought you liked blue.”

“I do, but during the summer, it doesn’t really stand out when the sky is the same shade. This one is more colorful. You’ll like it. You can help me name it. With this new envelope, I think business will pick up even more. We’ll do even better than Soaring Over Oregon.” His rivalry with the other hot-air balloon company had always been entertaining. It was fun to play along, as though there was a long and deep hatred for this other company located near Bend. All families should have an imaginary Hatfield and McCoy situation. It kept things interesting.

“They have nothing on you, Captain Picard,” she said, giving him a lazy salute. “What’s the new envelope look like?”

“Nope. Nice try. You’re not going to get it out of me. You’ll just have to wait and see when it comes.” He then peppered her with advice in preparation for her Portland trip, such as getting her tire pressure checked and making sure her phone was fully charged and looking up weather conditions before traveling through the Mount Hood region. “You want to give yourself plenty of time to get there. No opportunity is worth rushing and risking your safety.”

“I know,” she said, already planning to get up early because, in their family, minus Hailey, it was already a habit to do so.

When the morning of her trip arrived, she’d gotten a little later start than she had hoped, but was more than halfway to Portland when her phone rang.

“Hello?” she answered on speaker phone.

“Selah, it’s Elena.” Her mother using her own name when calling her daughter should have been a sign something wasn’t right. It struck Selah as odd, but before she could make a joke, her mother gasped a choked sob. “He’s gone, mija,” and then she rambled more sentences, a mixture of both Spanish and English.

“What? What do you mean?” There was a brief moment of panic, where her heart ascended into her throat, before Selah switched off each emotion. She shifted into calm piloting mode in order to understand what turbulent problem she was about to find herself flying through. “Mom? Mom. I need you to calm down. Take a breath and then tell me what’s going on.” Selah found a road turnout to pull onto.

Taking a long shuddering breath, Elena said, “He’s gone. Your dad died. I tried to wake him, but he wouldn’t wake up. I don’t know—What are we going to do now?” The question ended on a wail as sobs overtook her mother once again.

As close as Selah was with Robert, despite finding herself now entirely captainless, she didn’t fall apart like her mother. Maybe something broke inside her. The sting of tears never crept past the barrier of her eyes, and she quickly blinked those away. “Okay, I’m coming over there. It’s going to be a little bit because I’m currently on the road—”

“Where are you? I don’t want you to get into an accident. Ay, mi roca. I can’t take it if something happens to you too.”

“I’m fine. I’m going to turn around. Did you call an ambulance this morning?” She asked while driving her car onto the opposite side of the highway once it was safe.

“Yes.”

“Okay, good. That’s good. Are Naomi and Hailey with you?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, ask Naomi if she can call Aunt Becky.” Her large extended family lived an hour away, but they were closer in distance than Selah at the moment. Both her Aunt Becky and Uncle José had calming spirits and could provide the strength her mother needed right now. “I think you would feel better if your sister and tío José were there while you waited for me. When I get there, we can all figure out what we need to do together. Okay?”

“Okay, but please be careful, mija. You’ll be strong and steady like a rock, right?”

“I’m going to be careful. I’m coming, okay?”

“Okay.”

Selah wouldn’t go to her interview or any other interview after that. She realized her world had completely shifted then. A tear finally broke free and she angrily dashed it away with the sleeve of her shirt, feeling horrible and selfish to be angry at the universe for snatching away her and her dad’s dream once again.

But she knew there wasn’t any point to her anger.

It was just fate sometimes had terrible timing.