CHAPTER 22 #4
He waited until Bestemor closed the distance to affectionately place a hand on his forearm.
“My grandmother has always wanted to visit London. A long time ago, she scheduled a trip for herself and my grandfather, Sven, but those plans were canceled when he suddenly fell ill. She spent a year selflessly caring for him. After we lost him, she lost interest in the trip and only traveled to attend family gatherings.”
A look passed between Adam and Grandma, and Jannie wondered what was up.
“Until today,” Adam continued. “You see, today, she will be the first passenger to board the LarsAir 2024 for its inaugural nonstop flight to London.” He bent down to kiss her wrinkled cheek. “Happy birthday, Bestemor.”
No way.
Jannie’s jaw dropped. Her grandmother was flying in a supersonic plane to London?
Apparently, this was no surprise to her because she grinned, looking girlish for a moment as she blew a kiss to the enthusiastic crowd.
She hugged a stunned Dad and Erik and said something to Adam, making him nod and laugh.
Then she carefully took the stairs, taking her time to climb to the top where Jonathan stood, looking cool as all get out in his blue flight suit and mirrored Ray-Bans, his hand outstretched to help her up.
Like a celebrity, she waved to the crowd, then to her wide-eyed family before disappearing inside.
Still reeling, Jannie looked at Adam. “No one knew about this.”
A sly smile. “I did.”
“How did you manage to convince her?”
“I didn’t. She asked to go. It’s what she wanted for her birthday.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“I’m serious.”
“Who else is going?”
“Why? Do you want to go? I can put you on the passenger manifest right now. I have one empty seat.”
“I wish. I can’t, but I want to know who to envy.”
Adam slanted her an Oh, come on, look. “You don’t have an envious bone in your body. All the team leaders are going. And I am, of course. I’m hosting.” His gaze moved from the handlers busy loading luggage to scan the family members’ faces. “Any takers?”
Jannie slanted a glance at Nick. He would have gone up in a heartbeat, she knew, were it not for her.
“Loading complete, sir!” a handler called.
Adam straightened. “Well, this is it. Wish me luck.”
Dad gave him a one-armed slap-hug. “Good luck happens to people who work hard for it.”
His favorite saying had proved true again.
Mom nodded. “And you certainly did put in the work. Enjoy every minute of that flight on that incredible plane.”
“Yeah, I guess that tin can passes muster,” Ian deadpanned.
Claire elbowed him. “Be nice. At least, today, be nice.”
“That is him being nice,” Adam said.
Dad chuckled. “We look forward to trying it out, when there’s room for us.”
Jannie opened her arms. “You done good, Ug,” she said, using his childhood nickname to make him smile. He did, and Jannie grinned back, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
She truly had a great family. Maybe she shouldn’t have stayed away from them for so long.
Eve held on to Adam the longest, rising on tiptoe and looping her arms around his neck. “Have I told you lately …?”
“You tell me every day.” He gripped her chin and kissed her sweetly. “Gotta go.”
Reluctantly, she stepped back. “Be careful.”
“Always.” He glanced toward the plane, and excitement sparkled in his eyes. “One seat still open. Going once …”
“I’ll go!”
All eyes turned to Erik.
Adam grinned a bit incredulously. “You serious?”
Erik shrugged one shoulder. “Well, yeah. Who else is going to take amazing promotional shots for you?” He snapped a few last photos, capped the lens, and carefully tucked his camera into its padded bag. “Besides, Grandma needs me.”
Adam slapped his back. “She’ll be thrilled. Let’s go, Popeye.”
Erik grinned hugely, evidently loving the nickname upgrade from Runt to Popeye.
Jannie watched them head toward the plane, nearly the same height and with identical hair color.
Even the way they walked was the same. If Erik kept working out, he would soon match his brothers in size and strength.
What had finally motivated him to hit the gym?
Whatever the reason, she was happy for her little brother, who was often the target of the other two’s merciless ribbing about his skinny build.
Nick watched them climb aboard, shaking his head as if in disbelief. “I didn’t know there was another clone.”
Mom beamed. “They do resemble one another, don’t they?”
The spectators remained in place while the tug pulled the 2024 farther down the tarmac until it reached a safe distance for engine start.
“They all favor their grandfather Sven,” Mom said, “but the eye color is mine.”
Nick leaned in close, speaking softly near Jannie’s ear so only she could hear him. “I think the combo looks best on you.”
She looked at him then. Throughout the ceremony, though her attention had been elsewhere, she had sensed his presence and drawn strength from his quiet confidence.
He seemed at ease, which was no small thing given that he’d been thrown into a hangar full of people and with so many of her family members.
Considering his dislike of large social gatherings, he had done great.
He was, essentially, the opposite of her family: dark hair, dark eyes, dark stubble …
and that five o’clock shadow was making its appearance way before five.
Since he’d gotten rid of the beard, she’d taken every opportunity to fulfill her fantasy of running her lips along his clean-shaven jaw.
Right now, she wanted to drag him off somewhere and test its roughness with her tongue.
“Systems check complete. Engine start at twenty-three hundred Zulu,” came a smooth voice through the speakers.
Nick glanced at his watch. “Five minutes.”
The crowd started to get excited.
“So, what are your plans, Jannie?” Eve sounded high-pitched and tense, her big brown eyes wide with worry.
“I’m going home next week.” Jannie placed a steadying hand on her arm. “Are you OK?”
Eve shook her head, blinking. “Not really. Since Adam’s near crash, I get anxious every time he takes off. I hope it’ll stop soon. I hate feeling like this.”
“A glider hit Adam’s G550,” Jannie explained.
Nick frowned. “I remember that. It was all over the news. Damaged the winglet and aileron, as I recall.”
“The trailing edge and flap, too,” Ian said. “It wasn’t pretty.”
“Worst day of my life,” Eve said. “I thought I’d lost him. And now, every time he goes up …” She wrung her hands.
Nick nodded slowly. “Understandable. But think of it this way: many pilots experience at least one near-miss or close call during their careers.” He paused. “Adam already had his.”
Eve looked at him with misty brown eyes, and whatever she saw in Nick’s gaze made her unclench her hands and roll her shoulders.
She exhaled in a long sigh. “I like him,” she said to Jannie.
Nick smiled and motioned with his chin toward the 2024, now positioned some distance away at the end of the runway. “I think they’re ready.”
“Here we go.” Ian wrapped his arm around Claire’s shoulders and extended Eve a hand, which she immediately grabbed. “Let’s watch together.”
Mom and Dad, too, moved to stand with them, on edge with anticipation.
The next moment, the first engine of the 2024 roared to life, soon followed by the second one, and conversation became impossible.
It was a sound unlike any plane Jannie had ever heard, so loud, so distinctive, so robust, it made the hairs on her scalp and arms stand on end.
No matter which airplanes she heard after this, she would instantly recognize this one from all the others.
The noise grew higher-pitched, drawing an exhilarated laugh from her lips. Damn, the sound alone was enough to get her high. That, and the impossibly sleek silhouette of the fuselage. Oh, and the smell of jet fuel.
She loved the smell of jet fuel. It smelled like freedom.
She glanced at the spectators. Everyone watched with different expressions of awe, except for Ian and Dad, who grinned at each other like two kids with their first cool toy.
And suddenly, the 2024 jerked forward, moving so fast that Jannie thought it looked like it was shot out of a cannon.
With dizzying speed, it barreled down the runway in a blur of blue, white, and gold.
The needlelike nose lifted, and the sleek jet was airborne, reaching for the skies, its landing gear folding smoothly before disappearing into its belly.
Leaving behind an orange-brown exhaust trail, it ascended, climbing at a stunning rate, the glow of the afterburners blazing in the evening sky.
Beside her, Nick wrapped an arm around her waist. “Well. I can only think of a couple of things more satisfying than that.”
“He did it, Olaf,” Mom said, her voice trembling. “Our first baby … he did that.”
“He sure did.” Dad wrapped her in a tight one-armed hug. “That boy just earned one hell of a pair of wings.”
“Supersonic wings,” Ian said, shaking his head in awe. “Damn. Ug pulled it off.”
Jannie nodded. “Spectacularly.”
“I can barely see it now,” Eve said, shielding her eyes and squinting up at the orange dot shimmering in the sky.
Tears welled in Jannie’s eyes. Everything hit her all at once: the stress of facing her family and introducing Nick, the relief of seeing her brother finally reach his biggest goal, and the concern lurking in the back of her mind, knowing something could still go wrong during this first long flight.
But underneath it all, something else tugged at her subconscious: the deep longing to be in the cockpit herself.