37. Taylor
Thirty-Seven
Taylor
I wake the next morning to my phone vibrating on the nightstand next to me, my body wrapped around Jake’s and I hate to roll over and interrupt this peacefulness between us. Jake’s arms tighten around me and the phone stops, my eyes falling closed just as his phone starts chiming out.
“Someone knows we’re together,” he murmurs against my hair and I smile. He reaches behind him, grabbing his phone, shifting away from me slightly to read his text message. “It’s Charlie. He wants to know if we can get to the hangar a little early today.”
“Doesn’t he know we have things to do this morning?” I tease, my hand slipping down Jake’s stomach, my fingers wrapping around him.
“We’ve always got time for that,” Jake groans, his head falling back and at this moment I don’t care if we’re late.
An hour later, we’re pulling into Santa Monica Airport, but it’s far busier than it usually is on a Sunday morning. I look over at Jake. He knows something and I can tell he’s playing coy.
“What’s going on?” I glare at Jake, my brows furrowed.
“Maybe you should’ve answered your phone when Charlie called,” he responds, a cheeky smile on his face.
“Well, what did he tell you?”
“Just that he needed us here early, and I’m assuming this crowd is because of that.”
“So,” I start, turning to face him as he parks the car, “who told you about my quest to change the pay practices?”
Jake pauses a moment, his finger tapping his lips as if he’s trying to remember something so insignificant that he can’t possibly recall the details. But then he says, “It was one of those times that the gossip about Taylor Patterson proved far more helpful than harmful.” He winks at me, opening the car door and exiting without waiting for me to say anything.
I jog to catch up with him, but I’m completely caught off guard when I shuffle up to the hangar and find Charlie and Carrie waiting for me.
Both of them have ridiculous smiles on their faces, and I know I’m in for something very interesting.
“What is going on?” I demand, my hands on my hips, but oddly enjoying the secrecy of what’s happening. It’s been a long time since a surprise has made me feel a surge of excitement rather than fear, and as I stand in front of Carrie and Charlie, I suddenly want to shout out loud, dance for joy, even if the surprise is something as simple as a cake wishing me congratulations.
“Okay, now we had no idea that it was going to go this far…”
“Seriously, what’s going on?” I ask, quickly looking around. “And where’s Jake?”
“Just look,” Charlie says, as he walks into the hangar where our Girls in the Sky classes take place.
And right below the banner with the company name stands Jake and the girls, news reporters and cameras surrounding them.
I’m not even sure what to say, especially after I see all the girls are wearing T-shirts that say “#equalpay” and they’re talking to the news reporters.
I’m not certain I can speak right now without crying, and I stand back and take it all in as Jake walks over and stands beside me.
“Who did this?” I ask, my words choked as I swallow hard.
“You did this,” he says, and I give him a confused look. With the exception of Dean and the pilot from Hawaii, I haven’t told anyone else about this. “This is because of you,” he continues. “These girls, Charlie and Carrie, me, we all support you. We believe in you and getting behind you was a no-brainer, Taylor.”
“But who… I mean, the reporters, the news?”
“You have your girls to thank for that. You’ve trained them well,” he jokes, pinching my side. “They’re going to change the world because of you.”
It’s now that I feel the tears begin to fall. I’m overwhelmed by all of this. I can’t believe that after all this time, after all the people who tried to say I wasn’t good enough, that I would never be enough, I have more people standing by me than not.
But taking this all in, I look at Jake and know that despite everything that happened before, it takes a good man to love someone like me, and he’s a good man.
“They’re waiting for you,” he says, tipping his head to the waiting reporters and my girls, a huge smile on his face.
“I’m not sure I can make a statement or anything. I’m not at all prepared for this. And honestly, you were instrumental in getting this going. Without you I wouldn’t be here right now.”
Jake laughs out loud, his hand slipping into mine. “While I enjoy your support, none of this would’ve happened without you. I don’t want to stand in front of you or next to you. I want to stand with you, because this is yours and don’t ever let anyone take that from you.”
I lean into him, my head resting against his shoulder as I swipe at my eyes. He leans down and presses a kiss to the top of my head and suddenly everything in my world feels right. I look up at him, my hands on either side of his face as I pull him in for a kiss.
“Thank you,” I murmur, our foreheads resting against each other.
“I’ll always be here.”
I step away from him and over to the reporters, and while they’re just local news stations, it’s enough to get my name and my cause out there. This is something that could help make this a possibility not just for Crescent Airways.
The questions start as soon as I walk up, and I only have a few seconds to thank the girls and begin answering.
Almost everyone is interested in how I started the whole process and when I look around, every single one of the reporters are women. Just being in this room with all these women and knowing they’re looking for the same thing I am is more empowering than anything I’ve done so far.
I proceed to answer their questions and chat with them, and as nervous as this makes me, as scary of a situation as it is, I know I’m doing something that won’t just benefit me but millions of women who are part of this workforce. Especially in jobs that are male-dominated, always hearing “it runs in the industry”, well, it’s about to run out.
I can only hope this story brings change because we need to see every level of industry change. This isn’t just about pilots but all females who work at Crescent Airways: flight attendants, baggage handlers, desk attendants, ticketing agents, and all the women who find themselves paid less than men for the same jobs.
I’m exhausted by the time the interviews end, and I thank each one of the reporters for taking the time to bring awareness to a story that will lead to nowhere without word of mouth. My girls are all hugging me and have the biggest smiles on their faces. I’m not certain this day could get any better.
After the excitement has died down, I turn to Jake, who is patiently waiting off to the side with a look on his face that beams pride. He’s grinning from ear to ear, and his shoulders are back as he takes me in.
“I guess if you’re going to hide something from me, this wasn’t so bad,” I tease, motioning around the hangar as the people begin to dissipate.
“I had no idea all of this was happening, but I did keep something from you,” he says, a sheepish look on his face now. “But it’s good because I have a surprise for you.” His hand moves to the small of my back as we walk over to one of the planes we use for Girls in the Sky. “The girls and I have a little something planned.” He gives a nod of his head to the girls and they all scramble away.
“You mean there’s more on top of this already overwhelming day?” I’m exhausted, but I wouldn’t take the opportunity away from Jake to be in the spotlight for a second. “And what the hell did you rope my girls into doing?”
“Just get in the plane, Taylor,” he demands, but like always there’s a playful quality to his voice, something I’ve grown to love about him.
“Fine, fine,” I acquiesce as I climb in and buckle the harness, beginning the process of preparing the plane.
“Move over, Captain,” Jake says, his hand flitting to the other seat beside me. “I’m flying this one.”
I shoot him a side-eye but slip over to the other seat as Jake prepares for takeoff. The plane is now careening down the runway, the world sliding effortlessly by, and when the plane lifts off the ground, I close my eyes and enjoy everything that has just unfolded.
“Where are we going?” I ask, and Jake is now the one shooting me the side-eye.
“Always with the questions,” he replies, shaking his head, pausing a second before he answers. “We’re not going anywhere. Just a quick flight together for fun.” He glances at the GPS and then out the windshield as if he’s looking for something. I lean forward and his arm flies out and swats me backward.
“Not yet!” he shouts and then gives me a quick smile, correcting his swat and shout which makes me laugh.
“Jake Campbell, what are you up to?”
He holds up a finger, looking again at the GPS as he begins to circle the plane back toward the airport.
“Jake, come on.”
“Okay, look now,” he says, pointing out the window as he lowers the plane just slightly. We’re out over the blue waters of the Pacific, Santa Monica State Beach, a sprawling area of sand and people below us, and that’s when I see it.
My girls are standing on the beach with a huge sign that says, “I love you, Taylor ” , but it’s what comes after the sign that causes me to burst out laughing. Standing at the end of the line of girls is Sofia with an addition to Jake’s sign that says, “in a way that’s nauseating to others ” .
“Why are you laughing?” Jake asks and I can hear the confusion in his voice. I point out the window, and when he takes in his sign, he lets out a long sigh. “It was supposed to be romantic.” He sounds defeated, a hand scrubbing over his face.
“Jake, first of all, it’s really sweet that you set this whole thing up. It’s adorable, but you know I’m not that girl. I’m cynical and jaded and probably sometimes a little bit scary.” I chuckle a little at that last line because hell, even I know I’m not always a joy to be around. “These are all the things that come with being my own hero, they’re the things that show I struggle. I have a past, and I’m flawed, but you see through that. You see that inside me is someone who can be loved. And all I ask, for the rest of our lives is that you continue to prove me wrong, that you continue to show me that not all men are the worst.”
I lean over to him, my hand resting on the back of his neck as my fingers stroke gently. Pushing the sleeve of his shirt up, I press a kiss to his shoulder and continue. “Anyone can make a sign that says ‘I love you’, but it’s the things that happen in the background that matter. The silent choices you make are what draw me to you, what makes me trust you and those are the reasons I love you.”
“Can you give me a small hint on what it is that I do so I can continue doing it?” Jake asks, a cheeky smile on his face as he pinches two fingers together, showing a small space between them.
I laugh at him, pressing another kiss, but this time on his cheek, as I reply, “I wouldn’t ask you to change the world for me. I’d expect that we’d do it together.”