Chapter Thirty-Five
Thirty-Five
“You’re talking to me about bad news, honey?”
“Who’s James Echo?”
“Who’s Isabella VIMS?”
We stared at each other, waiting for the other one to say something.,
“Well, I asked first,” he said, with that teasing smile on his face. “And Echo? That’s just a weird surname. And why is he—wait a second, while I read his message correctly—thinking of you?”
“Are you being protective of me now, Paul?”
“I’ll always be protective of you. But don’t change the subject. So, who’s this Echo man?”
“That’s James. My old flight instructor, you met him briefly when you joined me at the airfield. And if you read the full message, you’d see he has a spot available in his class.”
“Sounds suspicious. I know men, I am one: this guy is bad news, Alicia.”
“You’re talking to me about bad news, honey?” I almost burst out laughing,
“Alicia King, beating me at sarcasm. Seriously, that Echo thing is pompous.”
“Not pompous, it’s an aviation nickname like in Top Gun. They had nicknames there: Maverick, Iceman, Hangman. We’re no fighter pilots, so we did a Temu version a while back: phonetic alphabet or mythology. He’s Echo, easier to pronounce by the control tower than his surname.”
“Don’t tell me this Echo boy is Tom Cruise in this scenario because I’ll die of laughter. So what’s yours, girl?
“Oh, I don’t kiss and tell, Andersen.”
“We’ll talk about kissing later, do tell.”
“Phoenix.”
He sighed and gave me a look: part amused, part disappointed.
“How come am I learning about this now? I called you that once, a lifetime ago… Phoenix makes complete sense. It’s you.”
“You never asked, Paul.”
Silence, for a heartbeat too long.
“I’m an idiot, but we’ve established that already.”
“If we’re done scanning my life, who’s Isabella? Man of the ladies, huh?” I said mockingly, but I wasn’t joking, and it wasn’t funny. Paul blushed and took a deep breath before answering.
“When I first resigned, then, I had no fucking plan. Then I sobered up, and I thought about what I’m good at: IT, coding, and music.
So I started applying everywhere: in Canada and the States, multinationals, and small studios.
VIMS is Vancouver Island Music Studios, and I believe they are interested in me as their CTO.
Isabella does HR and marketing. I didn’t want to ruin your moment with the hearing aids, so I didn’t say anything before. ”
“Paul, this is amazing!”
“It’s this indie music-tech place in Victoria. A small team, big ideas, all-hands-on-deck kind of gig. Let’s be honest, they’ll probably regret hiring me.”
“You leading people, Andersen? That’s heavy.”
He laughed, lighter than I’d heard in months. “Time I stopped hiding behind cables.”
“It’s time, Paul. I’ll miss you at Tommo. A lot. You know, with the printers and stuff.”
“And stuff.” He just kept on smiling. “But don’t you tell me you’re staying.”
“I have no choice, now. Aviation is an expensive hobby.”
“So what do you need to get back in? Take some additional hours?”
“I still have my student pilot license, but I’m nowhere near ready to carry out solo training, not to mention training others.”
“Girl, promise me this: you text this Echo guy that you’re taking the course, and we’ll sort out the rest. Or I’ll write back for you.” Paul reached for my phone, smiling, which only got on my nerves.
“Okay, okay! I’ll call him and I’ll see how this goes, okay? No promises. But thank you.”
“Are you kidding? It’s you. The girl who needs to fly, the Phoenix. You saw me: some potential, or wit, or soul. You loved me when I hated myself. Called me out on my bullshit. So I’m the one who should be grateful.”
“To new beginnings, then.”
“To new beginnings,” he added.
I stood up. “Time to go, Paul.”
“Can I take you home?”
“Thanks, honey, I’m good. But thank you. Thank you for this.”
This long day we spent together was as beautiful as the one at the jazz concert, a lifetime ago. But this one was simple, more honest, and joyful. As I took my jacket and hoodie from the dryer and made it to the doorway, Paul was already standing there, waiting and looking at me.
“This was my favorite day with you, hands down,” he said simply.
“I was just thinking the same thing.”
He hugged me, so warm and close, with a steady heartbeat, and neither of us wanted to let go.
I was sure we were feeling the same: a story about to change its course, a love mistimed or misinterpreted, two souls healing together through pain and heartbreak, an intimacy and connection difficult to comprehend.
Although I’d said this before, I knew this would be my last visit here. Friendship would work for us, now, although I knew that friendship with a man, especially this man, wouldn’t work long-term.
We shared a deep kiss, one that lives in your memory as The Kiss Of All Kisses. Would I wonder what if? What if I let him take me home that day? Of course, too many times. But, as in aviation, destiny has its way to course-correct.
And that was, ultimately, a blessing.