Chapter 25
twenty-five
I stood on the tarmac at the small airport and glanced at the chaos around me. The second I climbed out of Tripp’s car, I fell into a stunned silence. His sisters, all three of them, rushed toward me. The cacophony of their voices sent a shrill of panic through me. I didn’t have time to melt down or give into the attack. Kelsey inspected my wrist and peppered me with questions about how it was healing. His youngest sister, a bubbly girl with the softest, sweetest voice I’d ever heard, demanded to know what a “hottie” like me was doing with her loser brother. Tripp rolled his eyes and whispered her name into my ear, “That’s Zoe. She’ll talk your ear off if you let her.”
I silently pleaded with him to please save me. He shrugged as if to say he had no control over his sisters. He’d warned me this would happen.
Lydia, the middle sister, stood off the side, yelling at her sisters to give me space to breathe. “Come on, guys, you’re going to scare her off. And Lord knows this one won’t bring another girl around ever again.”
Zoe grabbed my arm and tugged me toward the plane, which I’d been avoiding acknowledging. “She’s right. He never brings girls around. We’d just assumed it was because he was too lame to catch a decent girl. Way to prove us wrong, William Edward.”
“William Edward?” I asked and glared back at Tripp. “Who’s William Edward?”
Zoe giggled. “He hasn’t told you his full name?” When I shook my head she tsked at her brother in disappointment. “William Edward James the Third. We call him Tripp for obvious reasons.”
“Right, because he’s the third.”
“That and he has three first names,” Kelsey said. “When he was little, he got in trouble so much that mom was always yelling ‘William Edward James,’ and he got confused about what his name was. He’d tell everyone something different. We started calling him Tripp, so his brain wouldn’t overload.” She rubbed the top of his head affectionately.
“Are Mom and Dad coming today?” Lydia asked.
Tripp shook his head and said, “No, but they’re going to meet us at the drop point.”
“Are you jumping with us today?” Zoe asked, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.
“Nope. I still have a few months before I leap to my death.” All three sisters laughed. Tripp didn’t join them. His eyes flicked down toward my wrist. His lips turned down, and he looked away quickly. “I’m here to help grab content for the feature we’re doing on Noah and what inspired Tripp to start Take the Leap." I held up the small camera Liam had lent me.
With that, the James sisters were ready to chat. I held up the camera and tried to keep up with their conversation.
“That first jump was my idea,” Lydia said as she smiled at her brother, “Tripp almost chickened out at the last minute. But he ended up falling in love with the sport.”
“I was terrified for the first dive. Kelsey had to keep reminding we were doing it for Noah,” Tripp admitted. “As soon as I felt that first hint of weightlessness, I was hooked. Those first few seconds of free falling cleared my mind, and it felt like I was able to breathe for the first time since Noah was diagnosed.”
My heart squeezed at the soft smile he offered the camera, and me.
“Mom and Dad tried to talk us out of it, too,” Zoe said, laughing. “We lied to them, remember? We told them we were going to buy Noah a new video game.”
“That’s right,” Kelsey said, “I completely forgot about that. They didn’t know we’d done it until we showed the video to Noah.”
“I thought they were going to kill us!” Zoe shook her head.
“Until they saw how happy the video made Noah,” Tripp said quietly. “I’ll always have that final memory of laughing with him as we watched the video. Every time I dive or do something new with Take the Leap, I swear I can still hear his little giggle.”
For a moment, I think we all forgot we were filming. I wasn’t sure if I should be wearing my marketing hat or my girlfriend, er, friend, whatever I was, hat. We were getting content gold, but all I wanted to do was drop the camera and hold him. I opted for something in the middle and held out my hand to him without putting down the camera. He took my hand, and I rubbed my finger over his knuckles.
“I think Noah would’ve loved everything you’ve created and done with Take the Leap,” Kelsey said. She placed her hand on top of mine. Lydia and Zoe added theirs to the small pile. “I know I do.”
We kept our hands stacked for a few more seconds until the pilot approached us to let us know it was almost time. While Tripp reviewed the flight plan with the pilot and the James siblings got into their gear, I stood aside and drank in every drop of their family bond. I’d always wondered what it would’ve been like to have sisters or a big family. It was a ridiculous fantasy, but I would often daydream that my mother had lived, and they went on to have more kids. Always another boy and girl. Even in my delusion, I kept the gender scales balanced. I never knew whether they’d planned to have more, and I didn’t ask. The truth wasn’t nearly as fun as my imagination.
“Are you sure you want to go up?” Tripp pulled me aside to ask. “You can still get a ride over to the drop site. Mom and Dad both promised to be on their best behavior.”
As tempting as it was to have an out, I wasn’t ready to meet his parents just yet. The plan was to go up, watch them jump, then return to the airfield. I’d drive Tripp’s Jeep back to the landing zone and pick him up. Then I’d meet the parents over lunch. I was still surprised he’d invited me along today. Neither Kelsey nor Lydia brought along their spouses. Doubt built inside me. I swallowed back the lump in my throat and asked again, “Are you sure it’s okay that I’m here? I know how special today is for you all.”
He’d spent the drive out here talking about Noah. He spoke about him in the present tense, as if he were forever alive and five years old. “Yes, I want you here.”
I let that be the final answer. His sisters seemed fine with my being there. Maybe I was a welcome distraction from the painful memories this day inevitably brought back to life. I’d happily take on that role.
“So, who has the most embarrassing Tripp story?” I asked when his sisters approached us.
“Never mind,” Tripp said and pulled me back.
“Nope, too late. I’m here, and I’m not missing any opportunity to gather as much dirt as possible.”
Zoe nodded with an approving smile. “I like you, Sadie.” She then launched into a story from when Tripp was a teenager. I tried my hardest to focus on her words, but he was the only thing I was paying attention to. With each story they told, and they had plenty, he just shook his head and laughed along. He’d drop in a fact correction or new detail if they left something out, but he let them go on and on about all the dumb and embarrassing things he did. By the time the plane roared to life behind us, I’d almost completely forgotten the real reason we were here. The engines reminded them as well. The storytelling stopped, and they naturally navigated toward each other. Tripp reached for my hand and pulled me into their circle.
“Happy birthday, Noah Bear,” Zoe said. They bowed their heads.
I joined them in their moment of silence. I squeezed Tripp’s hand. He’d spent so much time comforting and reassuring me that it was nice to return the gesture. He leaned in and rested his head against mine. “I’ve got you,” I whispered to him. A tiny smile tugged at his lips. I’d never said those words to anyone before. Until Tripp, no one had ever said them to me, either. For three simple words, they carried so much intimacy and power. Even when he didn’t say them out loud, I knew he was thinking them. I wanted him to know I was here, too.
As I boarded the plane, my throat tightened. It felt as if my knees were about to give out. I drew in a slow, deep breath to steady myself. I’d never been on a plane this small. If I flew, I always made sure the plane was a massive one with at least two engines and multiple emergency exits before I booked the flight. This plane appeared to have none of those things. It had propellers on each of the wings. There weren’t seats with tray tables or friendly flight attendants smiling to reassure me.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I held it in while I counted to ten. I could do this. I was just going up. I wasn’t jumping. I was there for Tripp, not for me. He waited patiently beside me as I gathered the courage to board along with them. Tripp helped me into the plane and to the bench seat furthest from the door. When I’d agreed to come along, I insisted I have a seat and a seat belt. That, for some reason, gave me enough of a sense of safety that I’d agreed. Now that I was actually buckling into the seat, I was having serious doubts. The seat folded like a movie theater chair, and the seat belt was flimsier than a car's. He handed me noise-canceling headphones. I slipped them on as he took his seat beside me.
Lydia, Zoe, and Kelsey sat closest to the door on the other side of Tripp. The plane had another row of seats on the side by the door. A flight instructor and another employee of the skydiving company sat there. One of them would be jumping before the James family, and the other would stay on board with me and the pilot while we landed. I hoped he had a role that went beyond making sure I didn’t lose it when Tripp jumped.
Once the door was closed and the plane taxied down the runway, Tripp rested his hand on my thigh. I placed my hand on top of his and interlaced our fingers. It was too loud to talk, so I let that simple gesture be enough. Even through his gloves, I felt the warmth of his skin. I dropped my head back against the wall and closed my eyes when I felt us leave the ground. This was the worst part of flying for me. The moment it was too late to back out. The moment I lost any control I might have had. My stomach dropped. I held on to my seat with the hand that didn’t have a death grip on him. The small plane rattled and shook as we climbed higher into the air. We’d only be climbing to 10,000 feet. Only. Which meant the flight would be over in a matter of minutes. I focused on my breathing. Four seconds in. Hold for four. Out for four. Hold for four. My legs bounced up and down. Tripp tightened his hold on my leg.
Then, it was time. I forced my eyes open long enough to watch Tripp and his sisters unbuckle and exit their seats. They jumped in age order—Kelsey, Lydia, Tripp, and Zoe. I watched in awe as they moved, without fear, to the open door. Tripp kept his eyes locked on mine until it was time for him to jump. As he turned to go, he gave me one last smile.
Then he jumped. I gasped. I’d known he was going to drop from the door and then be gone but watching him fall into the open sky shook me. My heart raced, and it took me a moment to catch my breath.
By the time I’d grounded myself again, we were back on the ground and headed to catch up with Tripp. I’d already met his sisters, but the idea of sharing a meal with his parents, wrecked my nerves. Especially knowing just how emotionally charged this dinner was likely to be.
I shouldn’t have been worried, though. His mother greeted me with a warm hug and his dad’s smile was just as bright and welcoming as Tripp’s. I could tell immediately that he’d gotten his sense of loyalty and compassion from the two of them. What had it been like to grow up with two loving, kind parents?