27. Apologies, Forgiveness, and Girl Talk at 30,000 Feet
27
Apologies, Forgiveness, and Girl Talk at 30,000 Feet
Paige
As soon as we step off the helicopter, a medical crew is waiting for each of us. Mac’s is local, mine is American. The paramedic gives the doctors his initial assessment, then they sign some paperwork, and my team hurries over to me. I strain my neck to get a look at Mac, but he’s already gone.
“I’m Dr. Yung. My team and I will be accompanying you back to New York,” he says. “We’ve got an ambulance waiting downstairs to take us to the airport and I’ll do a preliminary exam en route so we know it’s safe to make the trip home.”
“I’m fine,” I answer.
“Well, we just have to be one-hundred-percent sure,” he says, putting his hand on my upper back and guiding me toward the door.
My mom hurries to catch up with us. “We’ll be right behind you in a limo. Tiff and Ethan are already at the airport. ”
“I don’t understand why we’re in such a rush,” I say, a wave of desperation coming over me to get to Mac.
“We already told you. Guy set this whole thing up, and it must be costing him a fortune,” my dad answers.
“There’s no sense in waiting, Paige,” my mom puts in. “Let’s get you back to the U.S. where we know you’re safe.”
I snort laugh at the thought that New York is safer than here, and my mind immediately goes back to Mac telling me it’s a crime I have to lock my doors.
“What’s so funny?” Dad asks.
“Nothing, I just … remembered something.”
When we get to the airport, the ambulance pulls up next to a private jet. The driver opens the back door in time for me to see Tiffany rushing down the steps to greet me. She opens her arms and runs to me.
I climb out of the ambulance and run to her, tears of relief already spilling from my eyes. We give each other the biggest hug of all time, both of us talking at the same time. “I’m so sorry, so, so, so sorry I wasn’t there,” I whisper while she says, “Thank God you’re alive. I was so scared you were gone.”
“Come on, let’s do this on the jet,” my dad says.
We laugh-cry at ourselves while we put our arms around each other for the short walk to the steps. Once we’re aboard, Ethan gets up from his seat and gives me an awkward side-hug.
“I’m sorry I ruined your wedding,” I tell him.
“To be fair, you also ruined our honeymoon, so…”
“Ethan!” Tiffany snaps. “We’re happy she’s alive, remember?”
He gives me a deadpan look. “Right. I almost forgot. Glad you’re not dead.”
Tiffany slaps his stomach with the back of her hand. “He’s still a little miffed that you missed the entire thing. ”
I look up at him, feeling that familiar sense of shame. “As you should be. I screwed up royally. If it was the first time I’d bailed on you for work, that would be one thing, but…” I shift my gaze to my little sister’s face. Tears fill my eyes as regret and guilt sweep over me. “I’ve missed everything. And mom was right. Those are moments I’ll never get back. I’m just so sorry, Tiff. I hope someday you can forgive me.”
The flight attendant walks up the aisle and asks us all to have a seat so we can prepare for takeoff. Tiffany and Ethan sit across from me at a table for four. My mom is beside me, while my father sits in a recliner on the other side of the aisle. The medical crew all take spots together near the back of the plane. The preliminary exam cleared me for flight, so they’re basically getting paid a whole lot of money to just sit there.
Once we’re settled, Tiffany reaches across the table and puts her hand on mine. “Of course I forgive you. I mean, I’m not going to lie. It hurt that you didn’t show up for my shower or our engagement party or the stagette. And I was so sure you just decided to pull a no-show for the wedding too. I was really pissed until Vivian told us she was flying down here to try to find out what happened. Then I was in full panic mode. We all were.”
“I can only imagine,” I tell her. “I woke up every day with a bowling ball in my stomach, feeling just sick about what you all were going through.”
Mom gives me a wry look. “I’m sure skinny dipping with that hunky pilot helped.”
I feel my entire head heat up while I watch Tiffany’s jaw drop and Ethan’s eyes pop out of his head. My mom nods at them. “Yup, when we got there, they were as naked as a pair of jay birds.”
“I … don’t… I can’t … the thing is, in a situation like that, you have to find a reason to … it’s important to try to find happiness, no matter what your circumstances are.” I pause, knowing there’s no way I can explain this that they’ll understand. “He was just so…”
“Hot,” my mom tells them.
Tiffany covers her mouth with both hands, and she and my mom start to laugh.
“Seriously, he was really hot,” Mom says, glancing over at my father. “Sorry dear. He’s nothing compared to you of course. You’re my one and only.” Looking back at Tiffany, she mouths, “So hot.”
“Yeah, there’s that,” I say, quickly adding, “But there’s so much more to him than how he looks. He’s sweet and caring and thoughtful, and so encouraging, you know?”
Tiffany nods and takes Ethan’s hand. “I think I get it, yeah.”
“And it was such an intense situation. Like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. We were completely alone out there, no radio or cell phones or television. Nothing but the two of us. We had to rely on each other for everything—to survive. And I sprained my ankle and he took such good care of me and we didn’t know how long we’d be out there. It could’ve been years, for all we knew. So, things just … sort of happened.”
Tiffany nods. “I could see how things might sort of happen under those circumstances.”
“They happened all right,” my mom adds, waggling her eyebrows.
“What now?” Tiffany asks.
I shake my head and glance out the window. “Nothing. It’s over, which is okay. I have my life in New York and he’s got his life here. At the end of the day, we don’t want the same things,” I answer, letting out a sigh. “I want the whole thing. The family, the house, the white picket fence, and he … wants to be free.”
I shrug and smile a little even though saying it out loud makes me feel like my heart could burst right here on this plane. “It’s fine. Really. I’m excited to be going back to my real life.”
Tiffany purses her lips. “I just hope your real life isn’t going to be more of the same. As nice as it is for Guy to do all this, if you ask me, he’s got a lot to make up to you.”
Nodding, I say, “I agree, and things are going to be different from now on. No more missing out on the important stuff with my family.”
“You promise?” Tiffany asks.
“I do. I’m never going to make that mistake again. I’ve just been letting my entire life pass me by without me enjoying any of it. Without being there for the people I love.” Shaking my head, I say, “Not anymore. I’m done with that. I’m going to march into his office and demand a promotion, and if he doesn’t give it to me, I’ll leave. Maybe go back to college and finish my degree, then try to get on somewhere else. Work for a boss who won’t demand that I’m available twenty-four/seven, three-hundred-sixty-five days a year.”
“Good for you, Paige,” Ethan says.
“That’s wonderful, dear,” Mom adds, squeezing my hand.
Tiffany offers me a smile but I can tell she’s skeptical. “I hope you do that, Paige. For your sake.”
“I will,” I answer, feeling a lump in my throat. “I’m not the same woman that crashed on that island. I’m a lot stronger than her, and I know my worth now.”
And I have Mac to thank for both of those things.