The Rejected Brides Holiday Romance

Chapter Seven – Upgrade.

Chapter Seven – Upgrade.

Sienna stood at the check-in desk at Newcastle airport with her father and mother by her side. The past few weeks had been draining on her, and it was not without trepidation that she was embarking on this trip. The decision was finally made that she would definitely make the tip alone on the date of her cancelled wedding, when, to add salt to the wounds, her former fiancé and best friend announced to the world on social media their undying love and became f*******: official. It was a twist of the knife from both of them, and she had not a single doubt in her mind that the idea had come from Cara. She had seen her pull stunts like this before with women she had taken a dislike to. Sienna sighed, thinking about Cara’s antics. How had she ever trusted that woman? But the long years of friendship had clouded her judgment where she was concerned. Cara Andrews cared about one thing only…herself.

“Are you sure you are going to be okay?” Martha asked for the umpteenth time.

Sienna forced a smile and nodded, but the truth was, she had no clue if she was going to be okay or not. For one, she was not a fan of flying, and with three flights ahead of her, she was going to have to cope with her fear alone. Secondly, the thought of sitting around the honeymoon suite with nobody to talk to, for three weeks, filled her with dread. But still, she was determined to make the tip alone, just because May had been spouting her mouth off to all who would listen about how she had stolen the holiday that Kev was entitled to. The thought of her squirming with anger as she embarked on this single honeymoon spurred Sienna on, determined to go through with it.

“Remember we are just a phone call away. If you need us, do not worry about time differences, just call. We will pick up the phone.” Eric informed his daughter, feeling a little concerned about encouraging her to go on the trip alone.

“I know and thank you both so much. I could not have gotten through these last six weeks without you both.” Sienna smiled at her parents before hugging them both tight to her.

“All the decorating will be done by the time you get back, just as you wanted.” Eric informed her.

“You don’t have to do that dad.” Sienna smiled, although she had to admit she was more than a little grateful for his offer to completely change her house, to make it into her own home once more and remove every memory of Kev from her space.

“Here we go, just a little something to help you enjoy yourself.” Martha said, pushing a white envelope into Sienna’s hands.

“What is it? It is not illicit substances is it?” Sienna joked with her mother.

Martha laughed, shaking her head. It was good to see her daughter joking once more.

“No, definitely not. Now, don’t open it now, wait until you get on the plane. Now, go and take every opportunity to enjoy yourself, do not let life pass you bye this trip.” Martha grinned at her daughter, then with one last kiss on her cheek, she stepped back, as Eric lifted her suitcase onto the scales, and Sienna stepped forwards to check on to the flight.

Passing her economy class tickets to the air steward, she waited to be checked into to her flight.

“Miss Lloyd, I have some excellent news for you. We are checking you in for all of your flights from here, and will issue the boarding passes for all three now. The first flight to Schiphol airport is just a standard flight. However, we have issued you with an upgraded flight to first class from Schiphol to Houston, and from Houston to Honolulu.” The lady behind the counter said, offering her a bright smile.

“What?” Sienna said, stunned, her eyes wide. The one thing they had scrimped on to afford the luxury suite at the prestigious hotel was the flights. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to fly first class.

The air steward giggled slightly and nodded her head.

“Tanya, your travel agent, is a good friend of mine. We used to house share when we were both at university. She rang me about your…. Well situation asking if I could do something nice for you. I have two seats in first class available, so I have upgraded you. Just so you know, us women stick together, especially those of us who have the misfortune of finding ourselves with arseholes and bitches for friends.” The air steward whispered to her, to avoid any other passenger hearing the conversation.

Stunned, Sienna blinked, then smiled at the lady behind the desk. Wow, female solidarity from a stranger, and it made her heart feel a little less bereft of friendship.

“Thank you so much. I cannot believe this… really, thank you. ” Sienna grinned.

“Remember, if a donkey throws you off, the best thing you can do is climb up and ride a stallion. Hope you find one in Hawaii.” The lady winked at her, then called the next passengers forward.

Still stunned, and in shock, Sienna made her way up the escalator to the second floor, pausing at the top to give a final wave of goodbye to her parents who stood on the ground floor looking up at her.

Turning around, she made her way to the bar, even though it was only seven am, but given her fear of flying, Sienna required some Dutch courage before boarding her first flight to Amsterdam, ordering herself a gin and lemonade with a dash of lime cordial, gulping the liquid down, allowing it to invade her senses and relax her fraught nerves. She glanced at the envelope she was still clutching, then stuffed it into her hand luggage, next to her free metro newspaper she had picked up at the airport, making a mental note to open it on her second flight. Something to pass a few minutes, of the ten-and-a-half-hour flight. By her third gin, Sienna was feeling the buzz from the alcohol, and she looked up at the screen above the bar that showed she was required to head to passport control. Stepping off the stool, she grasped hold of her hand luggage, then made her way through the long corridors, through the security, then made her way to gate number 5, taking a seat whilst watching the planes taxi off towards the runway, or make their way off the runway. Finally, the call came, for her seat number block to board the aircraft, and she passed her boarding pass to the flight attendant, before making her way down the tunnel that led to the doors of the plane. Greeted by the welcoming smile of the KLM air hostess, she made her way to seat 6A, and made herself as comfortable as possible, strapping herself in, and making sure her tray was up ready for take-off. She watched with full concentration as the woman in blue gave the safety brief, wondering if she was the only passenger who was intently following all the instructions.

All too soon, the aircraft was hurtling down the runway, as Sienna clutched the armrests of her chair, her knuckles white, as she closed her eyes, when the plane took to the sky, suppressing the small scream as the aircraft did that little negative G thing as the pilot leveled out the plane slightly, wondering when they would come round with the drinks, because this was just the quick 45 minute hop to Schiphol airport, and already she was desperate to get off. Heaven only knew what she was going to be like when she got on the ten-and-a-half-hour flight, and she required a hell of a lot more Dutch courage whilst flying with this Dutch airline.

The plane bounced slightly as the wheels hit the tarmac, and the sound of the engine roared in Sienna’s ears as the aircraft slowed down to taxi speed, and headed towards the gate. With a sigh of relief, Sienna stood up as soon as the plane came to a halt at the gate, grabbing her bag from under her seat. She had two hours to find the gate for her connecting flight to Houston, Texas and given she had consumed another two gins, she was going to have to double check every instruction to find the correct terminal and gate. She made her way towards the front of the plane, practically hopping from foot to foot, desperate to have her feet on firm ground once more. Nervousness pinched in her stomach, along with the desperate need for the bathroom, the gin finally ready to vacate her system. The doors to the aircraft opened, and Sienna gave her thanks to the air stewards, before walking as quickly as she could, towards the baggage reclaim area. Her case would be transferred automatically onto her next flight, but it was the closest place she could find a loo. Heading into the bathrooms, she closed the door to the toilet, and as she sat on the loo, she let out an audible sigh of relief as she let out a very noisy wee. Feeling embarrassed, she waited for the other stalls to empty before exiting the bathroom and washing her hands. Looking in the mirror, she could see her sapphire blue eyes sparkling from the alcohol. They had looked so dull over the past few weeks, even months, and for all it was caused by Gin, it still felt good to see some light back in her eyes. Finished, she set about the task of finding the place she needed to be, following the sign posts that were written in both Dutch and English, checking she was in the right place, by asking one of the staff on standby.

“Hi, I am here for the flight to Houston, I have just arrived from Newcastle, am I in the right place?” Sienna asked a man standing behind a desk at the gate she presumed was hers.

“If I could see your ticket, please.” He smiled at her; his blonde hair slicked back. He was good looking, but Sienna was not interested in checking out a man, all she wanted was to get on this next flight, and to her destination in one piece, where she could spend her days drinking away her sorrows around one of the four large pools at the resort.

“Ah yes, I see you are first class. You have access to our priority first class lounge; boarding will not be for another hour or so. It is just down this corridor to the right and up the stairs. But this is the correct gate for this flight.” He smiled at the girl who looked three sheets to the wind, and scared out of her wits.

“Oh, thank you.” Sienna smiled brightly, then sauntered off towards the lounge, pretending she could see and walk straight, only she really couldn't.

Realising that she had probably had too much Dutch courage, she decided she needed a hot black coffee and probably a sandwich to soak up the excess of gin flowing through her veins and headed straight for the priority first class lounge.