Chapter 24: Safe with Me
498 Words
Chapter 24: Safe with Me
Seats 2A and 2B
3:56 P.M.
Cord squeezed my hand with endearing strength, leaned into me, and said, “Nothing’s going to happen. The pilot knows what he’s doing. We’re not going to die today.”
But my heart plummeted along with the plane and I tensed up. Was it normal for my ears to pop if we weren’t in our descent to Seattle? And why did my lungs feel so tight? I started to shake. I knew the plane was out of control. I knew we were going to die. I broke out in a heavy sweat, my armpits, my back, and my groin instantly wet.
The pilot was making an announcement but I couldn’t understand it: turbulence, rocky, safety, fine. I suddenly thought of all the plane-crash movies I’d ever seen: United 93, Passenger 57, The Edge, We Are Marshall, The Pilot’s Wife—
As Cord clutched my hand, as the plane continued to drop, I felt his lips touch my ear. He whispered, “Pier 19, Bradley. Remember when we went to Pier 19?”
It was such a strange question. I forgot about the plane a little and turned to him, asking, “What about the pier?”
“I was scared shitless because it was so high, but you helped me get through it.”
I shook my head, unable to comprehend what he was saying, and said, “It’s not the same.”
“It is. You put your palm on my ass and pushed me up that rickety ladder. You coached me all the way to the top. Remember how I froze and you talked me through it?”
I thought back to that night: the light wind playing along the beach, the stars glimmering over the Gulf, and Cord’s unmistakable scent of fear. That moment felt so long ago, yet so recent, and I tapped into the memory with relief, letting it wash over me as I recalled our slow-motion climb up the rickety ladder. I’d been patient and supportive with Cord, just as he was being patient and supportive with me now.
“Trust me,” he said, managing to sound both heroic and convincing. “I won’t let this plane go down with the two of us in it.”
“You don’t have any control over that,” I said, yanked back out of my daydream and fearing for my life, yet overjoyed that he was trying to comfort me.
Just then we flew out of the turbulence and leveled out. I got up the courage to look out the window again and saw that we were flying through the tops of the clouds. The wings and horizon were steady as we streamed through blue-white sky. My heart started slowing back to normal and I was able to get control of my breathing. I could feel my sweat cooling as my terrible visions started fading.
“You’re safe, Bradley,” my savior said, comforting me again. I turned back to him, and he looked pleased that my fear was subsiding now that our flight was back on track to Seattle.
“Safe with you,” I whispered as I pressed against him and lifted my face to his, wanting him to kiss me.
“Safe with me,” he replied as he kissed me, relaxed and smiling.
- Writer
