Fasten Your Seatbelts: A Flight Attendant's Adventures 36,000 Feet and Below (18 page)

Embarrassed and confused, she slowly walked up the jet bridge to the gate. As Julie was pulling up her schedule on the computer, the agent hovered over her shoulder. He took a glance at her schedule and noticed the date.

“Oh honey,” he said. “You need to go to the hotel. This is PM not AM.”

ll of the passengers were boarded and the flight attendants impatiently waited for our cockpit crew to arrive.

Finally, I saw them coming down the jet bridge. I recognized the captain.

“Norm, where have you been?” I jokingly asked. He had a blank expression on his face. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I’ll tell you later,” he mumbled.

We did our beverage service. I was dying to know what happened, so I moseyed into the cockpit. Norman said the night before they had been on a Jamaica layover. There was an eclipse, so he and two flight attendants, Sally and Sandy, decided to hang out by the pool and view the sun and moon coming together. He was getting a little tired and decided to turn in. Sandy agreed she also was ready to go to bed, so she left with Norm. Sally said there was a handsome guy sitting across the pool. She wanted to hang out and see if anything might develop.

After about thirty minutes, Sandy felt guilty about leaving Sally alone, so she returned to keep her company. When she arrived at the pool, there was no one around. She assumed she must have gone back to her room to sleep.

The next morning there was no sign of Sally. She didn’t show up for the shuttle to the airport. The security guard checked her room. Her suitcase was there, but her bed had not been slept in. The flight crew was desperate to find her. They didn’t know what to do. Norm called the chief of pilots who suggested they continue on without her. The company would take over and try to locate Sally. Reluctantly, the crew boarded the shuttle van and left.

Thankfully, she was found. From what I understand, someone slipped the drug Rufinol into her drink and she had to be briefly hospitalized. I saw her several months later. She said she was okay but didn’t want to talk about it. I thought of my own experience in Palm Beach.

There are a lot of scary people out there.

t took me about three years to start thinking about dating anyone seriously after Craig.

I was working first class on a flight from Miami to Aruba. As we were boarding, I heard what sounded like a huge party going on in first class. I glanced into the cabin. It seemed as though all the male passengers knew each other and were already having a good time.
I secretly wondered what I was in for
.

With passengers still boarding, I asked row by row if the party animals wanted something to drink. To my amazement, their manners and personalities were impressive. You could tell they were successful yet remained humble. Some of the more outgoing guys told me there was a mix-up at the ticket counter and explained that one of the men in their group ended up in coach instead of first class. They asked if I would go to the person sitting in 8D and make him feel at home. They were all nice guys, so I had no problem with that.

I walked back to row eight. When I made eye contact with him, I noticed he had piercing blue eyes. They twinkled when he smiled. He was a little older than me. I was in my early-30s and he was in his mid-40s. I could tell by looking at him that he was a good person.

Before we took off, the agent discovered the mix-up in the first class section and that Tom (Mr. 8D) should be sitting there instead of another passenger, so they switched seats.

I had a great time throughout the flight with the guys. All were successful businessmen, doctors, lawyers, but you would never know it. They were down to earth, fun guys to be around.

I needed to rest for a while, so I secluded myself in the galley by closing the curtain. After a short time, Tom came in. He seemed so genuine, clearly someone who felt comfortable in his own skin. We talked for a while. I asked if he was married, and he said no.

After the flight was over, all twelve passengers asked if our crew would like to meet up with them later that night in Aruba. This would be a very long day for us. I explained we still had to fly to San Juan then back to Aruba and wouldn’t be getting in until midnight. I told Tom to give me a call at the hotel, and I would let him know if we were interested.

It was near midnight when I walked into the hotel room, barely having the energy to wash my face. While taking off my mascara, the phone rang.

“Hey, can we send over a limo and pick you up?” Tom asked.

I apologized to him, “No, we are all just too tired.” One of his friends got on the phone. He did his best to persuade us to go, talking about Leer jets and how crazy this guy was about me.

In spite of the hard sell, I politely declined, but shared I would be sunbathing by the pool the next day around 10 a.m.

I thought that was that and presumed I would never see Tom again. I knew from the flight the guys had a scheduled golf tee time in the morning. I sipped my delicious coffee on the balcony while watching the glorious sunrise.

Wasting no time, I threw on my bikini, put my hair up and dashed out to the pool to catch some rays. I really didn’t think Tom would show up, but as I rotated my body for maximum sun exposure there he was coming toward me. He said good morning and asked if I wanted to go for a walk with him on the beach.

We talked along the white sandy shore for about three hours. I told Tom my story about Craig. He shared his story of his 8-year-old daughter who had a life threatening illness where recovery did not look promising. It was very sad. I asked where her mother was. He said they were separated but not legally divorced. They didn’t want their daughter’s days to
be marred by a messy divorce. I understood, but a red flag was waving back and forth.

“Listen,” I said. “I would never have an affair with a married man. If this is anything but what you say it is, it’s on your shoulders.”

He swept me off my feet. For the next eight months, I went on an unbelievable journey of love, excitement, and the time of my life. Money can’t make you happy, but you sure can have a lot of fun with it!

One of the hardest things about meeting someone on the airplane is distance — he usually doesn’t reside anywhere close by. Tom was no exception. Our first conversation on the phone was very comfortable. He asked me about my dreams, hopes and regrets. He owned his own company and was a financial planner. Tom said the smartest thing you can do as far as running a company is to treat your employees well. He told me he pays them well, and that in return they have given him years of complete loyalty. I loved his integrity.

For our first date, Tom wanted to surprise me. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going, only that I was to bring a nice dress. I thought maybe he was going to take me to Florida, so I purchased a beautiful cream-colored dress with lace capped sleeves and the jewelry, pantyhose and shoes to match. I didn’t have a lot of money, so this was extravagant for me.

Tom called a few hours before his plane took off for Atlanta. He hinted something about New York tomorrow night.
Oh no
, I thought. “A cream-colored dress will never do; I need a black one.” I took off for the mall again. I bought the black dress along with all the accessories. He was worth it, I rationalized.

I was a little disappointed that Tom didn’t fly his Leer jet, but hey, commercial airlines aren’t that bad. We arrived in New York and took a cab to Manhattan. We stayed at a hotel overlooking Central Park. I felt like a princess! I made it clear there would be no romantic involvement. He was a perfect gentleman.

One of my dreams we had discussed earlier on the phone was to see the play “Phantom of the Opera.” Tom had the perfect evening planned: the Rainbow Room and a play afterward. I was in heaven! It was like God had given me the worst in my first marriage, and now he gave me the very best in this relationship. The play was fabulous, and the “Phantom of the Opera” was now our theme song. Magically, we heard it everywhere we went.

Our next date took us to Florida. This time I had the dress ready to go. We stayed in a fabulous hotel on the ocean. I walked into the room and there were two dozen roses waiting. Tom had a basketball perched on a vase because earlier I told him I could beat the pants off of him in a game of HORSE. He was attentive, thoughtful and had a great sense of humor.

Next, Tom came to Atlanta where it was my turn to show him the sights. I took him to the Blue Ridge Mountains where we explored the many waterfalls and small towns. We had a blast!

Chicago was our next adventure. We stayed in a hotel that had a spiral staircase in our room. We took the little boat tour that meandered throughout the city. On this day, there was a slight breeze with the smell of chocolate wafting in the air. It was truly delightful! I fell pretty hard for him.

For our next adventure, I found myself on a yacht soaking up the sun in Lake Tahoe. It was just the two of us. We rented a house off the lake with a spectacular view from every room. Later that evening, we decided to see Diana Ross in concert. We didn’t have any tickets, but he didn’t seem too concerned.

When we arrived at the concert, Tom stuffed some money in the attendant’s hand. He escorted us to the very front table right in front of Diana. We were so close to her I could reach out and touch her dress.
What a world! I could get used to this
.

We had very special times together, but our next and final adventure led us to California. First, we stayed in downtown San Francisco. We took a ride in a helicopter. I can’t remember if we flew over or under the San Francisco Bay Bridge. All I know is, that it was spectacular!

We rented a car and drove down U.S. 1 to Pebble Beach, staying at the famous Pebble Beach Lodge and eating an
extravagant meal. We retired to our cozy room, lying there in front of the crackling fire.

When I returned home, it had been a couple of days before I heard from him. I thought this was highly unusual because he previously had been calling every day. Tom finally called.

“Is there something wrong?” I asked.

Indeed there was. Someone who knew Tom and his wife had seen us together at Pebble Beach. They had called his estranged wife and shared they had seen Tom and I together. He said he should have told her earlier, but his main concern was for his daughter. He said his daughter asked all about me.