“I have a cot. It folds up.” He takes another bite.
“What’s wrong with your bed?”
“Can’t see the stars from my bed.”
“You could install a skylight.”
He takes a sip of his coffee. “Yep.”
The hesitancy in his tone and his blank expression have the combined effect of a door creaking shut. Like he doesn’t want to talk about this. Why?
“Don’t you get cold?” I ask.
“What else is on your to-do list today?” he asks like he didn’t hear my question.
“I should be getting ready for my five-day Alaska trip.”
He sets down his fork and sips from his coffee, a contemplative look on his face. “Why’d you become a flight attendant?”
“I flunked out of college.”
The coffee cup in his hands freezes halfway to his lips.
“Kidding,” I say. “Sort of. I went to Boise State for a year and a half but I felt kind of lost. I didn’t know what I wanted to studyand I’m not really the best student so it felt like pouring money down the drain. There was a flyer in my dorm for Leap Airlines, and I applied. Four months later I was in the air.”
He gives me a skeptical glance. “So it was some kind of whim?”
“Maybe more like serendipity? I knew I wanted to travel someday. I just didn’t consider it would be my job.”
“And you still like it?”
“I love it.”
His curious smile makes my insides warm. It’s so…genuine. Have I ever seen this smile before? “Because of the adventure?”
It occurs to me that I’ve never seen him with a suitcase. He goes to work, comes home, goes for a long run, comes home, goes paddling, comes home. “It’s a fun way to push outside my comfort zone. The best part though, is meeting new people. The world is really a very welcoming, interesting place.”
He gives me a skeptical arch of his eyebrow. “Do passengers ever give you trouble?”
The sudden turn in the conversation makes my stomach pitch like I’m cresting a rogue wave. “Rarely.”
“You ever had to take anyone out?” The twitch in his lips is a sign he’s about to tease me.
“I lived through a crash once,” I say to redirect this conversation. I’m not about to share my mistake or explain how one moment of carelessness resulted in an injury and a lawsuit.
Linden’s eyes go round. “Fucking seriously?”
“Landing gear malfunction.”
“Was anyone hurt?”
Brace! Brace! Brace!I called out while we waited to touch down. “No. Hard landing though. And a fire, but they put it out quickly, and the cabin wasn’t affected.”
“Where was that?”
“Spokane.”
He pointshis fork at me. “Was Russet flying the plane?”
