Flight to the Horizon, page 5
“Ding.” They jumped apart. It was the cabin-to-cockpit chime. Kerri reached up to a panel and flipped on the switch for the overhead light. Janine stood up and smoothed out her uniform dress. They were acting like teenagers caught necking.
“Joe’s at the door. I’ll let him in. Are you stepping back, Kerri?”
“No, thank you.”
“Well, I guess I’ll see you after landing.”
“You sure will.” Kerri flashed that dazzling smile again. This would be a long three hours.
Chapter Five
The scent of Janine’s perfume hung in the air after she left the flight deck. Kerri inhaled deeply. Her lips still tingled from the press of Janine’s lips. After Joe returned to the right seat, Kerri put the cockpit lights back to the dim setting. The cockpit lights were kept low when flying at night to preserve the pilot’s night vision, but Kerri didn’t want Joe to see her face turn red as she thought of Janine.
The kiss between them had felt so natural, like they’d been girlfriends for months. Janine’s lips were full and luscious. Kerri wanted to kiss them forever. She felt the familiar dampness between her legs. Her body gave her very clear signals when she was attracted to a woman, and she was certainly attracted to Janine. Her firm resolve to never again date a coworker was slowly dissipating. Maybe it will be different this time.
Sitting in the darkened cockpit, Kerri allowed her thoughts to drift to what she and Janine might do after they landed in Los Angeles. She would drive them to her favorite breakfast place for blueberry pancakes, then take Janine to her home. She loved her house. It was near the ocean and had big windows so she could see the sky. She would invite Janine to her bedroom, have her remove her uniform dress, then have her lie down for another aloe treatment. If things went as she hoped, she and Janine would make love until they both fell into exhausted sleep wrapped in each other’s arms. The mental image made Kerri shiver.
She stared out the big side windows into the night sky. It was truly pitch-black flying over the Pacific Ocean at night, but she had a perfect view of the stars. She could see Orion’s belt, Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, and the Milky Way. When she flew over the North Atlantic, she often saw the Aurora Borealis with its slowly undulating neon colors in the night sky. She wanted to share these beautiful sights with Janine.
Kerri had surprised herself when she and Janine kissed. She prided herself on her professionalism, and having a lip-lock with a flight attendant in the cockpit wasn’t exactly proper decorum at work. She wasn’t clear who’d initiated the kiss. It seemed like they’d both moved toward each other at the same time. Whoever had moved first didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was the electricity when their lips touched and the connection between them. It was instantaneous and powerful the moment they gazed into each other’s eyes. Kerri felt the ache of desire deep within her, and she wanted more.
She turned away from stargazing and checked the time remaining until they reached their next reporting point. She picked up the clipboard with their paper flight plan on it and wrote the required flight data on it. She was tempted to turn the speed knob up to .85 Mach so they would land in LA sooner. But Kerri didn’t change the cruise speed because it would cost her an extra three thousand pounds of fuel just to land fifteen minutes early. She was looking forward to her after-flight activities with Janine, but she was still the captain. Nothing would make her compromise the safety of her passengers.
* * *
Janine tried to suppress her smile when she left the flight deck. She’d been shocked, and pleasantly surprised, when Kerri kissed her. What an unbelievable day this had been. First, she was on a gorgeous beach in Maui, then she saw the spectacular sea creatures on the snorkeling trip, and now she was kissing the captain on the flight deck.
“You were up there a long time,” Michelle, the chief purser, said.
Her comment took Janine off guard. “Yes, well, I was waiting for Joe to come back up.”
“Was Kerri nice? Did she talk to you?”
Janine wondered why Michelle was so inquisitive and why she asked such an odd question. “Yes, she was.”
“Well, that’s good. Kerri isn’t always very nice to flight attendants.”
“What do you mean?” This remark confused Janine.
“I don’t mean anything. It’s just that Kerri Sullivan has quite a reputation among flight attendants.”
“What kind of reputation?”
“I don’t want to talk out of turn, but you should be aware of Kerri’s history with flight attendants.”
“What exactly are you referring to, Michelle?” Janine was starting to feel concerned.
“Have you heard what Kerri’s nickname is in LA?”
“No. What is it?”
“We call her Don Juanita because she’s a female Don Juan and she’s gone through so many women in LA.”
Janine was stunned.
“Look, I’m not trying to say anything bad about her. You’re new to LA, and I’m just trying to look out for you, that’s all.” Michelle reached over and patted Janine’s hand.
“I don’t understand what you mean. Are you saying she’s a bad captain or that she’s abusive toward flight attendants?”
“No, of course not. Kerri’s a good pilot. It’s just that she goes through women very quickly. I want you to be informed.”
Janine was very agitated now. “You’re talking around something. Please tell me what’s going on with Kerri.”
“All right, if you insist. One of Kerri’s many exes, Brenda Costas, is my best friend, and she got really burned by Kerri.”
Janine could hardly believe what she was hearing. This didn’t sound like the lovely woman she’d spent the day with at all. “What happened with them?”
“I don’t want to spread rumors, but it’s only fair you know the truth about Captain Kerri Sullivan. Basically, she hits on every beautiful woman who crosses her path, especially flight attendants.”
“I haven’t known Kerri long, but that doesn’t sound like her,” Janine answered.
“Oh, I see. She’s already put the moves on you, hasn’t she? Well, you are very pretty. Let me ask you something. Did she invite you back to her hotel room for a back rub? That’s her usual first move.”
Janine hesitated. “Yes, she did, but that was because my back was sunburned, and she wanted to help me out.”
“Sure it was.”
Janine sat on the jump seat in stunned silence. Can this be true?
“Don’t feel bad about going back to her hotel room. A lot of women have fallen for her charms. You’re just the next one in a long string of women she’s seduced. You’re a nice girl, Janine, and I’m trying to protect you from getting hurt like my friend did.”
“How did she get hurt?”
“Let’s just say she’s never been the same since Kerri broke up with her. After Brenda fell in love with her, Kerri dumped her.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” The sweet feelings Janine had about Kerri were turning into sadness and anger.
“The worst part was that Brenda transferred to Seattle just so she won’t have to run into Kerri.”
“That’s awful. Is she seeing anyone else now?” Janine felt pity for a woman she’d never even met.
“No, she’s not. She told me that, after Kerri, she didn’t want to date anyone for a long time. I really miss flying with her.” Michelle seemed hurt by her friend’s absence.
Janine was really confused and upset. “I better get back to work. Thank you for letting me know.”
“Letting you know what?” Karen, the other forward-cabin flight attendant, joined them.
“I was just filling Janine in on our captain’s history with LA flight attendants,” Michelle said.
“Oh, you mean Don Juanita? Yeah, she’s had a very busy dance card. That’s for sure.”
“Does everyone in LA call her that name?” Janine asked.
“No, not everyone. Just those of us who’ve been around a while and seen her in action.”
“I think Kerri hit on Janine,” Michelle informed Karen.
“Oh. Well, just be careful, Janine.”
“Thanks. I will. I need to get back to my station.”
Janine walked to the back of the plane past the sleeping passengers. Not only did her sunburned back hurt, but her stomach churned with anger. She sat in her jump seat and stared out into the darkness through the small window in the aft-cabin door. Regret descended on her like a heavy weight.
How could I be so stupid? I let her play me like a violin. What the hell was I thinking? With my situation, I can’t possibly get involved with anyone. I lost my head momentarily, but I will not allow anyone to use me, certainly not Captain Don Juanita. She’s just as bad as those creepy male captains who hit on all flight attendants. I can’t wait to get on the ground and off this plane.
* * *
“Trans Global 541, contact Los Angeles Center on one-three-two point one.”
“Trans Global 541, one-three-two point one. Have a good day,” Kerri answered.
Kerri dialed in the radio frequency for LA Center and glanced at the time remaining to their next navigation point. “Los Angeles Center, Trans Global 541, five minutes from coast in fix at flight level three-seven-zero.”
“Trans Global 541, radar contact, squawk two-three-five-one, descend and maintain flight level two-one-zero,” the air traffic controller replied.
Kerri set the new altitude for Joe as he started their descent into Los Angeles. It was five a.m., and normally Kerri would be exhausted after being awake all night. But this morning she was wide awake and giddy with anticipation for her post-flight activities with Janine. She hoped Janine was as excited as she was to come over to her home. It was rare for Kerri to invite a woman there, but Janine was different. Something about her was very special.
Kerri couldn’t tell what made her special, but she couldn’t wait to find out. She wanted to talk to Janine, ask her about her life, and find out if Janine had any feelings for her. Based on the quick kiss they’d shared earlier, she knew Janine was attracted to her, but now she really wanted to get to know her in depth. She had to force herself to put aside her thoughts of Janine and focus on Joe flying the approach into LA. He was very tired too, and this was the perfect setup for him to make a mistake. In the past, after an all-night flight, she’d seen other pilots line up with the wrong runway for landing, set the incorrect navigation frequency, fail to capture the localizer, and even forget to put the landing gear down, all because of extreme fatigue.
After all her years of flying, Kerri had developed the ability to conjure up her last bits of alertness for the approach and landing. She trusted Joe, but she still monitored everything he did. Kerri made the radio calls, checked the altitudes on the arrival, ran the landing checklist, and watched Joe fly the jet. Like many of the first officers, he tended to keep the airplane fast and high. If he was too fast, they couldn’t extend the flaps or gear. If he was too high, he’d never capture the glide slope, and they would have to go around.
Kerri knew precisely what their altitude and airspeed should be to safely make a stabilized approach and landing. She allowed the copilots as much latitude as possible to see if they would recognize and correct their own errors, but she would never let them put the airplane in an unsafe position. Kerri would drop a friendly hint by saying, “Looks like they’re setting you up for a slam dunk.” If they didn’t take the hint, she would become more directive and tell them to pull the power to idle, slow the jet, and put the gear and flaps down. She would intervene before the copilots did anything unsafe, then debrief them when they were safety on the ground. She didn’t care about bruising their male egos.
The majority of the copilots did a good job flying, and she got along well with almost all of them. Only one little ass-wipe punk, Jonathan Rindell, hadn’t listened to her. Flying into Sacramento one foggy night, he was way too high, and he’d failed to slow the aircraft down or configure the jet for landing. Kerri had tried to give him directions, but he didn’t comply with her commands. She’d had to take control of the airplane and use all her skill and cunning to get the jet safely on the ground.
After landing, Kerri had tried to explain what he’d done wrong, but he’d refused to listen to her and left the cockpit. She’d called the chief pilot in Los Angeles and promptly had him removed from the rest of her trip. She never knew what happened to this guy, but he was no longer in LA or with the company. Captain Kerri Sullivan did not tolerate insubordination from anyone.
Chapter Six
Janine completed her before-landing duties after she heard Kerri announce the seat-belt sign coming on over the PA. She and her flying partner picked up the last of the cabin trash, secured everything in the aft galley, and buckled in tight to their jump seats. As she heard the landing gear come down, she looked out the small window in the aft door and saw the pale colors of a new sunrise. Ordinarily, she liked seeing a new day dawn after an all-night flight, but today she felt only disappointment.
What had started as a great layover in Maui had turned into a pathetic scene of deceit. She was angry at Kerri for toying with her emotions, but more than that, she was furious with herself because she hadn’t figured out she was being played. The realization brought back awful memories of someone else using her. She forced herself to block those painful recollections.
Janine needed to remove herself from this situation as soon as she could after they landed. The copilot was flying the landing, since Kerri was making the PA announcements, and Joe made a very firm touchdown. The airplane slowed down, and the thrust reversers made a loud roar. As soon as all the passengers got off the plane, she would make her escape and, hopefully, never run into Kerri again.
They pulled up to the gate, the seat-belt sign was turned off, and all the sleepy passengers got out of their seats. Janine disarmed the emergency escape slides on the two aft doors, checked her station one last time, and retrieved her black crew bags. She prayed Kerri was still in the cockpit finishing her post-flight duties so she could make a clean getaway. Fortunately, the 767 used two aisles to disembark, so she just might make it off the jet without running into her.
Janine said a quick good-bye to the other flight attendants, and then, instead of walking down the Jetway with everyone else, she opened the door to the exterior Jetway stairs and, carrying her bags, ran down the metal steps in her high heels as fast as she could. She saw the crew bus approaching, hurried to catch it, climbed on board, looked back at the jet one last time, and let out a sigh of relief.
* * *
“Brakes set. Parking checklist, Joe.” Kerri wanted to finish her after-landing duties as quickly as possible so she could meet up with Janine.
Just as Kerri was closing her flight bag, she heard the master warning system, “Ding.” She looked up at the center panel and saw Hot Brakes annunciated on the display.
“Damn it.” Kerri picked up the hand mike. “Maintenance, this is 541 at gate seventy-six. We have hot brakes. Confirm wheel chocks are in place.”
“Copy hot brakes, 541. Yes, main wheels are chocked. You are cleared to release the parking brake. We’ll get the brake fans over to your gate right away.”
“Thanks, Maintenance.”
“Sorry about that, Kerri,” Joe said sheepishly. “I guess I stepped on the brakes too hard.”
Kerri was pissed at him, because now they had to make a maintenance write-up and have the brakes inspected. She took a breath and made her voice calm. “It’s okay, Joe. Just remember the 767 has very strong brakes compared to a 737, so you need only light pressure on the toe brakes. I try not to touch them until we’ve slowed below one hundred knots on landing. As soon as you feel the main wheels touch down, pull up the levers into full reverse thrust, and let them do the work for you.”
“Okay, Kerri. Thanks.”
By the time Kerri put the maintenance write-up in the logbook, packed her flight gear, and secured her gun, all the passengers and flight attendants were already off the plane. She hurried down the Jetway into the terminal looking for Janine, but only the gate agent remained. Then she realized she didn’t have Janine’s phone number. It was a long shot, but maybe she was waiting for her outside of Flight Operations. She walked as fast as she could to Operations, but Janine was nowhere around. Kerri was sure they’d been clear about their after-landing plans and couldn’t figure out where Janine was. Maybe she could find her in the employee parking lot. I don’t even know if she lives in LA or if she commutes to some other city. Why didn’t I ask her where she was from?
After wandering around the lot for twenty minutes, Kerri knew she wouldn’t find Janine and resigned herself to going home alone. She didn’t stop at her favorite breakfast place. After being awake all night, she just wanted to climb into bed and sleep. She kept replaying that lovely kiss with Janine in the dimly lit flight deck.
Had inviting Janine back to her house been too forward? Everything with Janine in Maui, and on the jet, had felt so natural. Maybe she was fooling herself by thinking Janine might be interested in her. It wasn’t the first time Kerri had pursued a woman who didn’t feel the same way about her. She hoped she’d learned something from her previous experiences, but clearly she’d misread things with Janine. Reluctantly, she gave up and went to bed, pulled the curtains to make the room black, and tossed and turned before exhaustion overtook her.
I hope I fly with her again.
* * *
Janine threw her bags into the trunk of her car and sped out of the employee lot. There was little traffic at five thirty in the morning, and she soon pulled into the driveway of her small bungalow in El Segundo. She tried to be quiet as she entered the tidy house, but then she heard the sweetest sound in the world. “Mommy, are you home?” She couldn’t help but smile at the little high-pitched voice of her daughter, Molly.
