Standing tall, she shrugged her shoulders and tugged at her shirt, making sure the girls were tucked in, then knotted the silk scarf which had come loose around her throat. Pulled herself together. Somehow, she’d forgotten where she was going. Cockpit. Right. She nodded, but her legs stayed put.
He nodded too and raised his eyebrows, crinkling his forehead in apparent concern. He ruffled a hand through his cropped hair and mussed it appealingly. What would it feel like, to run her own hands through his hair? To smooth her hand across his brow, then muss the man properly. What was wrong with her today? Had she bumped her head on the way down?
There was just something about him. An unwelcome pang of something – regret or desire, she wasn’t entirely sure – shot through her belly. A certain something likely to lead her into temptation and end in trouble.
Her heart ker-thumped out of rhythm and the air huffed from her lungs. Straightening her skirt, she hurried down the aisle to get away from him, swaying and bumping along with the turbulence.
Sinead entered the cockpit and nodded at the co-pilot she didn’t know well. He tipped his chin at her, but directed his attention back to the radar image. She hung back, hearing the tense tone of Captain Arrowsmith’s voice. “Acknowledged. We’ll await further instructions.”
Tom, as he’d asked her to call him when they first met, sat perfectly straight with his back to her, his spine rigid as he worked the controls and hung on for air traffic control. He was one of the good guys, always so professional. Not to mention a fine-looking older man. A silver fox. He spoke to her as an intelligent person, not a serving wench as some pilots did.
The disembodied voice of an air traffic controller crackled through the radio. “Flight 180, you are being diverted. You are go to Singapore. Repeat, you are go to Singapore.”
“Acknowledged. Repeat course correction.”
The rest of the conversation was a muffled blur against the backdrop of her mind. The storm was developing fast and air traffic control was clearing the airspace. Not a good sign. Everything was reminding her of the worst day of her travel career, a flight to the Philippines that went awry. Her breathing sped up and she wiped her palms against the wool fabric of her skirt.
Tom swivelled around, a frown creasing his forehead. His usual warm expression missing. “Okay, Sinead. We have a confirmed tropical storm and it’s getting stronger, possibly a typhoon developing. We’ll need to de-plane. Please inform the cabin crew and then I’ll make an announcement to the passengers.”
She nodded. “Yes, Captain. Tom, I mean.”
Her heart raced ahead and her mind played out worst-case scenarios as she stepped out of the cockpit.
Stay calm. She slowed her pace, walking on wobbly legs down the aisle back to her colleagues. She passed Mr Coffee with barely a glance, concentrating on the job at hand.
Minutes later, she’d assembled her crew mates in the galley for a briefing. They stood in a circle as she relayed the captain’s message, the bare facts. Yuki’s mouth popped open and Deanna leaned against a trolley, arms crossed tight across her chest. They were no doubt worried, but trying to remain professional. The rest of the crew looked at their feet or stared at her and nodded, silent as the grave. No. Not a grave, definitely not a grave. Silent as some other silent but lovely thing, like rainbows or butterflies. Sinead was working hard to think happy thoughts, anything other than a terrifying typhoon blowing a plane full of passengers off course.
Her crew were all okay. None of them were panicking. They’d remember their training and help the passengers however they could.
Damian was the odd man out. Pouting, his poufy black hair bouncing as he shook his head. He looked put out. Sinead knew he coveted her senior crew member position, which made him unmanageable at times.
Damian wasn’t a happy camper, but she wouldn’t waste any more time on him. He muttered something under his breath and then kept quiet.
She had a whole cabin of passengers to calm, to reassure, to make comfortable. Even when she was feeling less than calm and comfortable herself. She’d developed a sixth sense when it came to emotions, honed by years of anticipating and meeting other people’s needs. It didn’t make the work any easier. It was emotionally as well as physically exhausting and that was without the added stress of a tropical storm.
Half the time she was a flight attendant zombie, an honorary member of the walking dead. A new wave of tiredness washed over her and she rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck. Then she snapped out of it. She stood tall and got going again, showing the other crew members she was on top of things. Leading by example.
A loud but calm voice burst through the PA. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Captain Arrowsmith speaking. Apologies for the unexpected turbulence. We have been asked to divert our course and make an unscheduled stop in Singapore due to an approaching tropical storm front. We’ll make our descent in approximately three hours. At this stage we only expect a short delay but we will be required to disembark. Please remain seated and fasten your seat belts. I’ll provide another update shortly. Thank you for your attention.”
The crew took off in all directions, no messing about, they were back to work. She grabbed Yuki’s arm before her friend disappeared. She worried about her. A mother hen instinct, or a desire to help her settle in as a newer crew member with only six months in the air. Yuki had never experienced a tropical storm while flying.
Sinead spoke quietly in Yuki’s ear. “Are you all right?”
Yuki nodded, then her lips stretched in a tight grin. It didn’t reach her eyes. She pressed her lips together and shook her head in disagreement with herself. “I don’t know. What are we going to do if the storm hits mid-flight? Do you think we’ll make it into Singapore in time?”
“Of course we will. The captain’s got it all under control. We need to make sure we do our jobs and stay calm. All right?” Sinead hoped her voice conveyed all the confidence she herself was trying to muster.
The plane dipped and Sinead ignored the nausea rolling through her own stomach as she held on to Yuki’s arm. She closed her eyes for a second. Lord, she’d kill to be on holiday. Thailand. Warm and exotic. Relaxing without a care in the world, drink in hand, stretched out on a sun lounge by the pool. Three weeks to go, and counting.
Yuki’s face crumpled in concern. “I’ll be okay, Sinead. Let me know if you need me to help with anything.”
She’d lighten the mood with talk of shopping which always worked a charm with Yuki. “Don’t worry. Before long we’ll be in Singapore. We might even have some time for shopping in Orchard Road, spending all our cash in those gorgeous shopping malls.”
Yuki’s expression brightened. “Oh! How could I forget? Daniel’s in Singapore. He could meet us. I wonder if we’ll have to stay over? I could invite Daniel to our hotel.”
Sinead’s tired brain ached at the idea, but she nodded. “Sure, why not?” She’d covered her hesitation pretty well. Yuki’s boyfriend was a medical student who still lived with his parents in a crowded high-rise apartment. So reunions always happened in Yuki’s hotel room, adjoining Sinead’s room with paper-thin walls. The close quarters never seemed to worry the pair of them, but the wall-banging, making-up-for-lost-time loving got on her nerves. It cost her precious sleep and only brought home the reality of her own lack of sexy times.
She clanged plates and cups together, focused on stacking trays and tidying up, to make sure things didn’t go flying in the turbulence. It was a thankless task, but it had to be done. All the while, Yuki prattled on. “He’s so handsome, I miss him so much …” Blah, blah, blah.
Then Yuki stared up at her from her crouched position by the cart, her huge brown eyes bright with mischief. “Speaking of handsome men, what did you think of coffee-guy in 3A? Gabriel Anderson. I recognised him. He’s an Aussie CEO, some kind of website genius, according to the BRW Young Rich List.