Page 67 of Fortunate Miracles
“Yeah, we’ve been best friends since we were five.”
“That’s a long friendship. He’s lucky to have you,” she smiles. “I’ll be staying back here with him, if you want to be up front with your dad again. There’s a fold-out chair in the corner,” she points. “I’ll sit there for takeoff and landing. He won’t be alone.”
“Thanks. I’ll probably come back after we take off.”
Zander pokes his head in, letting us know he’s ready to go, so I kiss Jake’s cheek as Caroline folds her little seat out. I follow him into the cockpit again, getting comfortable. “How are you, darling?” He asks as he starts the plane.
“Nervous, happy, stressed,” I shrug.
“We’ll be there soon enough,” he replies, patting my knee.
It takes only a few minutes before we’re cleared for takeoff. Zander gets that same look on his face as he lifts us in the air, and I can’t help but smileat him.
Once we’re at altitude, Zander relaxes back into his seat. “Okay, you can move around now. Go get something to drink and check on Jake.”
“Thanks,” I smile. “Do you want anything?”
“Just some water, darling.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Hanging up my headphones, I leave the cockpit. I ask Caroline if she wants anything, and she requests a soda. Once I give that to her and bring water up to Zander, I take a seat on the twin bed to be close to Jake. I text everyone we’re on our way before cracking open my own water. Since Caroline only has the tiny chair to sit on, I offer her a seat beside me, and she happily accepts, and we exchange small talk to pass the time. She’s vigilant in monitoring Jake, but there’s been no concerns.
Seb calls after about an hour, so I excuse myself to one of the big chairs to talk to him. “Sunshine. How’s it going?”
“No issues, Hurry. I’ll be nervous until he’s settled in Charlotte, though. The nurse is nice, and the plane is super fancy.”
“I’m glad it’s going well. I missed you at school today. It’s weird with both you and Nick gone.”
“I can imagine, Hurry. Only one more school day, and then you’ll be coming to Charlotte. I miss you too. What are you up to tonight?”
“Homework mostly. Bay and Alex are diving. I don’t know what E is up to. Gabby’s here, though.”
Seb sounds sad to my ears, and I wish I could be in two places at once. “Why don’t you and Gabby catch a movie tonight? There’s a new comedy out today. You can help me with all the homework this weekend.”
“Not a bad idea, Sunshine,” he says and yells to Gabby, asking if she wants to go to the movies. I hear a yes shouted back. “Yay. She’s gonna go. I’m putting you on speaker while I check movie times, Sunshine. So how much longer do you have to fly?”
“About two hours. We’re gonna eat dinner on the plane, and the research center is sending a medical van to meet us at the airport. I’ll call or text you after we get to the hotel, but I have no idea what time that will be, though.”
“Don’t care what time it is, Sunshine. Oh, the movie's in an hour. I better eat something. Call me later.”
“Bye, Hurry.” I smile to myself. I check on Zander, who wants to eat in about an hour, so I go back to sit with Jake. Caroline is reading a book on the bed, so I grab my laptop to get some schoolwork done until it’s time to eat.
An hour later, I stow my laptop, find the pasta dishes and heat them up. I offer the first one to Caroline on a tray with water. “Thank you, Summer. It smells good,” she replies. Next, I heat my and Zander’s portions. I bring him a tray before going back to grab mine.
By the time I’m seated, Zander is already devouring his dish. “Valerie is too good to me,” Zander comments between bites. “She made my favorite pasta with carbonara sauce.”
I take a bite, and it really is excellent. “Yum. She must make the sauce from scratch.”
“She does. I bet there are blondies or cheesecake in the fridge too.”
“I’ll take a look after, but what are blondies?”
Zander clutches his chest, mimicking being stabbed in the heart. “How can you not know what blondies are? That’s a tragedy!” He winks at me. “They’re like a brownie without cocoa powder. We’ll have to make some if Valerie didn’t.”
We eat the rest of our meals in companionable silence. I offer Zander the remainder of mine, since anxiety is keeping my appetite suppressed. He happily finishes it, then I stack the dishes and take our trays back to the kitchen area. I find cheesecake in the back of the fridge, so I give Caroline a slice and take her empty tray. “Thank you, Summer,”she smiles.
“Welcome,” I respond before heading back to the cockpit.
“Score,” Zander smiles as I hand him the cheesecake. It’s some type of caramel vanilla with nuts on top. I eat most of mine, but Zander declines the rest. “We’ve got about half an hour left, darling, if you want to let Caroline know.”
