Friendly Skies Page 3

  “You mean, like a therapist? You are seeing a therapist?” she was puzzled, and she started to feel a pit in her stomach.

  “No. I mean a girl. Her name is Claire and she's a dancer. I've fallen in love with her.” He looked utterly straight-faced, almost cold.

  What the hell? This did not seem like a good way to begin the healing process for their marriage.

  “You’re joking, right?” She managed to croak out. This made no sense. They came here to work things out and move forward! This had to be a joke.

  “No, I’m not joking, Judy,” he said softly.

  He spoke to her almost with tenderness, which was out of character for him. Ultimately, that was what convinced her this was not a joke. Her reaction became suddenly physical. The hurt began to register, and she started to feel violently ill.

  “I think I'm going to be sick.” And for the second time in as many days, she lost her breakfast in front of strangers.

  The server came over to help, and Greg was obviously mortified. “Judy, come on, pull it together.”

  Pull it together?

  She apologized to the server, left the patio and went straight for their room. He caught up to her at the elevator.

  “Pull it together? Are you serious, Greg?” She said as she started to cry.

  This was crazy. They were having problems, but they would work them out. This was just a thing where they had to learn how to talk to each other and reconnect, maybe even go through some marriage counseling. How could he have fallen in love with someone else? And when? When did this happen? How long had it been going on? Her world flipped in an instant. She had a million questions, yet she didn’t want to hear the answer to any of them.

  And a dancer? Really? What the hell. How had he met a dancer, of all things? It’s not like he blogged about the ballet. He covered indie rock bands, for chrissakes.

  Once they were back in the room, Judy asked him again, “You are joking, right? This is just a not-very-funny joke, right?” She pushed back the tears threatening to send her into hysterics.

  “No, Judy. I'm serious. I agreed to take this trip with you because I thought it would be a good time to ask for a divorce. I know it's sudden and surprising, but let's talk through it.”

  Divorce? Divorce was the last word she expected to be part of their trip to Catalina Island.

  She finally located her voice.

  “Are you insane? You thought our romantic getaway would be a good time to ask for a DIVORCE? What is wrong with you? You led me on!”

  At the sound of the word divorce coming out of her mouth, she lost control and burst into tears again. What a nightmare.

  “Why did you agree to take this trip? Wouldn’t it have been cheaper to just have this conversation in Seattle? What were you thinking? And honestly, a dancer? Is this some sort of midlife crisis? Seriously, Greg, a dancer and a Corvette. Could you be a bigger cliché? How long has this been going on? How long have you been letting me believe that there is a chance we could work things out and then making a fool of me - having your girlfriend on the side?”

  She took a breath and felt faint. Christ. She had to put her head between her legs.

  “You know what, forget it, I don’t want to know.” She said with her head between her knees.

  The last thing she wanted to be was one of those women who faints at the first sign of stress. She knew she sounded crazy, but for fuck’s sake, this whole situation was crazy.

  “Look, I know this is difficult, but I'm sure if you met Claire you would really like her. And she has this really cool kid, too. He's four years old and an absolute riot. You would totally love him.”

  Oh-my-God-she-has-a-kid. Greg, who wouldn't even get a kitten with her (and who says no to a kitten?!) had fallen in love with a single mom. For all the times she tried to convince him that they should have a child, and all the ways he rebuffed her, he actually ended up finding someone with a kid. What did that say about her? Greg was okay with having kids all along. He just didn’t want to have them with her.

  She pulled her head up and took a long look at him. He seemed somehow smaller to her now. He looked at her with something like anxiety, as if he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. But there was something else, too. It was hard to place, but she finally got it. He looked relieved. There was no doubt—he felt better having told her his news.

  The pain of his betrayal was too great to register on any scale. She had heard enough for one day. Maybe enough for the whole marriage.

  Suddenly all the bullshit she put up with was intolerable. “I have to get out of here.”

  She moved through the room, the hallway, and onto the elevator in a daze. Greg said nothing, nor did he try to stop her. She was on autopilot, just walking. She walked all around the resort, the beach, the little town, and then back to the resort. She looked around but she didn’t see anything.

  Judy realized that one thing was for sure: their marriage was over. Their marriage had ended a while ago for Greg, but for her it was a brand new concept. She was hurt and confused, but more than that she felt like she had no control over her own life. And this made her furious. Why did he get to dictate what was going to happen?

  With a head full of fresh anger, she went back to the hotel, resolved to take back the reins for her future, at least as much as she could.

  When she got back to their room, Greg was packing.

  “I think it is best that I leave. I changed my flight and I will head back tonight.”

  So much for “let’s talk through it.”

  Her fury registered on her face. he looked at her and quickly looked away. He didn’t even have the grace to look ashamed, he looked more scared. Typical. He was only worried about how the consequences of his actions would affect him.

  “When you get home, pack your things and move out. I don't want you there when I get home. You can have your divorce,” she said in a voice utterly devoid of feeling.

  He winced, and then nodded. The coldness of her tone surprised even her.

  Well, this romantic getaway was an epic fail.

  Chapter Seven

  JASON WASN’T PLANNING TO fly out but he got a call from Tommy saying that someone needed to get to LAX on short notice. Like two hours’ notice. Thankfully, he had only been napping and not drinking margaritas, so he could take the flight and get the passenger to the mainland. He was hanging out beside the plane waiting for his passenger, wondering what the deal was. Maybe it was a family emergency. Or a work thing, which would suck, but better than the family thing. He hoped it wasn’t a medical issue. He really didn’t want to find himself cleaning out his plane yet again.

  That thought took him straight to running—literally—into Judy this morning. That had been strangely pleasant, seeing her again. He felt drawn to her. He knew she was off limits and he didn’t want to disrupt anything. He just had a slight infatuation happening, and it would be okay—he wouldn’t see her again probably until he flew her and her douche husband back to LAX in a few days. It was okay to fantasize, though.

  She had looked radiant this morning on the beach. Her face glowed with exertion from her run and the sun made her dark hair shine. And she had winked at him. She had totally been flirting. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was drawn to him just as he was drawn to her, wedding ring or not. He knew it couldn’t go anywhere, but it was nice to think about her. It had been a while since he’d found himself attracted to a woman like this. He found most women to be pretty, but those feelings were so much more casual. This attraction, well, if Judy hadn’t been married, he would have already bedded her. At least once. He smirked at the thought.

  Jason looked up and saw his passenger walking toward the plane. Holy shit. That looked like Judy’s husband. Interesting.

  “Hi, Greg, right?” Jason said as he held out his hand.

  “Yeah, thanks for taking me back on short notice,” Greg said as he shook Jason’s hand.

  “No problem, that’s what I’m here for. S
orry your vacation was cut short—this place is hard to leave for sure,” Jason said, trying not to obviously pry.

  “Yeah, sometimes things just come up,” Greg said vaguely.

  “All right, well, let’s strap in. Once we get airborne we should be at LAX in just about a half hour or so,” Jason said.

  He spent the whole flight over to LAX wondering what would make Greg leave Judy all by herself on the island. Greg hadn’t seemed very concerned or attentive when Judy got sick, which Jason had found strange. Basic courtesy would have dictated better behavior, and this guy was supposed to be her husband. But then, when Greg joined her for dinner last night, they seemed like they were pretty into each other.

  He needed to stop thinking about this. It wasn’t any of his business.

  Once they landed, Jason opened Greg’s door and then helped gather his cargo.

  “Good luck with the rest of your travels,” Jason said, once again holding his hand out to Greg.

  “Yeah, man, thanks. You, too,” Greg said noncommittally, shaking Jason’s hand and making a quick exit toward the terminal.

  Jason stared after him, again wondering what would make him leave his gorgeous wife on a romantic semi-tropical island by herself.

  Chapter Eight

  JUDY HAD NO IDEA what to do next. She had spent her entire professional life advising clients about what to do next, but faced with the sudden ending of her marriage and overhaul of her life, she was at a complete loss. She picked up the phone to call her mom, or maybe her best friend, and just listened to the dial tone. She hung up. She wasn’t ready to admit the colossal failure of this trip and her marriage. Dani never liked Greg and probably saw this coming miles away. Her mom only saw the best in everyone including Greg. She would be so disappointed.

  She sighed and looked out the windows at the surf. She would have to deal with the reality of this soon enough. Maybe it was okay to hide out for a few days.

  Even though it was only early evening, she decided to crawl between the luxurious, gazillion thread-count sheets. The emotional trauma had taken its toll and she felt exhaustion set in. Sleep closed in before her head even hit the pillow.

  12 hours later, Judy opened her eyes to yet another stunning day on Catalina Island. She had left the balcony doors open last night when she passed out, and she was bathed in morning light. For a few moments, she almost felt good, and then she remembered her situation and a weight settled over her heart. She never thought she’d be divorced. She also had trouble accepting the fact that Greg had involved himself in another relationship while they were married. How could she have not noticed?

  On the other hand, this explained his increasing distance from her. And their non-existent sex life over the past couple of months. As she started to connect the dots, she began to realize the depth with which she rationalized Greg’s behavior. She had been unwittingly deluding herself into thinking their marriage was just in a “rough patch” and with a little elbow grease they could get through it. The truth was, their marriage had been over before they even admitted something was wrong.

  With a stretch and a sigh, she pulled herself out of the bed. She couldn’t go home because Greg would be in the process of moving out. She didn’t really want to go stay with a friend and deal with the chore of telling everyone she was about to become another failed marriage statistic. She might as well stay on Catalina Island and try to make sense of the rest of her life. One thing was true—this trip did symbolize a new beginning, just not the one she had envisioned.

  Without thinking too much about what she was doing, she pulled on her running clothes. Maybe this was what she needed – another restorative jog on the beach. The concept of divorce still brought her to tears, but she knew she had to find a way to accept it. She needed to grieve for her marriage and find a way to move past it.

  The weather, at least, was beautiful. She had a weight of sadness sitting on her chest, and she found that tears were very close no matter what she was doing, but she thought she could still immerse herself in this lovely setting and try to find a little peace.

  Judy ran much further than she had the day before, and when she checked her running app, she realized that she’d run twice as far from the hotel. The scenery was all so perfect it was easy to get lost in it and forget about things. She stopped for a few minutes and bent over to run the sand through her fingers. Everything seemed to be a reminder of how fleeting things in life are.

  She ran back to the hotel and though she was tired and winded, she felt moderately clear-headed. She’d had some time to think about things. She had not been honest with herself for a long time about the state of her marriage. There was no denying that their mismatched careers had made it difficult to find common ground. Judy had always wanted to have kids and seemed to want them more with each passing day, but Greg couldn’t commit to a cat.

  Several months ago, she had suggested it might be good for them to have a baby. She explained that Greg could be home during the day with the baby while she worked, then she could take over in the evening.

  Greg had responded, “That’s a terrible idea, Judy. A baby will just end up putting pressure on us and ultimately break us up. It’s like you don’t think our marriage is enough.”

  “I thought a baby might actually strengthen our marriage, make us a team again,” she’d said.

  “Come on, Judy, I have never wanted children. I’ve been pretty up front about that, haven’t I?”

  She couldn’t remember the two of them ever talking about it before. How “up-front” could he have been when the subject never came up?

  That had been the last time they talked about kids, at least until he mentioned his girlfriend’s kid.

  These thoughts swirled around in her mind as she changed into her swimsuit to cool down in the hotel pool. The pool was right on the ocean, so she could watch and listen to the surf while swimming. It should have been lovely, but she couldn’t shake the sadness. In another set of circumstances this would have been an amazing vacation.

  After an afternoon nap, she woke up to the sound of her stomach growling. She realized she hadn’t eaten all day even after that monster run in the morning. Even though she didn’t feel like eating, her body had other ideas. She could practically hear her mother, who was a nurse, telling her how her body needs fuel and even if she’s not hungry she needs to give her body nutrients. She briefly considered a table for one on the patio, but then remembered that sitting at the bar is always less lonely and afforded the view of the sunset. She plopped down on a stool and yet a different amazing-looking bartender headed in her direction. Southern California was seriously at no loss for beautiful people.

  “What can I do for you?” he asked with a smile and suggestive wink.

  “How about some chips and guac and an order of the fish tacos,” Judy answered. This was her comfort food.

  “And to drink?” the bartender looked at her expectantly.

  “Just water, for now,” she said.

  The food looked and smelled amazing. Unfortunately, everything tasted like sand. Hearing her mom’s voice in her head, she choked down what she could and finished the water. Left with no other alternative, on this, her third evening of her marriage-ending trip, she decided to have a drink. When all else failed, right?

  The bartender, having spotted an empty glass, headed in her direction. “More water, miss?”

  “How about a real drink this time,” she said. “Can you recommend something fruity and delicious but not frozen?”

  “I have the perfect tonic for you,” the bartender said as he beamed at her. “I’ll make you a Mai-Tai. It’s my specialty.”

  She tentatively brought the colorful, tropical-looking beverage to her lips. It smelled wonderful. She was instantly in love with the explosion of sweet and fruit in her mouth. It had an edge to it, also, which must be the alcohol, but this was exactly what she wanted.

  “This is delicious,” she said with conviction. The bartender nodded and gave her
his biggest smile, clearly pleased.

  As it turned out, Mai-Tais were also nutritious because of all that fruit, with a healthy dose of booze for good measure. They also made it possible for her to choke down a little more dinner. The first Mai-Tai helped her lose a little of the sadness, at least temporarily, and she almost felt good for a moment. Long enough to order that second drink, anyway, when she noticed the guy across the bar.

  The guy that was decidedly staring at her.

  She inwardly rolled her eyes. She hoped she wouldn’t have to explain why she wasn’t out for a fling. The last thing she wanted to do was explore any type of relationship, even just one night, with a man. Even though she hadn’t had much of a relationship with her husband over the last few months, she was still married. She also had an ax to grind. She’d rather punish the entire male sex for the sins of their Corvette-dancer-loving brother than throw in with one of them. What was wrong with Greg’s moral compass that he thought any part of his new relationship was okay?

  Banishing thoughts of Greg for the moment, Judy took in the truly glorious evening. It was warm with a slight breeze, and for those who were not on the brink of divorce, the salt air must have been intoxicating and romantic. If she had been here in any other state of mind and not felt so vengeful toward men in general, she would have been intrigued by the man staring at her over his drink, which appeared to be a darker liquid. Whisky, probably. He looked vaguely familiar but she was having trouble placing him. He was blond, and she didn’t really know that many blonds. Even from across the bar she could see his eyes were light, maybe blue.

  Wait a minute.

  Oh shit. That was not just any man staring at her, that was the pilot, Jason. Of course it was. Of course the first man she saw after her husband left her was the guy whose plane she threw up in while he was flying it. The guy she had dubbed World’s Worst Pilot, and nearly plowed over on the beach yesterday. And then gave him a flirty wink. Damn.