Teach Me How To Love

Part 56 ~ Flight To Nowhere

"Where is dad?!"

. . . . .

"He's still out"

"When will he be back?!" She asks, looking out the kitchen window. "I don't know when he'll be back, Zaira . . I'm sure he'll be back soon" She gives me an angry look. "That's what you said an hour ago! I want to talk to my dad!"

"Your dad needs time to himself right now . . which is why he left by himself, sweetie"

"Don't call me that! Call him and tell him to come home!!"

"I don't like you giving me orders, ok? your dad will be back soon, no need for you to be angry at me. I can't call him, he heft his phone here"

"Why did he leave??"

"He needed time to cool off . . he wasn't in a very good mood when he left"

"My dad is always in a good mood! He always has time to talk to me! Did you make him leave??"

"Zaira, please stop it now . . I want you to stop"

"Stop with what? I simply want to talk to my dad and I want you to tell me when he will be back! It's raining really heavily out there, I don't want my dad to have a car accident!!!"

"I don't want that either, ok?? I don't know when he'll be back! Go back to the living room and wait! I know just as much as you do right now, alright?" With an angry look on her face she turns around and walks back to the living room. She is a handful. Oh my goodness. 

~ Michael's point of view ~

I drove all the way to the airport. They have a really great restaurant here. I'm going to grab a bite and then make my way back home. I don't wanna deal with any more crap today. It's Saturday for god's sake. I want to enjoy my weekend . . it's back to work on Monday. After stuffing my face with tons of food I take a walk along the terminal. 

Gosh, how nice it would be to just get away for a little while. Not for too long. Just a day or two. Or until tomorrow evening. Fly to an island and enjoy a few hours of pure relaxation. That sounds like heaven right now. An older guy walking in front of me just dropped his phone. I rush up to it, pick it up and catch up with him. "Hello? Sir? . . you dropped your phone!"

The old guy turns around and looks at me. "Oh! Thank you, young man! Thank you! I'm waiting for my wife's call, she would've gotten real angry with me if I had lost this thing. I owe you one!" 

"Your welcome! . . Don't worry about it!"

"No, I'm serious! I would've lost my phone if you hadn't picked it up . . let me give you something, what do you want?"

"There's really nothing I want, Sir. It was my pleasure. No need to even thank me. Really!"

"If I may ask, what are you doing here at this airport? Are you waiting for a special someone to arrive? Or are you waiting for your flight?"

"Umm . . no . . actually . . I just came to relax and have a bite to eat"

"You come to the airport to have a bite to eat? . . people usually come here to pick up loved ones or to take a flight"

"I'm doing neither . . I'm just here to hang around . . spend some time on my own . . away from all the trouble going on at home . . but you're right . . taking a flight somewhere would sound really nice"

"Where do you wanna go, young man?"

"I have nothing in mind really . . just . . flying around the world . . the ocean beneath me . . feel weightless for a while . . that would - that would sound really great right now"

"I'm think I'm about to make your wish come true, young man!"

"Excuse me?"

"Follow me!"

I walk back to the table to grab my jacket and follow the old guy. "What's your name?" 

"Michael . . Michael Jackson!"

"Nice to meet you, Michael . . I'm Richard . . Richard Hanson and this is my private jet"

"A private jet? . . holy smokes!"

"Let me fly you around for a bit, to thank you"

"To thank me? . . no way, Richard . . come on . . you're being silly"

"I'm not being silly. I mean it. This is my private jet and I wanna fly you around. You're in a rut, boy. I can see it in your face. I don't know your story and where you come from but I wanna offer you a flight to anywhere you want"

"Richard . . you're too kind . . I couldn't possibly take you up on that offer"

"And why not?"

. . . . .

"I just couldn't" I say, shaking the old man's hand. I give him a smile and head towards the entrance of the garage. My mind tells me to keep walking . . but my heart tells me to stop and turn around. This man is offering me an adventure of a lifetime. I never once flew in a private jet. He offered to fly me to anywhere I want. I stop and turn back around. 

"Richard?"

"Yes?"

. . . . .

"I actually would love to take you up on that offer"

He gives me a warm, bright smile. Next thing I know, I'm on the jet and we're about to take flight. I cannot believe I'm doing this. I cannot believe I'm in a private jet. A little risky, gotta admit, I've just known the guy for a little over half an hour but something inside of me says that I should do this. And I deserve an adventure. After all the drama my family has put me through recently, I freakin' deserve this. 

I wanna call Destiny and tell her about this. 

I reach into my jeans pocket. Huh? where's my phone? Darn it. I left it at home. I forget about the phone and look outside the window. I can't believe this. Look at this. We're up in the air. I'm actually up in there air. This feels absolutely wonderful. How I wish to have Destiny and my little girl with me. I take a seat next to Richard. "Are you enjoying yourself, young man?"

"I most certainly am . . this is wonderful . . thank you so much for taking me on a flight. I can't thank you enough"

"You're welcome"

I can't believe I left my phone at home. I would've loved to call Destiny and let her know where I am. Richard and I are above the ocean now. Only dark blue water beneath us. I can feel the stress leaving my body with every minute passing. This is what I needed. Thank god old Richard dropped his phone or I would've never met him. 

We've been flying for about 20 minutes now. There's only blue water in sight. A tad bit scary but also beautiful at the same time. 

"Richard?"

I walk up to the front to ask him where we are. That's when I feel my heart freeze. Richard's eyes are closed . . and he's barely holding on to the steering wheel. The jet is on auto pilot. For Christ's sake. What is he doing? He's not really taking a nap, is he?

"Richard? . . Mr. Hanson? . . are you alright? I don't think this is a great time to be taking a nap, I don't know how to fly this thing" I put my hand on his shoulder to shake him awake. That's when it happens. Mr. Hanson falls face forward onto the steering wheel. Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. I check his pulse to see if he's still alive.

He . . he's . . he's dead.

I can't believe he's dead. 

To be continued . . .