TRAVEL ROMANCE SERIES: #1 GENEVA | BÉBÉ

3. GENEVA, SWITZERLAND | Dubai ✈ Geneva

DXB-GVA Flight

Present, In January

Everything seemed so foreign to her. Yet an exhilarating sensation swept over her as the Boeing 777 cruised at an altitude of 38,000 feet. The soothing sound of the giant engines lulled the passengers back to a daydream state after the breakfast service.

Eager for her report, Veronica fixed her lunch by giving her caviar plate a meticulous garnish. Nearby, a colleague banged a storage container shut. He'd just finished filling up an inventory of tin cans of these expensive fish eggs. There wasn't much to count. Half the crew had already taken their share.

Never in this lifetime did she think she would work in this environment. But it fit her perfectly well. This new normalcy was giving her an indescribable sensation.

When she'd overheard two young adults in a New York café talking about this fantastical city called Dubai, her heart raced like a fast train. She'd never eavesdropped on strangers, moreso intrude. Somehow that day, she couldn't help herself.

A top Middle-Eastern airline based in the famous desert city was recruiting in America for the very first time. She'd always wanted to live abroad and experience something different—a far cry from her sheltered story. And then, it clicked. The city of gold set in the Arabian Gulf was the perfect escape.

As she looked out of the viewing window of the forward plane door, she silently mouthed the word wow. The most fantastic view of the Mont-Blanc, the Swiss and French Alps all covered in snow made an exquisite segue.

This was going to be her second time visiting Switzerland. She couldn't even remember looking out of the window the first time she was above the alpine region. She didn't care about traveling back then. When she was sixteen, she remembered taking the train from Paris to Geneva with her family. They wanted to see the famous Lake Geneva. On the train, they met residents of Haute Savoie, a neighboring department in France. This French region shared the famous body of water and they didn't like how tourists have named it as such.

"It is simply called Le Léman, which means the lake in French," the lady puffed while explaining it to them. Since then, the true name of the biggest lake in Western Europe stuck to her.

Her thoughts came to a halt when a heavily built colleague named Malcolm Thompson entered the galley. He was the cabin crew senior assessing her on this flight. Currently, she was on the second month of her six-month probation.

"I've done half and will complete it on the second leg tomorrow. So far, so good. Keep it up," he said with a strong kiwi accent.

As he handed her the form, a tall, particularly attractive man with a distinct russet-colored hair entered the galley, causing both of them to stop their conversation.

"Is there anything we can help you with?" Malcolm asked.

"Pardon—sorry to disturb. But would you know what the weather is in Geneva?" 

Surprised that he'd directed his query to her. He had a hybrid mix of a distinct french accent, probably Genevois.

"The last time I checked, it was around 2° Celsius in Geneva," she said while studying his striking blue-grey eyes and ridiculously strong jawline.

"Veronica, kindly assist Mr. Klein," Malcolm gave her an encouraging look, eager to observe how she was going to deal with the premium class passenger. 

"Let me show you where to check the weather updates," she said, opening the curtain to lead him back to his seat.

After asking him to sit back, she tapped on the wide screen of his suite to access the information page. In an instant, the weather map appeared with the current temperature in their destination.