Don't Say Anything

80. Metal Monster

I look out the window and follow the man in a reflective vest driving a luggage cart and another reflective vest holding an orange glowing cone in each hand. The plane seems a lot smaller than I pictured it and more and more people keep getting on. Can the plane really hold all of this weight? What about everybody’s luggage? Will the plane be able to hold everyone’s luggage? What if it doesn’t? What if the caption doesn’t know what he’s doing? I saw him when we first got on and he looked really young. What if-

“Jess?” Will says in a concerned voice right next to my ear. I look over at him but don’t reply because I’m afraid of what my voice will sound like. “Are you alright? Your hands are shaking.”

I glance down at my hands and realize they are in fact shaking. I quickly clasp them together willing for them to stop. One of Will’s hands covers both of mine, and he scoots closer to me so our shoulders are touching.

“Relax. I’ve flown a bunch of times and nothing bad has ever happened. Nothing bad will happen.”

I nod and distract myself with looking out the small window again instead of watching the growing number of people get on the plane.

“I know,” I say with a sigh to steady my breath. “I wasn’t nervous before. I just start over thinking things and analyzing and-“

“What are you most excited to see in Paris?” Will asks interrupting me.

“Oh, umm,” That’s kind of random. “Probably just walking down the streets knowing I’m in Paris, being immersed in the culture and all that.”

“Out of all the things in Paris,” he says rolling his eyes.

“What?” I say with a smile. “That’ll be the best part.”

“Would you like to come to the convention with me?”

I’m shocked by his question. “Really?! No, Will, I couldn’t. You’ll be working. I’ll just be in the way. The whole reason you’re going is to impress your bosses.”

“That will pretty much all be taken care of the night before. There won’t be much I need to do during the convention except for socialize. I could really use you by my side for that.”

I look down at our hands because his stare is too intense.

“Well, as long as I’m not being a burden.”

“You’re not,” he says quickly.

“Then I would love to go.”

He brings my hands up to his mouth to kiss them and then set them back down in my lap without letting go.

“Thank you, Jess, and thank you for coming to Paris with me.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that,” I say returning his smile.

I hadn’t even noticed that everyone was seated and the flight attendants were making their final rounds throughout the plane.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for choosing to fly with us. The time of the flight will be approximately eight hours and fifty minutes to Paris, France. Before we take off, please bring your attention to the screens on the back of your seats or the flight attendants in the aisle to go over safety precautions.”

And in the following three minutes I don’t think my anxiety level could have risen any higher. I can’t stop picturing the plane crashing into the middle of the ocean after seeing all the different ways to exit a plane if it’s sinking. What made it even worse, was the plane started moving a minute into the explanations. Our plane drove around to get in line behind a few other huge metal monsters and it reminded me of getting in line to carry out a death sentence.