Lean On Me

Sin City of Angels

The one thing I hated more than takeoffs were landings. After two settling vodka tonics each, Roger and I fell asleep somewhere over the Atlantic. There were three audible tones and the captain’s voice came over the intercom. “Good evening, Queen and crew! Current time is 6:12 PM. Temperature in Los Angeles is 67 degrees. For those of you still in merrie England, that’s 19 Celsius. We will be landing at Los Angeles International Airport momentarily. Please leave your seatbelts fastened as we land. You will be escorted through the terminal upon arrival. It has a been a pleasure being your pilot!” Dough, our pilot came over the intercom and said to us.

 “Mary! Mary, we’re here! Oh, we’re here!” Freddie reached over and lightly shook Mary’s shoulders. She had been asleep for the past three hours of the flight.

 “Huh? Wha…I…oh…” she yawned deeply. “We’re here? Are we landing? Oh! Look at that, we’re getting’ ready to land.” she sleepily slurred as Freddie moved her hair from her face.

 “We’re here, darling. He leaned over to kiss her and wake her up, cramming some of the trash from the flight into the plastic bag around him. Roger and I had been awake for the past six hours of the trip. Brian and Chrissie had rotated their seats around to face us much earlier in the flight. They managed to calm us down somewhat but Roger and I were far from being perfectly content. They flipped their seats around upon getting the announcement to fasten their seatbelts.

 I was glued to the window, looking over Roger as we descended, losing altitude quickly. “Roger, look at those trees!” I exclaimed, noticing the palm tress that dotted the landscape of the LAX grounds. We hadn’t yet made contact with the runway and I was already becoming very excited and a little giddy over California. I was also getting fired up because I knew we were this much closer to checking in to the hotel. We were this much closer to a hot shower, plush spa robes, and room service. And when I say room service, I’m talkin’ about two different kinds…the kind Roger gives and the kind the hotel gives.

 “Oh my god, Brian! What do you want to do when we land!? Should we rent a car!? Do we check in? Do you have any interviews? We should we eat!? Should we take a relaxing bath!?” Chrissie went on with wild eyes as she looked to Brian. He smiled at her, almost just as excited.

 “Let’s get landed, get our stuff, get to the hotel and then let’s make a dinner reservation! You and me! Oh my Chrissie….we haven’t had a lovely dinner to ourselves since the baby was born!” Brian said, planning out their entire evening.  Chrissie’s eyes grew wide.

 “Yes! Yes, a thousand times yes! Oh, Brian it all sounds so lovely! We can get all dressed up! My god, we can have a night out in Los Angeles!” Chrissie practically squealed in her excitement. Oh, those party animals. The wheels of the plane touched down onto the runway in a screeching rubber against concrete noise. You could feel the plane slow down, and the excitement in all of us speed up. Even Veronica, who had hardly said anything on the flight was looking out her window all the while talking to John.

 “Hey! Hey, Lydia! Freddie and I are going out for drinks once we check in and get changed. What are you and Roger do…” Mary thought about the words that were about to come out of her mouth. “You know what, never mind…John! Do you and Veronica want to join Freddie and I for drinks?”

 “I think Veronica wants to crash but I’ll go with you.” he told Mary.

 “Excellent!” Mary said excitedly, patting John on the arm.

 “Lyd, Lydia…look!” Roger grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him, pointing toward the breathtaking Los Angeles skyline. I gasped as he slipped his arm around my shoulders. I’d never seen a city like this. It towered toward the sky and the endless string of traffic on the Los Angeles freeways could be seen as we approached our landing.  I was speechless as the engine noise roared to stop the plane. Roger laughed and smiled that priceless smile at me. “Whaddaya think? I shook my head.