Terminal 4, London Heathrow Airport, England.
The terminal was buzzing with large crowds. Excitement filled the air, the sound of suitcases wheeling across the floor and bumping into things. Sounds of children running around with excited screams and parents telling them to hush. The smell of coffee and baked goods, and the flickering boards of flight times and gates.
Pushing herself through the crowd was Luciana Wilson, navigating herself through the terminal and looking for her check-in line. Her brown hair was tied into a bun, no makeup and her grey jumper and leggings only camouflaged into the large crowds. She pulled her suitcase across the dull grey floor with cracks that needed an upgrade, towards the check-in.
Her phone was held by her chin, pressed against her chest as she used her hands to rummage for her passport and ticket information. Brown eyes flickered in front of her, upon hearing the screech of the woman in front. Lucy's nose scrunched up, upon hearing the vicious words the woman sneered at the poor check-in lady.
Nervously she tapped her foot in anticipation. If there were a few things to know about Lucy Wilson, one of them was that she hated flying. It wasn't the idea of crashing or being stuck inside a confined space for a long period. It was the simple idea that a large heavy metal box with wings could be suspended in the air. It weirded her out, though she understood the physics behind it, it was still something that she found strange.
Growing impatient Lucy zoned in on the conversation in front before rolling her eyes. She moved forward and cleared her throat to make her presence known to the older woman who stopped screeching at the check-in attendant and turned her piercing gaze to Lucy. The thin eyebrow on her head was raised and the look on her face was not inviting.
"For one minute can you please stop shouting at the top of your voice and listen to..." Lucy's voice trailed off, looking at the young girl sitting behind the desk. Her eyes lingered on the name tag, before turning back to the old woman. "Danielle. She's explaining to you, that you are too late to check-in."
The bitter woman seemed unimpressed with Lucy's interruption and poised herself ready to attack. Lucy was too quick, and once she started her opinion she would finish it.
"There is a reason they say come to the airport a few hours before your flight. It is not Danielle's fault that you have chosen to come too late. Screaming and throwing a tantrum isn't going to change anything. So instead of doing that, accept what has happened. Take the alternative that Danielle is trying to give you and move on!"
There was another thing to know about Lucy. She was not a confrontational person in the slightest. It gave her anxiety, which was now being shown that she began to ping the hair-tie around her right wrist as she spoke. It was something she had done since her parents divorced years ago, it soothed her.
A clap echoed behind Lucy, making her jump as fellow passengers nodded and clapped in appreciation of her getting the old woman to shut up. She let out a nervous chuckle and smile, before turning her attention back to the older woman who at that moment, had slinked off in shame leaving Lucy to check-in next.
Grabbing her battered suitcase, she lifted it onto the scales and handed over her passport and ticket. A small pitiful smile crossed her features, as the young check-in girl, Danielle, reached forward and grabbed her items.
"Sorry about that woman, you didn't deserve to be spoken to like that," Lucy spoke, resting her hand on top of the desk, her fingers tapping it anxiously as Danielle looked up at her with her own small smile.
Her perfectly manicured nails tapped the keyboard as she laughed. "Happens more than you think, but thank you for interjecting." Her voice was soft, and Lucy found herself just offering a smile in return with a sheepish shrug.
"Heading off to Miami?" Danielle's blue eyes looked up from the screen, to look at Lucy who gave a genuine smile and nodded rather happily.
Her best friend from university had moved to America three years ago with her boyfriend. They had gotten engaged and were having their wedding. Lucy was invited and it was something she was looking forward to. Even more so, since her older half-brother was also in Miami and she had been meaning to visit him.
Tucking a strand of loose hair, Lucy replied with her usual upbeat voice. "My best friend is getting married, and despite the fact I hate flying, I wouldn't miss it for the world." It was true, Lucy would not miss it for the world even if that meant she had to be stuck on a plane for almost ten hours.
"That's so sweet," Danielle chuckled, weighing the bag belonging to Lucy. "It also happens to be your lucky day. You just got upgraded," she added with a bright grin, that no doubt she wore all the time due to her job. Lucy stopped tapping her nails and stared at the attendant with confusion.
"Not many people would interject and I appreciated it. Also, you said yourself you don't like flying, so hopefully you will find some comfort in first class." She added, sliding the ticket over towards Lucy who stared at the paper, which now had gold trimming around the edge. Stamped on the corner was 'first class.'
Stunned, the brunette female looked up with a gentle smile lost for words. She swallowed the lump in her throat taking a deep breath. "Thank you, that means...wow...you are welcome but thank you." Lucy stumbled over her words, holding the ticket in her hand as if she were Charlie Bucket winning the golden ticket. In this case, she very much felt like that.
"Not a problem, have a nice flight and thank you for flying with British Airways."
Lucy smiled and returned a thank you, before grabbing her passport and exiting the check-in line. She moved through the crowds, joining the security line as she shook her head. The attendant was right, it certainly was her lucky day. Her mother always said 'what goes around, comes around,' and that saying had never been more accurate.
Slipping her shoes back on, Lucy thanked the security man before finding herself in the buzzing lights of duty-free. She looked around watching families and friends spray expensive perfumes, queueing to buy tax-free gifts and items. The businessman moved with ease as if they knew the terminal like the back of their hands. Solo travellers texting and general crowds forming at tables with charging ports.
Lost in the sight of the glittering terminal, Lucy listened to the dull ring of the bell and speakers. "The 20:10 flight to Miami Flordia is now boarding at Gate G7."
Holding her bag over her shoulder tightly, Lucy began walking towards the gate with a sudden hustle and bustle of people. She patiently waited her turn on the escalator, rising towards the gate as the dull tone and speakers came on again. "The 20:10 flight to Miami Flordia is now boarding at Gate G7."
The queue for the plane was longer than the check-in desk. Lucy let out a sigh, as she moved into the 'first class' line, almost giggling to herself at the sight. It was mostly businessmen in suits and their briefcases. Then there was Lucy, leggings, crocs and an oversized grey jumper. She giggled at the sight, but alas moved forward, waiting for her ticket to be stamped before she moved down towards the plane.
"Welcome aboard," The flight attendant smiled, taking Lucy's bag as she was urged to follow the man down the small narrow aisle towards her seat. The narrow aisle soon became slightly wider, the dingy blue of the economy turned into a brighter white as first-class seats were spread out a lot more spaciously.
"This is your seat, E4."
Lucy thanked the flight attendant and sat in the seat in the middle of the plane. There was an empty one next to her, not that she minded, sitting in first class was a lot more spacious and interesting than she assumed. It wasn't long until the anxiety kicked in, knowing they were going to take off soon. Letting out a deep breath, Lucy reached into her bag and picked up her phone, texting her friend she was now on the plane.
"Here you go Mr Romaro, your seat is E5."
Lucy glanced up at the sound of the flight attendant, who was stepped to one side, his hands motioning the seat next to hers. She nibbled her bottom lip, glancing as a tall well-dressed male, graciously slipped into the seat next to her. He didn't take notice of Lucy at first, too busy staring at the black device of his phone in his hands.
But Lucy noticed him.
The male 'Mr Romaro' was rather handsome in her opinion. Tall, no doubt around six foot, well dressed in dark charcoal trousers, a crisp white shirt, unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up. He had dark brown eyes, much like Lucy's, dark almost black short hair, that had a wave to it and a trim beard. If she were to guess, she assumed he would be in his mid-to-late thirties.
Adverting her eyes, Lucy went back on her phone, smiling at the response from her friend before putting it onto aeroplane mode. She sat rather still, glancing around her seat. The screen was the size of a tablet, filled with films and shows. On the tray in front of her, was a bag filled with amenities and so many buttons Lucy didn't know what they were for.
"Can I get you any drinks?" The flight attendant asked, stopping at them with a small smile. Lucy wasn't so naive to know that this was included and smiled politely at the flight attendant.
"A coke would be nice, thank you," she spoke, fiddling with her fingers. Her head was tilted, staring at the screen as the safety briefing began to play. She heard the man beside order a whisky and it wasn't long before the flight attendant came back with their drinks.
Sipping the cold drink, the bell came on for seatbelts. Lucy carefully placed her drink down, reaching to buckle herself in. Nerves began to kick in more so and anxiety-filled her chest like a crushing weight as she mentally prepared herself for the long flight.
Fingers grabbed the buckle, tugging at it but it wouldn't move. Panic set in, not only because she wanted to buckle herself in, but because she looked rather silly in first class and was not able to buckle her seat. Pulling at the strap again, her eyes moved around the plane in search of the flight attendant before a large hand reached across her lap.
Lucy froze as the man beside, lent over and gave the belt a harsh tug. The metal clanked against the seat, becoming free from the gap in which it was stuck. He was so close to her, that she could smell his cologne and noticed the small tiny scar down the left side of his neck. He moved back buckling Lucy in and giving her belt a final tug.
She didn't realise she was holding her breath until she let out a shaky puff. Her brown eyes looked up, to meet the gaze of the male who was already looking at her intently. She offered a smile, it was sheepish and her cheeks flushed red with the embarrassment of not being able to do her own seatbelt.
"Thank you," Lucy finally spoke. Her voice was quiet, as the man relaxed back into his own seat and doing his belt with ease. She watched him clip himself in, before moving to take a large gulp of his whisky before turning to face Lucy again.
He smiled at her, clearing his own throat. "That's alright..." His voice was thick and low, she noted the American accent straight away. It wasn't a cliche American accent, nor distinctive like a southern accent or New York. She had no idea.
"Luciana...sorry Lucy, everyone calls me Lucy." She stumbled, and if it were possible she was certain her cheeks went more red as she adverted her eyes briefly, her left hand instinctively going towards the hair-tie, fingers looping beneath it ready to ping.
He let out a small chuckle, running his ring-cladded hand through his hair before offering her a gentle smile. "Pleasure to meet you, Lucy." He held out his hand, Lucy removing her fingers from the hair tie to shake it. His large hand wrapped around hers, it was warm and slightly rough as he gave it a little shake before removing his hand with ease.
"I'm Nick."
unedited
