Lost in Flight Read online

  Christina ran inside and looked around until she found Riley’s flip-flops and took them outside. “Here,” she called, holding them out to him. “These are yours.”

  She could tell Riley didn’t trust her and she couldn’t blame him. He approached her cautiously with an economy of movement and eyes that never left hers. His arms were relaxed down at his sides, but the way he was stalking forward indicated he was ready for battle.

  When he got in range, Christina smiled and she watched his eyebrows rise into his hairline. She took that opportunity to throw a flip-flop at him as hard as she could, but he dodged it. She feinted with the second one and then lobbed it at his head. He blocked it with a dexterity that annoyed her and he smiled.

  Riley shook his head and reached down to pick them up checking to see that she didn’t have any more weapons in her hands. He walked away and turned at the end of the driveway laughing. “Any time you want that stick back… you know the one I pulled out of your ass, call me.” He put his thumb to his ear and index finger to his mouth, miming a phone. He mouthed, ‘call me’ to her and winked.

  Christina’s mouth turned down and although she knew she shouldn’t respond, she couldn’t help herself. “No,” she retorted. “You can keep it. What I want is my virginity back and an alternative timeline where I never met you.”

  Riley roared with laughter and called out loud enough so the neighbors could hear. “THANKS, HONEY. I’LL BE BACK LATER. LEAVE A LIGHT ON FOR ME. K? MUWAH. MISSSS YOU.” He blew her kisses, flipped her the bird, and ambled slowly down the road.

  Christina stormed inside and slammed the door as hard as she could so it rattled on its hinges. She leaned against it, breathing heavily. Oh god, oh god, oh god. What had she done?

  She’d once loved that man beyond reason and now they couldn’t stand each other. Sighing, Christina realized this was no time for sentiment. What was done was done. Now, it was time for the clean-up and she was out of here.

  Christina proceeded to lock all the doors and windows in the house. She stormed into the bathroom and got out the toothpaste and the mouthwash. She rinsed her mouth with the wash and then proceeded to brush her teeth. She even brushed her tongue.

  She couldn’t believe that she’d actually allowed that idiot access to all parts of her body. After that conversation, she brushed her teeth and tongue all over again. She even gargled and swallowed some mouthwash, but it didn’t make her feel any better, or cleaner, or less of an idiot. Stomping around the house, Christina started cleaning, stripping the bed and throwing everything on to wash.

  For a brief moment she was tempted to burn the bed too, but decided against it for practical reasons. She’d already upset Mrs. Gustafson today and wasn’t sure, but couldn’t imagine Mrs. Gustafson would take too kindly to a bonfire on the front lawn. Christina didn’t want to have the police turn up, as her experiences with the local police force were memorable and deeply unpleasant.

  Instead, she cleaned the bathroom and washed all the floors. She was going to clean every single bit of Riley away and pretend none of it had happened. Christina then spied her little blue dress, bra, and panties. She’d loved that dress when she’d bought it, but now it was tainted. She could never look at it again without thinking of him, and it would just be an impossible reminder of this disaster.

  All her defenses over the years had been constructed for one sole purpose: to keep that pig of a man out and he appeared impervious to them. He could fly in under the radar and strike her, reducing her to the fool teenage girl that had fallen madly in love with him. It was a sad kind of irony that the barriers she’d erected to keep him out – kept nearly everyone else out, but him.

  ********************

  Christina put her clothes in the fire and was in the process of lighting it when her two best friends, Bonnie and Mandy, burst in. Looking up at the clock, Christina saw that it was 10:30 a.m. Right on cue: you had to love small towns.

  The gossip factory never failed. It was just over an hour ago since Riley had left and already her friends had heard. Mandy looked at her. “Dina, what the hell are you doing?”

  Christina struck the match, threw it on her clothes and said. “What does it look like?”

  Both her friends looked at each other and then back at her. Bonnie came and stood beside her. “Dina – you and Riley – it’s all over the neighborhood. My parents said you were screaming at each other.”

  Christina nodded. “Yep. We sure were.”

  Groaning, Bonnie asked. “What happened?”

  Christina shrugged. “I don’t know. Something about hooking up with my ex-husband and it all going horribly wrong?”

  Bonnie sighed. “Dina. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have got the joint off those bikers. I know it was stupid, but we were having just so much fun. I’ve asked the bar to get your shoes off the roof too.”

  Christina had forgotten all about her shoes. When she got them back, she’d burn those too.

  Mandy looked at her with all sincerity. “Yeah. Like Bonnie says, Dina. It was a really wild night. That disco nightclub was fun though, wasn’t it?”

  One of the things Christina loved and hated about Mandy is that she was ever the optimist even when the reality didn’t fit the situation. Christina ruined Mandy’s optimism by blurting. “I slept with Riley.”

  Mandy had deer in the headlight eyes, but Bonnie shrugged. “It was pretty much Riley or the bikers. I’d have done the bikers, but that’s just me.”

  Despite how annoyed she was, Christina burst out laughing. Bonnie could be harsh, but it was never personal: just her own politically incorrect observations. “It’s not like you and Riley haven’t done it what? A million times before? Sheesh. Everywhere and I’ll remind you: in some really nasty places,” Bonnie grimaced.

  Mandy was trying to hide her disquiet and went for perky. “Come on, Dina. It can’t have been that bad. You’ve always said Riley is good in bed. So this is okay.”

  “Yes he is,” Christina replied. “We spent last night and this morning, reminding each other of that fact.”

  Both of her friends did the “YOU WHAT,” but she held her hand up and then told them the whole pathetic story: the walk of shame, the exhibition squat and how Riley had followed her witnessing everything. Both women went: “Ewwwwwww” and looked embarrassed for her.

  She told them about the fight and the penis/blow job conversation. Much to her annoyance, both women looked like they were trying not to laugh. Christina paused and looked at her friends until they adopted appropriate “OH NO” faces.

  “Dina breaking the drought humping with Riley is one thing, but…” Bonnie trailed off.

  Mandy and Bonnie had seen first-hand the Dina-Riley crash and burn. At first they’d been crazy about each other and then just driven each other crazy. Christina and Riley could have been hired out as a demolition team when they went open combat on one another. Her best friends had supported Christina through every single crazy thing in the whole drama and knew how broken hearted both she and Riley were when it ended.

  When Christina told them about how she’d yelled at Mrs. Gustafson, Bonnie laughed, but Mandy said. “DINA! She’s elderly and religious. If your mother was here, you’d be in so much trouble.”

  She knew that. Her mother would have given her a serious talking to and made her apologize. There were no excuses for her bad behavior only that she’d lost her temper with Riley. Again.

  Christina finished her idiotic story with a panicked. “I’ve got to get out of here. Today. I can’t stay here.”

  Bonnie and Mandy looked at each other. “Come on, Dina. Just relax – it’ll be okay,” soothed Mandy.

  Christina shook her head insisting. “No. Today. I have to go TO-DAY.” Bonnie and Mandy knew Christina had a tendency toward overreaction, but there was something more to this. Eyeing Christina suspiciously, Bonnie asked. “Why?”

  Turning her head away, Christina thought she might as well confess everything, so she sighed. “I, agh, nee
d to get to a pharmacy TODAY and I’m not doing it here.”

  Mandy looked confused, but Bonnie looked horrified. “OH MY GOD! You did not? Tell me… you did not? Are you insane?”

  Christina looked at her and nodded. “Apparently, I am.”

  Mandy was staring at her two best friends and then it dawned on her. With a scandalized, “NOOOOOO. Dina? NOOOOO.”

  Christina looked at them. “Yep. I did.”

  Bonnie closed her eyes and groaned through gritted teeth. “You rode bare back with Riley? Tell me you didn’t.”

  When Christina didn’t respond, Bonnie swore at her in a way that would make a sailor proud. “You are a stupid bitch,” Bonnie sighed. “This is what you do when you’re 17 or 18, not our age.”

  “Dina was married at 18,” Mandy snapped, folding her arms, and glaring at Bonnie. “Stop being so mean and judgmental.”

  “I know,” Bonnie said, rolling her eyes. “I was there, remember? She married the same idiot that she’s just gone and done this with. And being married young is no excuse to let the dumb out now. What the hell’s the matter with you?”

  “Shut up, Bonnie,” Mandy seethed.

  “You shut up,” Bonnie retorted.

  “AHEM,” Christina said loudly. “I’m standing right here. Yes, I readily accept my limitations, but I’ve got other problems.”

  Christina paused because she didn’t welcome the fallout that was going to come with her next revelation. “You see,” she started, “I’m not on the pill, so I need to make sure that I get the morning after pill AND tested. AND I’m not doing that in this gossiping hole. We were safe on Friday night, but not after… Oh god.”

  She put her head in her hands as Bonnie started reading her the riot act and Mandy attempted to stop her. It took Bonnie fifteen minutes to get the hate off her chest and when she was finished, she was panting. “I don’t get it, Dina. I really don’t. I mean he’s not ugly, but there has to be more to it than that. Does he have a magic dick or something?”

  Christina had always thought so, but any mention of happy magic dicks would not be helpful at this stage. “Can we not talk about his dick, or any dicks in general, please? I know. I get it. I’m an idiot, but it doesn’t alter what I have to do now.”

  Bonnie sighed. “Okay. I’m heading back to Seattle around lunchtime. You can come with me, Dina. Get your stuff ready and we’re out of here.”

  Christina’s head started to hurt at the thought of a four-hour road trip with Bonnie telling her what an idiot she was. She needed peace and tranquility to try to reach a Zen place, or alternatively, have a meltdown in private, where no one could see. “Look, I can take Johnny’s car,” Christina said and waved at Bonnie’s scowl. “He left it for me to use, so you don’t have to drive me, and I won’t have a car if I come with you.”

  She didn’t fail to miss the looks that passed between Mandy and Bonnie. Christina’s bad driving was legendary – like in a “if she was the last living person who could drive on earth scenario – would you go with her?” The answer always depended on whether they were drunk or sober. “Yes”, if sober, or “no”, accompanied by curse words, if drunk.

  Bonnie said, “You can use my car in Seattle and I’ll drive one from work.”

  Mandy’s mouth fell open and she turned to Bonnie asking, “Are you sure?”

  Christina looked at her. “Wow. Offensive much,” making all three of them laugh.

  Bonnie shrugged. “Sure. It’s an emergency and I’ve got excellent insurance.”

  Mandy touched Christina’s arm sympathetically. “Dina, call me and let me know how you get on okay? I’ll be in Seattle on Wednesday. Dave’s flying in Friday, so I’ll come up and spend a few days with you surly-girlies before coming back here.” She hugged and kissed Christina, made head motioning movements to Bonnie and headed out the door.

  Bonnie gave Christina a hug. “Breathe, Dina. Everything is going to be okay. I’ll be back soon. Make sure you’re ready and we’ll get this done. Okay?”

  Chapter Four – Arrivals

  Riley, Shanwick, The Present, Sunday 7 October 2012

  Riley’s walk of shame was less adventure filled than Christina’s. He’d laughed so hard about their fight that he had to sit down to recover. The look on her face when she shouted about his penis and at Mrs. Gustafson had been hilarious. Just thinking about it made him laugh out loud all over again.

  Christina could pretend to everyone else, but not him. For years, he thought she was a stranger that wore Christina’s face like some kind of cosmic joke. A cold, pompous, fake-asshat of a stranger, but after this weekend, he knew better. She was still in there, no matter how different she made herself out to be. There were some things that didn’t change, like their sex and fighting.

  He was about halfway home, when he became pissed off with himself. He’d never meant to fight with her, or have sex with her, or any of it. In fact, the fantasies he’d had about Christina in recent years hadn’t been sexually oriented, but revenge focused. He’d always intended to pay her back for the humiliation she’d dished out to him over the years if the opportunity presented itself.

  Riley’s main fantasy had been she’d turn up on his doorstep begging him to let her in. And she had. And what had he done? Not turned her away – that’s for sure. No. He’d caved like an addict, then followed her back to her place like some salivating dog for seconds, thirds, and fourths.

  He stopped, looked at the sky, and rubbed his hands over his face. She really was here – in Shanwick. The ex-love of his life, former wife, sister of his best friend, and part of the only family he’d ever really felt he belonged to.

  That woman had torn through his life like a tornado and together they’d wreaked havoc on just about everyone around them. He’d loved her since he was 16 years old – when he’d first seen her really sing and she’d lit up the stage. It took him nearly a year to pluck up the courage to ask her out and it had been intense from start to finish.

  A part of him still loved her, but a large part hated her as well. He hated the way she could affect him and drive him crazy like no one else in the world. She’d look at him with those dark eyes that haunted him, reminding him that as far as she was concerned he was a failure: he couldn’t make her happy. It hadn’t always been like that, but the end of their relationship tainted it all.

  Riley hated it, but he owed her. He knew that. Distance and self-reflection had given him that insight. In fact, he owed all the Martins and whether Christina liked it or not, he was sort of here for her.

  Now he’d screwed it up. He’d never planned on any of this happening. He was going to keep himself in the background, but it hadn’t worked out that way. He didn’t know what he wanted more in this moment: to hold her or hurt her, but neither was an option.

  With a last look at the Martin home, Riley decided he’d just get out of here. It stood out on the landscape, not just as the last house on the street before farmland in Nowhere Ville but also, as a converted barn in a sea of plain little boxes. He’d always thought the house suited them. It was ahead of its time, different and creative, and had no place situated on that street.

  Riley ran the rest of the way back to his farmhouse to get underway. The farmhouse used to be Riley and Christina’s home when they were married. They’d had a lot of fun here and times that weren’t so much. The history didn’t bother him when she wasn’t here, but it did now she was back.

  He stuffed his clothes in a bag and walked over to his parents’ place. The house was empty and he presumed they were all at church. Riley left the keys to his truck and farmhouse on the kitchen table with a note explaining that he had to be somewhere for work.

  Riley sighed. He imagined his parents would be getting the low-down after church about the events that transpired this morning, and he didn’t welcome that discussion. He got into his Audi A4 and shook his head. “Christina Martin” – she was no good for him and he knew if he stayed, he was just a six-pack or half a bottle of whiskey a
way from making more of a fool of himself over her again.

  He didn’t know what it was about her and he’d stopped trying to analyze it. She was unpredictable, talented, funny, and smart. She was also a scatterbrained, stubborn, bat-shit-crazy-ass bitch. She brought out every protective instinct in him and others less noble. He didn’t know what the magnetic pull was, but he resented it.

  Riley pulled out onto the road and as he passed the Martin home he saw Mandy and Bonnie leaving. Oh good one. Christina would have told them all about it and it would do the rounds amongst their friends. He gritted his teeth and made his way to the highway, where he accelerated out of there.

  What Riley needed was to get his head into work and Christina out of it. He knew he shouldn’t have baited her, but he couldn’t help himself. Watching her unravel gave him more pleasure than it should have and they’d inflicted enough damage to each other over the years. This time, as far as he was concerned, they really were done.

  ********************

  Riley made Seattle mid-afternoon and drove to his house in Fremont. He hardly ever used this place because he traveled a lot for work, and he was becoming increasingly weary of that life-style. Currently, the house was supposedly leased to the Martins to give them a base in Seattle, but it belonged to him. On agreement, no one told Christina because they knew she’d refuse to stay there if she knew.

  Everyone knew it was lies by omission, but consoled themselves: it was either that or Ms. Psycho Martin would have a meltdown of epic proportions. They all chose non-declaration for self-preservation.

  He made his way to the hospital to see Christina’s little sister, Gabb,y and his friend, Jed. When he walked in both of them looked up in surprise. Gabby grinned at him. “Hey you! What are you doing here?”

  Walking over, he gave Gabby a kiss on the forehead. “I missed you.”

  She beamed and held up an iPad, and an iPhone. “What do you think? They’re gifts from Johnny.”