Lost in Flight Page 8

  Christina sat in her robe chomping through her own plateful of grease and said, “No.”

  Johnny shook his head. “You are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”

  Christina shrugged. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  He made her laugh when he said, “You really shouldn’t.”

  Johnny had been acting smug and suspicious for most of the afternoon. By early evening, he was almost insufferable and surprisingly tight lipped. She’d tried to trick the “surprise” out of him, but he had been admirably perceptive and avoided all her traps. Damn him.

  When there was a knock on the front door, Christina glared at Johnny and sat there while he went to open it. To her complete surprise – a good one for once, and not a bad one – in walked her two oldest, and dearest friends: Bonnie and Mandy. Seeing these women, Christina was overcome with joy and she looked at Johnny. He winked at her saying, “Thought you needed livelier company than me, sis, and you need to go out, just once, before you leave.”

  Christina got up and hugged her brother. He hugged her back, tight, placing a clumsy kiss on her ear. She then threw herself into the arms of her best friends with them all jumping up and down screaming like schoolgirls. Actually, they’d never done this as schoolgirls. They’d been way too surly cool.

  After shrieking over each other with “Oh my gods” and “love what you’ve done with the place,” Christina gasped, “What are you two doing here?”

  Mandy grinned. “The kids and I got in last night. I’ve been waiting for Bonnie to get here so we could surprise you.”

  Bonnie looked pointedly at Christina’s robe. “We’re going out and you need to get dressed.” Johnny came and gave her a pointed “I told you so look” until she waved him away.

  Mandy grinned. “Let’s go - PAR-tay.” Christina hated that term – a fact her two best friends knew well. She mock glared at a twinkly-eyed Mandy and then all three burst out laughing. Loudly.

  These two women had been Christina’s main source of consolation in Shanwick. They’d been BFFs forever growing up, and knew just about everything there was to know about one another. They were her only true friends in Shanwick and they’d all belonged to the Emo/grunge group at high school.

  Mandy had married Riley’s best friend, Dave Warnock, and the drummer with Collective Pitch. They were based in New York, but Dave and Mandy had been together since high school, and had two children together. She was African American with Native American heritage and was one of the most naturally beautiful women Christina had ever seen. Mandy stood 5’7, with long dark brown wavy hair that had natural golden highlights in it, green eyes with gold specks, and a smile that lit up a city.

  Why she had married Dave Warnock was a mystery to most people that didn’t know them. Dave was an African American, who could best be described as average. There were a number of inferences that Mandy had married Dave for his fame, but they’d been together before Dave was famous and would still be together if he decided to go into obscurity. Where Mandy was concerned, everyone thought he was the luckiest man alive, including Dave.

  Bonnie Howard stood an imposing 5’10 and was well built with red hair, blue eyes, and a serious dose of snark. Bonnie was like a classic 1950s Hollywood bombshell like Maureen O’Hara and Rita Hayworth. She’d caught the eye of a fair few men and just quietly, a few women as well. Out of all of them, Bonnie had been more courageous when it came to challenging boundaries.

  Unlike Mandy and Christina, Bonnie had never married because “monogamy” wasn’t her scene. She was a very successful realtor in Seattle, but had strong ties in Shanwick. Bonnie’s parents lived down the road from the Martins and while most of the other kids had run the other way, she and Christina had become best friends at first sight.

  In her teens, Bonnie had had a serious crush on Johnny who had a particular type of woman that she didn’t fit. Bonnie was way too sane. Pushing Christina into her bedroom, Bonnie and Mandy ordered her to hurry up, but she warned them. “I’ve got one going-out outfit and I don’t think it’s Shanwick appropriate.”

  Bonnie and Mandy shared a look then pounced on her clothes, tut-tutting about what she had brought with her. She hadn’t packed the best bag of clothing and she’d have to make do. “Found it,” Mandy grinned, holding up a little blue dress in her hands.

  Nodding at each other, the two women insisted “this” was the one, but Christina thought it was too short for Shanwick. To their horror, she insisted on pairing it with some skinny jeans, set off by silver, strappy high-heeled shoes. They grabbed her hands and scowled at her fingernails.

  Mandy looked at her. “Don’t worry. We’ve come prepared.”

  ********************

  “It’s a bit much,” Christina grumbled.

  “Is not,” Bonnie retorted.

  “It’s SHANWICK,” Christina shouted, but her two friends just stared at her like she was an idiot.

  Bonnie articulated and reinforced this point by saying, “Dina, you’re an idiot. Shanwick or not, you’re going to get dressed up and wear this.”

  An hour after her friends arrived, Christina had had her nails polished, eyebrows fixed, and hair done. They held her down plastering her face with makeup, doing “the smoky eye”, and putting on a nearly nude pink gloss. Mandy frowned. “You wear makeup for work, right?”

  “Yes, some,” Christina huffed.

  “Just because you’re a feminist, Dina, doesn’t mean you have to be ugly.” Bonnie groaned. Christina and Bonnie started arguing until Mandy stopped the fighting by telling them they had “better things to do.” Christina wouldn’t call going out in Shanwick ‘better’, but she was happy to drop the bickering.

  Standing back admiring their handiwork, Mandy thought Christina looked like Kim Kardashian, but Bonnie thought more like Jessica Alba or Mila Kunis. Christina didn’t think she looked like any of them, but her best friends were trying to boost her confidence, which they reinforced with alcohol - lots and lots of alcohol.

  To her surprise, Johnny sat down at the table with them. He wolf whistled at Christina, which made her feel even more ridiculous. He got up and poured them drinks, then sat back down with his guitar, picking some chords, and humming.

  Bonnie gave him a smoldering gaze that he was oblivious to, looked at her two friends and winked. Christina nearly choked on her drink and her two best friends yelled at her not to damage her makeup. “Careful, sis,” Johnny said, “I don’t want two sisters in hospital.”

  The conversation quickly turned to gossip and Johnny got up to leave. He was really good like that. It was a combination of being considerate and just uninterested in gossip. With his back turned, Bonnie made ass-grabbing gestures at him, which made Mandy and Christina shriek with laughter. Johnny turned around, smiled a bit bemusedly, and ambled off. His discomfort made them laugh harder.

  Christina went to put some music on, but Bonnie pushed her out of the way with an “uh-uh.” “If I put on pop music, Johnny can’t complain,” winked Bonnie. Well, he could, but he’d wait until Bonnie left out of both respect and fear. When Bonnie put on Carlie Rae Jepson’s “Call me maybe,” Christina half-expected Johnny to appear, demanding they turn it off, but he didn’t.

  Bonnie leaned over saying, “You need to lose that sweater thing, Dina.”

  Her little blue dress was a halter style that came in under the bust, ended just above the knee and pushed her boobs out. She had compromised on the dress, but the sweater stayed. Shaking her head, Christina disagreed. “It’s cold.”

  Bonnie pulled a face. “It’s early October. It’s chilly, not cold, and while you’re at it, lose the jeans.”

  Christina didn’t drink much these days and after two, she was feeling sassy. She grinned at Bonnie, “You know, if you want to strip me naked, you should really buy me dinner first.”

  Mandy shrieked with laughter, but Bonnie eyed her speculatively. “By the look of things, someone needs to get you naked, Dina, and it’s not me. I want you to
look as hot as possible so that someone wants to.”

  Mandy and Christina threw their heads back and laughed. Christina looked from side to side and crooked her finger to her friends. They leaned over and she whispered. “Dad is having sex with Mrs. Marsh, the school teacher.”

  Mandy’s eyes opened wide and she said, “Noooooo.”

  “Uh-huh,” giggled Christina. “He is. Seriously.”

  Bonnie laughed. “Never mind your Dad’s sex life. How’s yours?”

  Christina pulled a face. “Hmmm. Sex life? Non-existent. Dad’s getting more than me – unfortunately. I broke up with the Banker about six months ago and to be honest, the sex was pretty bad. I had more orgasms alone than when he was in my bed. It got so bad that when we were in bed, I almost called out my own name.”

  Mandy laughed so hard she partially choked on her drink and tears streamed down her beautiful face. Bonnie screamed with laughter and shook her head. “Oh no way. No, no, no.”

  Christina was in full flight now. It was like old times and she was laughing so hard, she had to wipe tears from the corner of her eyes. She looked at them. “Yes, way. It was terrible - fucking terrible. The fucking was terrible.”

  As per usual, her friends were right. She stood up and took off her jeans and sweater. They all roared with laughter so loudly that Johnny came back in for a moment to see if they were okay. When he realized they were just laughing, he looked embarrassed, raised his hand and left as quickly as he’d appeared. The women all looked at each other and laughed even harder.

  They headed out to the one nightspot in Shanwick that symbolized the town’s hypocrisy to Christina. There was a bar and grill, which had a tavern on one side and the resident hang out of the local biker bar, the Hub & Spoke, on the other. The nightclub was across the car park from the bar/grill and everyone pretended the different social groups didn’t mix, but they did. They mixed plenty. Usually, late at night and when people wanted another type of excitement.

  Christina conned Johnny into taking them to the nightclub, which wasn’t very difficult. She told him they could make their own way home, but he assured them that if they needed a ride, they should just text him. The women knew Johnny meant well, but once he fell asleep, bombs could drop and he wouldn’t hear them, so they thanked him for his offer, and sent him home.

  The disco was small, but it seemed lively enough. It proudly claimed to play music from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s. They entered to Madonna’s “Lucky Star” blaring and hit the dance floor. When the song ended, Christina headed to the bar ordering three bourbon and cokes. Beckoning her friends over, they grabbed their drinks and did bottoms up.

  Bonnie then ordered some cocktails from the menu. Picking up the drinks one at a time, Bonnie handed them to her friends. “This is dedicated to you, Dina. It’s a screaming orgasm. It might be the first one you’ve had in company for a while.” Raising her glass, Bonnie made a toast. “Here’s to us ladies; the best ex-grunge bitches in the world.” The drink was a bit sweet for Christina, but she appreciated the sentiment.

  They were standing at the bar when Mandy giggled, “Don’t turn around, the Anys have just walked in.” Of course, they all spun around and stared. The Anys were the Gilmore twins, Stephany and Bethany, and their best friend, Tiffany Ellis. Their names all ended in “any” and they’d tried to make it some kind of cool club, but the Emo/Grunge crew had relentlessly mocked them.

  The Anys had been the polar opposites of Christina, Mandy and Bonnie at school. They had been cheerleaders, hung out with the popular group, were desperate for approval and would have done anything to get it. The two groups hated each other in school and by the looks of things, nothing much had changed.

  Stephany Gilmore reserved a particular loathing for Christina. She blamed Christina for breaking up her and Riley (un-true), and usurping the happy ever after fairy-tale marriage she had planned with Riley since she was a little girl (un-true times two, borderline delusional).

  Both the Gilmore twins had been married and divorced, but Christina wasn’t being judgmental about that. So had she. It was an observation and not a criticism. Granted, a bitchy one, but she’d never proclaimed to be perfect.

  Sidling up to them at the bar, Stephany Gilmore smirked. “Look what the cat dragged in…”

  “Or vomited,” giggled her sister, Bethany.

  Tiffany Ellis made a braying sound like a donkey. At first Christina thought and semi hoped, that Tiffany might be choking. She then realized Tiffany was laughing.

  Both the twins were pretty with blonde hair, blue eyes, and cupid bow lips. Stephany was heavier than Bethany, but both were attractive. Their most striking attributes, however, were their impressive boobs. The Gilmore twins had even bigger ones than Bonnie. Looking at the Gilmore ‘assets’ and the reactions they garnered, Christina conceded Johnny might have a point about the correlation between boobs and superpowers.

  Tiffany Ellis was another matter. She was tall and skinny with red hair and freckles. Her face was long and her lips were so thin, they were almost non-existent, but it was her eyes that were memorable for all the wrong reasons. They were hazel, deep set and narrow, which made Tiffany look like she had a permanent squint.

  Stephany looked Christina up and down sneering. “Wow. I hardly recognized you. You look so old.”

  Bonnie snorted. “She does not. She looks fantastic and unlike you, she isn’t carrying an extra 40 pounds on her ass.”

  Mandy made a choking, giggling sound and nodded her head. “So-so true, Bonnie.” Looking directly at Stephany, Mandy pursed her lips. “Why don’t you go away? People might think we know you.”

  Christina opened her mouth in surprise. Mandy was one of the sweetest people you could meet, but she was also fiercely loyal. The Anys moved forward as a group, with Bethany snarling, “bitch” at Bonnie and Mandy.

  Bonnie stepped forward and in her high heels, she towered over them. In high school, Bonnie had been the toughest girl and gone undefeated in all her fights. She had the meanest right hook in town, and once thrown, the consequences were devastating. Something the Anys were all too aware of.

  Christina wasn’t used to this sort of overt, aggressive behavior any more. In her current social circle, disagreements were carefully contained with indirect references, wit and barbs, usually followed by a freezing out. She stood watching what was occurring in front of her, like it was some horrible sociological experiment, without saying a word. She felt conflicted between disapproving of the female aggression occurring in front of her and really wanting to see the Anys get their ass kicked.

  Stephany Gilmore looked at Christina and smirked. “Seen your ex-husband lately?” And when she saw the surprise register on Christina’s face, she sneered. “I thought not. I have. He’s back in town and I’ll be seeing lots of him later. We’re together.”

  For a moment, Christina’s mind went blank. She thought Stephany had said Riley was back in town, but that couldn’t be right. Could it?

  Stephany’s eyes glittered and she smiled widely. “Didn’t you know? It’s probably because you just don’t matter anymore. Oh well,” she extended her left hand out, “I plan to have a ring on this hand before the end of the year. He’s so over you.”

  Both Bonnie and Mandy snorted. “Good luck with that,” Mandy said, pulling a face, “he basically lives with us in New York and he never, ever, mentions you. Go sell crazy someplace else, Stephany.”

  Tiffany Ellis stuck her left hand out. “Stephany is going to get a ring, just like this one,” displaying the tiniest chip of a diamond ring anyone had ever seen. Christina actually felt a moment of compassion for Tiffany, especially when Mandy laughed out loud.

  Mandy put her left hand out so everyone could see her engagement ring and it was huge. A platinum princess cut diamond, with a three carat in the middle, and two one carats on either side. It was borderline vulgar.

  Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Mandy smirked, “I wouldn’t brag about that little itty-bitty thing if I
was you.”

  “She’s speaking about your ring, Tiffany, and not your husband,” Bonnie quipped, fixing Tiffany Ellis with a malicious stare. Leaning forward, Bonnie asked gleefully, “Speaking of rings – have you stopped throwing your ring about now that you’ve ma

  rried the village idiot?”

  Tiffany’s face contorted with rage. Unfortunately, it was true. Tiffany had married the village idiot. A man so stupid he could have been a Darwin Award nominee. The question of whether Tiffany still put her ‘ring’ about, however, remained unanswered.

  Christina stood watching events unfold in detachment, trying to snap herself out of it to help her friends. She hated slut shaming because it was counter-productive to women’s solidarity, but there was no sense of female community happening here. She sighed.

  It was just like high school: the same players, the same dramas, the same pettiness, and then it dawned on her. It-was-just-like-high-school and she grinned. Bonnie wasn’t the only champ in the room. Christina might be out of practice, but all she needed was some training.

  Peeling herself off the bar, Christina stared Stephany Gilmore in the eyes and smiled so malevolently, that Stephany took a step back. Keeping the smile on her face, Christina sneered, “I don’t think so, Stephany. If you’re with Riley, where is he?” Christina pointedly looked around the room and grinned, then looked down at her fingernails, and back at Stephany.

  Leaning forward and smirking, Christina said. “It’s not that difficult to get him to marry you, you know? Well, it wasn’t for me. He just has to want to.”

  Stephany Gilmore’s face went a dangerous shade of puce and Christina thought she might actually combust. Her twin and Tiffany Ellis were watching with nervous looks on their faces too frightened to intervene. Snarling, Stephany snapped. “What would you know? We have sex – lots of it – all the time, and, and, and it’s awesome, awesome, bad mama jama sex. He can’t get enough of me.”