Anna
Anna was afraid of flying. Okay, it was a well-kept secret, but it was true just the same. Now that she was sitting in the terminal, at their gate, with their jet outside in full view, she watched every move the mechanics and service people made and felt certain that flying over the vast Pacific Ocean was a huge mistake.
“Are you okay?” Edmond asked her for the third time.
“I’m fine,” she snapped at him.
“Sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry.” Anna took in a deep breath. “I guess I just get a little nervous about flying.”
“Why?” He adjusted his glasses and peered curiously at her.
“Why?” She looked at him like he was nuts. “Because planes crash. People die. Why not?”
He kind of laughed, then looked sorry when he saw her glaring at him. “Anna, Anna,” he said, patting her hand. “Don’t you know that plane travel is statistically the safest transportation out there?”
“Yes, yes,” she snapped back at him. “I’ve heard the old it’s-safer-than-bicycles line before.”
“And?”
“And it’s one thing to blow a tire on a bike, but something altogether different when you blow an engine on a jet.”
“Jets can land with one engine.”
“Okay, what if they lose a wing?”
Just then Kendall returned from the news store with an armful of magazines. “Isn’t this exciting?” she gushed. “The others are out there over the ocean somewhere and tonight we’ll all be together in Maui.”
“Excuse me,” said Anna as she stood. “I’m going to get some coffee.”
“Like she needs coffee,” Edmond said quietly.
Anna turned and narrowed her eyes at him.
“But if you want coffee, well, by golly, you should have some coffee.” He smiled nervously.
The truth was, Anna didn’t want coffee. She just wanted to use her phone. In private. She wanted to call her mother. Okay, she wasn’t calling her mother so that her mother could lovingly soothe her and tell her that all would be well. After all, it was her mother she was about to call. No, Anna wanted to call her mother to apologize for their recent arguments.
“Hello?” her mother said in a weary tone.
“Hi, Mama.”
“Anna?” her mother’s voice grew anxious. “Where are you? Are you okay? Has there been an accident? Have you heard from Gil?”
Anna thought about the old adage of the apple not falling far from the tree and almost laughed. “Everything is fine, Mama.” Anna was fully aware that she called her mother Mama when she was being nice and Mom when she was not. It was an old habit.
“Oh.” Her mother almost sounded disappointed.
“Did you want something to be wrong?”
“No, no, of course not.”
“Well, good.”
“So did Gil get off okay?”
“I assume that he did, Mama. I haven’t heard otherwise.” She looked at the clock in the center of the terminal. “In fact, they should land in a couple of hours.”
“A couple of hours? Didn’t they only fly out at nine?”
“They land at two.” Then Anna realized her mistake. “Oh, that’s two o’clock Maui time. Sorry. I guess it’ll be a while still.”
“Gil promised to call me when they get there. Unlike some other thoughtless child that I will not mention.”
“Mom, I’m calling you now.”
“Well …”
“And I’m calling for a reason.”
“Yes?”
“I want to apologize for the way I’ve spoken to you lately.”
“Yes?”
“What? You want more than that?”
“Do you call that an apology, Anna? You say, ‘I want to apologize,’ but I did not hear you say, ‘I am sorry, Mama.’”
“Okay, I’m sorry I’ve been disagreeable lately, Mama.” Anna bit her lip. She wanted to remind her mother that she’d been equally disagreeable. Not just about the credit-card business, but about Edmond and Lelani and lots of things.
“What about what you said at the going-away dinner?” persisted her mom.
“I’m sorry.” Anna couldn’t help but smile to remember the shocked reactions of Abuela and the other relatives when she’d made her silly announcement. “I shouldn’t have told everyone that Edmond and I were eloping and honeymooning in Maui.”
“It was very immature, Anna. Not something I expected from you.”
“It’s just that Abuela was so aggravating.”
“She is who she is, Anna.”
“Yes.” Anna sighed.
“And?”
“You want more?”
“You’re my daughter, Anna. What you said to the family reflected on me.”
“Okay. I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”
“You did embarrass me, mi’ja. And your grandmother, well, I thought she was going to have a stroke.”
Anna thought that was unlikely. If anything, Abuela enjoyed the attention she got for her dramatic reaction. “Well, she’d been asking for it. I don’t know what Abuela said to Lelani at the party, but I could tell it wasn’t nice.”
“Are you saying that Lelani didn’t tell you?”
“Lelani is a lady.”
Mama didn’t have anything to say to that.
“Anyway, before I get on the plane, I just wanted to clear things up between us, Mama. I’m sorry I embarrassed you. But I’m sure everyone knew I was only joking.”
“They did after I straightened them out.”
“I also wanted to say I love you, Mama. Tell Papa I love him too.”
“And we love you too, mi’ja. I know we are a little old-fashioned. But we only want what’s best for our children.”
“Unfortunately you can’t dictate that.”
“Dictate?”
“You know, you can’t force us to live the life you think is best.”
“Isn’t that the truth?”
“But I don’t think we’re doing too badly,” Anna pointed out. “We haven’t been arrested, we don’t do drugs, we finished college, and are gainfully employed … you know, some parents would be proud.”
“We are proud, Anna.”
“Thanks.”
“And you really aren’t eloping with Edmond, are you?”
Anna laughed. “No, Mama, I’m not. I will be staying with Lelani’s parents, with my housemates, all girls, in the guesthouse.”
“And when you get home, mi’ja, you’ll tell me all about Lelani’s family, won’t you?”
“Why?”
“Why?” Her mother sighed. “Because I think that girl might be in our family someday. I see it in your brother’s eyes, Anna.”
“Well, I can’t imagine Gil doing any better,” Anna admitted. “Lelani is one of the kindest, nicest, sweetest, most caring persons I know.”
“I know. And she’s very beautiful.”
“Yes.”
“And she has a baby—a baby she left behind.”
“Mama.” Anna took in a big breath. “We don’t know the full story yet.”
“No, we don’t.”
“Okay. I love you, Mama, but I see they’re starting to load the plane now.”
“Are you scared, mi’ja?”
“What?”
“Are you frightened?”
“Of?”
“I know that flying terrifies you, Anna. You’ve always been like that.”
“Okay, yes,” Anna told her as she walked back to the gate. “I’m a little scared.”
“Order a Bloody Mary.”
Anna laughed. “Are you kidding?”
“No, it will calm you down.”
Anna wasn’t so sure about that, but she knew that the laughing that came with the idea had a soothing effect. “Adiós, Mama.”
“Be safe, mi’ja. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Then Anna hung up.
“Everything okay?” asked Edmond as she joined him and Kendall in the line.
“I think so.” She took his hand.
“And you’re going to be all right?”
Anna smiled. “Yes. I’m going to be just fine.”