Flight to Singapore
to Bella appeared nervous. The small plane with its high wing and turboprop might have seemed like an aviation throwback to someone accustomed to more civilized vacations, but the workhorse reminded Bella of childhood travels with her family. Its engines thundered as it pulled the plane along the cracked tarmac of the island's single runway. Inside the plane, the seating, designed for the average world traveler, did not fit the man next to her, and he leaned toward the aisle.
The man wore a white, short-sleeved shirt tucked into long pants with a dark necktie. She had seen Mormon missionaries throughout the islands dressed like that, but he was alone, had no name tag, and must have been close to her father's age. As the plane continued its climb through the spotty puffs of clouds, the air conditioning kept up, but the man slipped off his tie, loosened his collar, and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
Bella offered a distraction. “What brought you to the island?”
The man seemed relieved to turn his attention toward Bella. He said, “Energy. The old-fashioned kind. Most people can’t conceive it, but diesel generators power the electrical grid on this island.”
She had grown up in the Pacific so the news didn’t surprise her, but he would be disappointed if she shut down the conversation so soon. She asked, “Fossil fuel?”
“Yes, but we’re making tremendous changes. The efficiencies are improving and that means less dependency on fuel shipments. Every household is seeing a difference in their power bill because the cost per kilowatt hour keeps dropping. That will allow the people to improve their lives in meaningful ways.”
Bella grasped that this man was a missionary—only his greater power came from electricity. She understood the personality of the passionate engineer. Her father had those traits. She smiled, nodded, and asked a few questions. The plane veered around a second thunderhead and shook as the pilot corrected for the turbulence. While the other passengers appeared to get more agitated, the man turned pale and went silent. There was nothing she could do to help him, so she shifted her attention out the window.
A nap would help pass the time and delay the inevitable task of checking her messages. She had slept through much worse and leaned her head against the shuttered window. Her left hand drew her attention. She would have to remember to cover the tiny red teeth marks and swollen fingers. No ring would slide onto her ring finger for quite a while. She smiled. Gregory expected an answer but announcing she couldn’t marry him because the ring won’t fit was stupid. No, was the answer. It had always been the answer. She had hoped two weeks away would reveal the right strategy, but she had to confess, it hadn’t helped.
When you bump into an old friend, it’s natural to get together to catch up, so when Gregory insisted they go out, she agreed. He had been a boy who came with his father to buy fish for the Tokyo market. Somehow, he had grown into a handsome, well-dressed man with certain charms. As children, they played together, a rare distraction in her isolated home. But a couple of years later, the last time they visited, she was disappointed. The boy had become a sullen teenager who never took his attention from his smartphone. Bella accepted she was a skinny eleven-year-old girl and got on with her schoolwork. She forgot about him until the day he called her name on the street. She agreed to his offer for dinner but didn’t even change out of her work clothes, expecting to be home early. Gregory had other ideas. He picked her up in a limousine and whisked her off to a restaurant without menus. They finished their glass of port around ten, and Gregory insisted they have just one dance before he took her home.
On the way through the restaurant's bar, she learned that her old childhood friend was overprotective. A guy approached her, showing off to friends. “Do you have a name? Or can I call you mine?” He laughed, and Bella ignored him. Gregory hit the guy so fast, all Bella saw was the guy down on the floor. Gregory grabbed her by the arm and led her off to the waiting limo. She told him he overreacted, he apologized to her and had been a perfect gentleman since.
Whenever business brought him to Singapore, they would meet up and go out. It wasn’t long before he gave up excuses to visit the city and moved there. He bought a condo in a much nicer area, but it was still close to Bella’s small apartment. At first, it made her uncomfortable, but he maintained a busy schedule and traveled often. Besides, he was fun to be around—most of the time. Gregory wanted things to get serious at a rate that Bella wasn’t comfortable with. She had friends and her work and also traveled a great deal, but they enjoyed their time together. This was her first romantic relationship that had lasted. Even though she had never said the words “I love you,” she had thought she did. Still, he often made her crazy and the more they saw each other, the worse it was. To his credit, somehow, he grasped the exact moment she needed space and would leave on business for a week or longer. When he left, Bella’s thoughts tormented her with questions like, Can this be the right guy? Why didn’t he call? Is this what it's like to be in love?
Gregory had never spoken of love, but he talked about their future together. To Bella, the future seemed like a harmless topic. She knew God took care of such things, so Bella let him dream out loud and let him plan all their dates. Inevitably, the things he insisted they do far exceeded the range of her paychecks. Allowing him to lead made it easier, and she never worried about bumping into friends or coworkers. The exclusive clubs, restaurants, and events gave her the opportunity to wear the stunning clothes and the jewelry he would bring her. None of it fit her thrifty lifestyle as a marine biologist, and while she was uncomfortable at first, the contrast thrilled her. It didn’t take long for her to expect the notice of people on the street, and she enjoyed the attention of the beautiful and powerful people in Gregory's circle of friends. But she also loved getting back to her tiny apartment and kicking off her high heels. The routine of slipping into cotton pajamas and sharing the details of the evening with her roommate, Zoe, had become as fun as any of the charity galas or dance clubs.
Bella wondered if Zoe had a better read on her relationship than she did. She challenged, “Bella, you’re in love. Admit it.” She had always sorted her emotions out herself, so why would she need to rely on Zoe to know if she was in love? But this was uncharted territory. Gregory and their relationship confused her, but her emotions were real, and they troubled her.
Often, Gregory made things harder with his surprises. A conversation she had replayed a hundred times looped through her mind as the hum of the plane lulled her.
“I’ve gone to see your father.”
“You what?”
Gregory kissed her on the right cheek. “That’s from your father.”
Shivers ran down her spine as she thought, This isn’t right. She repeated, “You what?”
“Your father gave me his blessing. He reminded me that our fathers had been best friends. That he’d be honored to have me as a son.” Gregory laughed, like a gull swooping down after breaking a clam onto the rocks. “However, he insisted we do the church thing together and take our time.”
Stunned, Bella said, “The church thing?”
“Sure. It's important to your father. It makes sense. I’ll pick you up tomorrow, and we’ll go to church together.”
The minute Gregory left she called her dad. “What were you thinking?”
He said, "Hola Bella. Es bueno saber de ti. Ha sido demasiado largo."
“Dad, don’t give me that. It doesn’t work on me anymore. I’m twenty-five, not five,” Bella asserted. “What did you tell Gregory?”
“It was nice to see him. He reminds me of his father.”
“Dad, don’t change the subject. Talk!”
“He told me that the two of you were in love. You’d been dating for a year and wanted to get married. He assured me he was the right man for you.” Bella’s father cleared his throat and continued, “His Japanese roots made him respect order and how important it is to honor tradition. Then he asked for my permission to pursue you and win your heart for marriage.” He paused and added, “Actually, I just added the last bit. Isn’t that more romantic?” He was quiet for a moment. “This is all new Bella. Your mother and I eloped.”
Exasperated, Bella said, “Oh, Dad. I’ll get even with you later. What was ‘the church thing?’”
Her father replied, “What church thing?”
“Gregory told me you said we needed to do ‘the church thing’ together.”
“Oh, I asked him if he knew Yeshua.”
Bella never stayed mad at her dad for long. A smile crossed her face. “You're kidding me.”
“I figured that was an excellent test. Only a crazy believer would know that’s what we call Jesus.”
“You tested him? What did he say?”
“Your boyfriend said, ‘No. Should I?’”
“I told him he should and that he’s the leader of your church. I also told him that if he attended church with you, he’d probably meet him.”
Bella laughed. “Dad, you are special, but did you tell him he could marry me?”
“I explained, ‘Bella is her own woman with her own mind and her own life.’ Then said, ‘Tradition is great, but the most important thing is that you do things right.’ I reminded him that more than anything he needs to respect you.”
“You’re the best dad ever. And Gregory is in for a surprise when he meets Yeshua. I’m taking him to church tomorrow. Good night. What time is it there?”
“Three in the morning. A fine time to catch up. Dios te bendiga.”
“God bless you, too, Dad. Que duermas con los ángelos.”
Three months had passed since that conversation with her father, but it still brought on a smile… a sleepy smile. Bella had become conditioned to daily naps while on her vacation. Nobody else on the plane was dozing. A large woman in a colorful muumuu up one row yelled out with surprise each time the plane bucked. Bella wondered if the surprise would get old, but she fell asleep too hard to find out.
When she woke, her head was on the shoulder of the stranger. He was more embarrassed than she was. This time, he started the conversation. “How did you sleep through all that? Do you fly these small planes often?”
“Way too often,” she replied.
The plane was in a slow, smooth descent. Bella couldn’t put it off any longer and turned her attention to her text messages.