Dickens Challenge - Explosive Dreams Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The plane began its decent into Dubai airport and I had not had any more sleep. The storm passed after a half hour but with the smell of vomit and excited chattering all around there was no way even a large whiskey would have knocked me out. Plus I couldn’t get the faces of the man and woman who emerged from the loo out of my head. Not a piece of clothing was mussed and her red lipstick was in place. Now many times I have tried to envisage joining the mile-high-club and in fact my husband and I almost did en route to our honeymoon but lost the nerve if not the passion when confronted by the reality of a small box of a space where the man before had missed his aim.

So their perfect composure as they slipped out puzzled me. If they had been banging away during a storm of such ferocity that many overhead lockers had spilled their guts surely at least something would have been astray. I mean why else would a man and a woman be locked in an airplane toilet together if it wasn’t for the supposed sexual high, why the risk of arrest and exposure so to speak? I’m not sure if anyone one else noticed them find their separate seats as the chaos of the storm raged around the plane. The stewardess did check the loo once she was allowed to move about the cabin but that was all. I was the only witness to their joint occupation of the loo.

My stomach clenched as I felt the nose of the plane lower. The lights of Dubai at night twinkled at me briefly as I looked across the aisle. Casting my eyes further along I tried to see the woman’s face but the crisp outline of her dark bob was all I could distinguish. Her facial features other than the flawless lips were a blur and something was compelling me to know what she looked like. I had had a good look at the man who was a stocky rough cut European sort, not English, not French, not Italian but more of a cross of all of the above. There was not a sexy bone in his body I can assure you. She however oozed class – this I could tell from the cut of her and the way she held her small shoulders. They were and unlikely pair but who was I to say. They could be a modern day beauty and the beast.

The clunk of the wheels lowering reminded me that many a plane had crashed during landing and I needed to will the plane safely onto the run way. I had to get home safely so that I could see my little boy and try and repair the damage of the argument as I left with my husband. It was a humdinger and I wasn’t sure where to begin. I spent most our wine filled days with Julia hashing it out and that wasn’t what my trip was supposed to be about however having left with a raging row ringing in my ears I couldn’t leave it behind in Dubai. I, of course, had to carry it with me to Jarkarta and let it contaminate my girls’ trip away to celebrate my soon to be big 4 0. That dire event was three days away.

First one wheels hit the run way and then the other bounced down as the engines slammed in to reverse. We had come in fast instead of the normal gentle approach to Dubai. Half of me wondered why but the quick flash of the cell phone of the woman with the bob cancelled that line of thought. She was chic and impatient. They hadn’t even said it was safe to use phones yet. I felt for mine in my pocket. Would there be a message from Tom. Other than a text to say I had landed safely in Jarkarta and sending my love to Oliver there had been no communication. Did he care I was back? Quite possibly not. Did I care I was back? That was a good question and I didn’t really know the answer.

The woman was texting frantically and I notice the short pink nails. They didn’t seem to fit with the black hair and red lips. Her nails should be long and red.

I leaned out into the aisle as we taxied and looked for the two Indonesian girls. One of them was on texting on her phone too. I admired the model which was the latest new fangled job with camera and music and so on. I had thought about buying one but it seemed and extravagance when I had a great camera and mp3 player already.

My phone beeped. There was a message. My heart leapt, maybe Tom and I did have a chance.

Welcome back to Etisalat. Welcome home we hope you have had a good journey.

Shit. Well at least someone was glad I was home. I starred at the screen willing it to show me another message. A message that said all was forgiven and he did still love me and we could try again.

The plane juttered to a halt and I looked up to see the stocky man jump to his feet. He must have had bad acne in his youth as the face was textured to an extreme. Maybe he had a kind heart because to be honest with a face like that no one would go near him. In fact he could have a career frightening children or haunting nightmares.

“Please remained seated until the airplane has come to a complete stopped and the captain had switched off the seatbelt sign.”

There that tells you for being so keen I thought but he didn’t sit he continued to retrieve his bag from the overhead locker and then sat down. The plane began to move a bit more and then again stopped. I glanced out the window to note that we where no near the terminal and remembered the airport construction. Yippee we would be bussed in to the terminal. It was peak time at Dubai International Airport. Midnight and every form of human life would be swarming through. God, I hate travel which makes me wonder why I do it. Stupidity? Quite possibly marrying the wrong man in the wrong job with wrong goals in life. Clever woman, huh, to marry a man who wanted to see the world and worked in finance. Yet fifteen years ago it seemed a dream come true. What the hell went wrong?