Draw Me A Picture (60 page)

They sat together in the relative quiet, amid the muted sounds of airport announcements and the shuffling of feet on commercial carpet, waiting to take a plane to the rest of their lives. Though the lounge was just half-full, those patrons whom saw the affectionate young couple smiled, and thought of their own loved ones.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

William and Michelle could not help but attract attention as they boarded the airplane. It was not often that a white-gowned bride and tuxedo-clad groom rode on EOS; the entire plane had just forty-eight roomy seats, mostly filled with business people in suits. Leading his bride down the airplane’s aisle, William felt a few looks directed his way. However, he most noticed those aimed at the fair young woman behind him. He resisted rolling his eyes. It was part of the package; marrying a lovely girl like Michelle meant tolerating the occasional gawker.

Michelle kept her eyes on William’s shoes, not really enjoying the scrutiny; in doing so she was able to fully appreciate the oddity of this custom-built 747. The seats on this flight commanded Michelle’s attention first; even first class seats looked horribly cramped compared to these. Instead of six or eight seats squeezed into a row, roomy berths, just two wide, stood on either side of a single, central aisle. Each berth held a cushy reclining seat, a lot of space and an ottoman to put one’s feet up on. Two berths were set opposite one another with a small entry walkway. Each berth had low, sleek privacy walls around it in case one wished to lie down. Muted shades of gray and soft beige lent the atmosphere a relaxed feel. Michelle had never seen anything like this airplane; she did not dare ask how much a seat was on this flight.

William found their seats; they had two berths together. Smiling, he indicted Michelle to precede him to the window berth. Michelle giggled softly and a mock curtsy before gathered her pretty skirt a little; she passed through the small walkway without incident.

“This is incredible,” Michelle whispered to her husband; she sat down on the recliner while carefully smoothing the dress under her. “I didn’t know a flight like this existed.” William chuckled.

“This is my first trip on it as well,” he told her, sitting down. “It is comfortable, I admit. It has the feel of a Lear jet, but on a much larger scale.” Having never been on a Lear jet, Michelle took his word for it. She peered out the window, trying to dampen the rising feelings of flight excitement. Like most fliers, Michelle did not feel afraid, but more anticipation, and a little privileged. It was fun just to be able to fly somewhere, let alone across the Atlantic. William watched Michelle’s face; the pure enjoyment and appreciation written there pleased him. Michelle had no problem conveying gratitude and feeling it; William hope their children would be like her, able to take simple pleasure in life and be content.

Feeling William’s gaze upon her, Michelle looked up with a smile.

“Thank you,” she said, softy; she leaned on the low privacy barrier between them. “At least I won’t have to worry about being able to talk to you and look you in the face.” William smiled.

“Yes, we shall have to find something to talk about,” he returned. “Other than tonight’s events,” he thought. “I do hope you’ll be able to keep my mind occupied, love.” Michelle narrowed her eyes at him momentarily; she broke into a wide grin and allowed her eyes to take on a vacuous look.

“Oh dear, I’m afraid you’ve married a stupid wife,” she gushed, winding a curl of her hair around her finger. “But don’t you worry... I’ll try real hard though to think of something. Do you like weather? I love weather... rain, snow, sleet, hail, that thunder stuff… you know, that loud noise when it’s not sunny...”

It took William some time to stop laughing.

“Please... stop,” he wheezed. “No more. Good heavens... I’d go mad if I had to listen to such drivel.” He wiped his eyes and attempted to fix Michelle with a stern glare; she smiled, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “Minx,” he said, fondly. “You have a wonderful sense of humor, my love.”

“I like making you laugh,” Michelle admitted. “Ever since that night at the gallery, I thought your laughter sounded like some wonderful kind of music.” Her hand rested on the low divider between them; William covered it with his own.

“No one has ever made me laugh as you do love,” he said, looking into Michelle’s eyes. “It’s like having my own personal comedian, though I doubt anyone heard of a comic as lovely as you.”

Michelle smiled.

“Only you could get away with a line like that,” she said, laughing softy. “Anyone else would invoke copious eye-rolling and snickers.” William grinned.

“Snickers?” he queried. “Tosh… no one snickers at me.” Michelle was about to show him that yes, one could very well snicker at William Montgomery but a stewardess came by, politely asking them to fasten their seat belts and prepare for takeoff.

The airplane's interior felt quite warm; Michelle unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it off. William felt a bit warm himself and then glanced around possessively. To his dismay, other passengers of the male persuasion also noticed his bride’s newly bared shoulders and bodice. A couple of them even made pretense of standing up to ‘retrieve’ something from an overhead baggage compartment, in order to get a better look.

William snorted; there was a time when even he, worked to death and flying to meetings, appreciated a gander or two at a pretty passenger. A beautiful girl is a fine distraction away from work. However, he’d never purposefully looked at some other bloke’s wife. Such a thing would invoke heated words, or violence; William shot the offenders a glare over his shoulder. Despite this, a new thought presented itself in his brain, one that appreciated the fact that some men were envious of him. When it came to the battle for Michelle, William was the clear victor. It was not his fault that no one else had noticed the rose hidden among street vendors.

A sly grin slid over his face, inciting much curiosity in his bride. She placed a small kiss on her husband’s hand, mostly to get his attention. It worked.

“Can’t resist me love?” William asked, lifting an eyebrow at her. A sort of victorious glow began to overtake his eyes. Michelle boosted his ego again via a deep blush.

“I can’t resist wondering what made such a look spread over your face,” she said, quietly. William sat back a little and regarded Michelle closely. She seemed curious; William rather liked that look.

“There are many things I love about you, Michelle,” he said; he did not smile, but a fond look overtook his eyes. “One of them is the veritable oblivion you have towards your more attractive qualities, as they affect the general male populace.” Michelle looked thoughtful at this.

“Oblivion...” she repeated, very quietly, though William heard it. He saw that his bride looked uncertain; he sat forward, taking her hand in his.

“It’s a compliment, my love,” William said, earnestly. “You don’t know what some men would give to have a wife that isn’t constantly looking around at other men, trying to impress them. When we go out, I love how you don’t even see the twenty or so blokes checking you out. Believe me… I appreciate that kind of oblivion.” Michelle smiled.

“So that’s what you were thinking about...” she said. William kissed her hand, and her fingertips.

“That and a few other things,” he returned, grinning. He caught his bride’s eye and winked at her. He chuckled softly at Michelle’s signature reaction to his words.

Take-off was uneventful. As soon as the seat-belt light grew dark again, William slipped over to his bride's berth, sitting on the ottoman. Michelle giggled softly at her man’s attachment to her; his desire to be close to her filled her with comfort. The other passengers were forgotten.

Together they explored the little elements of the berth, finding a small, pull-out table that proved very steady when properly locked into place. There was also a flip-up television screen the size of a paperback on the divider wall. Looking through the pamphlet on available movies, Michelle laughed at seeing ‘Hot Fuzz’ listed.

“That was a hilarious movie,” she said, giggling at William’s doubtful expression. “It has a terrible title but it was really good.”

“Hmm...” William said, suddenly feeling a little ‘old’. “You like the newer movies, do you?” Michelle snorted, though softly.

“Not usually,” she said, surprising her companion. “That one was the first good one in awhile. That and ‘The Rundown’. Before that I liked best 'Henry the Fifth’, 'Persuasion' and ‘The Big Store’.”

William almost choked.

“The Big Store?” he asked, grinning. “The Marx brothers? Are you serious?” Michelle laughed a little, biting her lip.

“Uh oh... perhaps you should have known my affinity for them before you agreed to marry me...” she teased. William wrinkled his nose at her, an action which made her giggle even more.

“When I was a lad I thought the Marx brothers were the cleverest people on the planet,” William said, smiling. “I rather like Duck Soup the best.”

“Was that the one where Harpo rode down the football field like Ben- Hur?” Michelle asked.

“The very one, minx,” William said, fondly. “We should rent it and watch it together.” Michelle returned his smile.

“I’m glad we saved all the cheesy dating stuff for our married life,” she said, sincerely. “I won’t do horror movies though… those I absolutely loathe.” William smiled at her.

“I’ll agree with you there, love,” he said. “If you want to be frightened, watch the news.”

William did not think two people could talk for several hours for fun and not run out of conversation, but he was proved wrong; the bride and groom found ample subjects to discuss and did not need to watch an in-flight movie. They did however enjoy a four-course meal, the quality of which caused no small amount of surprise to the bride.  To her, airline food was famous for its anti-appeal, but this meal was very good. It included a poached salmon fillet with a dill-Dijon sauce, crisp bread, a fresh salad with avocados and an citrus dressing of some kind. Michelle had a delicious raspberry sorbet for dessert, though she ended up sharing half of it with William. He did not care for the rather limp-looking crème puff that came with his meal.

“I recognize that pastry from the French Interpol’s 'most soggy' list,” Michelle whispered to her groom. William choked on his water and sputtered a bit into his table napkin. Alarmed, Michelle began to stand up, in order to hit him on the back, but he held up his hand. Another sip of water and he was fine. “I’m sorry...” Michelle said, biting her lip. “I shall pause in whispering my musings to you ‘til I’m certain you are not consuming any liquids.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” William countered, with a wide grin. “I like your little intrepid forays into the realm of comedy.” Smiling, Michelle picked up the table linen and dabbed it gently on William’s hand.

“Water droplets,” she said, shyly. Her soft, low voice sparked several simultaneous thoughts in William’s mind. All of them would have to wait.

“I see,” he said, his blue eyes a little darker. His bride smiled at her plate until the stewardess came to remove them.

The entire flight lasted roughly six and a half hours, a little longer than Michelle expected. The time passed pleasantly however. William spent almost no time in his own berth.

“We could have just shared one, you know,” Michelle teased him. “Saved yourself the expense of two.” William answered her by pulling her onto his lap.

“Minx,” he said, holding her close. He felt anxious to arrive at the airport; they still had another short flight to catch to their final destination. However, sitting here with his arms around Michelle, smelling her hair and watching her smile kept William in a great mood.

Once Michelle was compelled to use the airplane bathroom; expecting a tiny closet to pack her and her dress into, Michelle was relieved at finding larger accommodations. The room provided a fresh-smelling liquid soap she liked very much. Exiting the bathroom, their stewardess walked by and saw her.

“I just have to tell you that is the most gorgeous dress I have ever seen,” the lady said, smiling. Michelle returned her smile.

“Thank you,” she said. She pointed towards William. “We just got married today.” Again the stewardess smiled.

“He’s gorgeous, too,” she said, “You’re lucky.”

“Well, this is the best airline I’ve ever flown on,” Michelle returned, hoping to give some kind of compliment back. “I hope you give business class a real run for its money.” The stewardess giggled at this, and nodded.

“We are. Thank you,” she said. Michelle walked back to her seat, smiling.

William let her by, one eyebrow up in an inquiring way.

“What was that all about?” he inquired, trying not to appear curious. Michelle sat down and genteelly batted her eyes at him.

“The stewardess wanted to know where I got the handsome android and where she could get one, too,” she said, pretending to read a pamphlet. A low chuckle made her look up.

“Android, eh?” William said, narrowing his eyes at Michelle. “You’ve been watching old episodes of Dr. Who, haven’t you?” His bride gave him a soft laugh in answer.

“You’ll never get anyone to confess to that,” she told him.

The airplane landed at Stansted International Airport in the dark. Michelle saw the lights of London approaching through her window. Once the airplane passengers disembarked, the bridal couple said a pleasant farewell to the stewardess.

During the first few minutes in the terminal, Michelle thought she was going to be absolutely unable to understand anyone. Surely these people weren’t speaking English… but another language entirely. It sounded like some throaty, slurred speech, filled with slang that only they understood. Michelle clung to William’s arm, much to his amusement. After a few minutes of listening hard, she was able to pick some of the words out from in the conversations of the other people around them in the Customs line. Both airport security and the customs agents worked with amazing speed; it took the bridal pair less than a half an hour to get through the lines. One customs agent looked at Michelle and murmured at William that he was a ‘dodgy blighter’. Ignorant of the phrase, Michelle assumed it was an insult; William did not look complimented.