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“There’s plenty of water in vodka,” me and the other widows echoed the words we’d heard her often say when we scolded her for her excessive alcohol consumption.
“Exactly.” Alice winked, and the taxi pulled to a stop.
One by one, we piled out, and Sylvie hoisted the large backpack over her shoulder that she’d filled with snacks and water for the day. After paying the driver, we thanked him, then hurried toward the landing pad. When we got there, our pilot greeted us and gave us a short rundown of how things would work for our tour, as well as basic safety rules. Excitement and nerves charged around inside my body when I climbed inside.
Me. Going on a helicopter. Oh, if only my kids could see me now. When I’d returned from our first Wilder Widows trip, they’d barely believed my stories, though I’d left out the part about what we’d done on top of the Eiffel Tower. But even without that little naughty tidbit, they’d been stunned to hear about their mother’s exciting adventures. After knowing me as the cook, housekeeper, and wound kisser who’d spent most of their lives in an apron or with her knitting needles in her lap, finding out I had it in me to be so adventurous had been shocking. I think they were more stunned by my behavior than I was. I could already imagine their slack-jawed stares when I told them about this latest one.
“You ladies ready?” the pilot asked as we finished strapping on our headsets.
“I can’t believe I have to wear this stupid thing,” Alice said, her voice crackling into my headphones.
“Oh! I can hear you!” I pointed at my ears. “Can you hear me?”
“We can hear you, Doris.” Sylvie smiled from her seat across from me. “Are you ready to fly?”
“Oh, yes!” I nodded quickly. “I’m a little scared, but if I survived swimming with Great Whites, I can survive this. I’m ready!”
“Swimming with Great Whites?” the pilot said into my earpiece as he started lifting us up. “I’m going to need to hear this story.”
Though I was bursting to tell him every detail, words failed me when we rose straight into the air. My stomach dropped as I looked out the window to see the world below shrinking by the second. Inch by inch, we lifted, and my excitement grew with the heights we reached.
“Here we go!” the pilot said, then suddenly the helicopter sped forward.
“Oh!” I squealed as I clutched my seat arms tight. “We’re flying!”
“This is awesome!” Marge whooped beside me, leaning over to look out her window. “And no bullets coming at me, so even better!”
“Okay. Another story I’m going to need to hear.” The pilot chuckled.
Marge started rattling off battle stories as the helicopter swooped and turned, rising and falling as we sped over land and sea. I’d been a bird lover my whole life, my feeders always full and my bird baths always sparkling clean so I could entice them in, enjoy their beautiful songs and watch them flutter around. But finally, I could imagine what it felt like to be one, floating and fluttering over the beautiful world below.
Beautiful. The world below was just beautiful.
Life—my life—was beautiful.
I pulled my gaze from the scenery and looked across at my three best friends. How lucky I was to have them. How grateful I’d always be to them for making the sunset of my life so much better.
“Are you having fun, Doris?” Sylvie asked.
“Oh, yes!” I clutched my hands together. “This is exactly perfect for my wish. Thank you so much for organizing it.”
“It was my pleasure. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
“I would be enjoying it more if it had a full bar. Just a note for the future if you expand,” Alice said to the pilot, who just nodded and veered the helicopter toward the mountains ahead.
“I’m having a marvelous time. It’s exactly what I wanted. I feel like a bird.”
Marge grinned widely. “Being in a helicopter again makes me feel like I’m in my early twenties all over.”
The helicopter stopped moving forward and started to descend toward an opening on the side of the mountain.
“Are we landing?” My heart started racing as we dropped lower. “Or are we crashing? Oh, Lord Almighty. We’re crashing!” A scream started crawling up my throat as I grabbed ahold of my seat, then realized I should be pressing my hands together in prayer instead of holding on for dear life.
“We’re not crashing,” the pilot quickly responded. He passed a glance to Sylvie and winked.
“What’s going on?” Alice looked between them, taking the words right out of my mouth.
Sylvie grinned a smile so sinister I nearly blushed. “The helicopter ride is only part of the wish.”
