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MARGE
CHAPTER TWO
The limo made it outof our little suburban town and hit the freeway for the thirty-minute drive to the airport. Every mile we grew closer, my heart raced faster. All my life, I’d wondered what it had been like for my dear departed Percy to jump out of a plane during ‘Nam, and now I was finally going to get the experience myself. An experience he’d often told me was a highlight of his life.
It was also one of the last things he’d done before he’d been injured in battle ... The battle that had killed our two best friends, Stiltz and Manns. Though that day had ended in heartbreak, Percy always said those moments he’d spent in the air with his two best buddies were some he’d cherish always. They’d loved every second of drifting over the world together, and now I was going to experience the same thing with my best buddies... my Wilder Widows.
I glanced around at the three women surrounding me, sharing stories and laughing as we headed to our first adventure—my wish. The one still giving me butterflies. Just once, I wanted to feel the adrenalin rush they’d felt that fateful day, and I hoped when I leaped out of the plane and the world dropped out from beneath me, it would make me feel close to them once again. Just thinking about it tightened the knot in my stomach, a poignant mix of anxiety and longing.
I pictured the vast expanse of the sky above, a boundless canvas of freedom and risk that they had braved countless times. When I stepped to the ledge, their comforting presence would be beside me. I just knew it. As I visualized the world spiraling beneath me, a pang of connection surged through me.
It was as if, through this one wish, I could reach across the chasm of years and mortality to touch their spirits. Doing this felt like a shared tribute and a deeply personal act of remembrance that echoed their brave souls, bringing me closer to them. Just like I hoped it would bring me and my Widows even closer, too ... if that were possible.
“Are you sure Fran can hold down the fort while we’re gone?” Alice asked Sylvie as the limo sped up to pass someone on the freeway.
“I’m sure. I briefed her on everything she needed to handle while we’re away. She’s been training for two months and seems to have the hang of things. Our orders are caught up, press and marketing are scheduled, and she’s been an excellent manager. I trust our little company is in good hands, and we won’t be bankrupt when we get home.”
Our little company.
In all my wildest dreams, I’d never imagined my path in life would lead me to being a co-owner of a shoe company, much less a wildly successful one. But here I was in my golden years with three business partners and a flourishing shoe company catering to us older gals. Our business grew monthly and soon exceeded what the four of us could handle. So, we’d hired a woman, Fran, to help us manage it.
“I know she’s doing a good job, but you’re sure she can handle itsolofor a full month?” Alice arched an eyebrow. “It’s a lot of work.”
“Itisa lot of work, and I feel so bad no one will be around to bake her fresh muffins. I know how much she loves my banana nut muffins, so I made her extra to freeze, but it’s not the same as fresh.” Doris frowned.
“I’m sure. I did a lot of prep work to make sure things would run smoothly while we’re gone. Fran is good at what she does. She managed big Fortune 500 companies before. She’s more than qualified to do this. Hell, she’s more qualified than us. Plus, we’ll be available by phone and email if she needs us.” Sylvie paused. “Well, at least I think we will. Hopefully, wherever we end up will ensure we’re in cellphone range at least every few days.”
“Yeah. Wherever we end up needs to be within cell phone range.” Alice leaned forward, eyes leveling on me. “And that means no sending us to the afterlife with one of your hair-brained wishes, Marge. There are definitely no cellphones in the great beyond.”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “I’m sure we’ll have cell phones available. And none of us are plunging to our deaths. Okay? I’ve done the research, and I’m certain we will have an amazing jump experience. Just you wait. You ninnies will all be thanking me when we’re done.” I shook a finger at each woman as I passed a glance over their nervous faces.
“An amazing jump experience in ...?” Doris asked, her drawn-out word begging the answer to the question I wouldn’t announce yet.
“I’ll tell you when we get to the airport.” I grinned.
Alice tossed up her hands. “It’s a volcano. I know it. That’s why you won’t tell us. You’re going to make us jump into a freaking volcano, aren’t you? Well, I will not. No. A line is drawn in the sand, Marge. Throwing my perfectly good body out of an airplane is already horrifying enough, but if you think I’m going to risk drifting anywhere near molten lava that will slough off this skin I’ve spent afortunekeeping youthful, you’ve got another think coming, sister.”
“A volcano?” Doris’s voice lifted into an ear-piercing octave. “We’re jumping into a volcano?”
“You wouldn’t,” Sylvie said, then her eyes widened. “You would! You definitely would! Is it a volcano?”
With a soft shake of my head, I doused their fears. “It’s not a volcano.”
They let out a collective sigh of relief.
“I mean, I did research that, and it was in the running, but I decided after choosing a river for rafting that was too hard, perhaps I shouldn’t make skydiving expert level, too.”
“Well, thank you for that, Marge,” Sylvie said. “We are most definitely not experts at skydiving.”
Doris’s eyes bulged. “Yeah. We don’t want anything like that river rafting fiasco to happen again.”
I tossed a hand in the air. “I got you all out of that jungle unscathed, and I’ll get you through this wish fine too. Now relax, ya ninnies.”
I sat back against the black leather seat and crossed my arms. “Now, what were we talking about?”
Sylvie launched back into a conversation about her daughter’s pregnancy complications, and we all told our own pregnancy horror stories as the limo drove us to the airport. When we arrived, we piled out one by one. Our driver handed us our bags, and the Widows and I filed into the busy airport.
“Keep a close eye on your bags,” I warned as we started through the crowds. “You don’t want someone slipping drugs in your bag and turning you into a drug mule.”
