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My mouth watered at the idea. “One of those, please. And extra steak.”
“You got it.”
Estella winked before heading off. I turned my attention to the TV viewing area—a small, cozy little space with two rows of couches situated in front of a decent-sized flatscreen TV. I moved over, plopping onto one of the couches and picking up the very complicated looking remote.
“Hard to make heads or tails of that thing,” Estella spoke in Spanish, approaching with a plate of sumptuous-looking steak tucked next to fresh beans and rice. The meal was served with a portion of delicious green chimichurri and a small stack of foil wrapped tortillas. She placed the spread in front of me before popping the top off the bottle of Coke with an opener.
“My Dad… he doesn’t really let me watch TV. No idea how to use this thing.”
Estella set the drink down, a quizzical expression on her face. I could guess what she was probably thinking—why the hellwould a dad not allow his adult daughter to watch TV? If that was indeed the question on her mind, she didn’t ask it.
“This thing’s got all the streaming stuff—Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Disney… here.” She pressed a few buttons on the remote, turning on the TV and bringing up the menu. “Just use the arrows, then press this button to select. The button that looks like a little house takes you back to the home screen.”
With that, she handed over the remote. I held it for a time, staring at all of the icons on the screen, each one representing a different streaming option.
“You OK?” Estella asked. “Want me to show you again?”
I shook my head, coming back into the moment. “No, it’s not that. It’s just… I’ve never done this before.”
“Watched TV on a plane?”
“No, not that. I’ve never just sat in front of a TV like this with the remote in my hand being able topickwhatever I wanted to watch.”
Estella cocked her head to the side, regarding me as something quite curious.
“Well, you can watch whatever you want for the entire flight and no one’s going to give a damn, especially not me or Mr. Stone. Though, I might suggest these.” She opened a small compartment to the side of the couch, the top popping up and revealing a pair of fancy-looking headphones. “Press the button on the side and you can turn them on. The round button next to that turns on the noise-cancelling. Mr. Stone tends to get, ah, a little animated when he’s on his business calls, so you’ll get some use out of that.”
I couldn’t stop beaming. “Thanks, Estella.”
“Of course. Let me know if you need anything else.”
With that, Estella turned to leave. A thought occurred to me as she did, my eyes lighting up with excitement as it dawned.
“Hey, Estella?” I asked in Spanish.
“Yes?”
“There’s a full kitchen back there, right?”
“About as full of one as you can get on a private plane.”
“Does that mean there’s… ice cream?”
Estella laughed. “You bet there is. A few different flavors, too.”
“When I’m done with this, if I still have room, would it be possible to have some?” As I spoke the words, I realized that a tinge of hesitancy was in my voice, as if Estella were going to snap at me for daring to ask for a treat.
Estella cocked her head to the side. “Let me ask you, when’s the last time you’ve had ice cream?”
I opened my mouth to speak but then froze. I had no idea.
“Um, not really sure. Oh, wait! My nanny snuck some in a year or so ago. It was really good, leftover Ted and Jerry’s.”
“Tedand Jerry’s?”
“That’s what it’s called, right? The brand with the two guys on it?”
Estella let out a lighthearted laugh. “Pick out something to watch. I’ll be right back.”
