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“Would you like some champagne, ma’am?” Andrea asks her.
Aroha flushes. “Um, no, thank you.”
“A soft drink?”
“No, I’m fine, thanks.”
Andrea nods. “Can you fasten your seat belt?”
I watch Aroha investigate the two sides of the belt, glance at Henry’s, then clip hers together. Andrea shows her how to tighten it.
“I’m just going to give a brief safety talk,” Andrea says.
She proceeds to run through the emergency procedures. Aroha watches her as if it’s the most fascinating thing she’s ever seen. I would have said hello, but she hasn’t looked at or spoken to me yet.
When Andrea finishes, she goes over to her own seat and buckles herself in. The plane trundles across to the main runway, and the engines roar, ready for takeoff. Aroha looks out of the window, watching as the wheels leave the ground. Soon, we’re up in the clouds, heading for Wellington.
She’s now busy looking at her phone. Henry glances at her, then his eyes meet mine, and he pulls an ‘Oh, so you’re in the doghouse, too?’ expression.
My lips twist, and I look out of the window.
After a few minutes, the seat belt light goes off, and Andrea rises and comes over to ask if anyone would like a hot drink. Most of us request tea or coffee, and she goes off to make them.
“Excuse me,” Henry says to Aroha, “do you mind if I get up?”
“Um…” She studies her belt. He gestures to his own and shows her how to lift the tab to undo it. She does the same and rises, and he scoots over the seats and heads for the bathroom. She sits back down, makes herself comfortable, and looks at her phone.
Then, without lifting her head, she looks up and meets my eyes.
“Hello,” I say softly.
“Hey.”
We study each other for a moment.
I take a deep breath. “I just wanted to say—”
I stop as she shakes her head. “Don’t worry about it,” she says.
I frown. “But—”
“James,” she says. “I’d rather just forget it ever happened.” She drops her gaze back to her phone.
Across from us, out of the corner of my eye I see Gaby glance at her briefly before looking at me.
I keep my gaze on Aroha. I don’t know what to say. She’s giving me the cold shoulder, and I thoroughly deserve it. I just hope it doesn’t spoil the atmosphere. There’s nothing worse than two people being frosty at a gathering, and I already nearly ruined the office party by breaking up with Cassie in the middle of it.
Well, it’s my fault she’s upset. It’s up to me to fix it.
“Is it your first time on The Orion?” I ask.
For a moment, she doesn’t say anything. Then she finally lifts her head and gives me a small smile. “It’s my first time on a plane, full stop.”
My eyebrows rise. “You’ve never flown before?”
She shakes her head, leaning back as Andrea places her coffee before her.
“Wow.” I fly several times a week: to Wellington, Auckland, or Dunedin, abroad to Europe and the States, and several times a year to Sydney, where my father lives. I’ve been doing so for years. I’m stunned to think this is her first flight.
