Frank grinned at the sight of Cassie’s eager eyes as she drank in all of the activity on the tarmac with the bright red carry on bag next to her feet. He leaned close. “Have I told you how beautiful you are today?” Frank murmured close to her ear.
Cassie whipped her head around to face him and almost butted him in the nose. She tried to be firm with him as she asked, “Why do you keep saying things like that?” But there was a sunny smile on her face.
Frank eyes crinkled as he smiled and Cassie’s heart got lighter. He said, “Because it’s true and I love your smile.”
Cassie squeezed his hand and returned her gaze to the windows.
He sat back to admire his lovely wife dressed in Capri pants and sleeveless blouse. A week of second helpings of good solid food had put some much needed padding back on her bones and the outfit was now very flattering indeed. A dark gold cashmere sweater was folded over her lap and her hair was up in a large peacock blue clip, showing off the delicate lines of her neck and shoulders.
“I chose this flight because the turboprop planes fly a little lower and you can see more details of what’s on the ground. I hope it stays clear all the way to Halifax.” Cassie turned to listen. “You’ve got the window seat, you know.”
Cassie’s smile got wider and she threw her arms around his neck to give him a kiss. Frank tightened his control and kept the kiss within bounds. But even that earned them some disapproving looks.
Cassie heard a voice announce their flight and immediately hopped up to head for the gate. Frank, a more seasoned traveller, finished his coffee and stood up to join her, allowing her to take his hand to lead them. He felt smug that she was starting to initiate contact with him, at least in public. He raised her hand to kiss it.
Cassie handed her passport with the marriage certificate tucked into it to the gate attendant who raised her eyebrows at Cassie’s birth date. Then she noted the adoring way Frank was watching Cassie and the date on marriage certificate. She handed the documents back with an indulgent smile and said, “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Ellis. I hope you have a long and happy life together.”
Cassie smiled and thanked the attendant before joining Frank on the ramp. “I guess the marriage license makes a difference for some people.”
“It certainly does to me,” Frank replied with grin.
Cassie leaned into him as they walked down the boarding ramp and she said softly, “Me, too, Frank.”
Frank took his book reader from the pocket of his carry on and left his bag with the sky check. He suggested that Cassie should leave her carry on but that she should keep her shoulder bag with her computer and her new Stephanie Meyers book in case there were clouds between Ottawa and Halifax.
She settled into the window seat and resumed observing everything around her. A few people, including two families with young children, had already boarded the aircraft. The remaining passengers streamed onto the plane to take their seats. She watched as the ground crew removed the wheel blocks then she looked up as the outside light disappeared when the entry was sealed.
The engine on the other side of the aircraft started to whine and the starboard propeller began to spin. Shortly after that the near side propeller began to spin as well and the aircraft began to vibrate. While the plane was pushed back the flight attendants began their safety presentation.
Frank watched his wife’s wide eyed absorption of the new experiences and grinned as he remembered the excitement he’d felt during the first commercial flight he’d taken on his own.
The co-pilot made the usual ‘Flight attendants please prepare for takeoff and crosscheck’ announcement as the Q400 came to a stop at the end of the taxiway then crept out onto the runway. Frank took a peek at Cassie’s nervous excitement as the engines roared and the pilot changed the pitch on the propellers. The acceleration pushed them back into their seats and Frank counted to twelve before he felt the nose tilt upward and two seconds later he heard a delighted squeak from Cassie as she watched the wheels of the aircraft leave the ground. As the landing gear retracted into the engine nacelle she pressed her nose to the window to watch the ground receding. Frank could almost hear her thoughts as her eyes scanned the ground to try to locate their new house.
The pilot turned the plane in a tight bank to head east towards Moncton for the first leg of the flight. Cassie gasped and grabbed Frank’s hand in surprise then laughed as she realized she’d overreacted to the steeply banked turn. She threw him a sheepish grin but Frank only raised her hand and kissed it before she turned her attention back out the window. But she didn’t take her hand back and she didn’t see the look of sheer contentment on his face.
———
Cassie frowned as she looked at sofa in Frank’s living room. “I suppose it’s comfortable enough.”
Frank said, “You can have the bed if you want. I’ve fallen asleep on the couch a number of times. It’s long enough for me.”
Cassie shrugged. “It’s only for a few weeks, right?”
Frank snickered. “Maybe less. I bet Trevor that J. David will make me work my notice and Trevor thinks he’ll appoint someone to replace me immediately. Winner pays for a dinner for two at the restaurant of the winner’s choice.” Frank took Cassie’s bags and carried them towards the bedroom. “Loser has to provide child care.”
Cassie followed Frank into the bedroom and felt her attraction build again as his scent filled her nostrils. She paused at the door to regain the train of the conversation. “Child care?”
“I’m certain Trevor’s going to win the bet. It will be good to have him owe us a favour or two and I didn’t think you’d mind if we spent an evening with their kids.”
She looked at him with consternation. “I’ve never done any babysitting, Frank. Granny needed me at home. Cassandra’s the first kid I’ve spent any time with.”
“That’s okay. I have plenty of experience with my nieces and nephew, including changing stinky diapers. Bonnie and Gray have three kids and I liked having an excuse to skip some of Mother’s events. I took care of the kids when they went to the Alpha marriage course earlier this year.”
“Gray?”
“George Alexander Grayson Lang the fourth. His father is Alex and his grandfather is George so he decided he’d be Grayson but everyone calls him Gray except some old friends who call him Rip because he used to fall asleep in class all the time.”
“That’s Jan’s family, right? She’s the oldest?”
“Yep. So far they’re only my only nieces and nephew. Rob only married a year ago. It wouldn’t surprise me if Melissa is expecting, though. Kids don’t fit into Dale and Supriya’s plans quite yet although she’s getting a huge amount of pressure from her family to quit playing at being a lawyer and be a proper wife and mother. And Lita still looks at kids like they’re aliens. Mind you I wasn’t much better until I started going to church, even if I did help Bonnie out when she asked.” He put Cassie’s suitcases on top of his dresser then began to unpack his own and put things away. “Do you need to change before we go to Bonnie’s?”
Cassie looked anxious. “Will I need to?”
Frank smiled. “No. But we should wear our Sunday best when we visit with Mother.”
“I think I’ll change my shoes.” She opened her suitcase. “Anything else I need to know?”
Frank spotted the Perry the Platypus nightgown on the top of Cassie’s suitcase and groaned. “We have to get a birthday present for Jan.”
“When’s her birthday?”
“Today. She turned fifteen.”
Cassie felt her world tilt and asked, in what she hoped was a grownup voice, “What sorts of things does she like?”
“From what I can tell, she’s a television addict when she isn’t sailing or playing tennis. Mostly YTV and Teletoon. That’s why I got her that Perry the Platypus nightgown.”
“Does she read?”
“I’m not sure. I know she liked the Twilight movies a lot.”
Cassi
e smiled then said, “You should get her some Perry the Platypus gear to replace the nightgown but I think her Aunt Cassie, which is a truly bizarre concept for me, is going to give her Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy books. I hope they have a boxed set now that the last book is out. If she liked Twilight she should enjoy those books, too.”
Frank finished putting away the last of his clean clothes and gathered up the rest to put in the laundry hamper. “If you can get Jan interested in reading, Bonnie will be absolutely thrilled.” He saw the tension in his wife’s petite frame. “You’re nervous about meeting Bonnie and Jan, aren’t you?”
Cassie nodded. “You told me Jan was fourteen and I was cool with that. I mean, it was just a story, right? I read stories all the time but now I have to meet her and she’s only two years younger than me and your sister…” Cassie put her hand to her chest and groaned before continuing to babble, “My sister-in-law, I mean, is probably old enough to be my mother. Ack, she is older than my mum, four years older…” Cassie leaned against the door frame and said, in a pained way, “Which means that Mum could be a grandmother before she’s forty even if we don’t start right away…”
Frank dumped his armload of dirty clothing into the hamper and smiled at her mention of starting a family. Gathering her close, he said, “Shush. We’re partners, remember?”
Cassie took the offered comfort and clung to him until her panic subsided. “But I still don’t know what I’m contributing, Frank.”
He took her hand. “You remind me of what is truly important in life. Before I met you my life was pretty grey and other than church and coaching I didn’t enjoy much of what I was doing. The last few months at Alawen seemed like I was digging a never ending tunnel through a mountain but now I’ve broken through to the other side and found a wonderful woman who makes me see the world with new eyes. It’s helped me to regain my perspective and I’m doing much better work and in less time. By comparison what I’ve given you is insignificant.”
Cassie tried to answer but couldn’t find the right words to say, so she lifted Frank’s hand and kissed it before snuggling into him. It wasn’t quite the declaration of love that she was hoping for but they were comforting words nonetheless. She wanted to tell him that she loved him but she wasn’t sure that it was a true feeling yet. She didn’t want to confuse gratitude or her growing physical attraction for love, so she kept silent.
Frank almost told her he loved her but he wasn’t certain that she was really ready to hear it. So far, only the Sokolovs had actually believed that it had been love at first sight.
Cassie looked up at the wall clock. She snuggled further into Frank’s solid embrace wishing that they could ignore the rest of the world, but duty called. Reluctantly she said, “Isn’t Bonnie expecting us at five?”
Frank gave Cassie a gentle squeeze before releasing her. “She is. I’ll give her a call and ask if we need to bring Jan’s presents today or if they can wait.”
Cassie wagged a finger at him. “You, at least, need to bring one today. If we need extra time to pick something up, call Bonnie to tell her we might be a few minutes late.”
“Good advice, oh wise and beautiful wife.”
Cassie furrowed her brow and said, “Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you? I’ll go get my sandals.”
Frank looked his fill at her fascinating wiggle as she crossed to the bedroom to dig into her suitcase then picked up the phone to call his sister.