Chapter One
Aieda Caruso tapped her foot impatiently as she sat on the hard plastic seats in the waiting area at the loading gate in Atlanta. This was her second layover, and she still had a direct flight from here to Lima Peru. What was Angela thinking? At least there were only six people attending the wedding. There had to be a direct flight from Boston to Lima, but no. Not on this weekend. What a way to spend the only four days off she’d had in a row in over a year.
But it was Angela’s wedding and her fiancé worked overtime for months to afford their dream honeymoon. She shook her head. Not for her. Give her the beach every time. She lifted her wrist for the umpteenth time to look at her watch, thinking it had to be closer to flight time, and only five minutes had passed.
Yona Chuculate and Angela Blakeley flew down to Lima to acclimatize. They’d been hiking into the higher elevations for almost three weeks already. Happy messages and videos posted to Angela’s YouTube channel showed funny excerpts from stunning walks into high mountain valleys. Promises of a wedding video on the beach in Lima spiked her subscription rate. Of course, it didn’t hurt when her best friend finished each vlog with pictures of her hunky husband to be, splashing in the waves.
She sighed and looked around for a power outlet. If she wanted to keep watching the rest of Angela’s adventures, then she needed charge her phone. Which reminded her, roaming plan. Dammit. She dialed 611. Unlimited texts and long distance inside the US wouldn’t be enough. Why hadn’t she remembered to do it last night like she promised herself?
Right. A complicated case in the ER. She’d been sent down to take a history for the surgeon on call. The patient had lost almost twenty pounds with flu like symptoms for the best part of a month. He presented with fever, uncontrollable vomiting, and abdominal pain. Generalized abdominal pain.
She reported same to the surgeon, and they sent him for a CAT scan, and it came back inconclusive. She wondered what the problem was, but her superior sent her away with a smile. You can find out what it was when you get back. She fled straight to the airport, leaving her dirty scrubs in the surgeons change room. One year down, three to go. General abdominal surgery was the most fascinating field. No two people were exactly the same.
Spotting an outlet across the waiting area, she grabbed her carry on bag, and walked over to plug in. More people were invading the space and she could make out smatterings of the conversations. Fluent in Spanish, she giggled at the travelers heading home and pulled her mask out of her bag. With more and more travelers arriving, she knew her time to charge was short. Thank God she would get more than half of her full capacity back in just a few minutes.
A curvy woman yanked her carry on behind her. One of the wheels wobbled sideways and she huffed. Exasperated, she slammed the handle down and picked it up to carry. Her midnight black hair streamed down her back in a thick straight curtain, hiding everything except a well toned butt. Aieda licked her lips subconsciously. The woman was gorgeous, and she felt her belly heat. The unfamiliar tug, a welcome surprise, she wondered if she would be seated anywhere close to her. She was traveling business class, just a little more room for her long legs.
As they began boarding, she waited. Her seat was reserved and every extra minute on the charge was valuable for her phone battery life. As the last of the passengers showed their boarding passes, the attendant looked over.
Aieda grabbed her charger and the cable, stuffing them into her hoodie. She found her boarding pass on her phone, flashed it and went down the walkway to the jumbo jet. Maybe a bit of cold white wine would do the trick and let her rest for a few hours. It would be warm in Lima, unlike the chilly spring in Minnesota.
After checking with the flight attendant, she found her way to the business class seats. At least she had the window seat, and only one other seat between her and the aisle. She stuffed her carry on under the seat, hoping she was lucky enough to be alone. It didn’t look like the flight was over booked like the two before this one. This was the last row before the bulkhead between business and economy, so no one behind her either.
She settled into the seat, finding it quite comfortable, and leaned back to check how much recline she had. At least she might be able to catch up on some sleep. Flight time was six and half hours, with an arrival at four in the afternoon. No jet lag. Peru didn’t use daylight saving time. Relaxing with a few deep breathing exercises, and a light hum in her throat as she had learned in her yoga class, she felt the tension of the day drain.
“Sorry, to bother you, but we had to move a passenger. There’s a family in economy and we wanted their children together.”
The flight attendant’s voice brought her back to the present, away from her imaginary beach. Aieda looked up into a pair of the most dazzling hazel eyes she’d ever seen. Milk chocolate brown with spears of emerald green, the irises shifted like a kaleidoscope. The woman smiled, and her pale gold skin flushed under her intense scrutiny.
“No problem,” Aieda’s voice almost failed her. “Sorry for staring, but I’ve never seen such gorgeous eyes.”
“And I’ve never seen such long legs. Must be a pain when you’re traveling.” The woman pulled her long hair forward over her shoulder before slipping into the seat next to her.
Aieda’s center tingled. This was the one who caught her attention. “What happened to your carry on case?”
“Stupid. I forgot to get a new one. This one was damaged on my last flight between Japan and home. I’m back except for this quick trip to Peru to take care of a family obligation.”
“I saw you fighting with it when you came into the waiting area. I’ve been there.” Aieda sympathized.
“Now all I want is a glass of wine, and a smooth flight. I’ve had enough turbulence to last me a lifetime.” The petite woman bent at her waist, her breasts flattening against her thighs, as she slid her offending luggage under the seat.
They heard an announcement asking passengers to find their seats and stow their belongings. Then the safety briefing began, and Aieda ignored it as she found the charging plug in in the armrest of her seat. Thank God. This must be one of the new jets. She scanned her cell phone for messages and email before putting it into aircraft mode, then tucked it into the pouch dangling from the leather thongs around her neck. She never wore a bra, her breasts tiny, and her nipples well used to the texture of nubby cotton scrubs.
She giggled to herself. Yona’s joking comments about pirate’s treasure when it came to her boobs were actually clever compared to the pitying stares she learned to ignore.
“What’s the joke?” Her seatmate ask her own lips twitching in response to her smothered laughter.
“Hmmm? Oh, a private joke. I’ve got next to no boobs. My BFF’s fiancé used to tease me about having a sunken chest. ‘You know,’ he used to say, ‘pirate’s treasure?’ It makes me giggle now.”
“You’re lucky. No expensive bras to buy. You have no idea.”
“Oh, man, I do. Angela, the BFF, has her problems there. I’ve got her custom made bra in my luggage. She’s getting married on the beach in Lima, day after tomorrow.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We are about to push back from the gate.”
The seat belt sign flickered on, along with the no smoking warning. They buckled in and she returned her seat to the upright position. Maybe this flight wouldn’t be a boring, lonely chore.
