We can only imagine that flight attendants see it all. From hysterical passengers to needy first-class passengers searching for a bestie to gossip with, you name it; they would most likely have encountered it.
That being said, one thing flight attendants don’t expect to encounter in the air or on the ground is their late husbands.
While there are five stages of grief, interacting with your beloved isn’t one of them.
The Bills Don’t Pay Themselves
We’ve all been there — the alarm goes off, and you would do almost anything to spend the day in bed.
Lena Garcia had a difficult start to the day, wishing that with everything within her, she could not face the world for the next 24 hours.
However, as we all know, bills must be paid, so she dug deep and found the courage to tackle the day.
As she moved through the house, their home, she tried to avoid everything that made her long for her late husband.
In Two Minds
With a coffee flask in hand, Lena began her drive to the airport. Even though she was going through the most difficult time of her life, she forced herself to appreciate her surroundings.
She knew she was blessed to live in stunning California, even if she didn’t have him by her side anymore.
As she approached the airport, she felt herself tense up. Once again, she considered calling in and asking for more time.
The airline had been so supportive of her loss that she knew they would understand. She also knew, however, that the longer she waited, the more difficult her return would become.
The Awkward Sympathy
As she walked into the employee lounge, she felt the room tense up. People became stiff and awkward before embracing her with kind words and sympathy.
She wished it would all end, and then she saw Cassandra making her way to her.
Even though Cassandra had always been cordial with her, Lena felt that the woman disliked her. That being said, Cassandra showed genuine concern for her well-being and welcomed her much more warmly than expected.
Isolated by Grief
Once Lena’s co-workers had expressed their regards, they returned to their seats and conversed with each other.
Lena felt a mixture of relief and loneliness. Exhausted already, she flung herself onto a sofa and thought about how much her life had changed in the last month.
She noticed that people spoke softly around her, probably as an act of kindness. However, she felt excluded by their actions, and she tried her best to ignore the lump in her throat and the tears that threatened to form.
Too Late to Turn Back Now
Lena felt herself standing at a crossroads and didn’t know which direction to take. On the one hand, she didn’t want to go home because the home she so happily shared with her husband reminded her too much of her loss.
She also didn’t feel ready to take to the skies just yet, and her awkwardness around her co-workers proved that.
Feeling her anxiety growing rapidly, she decided to tell Cassandra that she wasn’t ready after all, but then they announced that it was time to board.
Like Riding a Bicycle
Once Lena was on the airplane, her flight assistant instincts took over once again, and she was relieved to be busy after all this time.
Cassandra had placed her on duties that wouldn’t include greeting the passengers.
While she was grateful that she didn’t need to interact with the passengers, she wasn’t sure whether Cassandra had decided this as an act of kindness.
Regardless, she was happy to avoid communicating with people as much as possible.
A Friend in Need
Naturally, there will always be unpleasant passengers on a flight. However, these passengers seemed highly difficult.
Lena felt herself tense up when she felt a hand on her arm, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was her close friend Amelia.
After embracing, Amelia told Lena that she had specifically changed her schedule so that she could be there for Lena’s first flight back after her loss.
Lena felt that the world wasn’t as dark and grim now that she had a true friend by her side.
Prepare for Take-Off
Even though Lena was delighted to have Amelia by her side, she felt a pang of fear and anxiety rush through her when the pilot, Ralph Stanwick, announced that they had to prepare for take-off.
Lena reminded herself that it would only be three hours before she felt land under her feet again and that she could do it.
She had always prided herself on her calm demeanor while in the air.
Broken Pieces
Puzzled by her fear, she reminded herself that she had taken this job to explore the world, meet new people, and challenge herself.
Even though she knew that she wasn’t the same woman she was before her husband died, she still had it in her.
Since her husband’s death, she felt like a broken version of herself. Her emotions, dreams, and goals were all broken pieces of the remarkable woman she used to be.
Perhaps her confidence in the air was broken, too.
Leaving it All Behind
Suddenly, Lena was desperate to go back home. She longed to be surrounded by everything that belonged to the man she had loved so deeply.
She felt scared to leave the home she had shared with him behind.
Amelia and Cassandra called her name and asked if she was alright. She told them that she was. Amelia seemed satisfied with her response, but Cassandra seemed unconvinced.
Lena didn’t care what Cassandra thought; she just needed to get through this flight.
