Sparks - Wendy Higgins Page 0,99
I glanced at Holly, whose eyes widened a fraction. An awkward pause followed as my brain malfunctioned and I had no idea what to say. I looked back at him and he still wore that tiny grin. I tried to detect bitterness or sadness but he just seemed resolved.
“Anyway,” he said. “I need to go back to Paris and see it though sober eyes. I liked your pictures.”
“Oh, you saw them?” My heart expanded.
“Well, I heard from the girls you were there, and I was curious. Your account is completely open to the public and unprotected, by the way.”
“I leave it that way for all my stalkers,” I told him.
That made him laugh and shake his head.
“How are things with you?” I asked, dying of curiosity. “I know you took a few days off.”
“I did, yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I jumped on the first flight back to L.A. with Jacquie, packed up all of my belongings, and took the two of us to the doctor to get checked for STDs.” Holly and I froze, wide-eyed. He gave a tight grin. “We’re clean, despite her best efforts. Then I said good-bye to all of my friends. Went to a concert with them. Had dinner with my parents and brother.”
Holly made a little sound like, “Oh…” All I could do was press my lips together and watch him.
“All right then.” He put his hat on. “You ladies have a good day.”
Silas stood to leave, and I looked at Holly. We stared at each other until he was gone.
“What was that?” I asked. He’d definitely been overly formal and stiff, but he was talking to me, which was an improvement over the stranger-treatment he’d given me last time I’d seen him.
“Well,” she said slowly. “A couple things just happened. One, he was trying to be friendly again. It was awkward but at least he’s trying. And two, he made it very clear that his marriage is over.”
“Yeah.” My throat had gone dry. “And he’s clean, so that’s good.”
She choked a laugh. “Oh, my God. I almost died when he said that. He’s hardcore. But good for him.”
“He wasn’t hitting on me, right?” I asked, afraid I was losing my touch. “I didn’t get that vibe.”
Her forehead creased. “No, it seemed like he was making an effort to be strictly friendly.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “I can do that.” If Silas was making an effort to be my friend still, that was a good thing. I would take it. And until he was officially divorced, that’s how it had to stay.
It was time to get back to normal.
As our six month anniversary from Barbie Bootcamp came, us Sky Muffins graduated to non-probationary full-time Flight Attendants. Our benefits kicked in. Our pay went up a notch. And we were given set schedules instead of being on call.
With those changes came an influx of new flight attendants and pilots fresh out of training, or those who’d been transferred from other hubs, and those who left Newark to be at different venues. Our roommate Viola moved in with the guy on Long Island, and a Sky Muffin took her place in the crash pad. Macy was tall, thin, blond, and super chatty, but sweet.
The thought of trying to get to know men and go through the online dating process was not sitting well on my tongue these days, so I deleted Sparks and focused on my job and friends. We went out a lot more now that we knew for sure which days we had off.
In July I went to a spontaneous Broadway show with Willa and we walked around Times Square, laughing, flirting, and living our best lives. In August I got up at the buttcrack of dawn with Rhea, Holly, and Cheryl and we drove to Atlantic City where we laid in the sun for several hours on the beach before heading into the casinos for the night. We all did our best Jacquie impressions, dressing as hot as we possibly could and making men trip over their dicks all night. I’d never smiled so hard in all my life.
In September I kissed two men at two different bars in Hoboken on the same night. And when they asked for my number, Syd and Willa dragged my drunk behind out of the bars. Then in October I Googled Shawn Fowler. The first thing to pop up was a marriage announcement in Charlotte’s online paper. I clicked the link with my fingers against my throat.
Shawn was