Fireflies Read online

  Fireflies

  Lise Gold

  Copyright © 2018 by Lise Gold Books

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Fireflies is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Cyan Air is a fictional airline. Its policies and workings are a combination of those of several researched existing airlines.

  All addiction related advice given in this novel is fictional, relating to the protagonists within the context of their situations. It is not intended to be a substitute for the medical advice of licensed physicians or mental health professionals.

  To Karen,

  My pen pal :)

  Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

  Lao Tzu

  Contents

  1. London, UK

  2. London, UK

  3. London, UK

  4. London, UK

  5. London, UK to Dubai, UAE

  6. London, UK to Dubai, UAE

  7. Dubai, UAE

  8. Dubai, UAE

  9. Dubai, UAE

  10. Dubai, UAE

  11. Dubai, UAE

  12. Cambridge, UK

  13. Islamabad, Pakistan

  14. London, UK to New York, USA

  15. New York, USA

  16. New York, USA

  17. New York, USA

  18. New York, USA

  19. New York, USA

  20. New York, USA

  21. New York, USA

  22. New York, USA

  23. New York, USA

  24. New York, USA

  25. London, UK

  26. London, UK

  27. London, UK

  28. London, UK to Abu Dhabi, UAE

  29. Abu Dhabi, UAE

  30. Abu Dhabi, UAE

  31. London, UK

  32. London, UK to Dubai, UAE

  33. Dubai, UAE

  34. Dubai, UAE

  35. Dubai, UAE

  36. Dubai, UAE

  37. London, UK

  38. Cambridge, UK

  39. London, UK

  40. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  41. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  42. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  43. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to London, UK

  44. Cambridge, UK

  45. Cambridge, UK to London, UK

  46. London, UK

  47. London, UK

  48. London, UK

  49. London, UK

  50. Tunis, Tunisia

  51. London, UK

  52. London, UK

  53. London, UK

  54. London, UK

  55. New York, USA

  56. New York, USA

  57. New York, USA

  58. London, UK

  59. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  60. Cambridge, UK

  61. London, UK

  62. London, UK

  63. Grazeley, UK

  Epilogue –Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Lise Gold

  1

  London, UK

  A film of condensed steam settled on the glass divider of the shower when Mia turned on the hot tap in her small bathroom. She stepped into the tub and scrubbed herself with a sponge, making sure to keep her head away from the running water so her hair wouldn’t get wet. The extra half hour in bed had left her little time for a coffee and a blow-dry before she headed to the airport. Mia consciously checked her mood; she felt restless today. Nothing new there. Staying home for longer than a day never did her any good, and she was looking forward to the flight and seeing some of her favourite colleagues again after three very long days at home. But she’d made it through her weekend by reorganizing her walk-in closet, playing with the neighbours’ cat, who kept on letting himself in through her balcony door, studying for her ‘Arabic for beginners’ course, and by doing a bit of food shopping. It was hard to sleep at night when she wasn’t exhausted, and last night had been no different, with only a meagre four hours of rest. Today was a new day though, and every morning felt like a small victory, especially now that she was over the eight-month mark of sobriety.

  “You’re doing well, Mia,” she mumbled to herself. Relieved at the prospect of going back to work, she raised her index finger against the steamed-up glass and wrote: ‘Day 248’.

  “Hurry up, Mia. We’re five minutes behind.”

  Mia collected her paperwork, grabbed her case and followed her colleague towards cabin crew security at Heathrow Airport.

  “Relax, Lynn. We’ve got plenty of time.” She handed Lynn her clipboard. Over the course of thirteen years, Mia had done this thousands of times before and she knew exactly how long it would take to get to the briefing room. She unzipped her case, took her laptop out and put it in a tray, next to her liquids, before greeting her colleagues at the security gate. “Besides, I’m the one in charge so no one’s going to lock the door on us.”

  Lynn sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. Thank God for that.” She giggled. “It’s never a bad thing to be friends with your boss.”

  “I guess it isn’t.” Mia quickly scrolled through her phone, checking for her cabin crew members’ birthdays, before she tossed it in the tray with her laptop. There were none today, so she wouldn’t have to congratulate anyone in the briefing. “Who’s the new captain? Do you know him?”

  Lynn glanced over the time-sheet and frowned. “Captain Alfarsi. Never heard of him. You?”

  “No,” Mia said absent-mindedly. “I’ve never flown with him before.” She had more important things to think about than the captain. “I’m glad we’ll have some time in Dubai. At least I’ll be able to fit in a trip to the hairdresser.” She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes for a brief moment, slightly worried about the growing headache just before a long-haul flight. “I couldn’t get out of bed this morning, so I haven’t even washed my hair and it’s getting too long to handle without conditioner now.”

  “You can fit in six hairdressing appointments tomorrow if you want,” Lynn replied cheerfully. “We’re not flying back until after midnight.” She held up a finger. “But just so you know, I’m not coming with you this time. Getting up at the crack of dawn this morning wasn’t easy for me either, and I’m seriously looking forward to a lie-in.” She adjusted her navy hat over her flaming red hair, making sure it balanced just a little to the left.

  “Oh yeah? Heavy weekend?” Mia gave her favourite colleague a wry smile.

  “Kind of.” Lynn took out her laptop too and put it in a tray before placing the clipboard and her handbag in another. “Hey, you should come out with us next week. We’ve got a three night lay-over in New York and we’re planning a big one.” She made a drinking gesture and laughed.

  “Going out isn’t my thing, as you well know.” Mia raised both arms as she walked through the body scanner. She picked up her belongings on the other side and zipped up her case. “In fact, it’s probably my worst nightmare. I prefer to curl up with a good book and wake up fresh.”

  “Oh, come on. You always say that.” Lynn lowered her arms and straightened her jacket as she joined Mia on the other side of the security gate. “I’m not going to keep asking you forever.”

  “No need to.” Mia helped Lynn gather her things and led the way towards the staff quarters. “I’m not really a drinker.”

  “Boring.” Lynn rolled her eyes. “You’r
e my favourite colleague and I can’t even get drunk with you.” She lowered her voice as they approached the briefing room. “Besides, you’ll never get laid if you don’t go out and meet new people.”

  Mia chuckled. “I’m quite happy by myself, thank you,” she said, keeping her voice down. “And even if I wanted to meet someone, there are plenty of apps for that nowadays.” She turned to Lynn with a sarcastic smile. “But so far, women have been nothing but trouble for me, so I think I might be better off alone.” She swiped her card to open briefing room twenty-eight and walked to the front of the room before addressing the group of cabin crew members waiting for her.

  “Hi everyone, sorry we’re a little late. My name is Mia Donoghue and I’m the Sr. Purser today, in charge of cabin crew and passengers for flight number CY3044 to Dubai.” She gave them a smile and a wave. “I know most of you already know myself and each other, but we have a couple of new faces here, so it would be nice if we could all introduce ourselves first.”

  The thirteen cabin crew members, including Lynn, called out their names and positions, one at a time. Mia knew most of them quite well by now, but the airline’s recent expansion to three new destinations had meant that there were usually one or two new crew members she hadn’t met before. After the introductions, she passed on and discussed information regarding the flight, the passenger list, special diets or allergies, VIP passengers and disgruntled or risk-list passengers. Then she distributed the workload and the tasks to the cabin crew members and spent fifteen minutes discussing safety and first aid scenarios, testing them on their knowledge.

  “Okay, is everything clear? Are there any questions?” she asked, after all topics had been discussed. “Nothing?” She looked around the room. “Excellent, we’ve got a little bit of time left, so help yourselves to a coffee before we board.”

  2

  London, UK

  Ava made her way to her assigned crew room for the tech crew briefing with her two senior officers. Only three weeks into her new job, she still had to get used to being in charge. Although she liked being number one, having men reporting into her, who were often much older, could be challenging. She took a deep breath as she gave herself an internal pep-talk. You’ve got this, Ava. Isn’t this what you thrive on? Being in control?

  “Morning, Captain,” her first officer Jack Weldon, said. Jack and her second officer Frank Fletcher-Hunt were already sitting at the table, both sipping coffee from takeaway cups. She felt a stir of unease as she walked up to the two men who, judging from the expression on their faces, had just been talking about her. She’d already flown with Jack and knew he wasn’t going to cause any problems for now. He considered himself too funny and good-looking to feel threatened by a woman, and his borderline offensive jokes were harmless. Frank was more reserved. He looked like he was in his late-forties, which was older than usual for a second officer. His physique was skinny, his eyes hollow and tired, and his combed back dark hair was just starting to turn grey.

  “Hi Jack, nice to be flying with you again. And Frank, great to meet you. I’m Captain Ava Alfarsi. Please call me Ava.” She shook their hands before glancing at her watch. “Am I late?”

  “Nope.” Jack shook his head. “We’re just early. Frank’s missus dropped us off. She works here, at the airport.”

  “Oh yeah? What does she do?” Ava asked.

  “Ground control.” Frank’s answer was short, as if he had no intention of making small talk with her.

  Ava pretended she hadn’t noticed. It would get better, she knew it would. Jack had already loosened up around her, and so would Frank, eventually. “Okay, great. I’ll have time to get myself one of those, then,” she said, pointing to their coffee cups. She walked over to the coffee machine, made herself an espresso and winced when she took a sip. The watery substance tasted nothing like espresso. “What the hell is this?”

  “Yeah, about that...” Frank said, pointing at her cup. “Someone should have warned you about that machine. I haven’t been near it in years.” He held up his own artisan coffee, which smelled delicious, his eyes narrowing as he curiously observed Ava.

  Ava had seen that look many times in the past weeks. They all thought she was too young for the job when they first met her. Her age, her looks, and the fact that she was a woman, didn’t help gain respect from the people she flew with. Their first reaction was always to look her up and down in surprise, as if they’d expected her to be on the cover of some Middle-Eastern fashion magazine rather than in the cockpit. It wasn’t right, but it was something she would have to get used to.

  “Alright, let’s get to it then,” she said as she sat down, pushing her coffee cup away. “Dubai.”

  “Yep.” Jack grinned. “Dubai is good. We always stay at the same hotel as the cabin crew when we’re there.”

  Frank chuckled too, but he didn’t say anything.

  “Okay.” Ava arched an eyebrow, ignoring the sexual implication of Jack’s comment. “That’s great. It will give me the opportunity to get to know some of them.” She knew it wasn’t common for captains to know all crew members personally, but she’d always preferred getting to know the people she flew with. It was nice to have the option to spend time with people other than her tech crew, who, in her experience, often had no interest in mingling with the cabin crew unless they thought they might get laid, which was clearly the case with Jack. She opened her leather binder containing the flight file, and turned towards her colleagues.

  “I assume you two know each other, considering you’re carpooling?” Both men nodded. “Okay. So, we can skip the formalities. Frank, we haven’t flown together before. As I said, feel free to call me Ava. If we’re out there and either of you notice something unusual, confusing, or something that seems incorrect, please bring it to my attention straight away so we can handle the situation. If you disagree with any of my decisions or actions, let me know immediately. Is that clear?”

  “All clear,” Jack said.

  “Clear.” Frank nodded.

  “Great.” Ava gave them both a nod. “Jack, are you okay to do take-off? I’ll do the landing.” She knew Jack was eager to step up, just like she had been when she was in his shoes.

  “Absolutely,” Jack said, trying to hide his excitement.

  “Alright. You’ll be doing take-off then.” She made notes on the front page of the logbook as they went through their breaks schedules and divided the tasks they would perform during the flight. “Frank, can you please update us on the weather?”

  “I sure can, Captain.” Frank handed them both a printout and gave them an update on the weather forecast, which included the estimated wind speed and directions for each anticipated runway. They reviewed their route and discussed alternate routes in case of adverse weather conditions. Then they went through the aircraft performance, assessed its weight and balance, checking for any last-minute changes before deciding on how much fuel to take. Ava could tell both officers had flown the route before. They were confident in their answers and seemed relaxed about their upcoming flight.

  Ava flipped a page and talked them through several company messages in the trip report. There was one wheelchair passenger and two babies, both in economy. “We also have five stand-by passengers on the list,” she said. “I’m happy to take them all, if you are.” Although she had the final say, she involved her officers in all the decision-making in the hope of establishing a good working relationship. So far, her efforts seemed to be appreciated, and she noticed that Frank’s attitude towards her was slowly thawing. Good. Maybe I’m getting somewhere with this one.

  3

  London, UK

  “So, to continue our dating conversation,” Lynn said as they made their way on to the aircraft, “have you ever considered going out with a man again?” She gave Mia a playful nudge. “I can most definitely recommend it. Last week I went out with a first officer from Falcon Air and he spent all night…”

  “Gross. Spare me the details,” Mia interrupted her. Sh
e held up a hand and grimaced as they entered the A380, greeting the cleaning crew, who were just about to leave. “I don’t want to hear anything about your sex life, Lynn. It’s disturbing. And as far as men are concerned, that chapter in my life closed a long time ago. Sixteen years ago, to be precise.” She looked around the spacious aircraft and waved at one of the pilots she’d flown with many times before. “Hey Jack. You okay?”

  Jack gave her a nod as he typed in the code to open the cockpit door. “All good,” he said. “Just waiting for the new captain. She had to use the ladies room.” Jack articulated the word ladies with a grin.

  “Are you saying Captain Alfarsi is a woman?” Mia asked. Then she shook her head. “Who cares? Good for her. And you should take it easy on the sarcasm, Jack. She’s your boss, which means she’s a better pilot than you are.” Mia threw him a bottle of water and opened one for herself as she followed Lynn throughout the aircraft, checking the fire extinguishers, the first-aid box contents, the portable oxygen units and the crew rest area. Everything was fine, but then it usually was. She was glad to finally work for a quality airline. Mia had landed herself the job of senior purser just over a year ago, which meant that she now only worked in first class during most flights, taking care of her staff and the VIP passengers. With only twelve to twenty pax max, and therefore fewer call bells, it was a delight compared to the overfull economy cabins, filled with crying children and demanding passengers, who were, of course, always right. Besides the standard qualifications required for cabin crew, she’d been through a rigid training programme, including management training, paediatric and emergency first aid, fire marshal training, a wine course, a barista course, silver service training, etiquette training, and even a course on how to style her hair and apply her make-up in a certain way. The latter, she didn’t care for normally, but the standards of first class demanded that all cabin crew looked pristine and fresh-faced at all times.