Born Twice
By Alyssa Plant

Chapter two

“May I see your boarding pass please ma'am?” The smiling stewardess behind the little desk beamed.

Becca just grimaced back, handing over the pass feeling entirely rotten. This was some new start. Shouldn’t she be happy? Excited?

There was a pang of uncertainty in her heart, a good one, she admitted, but it was overshadowed by the loss of her parents. It had been that way for months she knew, years even, but hearing and experiencing the end didn’t make that any easier.

“Have a lovely flight and thank you for flying American” The hostess chattered, still with the superglue smile on her face

Becca walked up the boarding ramp; this would be her last footfalls on British soil for some years she admitted. Although technically she hadn’t been touching the ground for the last hour or two… Seeing the aircraft lightened her heart. This was her chariot, her vessel to another world. A spaceship taking her to an alien world, where nobody knew Charlie, where the past was just that. This wasn’t the end, this was a new beginning.

Once aboard the aircraft, she followed the other passengers to her seat, ‘was F isle or window?’ She mused. Becca had a thing for flying, even if she couldn’t see where she was going, the twinkling lights, and passing clouds still made her feel good. To her pleasure, she found that her seat was indeed a window seat, and there was a tall dark haired man sat in the isle. Excusing herself, she moved past him and took her seat. The man seemed engrossed in a newspaper, ‘The Washington Post’ Obviously an American going home she thought.

The cabin crew performed the pre-flight briefing with all the associated arm waving and superglue smiles of practiced Stewards and Stewardesses. Like most passengers, she ignored them, choosing instead to watch the airfield outside as the plane taxied to the runway. This was it, her break… turning back to the world inside the jet, she adjusted her seatbelt and stared directly forwards as the aircraft began to roll forwards. She sighed as the aircraft became airborne, visibly relaxing. She was free.

The man looked across at her; “So who are you running from?”

Becca almost jumped out of her seat, was she that easy to read? Had her nerves been that obvious?

“I um, err, nobody, just, moving, to start work.” She looked across at the man. “You’re an American aren’t you?”

“Good guess, I’m Tony, you are?”

His smile was intoxicating, she felt instantly at ease,

“Um, Becca, I mean, Rebecca, uh, Rebecca Anderson” she stammered.

Still smiling, Tony spoke; “So let me guess, your running away to America to start a new life, because….” He looked deeply and theatrically thoughtful “You got pregnant, and had a fight with your parents, and chose to emigrate after having an emergency abortion on the way to the airport?”

Feeling ever so slightly remorseful that that could never be the case, “I, erm, your half right, I had a fight with my parents, and I just graduated from university today, and I’m moving to begin my life, on my terms, why were you in England?” attempting to divert his attentions.

“I’m always right, so if it wasn’t pregnancy, a bad boy lover? Or you’re really a man, who had a sex change to hide from the law, and you’re fleeing the country post haste?”

She felt a stab of fear shoot through her heart

“Well let me tell you, if you were, I'd feel honoured to tell you that I’ve never met a cuter escaped convict”

Feeling slightly cross and relived she bantered back considering calling his bluff the best way around such a sticky topic, “Well you got me, my name was Fred, and as I’m a guy, I like girls, so you’re out of luck Mr Tony, My parents and I fought because I’m a lesbian” she said smirking, attempting to suppress a giggle.

“I’ve not met one lesbian in my 28 years, that gave me the eyes like you’ve been doing so I don’t buy you’re story Fred, or shall we just stick to Rebecca?”

She felt herself going bright red, was it possible for the human ears to steam? She felt as though she was doing a damn good job of it. Tony had this cat got the crá¨me grin on his face, ear to ear of white straight teeth, an American smile…

“You know” he smiled, “This is one of those movie things, guy meets girl, nature forces them together on a airliner for 5-6 hours, all we need now is turbulence, an you to tell me your afraid of flying…”

He hadn’t bought her story, any of them, and he seem to have dropped it, she shot him a short coy smile,
“Oh, dear, sorry, I’m going to have to deviate from the plot Mr Director, I’m just fine with flying and the more turbulence the better.” She giggled.

Slipping her headphones into her ears she thumbed through her ipod for something obnoxiously violent. She liked the guy, but that’s just what this was, he was right, one of those airplane things. She would probably never see him again after they got off the plane, their lives would fork, and never return. Meeting the right guy wasn’t this easy. She began to dose off, it had been an eventful day, and she was beginning to nod off. Sleep finally came and Becca slipped into a dream world free, and serene.

Becca woke slowly, she had been dreaming of her childhood again. How it could have been. The first thing that she noticed in her groggy near waking state, was that she wasn’t sat up, or leaning on the fuselage. It was soft, and warm, and breathing….

She sat bolt upright in her seat, and looked at where she had been lying. Nestled into the side of Tony’s chest, the owner of which was wide awake... She expected him to be uncomfortable, but he had a warm smile on his face, not the Cheshire cat grin from before, but a friendly smile. Feeling herself turn red she started to jabber about how sorry she was, and how she hoped he wasn’t offended.

He hushed her to silence; “You know, as payment for using me as a pillow, you can accompany me to dinner when we get out of this tin can.”

“But I never told you where I was going to be living?” Becca replied cautiously.

“Well we’re flying into Dulles International, and we both have connections to Norfolk, so the chances of you being in the Norfolk/Portsmouth area are high. Also, I saw the top of the printed map in your carryon, with directions to an apartment Portsmouth…”

Tony pretended to suck on a pipe, and after puffing away symbolically, he announced in a rather good parody of Basil Rathbone; “So my deductions are, that not only am I right, but you will accept my gracious offer, and agree to my escort.”

That grin was back; that big toothy cheesy grin that seemed to sum him up. Becca was quite surprised at how easily he had worked it all out. He was funny, smart, good looking, and judging by his Armani shirt, wasn’t living in poverty. Should she give him a chance? Was it right to make a friend or possible ex this soon? Did she want to start dating already?.

Pushing that to the back of her mind, she smiled back, and looking into his laughing eyes, almost whispered; “Id like that Mr Holmes.”