Chapter 7: The Sleeper (Arnie)
It isn’t often that Arnie finds himself afraid to fly. He flies all the time as flight attendant. But after last week’s turbulent flight and rocky landing, he found himself nervous. Fiddling with his tie as he attempted to get ready for work in the morning, his wife asked him if he was okay. “I am okay,” he said, flatly, not wanting to get into the details of it right before he had to leave.
He tucked his carry-on away neatly, like he does when he boards the plane every day he works, and takes a sip of cold water. It soothes him for a blissful moment before his nerves return to him. His partner on the flight is a young girl named Camila. She reminded him of his wife at home and therefore he took a liking to her. He found safety in her because of this, too.
“Cami, I’m glad to see you,” he told her as she was tucking her bag away in the overhead compartment. Her blazer lifted, exposing her midriff. He looked but made sure to look away quickly so that she would not see.