What Connects Us: Jessica and Jeremy

Fragment Fifteen

Jessica jagged her fork at the suspicious prosciutto on her plate, and put it down on her uneaten dish; she knew she had to eat but her headache made her want to throw the dish at the wall in front of her. She tore at the bread with her fingers and stuffed herself with dough to fill herself for the night. She moved her eyes to the right and saw a busy Jeremy on his laptop, tapping away as he sent emails for the short time he could get using the laptop on the plane, and to the left the hostess picking up the empty plates of the passengers, who had been wolfing down on their ice cold meat and oven hot vegetables.

          "Would you like to change your dish, Ma'am?" the hostess asked with a smile, and the layers of makeup coating her face were visible underneath the bright lights of the passageway. Jessica knew it was too late to "change" her dish, and she'd only asked her because of that VIP treatment paper.

            "No thanks, I'd just like to have some coffee," Jessica replied as she massaged her forehead. A baby can be heard yelling a couple of rows behind them, which made her headache worse. She massaged her forehead again but it seemed to be doing no good. 

             Jessica unbuckled herself from the seat and stood up weakly on her legs. "Just tell her to put to coffee on the tray, please," she muttered to Jeremy. She walked a couple of steps to the bathroom that reeked of bad smells and wiped her face with cold water from the sink. She could spot dark circles underneath her eyes from the bathroom mirror, and her face was a sick shade of yellow. Her headache began to escalate as she pressured her two hands against her head, but it did not work. She sensed fresh tears drop on her flats, and she washed her face again. A knock on the door startled her as she wiped her hands with a paper towel and stuffed it into the already full disposal below the sink. 

             She unlocked and tugged on the accordion door, and the bathroom became dimmer. 

             "I'd skip the coffee and get some sleep," she heard Jeremy say as he waltzed around her to get into the bathroom. "I'm not in the mood for this, Jeremy," she said as stood by the threshold.

            He splashed his face with water and wiped it with a paper towel. "Not in the mood for what? Your face is yellow, so I suggested you get some sleep."

              "I'm used to not sleeping," she replied with a slightly harsh tone.

              "Okay, now I'm not in the mood for this," Jeremy said without leaving the bathroom.

             Jessica rolled her eyes. "So now you know what I'm talking about, huh?"

             "I thought I mentioned there was no time or place to talk about that, Ms. Keys," Jeremy's voice grew a pitch louder. Jessica turned to look at the hostesses eyeing the two of them, but they soon returned to clearing the plates and left the VIP passengers alone.

                Jessica shook her head and got into the bathroom with Jeremy and locked the door. Jeremy's eyes grew wider at her bold move, and he opened his mouth to object.

             "Ms. Keys, just open the door and leave. Are you trying to get yourself fired?" he almost yelled. The bathroom was far too small for two people, let alone one. Their bodies were forced to be so close together, and Jessica hoped he couldn't sense her hesitation about her trapping him in.

              "I'm a valuable asset, ask Charlie," she said assertively. Her headache grew stronger but it wasn't stopping her at all. 

              She sighed and looked at the floor. "I just want answers, why is that so hard to ask for?" she said a bit louder.

                "I'm leaving," Jeremy said through his teeth as he tried to sidestep her, but she stood in his way. 

                 "So that's what you usually do when you give up? You gave up on us and you left, is that the whole story?" Jessica nearly yelled as she crossed her arms.

                 A knock on the door startled the both of them, but Jeremy chose to ignore it.

               "Let me out," he said through gritted teeth as he took a step forward so their faces were alarmingly close. 

              "Give me an answer and I will," she replied as she shifted on another foot.

              "So you're threatening me?" he asked with a scoff.

              Another knock.

              He raked a hand through his hair. "The answer is no. Now unlock the door please," he said through gritted teeth again.

                "I didn't get a full answer," Jessica said.

              "You said give me an answer, and I gave you an answer now I think I deserve to go," Jeremy said.

                  "You know what I meant," Jessica said with a scoff.

               Jeremy crossed his arms, "I suggest you choose your words more wisely next time, now open the door please."

                Jessica threw her arms in the air, almost hitting the sink. "Oh and Jessica? Speak of this again and I promise you I will get you fired."

                 "You promise?" she spat. "You promised me you'd call everyday, you promised me you return after six months, you promised me a million other things so why should I believe you this time?" she said, ignoring her rising voice. 

             "That is enough!" Jeremy roared as he pushed her away from the door and unlocked it himself. He pulled on the door and pushed his way past the three very angry air hostesses and two complaining passengers. Jessica left the bathroom with a hand over her forehead and walked to the flight attendant who was engaged in arranging newspapers to distribute some hours later.

                "I'd like to change my seat now, please." 

                The young flight attendant smiled as if he'd heard a joke, but it soon subsided when he saw the stern look she carried. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe that's possible."

              She put a hand on her hip. "You don't believe or you're certain it's not possible? I need to change my seat, please." 

                "It's not possible, Ma'am," she heard a hostess behind her say as she looked Jessica up and down with disgust.

              Jessica put her hands up. "Fine, so much for VIP treatment."

            She flung the curtain open and slid down to her seat, successfully avoiding eye contact with Jeremy. She took a sip of her cold coffee and pulled out a magazine from the rack in front of her right as Jeremy pushed down the screen of his MacBook to get some sleep. Jessica wondered what he'd do if she woke him with a kiss; would it change the tension between them? Would it make him reconsider? She looked at her watch, six hours until they were to reach Arkansas. Six hours on a plane were equivalent to twelve; and first class did not help at all.

              She began flipping through the magazine, then turned on the small monitor stored inside her armrest. She watched two episodes of a supposedly comedic tv show, but it did not make her crack a smile. She turned the monitor off and took of the headphones, spotting the MacBook inside its leather case on the floor. 

           The woman bit her nails and peeked at a Jeremy, whose breathing indicated he was already in deep sleep. She stood up from her seat, careful not to wake him up, and grabbed the laptop from the floor. She threw a blanket on its empty spot in case Jeremy woke up. She got in to the bathroom and unzipped the leather case, and carefully took out the laptop, placing it on the toilet lid. She opened the screen where she was faced with hundreds of folders on his desktop, but nothing was worth grabbing her attention. She bit her nail again and pressed on the small "Mail" icon at the bottom, but everything was business related.

             She wiped her forehead and regretted taking his laptop. "What am I doing?" she said to herself. A drop of tear glided down her cheek, and she let it fall free.