What Connects Us: Jessica and Jeremy

Fragment Sixteen

 The hostess moved along the passage way like a matron, inspecting the tightness of every buckled seatbelt, making sure each television set and table is perfectly stored away, and that every chair is fixed up straight for landing. 

           The call button on top of Jeremy was crystal red, and the appalled hostess dragged herself up to the VIP sitting at the very front of the plane. 

           "How may I help you, Sir?" she said with a sour tone coated with a smile. 

           "We have a train to catch after an hour of landing. I'd like to request an early leave for the two of us, please," he said, pulling out the VIP treatment paper from his briefcase. The woman smiled again.

            "I doubt it would be possible, but we'll try to make it happen, Sir."

           Jeremy faked a smile back. "It's Mr. Finley. You know, Finley Enterprise?" Jessica rolled her eyes.

            "Yes, Mr. Finley," the hostess said again as her eyes grew alarmingly. 

            "Where's the train taking us? I thought we were staying in Little Rock for the day," Jessica asked him, breaking their five hour silence between the two.

            "We won't be doing business in Little Rock, Ms. Keys. If you had read up, Jameson Corporations is located in Clarksville, which is also where the Inn we'll be staying at is located," he  reminded her.

            "I knew where the Inn is located, Mr. Finley," she defended. "I just thought that we'll be doing business in Little Rock first before going to the Inn. That's all." 

          The voice of the captain ended the conversation as he announced for the crew to take their positions for landing. Jessica wanted desperately to look out the window, but Jeremy next to it made her instantly uncomfortable. She could, however get a couple of peeks. The greenery, which was almost foreign to her, made her heart race. She'd wanted a change from the cityscape life, where she was constantly reminded she was just an individual in a world filled with other, insignificant individuals, crossing out her uniqueness and putting herself in the category of standardization.

             The last minute turns of the plane made her feel queasy as she took in some silent in and out breaths, hoping not to put the man right next to her in complete uneasiness. She prayed they would land any time now, him sitting next to her made the queasiness intensify, but she was too embarrassed to pull out the paper bag in front of her. 

           The plane made its final dip, as it shot to the ground with accelerating velocity. Jessica pressed on the armrest and closed her eyes, trying to breathe in and out without seeming nervous about it. The plane was still plummeting down, and Jessica looked out the window to see at which altitude they were. Her senses eased as she saw cars on the streets, and even though they were just tiny specks, it was more than enough to convince her they would be landing shortly.

               "Ms. Keys?" she could hear him say as she looked out of the window.

               "Yes?" she said, when the queasiness in her stomach drastically alleviated. 

             "Could you take your hand away? I'm going to need to talk to the crew as soon as we land," he said, looking at his hand on the armrest that Jessica had subconsciously trapped. Her eyes widened and her lips parted in realization. She retracted her hand almost immediately and pinched her thigh as self-punishment for her absent-minded behavior. 

          They could hear the people at the other end of the plane cheer the captain for his smooth landing, and as soon as they landed Jeremy unbuckled his seatbelt, grabbed his satchel from the floor, and got up from his seat, despite instructions to stay seated until the plane came to a complete stop.