Chapter 4
I smiled bitterly – he hadn’t even given me the chance to end things face to face.
The next morning, I took my luggage straight to the airport instead of the registry.
By noon, Thaddeus hadn’t even called to ask why I hadn’t shown up.
Just before boarding, I finally received a message from him: “Sorry, Scarlett wasn’t feeling well. I just took her to the hospital. Missed today’s registration. When you return from this flight, I’ll take you to register first thing.”
Reading this, I felt nothing. As expected, he’d missed our eighteenth registration attempt.
“Don’t bother, Thaddeus. I’ve resigned and I’m flying to Paris. After today, we won’t see each other again.”
I sent this final message and was about to turn off my phone.
But suddenly, the chat window that had been quiet for so long exploded with notifications.
The cabin announcement repeatedly reminded passengers about imminent takeoff.
I ignored the vibrating phone, deleted Thaddeus’s contact, and powered off my device. From this
moment on, Thaddeus and I had no connection.
At the hospital, Thaddeus frantically responded to my message, only to be met with a red exclamation mark. He kept calling repeatedly.
“The number you have dialed is currently switched off.” “The number you have dialed is currently
switched off…”
Despite the automated message, he kept desperately pressing the screen, calling again and again.
“Impossible… this can’t be happening.” “Everything was fine yesterday. I told her we’d register our
marriage…”
He stood there dazed for several minutes before rushing out of the hospital and driving to the airport.
“Manager Davidson, wasn’t Claire supposed to be on duty today? What’s this about her resigning and going to Paris? What’s happening?”
Unspoken Farewell at 30 000 Feet
2.1%
In the flight attendant center, he grabbed my supervisor’s hand desperately.
The manager looked at him puzzled. “Didn’t Claire tell you? She resigned after your celebration banquet two days ago. I asked if you knew, and she said she’d tell you that evening.”
These words hit Thaddeus like lightning. He suddenly remembered – he hadn’t come home that night.
Yesterday noon, he’d only returned briefly to grab the gift before rushing out. Even last night, he’d
left just minutes after coming home when Scarlett called.
In these two days, he hadn’t given me any time to talk. In these two days, he’d been constantly by
Scarlett’s side.
raving the flight center, Thaddeus sat motionless at the airport for three hours. During these hours, looking at every corner of the airport, memories flooded back.
Eight years ago, we first met at the security checkpoint. It was my first transition from ground crew to flight crew. I was so excited I hadn’t slept, looking somewhat disheveled, even dropping my work ID at security.
He picked up my ID, preventing what could have been a serious mistake. That’s how we learned
each other’s names.
After that, he often invited me to late–night airport meals after flights. Once, twice… We went from strangers to lovers.
During this time, we explored every corner of this airport together. Even more fortunately, we were assigned to the same route – every aviation couple’s dream.
Flying domestic routes together, international flights together, leaving our footprints across the world. We became the airline’s golden couple that everyone envied.
Five years after falling in love, we held our wedding at this very airport.
Many colleagues wondered if we would have stayed in love for another five years, or even fifteen, if Scarlett hadn’t appeared.
But I knew – if not Scarlett, it would have been someone else. Love or its absence often isn’t about
others, but about oneself.
Three hours later, as dusk approached, Thaddeus drove home. Entering, he went to hang his coat as usual, noticing again the mark where our photo had hung. His eyes fell on the nearby trash can.
Unspok
