Flying Too Close to the Sun, George Jehn [freda ebook reader txt] 📗

that heated night flashed through her mind, when months of dating culminated in something she had never before experienced, but which she loved because she naïvely believed her boyfriend also loved her. Laurel’s eyes were her eyes but with a lifetime of stories behind them, accounts that would take weeks or months to share. But rather than joy Christina felt sadness at how much she had missed. Laurel appeared content, making her unsure if Mimi had told her why they were meeting. Christina nervously walked over to them and extended her hand.

“Hi, Mimi, it’s good to see you again” she said while shaking hands.

“Hi, Ms. Shepard” Mimi replied with a forced smile. “I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Laurel.” Mimi’s use of the term my daughter didn’t go unnoticed. So much for Laurel being informed of the reason for this gathering

“Hi, Laurel,” Christina said while smiling and shaking hands, but really wanting to hug her. But that thought was only a mere whisper in her head, at least for now. “Please, call me Christina.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Christina,” a smiling but obviously perplexed Laurel replied in a diffident tone.

Did she notice their close resemblance?

Mimi continued. “There’s a restaurant here in the terminal called the Outer Marker. We can lunch there.”

“That’s fine,” Christina replied with a smile, wondering if Mimi intended to join them. Once at the restaurant Mimi awkwardly stated she just remembered an important call she had to make and would return shortly; a not-too-graceful exit. “Order lunch and I’ll join you later.”

It was just the two of them and Christina felt like a teenager on her first date. The hostess led them to a table overlooking the planes landing on runway Three Zero Right. After ordering two club sandwiches, Christina knew the time had finally arrived. “You know why we’re meeting?” she asked, somehow summoning up the needed courage.

“Mom mentioned you wanted to meet, but didn’t say why.”

Christina took a deep breath. “I wanted to get together because I have something very important to impart, information that might—” to hell with the dancing. “You’re my daughter,” she blurted out.

A bewildered Laurel looked at her with disbelief written on her face, shaking her head from side to side.

Christina nodded her head up and down in response. “It was over nineteen years ago when I gave birth to you. My childhood and adolescence were fashioned by the perception that I was unloved, meaning I craved affection and searched for what I believed was love, but wasn’t.” The memory of the softness of the night when she was such easy prey crept back from her brain, but she forced it out. There wasn’t any room right now. “When I learned I was pregnant, I confided in my mother. She was divorced and we discussed the consequences of keeping you at length and ultimately came to the gut-wrenching decision I had to offer you for adoption. I’ve had to make some tough choices in my life, but nothing else came close to that one. I couldn’t sleep for weeks and to make things even worse, your father was killed in an auto accident a short time later.”

“Why are you telling me this? Why now?” Laurel interrupted. “My mother is Mimi, Mrs. Johansen. And my father is, was, John.”

“No, Laurel. I’m your biological mother. Just look at me and then yourself. We’re mirror images. John and Mimi adopted you at the hospital in Palm Beach, Florida. Some parents decide to tell their children they’re adopted, while others don’t. They obviously decided not to. One reason I wanted to meet now is because I have something important to pass on, which could affect your future health.”

“My health?”

“Yes.” Christina revealed everything she knew about epilepsy and then cautioned her. “The doctors aren’t certain if the cause is genetic or if an outside source triggers it, like being hit by something hard enough to cause brain damage. My doctor said he believes it might be at least partially genetic. I’m an airline captain for Shuttle Air in New York and an epilepsy diagnosis means I would automatically be prohibited from flying, but only if anyone knew.”

After a moment of silence that felt more like an hour, Laurel asked, “Why didn’t you just let my Mom tell me this?”

The waitress thankfully interrupted, bringing their sandwiches.

She left and Christina continued. “Because I wanted to personally speak with you, see who and what you’ve become. I’m attempting to stretch out my career for as long as possible because I need the money. Besides paying your college tuition, I’ve got other large expenditures—”

“Pay my college tuition? Mom pays that.”

Christina shook her head. “I’m the one who’s been paying all along, which I did with pleasure. The only ones who knew, were your parents and me. But if the airline or the FAA even suspects I have epilepsy they would yank my medical certificate faster than you could say the word jet. Then, I’d be placed on disability, meaning I would make only half pay for a few years. So, the fewer people who know make for better odds it won’t be discovered.”

“Does all this mean I won’t have money to continue college?”

“I don’t have that answer—yet. I need a bit more time. I urge you, however, to visit a neurologist as soon as possible. But please keep what I revealed in your confidence.”

“That might be difficult. I mean, you pop into my life after all of these years and don’t expect me to speak to Mom about this? I know she’s going to ask what we spoke about and…”

“All right,” Christina sighed. “Tell her, but only her. And she must keep what you say strictly confidential.”

“I promise. But I have another question.”

“Go ahead. I’ll answer whatever I can.”

“Who is – was – my father?”

That question ripped open an old wound. “I don’t have a picture to show you. Your father’s name was Brian Patterson and he was a very handsome and intelligent young man who I thought