Flirting with Fifty

“That’s all Oliver. He was a great kid, and he’s become a man I very much admire.”

“I like your relationship with him. It’s based on respect.”

“I love Oliver, and he knows it. He knows I’ll always have his back.”

“You wouldn’t leave him behind at an airport?”

“If he headed to the bar to drink, I would.”

Paige’s eyes widened. “Is that what happened with your student?”

He nodded. “Amsterdam. A few years back. A student headed to the bar for some drinks and forgot why he was there in the first place.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh, yes. And I’m fine with alcohol as long as it’s in moderation, but drinking to excess? I’ve no patience with it.”

“I’ve noticed you don’t drink a lot,” she said.

“My parents both drank. Australians like their drink, and it’s fine if you can hold your liquor, but if you can’t, if you’re getting into trouble, forgetting your responsibilities, it needs to stop.”

His tone was flinty, his expression hard. She knew there was a story behind his words but didn’t want to probe. “Ted drank,” she said after a moment.

Jack’s expression darkened. “I know. Just one more reason I don’t like the guy.”

“You don’t like him?”

“How could I? He treated you badly. Makes me livid just thinking about it.”

She didn’t know what to say, and yet her heart was full, and her eyes gritty. Jack made her feel secure and beautiful. Desirable. It was a heady sensation, but it also made her realize how much she’d missed being wanted.

The gate agents interrupted, announcing that boarding was commencing for the Turkish Air flight to Zanzibar, starting with premiere passengers and those in first class. It would be awhile before the group from Orange University would board, but Paige stood and did a quick count of their students, making sure no one had slipped away while she and Jack were talking. Fortunately, everyone was present and accounted for. Good. One flight down, two to go.

Eight and a half hours later the jet taxied down the runway in Zanzibar. It was not quite four in the morning in Tanzania and all was dark, with just the runway lights showing them the way.

Sleepy students gathered their belongings. Paige hid her yawn, exhausted. Again she’d tried to sleep, but couldn’t. She’d already adjusted her watch, but after doing the math realized it was six o’clock in LA. Dinner time.

It was a slow file off the plane, and Jack herded them all to one customs agent, greeting the agent in a language Paige wasn’t familiar with. The agent replied, and Jack said something else that made the customs agent laugh.

The students all had their passports and visas out, and with a gesture from the agent, the students lined up and filed through one at a time.

“What language were you speaking?” she asked Jack as he dropped back to wait with her. They’d go through at the end, once the students had been processed.

“Swahili.”

“Are you fluent?”

“I know just enough to get me into trouble, and not enough to keep me out of jail.”

She laughed softly, amused. Despite two long consecutive flights, Jack looked rested, even if beautifully rumpled. She loved that he looked as handsome in a T-shirt as he did in a linen shirt. She didn’t like to think of herself as shallow, but Jack was incredibly easy on the eyes.

When it was her turn to speak to the customs agent, it was all very matter-of-fact, and then she was cleared, her passport stamped in two places, and Jack came through last. She smiled at him as he joined on the other side. “I feel a little like Mom and Dad,” she said.

He looked down into her eyes, expression warm, intimate. “Funny,” he answered, voice husky. “I don’t think of you as Mom at all.”

Despite her fatigue, and the fact that her mouth tasted of cotton and her eyes felt dry as sand, she felt buoyant. Happy.

Jack led the way to baggage claim, where they waited for the bags to appear. Paige’s bright lime duffel was one of the first and Jack scooped it up, placing it at his feet. The rest of the bags came spilling out, and it appeared that every bag had made it.

“One more flight,” he said. “This is the fast one.”

She looked up at him. “I thought we were staying here for one night and flying in the morning.”

“We were supposed to, but the airline gave us a much better deal if we went early this morning. It saved us considerably.”

“In that case, onward.”

Jack directed students from baggage claim to the far end of the terminal, where a uniformed woman was waiting for them along with two young men in matching uniforms.

Paige listened as Jack greeted the young woman in Swahili.

The woman turned to their group and switched to English to greet them. “Good afternoon, my friends from America. My name is Lakeisha, and I’m going to help you on your way to Arusha. The good news is that we will have very nice flying weather. The sun is coming up soon, the airplanes are here, the pilots are ready, and we will get you aboard in a half hour. Leave your bags here with me and do not worry, I promise you’ll see them again in Arusha.”

Thirty minutes later, Jack raised his hand. “I need twelve of you. The rest will board with Dr. Newsome.”

Boarding took place quickly, with Jack and twelve students boarding one of the small aircraft on the tarmac, while Lakeisha led Paige and the remaining students to the second.

Lakeisha gestured for Paige to take one of the front seats, and then told the students to fill in and take any open seat. Once all small bags had been stowed, Lakeisha stepped off the plane, and the flight attendant walked them through the safety briefing. Life jackets. Oxygen masks. Proper position to brace for a crash landing.

Paige listened attentively, hoping, praying, none of those precautions would be needed. Fortunately, they weren’t, and they landed in an hour, with a hop on the runway. The planes turned and slowly made their way back to the small terminal.

Once they’d disembarked and collected their duffels, they followed Jack outside to the curb where three minibuses awaited them. Jack greeted one of the drivers with hugs and high fives. There was a lot of laughter and then the students were stowing their suitcases in the cargo hold of each minibus, and then they all boarded the buses.

It was a thirty-minute drive from the airport to the Center on the outskirts of Arusha. The landscape was lushly green, with striking trees and rich red soil. Mount Meru formed a majestic backdrop as the sun continued to rise.

The white minibuses pulled through tall iron gates, then carried on down the dirt lane until they parked in front of a large four-story glass-and-stone building. Staff immediately appeared and Jack climbed from his van to warmly greet the man and woman, a married couple who’d taken over managing the Center, a move Jack apparently approved of. Jack introduced the couple to the students. “This is Nyah and Jabari Mkapa,” he said. “Old friends and wonderful managers of the Center. I’ve worked with them for many years, and we couldn’t be in better hands. Now let’s get you checked in.”