“Okay how about your salary gets cut by one hundred a week, not half,” he said. When she started to shake her head he cut her off.
“Listen, if he’s going to a private school there are extra things you are going to need. You’ll need your salary,” he tried to reason with her.
Emily hadn’t even thought about an added expense. Mark wasn’t going to tell her about the extra fees for field trips and such. He would just make sure the school contacted him directly, because if she knew any of that she would insist on breaking herself to pay them. He didn’t understand her; the money wouldn’t even be missed by him. He was frustrated with her and at the same time impressed with her independence.
“I guess we could try it out,” she reluctantly conceded. “But Mark, if the kids there make him feel bad about himself because he’s not rich like they are, he’s not staying. I would rather he have a public school education than for him to ever feel like he isn’t good enough,” she said emphatically.
“Emily he’ll fit right in. He already has a best friend he’ll be going to school with and he’s outgoing and social. He’ll be friends with every kid in the school,” he told her.
“Okay, when does registration start?” she asked.
“We can head up there tomorrow. We’ll take the chopper over to my dad’s and then drive in. I have been promising Trevor for a while to take him on a ride.”
“I think it would be just fine to drive,” she said nervously. She was terrified of heights and not a fan of flying in anything, let alone a tiny helicopter, which only remained in the air because of a couple of steel bars spinning around.
“Don’t be such a chicken. You’ll love the view and it’s only about a fifteen minute ride but we’ll probably take the scenic route,” he added with a wink.
Emily shuddered and resigned herself to having to do things she’d never done before.
“Come on, Mom. It’s time to go,” Trevor said as he paced around her bedroom while she finished the last touches of her make-up.
“I’m hurrying,” she lied.
“Mark said you were dragging your feet cause you were afraid to go in the helicopter,” Trevor said, like he couldn’t believe that were possibly true.
“Well Mark doesn’t know everything.”
“Yes he does, Mom,” Trevor said, as if she had lost her mind. “He’s the smartest guy in the whole wide world.”
Emily cleared her throat to keep from laughing and followed her son out of the room. She really was terrified to go on the chopper ride but there was no way she was admitting that to either her son or to Mark. They would both tease her mercilessly over it.
“All ready?” Mark questioned when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Emily glared at him, as he tried to wipe the wide grin from his face. When he started to cough, she wasn’t fooled into thinking he wasn’t laughing at her.
“I just think it’s silly to fly there when it’s not that long of a car ride,” Emily had to say. She knew it was a lost battle but had to try one more time to not get into that helicopter.
“Ah Mom, you’re just no fun.”
“Don’t worry Trevor. She'll have a great time once we're up in the air. I’m an excellent pilot,” Mark told him.
“You’re flying it?” Emily gasped in horror.
“Do you see any other pilots around here?” Mark answered with his own question.
“I just assumed you had one come in,” Emily said. She hoped he had, anyway. She knew he could ride a horse better than anyone but she wasn’t so sure he was capable of keeping them up in the air.
“Don’t worry; I have plenty of hours in. You’re in safe hands,” he said with a wink. She wasn’t reassured one bit but it was too late to back out now. Maybe she could fake an illness. One look at her son’s face and she knew she was going to have to get the ride over with.
“Let’s go, daylight is wasting,” Mark called. Trevor was on his heels as they headed out the back door and toward the helicopter pad.
Emily followed at a much more sedate pace, still dragging her feet. When they got to the helicopter and she saw it up close for the first time, her fear kicked in even greater. She might end up passing out on the ride. Of course if that happened, it would all be over much sooner.
Mark did a pre-trip on the aircraft and then said everything was ready to go. He helped Trevor inside and got him buckled. Trevor grinned hugely when Mark placed the headphones on his head and explained they could talk back and forth through the built in microphones.
“Ready?” he asked her when she was still staring in the door.
“I guess so,” she answered, slowly stepping forward.
Mark placed his hands on her hips and boosted her inside. Emily felt goose bumps rise as his hands lingered on her for a moment longer than necessary. When he placed her in the seat, their mouths were only a couple of inches apart.
She nearly fainted at the instant heat flaming in his eyes. He continued to stare at her for a few more moments, before handing her the headset and then shutting her door. She let out the breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding and was surprised by the disappointment she was feeling he hadn’t closed the gap and kissed her.
She didn’t have time to feel sorry for herself though, because Mark had started the propellers and she was focused on nothing but her fear. As the helicopter started to rise straight up in the air, she was once again holding her breath. The higher up they got, the more she started sweating.
She couldn’t believe she’d let them talk her into this. She was thinking about demanding to be put back on solid ground, when they shot out across the countryside.
“Wow Mark, this is the coolest thing ever,” she heard her son say into the microphone.
“The first time up is the greatest but it’s still pretty cool even after hundreds of times,” Mark said. She saw him reach over and ruffle Trevor’s hair.
“Mom’s just silly. There’s nothing to be scared of,” Trevor said bravely.
“Careful young man, your Mom can hear us,” Mark said and then looked back at her and winked. She was more horrified he’d looked away from the front window than by anything they were saying.
“Sorry Mom.”
“It’s okay, you’re just braver than your Mom,” she replied with pride.