Archive of Our Own

Finally, after airline employees calmed the man down with promises of finding him a new seat, the line started moving again, and Charlotte scowled at the notion of such an unpleasant man being rewarded for such obnoxious behavior. With her luck, he was probably her seat mate.

They finally boarded the plane, and as they passed the calm and relaxed passengers in first class who were clearly oblivious to Mr. Howard’s dire situation, Charlotte looked enviously at the cabin’s appointments. Wide leather chairs, cocktails in actual cocktail glasses, smiling flight attendants, and wow… 

Check out the tan, cute guy in 3B. He looked up just as she noticed him and in that moment when their eyes met, she had mentally planned their wedding, their lives, their children’s names… 

“Excuse me.” The lady behind her nudged. Charlotte was holding up the line. 

Tan guy gave her a smirk and returned to his phone.

Lucky bastard. He would get six hours in isolated bliss. And there wasn’t even a passenger in the seat next to him. Meanwhile, she trudged back to her seat in 39A amidst the huddled masses.

Oh good. Dick Howard was in 39B.

Having mentally prepared for that reality, she cursed herself for being right. He got up to let her in - why did she pick a window seat! - and Charlotte fell into her spot, wondering if she could force herself to sleep through the next hours of discomfort.

“God damn piece of cheapass garbage…” Howard muttered to himself. She wasn’t too familiar with regional American accents, but he must have hailed from the state of entitlement. 

A flight attendant approached.

“Oh, thank god, you’re here. I’m going to need a beer, and some peanuts ASAP.” Howard barely even looked at the woman, whose well-practiced smile was beginning to flag. 

“Well? Chop chop!” God, he was vile. Charlotte winced and looked apologetically at the flight attendant, who got a sudden look of inspiration. 

“Miss Heywood?” the woman said impishly.

Puzzled, she looked up. “Yes?”

“Will you please come with me? And you’ll need to bring your bag.”

Mr Howard was not pleased about having to get up again, having just shoehorned himself into his seat, but he let her out, and once they were out of range, the attendant leaned in to speak softly to her.

“We are relocating you. I hope you don’t mind. Mr. Howard is making such a scene that we thought it would be best to let him have the two seats.”

“Uh… ok. Am I being put on another flight?” she asked, warily.

“Oh no! There’s an opening in first class. You’ve been incredibly patient and good humored, so we’re moving you to a more comfortable set-up.”

Hell yeah. 

She hadn’t been on that many trans-Atlantic flights (In fact, she’d only been on one - the outbound part of her trip a few days ago), but it had been cramped enough that she knew she’d greatly appreciate the extra space. 

She followed the attendant, feeling like she won the lottery, and as they walked through the curtain separating the cabins - wait, was that the smell of freshly baked cookies? - Charlotte realized she was getting the seat next to hot tan guy. She felt a mild panic.

“Thank you for your flexibility, Miss Heywood,” the attendant said. “Can I get you a drink?” 

“Erm… sure, coffee?”

“Espresso? Latte? Americano?” the woman asked.

Her seat mate looked in her direction, his dark eyes again catching hers. Flustered, she replied “Surprise me.” 

He smiled to himself.

“Bit late for coffee, no?” he asked her, after the woman disappeared into the galley. His voice was deep and soothing, like the voiceover in a car commercial.

“Hm? Oh, I can’t help myself. I love coffee,” she smiled shyly.

“But since this is a red eye, you won’t be able to sleep during the flight now, will you?” He cocked his head to one side and gave a bemused smile.

“Caffeine doesn’t usually stop me from sleeping, if I’m tired enough.” She returned his cheeky expression, and snuck in a glance at the rest of him. Not a business traveler. Looked like was returning from holiday. Probably not much older than herself. She caught a glimpse of his laptop bag, which bore a tag - London School of Economics. A student, just like herself.

The attendant returned with her espresso, and Charlotte settled into her seat, completely delighted to have escaped the misery of Mr. Howard.

“Are you coming or going?” the man asked.

She looked up, a bit confused and then realized what he meant. “Oh, I’m headed home. You?”

“I am too.” For a brief moment, the intenseness of his gaze made her blink quickly and look away, hoping she wasn’t actually blushing.

She was, and it was cute.

“I’m Sidney,” he leaned in.

“Charlotte.” His smile was impossible to resist, and she smiled back, embarrassed. “You look like you just came back from vacation.”

“I’m coming back from Antigua. I was just at a friend’s wedding.”

“Oh, wow, that’s a long way to go for a wedding.”

“She was a close family friend. I couldn’t miss it.”

It wasn’t like Sidney to talk to his seat mate on a flight, but most of the flights he’d been on had been with family or friends. On the flight to Antigua, Eliza sat next to him and had worn an eye mask and headphones, and only spoke to him once they were starting the approach to Antigua. Even so, he did not mind her lack of interaction, and was quite comfortable keeping to himself.

As it turned out, this was par for the course for their relationship. She had her world, and he had his. Unfortunately, Eliza didn’t care too much for his world. She left the night of Georgiana’s wedding, before dinner was even complete, insisting on getting back to London well ahead of work on Monday. She wanted him to go back with her, but his plan was to to spend the rest of the week with his family who had also flown out for the wedding, and were turning it into a protracted reunion. He had no intention of missing out on what was the first Parker family vacation in years.

Being with the rest of the Parker siblings was fine, but they were a lot of work to be around, and in no way relaxing. Tom could be argumentative and enjoyed picking political fights, though fortunately, he and his fiancée Mary, kept to themselves. Diana was sweet, but constantly reminded everyone of her status as a gluten-free, vegan. And Arthur was fun, but often irresponsible. He had lost his phone not once, but twice during the trip. The Parker parents in contrast were so caught up in reuniting with their old friends the Lambes (Georgiana's parents) that Sidney often found himself shepherding them from place to place as well. 

By the time Sidney left Antigua, he was exhausted and wanted a vacation from his vacation. He was starting to feel like he must be insane by proxy.

It was no better during the brief time that Eliza was there. He was never able to put a finger on what she did, but he always felt inadequate somehow around her. Eliza was only there for two and half days and she grumbled the entire time. About the heat. The sun. The food. The hotel. Georgiana’s wedding décor. But mostly she complained how humiliating it was that Georgiana - who had just turned 20 - was getting married before her and Sidney. 

At the age of 24, both Sidney and Eliza weren’t exactly old, but most of their friends had married immediately after university. Sidney was still completing his master’s in economics and philosophy at the London School of Economics, and working part-time with Tom and his father at the Sanditon real estate development, their family business, on weekends. Eliza left university early to become a commercial model, but in the past year, she quit modeling and was working full time at her family’s financial firm. Even though she was not in fund management, she certainly had the taste and lifestyle of the clients to whom the business catered. In contrast, Sidney’s student life consistently underwhelmed her. 

And she did not keep her opinions unknown. Even on this short trip, she insisted on first class travel, and paid for the seats herself. She also insisted on a suite at the hotel, even though it was just for the two of them. When he protested that the expense was excessive, she only responded, “I can’t live in a way that makes me feel bad about myself. I’ll just take care of it so we can be comfortable. Please don’t worry about the expense.” And he had no real response since he couldn’t offer to cover the cost himself.

Now on the plane, he was alone - free of Eliza, free of his family, free of the constraints of expectations. No one knew he was a grad student, no one cared his family was bonkers. He didn’t have to be a boyfriend, or a sensible brother, and it was liberating. He was positively chatty.

“So what brought you to New York?” he asked Charlotte.

“I had interviews,” she answered, suddenly shy. The program she was going to join was extremely prestigious. That she was in the running for the scholarship made her a bit embarrassed at her own accomplishment.

“Oh, what type of job are you interviewing for?”

It had not occurred to her that most people would assume she was interviewing for a job. 

“Actually, it’s for a semester scholarship at Columbia University.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Wow, impressive.” She must be a graduate student like himself, Sidney surmised. “And may I ask what you are studying?”

“Public policy and philosophy,” she answered, again self-conscious at revealing her academic identity to a man who looked more like an actor than a student. She hoped he wouldn’t ask her about how the two fields were connected as she knew most people don't have the capacity or interest to speak about philosophy.

“Really?” he said with shock. “I’m in economics and philosophy! I rarely ever meet anyone who studies philosophy let alone a double concentration with another field!”

“That’s a major at LSE? I’m surprised,” Charlotte answered.

He smirked. “How did you know I’m at LSE?”

Charlotte again blushed. She wondered if she was going to be red in the face for the entire flight. “Um...I saw your bag,” she admitted.

He laughed, and realizing he was flirting pretty heavily, he looked away. He probably shouldn’t be behaving this way, given that he was in a relationship, but nothing was going to happen here. He concluded a conversation on a plane was pretty harmless. No one needed to know he was flirting with a stranger. And he was sure Charlotte would soon forget him after they arrived in London.

They got to talking about their programs and studies, but soon it quickly diverted to Sidney’s family and the assorted adventures he had just experienced in Antigua - scuba diving, ziplining, sailing. Charlotte was jealous and enthralled in the stories of such experiences. 

In truth, they weren’t as fun as he had hoped. Only Georgiana and her now husband Otis went scuba diving with him, as they were the only certified divers among the group. Sidney had convinced Tom and Mary to join him in the ziplining, but they chickened out at the last minute, so he’d gone alone. Eliza refused to leave the resort at all, and insisted on staying by the pool and drinking wine with Sidney’s parents. But Charlotte didn’t need to know these things. Not that he felt inclined to lie, or obliged to impress his seat mate on a flight. After all, she was a fellow student like him. But for some reason, he wanted her to be impressed by him.

In contrast, Charlotte had barely traveled anywhere. She’d been to Spain a few times to visit relatives, but this was her first trip to the U.S. And she most definitely never spent any leisure vacation abroad. But he didn’t need to know that. 

She wondered if he had a girlfriend, but then put that out of her mind as finding romance on a plane seemed ridiculous. Not that she would even know how to go about it. There were a few dates she’d been on since starting school in London, and while they weren’t disastrous, they weren’t particularly memorable either. She had a boyfriend for about a month back home in Willingden, but they split up and she felt little remorse. Overall, love was fairly foreign to Charlotte, and certainly so were the protocols of interacting with guys. 

And given how attractive this one was, it was probably a good assumption that making a friend was the best outcome here. In fact, it would be amazing. He was a great conversationalist. This discussion was far more engrossing than anything she had with her roommates, or her coworkers at the café.

Friendship wasn’t exactly what was on Sidney’s mind. Just before boarding, he’d been on the phone with Eliza who was (again) angry about returning from a tropical vacation without an engagement. 

“Do you know the first thing that Zara asked me when I saw her today?” Sidney didn’t even try to answer. “’Well, did you get a ring?’ It was so awkward!”

Before the trip, they talked about getting engaged. Well, Eliza did, mostly. It made sense. Especially if they wanted to have a couple years to themselves before children. The idea of marriage freaked him out (and paying for the massive ring she wanted on a student’s budget was impossible), but he didn’t want to be a disappointment.

After she left Antigua, things were mildly improved as he didn’t have to listen to her bellyaching. But then every conversation with the fellow wedding guests seemed to be about couples, marriage, babies - and he felt lonely and weary from minding his siblings. In a drunken text chat with her a couple of nights later, he promised on their next trip together they would get engaged. Later, he kicked himself for committing to some outrageous vacation proposal and the pressure was on. The very next day, she began sending him links to rings she wanted.

Since then, he didn’t bring it up with her again, and he felt an impending sense of doom. If only there was just a simple sign from the universe that he was doing the right thing. Or that there was an alternative.

He brought the topic up with his siblings one day. And he thought they would overwhelm him with excitement. Instead, everyone seemed, well, indifferent. Tom was mildly enthused, commenting on the excellent connections Eliza could provide for the family business. That made him feel better about his decision. But overall, Diana and Arthur showed about as much enthusiasm as they did for an afternoon tea. 

“Oh that sounds lovely,” Diana said.

“Well done, Sidney! Can you be sure to pick a less humid location for your wedding?” Arthur answered with his trademark laugh.

Even Georgiana and Otis were lukewarm, and he’d assumed they would have the most input given they had just gone through it themselves. But all Georgiana said was “I’m sure you’ll make the right decision.”

Now he found himself engrossed in conversation with someone who wasn’t even in his consciousness an hour ago, who felt like she deserved all his attention. 

Sidney barely noticed anything happening on the plane. All he noticed was Charlotte’s expressive eyes, her genuine smile, and above all, her attentiveness. So he kept talking. He kept thinking of new things he needed ask her about, and more stories to make her laugh. And when he heard that delightful giggle, he did everything in his power to hear it again. 

And he did. He had her in stitches, until the man in front of her finally asked them to keep it down. 

Embarrassed, they looked at each other and sniggered. 

At that moment, the flight attendant arrived to take their dinner orders. Charlotte had no idea there was menu in first class, let alone multiple courses with multiple choices. She chose prawns and the guinea fowl, with a glass of sauvignon blanc. Sidney had the meze plate, the short rib and a merlot. 

“I think this menu is nicer than the last date I went on,” Charlotte quipped.

“I should hope so for the price of a first class ticket,” Sidney replied.

“Well, I feel like an imposter since I was upgraded.”

“Right, what happened there? I saw you go by and then suddenly you were back. Did I scare you off?”

She laughed. 

“No! My ticket is for 39A, but the man next to me was throwing such a tantrum they moved me so he could have both seats.”

Sidney scoffed. “Oh that arsehole. I heard him when we were all waiting to board. Thank God he wasn’t the one who got upgraded.”

“Yes, you definitely should be thankful because he has a very, uh, pungent bouquet.”

Sidney nearly spit out his wine. 

“In that case, Charlotte,” he said with excessive humility, “I thank you for your service.”

He raised his glass across the gap, and she returned his toast. 

“May I join you for dinner?” he asked.

She laughed. “I don’t think you have much of a choice!”

“Ah, but have you noticed these little footstools double as seats?” He unbuckled himself from his own seat, stood and took a seat on the foot rest in front of her. He was now so close to her their legs were touching. While the seat was intended to be for two people to face each other, it did not afford much space between them. Being a tall man, Sidney looked ridiculous wedged in there.

“Oh, I was wondering how to use that tuffet, given items like bags aren’t supposed to be sitting unsecured. Now I realize it’s for impromptu conversation.”

“Do you mind?” 

“If you’re not uncomfortable, why would I mind?” She had a warm smile, and the dimple in her chin made her smile that much sweeter.

“Oh, I wasn’t sure if there was an in-flight movie you’d rather watch.”

She smiled. “You seem to be my in-flight entertainment.” 

He felt something in his stomach flip. Something very similar to what she felt when she first looked at him.

They chatted all through dinner, and then through another glass of wine, and then coffee and dessert. It was as if they were old friends who had suddenly reunited after years apart. 

She was completely captivated. This handsome stranger whom she just met made her feel closer than her old boyfriend ever made her feel, and already seemed to know her better than her friends. 

In the blink of a dark, seductive brown eye, they were already halfway through the flight. 

They’d talked of philosophy, books, music, family, pets. They finally realized the rest of the cabin was dark, with the blue ceiling lights casting a dreamy hue on them. Theirs were the only overhead lights still on. The other first class passengers were all asleep.

Sidney leaned in closer to Charlotte, so they were now talking barely above a whisper. Sidney noticed Charlotte’s eyes were blinking slower, her eyelids closing, and her head was nodding. She was beautiful, and the pout of her full lips only endeared him to her. He called for a blanket and draped it over her as she slept, turned out the lights and returned to his seat. 

“Goodnight, Charlotte. See you in a couple hours.” 

She heard him, but she was already too close to sleep to answer. 

In the darkness, he exhaled slowly. Was this the sign he had asked for?