The First Five Pages .......

Christina Craft
Their Greatest Flight








Chapter One

“I need your help,” Julia said quietly into the phone. It was important that no one from the staff hear her conversation. “I know Nathan is unhappy, and it is only a matter of time.” The silence coming from the other end of the line was deafening. “Sara, are you there?” She heard a long winded sigh before she heard a reply, “Sorry Jules, I am here.” Sara’s voice cracked with desperation to find the strength to tell her dear friend what was really on her mind. “You are just as unhappy Jules, and this marriage of yours has been in a shambles for a long time. Truthfully, it started to turn sour not too long after the kids were adopted, right?” Julia didn’t have to think too long about that, Sara was right, the trouble did start shortly after they adopted the twins.

It was late. The five thousand square foot Santa Barbara home stood dark and quiet, with the exception of a light glowing in the library where she sat. The home was filled with the perfect mixture of warm rich colors and textures, as most Mediterranean style homes were. She felt safe and happiest when she was in this home versus any one of their other homes. She especially loved the sounds heard being on the water. The crash of the waves had a profound calming effect on her. She often hoped that her children, Mason and Margo, would one day experience that same effect when hearing the wave’s crash.

As she was carrying on her conversation with her dear friend Sara, headlights glowed through the windows from outside. It was Nathan. She quickly ended her conversation with Sara, and began to read a book from where she last left off, giving him no cause to think she was doing anything but reading. Most of the staff had retired to their quarters, which was a two thousand square foot guest home located on the property only steps from their home. The cook was still bustling around in the kitchen, awaiting Nathan’s arrival to tend to any dinner or refreshments he may want. Just then she heard him enter from the garage. “Good evening Mr. Wilde.” The voice of Louis was one that was deep, sturdy, and somewhat somber. “Oh yes, good evening Louis.” Nathan said, trying not to let his surprise come out in his tone. Nathan had been doing anything he could think of to work later hours and stay away from Julia and the children. He would often fly to one of their other homes, simply for an opportunity to have some time to himself.

As she sat in the library, wondering if he would find her to at least say hello, she found herself recalling the first time she had ever laid eyes on Nathan Wilde. They were both in their twenties. He was tall, well built, dark hair, Smokey blue eyes, chiseled chin. Everything about him said power. He was still a working pilot back then. Working for the same employer he had been with for years. The fleet of Aircraft that he flew was equivalent to three then. Later, when the fleet was sold it included six Aircraft. Nathan worked for a private owner, Mr. and Mrs. Streamwood, for over ten years. They had become family. In fact it was the Streamwood’s who introduced her and her family to him. Julia’s family owned a popular restaurant in Renton, Washington, just outside of Seattle. Tom and Virginia Streamwood had become regulars at the restaurant – frequenting two or three times a week. As much as Virginia loved to cook, she wasn’t the greatest at it, which is why she rarely did so. Not to mention the fact that they employed two cooks on the Streamwood staff, so it was rare that she had to cook. And it didn’t hurt to give the cooks the night off on occasion, inevitably making her feel generous.

Occasionally when they came to the restaurant for dinner, they would bring Nathan with them. But it was Julia’s sister, Isabel, that was first to date Nathan. That relationship was broken when Isabel found an opportunity to help less fortunate families in the Southern United States, mostly hurricane victims. It wasn’t until months after Isabel had left that Nathan and Julia bumped into each other at a coffee shop. They sat and talked for hours that day. And with the blink of an eye, it seemed, they were an item. As time past, they grew to love each other, but the romance was never the passionate love affair that walks hand in hand with true love. Reality was Nathan had never really gotten over Isabel, with whom he had experienced great passion. Nathan had fallen completely in love with Isabel in the short time they were together, and Julia feared, even after being married for seven years, that he would always love Isabel. It was painful for Julia to be the runner-up for all of those years, especially to her sister. And it was time she did something to change that. It was time she spoke to Nathan about a divorce. Unfortunately, she had no time for that now, one of the biggest social gatherings that she and Nate were hosting was taking place on Saturday, only five days away, and she had a lot of last minute details to work through, starting with the food. When she had last spoken to the three cooks on their staff, they had hired some extra kitchen help for the night, which included servers. But the menu details still needed to be finalized. She knew what direction she needed to go, first thing in the morning, to accomplish this task. For now, she would retire to her room for, what she could only hope would be a long restful sleep.

She awoke the next morning to a light breeze bringing the smell of Santa Barbara Daisies through the air. The smell was pleasing to her, and she felt refreshed and eager to take on the day. For a moment she reflected on her marriage to Nathan and wondered if he had ever come to say hello or good night last night, since she fell asleep rather quickly. Once she had cleaned up, she headed downstairs to speak to the cooking staff. As she passed the library she saw Nathan sitting in one of the chairs looking over something. He looked up as she entered the room. “Good Morning Nathan” Julia boasted, smiling ear to ear. It was a smile she had perfected over the years, so plastic that even the blind could see through it. “Ahh, Good Morning Jules” he replied. One thing was true; she always loved the nicknames he gave her. “Listen; do you have a few minutes? I’d like to talk to you about something” he said. After careful thought, she knew this was the time to have this talk. “Of course Nate, what’s on your mind?” She knew all too well what was on his mind, and as afraid as she was to ask the question, she also felt a huge weight lifting from her as he began to speak. “I love you Julia,” he said. “I love you too Nathan.” “But it’s not enough anymore,” he said. When she looked into his eyes, she saw hope. Something she hadn’t seen in quite some time. He gazed at her with concerning eyes. “Our marriage just isn’t working anymore,” Nathan said. Julia fought hard not to let the smile in her heart show through. “I agree Nathan. It’s time we go our own ways.” She looked up at him, neither was surprised that the other wasn’t tearful. “First things first, we need to get through Saturday’s party successfully.” Nathan agreed. The last thing either of them wanted to do was tarnish their reputations. “Perhaps we can have brunch on Sunday and discuss specifics on what to do next?” she said. Nathan gave his usual nod of acceptance as she began to leave the room. She stopped at the doorway, only briefly, to excuse herself to the kitchen to discuss party specifics with the staff.

As she made her way to the oversized kitchen, she felt happier and more relieved than she had in months, years even. Her spirit was light and cheery, for the first time in what seemed to be an eternity.

Louis and the rest of the kitchen staff noticed a difference in her. A difference they didn’t dare bring up, for fear that she would realize how nice she was being and snap out of it. The next five days went by uncharacteristically smooth. There were no usual last minute problems with kitchen or wait staff, no problems with the party planning company’s staff being able to get all of the requested extras, she felt as though they must have all been aware of this being her last party in this house. She couldn’t help thinking of how much she would miss this house, and even though she hadn’t finalized plans with Nathan, she had decided on which two of their six homes that she wanted to keep, and the Santa Barbara home wasn’t one of them. The two homes she did choose were decent in size, yet neither had such a grand room to host a party of this caliber. Truthfully, she was ok with that.

As she was finishing up getting herself ready for the party, she could hear the early bird guests arriving. These were the group of folks, usually three to five couples, who were faithful in their thirty minute early arrivals. She often thought they did so to enjoy a cocktail or two before anyone they weren’t necessarily fond of arrived. She made her way down the main staircase to greet their arriving guests wearing a red, spaghetti strapped gown that was simply breathtaking, mostly because she was breathtaking.