Lisa’s flight
The screams of the children were barely audible over the sound of rushing wind. Two boys, not much older than eight or nine, twisted inside the glass walled tube that contained the tornado keeping them aloft. An instructor in a red jumpsuit and black helmet floated around them like a firefly, adjusting arm positions and tugging on legs until all three were able to float in space like a hexagon of arms and legs. Even through the crash helmets and flutter of their jumpsuits it was impossible to miss the smiles stenciled on their faces.
Luke shuffled his sneakers, shifting his weight against the hard metal bleachers to ease the nausea building in his stomach. None of the other parents scattered around the indoor skydiving arena seemed concerned that their children were suspended nearly twenty feet in the air over a whirling turbine. ‘Less dangerous than driving here’ the instructors parroted back at every question Luke had asked during the orientation. At least cars had seat belts. They were designed to take a bump and keep everyone safe. Falling out of the sky didn’t come as many award winning crash harnesses as his five year old Jetta. It just didn’t seem natural. Humans were meant to live with both feet on the ground. But it was impossible to talk Lisa out of something once she’d set her mind to it. And so, Luke spent alternate Tuesday afternoons at the Sky Dome in the mall watching his daughter twist and squirm in a glass tube.
A timer buzzed and the overhead light in the glass tube cycled from green to red. The instructor grabbed each boy by the collar of their fluttering jumpsuit and threw them towards the exit air lock. They screamed in laughter as they landed on their feet, tossing high-fives to the other students waiting as they tromped off to re-join their parents in the audience. Lisa was up next. She poked her head through the air lock. Her brown braids whipped around her bright blue jumpsuit as she waited for the signal from the instructor. The light cycled green with a loud buzz. Lisa stepped out into nothingness and all the air went of Luke’s lungs.
Watching Lisa fly was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. She went through a pattern of spins and twists, positioning her arms and legs to ride the air currents keeping her aloft. The first time she’d come it had taken the entire session just to find her balance. Now you couldn’t have kept her in place with a lead vest. She zipped through the commands the instructor called without a hint of hesitation. Steep dives turned into spiraling climbs and eventually a spinning starfish move that vaulted her towards the ceiling. The instructor gave a whoop of excitement and followed behind her.
“She’s getting better!”
Luke scowled when he heard Deborah sit on the bleachers behind him. “I thought you’d wait for me to drop her off at the house,”
Deborah tucked her Gucci purse into her lap as she perched on the edge of the bleachers. As always she smelled like she’d just taken a bath at the Nordstrom’s perfume counter. The first year of their marriage she’d tried to teach him all of the names of the scents and which was good for what type of event. Luke, who went through deodorant like a rabies patient goes through bottles of water, hadn’t been able to pick up on the habit. Add that to the long list of reasons the two of them hadn’t worked out.
“We were in the area,” she started, but Luke cut her off.
“Yeah, but it’s my week. I don’t show up on your days and take over,”
“You mean that wasn’t you who pulled a chair to our table at Applebees last weekend? That must have been the other Frisco High gym teacher we saw,”
Luke hunched over a little more in a futile attempt to hide the Frisco logo stenciled on his blue and yellow polo shirt. “I happen to be friends with the owner at that Applebees and he personally invited me to dinner,”
“Oh, please. You got a coupon in the mail. We watched you pay with it!”
“Both of those things can be true,” Luke said quickly. Technically he did know the owner of the Applebees. They’d met as he walked in for dinner that night, and he had the business card to prove it. It’s not his fault that he didn’t get to see Lisa enough during the week. Maybe he should have asked before Facebook stalking their dinner plans, but they would have just said not to come. How did that help anyone?
“Luke! Good to see you, man,” A heavy hand came crashing down on Luke’s shoulder.
“Jake,” Luke said through gritted teeth. “What a wonderful surprise. Glad to see you could take time off from shilling printers to steal another moment in my life,”
“Be nice!” Deborah said, aiming a swat at the back of Luke’s head.
Years of practice let him dodge it by instinct. “I told you not to bring him around either,”
If Jake felt any of the heat coming from Luke, he didn’t show it. He pulled his orange Giants hat off and smoothed it back over his long blonde hair. “Couldn’t miss Lisa’s last practice session before her certification next week. She’s worked so hard for this!”
“I know that,” Luke said. “Do you know her favorite breakfast cereal?” he added like a game show host asking the twenty thousand dollar question.
“Mostly we eat granola in the mornings,”
“Incorrect. It’s cocoa puffs,” Luke snorted. “Maybe pull that mullet out of your eyes once and a while before you try to replace me,”
This time the swat from Deborah caught Luke right where his bald spot had started to form.
Lisa tucked her legs into another move. With one leg bent at the knee and one arm outstretched, she spun through the air like a windmilling made of middle-schooler.
“Go, Lisa! You’re doing great!” Luke yelled. He ignored the looks from the other parents. Their children tumbled end over end. Their children couldn’t fly like his.
Lisa’s flight was originally published in Sixty Minute Stories on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.