Author's Note: I've finally put this story in motion. I've had this story in my head now for several months, and I've ratted my brains out trying to finish this chapter, but with work and pure procrastination, I kept putting it off. Thank you all for your patience. The story begins in March 2003, when the stable Evolution was beginning to take shape. Read, review and enjoy!
A/A/N: I only own the main character Regina Del Piero as well as her family members. I DO NOT own any of the WWE superstars.
Chapter 1 – Turbulent Homecoming
"Excuse me, maam … Maam?"
The petite flight attendant had been making her rounds down the aisle, pushing her cart filled with assorted beverages, snacks, and reading materials when she stopped and patiently tried to get one of her young passengers' attention.
Staring at the cluster of cotton ball-like clouds from her window seat after what seemed like an eternity, Regina Del Piero suddenly turned to the left and looked up at the hazel-eyed lady staring at her.
"Oh I'm sorry. I guess I just spaced out for a moment," she said apologetically. "What did you say again?"
With her right hand gripping the handle of the cart and her left arm resting on the headrest in front of Regina's seat, the flight attendant leaned over a bit and smiled. "That's OK. I was going to ask you if I offer you something to drink or to read? I also have snacks here in case you are hungry."
With the constant turbulence from the outside gust, the young, brown-eyed passenger couldn't stomach any more food in her system. Reading a magazine wouldn't be so bad, she thought, at least it would get her mind off of pertinent things for a while.
"Sure. I'll have a Pepsi, please. And do you have the latest issue of People magazine?" Regina asked.
"Let me see here," the flight attendant glanced over to the side of the cart. "Ah, here we go." She handed the issue over to Regina.
The flight attendant then opened a twelve-ounce bottle of Pepsi. With the steady turbulence, she tried hard not to spill the drink over her blue and white uniform while pouring it into a transparent plastic cup. Regina extended her hand to grab her drink and smiled. "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome. Let me know if you need anything else. Just press the button on your armrest," said the flight attendant, now both hands were on the cart handle. Regina nodded, and with that, the petite flight attendant pushed her cart forward to tend to other passengers.
Regina took a quick sip of her drink and sifted through the magazine.
She glanced over at the big projector screen near the front. With the exception of a movie shown about an hour ago, the screen displayed a map of the plane's current location as well as its altitude and the projected time for landing. According to the map, the 767 was flying over the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Only about two more hours before the plane would land at Philadelphia International Airport.
Two more hours and she would be home.
It was early March, and for weeks now Regina had been scheduled to go on her first business trip to Paris. She was assigned to spend a couple of days overseeing a photo shoot depicting the hottest fashions for a feature spread that was going to be published in early spring. This was Regina's first major project since recently getting promoted to art director at one of Philadelphia's top-selling lifestyle magazines.
But the photo shoot never happened. As soon as Regina arrived at the hotel lobby to check in, she had received an urgent message from the front desk receptionist to call home. From the moment Regina boarded the plane seven hours ago, she couldn't shake off the conversation she had with her older brother, Nate. Like a fatherly figure, he ordered his little sister to come home immediately. Home may be where the heart is, but it was the last place Regina wanted to be unfortunately.
"Something bad has happened," Nate said. His voice was surprisingly monotoned over the phone, unusual for a guy who's always happy-go-lucky. "The family needs you."
"What's wrong? Is Mom alright? Is the baby sick?" Regina had asked her brother, referring to the newest addition to the Del Piero family. Three months ago, her older sister Angie and her brother-in-law, WWE wrestler Dave Batista welcomed their second child into the world, a seven-pound baby girl named Athena Marie. "Please Nate, tell me."
But he didn't divulge any further details despite the numerous questions his little sister had asked him. "No, the baby's fine. It's… I -I can't tell you. Not over the phone," Nate said. "I'll tell you more when I pick you up at the airport. It's better this way. Trust me. Just please, sis, do whatever you can and get your butt home now!"
Jet-lagged from her flight to Paris, she didn't even have a chance to go up to her hotel room to rest. Still using the phone from the hotel receptionist's desk, she dialed her work to speak to her boss about this cryptic situation. The last thing Regina wanted to do was screw up a major project, especially since she was the one in charge of setting up the shoot. But her family needed her more, and loyalty was Regina's strongest attribute. She would do anything for her family in a heartbeat. By the sound of Nate's tone, this was a big deal.
Surprisingly, her boss sounded calm over the phone after Regina explained her situation as much as she could. She apologized profusely for abruptly abandoning her project.
"Don't worry, Regina. Your family needs you right now. We'll think of a backup plan for our spring issue," her boss said. "I've just booked you the next flight to Philly. Just get home safely."
Looking back, did her boss know something too?
Regina slammed the magazine down on her lap. The suspense was killing her. Not even looking at pictures of George Clooney or Brad Pitt could quell the nerves of the young passenger. Her mind kept repeating her brother's words.
Something bad has happened. But what?
"What could possibly have happened since I left. I wasn't gone for that long," Regina muttered to herself.
She tried to think of all the possibilities. She knew her baby niece was fine. Did something happen to her other nieces and nephews? Was it her mom? Was Angie OK? Maybe it was her oldest brother, Matt. Maybe it was Nate himself. Did Dave get injured again and needed a major surgery? Regina thought back to the last time she saw her family before her trip.
"Everybody seemed fine when I left," she said to herself. Except for Dave, but that was because he was on the road as usual performing for thousands of fans. A perk for being a sports entertainer, she thought.
Quickly, Regina shook her head. It was useless to come up with a definitive answer. All she would do was create more questions, and her head was starting to throb.
Regina looked over to the two sleepy passengers sitting beside her. They were an elderly couple, most likely in their early 60's. They were from New Jersey, returning home from their European getaway after celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary.
They looked peaceful, Regina thought.
Before falling asleep though, the woman, who was sitting next to Regina, recounted her and her husband's continental excursions and how the trip was a gift from her children. "We did so much walking and driving around, we'll be lucky to catch some Z's before the plane lands," said the woman. Less than two minutes after the plane took off, the couple passed out like elderly drunks, making little snoring noises from time to time. Throughout the flight, their hands were entwined with one another between their armrest. The woman's head rested comfortably on her husband's shoulders.
As she turned to face the window again, Regina continued to stare at the white stratocumuluses. She was amazed at the scenery. The clouds, they looked like heaven. Just below that, she could see the small squares of what looked like buildings. Closing her eyes, a tear slowly rolled down her cheek. For some reason, Regina had this uncanny ability to develop watery eyes without even showing any depressing emotion.
A loud, beeping sound suddenly rang three times, reminding passengers to fasten their seat belts. Regina quickly let out a light sigh as she did just that.
The elderly couple awoke, yawning and stretching their arms out. The woman peered over to her right at the window. "Wow, I can't remember the last time I've slept this long in an airplane. I must have been really beat," she said. "Look, honey, we're almost home." The woman's husband also looked out the window and sighed. "It's about time. I can't even feel my legs. Somebody's going to have pull my ass out of this seat," he said.
Regina looked over at them and smiled.
"Ladies and gentleman, please fasten your seat belts. We're about to arrive in Philadelphia," the pilot announced over the loudspeaker.
This is it, Regina thought as the plane was slowly losing altitude. Her brother should be at the airport right now waiting for her. In mere moments, she would find out exactly what her brother couldn't tell her over the phone. No matter what it was, Regina was forced to embrace the unexpected. Whether if she could handle it was another story.
As the plane's wheels touched the runway, the passengers felt a slight jolt from their seats. A loud round of applause echoed around the aircraft as the passengers celebrated the plane's safe landing. When the plane stopped at one of the gates, Regina unfastened her seat belt and waited for the elderly couple to get up from their seats. In the meantime, she put her magazine in her black Coach handbag. In addition to her handbag, she had brought only one carry-on suitcase on the trip. She was able to put it in one of the compartments above her seat, defeating the purpose of going to the pandemonium baggage claim department.
After getting her luggage out of the compartment, Regina grabbed her handbag and made her way out of the plane. She went through customs and immigration departments to check on her passport. When she was finally cleared, Regina walked toward the front of the terminal, hoping to find Nate.
"REGINA!" a man's voice yelled. Regina turned, and there was her brother running toward her. He was wearing a black buttoned-down shirt and black slacks. She started running toward him as fast as she could, but the weight of her suitcase made it impossible.
The bald-headed brother was finally the one who closed the gap between them. The siblings put their arms around each other tightly as if they hadn't seen each other for many years. In reality, it was just a few days.
"How was your flight?" Nate asked, still hugging his little sister.
"It was fine," Regina said. She paused for a minute or two before she continued to speak. She just had to know. "Tell me what happened. What is it that you couldn't tell me over the phone?"
Nate reluctantly pulled himself back and grabbed the handle of Regina's suitcase. "Come on, let's go somewhere private so that we can talk," he said. He took hold of her hand and guided her out of the sliding doors. Regina stopped.
"NO!" she said, her voice unexpectedly louder than usual. "Don't hide this from me any longer. Either you tell me now or I am getting myself back on the plane." Her index finger motioned back at the sliding doors.
Nate looked at his sister in disbelief. Sure, she had every right to know, but the airport was not a good place to share bad news. Especially this bad news. Finally, Nate gave up and sighed. He didn't want to fight with his sister. "All right. All right. I'll tell you," he said. "Can we just sit down first?"
Regina nodded. There was a bench near the entranceway of the terminal. The siblings sat down, Nate pulled the suitcase on the bench next to him. With her legs crossed, Regina put her handbag on her lap. Nate turned toward her little sister and grabbed hold of her hands. He kept his head down. Regina let go of one of her hands and gently lifted his head up. His eyes were beginning to well up with tears.
"Nate, you're scaring me. What's going on?" asked Regina, concern creasing her brow. "Please. You can tell me anything."
Nate paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. Fuck it, he said to himself.
"I don't know how else to tell you this. So I'm going to just say it," Nate said, his voice choked with emotion. He looked up at Regina. Tears were streaming down his face. "Angie's dead."
Regina's eyes widened. She felt as if her heart had stopped. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. A large wail substituted instead. Regina covered her mouth and put her head down. Nate put his hand on her shoulders, offering some comfort. The siblings embraced each other again, hiding their distraught faces from anyone who passed them.
In the midst of their sobbing, Regina couldn't help but wonder if Dave knew of the news. If he did, how was he doing? As the sobbing grew louder, Regina's mind instantly focused on the two innocent people affected the most.
Her little nieces. Angie and Dave's daughters.
Why did you have to take their mother away from them? They won't remember her when she was alive, Regina thought. Who was going to take care of them when Dave was away? Who was going to take care of them?
As passengers were coming out of the airport joyously reuniting with friends and family, the siblings sat on the bench for several minutes, sobbing uncontrollably and holding one another as they mourned the loss of their beloved sister.
In that moment, Regina's world was never going to be same again.