If Misery Loves Company

Mid Life

Chapter 14

By Kristen Gupton-Williams

((Yeah, I know, I suck going AWOL as long as I did. I had some major computer malfunctions that cut into my writing mojo. I've since been on the computer, just… there were other things in life for a while there. I'm gonna do my damnedest to get this mother finished. Oh, and sorry this is a short one, but I had to try and get the chapter numbers to match back up again.))

After the night of my thirtieth birthday, I resigned that things were what they were. I didn't ever try to broach the subject of a relationship with Shera again, just keeping it under wraps. More time passed, a few years, in fact. I got to be thirty-two. Who woulda thunk it?

Our little charter venture was doing great. Shera would go out to try and find a place of her own now and then, and each time I'd dread her succeeding. She would generally get the cold shoulder after floating an application, though, everyone refusing to rent to her, much to my relief.

One of those calls, though… Well, it wasn't one of my prouder moments…

The phone rang, and Shera was in the shower, so I answered. "Highwind."

"Is Ms. Sakamoto there?" asked a man's voice.

"She can't come to the phone right now," I replied, wondering whom this guy was since none of our charter clients called her by her last name.

"Well, can you give her a message?" he asked.

"Sure, shoot."

"Tell her that Brian at the rental agency called. Her application for an apartment has been accepted and we'd like her to come in to sign the lease papers."

I felt my heart leap into my throat. I looked down the hall, still hearing the shower turn off. It was wrong, but I couldn't stop myself. "Oh, right, hey, she's already found another place and moved so… yeah, sorry."

"Oh…" he said, sounding a little disappointed. "Well, tell her thank you for considering us."

"Will do," I replied back before hanging up as Shera emerged in the hallway behind me.

"Who was that?" she asked, her hair swept up in a towel, her bathrobe hanging around her.

I looked her square in the eye. "That was the guy from the rental agency."

She knit her brow, looking up at me. "Really?"

"Yeah," I replied, dropping my gaze to the floor. "Place ain't available anymore."

Getting a little cavalier with your ability to lie to her, eh?

"No one wants me, it seems," she sighed, turning away a little.

I want ya more than I think you'll ever know…

I felt horrible. "Ain't ya happy here?"

Shera offered a faint smile. "Of course I am, Captain."

"Good… because… I'd actually hate it if ya moved out," I confessed.

She looked like she wanted to say something, but then turned away and disappeared into her room to get dressed.

How do you think she's gonna feel when she someday figures out how full of shit you are?

I didn't rightly care. I wanted to keep her as close to home base as I could. It was selfish, it was immature but…

But what? She's all you've got going for you anymore?

Yup.

Be that as it may, the business was going great guns. We'd saved up enough to get rid of my old and tired plane, picking up a new one with a greater passenger capacity. A great Goddamned plane. Only problem? It had the most retarded damn excuse for a name I'd ever heard. Tiny Bronco… what lame ass came up with that? As we all know, though, it's against every grain of old sailor and pilot logic to try and rename a craft. That just ain't done. Mind you, I did have to explain this to Shera, but hey, she didn't know any better.

So, Tiny Bronco it was. And things were good.

In fact, we were doing so well that we caught the attention of Shin Ra. Because, at the end of the day, nothing that actually makes money gets away without their interference.

One night after landing, I found two Turks standing at the back door to the house. I didn't recognize either of them. Then again, the company had been through a lot of Turks since I'd had any around me whatsoever in the space program. One was a blonde woman, the other a dark haired guy. I didn't much care about that.

I immediately grew a little discontent with the fact they were there. First and foremost, I was fuckin' exhausted from having been flying all day, and secondly, I was afraid they'd done something to Shera. "What the hell do y'all want?"
The woman crossed her arms over her chest and looked real smug. "Shin Ra would like to extend a sponsorship offer to you."

Now, to the rest of the world, that meant I had a choice in accepting their offer or not. This was Shin Ra, however, so I decided to go ahead and see what the alternative was. "If I refuse?"

"It would be very unfortunate for something to happen to you and your plane, Captain," the male said, stepping forward. "Who knows what might happen to that… traitor you still harbor, too."

I swallowed hard. They had just threatened my two greatest loves, Shera and my plane. Normally, I would have exploded in anger, but since doing so may, very well, have cost Shera and I our lives, I forced myself to stay calm.

They could tell I wasn't going to argue, and the gal spoke again. "You will allow Shin Ra to place advertising on your plane in return for an annual compensation of a generous three thousand gil."
All this trouble to put their fuckin' stamp on your shit? Fuck, they insist on sticking their noses up everyone's ass…

Well, since having a corporate logo on my plane wasn't gonna hurt anyone, and the extra money was extra money… I gave in without any argument. "Fine."

"Good," they both chirped at once.

I blew them off and went inside, to find Shera in the kitchen with dinner.

"Were you talking to someone out there?" she asked, placing a cup of tea in my hand.

God love her, she had been oblivious to the fact that two hired assassins had spent God knows how long outside the back door waiting for me. "Yeah, actually, I was."

She looked surprised. "Really?"

I decided to spare her any worry. "Yeah, Shin Ra reps… they're gonna give us three grand a year just to have their logo on the plane."

Shera's eyes went wide. "Really?"

Broken record tonight, ain't she? REALLY??? REEEEAAAALLLLLYYYY???

"Yes, really!" I snapped back, the stress of what had just transpired washing in on me.

All she did was offer me a smile and sit across from me. "Well, I guess that means you aren't completely in the dog house with them, anymore."

"Yeah, maybe…" Honestly, I hadn't thought of it like that. I figured it just had more to do with the fact that anytime there was anything successful in the world, the company wanted people to believe they ran the operation, even when they didn't.

But maybe I wasn't a total pariah to the company anymore…

It's that school boy hope that's gonna get yer ass burned again…

Probably.

But whatever. The next morning, there was a gaudy Shin Ra logo on the plane, and an additional three big in the bank.

Outside of the business and Shera, things weren't so hot. Yeah, I'd picked up the reigns of the town several years back when its obvious lack of leadership got on my fucking nerves. After a few years, though, the town seemed to become completely incapable of thinking for itself. I was consulted on everything. Even stupid shit. Not only that, but the fact I had to see that God forsaken rocket out back of the house everyday of my life…

I was just frustrated with things, and it was starting to really effect how I functioned. I was getting more bitter and world worn by the day. Shera just continued to carry on, giving me that smile now and then that made everything all right for a while.

I guess she eventually started to get really worried about me, though, and finally she cracked. "Captain? Is there something eating at you?"

I looked over at her, too tired to try and lie or cover anything up. "I'm ready, almost, to sorta… give up on this town."

She cocked her head to the side. "Sir?"

"This town, Shera." I couldn't help but look at the most glaring icon of my failure as it cast a shadow over the house. "I've started thinkin' that I should move. I mean, it'd be cheaper to live somewhere like Kalm and it'd be closer to most our charter clients. Besides, I'm tired of feelin' like a Goddamned babysitter around here."

Shera instantly teared up, the color blanching from her complexion. "If…if you move, though, will you want me to go with you?"

Part of me couldn't believe she'd even asked that.

When you do nothin' but push her away constantly, ya prick, what did you expect?

"Of course I'd want you to go! Goddamn, Shera! You're my fuckin' partner!" I had to fight the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake her.

In response, she smiled widely. Maybe she knew it was all a pipe dream and that I was full of it. She surely knew damn good and well that I was never going to get around to moving us out of Rocket.

Still, I could dream now and then, right?

Yeah… you just do that.