Honolulu airport
Several hours later…After a smooth flight, Larry and Sybil were now walking through the big area of the airport that was swarming with vacationers. By the colour of their skins, it was easy to say which ones were the happy new arrivals from the unfortunate ones who were leaving.
"We landed fifty minutes late", said Larry walking more quickly while reading the leaflet in his hand.
"Is it a problem?" asked Sybil.
"No, no. It's ok. You know what. I'm gonna go retrieve our baggage and you, you should look for our next flight", he said, handing her the brochure.
"Sure, alright."
"We meet in ten minutes."
"Ok", said Sybil walking away.
Larry stopped and watched her.
"Darling?" he called.
Sybil turned around, surprised. He spread his arms wide to show her she had forgot something and she smiled at him.
"Sorry", she said coming back to him.
She kissed his lips soundly.
"I love you", murmured Larry.
"I love you too", answered Sybil.
Then, after one last smile, they broke apart, heading in different directions.
Sybil looked her way through the main hall for a while, looking from time to time at the brochure Larry gave her, looking for the boarding door of the airline company that should take them to Makatea's Island. As good as it already seemed, their trip wasn't over yet and Sybil knew she would feel really in holiday only when she'll have her favourite bikini on and when she'll lay down on a white sand beach.
At last, she found the door number thirteen and pried while going through that it wasn't a bad sign. She wasn't particularly a superstitious woman but, when it came to be on a plane, it was another story. « Too bad the heavenly Islands can't be reached by car », she thought, « I would have been more at ease with Tom behind the wheel than with a sombre unknown pilot. » Realising what she just thought, a veil of sadness went to her heart but she shook her head to make it go away, determined to enjoy the present time.
She saw through the large window a little plane that looked more or less like the one on the brochure and she put down her sunglasses before walking out on the tarmac and facing the burning sun. She saw a mechanic wearing an overall, working on the plane's propeller and she called out to him, decided to check that, unfortunately, she would have to climb in this old iron can to go to the island.
"Excuse me!" she yelled. "I'm looking for the Tropical Company."
At the sound of her voice, the man hit his hand instead of the propeller with his tool.
"Holy shit. Junky shitty plane", swore the man before turning to her.
As if a sudden paralysis had hit him, the man stilled in front of Sybil whose mouth opened widely without any sound seeming possibly able to come out. She couldn't believe it. In front of her, in a dirty overall, his skin suntanned and his smile now right in place was Tom. Tom, more handsome than ever. She gulped.
"Tom"…she breathed.
"Sybil", he answered while whipping his hands on a tissue and smiling at her.
Sybil watched him like hypnotized doing this gesture she already saw a lot of times in her father's garage when she could disappear to go discuss with him. Apparently, his surprise had been short because he was now acting normal, only looking at her from head to toes with an appreciative look, a hint of a smile on his lips. This smile that always made her legs shaky…
"You're going to Makatea?" he asked as if they had parted the day before.
"Yes", she only replied, still in shock.
Her heart was beating fast. Tom was undeniably the last person she was expecting to see again, and even more less here, so far away from England.
"We'll be ready to go in about ten or twenty minutes", Tom added as, if nothing had happened.
He turned around to work again on the propeller. Sybil just watched him in silence, destabilized both by this unexpected reunion and Tom's nonchalant attitude. Thousand of questions were rushing in her head but none seemed to be able to go past her lips. Maybe, for the first time of her life, she didn't know what to say to fulfil the silence. The sound of droplets caught her ears then her eyes and she saw a black fluid flowing out from under the plane that was falling in an iron jar. She had to know.
"But…but this isn't THIS plane, isn't it?" she finally said.
"What?" asked Tom looking up from his work.
"This plane, where's its mommy?" she tried to joke.
"Oh", laughed Tom while admiring Sybil's legs whose short skirt didn't hide anything. "The plane of the Tropicale Company is out of order in Fidji. We're taking over from it... you're lucky, I'm your pilot", added Tom, throwing one of his famous smiles at her.
"My pilot? What do you mean? You know how to fly this kind of thing?"
"I got my license after…after leaving your father's service. I'm a pilot now. This one is mine."
"No…I…no", she stammered while scrutinizing quickly the plane. "No, I won't go on this. It's out of order!" she said, pointing at the propeller with her finger.
Tom noted immediately she wasn't wearing a ring…« Well, well, » he thought, « Grey didn't marry her yet… »
"No, it isn't out of order. It's a simple check up! It's my plane."
"Uh…"
"It's a De Havilland River. It's one of the safest planes and the safer that had ever been built", he added while turning around his baby followed by Sybil. "More comfortable than a Renault."
Sybil looked at him in disbelief while inspecting the half rusty cabin. She was about to answer him when her fiancé's voice rang out.
"Honey? Is there a problem?" asked Larry heading to them.
Tom and Sybil looked briefly at each other before turning to Larry who stopped abruptly in his tracks.
"I don't know from where but I think I know you", he said.
"Hello, Mr. Grey. Seems like the world isn't big enough for the both of us, uh?"
Tom walked to him and stretch out his hand. Larry squeezed it mechanically.
"I'm Tom Branson", introduced himself the pilot. "Sybil father's former chauffeur, sorry, I mean Miss Crawley."
"Oh", answered simply Larry understanding the complex situation while watching Sybil from the corner of his eyes to catch her reaction.
What could she possibly feel?
Then, he brought back his attention on Tom, wondering what the hell he was doing here while praying for this holiday not to turn into a nightmare for him…He knew the whole story and he knew that Sybil hadn't accepted his proposal with happiness at first. If it hadn't been to save her parents from bankrupt, he knew she would have never accepted it. And even if things were pretty good now between them, he couldn't say either that their relationship was the perfect one. Necessity more than love made that their arrangement was working in spite of everything.
A brief heavy silence took place, nobody daring to speak but each one having a thousand questions in their minds. Tom was sizing up Sybil and Larry with a sneering look: finally, he made the good choice in not insisting with her. She seemed to have found someone that fitted her better with the rich lawyer. He chuckled silently and turned back to his propeller. He left Downton without any explanation and he certainly have no intention to give them one now. If they didn't want to talk, good for them! He had kept it quiet for almost two years now so he could go on like that until Makatea, even if fate seemed to want to put them back on his road.
Larry finally talked.
"Is there a problem?" he asked Sybil seeing her watching Tom discretely.
"Err…yes", she answered looking back to him. "Tom thinks we are going to take THIS old thing."
"What?" exclaimed Larry.
Tom rolled his eyes to his mechanic.
"We…we probably can find another plane?" said Sybil linking her arm with Larry's, pulling him away from the plane.
If Tom wanted to act as if nothing ever happened, it was fine by her. She could perfectly do the same, leaving him here on the tarmac with his dearly plane and without a look back…
"You won't find another one", rang out Tom's voice with this thick accent she missed so much. "There's a boat leaving the port…it takes three days", added Tom with a satisfied look.
"Honey…" groaned Sybil.
"Alright…Listen, if Branson says so, I'm sure there's no risk with this plane and that the pilot is very qualified."
"HE's the pilot", murmured Sybil throwing her thumb over her shoulder to point at Tom.
"It's him?" repeated Larry as if wanting a confirmation glancing at Tom.
Behind them, Tom had just taken off his overall and was now only with a short and bare-chested. His academic chauffeur uniform seemed so far away. In front of Larry's wide eyes, Sybil turned over and gulped seeing Tom's perfect tanned and muscular body, slightly covered by a veil of sweat.
"Well, if you are okay", said Tom walking to them, his overall rolled under his arm and very aware of Sybil's reaction. "We are leaving in twenty minutes. I'm going to look for oil."
"Oh…I…"said Sybil as he was passing by her.
Then, she turned to Larry.
"He's going to look for oil…"
"Everything is going to be fine, My Love", said Larry, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Try to concentrate on the beach waiting for you in less than a few hours…"
"Yes…but…I mean, you saw this plane!"
"Do you trust Branson?" asked Larry even if the question was hard for him.
"Err, yes, but…"
"So, it's done then."
Sybil pouted and Larry took her in his arms and breathed in her ear.
"You, me, white sand…the sea…"
"Hummm, you know how to speak to a woman, Casanova", said Sybil her head hidden against his chest.
Lovers oblivious to the outside world, they didn't see a figure looking at them from the hangar's door. Tom knew it wasn't right and that he probably was hurting himself but he couldn't' resist. It was so long since he last saw her. In flesh at least because she was still haunting his dreams since his exile from England. He had believed that, with time, he would get over it, that he would forget her face, her smell, the sound of her raspy voice. But he knew now he was wrong. She just came back in his life again and, already, his heart was beating faster than normal…From rage against himself, against her, against them, he threw his overall away and reach for a can of oil with a sharp gesture before going back to the plane and to the couple still entwined, decided not to let their obvious happiness get to him.
"We are ready to go", he growled passing by them.
The couple jumped slightly and looked at him as he was heading to the cockpit.
"I'm going to help you with your baggage", said the mechanic.
"No, thank you, it's alright", answered the couple pulling away at last and running to precede the mechanic.
A few minutes later, they were all gathered in the minuscule four places plane, a life jacket on them. They were both looking around them nervously. Sybil reached for Larry's hand and squeezed it with all her forces.
"Let's go", said Tom who was now wearing a white tee-shirt while sitting behind the stick. "Everyone is buckled up?"
"Yes", said Larry. "Tell me, is this thing really necessary?" he asked, showing the ugly life jacket that was clenching at him.
Tom turned to him and looked at him silently for a few seconds.
"Well, if we're diving, yeah", he answered finally before turning back to smile to himself.
Larry and Sybil shared a panicked look.
"Hey!" exclaimed a woman's voice from the tarmac.
All heads turned to her and Larry and Sybil's eyes went wide. A blond young woman, her perfect body thigh-fitted in a tiny peach skirt and a top with a staggering cleavage, sunglasses on her nose, was quickly walking towards them, swaying her hips.
"Let me to introduce you to Edna", said Tom. "She's our stewardess".
Sybil opened her eyes widely then looked between Tom and the young woman as Larry seemed to enjoy the curves of the woman.
"Hello!" exclaimed Edna with a shrill voice and a big smile while nearing the plane.
She got on board and had to try several times before managing to fit herself in the front place next to Tom. To do so, she twisted her generous curves under Larry's nose, even letting herself fall in his lap.
"Sorry", she chuckled.
Larry didn't answer and just tried to help her while feeling Sybil's dark glare on him.
"Hello My Little Pumpkin", said Tom once she was seated.
"Hello", answered Edna while putting a kiss on his lips.
Sybil opened her mouth from amazement, seeing the improbable couple. The man seated at the pilot's place was definitively not the man she once knew anymore. Nor the one she fell in love with several years ago…
"So, you're going to Makatea? happily asked Edna, turning to them.
"We hope so", answered politely Sybil.
"Oh, you're going to love it! Is it your first time?"
"Yes", answered Larry.
"I lived over there for quite some time", she carried on. "It's fun! Hey, Tommy boy…Look at what I bought", she said while searching through her bag. "Look at this!" she exclaimed, showing around a piece of pink cloth ridiculously tiny.
"What is it, My Pumpkin?" asked Tom, looking at her.
"A bikini, silly!"
"Ah, ah!" laughed Tom, turning to Larry.
"I thought it was a headband!" said Larry.
The two men went on laughing, soon joined by Edna as Sybil was dipping further into her seat rolling her eyes. « Men! », she thought. « All the same! » But how the hell a man like Tom was dating such a « kind » of girl… « Tommy boy…really, fortunately ridicule doesn't kill! » Thinking about it, this Edna was the worst of all the girls she had been jealous despite herself at Downton. She really seemed to have a chick pea QI and she was wondering what her former best friend could find in her other than the evidence.
To be continued...