Christian's POV – Saturday
Ray gives me one last clap on the shoulder, one last squeeze of the hand and there is one last gentle hug for Ana, he out of everybody is still the person most in tune with how sore she is and he reminds her to keep taking her pain killers and to not suffer, to let her body heal.
It is a reminder to me that perhaps I am pushing too hard this weekend and I pause as we get to the car and I help Ana in. Carefully watching her eyes as I strap her in I say, "There's one more thing I want to do today and it will involve you being strapped into a moving vehicle and some pressure on your chest and hips, will it be ok?" I study her face and add, "It can wait for another weekend, I am just trying to cram all the things I've wanted to do with you into this weekend because we finally can."
Her cheekily whispered, "I've done what I've wanted to do for a long with you this weekend, so whatever you want to do is fine by me, I feel fine," has me drawing a sharp breath.
My reaction, raised eyebrows and smile elicit her giggle and I notice Taylor studiously looking forward, I hope Ana doesn't realise quite how good his hearing is as she would be mortified. I lean in and whisper so only she can hear, "Keep saying things like that and we will be turning around and spending the rest of the time in bed, I don't care if we miss family dinner and the Fourth of July celebrations." Accidentally resting my hand on her lap, I feel her squirm and her heat and realise I'd better get in the car quickly or Ray will be seeing rather more of me than I ever want him to see.
A quick wave and we are on our way to our final destination for the day, this is something, like taking Ana onto The Grace; that I have wanted to do since I realised that Ana was my soul mate with an adventurous spirit behind her demure exterior.
Ana's hand in mine is relaxed, I play with the ring and she says quietly, "It feels funny to be wearing a ring, I never wear jewellery but this feels right." I lift her chin and I see the tears in her eyes, "It feels like it belongs," and she pauses, "I now feel like I belong."
"Oh Baby, you more than belong," and I can't continue and just hug her close to me, I wish I could wipe away her past and resolve to build such a future with her that the past is just a memory and not a constant reminder, it's time to build some new memories, together.
She curls up against me as Taylor drives and is lulled into sleep against my side and I'm grateful for it, we have a couple of hours excitement ahead of us and I'd rather she was rested, as we reach the destination, I manage to slide out from around Ana, leaving Taylor with her while I go to organise the rest of the afternoon.
"Wake up Baby, we're here and we're ready to go," I gently shake her as I undo her seatbelt and kiss her eyelids, her annoyed pout is adorable and I continue, "Come on sleepy head, we have to get moving so that we don't miss the thermals, the dust devils are indicating a good flight," and her eyes pop open in surprise.
"Thermals? How long did I sleep for? Where are we that we need thermal underwear?"
I can't stop the laughter that erupts from me at her questions and confused look and then she continues, "Hang on, you said flight. What sort of flying?"
"Soaring Baby, we are about soar, I prefer a dawn soar but a late afternoon, sunset soar is magical too, especially today, we should be able to soar across towards the Cascades and then finish up over the Sound and then back to here. Are you ready?"
"You're the one flying?"
"Absolutely"
"Well let's do it then, what are we waiting for?" She asks with a smile, putting her hands on my shoulders, allowing me to haul her out of the vehicle and against me, by the time I have finished kissing her, I have to hold her there to regain my composure and I shake my head at her with a smile.
"Baby, what you do to me is unbelievable! Let's go."
Strapping Ana into the parachute and then into her seat stirs some memories for me and she lifts her hand instinctively and strokes down my jaw, her eyes hold me and I nod and refocus.
Making sure she's totally secured and safe, I reassure her as I can feel her heart racing against my arm as I reach across her, "Don't touch anything unless I say so but just so you know, that stick between your legs is the joy stick… don't say anything because I need to be able to think," I add with a grin as the colour rises in her cheeks and she bites her lip to stop from laughing. "Don't bite that lip either or we aren't going anywhere and the tow-pilot won't know where to look."
I explain how the tow plane will take us up around 3 or 4000 feet and then release us, there will be a different feeling between being pulled up into the air and then the soaring will begin and she nods excitedly, the light shining in her eyes.
I thank Joey, who is the son of the old timer Joe who looks after Charlie Tango in Portland for me and tell him we're ready to go. Joey is a trusted tow-pilot, knowing exactly when to release a glider for the best soaring possible and knowing how to prepare both aircraft safely, he is one of the few people I will trust with my gliders.
There's nothing better than when I call "Release" and Joey lets us go, the pulling sensation finishes and we are simply floating, the magnificent machine in my total control, I love this part of soaring, chasing the thermals, looking for the dust devils to tell me where the best thermals exist and banking and spiralling where possible. I can hear Ana's gasps in my headset and ask how she's feeling and am rewarded by a breathy "Oh Christian, it is magnificent."
"Well, hang on Babe," and I drop the glider into a spiral and as she squeals I roll it into a spiral roll, her hands flight up against the ceiling and she laughingly curses me.
"Do it again" she calls out with a laugh "But only once more, I don't think my stomach can take anymore," and I oblige, it is simply beautiful out here over the Cascades and levelling it out, I suggest she takes control of the joystick and without any hesitation, she takes the controls, listening carefully to my instructions and following closely. I love it, with only a little extra training I can see that my beautiful girl will be more than capable of doing things with me that I have never ever wanted to share with anyone else.
Taking back the controls, I can hear her excited breathing in my head set and I point out the sights along the mountain ridge, cross country soaring at its best, winding valleys, emerald lakes and the craggy peaks, as I drop for a closer look, I have Ana suddenly quoting in my ear,
"He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls."
"The Eagle by Alfred Tennyson, my favourite poem Baby, how did you know that? "
Shyly I hear, "It's my favourite poem too but please let's not like a thunderbolt fall."
I lift the beautiful machine back higher as I don't want to scare Ana but I want her to experience one of the most exciting types of soaring, it is ridge soaring and warn her that we are going to go back down. While normal ridge soaring would have us flying almost at tree top level, I keep it well above that and zoom past the ridges, still exciting, still technical and it is Ana whooping in my ears that has my grin is almost splitting my face, I love that there is no fear and just excitement in her voice.
Today is not the day to continue with more excitement as it has been a long day and we have our whole future ahead of us, finally to have someone to share the things I enjoy doing the most fills my chest with a warmth and I am again overwhelmed by my luck in finding and falling in love with Ana.
I lift the glider back into the air and head back towards the Sound, now that the sun is setting, the view is purely magical, I tell her to glance back at the mountains to see the sunset reflected and her, "Sunsets are just the most beautiful part of the day and yesterday's was the best ever," gladdens my heart that little bit more, the memory of my proposal and her response perhaps one of the most beautiful I hold in my heart.
Directing her to look towards the Sound, the light now reflecting off the water, I reluctantly inform her that we will be heading back down in the next 15 minutes and she breathes, "Christian, it is simply beautiful, I can't believe how quiet it is and how free I feel, as free as a bird, thank you, I understand why you love it."
Wishing that I could see her face I decide that I will install a mirror above her so that I can see her in future, her commentary as I am pointing out the sights, has me smiling and wishing we could stay up longer but I am not certified for night flying and I will not risk Ana so inform her that we are heading back, the sun has almost set but there is more than enough light left to see the airfield just off in the distance.
Deciding to do one last wiggle of the wings to hear that giggle again, I tell her to hang on tight even though I am too low to roll, and start heading back over the Sound towards the airfield. Just as I start to rock it from side to side, out of the corner of my eye, too late I see a light plane who had just radioed his location a good 5000 feet above me, is actually directly under us and the wing of the glider as I dip clips the top of the plane sending us both into death spirals heading towards the dark water below us.
Ana's scream in my ear tells me she saw the plane just as we hit it and as the dread reaches it's cold fingers around my heart, I am determined that this will not be the way our life will end, our life together has just started, there is no way that I am going to let it end now.
"Hold on Baby, trust me, I love you," I manage as I fight with the controls.
"I love you too Christian, I always will." Ana responds quietly in my ear, there is fear etched in her words but no hysteria, allowing me the concentration to try and save our lives, just as I see the other plane spiral, completely out of control and plummet, hitting the sand at the edge of an island and bursting into flames.
I know I need to aim for the water for our best chance of survival and hope that all my training will be enough to pull off the impossible.