Midnight in Suburbia

NaNoWriMo Day 15: Chapter 15 - Flight to Oklahoma

Chapter 15: Daniella's
Flight to Oklahoma

Daniella, accompanied by Preston who was carrying her suitcase, walked up the gangplank of the privet jet waiting at McCaron Airport. At the top of the steps, Jackson took the suitcase from Preston and carried it into the jet, while Preston kissed Daniella good- by. Then Preston descended the steps and Daniella walked into the jet. Sitting in a seat, she buckled up.

"Are you ready, Ms Coffey," ask Jackson as he walked toward the cockpit pausing at Daniella's seat

"Yes, Jackson," she said, "but please call me Daniella. We've been friends too long for you to address me as Ms anything."

"Of course, Daniella," he continued into the cockpit.

After the plane was airborne, Daniella removed her seat belt and went to one of the couches beside the planes windows. She looked out the window, taking in the afternoon beauty of Las Vegas. 'I wonder,' she thought, 'if Mom would enjoy a private jet rather then a commercial flight back to Las Vegas.' Daniella knew that even a wedding may not get Amity to leave her home, especially if she thought that Dolly was entering without her consent.

As the plane flew towards Oklahoma, Daniella tried to remember the specifics of her mother's last letter. She did not see anything strange in it at the time, but Amity had not written her in a two or three months. She knew her mother perfurred to communicate by telephone or over skype because it was easier to determine other people's emotions, while a letter contain only what one person wanted the other to know.

Jackson came out of the cockpit, "Would you like something to eat or drink, Daniella?"

"Yes," she replied as he walked past her to the galley. He returned a few minutes later with coffee and sandwiches, which he placed on the coffee table sitting in front of the couch. He then took his food and returned to the cockpit.

Daniella unwrapped the sandwich and took a bit, then she picked up a Better Homes and Gardens magazine laying on the coffee table like stand in front of her. Opening to a recipe for turkey soup, she studied the ingredients. "Hum," she said, "this reads like it taste good, but perhaps a jalano or two would make it taste better." Daniella had never found a recipe in any magazine that she could not figure out a way to make it taste better. She took sip of her coffee before opening her purse, which sit on the couch beside her, and removing a pad and a pincle. She copied the recipe, adding the jalanos before putting the pad back in her purse.

After finishing her sandwich and coffee, Daniella check her watch. 'Well,' she thought as she got up and went back to the recliner-like flight chair, 'I think I'll take a nap.' She knew the flight to Blackwell, Oklahoma was a long one and she did not ask Jackson where he planned to stop and refuel the plane. she knew he had planned a stop between Las Vegas and Blackwell, but since she did not want to go beyond the airport she did not care to know where or when they would stop. She smiled as she thought of Preston's reaction to her attitude towards flying on a private or commercial airliner. He liked to know the agenda and flight plan, she prefurred to know the destination, but how she got to the final destination was unimportant.


Daniella yawned, so she reclined the seat and buckled her seat belt. That was another of her ideosycinries that Preston found amusing. He did not care buckle the seat belts unless requested or he knew the plane was landing soon. If he was sleepy then he would lean back and doze with buckling the seat belt because when the seat belt sign came on it always woke him. Daniella on the other hand could sleep through a seat belt sign or an alarm when she was sleepy or when she was flying.

Jackson shook her, "Daniella, we've landed to take on fuel. Would you like to try one of the airport restaurants while the ground crew is refueling?"

"I don't suppose you would permite me to say on the plane?"

"No," he laughed, "I promised Preston that I would see to it you got off the plane and walked around a bit while the ground crew were refueling the plane."

"I see," she laughed and unbuckled her seat belt. "He thinks I don't get enough exercise when I'm on a plane."

"My wife is the same way with me," he said as the walked down the steps of the gangplank and into the airport. "Where shall we eat?"

"It doesn't matter to me," she replied. "I'm not all that crazy about air port food."

The walked past several fast food places before coming to a Panda Express. Daniella ordered fried rice with shrimp and spicy chicken, while Jackson order rice with beef and shrimp. The sit down at a table and began to eat.

"I gather your wife took a commercial flight to Oklahoma."

"Yes," he laughed. "Her mother went into the hospital a few days ago and she went down to help her father out>"

"Anything serious?"

"I'm not sure," he took a sip of his soda. "Her father didn't say much about what was ailing Meme."

"How's he doing?"

"Attempting to cook for himself without his wife around the house," Jackson finished his shrimp. "I don't know what he would do if anything happened to Meme, they've been married fifty years and during that time she's did everything around the house."

"Does he take care of the yard?"

"He mows the lawn and tinkers in his garage, but Meme cleans the house and takes care of the family finance."

"Sounds like Ginny takes after her mother."

"She does." They finish there food, then carry their trays and dishes to the trash. The despose of the items and return to the plane.

Once back in the air, Daniella dozes off again. She sleeps through the rest of the trip to Blackwell. In Blackwell, she disembarks and goes into the passanger area to find a taxi to take her to her mother's. However, once she comes to the taxi area, she meets her cousin George Stupe waiting for his wife to pick him up.

"Hi, George," she says. "Just getting back fro Las Vegas."

"Yes," he laughed. "I decided to stay a few more days because Vegas is less stressful then dealing with my mother or your mother."

"They can be a handful sometimes," she started to hail a taxi, but George's wife drove up at that moment.

"Daniella," said George. "Why don't you let me drive you to your Mom's house."

"Your wife wouldn't mind?"

"Of course, I wouldn't," said Betty Cartwright. "It's not that far out of the way, besides," she sighed. "I think there's something you should see before you go to your mother's."

"What's Mom done to Dolly this time," Daniella shook her head.

"It's not what your mother has did to Dolly," Betty frowned. "It's what Dolly has done to your mother. I swear those two have been getting worse since their last birthday's."

"What'd Mom do," he said putting Daniella's suitcase in the trunk and then getting into the front passenger seat, while Daniella got into the back seat.

As the drove toward the suburb, Betty slowed down when they came to a large bill board at the intersection of Main Street and College. Daniella look at the sign and could not help but laugh. George laughed as well because there was a picture of a large gray haired bat with the name Amity Coffey-Shupe under it.

"I gather," George said, "that Mom thinks Aunt Amity is an old bat."

"She does," said Betty glaring at her husband. "But it isn't funny."

"At this point," said Daniella, "almost anything that occurs between those two is funny. Especially when one tries to make the other look like fool."

"Betty," George rubbed his wife's shoulder. "I'll call the ad agency and have it taken down after Thanksgiving, unless Daniella would like it taken down today."

"After Thanksgiving is fine, George," she tried to stop laughing. "I think we have more to worry about at the Thanksgiving dinner then about a sign."

"Yes," said George and Betty pulled over to the curb to let a firetruck go past. "There's no telling what either of them will do at the dinner."

"You mean," glared Betty, "neither of you is going to put a stop to that Thanksgiving dinner."

"Betty," said Daniella, "I'm not sure that either George or I could put a stop to their shanaigans." She sighed, "my concern right now is finding out why Mom has been acting stranger then normal. What about you, George?"

"I need to find out how much my brother had to do with putting that sign up."

"George," said Betty, "do you really think Frank would do something that childish?"

"Unfortunately, My Dear, I do!" As they turned the corner to go to Amity's house, he noticed smoke rising from the area where she lived. "I wonder whose house is on fire."

"It looks like it's coming from Mom's street," said Daniella.

"Yes, it does," said Betty frowning.

"Perhaps the house behind her finally caught fire," said George. "It should have been torn down a year ago, when the McDonald's moved out."

"The McDonald's moved out of Blackwell," Daniella ask, she had dated one of the McDonald boys when she was in high school.

"Not out of town, just out of the house. Apparently, Jonas got angry and took an ax to the front door."

"Sound's like Jonas," Daniella said. "Was anyone hurt?"

"Only the door, after that Jonas Jr. had his father confinded to an assisted living place, but that didn't last long."

"No," said Betty. "He got so violent that they had to commit him to a secured facality."