of all the people

“Hi, I’d like to see Cassandra Jenkins, if that’s alright?” 

“Okay, when would you like to schedule a meeting?”

“Uhh…now? If possible?”

Sophia’s heart sank as the woman behind the desk raised a single eyebrow at her.

“Miss Jenkins is a very busy woman…I’m sorry, but unless you have a scheduled meeting, or want to make one, you’ll have to leave.”

Sophia sighed.

“Can’t I just wait? And maybe if she has a spare five minutes, I can see her? Please, it’s important.”

The woman raised her eyebrow again but did click around on her laptop for a few seconds.

“I really am sorry, but Miss Jenkins is fully booked up today. You did read the sign as you walked in? Miss Jenkins is a partner here, it’s very rare she has any time throughout the day.” 

To her horror, Sophia felt tears welling in her eyes.

“I-okay. Can I…can I schedule a meeting then, please?”

The woman looked at her in sympathy.

“Of course, what are the details of your case?”

Sophia paused.

“I, um, I don’t have a case. It’s a personal thing.”

The woman was back to glaring at her.

“Well, if you’re not bringing a case to us, I definitely can’t schedule you a meeting. Miss Jenkins doesn’t allow personal meetings on company time, for anyone.”

Sophia sighed and glanced around the office one more time, as if the subject of their conversation would just come strutting round the corner and rescue her from this awkwardness.

“Okay. Okay, can you just tell her I was asking for her then please?”

“Of course, if you just leave your name and contact info with me and I’ll pass them on to her.”

“It’s Sophia Warwick, and here’s my phone number.”

“Thank you. I’ll pass this onto Miss Jenkins when I see her.”

Sophia nodded with a small smile.

“Thanks, what’s your name, by the way?”

“Jess. Have a nice day, Sophia.”

“You too!”

******

Sophia stared up at the building opposite her.

Pierce & Jenkins

She couldn’t believe Cassie had done it. 20 years later and here she was, a partner in her very own law firm, just like she said she would be. And it wasn’t that Sophia wasn’t successful. Being a travel writer was everything Sophia dreamed it would be. But becoming partner in a law firm was a lot harder than taking a laptop on holiday and writing about it.

Sophia stretched her leg, trying to relieve the pain in her knee – it was always worse in wet weather. She was waiting for Cassie, hoping that she would leave work some time soon. Sophia wasn’t even sure she remembered what Cassie looked like, they’d known each other for all of 2 hours 20 years ago.

But she needed to know. The question had bothered Sophia on and off for the last two decades. Why had Cassie said it? It was something Sophia only allowed herself to think about in the early hours of the morning, sitting in some hotel room or on a beach far away from home.

Movement across the street caught her eye. Cassie. Sophia didn’t know how she’d thought she wouldn’t remember what Cassie looked like. The red hair was still just as vibrant as it had been 20 years ago, even in the dim of New York City streetlights. Sophia stood and quickly crossed the road.

“Cassie!”

Red hair fanned out as Cassie spun in her direction.

“Sophia?”

Sophia could see the shock and confusion on Cassie’s face.

“Hey, stranger.”

Cassie made her way over, stopping just in front of Sophia.

“What are you doing here?”

Sophia shrugged.

“Looking for you. Do you know how many people called Cassandra Jenkins there are in America?”

Cassie laughed and gestured towards the road.

“Come on, I know a nice little bar down the street.”

Sophia winced as pain shot up her leg as she moved.

“You okay?”

Sophia smiled slightly at the concerned tone in Cassie’s voice.

“Yeah. Just my knee. It hurts more in wet weather, turns out that’s not a myth.”

Cassie looked up at the sky, dark but clear. As clear as it got in New York City, anyway.

“It hasn’t rained in days?”

Sophia laughed.

“It will tonight, trust me.”

There was a moment of quiet as they walked down the street.

“Your knee? Is it from-“

“Yeah, see?”

Sophia stopped and pulled up the leg of her trousers.

“They gave me a whole new leg. Half anyway. Doesn’t hurt though, and it’s definitely helped my career.”

“Your blog?”

Sophia looked at Cassie, who was still staring straight ahead while she walked.

“Uh, yeah. You’ve read it?”

Cassie shook her head, glancing at Sophia before looking away again.

“I’ve heard about it, and I knew where to find it. But I could never bring myself to read anyting.”

“Did you never think to message me?”

Cassie sighed.

“I did. I almost sent you a message so many times. But it had been so long, and I didn’t know what happened to you after. I wasn’t sure if you’d even remember me, let alone actually want to talk to me.”

Sophia thought about that as they walked into the bar. Admittedly, Cassie did have a point. There was a reason she had waited so long to track her down.

“What are you drinking?”

“Oh, just a lemonade, please.”

Sophia watched Cassie talk to the barman. She hadn’t changed as much as Sophia thought she might’ve. Same sharp jawline, same honey-brown eyes, same bright red hair albeit now ever so slightly streaked with white, and same warm voice.

“Come on, Darren said our table is free.”

Sophia quirked an eyebrow.

“Our?”

Cassie glanced at her, flushing.

“We sometimes drink here after work.”

“Speaking of…Pierce & Jenkins?”

Cassie blushed as they sat down. The lights were dimmer at the back of the bar, but Sophia could still see the red flush in Cassie’s cheeks.

“They made me a partner three months ago. I made it. I’ve done exactly what I wanted. Sophia, I’m happy.”

“I’m so happy for you, I really am. I remember when you told me. This is your dream, Cassie, you’re living it.”

Cassie smiled, blush still decorating her face.

“And what about you? You’ve done pretty well with your blog.”

Sophia grinned and took a sip of her lemonade, she loved talking about her job.

“I was a travel writer for magazines for a while. I started to get over what happened, but I found that I actually love travelling and writing about it. Now I’m self-employed and can travel wherever I want in the world.”

“Sounds like you got what you wanted as well. Are you happy?”

Sophia thought about it.

“I am, yeah. It took a while, but I’m happy.”

They both sipped their drinks in the silence. It wasn’t awkward, but the past lingered in the air between them.

“Why now?”

Sophia looked at Cassie, who was looking right back over the rim of her glass.

“I finally felt okay to try finding you. I tried, you know, right after, but there wasn’t much I could do stuck at home with half a leg missing. I wasn’t in a good place for a while. But I can’t get it out of my head. It haunts me in the middle of the night, has done for twenty years. Why did you say you love me?”

§§§§

 Sophia hated planes. Well, she hated the take-off. And the landing. The flying bit was okay. No one was sat next to her yet, but there was still 15 minutes until take off.

“Hey stranger.”

Sophia looked up to see a stunning redhead smiling at her.

“Hey. Are you middle or aisle?”

“Aisle. But I booked both seats.”

Sophia quirked an eyebrow as the girl sat down.

“Why?”

The girl shrugged.

“More space. And it means we can both put our bags on the seat instead of on the floor.”

Sophia thought that made perfect sense and made a mental note to do that on her next flight.

“I’m Cassandra, by the way, but you can call me Cassie.”

“I’m Sophia. So, what were you doing in Boston?”

Cassie smiled.

“I go to school there. Harvard Law.”

Wow.

“Very impressive. What kind of lawyer do you wanna be?”

Cassie frowned for a moment.

“Not sure yet. But I want to be partner at a firm by the time I’m 45, whatever kind of law I end up practising.”

“Wow, so how long do you have?”

Sophia could see Cassie doing the maths in her head.

“Well, by the time I finish school I’ll hopefully already have an internship so 20 ish years, depending on the type of law and whether I do some kind of accelerated program or not. What about you?”

“What about me what?”

Cassie giggled.

“What were you doing in Boston?”

“Oh, just visiting some friends.”

“Good morning, everyone, this is your pilot speaking…”

Sophia breathed in sharply. They would be taking off soon.

“Not a fan of flying?”

Sophia turned her head, meeting Cassie’s eyes.

“Just not a fan of the take-off, or landing. Everything else is…okay.”

Cassie was still looking at her.

“You can hold my hand, if you want?”

Sophia looked at the extended hand, hovering over the middle seat, and took it in her own.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

The plane engine began rumbling, the plane vibrating slightly as it taxied to the end of the runway. Sophia closed her eyes and leant her head back against the seat, determined not to look at the landscape through the window.

A small whimper escaped Sophia as the plane began to pick up speed. She looked over at Cassie as she felt the other girl entwine their fingers, squeezing her hand.

“Thank you.”

Cassie just smiled in response, squeezing her hand again. Once they were in the air Sophia assumed Cassie would take her hand back, but she didn’t, and Sophia was a little bit amazed at the relaxed way they were holding hands over the middle seat, as if they had known each other all their lives.

“Are you in college or anything?”

Sophia hummed.

“Not yet. I don’t want to go for the sake of it. I really want to know what I want to do before I commit to that.”

“Fair enough. What do you wanna do? Or where do you wanna go?”

Sophia laughed.

“Anywhere and everywhere but home, I guess. There’s nothing wrong with home, of course, but I want to explore. Winnipeg only has so much.”

Cassie rolled her eyes.

“Don’t I know it!”

Sophia thought for a moment.

“Hey, how come you’re not in school? It’s the middle of term, isn’t it?”

Cassie sighed.

“I gotta tell my family something, it’s not really an over-the-phone kinda thing.”

Sophia paused, wondering if she should ask.

“I’m…I like girls. Romantically. And I should tell my parents. Because they keep asking when I’m going to bring a boy home for the holidays, especially this year because my sister just got married like four months ago, and I just can’t bring myself to fake it.”

Well 

“That’s…a lot.”

“You’re the first person I’ve told. I’ve never said it out loud before.”

Sophia smiled. She could see the happiness in Cassie’s eyes.

“That’s amazing, oh my god! I’m so proud of you.”

Tears filled Cassie’s eyes.

“You are? God, I don’t know why I’m crying, sorry.”

Sophia squeezed Cassie’s hand.

“Of course I am. And it’s a big thing, coming out, you’re allowed to cry. I definitely did.”

“You’re…”

“Bisexual.”

Cassie smiled, brushing away the tears that hadn’t fallen yet.

“Do you wanna-“

“Hello everyone. This is your pilot speaking. One of our engines is indicating improperly, so we’ll be making an unscheduled landing in Michigan very shortly. Please follow the safety instructions you were given before take-off. If you require additional assistance, press the call button above your seat and one of our flight attendants will be with you as soon as possible.”

Panic filled Sophia. Something was wrong with the plane.

“Hey, hey, look at me.”

Sophia’s eyes darted to Cassie, who still look calm.

“We’re gonna be fine, okay? The pilot is gonna land the plane in Michigan, we’re gonna get off, and they’re gonna fix the problem. They’ll either put us on a different flight, or we’ll wait until the plane is fixed. It’ll all be fine okay.”

Sophia nodded, panic still holding her vocal cords hostage. She squeezed Cassie’s hand again, thankful she hadn’t let go the entire time.

“Oh god, the engine is on fire!”

Sophia didn’t know where the scream came from. It did, however, prompt her to look out the window, only to see thick, black smoke billowing from the engine. A flight attendant was making her way down the aisle.

“Everyone, please try to remain calm. The pilot is doing everything he can to land us safely. Please do not leave your seats, and please keep your seatbelts fastened, thank you.”

Sophia’s free hand went to double check her seatbelt was fastened. She looked over at Cassie, who now seemed as panicked as she felt.

“The engine is on fire.”

Sophia nodded. Without warning, the plane tilted sharply downward, and Sophia heard several people scream.

“This is your pilot speaking. If you could all please retrieve your life jackets from under the seats and put them on and inflate them. We’ll be making our emergency landing into Lake Superior.”

Sophia reached down to grab her life jacket and briefly let go of Cassie’s hand so she could put it on. She felt Cassie grasping her hand again, linking their fingers. The plane lurched to the right before dropping sharply again. Sophia caught a glimpse of the water in front of the plane. It was coming at them fast, she could almost see the ripples on the water. Cassie squeezed her hand and Sophia dragged her gaze away from the window.

“Hey stranger.”

Sophia felt like crying.

“Cassie…”

Cassie smiled and raised their joined hands to her lips, pressing a light kiss on the back of Sophia’s hand and whispered so softly Sophia almost missed it.

“I love you.”

§§§§

“I thought we were going to die.”

Sophia stared at Cassie.

“That doesn’t explain much.”

Cassie nodded.

“I know. Can we walk and talk? Darren will be closing up in a minute.”

Sophia nodded and stood up stiffly, her knee was getting worse. She shook her leg out, feeling the pain ease a little. She couldn’t wait to get back to her hotel and have a long soak in the bath.

They started walking in silence. It wasn’t raining yet, but Sophia could feel it in the air.

“I didn’t want to die without having said it.”

“What?”

“I didn’t want to die never having said ‘I love you’ to someone. To a girl. I just…I had just figured out I was gay. I don’t know, I guess I wanted to leave something behind, something permanent. Does that make sense?”

Something settled inside Sophia at the revelation.

“Yeah. That makes sense. How did that go, by the way? Telling your parents, I mean.”

Cassie laughed.

“Fucking horribly, to tell the truth. At first they thought I had a concussion from the crash, but when they realised I was serious they threw me out. Haven’t seen them in 20 years.”

“I’m sorry.”

Cassie laughed again, kicking a stone down the pavement.

“Don’t be. My life has been fantastic. It’s sad, but I really don’t feel like I missed out by not having them around. I still see my sister, and my nieces and nephews. We just don’t talk about our parents.”

“That sucks, but I’m glad you still have your sister.”

“Yeah, me too.”

They carried on down the street in comfortable silence.

“What were you gonna ask me?”

Cassie drew her gaze away from the pavement.

“What?”

“On the plane, you were about to ask me something before the pilot announced the engine failure.”

To Sophia’s surprise, Cassie blushed and went back to looking at the pavement.

“Oh, that. I was going to ask if you would maybe have wanted to go on a date with me once we got to Winnipeg. Obviously, we never really made it to Winnipeg and now it’s been 20 years and-“

“Yes.”

Cassie’s eyes jumped up to meet Sophia’s.

“Yes?”

Sophia smiled.

“I would’ve said yes. I…I would still say yes.”

Before Cassie could reply, it began raining. Not a light sprinkle, but a steady downpour. Sophia laughed, stopping to look up at the sky, the rain illuminated by the streetlights.

“I told you it was gonna rain.”

Still looking at the sky, Sophia didn’t notice Cassie had moved until she felt a hand slip into hers. Lowering her head, she met Cassie’s eyes.

“Hey stranger.”

The whisper was soft, barely audible over the rain, but from the way Cassie’s eyes lit up, Sophia knew she’d heard it.