Doing this again to try and forget that I'm in a flight attendant's uniform and will soon be flying to Washington, doing a job i haven't trained for at all.
The strange thing is, that feels like the first thing that had me really nervous since arriving in Miami. It seems crazy to say that, because nobody else seems to really click into new lives quite so fast, but as soon as Lambert dropped me off in front of this pastel-colored building, her father ran out and squished me to his chest. "Where were you? Everyone has been so worried!"
"We, uh, got lost in the woods. Ms. Polawski... Alicia... had this 'glamping' idea, and while she backed a ton of extra food, she apparently forgot a compass, and after these other guys found us... Well, it was just so embarrassing..." I felt embarrassed saying this, but I guess that made it sound believable, because he just kissed the top of my head, said I didn't ever need to ashamed to tell him anything, and then picked up my luggage, apparently not noticing that there were two suitcases instead of one.
I'd seen pictures and video of Enrico Cortes on Dunia's phone, but somehow hadn't expected a few things. You can always smell the garage on him, for instance, even underneath the Old Spice (also: Dunia has an unnervingly good sense of smell), and even when he's so happy to see you that you think he'd overdo a hug, you can sort of feel that he knows when to stop. He's also strangely tidy - his mustache is perfectly trimmed and every room in this little house is so well-organized that I haven't had to arouse suspicion by asking where anything is in the past week, or at least every room except for Dunia's bedroom.
It wasn't quite dark yet but I was tired, and fell asleep practically as soon as I sat on the bed. When I woke up the next morning I saw my shoes were neatly placed at the foot of the bed and I'd been covered with a light blanket, which was kind of creepy, but maybe that's just what fathers do when they see their daughters sprawled out with the door open? I was kind of fuzzy - this was, like, my third day as Dunia and I was kind of jolted awake by her face in the mirror, but let my nose lead me downstairs to where he was scrambling some eggs, and perked up on seeing me. "Hey, you're up early! Although I guess you went to bed pretty early for you, so it balances out. Join your old man for breakfast?"
"Uh... okay." I sat down and he handed me a plate. I was a little nervous at first - there were bits of peppers in the eggs, but it wasn't bad at all. The orange juice was fresh-squeezed, too, and for as silly as I feel silly getting all wide-eyed at my first sip because it's nothing compared to what else is new, it really was different.
Her dad noticed and chuckled. "They don't have the fresh aid up in Maine, huh?" I imagine it's like North Dakota, where they have it in the fancy places folks like Lambert so at but which is out of my range, but obviously didn't say anything "Well, I'm off to the shop. Anything you need me to bring home? I got those bath oils you wanted while you were away, and I imagine you're looking forward to that after your adventure!"
Taken aback, I lifted an arm and smelled my armpit. I've smelled worse, but I imagine a girl who asks her dad to pick up bath pills doesn't often go 48 hours without showering, especially in this humidity. I let him awkwardly hug me goodbye, and then made my way to the bathroom
There was a whole line of products against one wall, and I sarcastically took a picture and texted it to Dunia: "What an i supposed to do with all this?"
It was only a minute or so before she texted back: "Hahahhaha, that must seem like a lot
"Why don't you just get in and soak and I'll write something up?"
I was kind of surprised by the quick response. "Isn't it like 5an there?"
"4! No daylight savings time
"Guess I'm an early riser now and still sort of on eastern time"
I turned on the faucet and put a door under the tap until it seemed okay. "That sucks"
"Could be worse, I guess. I'm kind of hot for an odd man" She sent a selfie of a silver-haired man in a wide-beater. She did look like she was in pretty decent shape. "Now you"
I tried to be cute, throwing up a v-sign and posing with my mouth open so I didn't look annoyed to be her. There was a brief pause, and she texted back not to make hand signs unless I really meant it.
Then: "Hey don't be shy about washing my v, ok? I know it's weird - BELIEVE ME - but I want EVERYTHING in good shape next year"
"Um, k"
She didn't respond door a minute or two, so I took a deep breath, stripped, and lowered myself into the bath. I winced a bit when the warm water touched my new private parts, but once I was in, it wasn't a big deal. I mean, it was weird, but it wasn't arousing or anything.
I exhaled and looked down. Dark-ish skin, perky breasts, tight waist, landing strip, butt flaring out, pretty nice legs. Little landing strip above a slit, yes, but it kind of hit me that this at least looked tidy, compared to what Dunia must be seeing from the same angle.
I just sat there for a bit. The warm water felt good, the house was quiet except for some birds outside. It was kind of peaceful. I closed my eyes and let my head sink below the water, feeling my hair float on the surface, then popped back up. That felt like enough doing nothing, so I picked up a lavender-scented beauty bar and started rubbing it on my body. My skin was soft, and kind of sensitive, but it wasn't ... Like, you spend a lot of time as a guy thinking about how everything about girls is sexy, but it's actually just skin muscle and fat the way my own body is. Even when washing my chest, it was like, there's weight and mass there, but touching it doesn't make me go nuts or anything.
Anyway, I got washed up and smelling nice, and once I'd tried off I walked back to her room to get dressed. Just a simple t-shirt and shorts - it was in the 80s - and spent a little time zooming with Dunia afterward, as she went through all the stuff in the bathroom and said what it was for.
We zoomed a lot over the past week, and I get the impression that's not normal - like, a lot of folks just get thrown into a new life without a lot of help, but I kind of get the impression that Dunia is kind of bored between trips and is in kind of a similar situation to me - she's getting instruction on driving an 18-wheeler and kind of worried about it, so when she has a chance, she's helping me with makeup and going through her Instagram feed to fill me in on everyone. I complained about her wardrobe a bit but she said I'd like having this butt when her girlfriends get me out dancing and the halters make it look like we've got enough up top to balance them.
And her dad... Her dad is kind of great! He's fretting a lot because of the whole going missing thing, but seems really proud of her, and even when he comes home from a long day at the garage smelling like grease, he likes to cook Dunia's favorite foods and ask how my day was, and when I say I've spent the whole day studying, points out that I should have some fun, too.
I've only seen Lambert a couple of times over the past week - I gather that Alicia is the new roommate in an apartment with a few other flight attendants, having just relocated to Miami from New York, and apparently the previous Alicia didn't make a very good impression. I don't think he's ever had a roommate before.
Anyway, I'm leaving out a lot, I know, and getting into too much in other spots, but I'm about to start my first shift and I'm nervous. Wish me luck!
-Toby/Dunia
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