Nouvelles Pilot Romance & Romans Regret

In the short time I'm away at the restroom, the waiter has already cleared half the dishes on the table. My girlfriend and best friend move to a two-seat table by the window, sitting across from each other, completely engrossed in conversation. Neither of them even notices that I've left and come back. "I'm flying to Portside City next week. This hotel has a rooftop pool. Are you in, Captain Clark?" Dylan Humphrey's voice is bright. "If you like it, then sure. It could be a nice getaway." I freeze. That is the same hotel I had shared in our group chat a month ago. Back then, Hayley Clark had replied with only three words, "Stop following trends." Bitterness rises in my throat. Suddenly, I'm reminded of our high school graduation night. The three of us stay up late talking about our futures. Hayley says she wants to become a pilot, and Dylan swears he will be the most handsome flight attendant in the sky. Then, they both turn to me, their eyes shining with expectation. I say, "Then, I'll be an air traffic controller. No matter how high you two fly, I'll be the one guiding you." Now, watching them sit across from each other, chatting and smiling, I suddenly feel disheartened. I don't want to keep waiting for them to land anymore. My control tower is shutting down.

Every year, my husband Adrian granted his childhood sweetheart Keira whatever she wished for on her birthday. Last year, he gave her one half of a matching pair of rings. The year before that, he'd used ninety-nine military jets to write "Keira, I love you" across the sky. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, wondering what he'd come up with this year. Keira closed her eyes and made her wish over the birthday candles. "My birthday wish this year is to marry Adrian." The room went dead silent. I stood in the doorway, clutching the lab report that confirmed my pregnancy. Adrian and I had been married for five years, and today I'd finally found out I was pregnant. But faced with Keira's wish, Adrian didn't look the slightest bit troubled. He actually laughed. "That's your wish? Easy." He stood up, walked over, and took my arm, lowering his voice. "Vivian, it's Keira's birthday. She's the birthday girl, and I'm only giving her what she wished for." "Just come with me to sign the divorce papers, and first thing tomorrow morning, we'll remarry." I stared at the man in front of me in disbelief. I had been by his side for five full years, from when he was an ordinary soldier to now, a high-ranking officer. And now he wanted to divorce me for his childhood sweetheart's birthday wish. I gripped the pregnancy report tighter. "But I'm pregnant."

On the day Moon Spencer received the Medal of Honor, she made a public declaration of love on live television to her accompanying military medic, Xavier Quinn. “If it weren’t for Xavier, I’d have died in that storm at sea. He is the most important person in my life.” At the same time, her husband, Nathan Johnson, was lying on his deathbed at home. For years, he had taken care of Moon’s parents and raised their child alone. The strain destroyed his health, and he had little time left. He never expected that after twenty years of sacrifice, he would not even hear a word of thanks from her. What truly broke him was their daughter’s comment. “Dad, don’t you think Dr. Quinn and Mom are perfect together? You should leave sooner and make room for him.” Nathan collapsed in fury and regret. He died that night. When he opened his eyes again, he was back to the night before Moon left for her coastal deployment. This time, he refused to stay behind as the forgotten man who kept everything running. In this life, he would pursue his own dream.

Brandon Smith has flown for eight years. I've been with him since the time he was an assistant pilot, all the way until he successfully rose to the ranks as the head pilot. In the year Brandon's busiest with his career, I resign from my job and begin cooking according to his aviation schedule. Just once, I bring up the question, "Can you please show me the sight of being thousands of feet in the air in the near future? Just once, please!" Brandon continues eating from his plate. "The plane is a workplace, not an amusement park for you." I reply, "Okay." Since then, I never bring up that matter in front of him. That is, until I find myself suffering from insomnia one night. That's when I accidentally come across an encrypted photo album tucked away in Brandon's phone. There are over 40 photos in the album, all from his perspective as a pilot. There are seas of clouds, sunsets, double rainbows after a downpour, as well as the Milky Way in the night sky when the plane is over thousands of feet in the sky. Every photo has been sent to the same person with a bear's emoji as their name. The latest photo is a photo of the beautiful evening colors from three days ago. Half of the sun can be seen in the clouds. The caption that comes with the photo says, "Today's sky is still beautiful as ever. When you come over next time, you can take the observation seat on the right. It gives you the best angle of the sky." The bear emoji person responds with a hugging emoji and a short sentence. "Wait for me to go on my break." I put Brandon's phone back where it belongs without changing the password and deleting the album. Once the morning sun is up, I brew myself some coffee as usual before finishing it quietly. Then, I turn on my computer and book myself a flight ticket to Dalco. It's been eight years. Finally, I don't have to chase after Brandon's flight routes and wait for his mealtimes. I no longer have to stay in an empty house while guessing which flight destination he's headed to right now. Since Brandon's sky refuses to tolerate my presence, I shall move my roots elsewhere and watch the sunset on my own.

A once-in-a-century blizzard slammed into Grace Harbor without warning, and we lost contact with the plane my fiancé, Cedric Vaughn, was flying. I radioed the crew from the control tower 99 times. Not a word came back. The airline put together a rescue team. I was about to sign up when a coworker stopped me. "An avalanche just hit the area where the plane went down, Cassandra. You can't go out there. It's too dangerous. Cedric would never want you risking your life for him!" I pushed his hand away. My voice came out hoarse. "But he's my fiancé. We're getting married in one week!" I went into the danger zone with the search-and-rescue team. During the rescue, a piece of wreckage went clean through my shoulder. Even then, giving up never once crossed my mind. I dug for 18 hours before I finally dragged the badly injured pilot out of the wreckage. It wasn't until I wiped the blood and grime off his face that I realized it wasn't Cedric. The rescue team leader kept his eyes on the ground, unable to look at me. "The truth is, Cedric secretly got another pilot to cover his flight three days ago. He went on an island getaway with Elena instead!" I didn't want to believe it. With shaking hands, I called him. It rang and rang. No one picked up. A second later, a notification popped up on my phone. Elena Marsh had posted on Instagram. In the photo, she was wearing a skimpy red bikini on a beach at sunset, kissing Cedric with his arms wrapped around her. Then I saw the caption. "Cedric says what we have is true love. "He's only marrying that 200-pound pig for her money. His heart belongs to me." I looked down at my torn, bloody hands and deleted his number. A plane that drifts off course can still turn back. But if Cedric's heart had picked a new destination, I knew what I had to do. I was done keeping the tower lights on for him.