The Document Box

Airplane Trip

     Almerinda Marie Adams rested her head back against the seat and tried to control her nerves. She didn’t understand why she should be shaky. She certainly had been in an airplane before. She watched the sun glint off the wings and looked around at the other passengers.

     “Maybe it’s not the plane itself,” she thought, “maybe it’s where I’m going.” With a sigh she wiped her palms on her blue jeans and concentrated on the view out of the window. As the clouds swiftly blew by, her thoughts wondered again to Derrick and why she felt compelled to put so much distance between them. Cleveland to Key West. Almost to the end of the world. Certainly to the end of the country.

     Ally was leaving Salem, a little Ohio community that was founded by the Quakers in the last century. It was a peaceful little town and Ally had been happy there. How could things have changed so much just because of Derrick? Their romance was typical of the small town way of life. Boy meets girl; boy dates girl; boy breaks girl’s heart. No, no, that wasn’t right.

     Derrick Scott came from a long line of Salemites. His family owned the foundry at the west end of town and employed enough workers to make the Scott’s a force to be reckoned with. Staying true to the course, Derrick was serving his apprenticeship in the foundry so that when he took over the helm, he would have first hand knowledge of the inner workings of the plant, just like his father and grandfather before him. Alley knew when they met that she was reaching above her station in life. It was a grab for the brass ring and she went for it. They met in the restaurant where she worked evenings while going to school during the day. She needed the job to pay her way. So things didn’t turn out as she had hoped. Derrick just didn’t love her. “I guess you could say he used me,” she thought.

     “Boy, I’ve got to get a grip on myself.” Ally wiped a tear from her eye and forced herself to concentrate on her new hometown. It was pure luck the way her friend Jamie had called and invited her to come down to Key West for spring break. Jamie had been living in Key West for three years and she always ended her letters saying Ally should come for a visit but this was the first time she had actually issued an invitation to stay with her.

     “I wonder what she will say when I tell her that I intend to stay there permanently. She will probably flip out.”

     “Oh well,” she mused. “It’s too late to turn back now.” Ally had sold or given away as much of her things as possible so that she could travel light. She had two very large suitcases that she had to pay extra freight for and her carry-on bag and her purse, both of which were loaded to the top. She had stored some hand-me-down furniture in her Aunt Sydney’s attic but those were things from her parents that she just couldn’t part with yet. Maybe some day, but not yet. It was hard enough to be the last surviving member of her family without giving away all reminders of them too.

     The flight attendant broke into her thoughts just then with an offer of a light lunch and since Ally hadn’t taken time for breakfast, she was ready for something to eat. Besides, now that she was off on this adventure, she had to make every penny count. She was going to have to be very frugal. She had only a small amount of money to tide her over until she could get a job in her new hometown.

     She had always thought of herself as a well-rounded person and surely she could find some way to earn a living. Her problem was that she had no idea of what kind of job opportunities there would be for her in Key West. As her blue eyes closed against the sun’s glare, she decided she could take a waitressing job until something better came along. And as she nodded off to sleep, she also decided she was in no hurry to take that job either. “I deserve a vacation first.” she thought.