Page 1 of Girl in the Snow
Chapter One
Heathrow Airport, London, UK
TwodaysbeforeChristmas
Deanna wandered through the airport terminal in a haze of confusion and unshed tears.She dragged two suitcases behind her and tried to blink her vision clear, as she ducked and weaved through groups of people queuing for check-in, security or milling around.
She’d found herself at Heathrow without a plan.This wouldn’t come as a complete shock to anyone who knew her.Deanna was a last-minute decision, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of girl.As a flight attendant, she was generally happy to go wherever the wind took her.But this was different.She had no clue what she was doing with the rest of the holidays, let alone the rest of her life, or where she was going to live it.
The long and the short of it was: she had to get away.
It was nearly Christmas, awfully late in the season for making plans.Still, she had to try.Staying in London all by herself, with the echoes of missing family, was too much to deal with.But where should she go?
She came to a stop, biting the inside of her cheek, and stared up at the flight information board scanning the list of upcoming departures.Her eyes caught on the latest update: New York.A flight departing in a couple of hours.That was an option…
The clock was ticking if she wanted to make it somewhere, anywhere, by Christmas.She no longer had to move to London, and Mermaid Airlines management, aka her soon-to-be ex-employer, could metaphorically go jump without a parachute.
Deanna’s manager hadn’t given her time off when she needed it, hadn’t listened when she explained her need to move to London, so now they could suck it.Their offer?Re-locate to the middle of nowhere.No, thank you.Okay, Hanoi wasn’t really in the middle of nowhere, but she didn’t want to live there.
Deanna had narrowed down her options to moving elsewhere in the UK or maybe heading back home to Australia.Her aunt in Sydney would put her up for a while, but the US was also a possibility.She had friends in New York, and some decisions to make.
Should she stay or should she go?
The old punk song by The Clash ran through her head as she tapped her foot in her platform sneakers.
Her gaze fixed on the flight information.New York.She could go to Winterbourne Lodge.It was only a few hours’ drive from the New York airports.She’d forgotten about the lodge, or maybe she’d blocked it from her mind.Now, she couldn’t shake the idea that she was supposed to go there.
Something about the idea of New York at Christmas rang a little bell in the back of her mind.Not staying in the city, but nearby, in the snow.Having a real white Christmas appealed to the little girl inside the woman.She wrapped her Burberry trench coat a little tighter around her waist and flicked a lock of brown curly hair behind her ear.
Deanna approached the Mermaid Airlines ticket counter and spluttered out a laugh.There was a familiar face.“Violet, why are you working here?I thought you were flying the London to New York route?”
Violet, a flight attendant trained in Hong Kong and a recent addition to the Mermaid Airlines crew, smiled in return.“Well, if it isn’t Deanna Michaelson.I’m working here in London as ground crew now.Didn’t you hear?I got engaged to the English Dude.”She flashed a hefty rock on her left hand in Deanna’s direction.
Deanna blinked.“Oh wow, I didn’t think things were so serious with you and The Dude yet.”This was an affectionate name for Violet’s boyfriend Alex, who was apparently now her fiancé.
Alex was a kind of backup rockstar.He played guitar when famous bands came to London and needed someone to fill in and he also played sessions in the recording studio.
Violet nodded, lowering her voice.“Just quietly, I got knocked-up.We’re living in a mansion flat in Chelsea and I love it.I lovehim.”
Deanna pressed her lips together and said a little silent prayer.The only kind she knew.
Dear Mum, please don’t let me be the last single girl left standing out of my entire flight crew.Have a word to the big guy for me.
She shook herself and placed her hand over Violet’s on the ticket desk.“I’m thrilled for you, but I need a favour.I want a standby ticket to New York, if possible.I know it’s last minute…”
Deanna glanced down at her suitcases.She’d cleared out her all-seasons wardrobe in her longtime rental apartment in Dubai, vowing never to return.That place was little more than a crash pad anyway.And she had a few things from her mother’s house.Clothes for cold weather, all her essentials, as well as her going-out dresses and a bikini.She could go anywhere.
She’d made the biggest decision already.After her Christmas break, she would resign from her job as a flight attendant.But for now, she’d use one of her standby tickets.
Deanna met Violet’s eyes.Her friend looked a little sad, her forehead crinkling in an uncharacteristic frown.Maybe the flight crew grapevine had already informed Violet about what was happening in Deanna’s life.
Deanna pressed her lips together and tried not to give in to the tears still threatening to break like a dark thundercloud on the horizon.
Violet slid her hand out from Deanna’s and wiggled her fingers at the computer screen in front of her.“Let me see what magic I can manage.”
After a few moments of Violet’s fingers clicking across the keyboard and some muttered words of frustration, Violet glanced up.“I’ve got you on the next flight but it’s Business Class.Is that all right?”
Deanna shrugged, as if she wasn’t thrilled.She had frequent flyer points she could use for an upgrade so it wouldn’t cost extra.Why not get herself a Christmas gift?
