Page 58 of Truth, Lies, and Second Dates
“It’s nice to see you again, Captain Capp.”
So that’s how they were doing it. Okay, then. “Thank you, Dr. Baker.” To India, who was staring at the child like she was an oracle come to life (an oracle with shaggy bangs and a missing front tooth and… was that a Cone of Shame bandage?), she added, “Hannah’s one of a kind. I know that’s technically true for everyone on the planet, but it’s really,reallytrue for her. And there are too many people on myflight deck. G.B., please escort Dr. Baker to his seat. I’ll walk Hannah back when we’re finished here. If that’s okay with you, Tom.”
“It is, Ava, thank you.” With that, he turned and left with G.B.
“Oh-ho.” This from India, but she declined to engage.
“I’m glad you’re friends again,” Hannah said.
“Huh? We weren’t really friends before. I’ve known him less than a week. It was never going to… y’know. Go anywhere.”Why am I having this conversation with a child?
“Exactly.”
“What?”
“That’s the point. He liked yousomuch after less than a week. Even when he thought you might have killed someone. Or had guilty knowledge of killing someone. Or made a mess with the dead girl’s ashes.”
India’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me,what?”
“Think how Uncle Tom will feel in a month!” She turned to India. “May I ask a personal question?”
“I have no idea.”
“Were you named after India the peninsula, India the country ruled by the British until 1947, India the republic, or India ink?”
“I was named after my uncle.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “Tradition. I hadn’t considered that. Which was foolish now that I think about it. I’ll need to recalculate the variables…”
“Did you have any questions about the flight deck?” Ava gestured to the dizzying array of instruments and screens, often incomprehensible to passengers. “Or flying in general? Or about becoming a pilot? Or your plans to eventually conquer the Northern Hemisphere?”
“Mmmmm.” Hannah was looking at the instruments with a small frown, eyes moving back and forth as she scanned the array in a way that definitely didn’t remind Ava of a terminatorat all. “No, I’ve got it now, and I can research more tonight. I just came up so you and Uncle Tom could see and talk to each other.”
Ava stared. “You areterrifying.”
She grinned. “Thank you!”
Thirty
“I’ve returned her safe and sound,” she announced unnecessarily.
Abe smiled and tried to courteously rise, but had forgotten his seat belt and thumped back down. “Hello again, young lady!”
“Two lies. I’m pushing thirty, but thanks.”
“What are the odds that we’re flying on one of your planes?”
“Technically, it’s the airline’s plane.”
“Thousands to one, actually,” Tom said. “Particularly when you factor in all Northeastern Southwest flights and every city to which they fly.” He stood so Hannah could take her place in the middle and looked at Ava. “I hope you thanked the captain for letting you into the cockpit, Hannah.”
“That’s not necessary,” Ava put in hastily. “It was a pleasure to have her up there.” An intimidating, terrifying pleasure. “She probably gets this all the time, but she’s gonna—”
“Do great things,” Abe finished. “Yeah.”
“At this point, I consider it more a dare than anythingelse,” Hannah said. “As well as something to cross off my bucket list by the time I’m driving age.”
I don’t even want to think about what this teeny genius would do on a dare.“You’re way too young to have a bucket list.” She looked around their small family and decided the niceties had been handled. “Well, it was good seeing you, but I should probably check to make sure the autopilot hasn’t burned out…”
