Page 44 of The Christmas Mittens
“Ralph Lauren never goes out of fashion,” Rani replied and turned to us, giving us a short bow of his head. “And this must be Miss Gilda Baxter and Mr. Mitchell Baxter, our esteemedguests while in Östermon. I’m Prince Anders’ equerry, Rani Adhikari.” He smiled widely at us as he politely shook our hands. “His Highness, Crown Prince Frode, has asked me to ensure your flight to Östermon is as comfortable as possible. This way please.”
He motioned to a departure gate with a smiling attendant awaiting us. The young woman was blonde, slim, and dressed in a demure white blouse, brown skirt, and tasteful brown flats. Her hair was piled atop her head, and her makeup was understated.
“Merry Christmas. Welcome aboard, Your Highness,” she said, bowing slightly.
“Thank you, Leja. It’s good to see you again. How is your father faring?” Anders enquired, a hand on my lower back to steer me from the gate so Arne and Alfred could wrangle our luggage ahead of us.
“Much better, Your Highness, thank you for asking.” She beamed at him as if he hung the moon, and I couldn’t fault her for that. He was a real prince as Franny had once said. She turned bright blue eyes to us. “I’m your flight attendant for the journey. My name is Leja.”
After we introduced ourselves, Leja led us outside, and the wind was brutal of a sudden. I snuggled into my coat as I tried to get my scarf under control. People scurried about, two men loading our large bags in the underbelly of the jet while we carried on some smaller bags with our personal items like Gilda’s old laptop and my beat to hell eReader.
“Will it be this cold in Östermon when we get there?” Gilda asked as we were led to a set of rolling stairs by the unflappable Leja. Even with no coat, she seemed perfectly happy to answer questions about the weather. Rani climbed up first, cradling Della, entering the jet before us with his shoulders tucked up to his ears. Anders had fallen into conversation with one of themen loading our bags into the cargo hold. He seemed to enjoy chatting with common folk. And there I went thinking of him in terms that he would not want me to, but it was hard not to, as he was an honest-to-gosh prince and we were plain old people.
“Oh yes, it will be very cold for the most part. Along the coasts, it may be slightly milder, but do make sure you have mittens and scarves,” Leja said as she herded us along.
Stepping out of the wind was nice. Rani met us at the cockpit doors as did a man and a woman wearing crisp white shirts with wings on the lapels, dark brown slacks with matching berets, and practical dress shoes. The man was as pale as curd while the young woman had dark skin the same shade as Rani’s. Both were standing at attention.
“This is our pilot, Captain Carlson Backe,” we shook hands with the tall White man, “and our copilot, Cosima Engman,” Rani said as we moved to greet the dark-skinned woman. “And you have met Leja, so if you would like to pick out your seats, we will get you settled in and will then take off, once His Highness is done discussing Rosenberg BK with the baggage handler.”
Gilda and I took a moment just to gawk. The interior of the jet was decorated in tones of soft white, gold, and pale blue, the same colors in the Östermon coat of arms that adorned the outside of the jet. There were fourteen seats, as we’d been told, with four tables that held orchids as well as desktops, phones, and cup holders.
“Please feel free to sit wherever you wish. I’m going to take the dog out for one last potty run and then will be back.” Rani exited with a grumpy-looking Della, leaving us to decide where to plant our backsides. Alfred and Arne took seats in the back, close but not so close as to be intrusive.
“This is unreal,” Gilda whispered, not to be overheard by the flight crew as they welcomed Anders into the jet. “Can I sit by a window?”
“I’m sure you can,” I replied, walking down the aisle. Every chair seemed to be positioned by a round window, and when pushed, it swiveled to move in any direction.
“Please pick a seat that pleases you but know you are free to move to any other seat after we’re in the air if the seat belt light is not lit. Would you like something to drink before we take off? Maybe a snack?” Anders followed us deeper into the jet, showing us where the bathroom suite, complete with a shower, was found.
“This plane is nicer than our house,” Gilda said, flopping into a plush white seat that nearly swallowed her up. I sat down across from her, Anders at my side, and placed my knitting bag and my tiny carry-on with some antacids, a comb, a jar of ibuprofen, and some gum at my feet.
“Your house has warmth and love in it, while this just has trappings of wealth,” Anders replied as he settled in and crossed his long legs. I took note of how he seemed less the Anders that I had known for such a short but amazing time. His vibe was tighter, more restrictive, as if he had to be this new man, this prince of a realm, whereas back in Grouse Falls he was just Anders Becken, the camper with the funny bike with big tires.
“Well, yeah, but still…” Gilda sighed and grinned when Della was brought back onboard by a very windblown Rani. She patted the seat next to her, and with a nod from Anders, that was where Rani placed the pooch. Gilda secured her with a harness Rani offered, and then Anders’ private secretary took a seat across the aisle from our little gathering.
“Your Highness, you have quite a few pressing social and personal things that will need to be sorted before we arrive at Raivask.” Rani nestled into his seat, tablet on his lap, and glanced from his iPad to Anders.
“Raivask is the capital of Östermon,” my daughter quickly chirped. “Dragens Abborre is the name of the castle where theking and queen live. It’s Danish from when the Danes occupied the island and means dragons perch, right?” Gilda asked of Anders.
“Correct. You have been studying hard,” Anders said. Gilda beamed. “Many of our names are from our neighboring countries. Dragons Perch was such a spectacular title that we had no wish to ever change it. There are tales that state that the ice dragons used to roost on the highest peak of our craggy northern shores to wait for minke and humpback whales to breach so they could dive down and pluck them from the water.” Gilda was fascinated. Anders smiled and turned from Gilda to his secretary. “We’ll get to them later, Rani,” Anders replied softly but firmly.
“Yes, of course, Your Highness. Would you like me to let your family know that we’re about to taxi?”
“That would be fine, thank you. Oh, and check on my new nephew and Karina.”
Gilda and I were watching the men outside. The door of the jet closed with a soft thud. Her eyes were round with excitement as she peeked from the runway to me. I smiled at her even though my stomach was doing somersaults. I hoped I didn’t make a fool of myself by throwing up or freaking out.
“Are you unwell, Mr. Baxter?” Rani asked, looking around Anders to me.
“He’s a nervous flyer,” Anders quickly explained.
“Ah, I see. It will be fine. Our flight crew is the best in Östermon. You’ll not even know we’ve left the ground.” Rani gave me a dazzling smile.
Despite his good looks and assurances, I mostcertainlydid know when we left the ground. It felt like someone had parked a snowblower on my chest for several long minutes. Anders held my hand while Gilda giggled through the takeoff. Thankfully, Idid not vomit, and once we leveled out, the pressure on my chest subsided.
“Would you like a cold soda and some crackers?” Anders asked.
“Thanks, that would be nice. This is okay,” I said, peeling my eyes from the dog napping peacefully on a thick doggie bed and blanket to look out the window.
