AFTER THE STORM

The conference had been a resounding success for everyone… everyone but me. I should’ve listened to that little voice inside that questioned why I was being given a beautiful suite to myself for the weekend.

“But I’ve always had to share on these conference weekends,” I said to Yvette, the State manager. “Is Stella getting her own suite too?” Stella was the regional manager for the southern part of the state while I handled the North.

“No,” Yvette replied with a slight quaver in her voice. “She and I will share my suite this time. We still have sections of this weekend’s program to go over…you know how she’s always late with these things. So we need to fine-tune some details. Besides, you deserve a suite to yourself for a change after all these years of incredible service. You’ve done so much for the company’s growth and Brett wants to show his appreciation. So you get special treatment this time around. Enjoy it!”

To say I was pleased was putting it mildly. I knew my loyal group of a dozen area managers attending the conference with me would be thrilled. They would look forward to crashing in my suite at the end of each day to chat about the events and developments, the most important of which would be the announcement of who would become the new State manager. Yvette was leaving to open a new branch of the company in England. There were only two choices for State manager: Stella and me. Was the solo suite an indication of my pending new status in the company? I certainly hoped so.

Now as I awaited my storm-delayed flight from Melbourne to Sydney, I could still taste the acidity of last night’s over-indulgence in wine. Between non-stop bouts of crying, I had finally stopped emptying the contents of the conference dinner into the fancy suite toilet around 4am. I couldn’t believe how wrong my devoted team and I had been about Brett’s decision. Stella was the new State manager. No wonder Brett and Yvette had given me a suite. Despite all the fancy words they lavished on me before and after that announcement, they knew I’d need a solo suite to get over my shock and disappointment.

Then, to add insult to injury, after inviting a handful of my area mangers and me to share a bottle of champagne as a nightcap, Stella had pointed out in the blunt, insensitive way she was famous for, how and where I had “gone wrong”:

“You see, you have charisma, Linda. People are drawn to you because you’re pretty and friendly and make everyone love you and want to emulate you. That’s why you’re such a great recruiter…unlike me. Women look at me and see an overweight bully so I’ve had to work twice as hard to build a team. But, I’ve got business smarts going for me where it counts. I know the only way to get to the top is to show the bosses what I can do to make the company bigger and stronger in ways other than having big teams. Incidentally, you know what I’d recommend for you as we move on in our new roles? You should read the book “How to claw your way to the top”. That’s what I did and that’s why I am now the new State manager and you…?” 

Stella paused long enough to down her fifth glass of Champagne. She had an unbelievable tolerance for alcohol. I didn’t. Stella resumed. “Well, anyway, you and I will be working together to make this state even stronger. I will need you by my side as we travel around the state. Hey! Come to think of it, you can be my bag boy.”

Stella had dissolved into fits of laughter as she said that. My sub-managers had looked disgusted and I had to get away before I either vomited or burst into tears. She sure knew how to strike the final blow.

The captain’s voice crackled through the huge Boeing 757 speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, please prepare yourselves for a bumpy ride to Sydney. This storm is blowing itself into a bit of a doozy, so we ask that you remain buckled into your seats for the entire flight if you can. We do expect heavy turbulence. Thanks for your co-operation.”

Given my hangover queasiness and miserable state of mind, this wasn’t welcome news. I checked the seat in front of me for barf bags. I was pretty sure I’d be needing one. As we taxied down the runway, I could barely see anything for the rain pelting the windows. Lightning flashes weren’t helping me stay calm. I consoled my stomach during the rocky ascent with the thought that once we were above the clouds, it’d be smooth flying. And the sooner I got home to Brian, the happier I’d be. I needed his arms around me tonight more than I had in a very long time.

When the pilot came on again to announce we were on the final approach to Sydney, his words couldn’t come soon enough. I had managed without the barf bag but I wouldn’t have lasted much longer. My head was pounding from all the crying, lack of sleep and non-stop turbulence. The last thing I needed to hear as I rushed to catch the short commuter flight to my home in Newcastle was that the flight from which we’d just disembarked, was the last flight allowed to land tonight. But it was the next announcement that sent me reeling:

“There will be no more major flights out of Sydney airport tonight. All flights are cancelled because of the severity of the storm. Sydney airport is closed until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Inconvenience? Were they kidding? My hangover stomach was still flip-flopping from the turbulence and now, this news? How was I going to get home tonight? Newcastle was only a 40-min flight from Sydney, a mere 2-hour drive. Surely that little commuter plane I was booked on could get us up there and home in a jiffy? 

Several of us were standing around the counter arguing with the commuter flight agent. At last, to everyone’s relief, she announced that the agency would attempt the flight and directed the 13 of us to the boarding gate. In short order, we were up and away again, but this time, the queasiness I’d experienced on Boeing flight was mild compared to what I was feeling now. I could just make out the lights of Belmont, a suburb of Newcastle, as the pilot attempted the first landing. The tiny Twin Otter swayed like a tin can from side to side as it was buffeted by the high velocity winds. Up went the plane again. And down again. The pilot tried over and over to land the plane but the small Belmont runway was nearly invisible through the rain. Up he went again as I held the barf bag close to my mouth, almost unaware that he was finally landing. Except he had landed back in Sydney!

Inside the airport lounge once again, I noticed people phoning hotels or family. I stood there looking and feeling foolish. I was exhausted from the night before, the horrific commuter flight…I had never felt so vulnerable as I had inside that little plane attempting to land over and over… and from my overwhelming sense of loss and defeat in a job I had poured everything into. And now I couldn’t even get home to cry in Brian’s arms.

“Excuse me,” said a male voice beside me. “There’s three of us who must get back to Newcastle tonight and we’re thinking of renting a car. Would you like to join us? We’ll share the driving if you’re not up to it…I noticed you were feeling unwell on the plane…but it’s a way for us all to hopefully put an end to this nightmare. What do you say?”

“Absolutely,” I agreed with my first smile of the night. “I’m all in! I just want to get home to my husband and children.”

Half an hour later, we were on the road to Newcastle. The relentless storm kept raging around us. Trees were down across the access roads. Visibility was dreadful, and heavy winds were howling all around the little car which kept being pushed from side to side and required a secure hold on the steering wheel. I was relieved the three fellows with me were happy to drive. 

Bit by bit, the mood inside the car turned from sombre to friendly, even to jovial, anything to lighten our spirits.

“Hey guys…what do you think? Here we are three guys with one pretty woman. Anyone up for some fun?”

We all laughed but inside, I must confess to some unease. I hadn’t even thought of the situation I had put myself in. Thankfully, the conversation quickly returned to what we had all lived through the last few hours.

“I’ll admit I was terrified up there,” said Bill, one of the three.

“Yeah, especially during all those attempts at landing. I’ll be honest: I nearly shit my pants during one attempt,” said Adam. 

“Well, I’ve never been afraid of flying before tonight,” I confessed, “but that little plane shook and rattled so much I felt like a sardine in a tin can!”

The third fellow in the car, Julian, finally spoke up. “Don’t worry. The pilot did his best and what he did in turning back to Sydney was absolutely the right thing.”

“How do you mean and how do you know?” We all asked.

“Because I’m a pilot and no good pilot would have attempted to land in that storm tonight. Way too dangerous.”

I turned to Julian and asked, “So, on a scale of one to ten, how dangerous was it?”

“Oh,” he smiled, “about a nine!”

We all fell silent on that not-so-cheery note, each of us lost in thoughts of getting closer and closer to home and family. Once we reached the darkened car drop-off depot and called relatives to pick us up, we huddled tightly together like old friends, heads touching and arms protectively around each other as the relentless rain, hell bent on drenching us, succeeded

“It’s been quite the trip,” I said to them, as we tried to keep each other warm through soaked clothes, ”but I’m so grateful to have shared it with you three, despite the unnerving, off-colour joke Adam!”

”Yeah, sorry about that Linda. I tend to say stupid things when I’m frightened out of my mind. Just needed to release the tension I was feeling.”

We all laughed. We were four strangers who had bonded during a near-death experience during a frightening, dangerous storm. For now, my disappointment over the weekend’s events would sit on the back-burner of my mind until I had the time and energy to deal with it. But not now. All that mattered was being alive.

As Brian pulled up, we shouted above the roaring wind, promising to stay in touch and yelling our goodbyes. Settling my soaked body into the warm car, I told Brian nothing about what happened at the conference. That would wait. Uppermost in my mind was the friendship shared by four people drenched in rain and united in one of my life’s most indelible memories.