25th June – Los Angeles, (LAX) 130ft – hotel

Dear Eve

So there I was on a trip to L.A. The longer the flight went on the calmer and more rational my thoughts about Matt became. Even the family with the two obnoxious children who wouldn’t stop kicking the back of the seat in front so that the woman in it started having a go at me, were less hassle. Matt had actually thrown his slippers in frustration at me at one point. He’d left them in my room the last time he’d stayed and just happened to trip over them as he was pacing in anger, trying to think up more reasons why it was all my fault. Just goes to show, never trust a man with moccasin slippers. Definitely dodgy. I just couldn’t help thinking that I’d had a lucky escape. Imagine being married to someone who puts moccasins on his Christmas and birthday lists just so he’s got ready ammunition. I want a partner who can make me laugh – but not at him. Give me a man who can go through life without slippers, and I’ll show you a risk taker and adventurer.

So I’m in Los Angeles. We used to stay down-town but are now put up in a hotel in Santa Monica by the beach. I haven’t bonded with anybody on the crew so I’m pretty much Jonnie-no-mates. Still the weather’s good and there’s so much to see. I went for a walk along by the Palisades. It’s like a prom that runs alongside the Pacific Coast Highway. It’s really pretty with palm trees and pathways that weave through the grass and neatly tendered flower beds. There’s a great view of the ocean on one side. By the time I’d walked along and back I was ravenous. But I had to pass through Venice. 

Venice Beach Park is a place that makes walking along the front at Brighton seem like the starter. If you think Brighton has got a few dodgy characters it’s nothing compared to the likes here. Everyone comes out to show off their own particular brand of peculiarity and to soak up the rays.  And it wasn’t just the men. I saw sights that shouldn’t be allowed out during the day. You get the usual bearded wonder doing his Taekwondo or a very precarious Sun Salutation in risky shorts but who in their right mind would go roller blading in a thong? Well, she did for a start. Mind you, if my butt was that taut I’d want to show it off too.

 It’s a shame it’s such a short trip, I could do with exploring some more. At the back of the beach are stalls selling all sorts of tat, plus I could have got my hair braided with Stars and Stripes (very becoming with the uniform, but I managed to resist).

I stopped off for a late breakfast to watch as the world and his wife came out to play. Just as I was tucking into my eggs (over easy) with a humongous portion of hash browns on the side, glad that I wasn’t sitting in a thong as it would not have stretched to cover anything by the time I’d finished my plateful, along walks Katie, the stewardess from First Class with a tall, bronzed, brown haired man beside her. My jaw nearly dropped my mouthful of eggs back onto the plate he was so gorgeous. She obviously had been brought up beautifully and taught to share as she noticed me sitting on the terrace and, to my delight, asked if they could join me.

Breakfast had suddenly got even better. Turns out the fitty’s called Ed and he’s her friend from another crew. Well, he didn’t show any signs of being her boyfriend nor gay but she did let it slip towards his second coffee refill that he was a First Officer. He was so funny and entertaining and had me laughing so much I nearly spat a mouthful of toast over him; I could just about forgive him for being Flight Deck. Neither of them seemed in a hurry to move on so we ended up sitting there until they started serving lunch. Ed seemed to know everywhere and everything and had a knack of making even the most ordinary topics hilarious. When Katie moved away onto the beach to take a private call on her mobile, I suddenly found myself tongue tied when Ed asked me how I was getting on with the job at the same time as gently leaning across the table and removing an eyelash from my cheek.

‘Oh.’ I uttered as I sat still unsure at first what he was doing. He held out his finger to show me. Thank goodness it wasn’t a bogey or anything unsavoury. ‘Fine. Thanks for asking.’

‘You don’t sound too sure.’

‘No, really. Everything’s okay.’ He didn’t realise, it wasn’t his question that was causing me a problem but the intimacy of his touch. Brushing me with an electric bolt would have caused much the same reaction. And the way he looked at me, Eve; straight in the eyes. I felt my insides go to mush and slosh around, dousing the butterflies fluttering in there.  Thank goodness Katie came back at that moment so I could excuse myself and go and find the toilet, giving my cheeks time to calm down. Turns out he’s stopping over in San Francisco next. Shame he’s not flying me home, I could have found many excuses for visiting the cockpit otherwise.

Love Suzi x