Chapter 3 Garulhos, Brazil Airport

Sirona get ready to fly with Dulcinea back home to the USA

Chapter 3 Garulhos Airport

 

I reached over and slapped the blaring alarm clock next to the bed.  Ugh, this is way to damn early to get up, I groaned to myself.  I still feel like a stuffed sausage, but wow! That dinner last night at Tatini’s was worth feeling bloated.  The sorvete quente was to die for. 

 

I knew that there was no way I could stomach breakfast this morning, so I carefully eased myself out of bed tying not to disturb Jamie’s peaceful slumber.  No need to wake him this early, his plane wouldn’t leave until the afternoon.  Standing there, looking down at him sleeping, filled my heart with joy.  He looks so peaceful, so…relaxed.  So… sweet.  Looking at him asleep, I would never imagine him to be such a driven character.  When it came to training his horses he was a perfectionist.  He was also one of the most talented, dedicated and best of all, humane trainers I knew.  He didn’t cut corners, or look for short cuts, just to get a win or please a client.  He, like me, really cared that each horse was happy, healthy and used to its best potential and above all SANE.  I had dated other trainers and worked with some of what the industry called the ‘best,’ but was usually disappointed when I peeked behind the curtain. 

 

No, not with Jamie.  What I saw behind the scenes was something that I respected and admired. We even complemented one another, each like a well worn boot in pair of favorites.  Best of all, he seemed truly to care about me.  I know I loved him.  Maybe, I sighed to myself, we may actually have a future together.  I could see us living and training horses together.  He’d do the halter, English and park horses, and I could do hunter, western, costume and driving.  Maybe, just maybe, with him I could even think of having a child.  Wow, I shook myself.  I’ve never ever thought I’d want kids.  Not after what I’ve had to survive.  Ok, get yourself together!  I mentally slapped myself.  Need to take care of today’s business, before I can think of the future.  One day at a time.  Need to get back to the USA first.  I stretched my arms over my head, arched my back, gave a side to side twist, took a deep breath and headed for the shower.

 

I silently dressed, piled my hair atop my head, and finished the packing of my suitcases.  I decided to scribble Jamie a note to remind him to take his Dramamine before boarding his plane to Arizona later in the afternoon.  My lips curved with the memory of his green gills showing on the flight down to Rio.  It was amusing to see this normally in control, self-assured man felled by something as simple as air sickness.  He had reminded me of a drunken frog weaving, wobbling hunched over as we disembarked the plane.  Poor baby!  I had insisted last night that we find an all night farmacia so that he wouldn’t ruin some poor old lady’s dress on the way home.  I checked my utilitarian watch.  Ah, fifteen minutes before the cab I had ordered last night was supposed to show up to take me to the airport. 

 

I looked around this wonderfully spacious room flavored with Brazil, and decided to step out one last time onto the romantic balcony.  This trip may have been some work where we had wanted all play, but it has been interesting too.  We’d found that we get along, quite well together for longer than a horse show lasts.  That’s definitely a relief!  I heaved a sigh of contentment as I leaned against the railing and pondered the success of this adventure with Jamie.  I think we read each others moods pretty well, and he seemed to understand that I do need a few minute of alone time each day.  I never understood girlfriends in high school or college that wanted or had to be with a boyfriend each and every waking moment.  How could they, as some did, totally lose their own lives, and yes, even some their own personalities in a relationship?  It never made sense to me. 

 

Very little moved or stirred in this pre-dawn air.  Today is going to be a long day.  I had best get started.  I gathered my purse, travel bag and suitcase, and silently left the room to grab my quietly waiting cab.   The cabby quickly whisked me away to the Garulhos International Airport animal terminal.  Paying the driver, I dragged my bags to what appeared to be an information counter, where a sleepy eyed middle aged woman lounged upon a stool.  I think I startled her awake.  She surely seemed shocked to see me or anyone at this time of morning.  I asked her where to find my specific terminal and if I could check my luggage with her or did I need to drag it all the way to the plane myself.  In an annoyed voice she told me I could either drag it myself or pay a porter to get it to the terminal and plane I needed.  After giving me what seemed to be directions to the Wizard of Oz’s hidden room, I thought it would be better to pay someone to get my bags to the plane.

 

I tried to find the yellow brick road to the proper terminal and plane. After a few missed turns, and asking directions three more times, I finally found Dulcinea, just as she was being loaded into her shipping container.  I slipped inside the front of the stall and gave her two small raw carrots I had snagged off of my salad plate the night before.  “Hey girl, quite a come down from that stall you had at the fazenda, isn’t it?”  I questioned her.  She snuffled me looking for more treats.  “Sorry sweetie, that’s all I could get last night.”  I patted her on the neck and slid under the chest bar to re-inspect my very valuable charge.  I was still miffed about them suturing her, and could recall vividly how pissed Cammeron had been when I called her last night.  I’d sure liked to have heard the conversation she had with Mendez.  Cam took after her mothers Irish side of the family, red haired and hot tempered.  I hope she gave Mendez a dressing down that he’d never recover from.  She’d been especially infuriated when I told her that he had grabbed my arm.  Cam could be a very protective friend, and would never hesitate going to battle for those she liked and loved.  I was fortunate to count her as one of my oldest and dearest friends.  Knocking on the side of the container disrupted my reverie. 

 

“Ms. Juracetys, we are going to move the container on to the plane now.  Can you please come out of there?”  I poked my head back under the bar to find myself face to face with one of the ugliest human beings I have ever seen.  A towering, brooding pockmarked Neanderthal, with sloped shoulders and a bull neck had his hands on either side of the entry way.

 

I gasped. I either had to go under his arm or find a way to get this hulking monster out of my way.  He sure seemed to be enjoying his close proximity.  I could feel my pulse begin to do cartwheels. Ok- put my hands on his chest and push?  No, he’d probably grab them and then I would be trapped there.  “Would you please move?”

 

Grinning at me malevolently he took an infinitesimally small step to the side.  I dare not back down to this cretin!  “Sir, I need you to MOVE!”  He sneered at me.  I could smell his rancid breath blowing on my cheek.  “Move damn it!”  He made another small step, and I decided to bolt through the tiny bit of space given between him and the container.  I felt his hand brush down my back as I leapt through that gap.  I didn’t stop until I was a good twenty paces beyond his horrid sinister grasp.  I then whirled to face him with my fists curled tightly and yelled, “Someday someone is going to teach you some manners!” 

 

As I turned on my heel, I could hear his creepy snicker.  “Not going to be you.”

 

 

Author's Note

Same as ch 1 & 2 Chop and dice, please! What do you think is going on so far? Any ideas on what you think is going to happen?

Reviews

[Daiku Maryu]

"He was also one of the most talented, dedicated and best of all, humane trainers I knew." --there should be a comma between "and" and "best".

I think you spell short-cut with a hyphen. At least I always did. The same goes for "well-worn".

"Wow, I shook myself."--this sounds rather odd. I think you mean she shook her head? If so you'd better write "I shook my head", otherwise some people will imagine Sirona shaking or trying to shake herself (and believe me it's an odd mental image).

"Today is going to be a long day."--tense; I'd have written "Today was going..."

"Sleepy-eyed" instead of "sleepy eyed".

"Cam took after her mothers Irish side of the family"--"mother's" not "mothers".

"red-haired" and "hot-tempered". Hyphens seem not to like you. :P

"to find myself face to face with one of the ugliest human beings I have ever seen. A towering, brooding..."--I think it would look better if you'd put a colon instead of a full-stop there.

"He sneered at me." should be the beginning of a new paragraph.

It seems like the tension is building up. I guess we won't find out what happened to Dulcinea until after the flight? You did a good job describing Sirona's feeling towards Jamie--it really shows us that she cares about him.

[JRB]

nice read ty

[TL Boehm]

Oh man. Cliffhanger...I find myself losing myself in this piece.

[anneliese]

it needs some editing her and there but besides that, i think its pretty good