Turbulence, a BTB Flash Story

The next day she was able to jump seat a plane back to Washington, DC. The legacy airline was required to have hourly service to and from Chicago so she had no trouble catching a flight the rest of the way home.

She didn't say a word but everyone seemed to know who she was, or at least what she had done and treated her like a pariah. A lot of flight attendants looked down their noses at a player who gets caught then blames the game.

KC spent the entire flight trying think of a way to explain away what she did.

The moment KC landed in DC she began calling Matt's cell phone. Still no answer. She tried her best to compose herself as she left a well rehearsed message. "Matt, my beloved. I really screwed up. I am so very sorry. Please, I know I don't deserve it, but please..." She broke down and began sobbing.

Forty five minutes later she was squeezed into a center seat flying to meet her destiny.

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KC left another dozen messages as she rode in a taxi to their apartment. Her hand was shaking as she slipped her key into the lock. She softly called her husband's name as her eyes darted around the living room. She was terrified he would have taken half of everything they owned but it looked just like she left it.

She walked through the dining room and kitchen; all there. The master bedroom looked intact but the closet was closed. She steeled her nerves and opened the door. All that was inside was a row of empty hangers.

She staggered out of the closet and threw herself on the bed. A white hot terror ripped at her stomach. Then it got worse. She looked at her dresser and saw Matt's wedding ring on top of his cell phone. The room started spinning. She clutched the ring in her hand and cursed herself for having destroyed her marriage.

It was almost one in the morning before she was able to drag herself into the bathroom. She cranked the shower up as hot as she could tolerate and tried to wash the shame away. But there wasn't enough soap to remove the stain on her soul.

KC knew she had to leave the empty apartment. She needed her mother. So she set off into the darkness praying mom would have an answer.

KC felt better when she saw the glow of the dairy barn. She thought about how many mornings she spent with her father milking the herd and wished she could turn back time to before she made her mistake.

The car's tires crunched on the gravel. She was going to walk to the house but something didn't look right in the barn. "Uncle Hank?" She called out. "What are you doing here?"

Her mother's brother kept working as he answered, "Matt stopped by yesterday to explain to your parents why he was leaving. You know your mom has had a weak heart for some time now."

KC began to chant, "No...no...no... Please tell me she's alive."

"She's alive, no thanks to you." Hank answered. "But she had a massive stroke. Your dad called from the hospital and asked me to tend to the farm. That's what family does."

"What hospital?"

"If I were you I wouldn't try to visit her...you're the last person your father wants to see."

"Is Matt still around?"

"No, he left last night after they got your mom stabilized. I've never seen a more devastated man."

KC called into the crew desk and quit the airline to work the family farm. Her mom recovered but was partially paralyzed. The adulteress become her live-in care giver as penance.

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Better than five years had passed. KC was a devoted nurse, never complaining even when she had to change her mother's diapers. When she wasn't attending to mom she helped out around the farm. Never once did she act the martyr, not even the day the sheriff served her with divorce papers. She accepted her fate with a silent dignity.

One crisp autumn day the angel of death visited the Morrison farm. Mom died with her husband and daughter at her side. The last thing she said to KC was "I love you. Now get on with your life."

The wake was held in the parlor of the old frame house, just like it had been done a hundred years before. Everyone brought something to eat. Stories were told, friendships renewed.

But this was a working farm and animals care little about mourning. KC was attending to a sick calf when she saw a young boy walked into the barn. "Hello cows," the three year old announced to the large animals.

KC stared at the visitor. She recognized his face from a black and white picture her former mother-in-law had on the piano. No, that picture was almost thirty years old. Her heart pounded. He had to be her ex-husband's son.

She collapsed to the ground sobbing. The little boy knelt down in the hay, "You okay lady?"

KC trembled as she studied his face. Uncle Hank must have told him about mom.

The boy held out his hand and said, "I'm Matt but mommy calls me Junior."

At that moment every dream, every hope she still hid in a corner of her heart, died.