The Impostor, A Love Story

by Tiffany Carmouche

  Jessica deserved a better life, not just imaginary castles for a stolen moment. My angel deserved more.

  One day, life will be better. I gazed out the window of the plane. One day soon.

  Chapter Two

  “This is crazy. We have five layovers. Why are we flying to Texas and then back up to Nevada? It doesn’t make sense.” Emily shook her head, stuffing the boarding pass back in her purse.

  I didn’t complain because the club that Raven gave me the number to hired us and paid for our airfare. In Utah, we took the red-eye flight, arriving in Seattle at about one in the morning. Time seemed to stand still as we waited for the airline to begin boarding to Anchorage. My eyelids were heavy, and every so often, I caught myself nodding off. We decided to curl up in a corner, using our coats as covers, figuring the loud “Boarding Flight 192” would wake us up. It didn’t. When we woke up, no one seemed to be in the terminal. Emily stared at the time, hitting her watch as if it would change back for us.

  “There is no way.” Emily jumped up.

  “We missed our flight?” I rubbed my eyes and then it hit me. “We missed our flight!”

  “I can’t believe they left us. We were right here at the terminal,” Emily raised her voice.

  Rushing to the counter, we pleaded, “We missed our flight to Anchorage. Can you get us on the next flight please?” We gave the attendant our boarding passes, and she told us we could fly on standby at six a.m.

  Shrugging our shoulders, we proceeded to the gate and decided to rest, curling up across a few of the seats. This time we had a big sign on us saying, We are flying to Anchorage on Flight 622. Don’t leave without us! Before long, we were sound asleep.

  “Ladies, we are boarding Flight 622,” I heard a muffled voice. I slowly started to wake up. “Ladies we are boarding.” A young, really attractive guy who we figured worked for the airlines nudged me.

  My eyes snapped to attention as I wiped at the tiny bit of drool off the corner of my mouth. How embarrassing.

  He hesitated for a moment, perhaps feeling awkward. He woke me from my deep sleep.

  “I . . . I . . .”

  He stood silent, staring at me. His eyes were an intriguing blue, guarded by long lashes that should have been illegal on a guy. I realized I was gazing into his eyes and quickly looked away, wondering if I had been talking in my sleep . . . or worse. Was I snoring? Why was he staring at me?

  He finally continued. “I saw your sign and didn’t want them to leave you. You better hurry and get in line. Did you already check in?”

  I rubbed my eyes. “There was no one at the counter when we got here.”

  “Give me your boarding passes, and I’ll see what I can do.” We dug in our purses and handed him our passes. “Oh, you all are on standby.” He scrutinized the passes as if they had a disease.

  “What does that mean?” the two of us questioned.

  “Well, it means you can only fly if there is room on the plane. There isn’t going to be any ‘cause we’re full.”

  “Don’t tell us that. We’ve been flying for the last thirty hours. I need a bed.” I sighed. “I need a shower. It’s an emergency! Is there anything you can do to get us on that flight?” I begged.

  “Well, I’m technically not working right now, but I’ll see what I can do.”

  “We will owe you big time. Please try.”

  “Only because you do need a shower.” He winked at me as he turned to walk toward the counter. His dark curls gently bounced as he walked.

  “The lady at the gate is a jerk! She would have left us here sleeping again,” Emily mumbled.

  I agreed. “I hope he can get us on.”

  He came back smiling, his blue eyes lit up as he held out the boarding passes, “Got them.”

  “You’re a life saver. Thank you so much,” Emily graciously responded.

  “The only catch is you have to sit with me. I told them you were with me. That’s the only way I could get you on. I’m Brad by the way.” He grinned, putting his arms around each of us and walking us to the line.

  “I guess we can handle that. I’m Nicole and she is Emily.” He was adorable, so we didn’t mind.

  Brad stood maybe 5’10” like my dad. I wasn’t good at the height thing, though. At only about five foot, everyone appeared tall to me. Brad looked like a jock—not the football star type, but maybe a soccer player.

  “Sleeping Beauty.” He squeezed my shoulder gently so I’d glace at him. “You can’t go back to sleep, either. The flight is only a few hours, so you will survive. I don’t want to hear you snore.” Oh my god, was I snoring? He winked at me.

  “You are mighty demanding, aren’t you?” I insisted.

  “These are my terms. Take them or I’ll bump you, and you’ll be back to sleeping on those metal seats.”

  “Okay, Prince Charming, anything but the metal chairs. Seriously though, thank you for waking us up. That would have sucked if we missed our flight again!” I replied.

  “Truth is you all are tiny. This is a full flight, and I didn’t want to get stuck in between those two big smelly guys.” He inconspicuously pointed out the two heavy men walking together just ahead of us in line. “Thank god she could change my seat.”

  “And I thought it was our charm,” Emily responded quickly.

  He pointed out our seats in the plane. “Hey, you all sit down; I’ve got to talk to Sherry for a minute. I call the middle seat.” Brad went to talk to the flight attendant in the back for a moment.

  “He’s really cute, Nikki. You like him, don’t you?”

  “Shh. No I don’t.”

  “You are such a liar. I see how you stared at him.”

  “Shut up, Em, he’s coming back.”

  Brad returned and squeezed in between Emily and me.

  Shortly after we settled in, a voice bellowed over the PA. “Good Morning! Ladies and gentlemen, welcome onboard Flight 622 to Anchorage, Alaska. My name is John Graham, and I'm your in-flight service director. Your cabin crew is here to ensure you have an enjoyable flight to Anchorage this morning.” After he gave the safety precautions, he continued. “Now I’d like you all to join in and help sing Happy Birthday to Sleeping Beauty, one of our lovely passengers celebrating her birthday here with us this morning.”

  Brad stood up and directed the choir of passengers. I could feel warmth spread across my cheeks as he made me stand up to be serenaded. I smacked him on his arm.

  “Happy birthday to you . . .”

  As I slumped back in my chair, I smacked him again for embarrassing me.

  “It’s not my . . .”

  “Shh, what they don’t know won’t hurt them.”

  The flight attendant suddenly appeared with a bottle of champagne.

  “Thanks, Sherry. We’ll take three orange juices.” He turned to us. “The mimosas on this flight are to die for.” He smiled his charming, boyish smile.

  As she walked away, I whispered again. “It’s not my . . .”

  “Just enjoy it, right Emily?”

  Emily agreed. “I can’t think of a better way to begin our morning.”

  He had us laughing the whole flight. After the second bottle of champagne, the stewardess finally cut us off.

  A patch of clouds opened up, and I caught a glimpse of the snow-covered mountains from the corner of my eye. I became silent for a moment and leaned over Brad to see out Emily’s window as we flew over the mountain range.

  “Have you ever been to Alaska before?” he commented on my obvious fascination.

  “I’ve never been anywhere before. This is so beautiful.”

  He watched me almost as if he couldn’t believe this was my first trip anywhere. I snapped out of my trance and realized I was totally invading his space.

  “I’m sorry.” I sat up quickly.

  “For what?”

  “For squishing you.”

  “You can squish me all you want.” His face lit up. “So,” he paused, looking at me, “So, where are you all stayi
ng?”

  “We don’t know yet. We figured we’d get a hotel room close to the airport.”

  “If you want, when we land I can give you a ride to find something. My car is parked at the airport,” he offered. “I know a place that has kitchenettes you all can stay at. It will save you a lot of money in the long run. You can make some food in your room.”

  I looked at Emily and she nodded. We figured having Brad drive us was better than trying to find a place on our own in a strange city. Although he was a stranger, we knew where he worked. The airlines wouldn’t hire someone dangerous. They must do background checks, I convinced myself.

  When we finally landed, Brad helped grab our luggage. As we were heading to his car, we passed by some pay phones. I held out my hand. “Can I see your ID please?”

  “Wh—what?” He seemed taken back.

  “Your driver’s license.”

  He took out his identification.

  Examining it, I wrote his name and driver’s license number on my arm and began dialing a friend back home.

  “We’re in Alaska and getting in the car with this guy.” I examined Bradley from head to toe. “Yeah, he’s kinda cute.” I winked at him. “His name is Brad. He lives in Anchorage. Do you have a pen?” I proceeded to give her his address, driver’s license number, and birthday.

  “What? Do you think I’m going to kill you or something?” He lifted his eyebrow.

  “This way if you do, they’ll catch you.” I winked.

  Brad just laughed, shaking his head. “You all must be hungry. Do you want to grab something to eat before I drop you off?” he asked. We laughed over pancakes and finally said our goodbyes when we got to the motel.

  “Thank you again for everything, Brad,” the two of us said in unison.

  We each gave him a hug goodbye, and he got back in his truck. We watched as the only person we knew in Alaska drove away.

  “I wish we’d asked for his number for emergencies,” Emily said once the car had disappeared.

  “I was thinking the same thing. Besides, he was kind of cute,” I admitted.

  “I knew you liked him.” We just laughed and walked in the motel room.

  Plummeting on the two double beds, exhausted, we didn’t even get out of our clothes. I rolled the covers around me like a taco and fell asleep.

  Jet-lagged, we slept all day. It was evening when we finally left the room and went outside. I stood in amazement. A fairytale. The sun slowly slipped down the horizon and illuminated all of the snow-covered mountain peaks with a magenta glow. It was out of Disney. I just stood there in the cold, breathless.

  “Emily, we are here. We are in paradise.”

  Returning inside, I rummaged through my purse, unfolding the number Raven had given me. I called the club telling them we were in town.

  A cab dropped us off at The Lodge. It reminded me of a huge West Virginian Chalet. We entered the A-frame cabin, adorned with log walls and wooden floors covered in saw dust for a rustic appearance.

  “We are here to see the night manager,” I explained to the tall, muscular guy in his mid-to late twenties who met us at the door. His light hazel eyes stood out against his dark skin. The bouncer brought us over to the bar. The bartender’s hair bounced as he shook the drink. Then all of a sudden, he turned around.

  “Brad?” Emily said in shock.

  “Brad?” The Brad from the plane? He was our boss?

  He came out from behind the bar. “Nicole, Emily. Hi, what are you all doing here? I didn’t think I told you where I worked?”

  “I thought you worked for the airline,” I commented. I really did.

  “The airline? What gave you that idea?”

  “Maybe when you said, ‘I’m technically not working right now.’” I commented.

  “Or how you got us on the plane,” Emily chimed in.

  “Or the champagne . . .” I concluded.

  “You don’t work for the airlines?” we asked in unison.

  “No, a friend of mine does. I just didn’t want to sit next to those smelly guys. I saw how tiny the two of you were, and I figured I’d see if I could change our seats.”

  Then he stared me up and down and muttered sarcastically, “I see you got your shower.” He bit back his grin. “So really, how did you find me? Are you stalking me? Maybe I should have written your identification info on my arm.”

  “So you are the night manager?” Emily asked to clarify.

  “I am.”

  “I talked to Butch over the phone, and he told us to come in to talk to you. We are the new waitresses.” I was sure he would be thrilled.

  “The new waitresses? You gotta be joking,” he complained sarcastically.

  “No, you are stuck with us.” I beamed.

  “How am I going to get anything done around here? You are as sassy as they come.” He directed the comment to me.

  “Hey, I’m not sassy.”

  He walked over to me and pulled up my sleeve. “Hmm, so the Sharpie didn’t come off, huh? You still got my name branded on your arm? Does that make you mine?”

  I pulled down my sleeve, a little embarrassed.

  “You were worried that I was a killer, and now you’re here asking for a job?”

  “I didn’t know . . . I guess . . .” I knew he was joking, but he caught me off guard.

  “So if I hire you, you know I’ll get to boss you around. You will have to listen to me.” He had a devious grin. I nodded.

  “This may actually be fun.”

  “You know them?” The bouncer had been listening in on our conversation.

  “Yes, Pete. These two lovely ladies will be working for us, starting tomorrow?” He raised his eyebrow verifying that we could actually begin tomorrow.

  “That would be great,” we replied, eager to begin.

  “Pete, this is Emily. And this,” he turned to me, “this is Sleeping Beauty. I found them dreaming in the terminal in Seattle. They almost missed their flight.”

  “Yes, Brad here was our Prince Charming. If it weren’t for him, we’d probably still be sleeping on those metal seats.”

  “So you woke her with a kiss?” Pete joked.

  “No. I guess he didn’t read the fairy tale. He just nudged me,” I sassed.

  “So you would have preferred it if I woke you with a kiss?” Brad raised his eyebrow.

  “Well, maybe then, but now you’re my boss so it would be sexual harassment.”

  “See what I mean, Pete? She is trouble. Emily here is the sweet one.”

  “I can see that. So Sleeping Beauty, what is your real name?” Pete asked.

  “It’s Nicole. Nicole Carlisle. And despite what he tells you, I’m an angel. He’s the one who is trouble.”

  “Watch it, young lady, or I’ll have to fire you before you begin.” Brad smirked, glancing down at me. He turned to Pete. “Can you take over the bar? I’m going to show these ladies around and get them ready to work tomorrow before I change my mind.”

  Chapter Three

  As the weeks passed, we settled into Alaska nicely, waitressing double shifts most days. We were stunned by the amount we made in tips.

  “In Alaska, a lot of men make good money. Many work on the fishing boats or on the North Slope—the oil pipelines. Pretty girls like you will find the guys are really generous because they haven’t seen a girl in two to four weeks,” Brad explained as we cashed in our ones for larger bills.

  Whenever a live band played, the place was packed. A new band had come into town, so Brad invited Emily and me to a party he had planned for Sunday. Brad was one of those guys you couldn’t help but like. On rare occasions when work was slow, I’d pass my time at the bar with him. He made light of everything and was so much fun to be around. Emily teased me about him, but once I found out he was my boss, I realized he was off limits.

  While Jessica was with my parents, I wanted to work as often as I could. We signed up for the eleven-to-six shift but worked a “floater” shift from six to three in t
he morning, doing double shifts almost every day. The club scheduled the minimum number of waiters and waitresses they needed for a shift and allowed the floaters to come in. Being a floater meant you weren’t on the schedule, but you could drop in and work whenever you wanted. They were never understaffed. Floaters didn’t get the hourly pay, but we made enough on tips to make it worth our while. The hourly pay was less than minimum wage anyway.

  Most of my money went to paying my bills back home and paying off my plane ticket. I sent a bunch of money to my parents to pay for Jessica’s expenses, and Em and I shared the cost of the cabs and our motel here in Alaska. I tucked away most of what was left to get Jessica’s plane ticket and an apartment here in town. The more money I could make, the more fun I could have with Jess when she got here. So I worked all the time.

  Sunday afternoon, Emily and I went to the party at Brad’s house. The house was full of band members who were going to be playing at the club and a bunch of their fans. It was kind of sickening how attractive everyone was. I felt really self-conscious.

  Justin, one of the lead singers, walked over to us, taking off his shirt to show off his incredible muscles. He had blue eyes and clearly knew how gorgeous he was. “I’d like to see that body in a bathing suit.” He nudged one of the other guys in the band, making a comment about my tight sweater. It had shrunk a little in the wash so my chest seemed wrapped in the knitted fabric. I blushed. Then he looked over Emily. “Or that.” His friend agreed checking us out.

  Justin’s long bleach-blond hair accented his tan muscles and drove the girls crazy. Girls swarmed as Justin and two of the other guys from his band slowly undressed to their skivvies and piled into the Jacuzzi on Brad’s back deck.

  Although Emily and I both found them good-looking, we knew they were trouble and didn’t want anything to do with them. Instead, the two of us went into the kitchen to talk to Bradley. He grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and handed one to each of us.

  “Hey, Brad.” A tall, tan, muscular guy patted Brad on the back and descended on our conversation. Dylan was the other lead singer in the band. I had trouble not staring at him, but somehow I managed to stay in control. I could tell he spent hours in the gym, and he loved all the attention he got from his incredibly sexy body. I gently nudged Emily as if to say secretly, “Damn, he is so hot!” But the last thing I wanted in my life was a guy to distract me, and he was definitely a distraction.