They crossed to a plane with its wings on top. ‘All the better to see the view,’ Nixon explained as he checked fuel, props and wiggled the rudder, explaining everything as he went. ‘Right, up you get.’ He held the door open for her, his other hand on her elbow as she scrambled aboard, his fingers leaving pads of heat on her skin.
When Nixon joined her from the other side he passed over a set of headphones. ‘We can talk to each other through these. Be aware that at times I’ll be talking to the control tower.’
Belted up and headphones clamped around her ears, Emma watched Nixon run through pre-flight checks, talk to the tower, and then off with the brakes and the plane rolled forward. ‘We’re away,’ she said more to herself than Nixon.
‘Sure are,’ he came back.
The moment they were airborne, the plane leant sideways as Nixon brought it around to head directly towards the Remarkables. ‘Where are we going?’ she managed in a semi-normal voice.
‘We’re getting out of the approach path because there’s a commercial flight on finals. I’ll turn as soon as the tower advises me to.’
Oh. Good. Great, even. ‘Do you follow instructions the whole time?’
‘No. I’ve filed our flight outline and before take-off I told traffic control what height I intend flying at. I’ll be informed of other light aircraft within my range so that I can look out for them, otherwise I’m in charge.’
Emma laughed. ‘Typical.’
‘Sit back and relax. Enjoy the unfolding scenery. Drinks and meals won’t be served on this flight, but we can make up for that when we get back.’ Nixon listened intently to the controller and finally made a slow right-hand turn.
A small sigh of relief escaped Emma. All very well being told aiming directly for mountains was okay, but changing direction was far more encouraging. Staring out and down, she gasped. ‘It’s so pretty from up here.’ Whenever she’d flown out of Queenstown on a commercial flight the plane had been up and gone so fast she’d never appreciated her town from above.
‘We’ll head to Mount Aspiring first,’ Nixon told her.
‘Cool.’ The famous mountain peak looked colder than cool when they reached it. ‘Those guys are mad.’ She pointed to two climbers working their way up a ridge near the top. ‘What if they fall?’
‘They’d be history. Looks like they’ve got all the gear though. They must’ve set out about three this morning to be that close to the summit.’
Bonkers. ‘Why risk your life for a view from the top when you can fly up here?’
‘It’s a calculated risk if you prepare for the worst, have the right equipment, take note of the weather and act accordingly.’ Nixon flew around the mountain. ‘There’s a lot of fun to be had if you take adventure seriously.’
Damn but zooming around the sky in a little machine with Nixon beside her was exciting. It wouldn’t take much to give into the swamping need to kiss him and share the fizz in her blood, so she worked at going with the joy and beauty of it all instead. ‘This is amazing.’ Right now she was going to catch a rainbow and pretend she was as carefree as she felt. Because—because maybe her dreams could come true.
‘Want to have a go?’
‘What? At flying?’ When Nixon nodded she shivered. ‘Is it safe?’
‘I’m not getting out,’ he teased. ‘Put your hands on your controls like I’m holding mine. I’ve got everything covered.’
‘Funny how there are two sets of everything.’
‘One for the instructor and one for the pupil.’
Gripping the controls, she said, ‘What next?’
‘Hold the plane level by keeping the controls where they are.’ Removing his hands, he watched her sitting rigid for fear of moving the controls even a fraction. Putting one hand back in place, he said, ‘I’m holding lightly. To make the plane go down and faster push forward slowly, not abruptly or too far.’
Her heart in her throat, she hesitated. Wimp. ‘Right, onto it.’ Deep breath, push forward an incy-wincy bit. Nothing happened. More pressure and suddenly the nose of the plane was dropping. She jerked backwards, bringing the controls back to where they’d been when she’d first touched them.
Nixon laid his hand over hers, gave her a gentle squeeze, sending her heart winging into orbit. ‘You’re doing fine. Look, I’ll show you.’ When he pushed forward the plane began heading down on a slow line. ‘To go up you pull back, again, not abruptly. You need to add a little more power when going upwards.’
Up they came, down they went. Up down in gentle movements until Emma started laughing with glee. ‘This is awesome. I can’t believe I’m flying a plane.’
‘Next you’ll be taking lessons and getting your own licence.’ Nixon high fived her. ‘Right, I’m taking over now.’
Relinquishing the controls meant letting go of a different life, an opportunity to do something for herself. A glimpse into a world of adventure she’d never experienced or believed she needed. ‘No matter what, I’m still a mother and a nurse with all the necessary commitments. Nothing can change that.’
‘You can be whatever you choose if you want it enough,’ Nixon said.
Did I say that out loud? Must’ve.
‘You think it’s that easy?’ Then why wasn’t he letting go of his issues, becoming a man with love in his life? Gulp. I didn’t say that out loud, did I?
‘No, I don’t. Just quoting someone who probably never had a problem in his whole sorry life.’ Nixon was still smiling, telling her to keep having fun, because this was one of those special days that didn’t happen often.
She leaned forward to peer over the nose of the plane. ‘Is that Milford?’ There was a long fiord with an airstrip and a few buildings at one end. Planes were landing continuously, no doubt full of eager tourists.
‘Sure is. We’ll stay away from the airstrip. Too many other planes for my liking.’
That was another reason she liked Nixon. He might do adventure but he didn’t take risks with her or anyone else. Or probably himself. She certainly hoped not. She wanted him around for a long time to come. ‘So we go up the Sound?’
‘Up the right side and back down the left. We don’t fly through the middle for safety purposes. I need room to turn the plane around in the unlikely event something goes wrong.’
Her tummy didn’t tighten when he said that. She was confident in her pilot, and having the best day of her life. Recent life anyway. Putting her phone to the window she clicked photo after photo. ‘I
think I’m going overboard but who knows when I’ll ever get another chance?’
‘There’d be endless opportunities if you learnt to fly.’
‘No, thanks. As much as I’m loving this, if I had spare money I’d rent a block of land and have horses. But I’m saving to buy a house, so any spare dosh gets put away. Out of sight, out of spending danger.’
‘Not staying in the apartment for ever?’ Nixon swooped the plane around in a circle to face the way they’d come.
‘Owning my own place has always been a dream since I had Rosie. I grew up in that house out in Gibbston Valley. Dad farmed cattle then. All the special memories from my childhood are to do with there and I want that for Rosie somewhere down the track. Though what I’ll be able to afford will be on a much smaller scale and not in such a fabulous location.’
‘It’ll be a start.’
‘Exactly.’
She took more photos, settled back in the seat and breathed in warm, kerosene-laden air and smiled with happiness.
Nixon grinned. ‘You are enjoying this, aren’t you?’
‘Oh, yeah.’
‘Hate to tell you but we’re heading home. The plane’s booked by someone else at eleven and I need to refuel.’
‘I’m fine with that.’ The rest of the day was going to be tame after this. The rest of her life if Nixon wasn’t starting to feel the same way about her. Since he’d brought her up here anything was possible. Wasn’t it?
‘Want another crack at flying?’
‘Can I?’ Not waiting for an answer, Emma sat up straighter. ‘Can I try turning?’
‘Wait ’til we’re well away from Milford.’ Nixon was scanning the sky in front of them, out of the side windows and then above as much as he could see.
‘You do that a lot.’
‘First lesson in flying: be on the watch for other planes. Don’t rely on other pilots or air traffic control to tell you who’s in your space.’ He glanced at the control panel, then at the wings. ‘Straight and level. You’re onto it.’