Duke smiled and squeezed my hand once. "I'm not worried about that. I just get quiet in new spaces, Sweets. It's not a problem, but next time let me know ahead of time and I got it."
I nodded and left it alone. I snuggled closer to him and laid my head against his shoulder just as the attendant made her way over with a warm smile. She had a pretty curly afro that framed her face perfectly. I glanced at her name tag. Khaleya.
"Can I get you a snack or something to drink?" she asked, then handed us each a menu.
It had been a long time since I had experienced this level of luxury. I loved Rose Haven deeply, but I also loved being taken care of in this way. Something about it felt like slipping back into an old coat that still fit. I released my hold on Duke and did a little dance in my seat, causing Khaleya to giggle softly. If she didn't already know who I was, I was sure she would have thought this was my first time on a private jet.
I pointed to the chicken and rice on the menu, then at the Fiji water listed beside it. She turned her attention to Duke, who was studying the laminated pages like he was preparing for an exam.
"And for you, sir?" she asked.
I leaned over to look at the menu alongside him.
"They can make all this on the plane?" he whispered.
I was sure Khaleya heard every word, but she smiled wider and never let on. She just waited patiently like we had all the time in the world.
"Damn, aight. I'll have what she's having. But if y'all mess up my stomach, I'm going straight to your boss," he told her plainly.
She smiled, collected the menus from both of us, and headed toward the galley without missing a beat.
I nudged Duke's shoulder and cracked up.
"Why did you say that to that woman? She seems sweet."
Duke kissed his teeth. "Everybody's sweet, baby. Until you've had food poisoning from undercooked chicken. And I told her I was going to her boss, not her. I can't blame the trainee. I'm going upside the head of the muthafucka who taught her."
I cracked up because it sounded ridiculous, but he was completely serious and that made it worse.
"You are a trip."
Duke shrugged, then leaned over to place a kiss against my jaw.
True to her word, Khaleya returned with our meals shortly after. She even had Duke cut into his chicken in front of her to confirm it was cooked to his satisfaction. By the time he cleared his plate, he was quietly asking me questions about the airline's ownership structure and talking about looking into an investment. I didn't know the full extent of what Duke was sitting on financially because he never made a production of it. He didn't live flashy or throw numbers around in conversation. I liked that more than I ever let on.
For the last hour of the flight, we dozed off against each other until the attendant's voice came over the speaker letting us know it was time to buckle up for landing. I noticed Duke had never once removed his seatbelt the entire flight. I smiled to myself and shook my head. The man was something else entirely.
Once the plane touched down and rolled to a stop, we thanked the staff for taking such good care of us. Duke shook Khaleya's hand personally, which made her day based on the look on her face. Then we walked out toward the awaiting all-black SUV parked just outside the steps of the plane.
I slipped on my black baseball cap and slid my shades into place. Duke grabbed our bags, only for the driver to step in and take them from him to load into the trunk. The driver held the door open and I slid across the back seat, Duke sliding in right behind me. I exhaled slowly as the door closed and the driver settled back behind the wheel.
"Ma'am, we're heading to 2458 Rosemary Lane, correct?" the driver asked.
"That's correct."
He nodded and eased out into traffic. I shifted closer to Duke, needing his presence to steady me as the city I had run from began to close in around us. The familiar skyline, the billboards, the palm trees lining the boulevard, all of it hit differently when you had spent months pretending it didn't exist.
The ride was quiet. Neither of us felt the need to fill the air with words. My chest tightened as landmarks I used to pass without a second thought came into view one after another. The coffee shop I used to stop at between shoots. The studio lot I had driven past a thousand times. The street that ran parallel to the apartment Henderson used to insist on meeting at for early morning calls.
The moment the Rosemary Lane street sign came into view, I tightened my grip on Duke's hand without thinking.
The driver pulled up to the call box at the gate. He rolled forward just enough for me to reach out and punch in the code. We waited as the gate groaned and slowly swung open, revealing the long driveway that curved toward the house. The grass on both sides was overgrown, tall enough to brush the sides of the car as we rolled through. Whatever the HOA had to say about it, I would deal with later.
As the driver rounded the circle at the front and came to a stop, I noticed the front door was sitting slightly open.
Duke had his arm around me, but the moment his eyes landed on that door, his posture shifted entirely. He released me, sat up straight, and reached for the door handle in one quiet motion. I touched his forearm before he could move.
"Wait. What if someone is still in there?" I asked.