July 26, 2021
Write a scene or story that includes a character who has a phobia. What do they fear? How does this phobia affect their life?
I decided to write a scene involving two of my favorite characters from the Harmony Duprie Mysteries. Harmony and Eli. For those of you who have read the series, this scene would fall between the The Contessa’s Brooch and The Samurai’s Inro. At the end of The Contessa’s Brooch, Harmony had promised Eli that she would fly down to Florida to start working for him, and he had promised her that he’d use the company’s jet to pick her up instead of making her take a commercial flight when he figured out she has a fear of flying.
*****
The path on my maps app showed our path going straight, but Eli had flipped on his turn signal. Had he changed his mind, and we were driving to Florida? I could hope. “This isn’t our turn,” I said as I put my phone in my lap and wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. He’d told me to dress for comfort.
“The jetport has its own exit.” A wide grin lightened his face. “You’re in for a treat.”
“Nothing that has to do with getting on an airplane is fun.” I wiggled in my padded and heated seat. “This is a nice car. I’d love to take it for a long drive with you. Like all the way to Florida.”
“We’ll make that happen some day, Harmony. But not this time. I have a full slate of meetings tomorrow, and you need to be there for a few of them as part of your training.” He patted my knee.
“I got myself into this fix, didn’t I? I should have never accepted the offer to work for you.” It had seemed like a good idea. I had a hard time resisting when he batted his pale blue eyes at me.
He laughed. “I’m not going to need to pull a Mr. T. intervention on you, am I?”
“Mr. T.?”
“Old TV show. The tough guy on a team had a fear of flying. They had to come up with creative ways to drug him and get him on a plane to their next job almost every week.”
“I thought that soda you bought for me tasted funny. You didn’t…”
“No, I wouldn’t. But I’m not afraid to throw you over my shoulder and carry you onto the jet if I need to.”
“One time. One time you pulled that trick. And we were headed to the bedroom, not an airplane, and I wasn’t fighting.”
“That sounds like a challenge.” He turned onto a side road. “We can test it tonight. I’ll carry you to my bed. At my house. In Florida. That’s another benefit of taking the company jet.”
“Good selling point, but what else can you throw in to sweeten the pot?”
“Comfy leather chains you can stretch out in? Your pick of adult beverages, including your favorite wine? Not needing to go through TSA security or wait in line to board? Me to keep you company?”
“They all sound nice.” I wasn’t sold, I laid my hand on my thigh and and squeezed to hide the trembling.
Eli pulled into a parking spot but didn’t turn off the engine. He turned to me and put his hand on my shoulder. “You never have told me why you’re afraid to fly.”
“I never told you I was afraid to fly.”
He moved his hand and rubbed my neck just below my bun. “You didn’t need to say the words.”
I leaned into the massage, and the tautness in my muscles eased. His phone rang, and I missed the warmth of his touch when he answered it.
Eli’s side of the conversation was mostly words of acknowledgment, and I wondered who he was talking to. It wasn’t a normal business discussion. “We’ll be in the lounge when you are ready,” he said. “See you soon.”
He turned off the car. “That was Andy, my pilot. He’ll be landing soon. It’ll take a while to do paperwork, refuel, and he takes a break. We can wait in the visitors’ area.”
Every muscle in my body tensed. “I can’t do this, Eli.”
“One step at a time, Harmony. We’re just going inside and get a drink and use the restroom. You don’t even have to take your luggage. Andy will handle it. Okay? That way I can hold your hand.”
I swallowed back the lump in my throat.
He got out of the car, came around to the passenger’s side, opened the door, and crouched beside me. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Blame it on my parents.” The bitter words dripped from my mouth.
He scrunched an eyebrows. “I thought they died in a mountain-climbing accident.”
“They did. I took them to the airport for their trip and they never came back. I don’t have a fear of flying, I have a fear of abandonment. Me abandoning everyone else. But only with airplanes. I don’t want to go somewhere and never return It’s not logical, but there it is.”
“And all those times I’ve left you, you’ve never said a word.”
“Because somehow I always knew you’d be back, and it was okay.”
Eli stood, stretched, and smiled. “There’s your answer! It’s logical. As long as we are together, we’ll both be okay. Right?”
I mulled over the logic, looking for flaws, and didn’t find any. “It can’t be that easy.”
“No, but it’s a start. Let’s go inside.” He held out his hand.
After undoing my seatbelt, I accepted his help to get out of the car. I stood glued to the spot, searching for courage.
He slipped his arm around my waist. “It’s only to the lounge. One step at a time.”
How had I’d missed it? Eli was my courage. I leaned into him. “One step at a time. But we’re going to discuss the fact that you’re taking it for granted we’ll be sharing a bed tonight.”
*****
To read what our other authors have to say about their character’s phobias, follow the links below. And, until next time, please stay safe!
July 26, 2021
Write a scene or story that includes a character who has a phobia. What do they fear? How does this phobia affect their life?
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