It was a little before ten in the morning when Wilson passed my office. He was pulling a small suitcase on wheels. We exchanged good mornings, and I didn’t think anything of it until he ducked into the office ten minutes later.
“Hey, so, I was wondering…” he said, his voice trailing off as if I were supposed to fill in the rest.
But I didn’t know what he was wondering so I kept my mouth shut. After an awkward moment, he continued.
“You think you could give me a hand, help me out with something?” he asked.
The exchange had taken just a few seconds. It was long enough for me to be worried.
“Depends,” I said.
“It would really be a big help for me,” he said.
“Yeah, okay, what the hell. I’ll play along. I mean YOLO and all that stuff,” I said.
He clapped his hands and smiled, and I knew I was sunk.
“Great,” he said. “So, here’s the deal, Jen dumped a trip on me last minute.”
“That would explain the suitcase.”
“Yes, well kind of. But, anyway, she’s sending me to Singapore for a client meeting. She always handles this one. It’s like a once a year thing. But she says she’s, you know, busy all of a sudden.”
“Sorry to hear,” I said. “That’s a heck of trip. What do you need me to do? Want me to make sure that suck-up Andy doesn’t work out of your office like he did when you were in Chicago?”
“No, no,” Wilson said. “I just need you to help me get ready for the trip.”
“Hmmmm, I’d be happy to, but if it’s an ad client you’re meeting, I don’t think I can be of much help. I don’t know a thing about that stuff.”
Wilson waved his hands. “No, no,” he said. “Here, just come with me, I’ll explain everything in my office.”
A few seconds later we stepped into his office. Something was wrong. I knew it right away. His desk chair had been rolled out to the side of the room near the window. And identical one was next to it, the armrests touching. They faced the far wall of the office.
“Ah…the chairs?” I said.
Wilson closed the door behind me and said, “I’m booked on that new nonstop flight to Singapore, out of Newark.”
“That super long one?”
“Yup, the longest nonstop flight in the world. Eighteen hours,” he said.
“That’s a lot time to spend on a plane.”
“I know. They say it’s a marathon,” he said.
“I guess so, but without all the running.”
Wilson was full of energy and vigor, like he had a great idea and was damn proud of it.
“I set aside today as my training day for the flight.”
“Training day?”
“Yes, I read somewhere that you should train for a flight this long,” he said. “Thank you for volunteering to help.”
“I didn’t exactly volunteer.”
He pointed to the two chairs and said, “Would you like the window seat, or the aisle?”
Before I could answer he nudged me toward the window.
“You take the window,” he said, sitting down in the other chair.
Before I knew it, I was in an office chair, elbow to elbow with Wilson on one side and a view of the sixteenth floor of the building across the street on my other side.
“The flight on Monday takes off at 10:48 a.m. So, we’re a bit early, but close enough. I’m trying to approximate exactly how it will feel sitting for eighteen hours.”
“You’re going to sit here for the next eighteen hours?” I asked.
“I mean, I’ll go to the lavatory, and maybe walk around the cabin every now and again,” Wilson said.
“The cabin?” I asked, glancing around the office. “And why is your suitcase on your desk?”
“That’s the overhead bin. See how it’s kind of nearby? Again, I am aiming for as close to a plane setting as I can get.”
“Ah, look, I’ve got work to do, or what passes for work these days, and there’s really no way I can sit with you for eighteen hours. Actually, eighteen minutes may even be pushing it,” I said, moving to get up.
Wilson put an arm on my shoulder, and gently prevented me from rising.
“Please, no moving about the cabin until we hit cruising altitude,” he said.
I was nervous now, the kind of nervous that sets in when you realize maybe the joke wasn’t a joke, and that the joker may in fact be serious. Then there’s the thought that if he is serious, well, then he may be delusional given how he was acting.
“Are you under a lot of stress?” I asked.
“I have been, but I’m hoping I’ll feel better after the first nap. They recommend two five hour naps on this flight. The first one will be in just a few hours,” he said.
“There’s that word again,” I said.
“Which one?” he asked.
“Hours,” I said.
Wilson did some deep breathing exercises for a few moments. He looked around the office and seemed to be gearing up for something. I glanced at the building across the street. There was a gal at a desk staring back. I gave a little wave. She gave a little wave.
“Okay, we’re hurtling down the runway right about now,” he said.
“Yes, I can tell by the buildings speeding by on Fifty-third Street.”
“Here we go,” Wilson said. “Singapore next stop!”
I glanced back at me new friend across the street. She was standing now, looking across the street.
I mouthed one word. “Help.”
(To be continued)