Chapter 2

Our boat pulled alongside the rustic platform. Each plane’s passenger names were called out and, luckily, our whole family was traveling together, plus one other lady. I’d never flown in a seaplane before and refused to believe we would all fit in. So did Grandmum.

Somehow we did.

As the plane soared into the sky, Max noticed it quickly leveled off and didn’t gain altitude. He leaned across from his neighboring seat and whispered into my ear, “Mum, aren’t we going to crash if we stay so close to the ground?”

I had preoccupations of my own. There was no second-in-command and if our pilot had a heart attack, who was going to fly the plane? It was hardly one of those instances where, instead of, “Is there a doctor on board?” a flight attendant cries, “Does anyone here know how to fly a plane?” I knew none of our family did, and I was certain the lady in the seat next to our aviator hadn’t a clue, either.