Once Upon a Summertime Read Free Page A

high school days. “Are you serious?”
    â€œAbsolutely.” Marley nodded. “I know, I know. I’ll admit that I used to think of flight attendants as glorified waitresses in the sky.” She waved her hand to where Kellie Jo was balancing a large tray of food on one arm while unloading it with the other. “Not so different than working here. But it turns out I was wrong.”
    Anna was trying to absorb this. It almost sounded as if Marley’s career track wasn’t going much better than Anna’s. “Well, I suppose being a flight attendant is just another part of the hospitality industry—only at a higher elevation.” She imagined Marley wheeling a beverage cart down a tight aisle as she catered to disgruntled passengers. Maybe it really wasn’t so different from Anna’s job.
    â€œBecause of my fluency in languages, I passed up domestic and went straight into international. I’m getting to see the world, Anna. Going to all the exotic places I’d dreamed of seeing. It’s been totally amazing.”
    â€œReally?” Anna felt blindsided. “You honestly enjoy the work?”
    â€œI love it.” Marley started to list all the countries she’d visited recently—and it was impressive. “International flights are far more civilized and cultivated than domestic. According to the other flight attendants, it’s a whole different clientele.” She laughed. “And, hey, it’s not a bad place to meet eligible men.”
    â€œInteresting.”
    â€œOh, I probably won’t do this forever. Although there are attendants who work clear into their fifties and beyond. But right now I’m having such a great time, I have no intention of quitting anytime soon.”
    â€œWow.” Anna didn’t know what to say. Part of her wasshocked and another part was seriously envious. Imagine being paid to travel the globe! “It sounds really exciting, Marley. Very cool.”
    â€œThe icing on the cake is that I’m based in New York City,” Marley continued with enthusiasm. “It’s a wonderful place to live. I share an apartment in Greenwich Village with three other flight attendants. I’ll admit it’s pretty cozy when we’re all home at the same time, but thankfully that rarely happens. And our apartment is so close to everything. I mean, you’ve got Manhattan, SoHo, great shopping, world-class restaurants, and the subway will take you anywhere you want. Well, anyway, I don’t want to go on and on. But I certainly can’t complain.” She beamed. “It’s like I’m living my dreams.”
    â€œI’m so happy for you, Marley.” But if she was that happy, why did she feel on the verge of tears?
    Fortunately, as Kellie Jo came to take their orders, Anna got a brief reprieve to gather her emotions, but as soon as Kellie Jo left their table, Marley turned her full attention on Anna. “Okay, now tell me, what’s going on with you, Anna? I mean, it’s so weird, I can hardly wrap my head around it— you working at the Value Lodge.” She shook her head. “Last time I saw you, you were dreaming about managing a five-star hotel in some exotic locale.”
    â€œYes . . . Well, dreams can change.”
    â€œBut you’re such a smart, classy girl—I always felt certain you would go far.” She made a sympathetic smile. “I assume this is just temporary, right? I mean, what are your plans after the Value Lodge?”
    Anna bit her lip. “To be honest . . . I’m not really sure.”
    â€œBut you always had such big plans. Bigger than mine. I just wanted to teach foreign languages. But you were goingto travel and work overseas.” Marley frowned. “What happened?”
    â€œWell, my grandpa died right before I finished my bachelor’s degree,” Anna began slowly. “Grandma was so lonely. And you know