Second Chances

12. I'm The Shoulder You Can Cry On

Wednesday, 14th February 1979

The day they would fly to Switzerland had finally come. Their Swiss Air flight was scheduled at 11 am, in Stockholm's Arlanda Airport. By 9 am, the foursome was in the airport to board the aeroplane. It was a cold Valentine's day: Frida had an oversized red fur coat matching with her red sweater, black corduroy pants and black boats; Benny with a grey bottom-up shirt, black trousers with a fur winter coat; Agnetha played it safe by wearing a royal blue long coat and matching a blue turtle neck sweater, with details in black, as well as blue lens sunglasses. Her hair was down and straight. Björn was wearing white pants and turtle neck, a green puffy jacket with a yellow collar.

Benny and Frida were all over each other as it was Valentine's day. For the first time, Agnetha and Björn wouldn't celebrate the day together. It was awkward for both of them since it was a new situation for both and despite Björn was officially together with Lena, she wasn't travelling to Switzerland with him. Agnetha had called Lars before leaving for the airport to wish him a good day and also to apologise for not spending it with him, but she promised she would make it up as soon as she arrived back in Sweden. He understood that she had to leave for work so he was fine, and wished her a safe flight. With no surprise, Agnetha was terrified to fly once again. She was extremely scared of flying and to ease down the nerves she would drink before the departure. The cabin assistants had already prepared the drinks, as the band's team would always ask them to fill up the bar on board. Agnetha was especially concerned about this flight as it had snowed heavily the previous night and the roads were full of ice and apparently in Switzerland it was the same weather. It was impossible to hide how anxious she was and she didn't have Björn by her side this time to support her. He would even sit in another seat so she was alone for the whole trip.

Around 10:45 am, everyone was on board and getting settled for the trip. Benny and Frida were in one of the front seats drinking red wine and eating some chocolate that the pilot had given them. Björn was on the left side of the aeroplane, close to the left-wing. He decided to spend his time in the aeroplane to read and perhaps coming up with new ideas for the album which he would take note of on his notepad that he had brought with him. On the back of the aeroplane, on the right side, was Agnetha's seat. She was looking out of the window in stress, drinking a cup of whiskey and smoking a cigarette, hoping that it would calm her down.

It was finally time for the aeroplane to get up to the endless sky. Agnetha decided to close her eyes until they were finally flying. The minutes passed and it didn't seem that the plane was moving. There was a silence that aroused her curiosity. Agnetha opened her eyes and saw everyone quiet. She looked at her watch and it was 11:10 am. There was no reason to be delayed, she thought. Agnetha laid back while waiting for the aeroplane to start but it didn't seem it would happen any time soon.

"Good morning passengers. This is your captain speaking. First I'd like to welcome everyone on SwissAir Flight 98D to Geneve. We are sorry for the delay that we are currently experiencing. Due to the amount of snow, the aircraft is having problems starting. Our engineers are on their way to inspect the aircraft and solve the issue, so we can soon depart. Sorry for your wait. We will keep you informed."

"You can't be serious...", Agnetha whispered to herself.

Agnetha's anxiety had gone worse. Her body started to sweat and she asked for more whiskey. She was already scared of flying and now she was even more terrified. All she wanted was to go home and never step back in an aeroplane. Just thinking that she would have to go on tour by the end of the year made her want to quit her career so she could avoid it. She was feeling trapped and didn't know how to escape it.

Around midday, the aeroplane's engine finally started. Benny and Frida who were very cheerful and pretty much in love started to clap as soon as they heard the sounds coming from the engine. Björn laughed at his friends while Agnetha remained in silence and thanked God. But she was still scared. What if the engine would stop in the middle of the flight? She didn't risk her life knowing that her kids would lose both their parents. The aeroplane was finally in the air after 10 minutes. For that period of time, Agnetha kept her eyes closed. She didn't want to see the snow from above, it would scare her even more.