Flight Attendant Misbehavior 2

Part 3 - California

"Hayley! I haven't seen you in ages," Eleanor exclaimed as her colleague walked into the crew lounge at Heathrow for their flight to Los Angeles, "it must be, what, a year?"

"Too long," Hayley agreed, "I had a few months off while I was moving into my new house in California, but I'm back now. HR doesn't like me commuting from there, but they said we can give it a go and see if it works."

"Wow, very cool." Eleanor smiled, "Tell me everything." She leaned in, eager for news about Hayley's new life.

Hayley wasted no time filling Eleanor in on all the details: her husband's new job, the move to Palm Desert, the new house, the pool. "I tell you what, why don't you skip the layover hotel and come stay with me?" Hayley suggested. "I just finished decorating the guest room and we can hang by the pool and drink margaritas for a couple days."

Eleanor grinned, clearly tempted. "I don't know, what if we get in trouble? I mean, are we even allowed to be that far from the airport?"

"Oh, don't be such a worrier," Hayley laughed, "It's my new normal. Besides, it's not like we'll be so far from the airport. It's only a couple hours away."

Eleanor hesitated for a moment, but the idea of swapping the crew hotel for Hayley's pool was very tempting. "Alright, alright," she agreed, "I'll come with you."

The two flight attendants gathered their bags and headed out to the gate for their flight, catching up their lives as they walked. The flight was lightly loaded and uneventful. As the rest of the crew boarded the hotel shuttle, Hayley approached the captain, Suzanne. "Captain, I've invited Eleanor to come to my place in Palm Desert. We won't be at the hotel and I didn't want you to be worried about where we were."

The captain raised an eyebrow, but smiled. "OK, Hayley. Just make sure you're both back in plenty of time for our return flight. Traffic can be awful in LA, but I trust you know what you're doing." She checked her watch and added, "And I expect you both to check in with the rest of the crew two hours ahead of departure, understood?"

Hayley nodded and turned to Eleanor, who was watching the exchange with a mix of curiosity and nervousness. "Don't worry," she reassured her, "Captain Suzanne is just being careful. She knows we won't miss the flight. Come on, let's get going!" On the other side of the arrivals area, Hayley's husband was waiting in a brand new Range Rover. "Honey, this is Eleanor," Hayley said, "she's coming to stay."

They made good time to Palm Desert, arriving at Hayley's gated community just under two hours later. The house was beautiful, designed by a noted architect with a large swimming pool, surrounded by lush greenery. They unloaded their bags and Eleanor immediately headed for the pool, excited to relax and soak up some sun.

As they enjoyed the early evening sun, Hayley excused herself and returned with a pitcher of margarita and two chilled glasses. "Welcome to paradise!" she exclaimed, pouring the drinks and handing one to Eleanor. "I hope you like this place as much as I do."

Two days passed in a relaxed vibe of cocktails, shopping, swimming and dinner at Hayley's favorite restaurant with even more margaritas. Eleanor was in awe of Hayley's lifestyle and the luxuriousness of her new home. It wasn't clear what her husband did for a living but it was clearly lucrative.

They were due to work the 7pm redeye back to London, and Suzanne had told them specifically not to be late for the 5pm crew check in. At 3pm, Hayley's husband was still not back from work to drive them to the airport. Eleanor paced by the pool in her uniform, growing more anxious with each passing minute. "Don't worry," Hayley reassured her, "it won't matter if we're a few minutes late."