Chapter 3

Charlie stood on the tarmac at Fua’amotu International Airport and gazed around him, hardly believing that he had actually finished his journey.  It was a grey day, wet with a chill wind gusting across the runways, hardly the most promising start to his first full day in Polynesia.  He would have wondered about who was going to meet him at the tiny airport building, a terminal that was barely larger than a garage forecourt, but he felt so drained from the journey that he just didn’t care.  It could be Darth Vader or it could be Father Christmas.  Either was good, so long as he didn’t have to get on another plane.

He could not believe how dreadfully tired he was.  It had been almost two days since he had said goodbye to his mother at Heathrow Airport, waving goodbye rather sadly, trundling the bag he was using as hand luggage behind him, as he went from the main terminal to airside, accompanied by an airline chaperone, who was ensuring that he arrived safely at the departure gate.  He had been in the air ever since.

  Never having travelled in an aeroplane before, Charlie had found the whole experience fascinating once he had gotten over his initial nervousness.   Everything in the airport had been so very different; from the uniforms of the crews on display; to the weird, low-slung vehicles that scuttled around the jets; to the buildings of the airport terminals with their long concourses terminating in cramped little waiting areas, where crews checked your tickets prior to boarding.   For all the novelty of the huge buildings and vast numbers of people travelling who knew where, he had not been prepared for the glorious hugeness of the gleaming jets themselves.

When he first set eyes on the Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 it took him a long time to realise just how big it really was.   He had arrived at the boarding area to find a long queue of passengers shuffling slowly towards a pair of smiling cabin crew, who were standing at a small counter, checking boarding passes.  Deciding to wait out the queue, Charlie went over to one of the floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the bustling airport.  That was when he saw the jumbo jet standing there with the air bridge connected to it like some kind of prehensile pipe pumping passengers into the aeroplane’s side.  He could see the strange low vehicles scooting about the ramps where the planes were parked.  The mystery of what function these vehicles served was revealed when one reversed up to the nose wheel of an Air India jet opposite his flight.  A ground crewman debarked from the cab and walked to the rear of the vehicle to connect some kind of coupling from the vehicle to the nose-wheel strut. Charlie suddenly realized that the jet’s wheel was as tall as the crewman.  He had only ever seen these planes as toys before, never as they really were, and he was just awestruck by the size of the engineering involved.  How could something so big fly?  It just did not seem possible. 

Eventually, the queue had reduced sufficiently for him to join it.  He popped himself on the end behind a rather large American couple.  He was wondering just how many Charlies would weigh the same as them  - and had got to the point where he was starting to imagine one Charlie as one leg, which would of course mean four Charlies just for them to have something to stand on - when he realised it was his turn.

“Oh!”  he said blankly to the pretty, young stewardess at the desk who was holding out her hand to him, smiling.

“Could I have your boarding pass please, sir?”  she said in a soft New Zealand accent.

Charlie was smitten.  He didn’t think he’d ever seen a creature so exotic.  He blushed and mumbled inaudibly, handing his pass over.

“Mr Buttons?”

Startled, he realised she was talking to him.  Usually when he heard the name Buttons it came with an exclamation mark and no use of the word Mister.  He nodded, “Yes.”

“You’re travelling alone?”

He nodded again, his face glowing somewhat hotter than the surface of the sun, “Yes.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you, make sure you know where to go when we get to Los Angeles.”

Charlie coughed, nodding weakly, whilst visions of New Zealand lovelies caressing his forehead fluttered behind his eyes.

“Just head down the air bridge and we’ll see you to your seat.”  She smiled again, teeth bright behind red lips.  Charlie felt really rather too hot in the departure area.  He nodded his thanks and shuffled off to the aircraft through what he thought was a rather mundane wooden door for the start of such an adventurous journey. 

After arriving at the plane, he was seen to his seat quickly and efficiently by a male member of the crew, who oversaw Charlie as he buckled himself in.  Once he was secure, the steward left to see to other passengers, leaving Charlie to marvel at the aircraft.  He could not believe he was on a Jumbo Jet! 

Other children spoke of their trips abroad at school but he had never had anything to share himself.  His holidays usually involved going to stay with his grandad in Dungeness, where he would spend two weeks of never ending days trying to avoid the mad old man by beachcombing.  He had built up quite a collection of trash spewed up by the sea onto the beaches of Kent: mermaid’s purses, dried jellyfish, nets, bottles, beach glass polished smooth by the sea, salt-bleached driftwood and a toilet seat that had caused him to roll around on the shingle laughing his head off when he found it.  What sailor had been so angry with the toilet that he’d thrown the seat in the sea?   Charlie loved to imagine the stories behind objects like this.  Why would they end up washed up on a beach in Kent?  However, holidays elsewhere had never been part of his life and now for his first he was going to the ends of the Earth, to the far side of the world.  It was bizarre to say the least.

After what seemed like an age, his favourite stewardess outlined the safety procedures for the flight, assisted by some of her colleagues. Some of the frequent fliers rather rudely ignored her (in Charlie’s opinion, although to be truthful, Charlie wasn’t really listening himself).  He was far too besotted.  She could have been speaking in Russian for all he was concerned.  However, he was much more comfortable with her being at the far end of the cabin, safely away from being burnt by the ferocity of his blushes.

The lecture ended.  Apparently oxygen would deploy from under his seat should the wings fall off and a high diving board could be found in the overhead locker should the plane ditch in a swimming pool, or something.  Charlie wasn’t quite sure but he was sure that the Aphrodite of the Aisles would see him right should the engines explode.  After all, she’d said so, hadn’t she?

An extraordinary vibration thrummed through his seat and the noise of the cabin’s air-conditioning was suddenly blocked by an all-pervading whine as the engines spooled up.  Illuminated signs requesting seat belts to be fastened flickered on, accompanied by an irritating bell.  The Jumbo started to reverse from the stand where it had been parked as it was pushed back by one of the small vehicles.  Cabin crew disappeared to their seats.

“Welcome aboard Air New Zealand Flight 714 to Los Angeles!”  A calm, measured voice spoke from the loudspeaker above Charlie’s head causing him momentary panic.  Los Angeles?  He was supposed to be going to Tonga.  It was a few seconds before he remembered that he would be leaving this Jumbo at LAX, or Los AngelesAirport, before getting on a connecting flight to AKL -  Auckland in New Zealand - where he would get on to yet another plane for his final leg to TBU - or Fua’amotu in Tonga.  “We’ll be flying in clear skies today so do look out for some of the sights as we pass over the southern tip of Greenland in a few hours time.  For now, please ensure your seatbelts are fastened and do not leave your seats until your cabin crew let you know.  We hope you have a pleasant flight.”

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