Cabin Fever: The sizzling secrets of a Virgin air hostess… (34 page)

“What’s up, have you lost something?” I said, raking my fingers through the sand. He looked at me, moonlight sculpting his face. “I’m fine. Stand up, Mandy.”

“What are you doing?” I said, rising to my feet. I was confused.

Then he knelt in the sand (on one knee) and reached for my left hand. His voice was jagged, his fingers damp with sweat. I looked into his eyes; he seemed about to cry. “Mandy,” he said.

“Yeah?” I was still slightly puzzled.

Glenn cleared his throat. “Mandy, you’re the girl of my dreams. Will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”

I burst into tears. “Yes … yes, of course I’ll marry you.”

“It’s a good job I brought this, then,” Glenn said, producing a diamond ring, which he’d kept hidden in his shoe. He slipped the ring onto my third finger – It was beautiful, an oval one-carat diamond set on a platinum band.

“It’s stunning,” I said, tears streaming down my face. “I would have chosen the same one myself.”

I fell to my knees and threw my arms around him, smothering his face with kisses and tears. In the distance I could hear the mellow beats of Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” reverberating from the steel drums, and I smiled, knowing I didn’t need to worry about a thing anymore, either.

I sat back on my heels, folded Glenn’s hands in mine and whispered: “Thank you.”

EPILOGUE

There are times when I look back at my career and wonder: did all that really happen to me? At the time everything flashed past me in a blur: the parties, relationships, juggling life on the ground with life in the air, dotting from country to country. It was a crazy existence, but I wouldn’t change a single day.

Being an air hostess isn’t a job for just anyone; it takes stamina, commitment, patience and a level-headed attitude to cope with the pressures we dollies are up against on a daily basis. In addition to serving tea and coffee, you’re also expected to be a first-rate nurse, therapist, policewoman and negotiator – and to smile throughout every trauma and mishap.

Not every day was a party for me; there were some dark times too. The events of 9/11 shook the airline industry to its very core, both economically and emotionally. Some people lost their jobs; others left, too fearful to fly again; and, of course, we felt for the crew who had lost their lives doing the same job we did day in, day out. Those were tough times.

However, I like to think that the good times far outweighed the bad. The comradeship among cabin crew is like nothing I’ve
experienced in any other workplace. Your colleagues really do become your family when you’re flying, and I’ve made some amazing friends for life. I still meet up regularly with the girls – some of whom are still flying – and whenever we get together, it’s as though no time has passed. We meet for cocktails and talk about the good old days – reliving the stories, remembering the laughs we had, the mischief we got up to and the beautiful countries we explored. They keep me up to date with all the latest Galley FM gossip so, in a way, it’s as though I never left Virgin Atlantic.

Laura, Suzy and Felicity are still flying, still returning from trips with more hilarious tales – and Sephora products for me. Those girls have kept me in Bare Minerals cosmetics for the last four years. They’re all in happy relationships now. Laura recently moved in with her long-term boyfriend, an architect called Alan. Suzy has just got engaged to her man, Phil. He bought her an emerald-cut sapphire engagement ring, flanked by two solitaires. It’s similar to the engagement ring Chandler gave to Monica in
Friends
. Of course, I helped him choose it. Suzy was over the moon.

Felicity met an air-traffic controller, Liam, and they got hitched in August 2013. She’s thoroughly enjoying married life … although she’s still quite partial to a spot of skinny dipping down-route. She even tried to get me in the sea during my hens weekend in Brighton.

In comparison to my flying days, I live pretty quietly now. Although, with Glenn being a male version of me, and a rugby captain, our social life is still a little crazy and very busy at weekends.

I married Glenn in June 2010 at our village church in Poynings, just north of Brighton, and our reception was held in a marquee in the grounds of a seventeenth-century manor house: Great Ote Hall, in East Sussex. Laura, Felicity and Suzy were bridesmaids and the majority of my guests were Virgin cabin crew. It was the
perfect dream wedding. A year later our daughter was born. She’s just adorable but, like anything worth having, bloody hard work at times.

There are days when I miss flying, when I long to be back in the galley, hearing all the gossip, or down-route partying. But then I look at my little family and I realise I’ve made the right choice. Finally, I’m home.