Jeremy watched the families, couples and businessmen disappear through the boarding gate, and a lump formed in his throat. He was taken by surprise when his wife, Julia, slipped her hand into his. She looked up at him, smiling gently. After fifty years of marriage, she still knew how to make his heart melt.

“The passport lady knows we need to be on that plane. We’ll just go on whenever you’re ready.” Julia said softly. Jeremy gripped her hand slightly tighter, feeling less nauseous already now Julia was back next to him. “They’re like big rooms inside, Jar. You hardly know you’re miles above the ground.” Jeremy’s comfort was lost for a moment as the image of a huge, heavy aircraft thirty six thousand feet in the air invaded his mind. It isn’t natural. He thought. It shouldn’t fly. It can’t fly. It won’t fly.

“Jar?” Julia called Jeremy softly by his nickname, causing the image of the aircraft to shatter, bringing him back to reality. “Are you all right? You look... green.”

Jeremy took his sunhat off of his head and twisted it in his hands, fidgeting. “I feel green.” Jeremy said, willing his stomach to cease its acrobatics. “I’m sorry Jules, I’m trying my hardest.”

“I know, sweetheart.” Julia said, confiscating Jeremy’s sunhat before he ripped it into shreds. “Once we’re on and sat down it’ll be a doddle.”

Jeremy continued to distract himself by cleaning his glasses. “You know, the last time I felt like this was when I held our Rachel for the first time. I was petrified.”

“Why?” Julia asked.

“She was so tiny... so breakable. I was scared I would do something wrong. I was scared I would break her - our own daughter.” Julia sighed, taking Jeremy’s glasses out of his hands and back onto his face, and caringly flattened the fold created on his shirt where he had wiped them. “Now I feel breakable, and you seem breakable. That seems like too much of a high risk for me, just so we can get to Malaga in less than two hours. We should have taken a boat, Jules.” Jeremy became flustered while Julia was contrastingly calm.

“Boats could sink, and you can’t swim.” Julia reminded him.

“You’re right. Let’s just stay at home. We’ll get out the deck chairs and I’ll buy us a barbeque with one of those new fangled gas rings.” Jeremy declared, picking up the duty free bags. Julia soon stopped him with an assertive hand on his shoulder.

“Jeremy Hastings, stop being such a coward.” Julia said. “You have never hurt Rachel in the forty two years she’s been alive, and would you have seriously sacrificed holding our newborn daughter because you were too scared?” Jeremy didn’t respond, but he blushed slightly. “You’re not going to stop us going for our first holiday abroad in thirty odd years because you’re afraid you’ll fall out of the sky. Stop being such a fusspot.”

After a pause the conversation, Jeremy replied to Julia’s rhetorical question. “No.”

“No what?”

“No... I wouldn’t give up holding our newborn daughter for the world.” Jeremy said, gazing into nothingness, his mind’s eye recalling the beautiful moment where he had looked into his newborn daughter’s eyes. This time, Julia didn’t interrupt her husband’s distraction. She smiled lovingly as the green tinge drained out of Jeremy’s face and was replaced by his cheerful, pink colouring. Jeremy soon tucked the memory back into his mind, and a smile spread across his face as he admired Julia’s face. She’s still irresistible when she smiles like that; even now she is seventy six years old.

“Are you ready to get on the plane now, my love?” Julia asked.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be; blasted technology.” Jeremy said, gripping Julia’s hand for moral support.

The passport lady beamed a comforting smile to the elderly couple as they presented their passports and boarding cards.

“Thank you, I hope you have a safe and pleasant journey.” She said. Jeremy gulped; trying to contain the wave of nerves that resurfaced after the woman had said the words hope and safe in the same sentence. There was nothing to hope for, he had to be certain.

“Are you sure you want to go to Malaga, Jules?” He urgently whispered to her just outside of the boarding gate doors. “I’m all up for Brighton.”

Julia sighed heavily and reached up to touch Jeremy’s cheek. He squinted slightly, as more images of crashing aircraft filled his mind.

“We’ve been to Brighton umpteen times.” Julia said.

“But I proposed to you in Brighton.” Jeremy argued.

“Yes, and that was another risk worth taking, wasn’t it?” Julia said. “The moral of the story is, if you don’t try anything, you’ll not experience anything amazing.”

“You were definitely worth the risk, Jules.” Jeremy said, hugging his wife tenderly. “Let’s get this ride over with.”