Chapter 4
By the time Daryn got her home it was after midnight. Her folks were asleep and Lazara was grateful since she wasn't in the mood to answer questions.
When she awoke the following morning, her period arrived. For the next five days she worked with tampons inside her. On the fifth day of her period, she purchased birth control pills and started taking them according to the instructions.
During that time, the passengers continued mak- ing sly remarks, and she smiled them away, learning to close her ears when a nasty comment came her way. She did her work fastidiously, always careful to make certain the passengers were comfortable. Marilyn Clayborne was always there to help if a problem arose, and soon she realized there were no problems she was unable to handle.
"You're a good stew," Marilyn told her at the end of the second flight on the fifth day, when her menses was coming to an end.
"You're handy to have around in case I falter," Lazara told her.
"I notice you don't falter as much as the others. Have you given any serious thought to what we discussed that first day?"
"You mean about my becoming physically involved?"
"Only with the right people," Marilyn told her. "You'll notice that although I fool around with the crew a little, you'll never catch me with a passenger, unless the man is extremely wealthy and he's willing to share the wealth. In the seven years I've worked for this airline I've made enough to retire six times over, but I don't want to retire, at least not for awhile. A stew's life is a relatively short one. Once marriage pops up, after the first baby, most stews come back merely to complete tenure, so they can get a small retirement pension, but otherwise, they're gone. It'll happen that way with me, too, if and when I finally do get married.
It'll certainly happen that way with you. Make the money while you can, honey. Good looks don't last forever, and once they're gone, they never come back. Make it now, while you can, and sock it away."
"I'm beginning to think you're right," Lazara nodded. "When I first started here, I was determined to be a good girl ..."
"Honey," Marilyn interrupted, "all standards of good and bad were created by men, not women. In my own opinion, I'm a very good girl, and if you ask certain men about me, they'll tell you just how good I am. Just remember, the very same men who created standards of good and bad are the ones who want to turn you into a 'bad' girl. Well fuck them, literally, but make it pay, honey. You have a gold mine between your legs. Only you want them to put gold in, not take it out."
"It's fairly common knowledge," Lazara said, measuring her words, "that you have something going with the veep in charge of Operations."
"Ralph? Ralph isn't the marrying kind, but he loves oral adoration, if you get my meaning. Most of the women don't give him any kind of adoration. If you want to be smart, try scoring with Ralph when I'm not with him. It'll put you next in line for senior stew. After all, sooner or later I eventually have to retire. I think that when the time comes, you'll make a great Number One."
"Thanks," Lazara smiled.