They met at the Hudson Hotel, an all-female hotel their parents approved of. They spent the night in New York on Thursday night, giggling with excitement about the trip, and called Ellen to tell her that all was going smoothly so far. The next morning, on Friday, they took a bus to LaGuardia Airport, and boarded the United flight to San Francisco, for the first leg of their trip. They were going to spend the night at the Fairmont Hotel, and catch the plane to Honolulu the next day.
They both noticed the very attractive stewards on the United flight. They looked more like movie stars to the young nurses. And there was a stewardess on the flight, who told them she was a nurse when they chatted with her.
“We should have done that,” Lizzie said to Audrey in a whisper after the stewardess walked by in her trim uniform, with her matching hat. She looked like a model.
“Done what?” Audrey asked her.
“Become stewardesses. I heard recently that they have to be nurses. And I can tell you that she’s having a lot more fun than I am on the post-op ward, and their uniforms are way cuter.”
Audrey laughed. “I’d have to have a complete makeover. She looks like she came from a modeling agency. No one in our class at nursing school looked like that,” she reminded Lizzie.
“You’d look great in the hat and uniform. I don’t know why I never thought of that. This looks like a fun job.”
“It’s probably harder than it looks,” Audrey said practically. But it certainly did look glamorous. Audrey knew she couldn’t have left her mother and done it. This was the first time in six years she’d been away from Ellen for more than a day or two, and it had taken meticulous planning to make sure that she’d be cared for by a nurse for the entire time. Mrs. Beavis was taking no time off while Audrey was gone.
Audrey loved the sensation of flying, and looking down at the scenery below, even though the flight was turbulent for some of the time. Neither of the girls was afraid, although several passengers were. The service was impeccable, and the food delicious. Audrey and Lizzie chatted with the stewardess again during the flight, and said that they were nurses too. The United stewardess said how much she loved her job. She said she had never needed her nurse’s training in the year she’d worked for United. The medical issues she tended to were minor, like an infant with an earache, or helping someone who was airsick. But other than that, there had never been medical assistance required on her flights, although it could happen.
They said they were going to Honolulu, and Beth, the stewardess, told them how much they were going to love it and that it was a tropical paradise. She had been there once and said it was unforgettable.
“My brother’s stationed there. He’s a navy pilot,” Audrey volunteered. “He loves it. I don’t think he’ll ever want to come back.” They chatted for a few more minutes, and then Audrey and Lizzie went back to their seats for the remainder of the flight. Audrey read a book, and Lizzie went to sleep. They landed in San Francisco and took a cab to the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill. They had dinner at the hotel and went to bed early so they’d be fresh for their long flight to Honolulu the next day.
They boarded the Pan Am flight the next day, at Treasure Island, and were in awe when they saw the enormous Boeing 314 Clipper. It was the largest airliner of its time. Normally it could carry seventy-four passengers, but only carried twenty-five on the long flight to Hawaii. All passengers traveled first class on the flight. There was a festive atmosphere as soon as they got on the plane. Other passengers were going on vacation too, and it was a delight to leave cold wintry weather, and head for bright sun and white sandy beaches. They could hardly wait to land. And in the meantime, the flight itself was memorable. The four stewards met their every need. The Clipper had an upper flight deck, a lower cabin divided into five seating compartments, a large lounge that converted into a dining room, and a bridal suite. The flight took sixteen hours and flew overnight.
The Clipper glided smoothly on the water when it landed on Sunday morning after the luxurious flight. They stopped in front of the terminal, and two beautiful Polynesian girls were waiting to give each passenger a flower lei. The sky was a bright cameo blue, the weather warm. It was dazzling. When Audrey looked up, she saw her brother walking toward her in his white summer uniform. He lifted her right off her feet when he hugged her, and he smiled when he saw Lizzie. Audrey noticed a look pass between them that was different from the way he had looked at her before. Lizzie’s long blond hair hung down her back in gentle waves. She was wearing a light blue dress the color of her eyes, and the dress molded her figure without being vulgar. He walked both women out of the airport, looking proud.