Chapter 5: First Flight

Theo was seven when she took her first flight.

It was the end of June, and her dad arrived in a rental car to take her away for their two weeks together. She had been anticipating the trip for months, and she had packed everything she thought she might need for the journey: books, games, stuffed animals, sunblock, snacks her mom made her, a kite her step-dad bought her, clothes, extra clothes, backup extra clothes.... Honestly, her bags weighed more than she did!

"Do we really need all that stuff?" said her dad.

"Yes," said Theo.

"No," said Dad, gently but firmly. "Everything you take has to fit in one bag. If we need anything else along the way, we can buy it."

"One?" asked Theo, trying to comprehend the number.

"Yes, one," said Dad. "You'll have to figure out what's most important and leave everything else behind."

Reluctantly, Theo hauled all her bags, boxes and backpacks back upstairs to her room to consolidate them.

"You need any help, Teddy?" said Mom.

"No," said Theo. "I can do it myself."

Theo spread out her bags on her bed and started going through them. As she did, she heard her parents talking politely to each other at the bottom of the stairs.

"Teddy's teacher says she's the smartest in the class," said Mom to Dad. "She wants her to skip a grade."

"I don't want to!" Theo piped in from her bedroom.

"Teddy doesn't want to," confirmed Mom. "She doesn't want to lose her friends."

"Maybe we should respect her wishes," said Dad.

Mom lowered her voice. "Frank, you know it's not her choice. It's our choice."

"So, she'll be a big fish in a small pond," said Dad, quietly. "It's her social development I'm concerned with, not her academic skills. It's okay for her to be ahead of the other kids. She needs to learn to accommodate them. She'll always be different no matter what class she's in. I say, unless there's a compelling reason not to, we respect her wishes."

Theo appeared at the top of the stairs. "I'll have to leave Fozzie Bear behind," she said.

"What a crisis!" said Dad. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I hope so," said Theo with great seriousness, then she went back into her room to continue repacking.

"She's different alright!" said Mom. "Has to do everything her own way."

"Hey, does Theo have a passport?" asked Dad quietly.

Mom was taken aback. "What does she need a passport for?"

"Not for this time, maybe for next year. Maybe we could go to England or France."

Mom was skeptical. "I'll have to talk to Howard about that. She's awfully young to be traveling overseas."

"It just gives us more options in the future. I never know where business might take me."

"Oh, really?" said Mom. "And what exactly is your business?"

He fidgeted nervously as he fished for an answer. He was wearing Bermuda shorts and a old Hawaiian shirt. He was well-tanned and apparently hadn't shaved for a few days. He looked every bit like a beach bum.

"Oh, you know," said Dad, "Just more of the same."

"The same what?" said Mom.

"Fixing problems. Making investments. Helping people help themselves."

"I see," said Mom. "I'll give careful thought to that passport."

"You know I'm good for it. I'll bring her back. How much back child support do I owe?"

"None," said Mom.

"And how much does the divorce decree say I should pay?"

"Four hundred dollars a month.... Listen, I really appreciate that. You've always sent far more than you needed to. Before I met Howard, we really depended on it."

"I appreciate you raising Teddy for us, and I would never want to take her away from you. Obviously, I can hardly take care of myself, let alone raise a child."

"Maybe you should consider a different business," said Mom. "You could even get... a job!"

"I have a job," said Dad. "It's just a complicated one."

"I'm ready!" said Theo from the top of the stairs. She was dragging an adult-size suitcase as big as she was.

Mom laughed.

"Where did you get that big suitcase?" asked Dad.

"From Mom's room. You said one bag, so I got a bigger one."

"Ah, clever!" marveled Dad. "I did say one, didn't I?"

"You didn't say which bag," said Theo.

"True," said Dad. "Those were the rules. You know, you'd make a good lawyer!"

"Thank you," said Theo, even though she didn't know what a lawyer was.

Dad climbed the stairs to fetch the suitcase and found that it was indeed as heavy as Theo was. Hardly anything was left behind!"

"Okay, let's go!" said Dad, hefting the bag with a grunt.

"Yay!" said Theo.

"Yay!" said Mom. "Now she's your problem!"

* * *

They drove to the airport and turned in the car at the rental car agency. Then they walked to the airline counter, with Dad hauling Theo's bag -- the only one they had. Theo was wearing stylish Minnie Mouse sunglasses and looked and acted like a movie star.

"Faster, Daddy!" she ordered. "We have to get to California."

"I'm going as fast as I can, Princess," said Dad, "but some people packed too much."

"Well, some people need to stop complaining," said Theo.

At the ticket counter, the check-in lady seemed confused. "Mr. Cosgrove, the reservation says you're traveling in a party of two: Francis and Theodosia. Will Theodosia be checking in later?"

"No, she's right here."

Theodosia poked her head around the corner of the counter so the agent could see her.

The agent laughed. "That's the trouble with being so short! That's a very interesting name you have, Theodosia."

"My Daddy gave it to me," said Theo. "It means 'gift of God'."

"That's very nice," said the agent.

"We're going to California," Theo volunteered.

"I can see that," said the agent. "Have you been to California before?"

"Nope."

"Have you been on a plane before?"

"Nope."

"It will be exciting! Are you going to the beach in California?"

"Yup."

"Oh, good! Did you bring your bathing suit?"

Theo looked confused for a minute as she searched her memory banks.

"Daddy, we need to go home. I forgot my bathing suit."

"Sorry, kitten, we already turned in the car. We can buy you another bathing suit when we get there."

Theo started to cry. "You don't understand, I need my bathing suit! I have to have my own bathing suit!"

Frank turned his attention back to the check-in lady, who smiled and seemed to understand. She tagged Theo's suitcase and put it on the conveyer belt behind the counter. Then she gave Frank their boarding passes.

"Don't worry, dear," said the agent. "You can buy another one when you get there. I hope you have fun at the beach!"

But Theo was unconsoled. As they left the counter, she was still complaining and half-crying.

"Daddy, we have to go back! I can't got to the beach without my bathing suit!"

"Sure you can," said Dad. "If all else fails, you can just swim in your clothes like I do."

"No, you need a bathing suit to swim in the ocean."

Dad laughed. "How do you know? You've never been to the ocean!"

"No, but I've seen it on TV. Everyone wears a bathing suit."

"A lot of things in real life are different than what you see on TV."

"I have to have my bathing suit," repeated Theo as they made their way toward security.

"It is what it is, Kitten. There are some things we don't have the power to change."

"It's just not fair!" said Theo.

"Yup," said Dad. "That's life. What are you going to do about it?"

* * *

In the plane, Theo got a window seat and her dad got the seat beside her. She was really excited! She had already told the flight attendants she was going to California, and she even told the pilots when a flight attendant let them peek into the cockpit. Theo wanted to be sure the pilots knew where to go! Now, she was a little girl in a big seat. She had her seat belt fastened tight around her waist, and she told her dad that his seat belt wasn't tight enough.

"Daddy, you have to obey the rules!" she said.

Dad humored her and tightened his belt.

Outside the window, men were working on the plane. One man was putting bags on a conveyor belt that lead out of sight somewhere below them.

"Look, Daddy, there's my suitcase!" said Theo.

"Oh, yeah!" said Dad. "I hope that man doesn't break his back when he lifts it."

Actually, the man had no problem with the bag. He moved it from the cart to the conveyor belt without seeming to notice that it was Theo's bag. The bag inched up the conveyor and disappeared below them.

"I hope Fozzie's okay," she said.

Dad laughed. "I'm sure he'll be just fine," he said.

It took forever for the plane to taxi to the end of the runway, then the pilot came over the intercom and said they were ready to take off. The engines got loud and the plane started moving. Theo was pressed back into her seat, but she kept her eyes glued to the window. The plane went faster and faster until it started pulling away from the ground. They zoomed over trees, cars and houses. There must have been millions of houses! Then she saw rivers and lakes. Everything got smaller and smaller as they went higher and higher.

"Look, there's Lakeside," said Dad. "That's where you and your brothers go swimming."

She followed his finger and tried to see what he was seeing, but the landscape didn't make a lot of sense to her. Where was the dock and the diving board? Where was the bathhouse?

"I need my bathing suit," said Theo.

Her father declined to answer.

* * *

When they got to California, they rented another car and headed from the airport to the coast. California was different from home. There were palm trees everywhere and none of the thick evergreens like she had around her house. Wherever you were, you could see for miles. This land was brighter and sunnier than home, so Theo put her sunglasses back on. She rolled down the car window so she could feel the wind in her hair.

The ocean was the biggest lake she had even seen! It was an endless expanse of blue stretching all the way across the horizon. They stood on a high bluff and looked down at the beach below. It was a broad ribbon of white sand that extended for miles into the hazy distance. Long lines of waves were washing the shore, and she could hear them crash even way up here. Down on the beach, tiny people were walking, running or lying on blankets. Children were playing at the water's edge, and surfers were testing the waves.

"Oh, oh! Can we go down there?" asked Theo, wanting to touch the sand and water for herself.

"In a little while," said Dad. "First we'll check into our motel."

They got back in the car and drove for a little longer until they found their motel, the Surfside Inn. It was up on the bluff like the rest of town. It was a long two-story building with one side facing the street and the other facing the ocean. They got a room on the second floor facing the ocean. There were two beds, and Theo immediately claimed one as her own, the one closest to the window and the sea. She found the TV remote, figured out on her own which button turned the TV on, then started flipping through the channels. Meanwhile, Dad went back to the car for Theo's suitcase.

"I need my bathing suit," said Theo when Dad got back.

"We can buy you one if you like," said Dad wearily.

"I have to have my own bathing suit," said Theo.

"Then go back and get it," said Dad, reaching down and turning off the TV.

Theo was puzzled. She and her father looked at each other for a moment.

"Can I?" she said.

"Sure. Just go back to your room, put your bathing suit on and come back here."

"But it's so far!"

Dad shrugged. "It's no big deal. It's just like going from the kitchen to your bedroom. If you decide you want to go, you will."

Theo was intrigued. It had taken them many hours to get here. She couldn't imagine just jumping back in an instant. "But how will I come back here?" she said. "There are so many rooms! How will I find the right one?"

"You'll know. There are many hotels and many rooms, but there's only one with me in it. Just come back to me."

"That's scary."

"A little bit, but you're a big girl. You can do it."

"I don't know."

"You don't have to if you don't want to. We can just buy you a new bathing suit or you can swim in your clothes."

"I want my own bathing suit," said Theo.

"The choice is yours," said Dad.

Theo thought about it for a minute.

She said: "If we can just jump back and forth any time we want, why did we take the plane here?"

"Because I wanted you to see what distance is all about. And we also had to fly so we could carry that stupid suitcase."

"Oh, right. You need planes to carry suitcases."

"You also need planes to carry people. Most people can't do what you and I can, so they have to take the slow way."

"But it's such a long way home. What if I get lost?"

"You might. You have to decide on your own whether you can do it. I'd be happy to buy you a new bathing suit."

"No, that will take too long. I want to go to the beach right now."

"It's your choice."

Theo sighed a weary sigh like she was 100 years old.

"Okay," she said. "Don't look at me."

"I won't look at you. You can go into the bathroom."

"Okay," said Theo. Then she hopped off the bed, went into the bathroom and closed the door.

There was silence for a couple of minutes.

Then Frank heard the toilet flush, and Theo opened the door and peeked out.

"Did you go home?" said Dad.

"No," said Theo. "I just went potty."

Dad laughed. "We don't have all day. You have to decide what to do."

"I'm going home," said Theo.

"Okay, go ahead. I'll wait here."

"Don't look," said Theo.

"I won't," said Dad.

Theo closed the door, and there was silence again.

After a few minutes, Frank knocked on the door.

"Theo?" he said.

No response.

Cautiously, he turned the doorknob and looked inside.

Theo was gone.

* * *

Theo's mom was cleaning up in the kitchen when she heard someone come downstairs. She expected Dean but turned around to see Theo coming in.

"Mom, Mom, I did it myself!" said Theo, excited and out of breath.

"My goodness, what are you doing here?"

"We're at the beach. I forgot my bathing suit, so I came back here to get it."

Mom was confused. "You mean Daddy didn't bring you here?"

"No, I did it myself!"

Mom looked out the window, and indeed there was no car. Her face went blank.

"Oh my God!" she said to herself.

"I'm going to change into my bathing suit, then I'll go back to Daddy. Bye!"

Theo raced back up the stairs to her room. Mom heard the bedroom door close, then all was quiet.

Mom was stunned! She stood in the kitchen trying to comprehend what had just happened. Theo had jumped before -- from room to room and from place to place within the neighborhood, but never over half a continent.

"Theo?" called Mom.

There was no answer.

Mom left the kitchen and climbed the stairs. She knocked on Theo's door.

"Teddy?" she said. "Are you there?"

Mom opened the door and looked inside. Teddy was gone. The clothes she had just been wearing were lying on the bed.

"Oh... my... God!" said Mom.

She closed the door and went downstairs again. She sat down at the kitchen table and held her face in her hands.

This was not normal. This could not be denied or brushed under the carpet. Until now, Mom had tried to ignore Theo's unusual behavior. She had filed it away in a corner of her brain and had tried not to think about it. She would grow out of it, Mom had always thought. Now, it appeared she was growing into it. She was falling under Frank's control.

"What am I going to do?"

Every Sunday, Mom went to church, and she dragged her kids there on every weekend when their respective dads didn't have them. She had asked the Lord for forgiveness, and she had prayed that He would protect her children, but evidently those prayers hadn't worked. One of her children was possessed by some kind of magic. Mom wasn't sure where it came from, but it wasn't God's work.

She had once tried to talk to her minister, Reverend Tom, about Theo, but he didn't understand. He never said as much, but she could tell he didn't believe her. "My daughter can walk through walls!" Who could possibly believe it?

Only Howard believed her, because he had experienced it himself. But Howard was a scientist. He believed there was a rational explanation for Theo's behavior, something to do with quantum mechanics. Howard didn't believe in God -- or at least not in her God. He had been generous to her and her children, but he didn't go to church with them on Sunday, and he didn't share Mom's belief that things happen for a reason. He brushed off her fear that things were only going to get worse.

Now the spell had entered a new phase, and she felt all alone in dealing with it.

"Don't worry, Mom," said Theo, from just behind her.

Mom looked up to see Theo standing there in the kitchen in her bathing suit.

"I'll be back in two weeks," said Theo.

Theo gave her mom a hug. "I love you, Mom."

Mom held Theo tight. "I love you, too, Teddy."

Mom was strong and held back the tears.

"I'm going to need a new bathing suit," said Theo, pulling away. "I'm too big for this one."

Indeed, the one-piece suit looked tight. She hadn't worn it since last summer, and she had grown considerably in the interim.

"I'm going to put my clothes back on, and Daddy's going to buy me a new bathing suit, okay?"

"Okay," said Mom.

"Gotta go. Bye!"

"Bye!" said Mom. "I love you!"

"Love you, too!" said Theo, as she bounded up the stairs.

Then she was gone.

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