The Air Stewardesses' Footmen Ch. 06

Chief Stewardess Lois Lawson said, "What isn't right, Penny, my dear?"

Penny pointed a finger of one beautifully manicured hand down at me on my regulation issue kneeling mat; with a finger of her other hand, she indicated her office swivel chair. "Ms Lawson, it should be you. I would like you, Ms Lawson, to have the first use of Cabin Crewman Mason."

Ms Lawson said, "Thank you, Penny. But I wouldn't dream of it. And there is no question of my adopting the sort of Senior Stewardess-style rank-pulling that I have heard of occurring at post-flight foot service in the crew room because of the current underprovision of after-flight footmen. Because, Penny, as a friend of Senior Stewardess Camilla's friend Suzy in Crewing, it is you that we have to thank for Cabin Crewman Mason's non-obligatory weekly foot service extensions to us, here in Personnel."

Penny said, "Ms Lawson - please! Put all of that to one side. Because I absolutely must insist on you having first use of Cabin Crewman Mason! Ms Lawson, it is only right and proper. Ms Lawson, it is only befitting to your standing, your stature - your status."

Ms Lois Lawson said, "You may have noticed, Penny, that I had excluded mentioning myself for foot service. That was deliberate; I wanted to see if Mason would offer to serve me of his own volition. Penny, it is one thing, for Mason, to massage the beautifully pedicured soft-soled feet of pretty young ladies such as yourself. But, a different thing altogether, for Mason, to go to his kneeling mat to massage the extensively battle-scarred and battle-hardened soles of a retired air hostess, a wearied, worn-out veteran of countless footslogging flight duties over a twenty-year career. But, all right then, Penny. Since you offer your gracious invitation so fervently, I can tell you I will be more than happy to enjoy first use of Cabin Crewman Mason."

Chief Stewardess Lois Lawson seated herself before me in Penny's castor wheeled office swivel chair in the middle of the office floorspace where, once again, this time in Personnel, I was 'the centre of attraction'.

Ms Lois Lawson said, "Cabin Crewman Mason, tell me: Would you have offered me a foot massage of your own volition?"

"Most certainly, I would, Ms Lawson. Please believe me when I tell you I consider myself greatly honoured and feel wonderfully privileged."

"You consider yourself greatly honoured, and you feel wonderfully privileged, Mason - to kneel here before me on your kneeling mat to massage my feet? Tell us all: Why is that, Cabin Crewman Mason?"

"Ms Lawson, I want to honour you. Miss Penny phrased it perfectly. I want to pay due homage. To your standing, your stature - your status. Ms Lawson, as Chief Stewardess, you are, in effect, the High Priestess of our air hostesses and our cabin crewmen."

Ms Lois Lawson flipped open her smartphone. She tap dialled a contact and then held her phone, just as Camilla had held her phone in our crew room on Monday night/Tuesday morning when recording her 'footage'.

Ms Lawson waited a moment before continuing. "Cabin Crewman Mason, if you consider me your High Priestess, then what... 'status' do you confer upon our COO Ms Gina Summers?"

"Ms Gina Summers is the empress of the BlueSky Holidays empire. But now, I must be open and honest with you, Ms Lawson. Even Ms Gina Summers is second to Camilla, who I cannot disobey, deny, or defy, and the sole of whose foot I worshipfully kissed to anoint her as my Queen of the Skies."

"Yes - from Penny, I understand something of your uncommon commitment to Senior Stewardess Camilla. And would you kiss the sole of my foot, Cabin Cewman Mason, to anoint me as your High Priestess?"

"Most certainly I would, Ms Lawson - Your Highness."

"And, do you recall what I told you about my career on Monday at the sign-up desk before you signed your revised contract?" asked Ms Lawson as she proffered her right foot to me to be the first unshod.

"Yes, Ms Lawson," I said as I eased free her three-inch heel black leather pump from her right foot. "I remember every word you said to me. You told me about your career. And you raised your doubts of my suitability as a revised-contracted cabin crewman upon learning from Senior Stewardess Donna that I had once refused her an after-flight footrub when she'd told me her feet were killing her."

"Yes, well, I think we have put that one safely to bed, Cabin Crewman Mason," said Ms Lawson, now proffering her left foot to me to unshoe as well. "I have been proved wrong about that, haven't I? But what about my earlier career in the holiday airline industry? My days as an air hostess. What do you remember me telling you about that?" asked Ms Lawson, now raising both legs to position the soles of both bare feet mere inches from my face. "There, Cabin Crewman Mason - look at the soles of my bare feet," Ms Lawson said, providing a clue to aid my recall.

I held my hands out palms upwards to accommodate Ms Lawson's heels, supporting the weight of her outstretched legs and holding up her bare soles at face level.

"Ms Lawson," I said as I studied her up-close bare soles, "you told me that your days as an air hostess spanned twenty years. In your day, Civil Aviation Authority regulations for flying hours were far more relaxed than today. Because of that, you did lots of long-haul non-stopover turnarounds - often to America, that you called 'Trans-Atlantic tootsie torture'; an in-joke, that wasn't funny. You envied air hostesses of the more prestigious airlines because of their sometimes multiple-night stopovers in quality hotels on generous allowances. You said you wished you had after-flight footmen then; you would have had the cabin crewman of your choice on his knees to massage your feet. Ms Lawson, you told me that if you showed me the soles of your bare feet, I would see what a twenty-year career of walking the aisles of holiday jetliners in attractive but impractical three-inch heel uniform pumps has done to them."

"And do you, Mason - see?" Chief Stewardess Lois Lawson wanted to know. Ms Lawson drew her feet closer together to touching, side-by-side in front of my face to assist my closer inspection.

"Yes, Ms Lawson. I see what you refer to - but all I see are the perfectly natural effects of longtime wear and tear on the soles of hardworking feet. To me, they are not unsightly at all but just the opposite. I will say what I said to Captain Amanda Mandelson, a former air hostess of five years, during our flight to Funchal on Monday when she voiced her concerns of possible permanent aftermath when showing me the still-blemished soles of her bare feet. I told Captain Amanda I not only considered the hardened-skinned soles of her feet to be characterful and very interesting to look at - but I found them attractive and desirable."

"And, Cabin Crewman Mason - do you find the soles of my feet attractive and desirable?"

"Ms Lawson - Your Eminent Highness - yes, I do. I find the soles of your - extensively battle-scarred and battle-hardened, as you put it - bare feet highly attractive and extremely desirable."

"Cabin Crewman Mason Mallard: Here in Personnel on your kneeling mat - with Penny, Simone, Sue and Andrea to bear witness - kiss the soles of both of my bare feet to anoint me as your High Priestess."

With worshipful lips, I had anointed Senior Stewardess Camilla Cameron, my Queen of the Skies. And now, with multiple reverent kisses to the soles of both of her bare feet, I accorded Chief Stewardess Ms Lois Lawson her due recognition, too, and anointed her my High Priestess.

Chief Stewardess Ms Lois Lawson - Her Highness - showed me the face of her smartphone - and the face of the listening and watching Ms Gina Summers.

Ms Gina Summers, Chief Operating Officer of BlueSky Holidays, said wryly, "Cabin Crewman Mason, greetings from your empress. I am very much looking forward to meeting you again today at Funchal. Senior Stewardess Camilla tells me you will meet my car at the air steps to escort me to our aircraft for my return flight to Gatwick. I shall expect to receive some special in-flight attention from you. So, until then, Mason."

Penny exclaimed, "Mason, you are doubly honoured today!"

"Yes, I know, Miss Penny," I said. But I thought I was triply honoured.

***

The time was 14:15 when my business in Personnel today was fulfilled.

I had duly honoured Chief Stewardess Lois Lawson's 'extensively battle-scarred' and 'battle-hardened' bare soles with many reverent kisses to anoint her as my High Priestess, and I had then massaged her feet for ten minutes. I had then five-minute massaged the 'soft-soled feet' of the four 'pretty young ladies', of Personnel: Penny, Simone, Sue and Andrea.

Miss Penny showed me to the door. She handed me back my watch that she, Simone, Sue and Andrea had used to time their five-minute foot massage, and she told me not to forget my kneeling mat next Thursday when I returned to massage her and their feet.

Senior Stewardess Camilla had been right: time was now a little tight.

I hurried on my way; out of BlueSky House.

I hurried to Departure Gate 7.

I hurried to Camilla - my Queen of the Skies.

The End.