THE SKY’S the LIMIT

Pam had always been held back, but it was time to follow her dreams

Pam sat on the verandah, cup of coffee in one hand, book in the other. Hearing the drone of a small plane, she looked up and saw it cross the blue sky. Soon afterwards, she saw graceful skydivers spiralling to the ground.

The nearby air eld had a ying school. Every time Pam saw their planes y overhead, yearning tugged her heart with the wistful thought, if only.

‘I don’t believe this,’ her husband scoffed, icking through his phone’s newsfeed. ‘Says here, two sisters in their 60s decided to set up a resort hotel.

They didn’t have any business experience but, not only is it booming, they now have celebrity guests.’

‘I think that’s marvellous,’ said Pam.

‘I think their story is as ctional as that novel you’re holding. I mean you couldn’t do anything like that – and you’re 10 years younger.’

After nearly 30 years of marriage, Pam was used to her husband’s offhanded insults… but that didn’t mean she liked them.

‘What exactly are you insinuating, Phil?’

‘Well, you’ve never been the go-getting, try-anythingnew type, have you, Pam?’

She sighed. How many times had she wanted to try different things over the years?

‘When I wanted to turn this place into a bed-andbreakfast 10 years ago, you were the one who said no,’ Pam said.

‘Because I didn’t want strangers in and out of my home constantly.’

‘Well, what about that time I wanted to set up a business at home and sell my handicrafts at the markets? No support then, either.’

‘Because by the time you paid for all the materials and factored in your time and the hassle of doing market runs, just to earn a few dollars, I couldn’t see the point.’

He looked away so she couldn’t see his face – his classic, ‘this conversation is over’ move.

But Pam wasn’t nished. ‘Well, I think those women are inspiring. They weren’t just trying something new, they went out to achieve something they’d always dreamt of doing. Just goes to prove, it’s never too late to try anything.’

Her words jolted her. Isn’t that exactly what she had thought about her secret lifelong dream – that it was too late?

She turned her gaze skyward again and sighed.

A few weeks later, Pam pulled into the car park of the small air eld.

‘What on earth are we doing here?’ said Phil. ‘When you said you wanted to surprise me, I thought you meant the pub for lunch.’

‘No, Phil. Today is about me for a change.’

But Phil seemed quite unimpressed as he stared at the skydiving hangar.

‘What, you think jumping out of plane is a big deal? Everyone does it now. There was an article recently about a 90-year-old skydiver. It can’t be that hard.’

In the hangar, Pam saw people being instructed on their parachute jump, others were strapping on their chutes. Did they feel the same combination of nerves and excitement she did?

‘Sulking, are you?’ said her non-supportive husband.

‘Hardly, I’m too excited,’ Pam said.

She pointed in the opposite direction, away from the skydivers.

‘I’m heading to the other hangar, the ying school.

I’m not going to jump out of a plane, Phil. My dream is to y one and my rst lesson is today.’

Pam couldn’t help smiling at the stunned look that was now on Phil’s face.

She expected to see a similar expression tonight, right after she told him she was leaving him. ●

‘Sulking, are you?’ said her non-supportive

husband