Airline short stories.

For those of you who like reading about the glamour of airlines and romantic stopovers you will find three aircrew stories in 'The Mask and Other Stories'    Perhaps you will like 'Poodles and Diamonds' about Mary, newly wed and crewing with two engaged hostesses, who have nothing more serious on their minds than keeping their sparklers sparkling in a measure of gin in the galley and aiming to buy up half of New York when they land.  Not so long since Mary was just like them but now she and her young husband are saving to make a down-payment on a house and she cannot afford to to splurge her precious crew allowance on inessentials. But after a night out with the crew, having to calculate every little cost, choosing pasta  instead of steak, beer instead of a Tom Collins and regretfully foregoing coffee, even though the obligatory fifty cent tip is greater than the cost of the actual Espresso, she finds herself weakening when the other hostesses succumb to the blandishments of a street-seller and buy themselves 'gorgeous fluffy white poodles'' urging Mary, 'You must buy one too. Oh, you must! Only seven dollars, Mary, that's nothing!'  Why, Mary thinks, sorely tempted, I used to pay twice as much to have my nails painted, all at once feeling the burden of debt weighting on her like a fond, but wearisome elderly relative.