Thousand: Two Hundred Forty-Five

means its fuel tanks have been topped off, its galley is loaded with fresh gouda and real champagne from Champagne, the slight flight attendant has already given his number to the executive in 3B (this is the second time they’ve remembered that they went to the same high school, twelve years apart), and the captain is flicking one more switch of the many switches she has been flicking since the plane began its taxi. There aren’t that many switches. A few switches. The copilot flicks a few switches. They look at dials and readouts. Remember when you did that? You