Chapter 6

Erin opened the door and came into my room Monday morning.

Startled, Tammy and I both sat up, and I yelled, “Don’t you knock?”

Erin handed me an alarm clock and said, “Mom says that you have to go to work and here’s a clock to remind you.”

I pointed to Tammy, “Don’t say anything about us, OK?”

“Don’t worry. I didn’t say anything about you guys banging around night before last after all, did I?”

Tammy looked at me, but I just shrugged as though I didn’t know what she meant.

Tammy went to her room after Erin left. I heard Tom when he showed up to take her to start her new job a few minutes later.

Sam was already there when I got to the airport. She was dressed in her soiled pants and T-shirt as usual.

She was talking to her dad, and she said, “Oh good, my husband’s here,” when she saw me.

JJ raised his eyebrows, and so did I, until I remembered the incident at the dance, so I said, “SAM!”

She grinned and explained what had happened to him.

He laughed, threw his arm around me and said, “Well, I have your first job for you, son-in-law.”

He took me to the bathroom and said, “This will be your office for today. Make it look fitting for a man in your position.”

The week flew by. I worked every day, and spent most evenings either on the phone with Della or at her house. She gradually became more talkative and more fun to be around.

I began to realize I was falling for her.

I wanted to have sex, and I kind of kidded her about it, but she didn’t seem to take the bait.

Bob came to their place almost every night, so Desi was also busy.

But regardless of my feelings for Della, Kate was always on my mind, and I had to force myself not to touch her whenever I was around her.

I know that she’s a grownup and way out of my league, so I did everything that I could not to appear foolish in front of her. She was also busy all week, so I didn’t see much of her, but by I was missing her mid-week and I asked her why she didn’t say ‘See you later’ anymore.

She laughed and said that it was her, time-of-the-month and that I should be patient.

I was busy at the airfield and I had done just about every menial job there was by the time Friday came around, but I loved just being there and being around the planes.

Sam was pleasant to be around and we had formed a good friendship, but I would catch her looking at me once in a while.

Our family has owned a plane as long as I remember. Dad has an instructor’s rating and he started teaching me to fly when I was 14. I went to flight school at the airport where we kept the plane and I got my student pilot’s license when I turned 16.

I soloed in our plane and actually had quite a few hours.

You can’t get a private pilot’s license until you’re 17, so I could fly alone with an endorsement from an instructor, but I couldn’t carry passengers.

JJ called me into the office late Friday. Sam was there and he said,

“I need to pick up a couple of planes in Bakersfield on Saturday, Pete. Sam is going to fly one back. I talked to your dad, and he says that you’re a good pilot and that your logbook is in order. Would you like to fly the other one back?”

I jumped at the chance.

He said, “OK, I’ll check you out in a similar plane and sign you off. I’ll fly everyone to Bakersfield and drop you off tomorrow morning. We’ll pick up the planes and I’ll follow you back.”

We were bringing two Grumman Tigers back. They are sweet flying, low wing, 4-place planes and I was looking forward to the return trip.

JJ got permission from the owner, and checked me out in one that was parked at our field that afternoon.

Della and I had talked about going to go to a movie in Palmdale tonight and Desi and Bob were there when I went to pick her up.

Della was unhappy. She explained that Desi had raised so much hell that her mother had insisted that we take her and Bob along, so all four of us piled into the car.

We actually had a good time on the way over. We told jokes and sang to the radio.

I bought a huge box of popcorn and we all sat down when we got into the theater. The girls were sitting on each side of me. Desi was on my left, Della was to my right, and Bob was sitting next to Desi.

I put the popcorn between my legs and everyone was taking handfuls. I suddenly felt a hand on my crotch during a dark part of the movie, and it seemed to be coming from my left.

Startled, I looked at Desi. She was facing the screen but I knew that it was her, especially when she started rubbing me.

She let go and grab a handful of popcorn when the scene lightened, but she would do it again the next time it got dark.

I kept pushing her hand away because I didn’t want Della to catch her, but I ended up with a hardon.

Someone suggested that we get some soft drinks during the intermission.

I had such a hardon by this time that I was afraid to get up. Desi surprisingly jumped up and said that she would get them.

We were in the center of the aisle, so she climbed over me and went out the right side instead of going out the left side where Bob was. She pretended to stumble when she went by me, and her hand landed right on my hardon. She squeezed it and said “Oops.”.

She came back later and handed to sodas us, but my straw felt slick when I went to take a drink. I smelled it and it smelled like sex.

I looked at Desi and she was watching me, so I put it in my mouth and took a long drink.

SATURDAY MORNING

Dad had to go to LA for a couple days, so he rode to the airport with me.

We got there about 8AM. Sam and I weren’t supposed to leave until 10, so after Dad took off, I took the time to study the charts and familiarize myself with the route. Sam told me that she had been there a bunch of times but I like to be cautious.

JJ came in a little after nine and he said that he was glad I was early when he saw me studying, because an engineer had called and wanted to meet him back at the field at 2 PM. So he called Sam and I together and we took off in his 6 place Cherokee.

Bakersfield is only 150 miles away so it was a short flight.

We got to Bakersfield ahead of time and went into the field office. The planes were there, but the papers weren’t.

We waited around till noon. JJ said that he had to get back, but told me not to worry because Sam had been there several times and knew the route. I wasn’t concerned, because both planes had full navigation systems.

We waited and waited after JJ took off. He called at 3:30 and asked what was going on. We told him that the papers still weren’t there.

He called again at 6 and we still didn’t have the papers, so he asked to talk to the field officer. The field guy handed Sam the phone when they were finished talking.

She said, “Well, it looks like we’re stuck here,” when she hung up, “The Cherokee has a problem with the nose gear, so he can’t pick us up, and the papers won’t be here until tomorrow morning, so we’re going to have to stay overnight. He called your folks, and they’re OK with it.”

I leered at her and said, “Well wife, does that mean we finally have a chance to have that honeymoon we’ve always wanted?”

She laughed and said, “I don’t know; why don’t we call Della and ask her if it’s OK.”

There was a motel just down the street from the airport and Sam had a company credit card, so we walked over and got two rooms.

I called Mom. She said that she’d heard, and wasn’t worried, then I called Della but the line was busy.

Sam knocked on the door a little later, and we went looking for dinner. There were a couple of nearby burger places, but they didn’t take credit cards, so we went to a restaurant. Their specialty was ribs and I suggested that we share an order. Sam said, “No way, Dad’s paying,” so we each got a full order.

It was fun sitting with Sam in a nice restaurant. The lights were kind of soft and she looked very pretty. We talked while we ate and I asked about her mom. She said that she died when Sam was ten years old and that her dad had raised her.

I asked if she dated a lot and she said that she dated some, but worked at the field a lot. She explained that the field was a good business, but her dad never had enough money to expand. That’s was why he took Ben Sanders on as a partner and that the engineer who he was meeting today is the one who’s helping them lay the new, expanded field out.

She said they were pretty excited about it.

Sam was wearing slacks and a nice top, and I noticed how pretty she was again as I watched her eat. She saw me watching her and she stopped, smiled, and said, “I clean up pretty good, don’t I?”

I told her that she did indeed and she was extra friendly for the rest of the meal.

We walked to a nearby mall after dinner. They had a video game parlor, so we played games for a while. She’s very competitive and I had to play my best to stay with her.

There was a silly looking game by the door as we were leaving. I guess that it was put there for couples. You put a nickel in and shoot a ball through a basket. You kissed your partner if you made it. The basket was huge and I imagine that everybody won.

Sam stopped and said, “Wanna play?” I figured that she was teasing, and I was thinking about Della, so I said “No thanks.”

She laughed and poked me in the ribs.

When we got back to the motel I asked her if she wanted to come into my room and watch TV. She said that she had to make some phone calls and would let me know.

I went in and washed my face to get rid of the rib smell and called Della. The line was still busy. I guessed it was probably Bob talking to Desi.

A short while later the phone rang. It was Sam telling me to come next door. The door was ajar, so I walked in.

Sam was lying on the bed. Her hair was wet and she had her slacks on, but no shoes or socks. Her top wasn’t tucked in and several of the top buttons were undone.

She looked very sexy.

The TV was on but the sound was low.

She said, “Have a seat,” and motioned to the bed, so I sat beside her and leaned against the headboard.

We watched TV for a while, then she turned toward me during a commercial and asked, “Do you like me?”

“Of course, I do.”

She moved closer to me, “How much?”

I stood up and said, “You’re a very pretty girl, Sam, and I would like to be lots more then just friends with you if it wasn’t for Della. But I’m really crazy about her and I don’t want to do anything that would mess that up.”

Laughing, she ran around the bed, gave me a hug, and said, “OK, you pass.”

I looked at her for a minute, and said, “You and Della set this up, right?”

“No, it was my idea. I talked with Della a couple of times tonight, and I teased her and said that I was going to try to seduce you to see what you would do. She asked me not to, but I asked her what she thought you would do if I tried. She said that she didn’t think you’d betray her.”

I grabbed her and pulled her to me. I put my hand on the back of her head and forced her close until our lips were almost touching. I could feel her breath and her eyes were wide.

I whispered, “She was right,” and I let her go, flopped on the bed, and said, “Now shut up, the commercial is almost over.”

SUNDAY MORNING

The paperwork showed up about 9AM and we took off right away.

It was a beautiful day and we had a great flight. We were in radio contact all the time and we laughed and joked all the way home.

I landed first when we got to Cantil, taxied to the tiedown area, and took the papers in to JJ.

I was helping Sam push her plane into place when a Cadillac drove up. A large man, an equally large boy, and a young redheaded girl got out.

JJ walked out to meet them and said, “Sorry about the delay, the papers just showed up.”

The man scowled and said, “I’m gonna have somebody’s ass for this delay,” and he and the young man started looking over the planes. The girl sat on the fender of the car and watched them.

I was installing the last tiedown and Sam was putting the rudder lock on when the wind picked up and tousled her hair.

I noticed that the redhead was watching her.

The man suddenly yelled at Sam, “I’ve been all over the inside of the fucking plane, where the hell are the registration papers!”

It made me mad, so I walked up between them. He was standing close to her, so I was very close to him when I got between them. He was taller than I am and must have weighed almost three hundred pounds.

I was scared, but I glared at him and said, “Please don’t yell at her; the papers are in the office.”

He said, “Humph,” and stormed into the office.

Sam turned me around and said, “What’s with you, do you have a death wish?”

I was about to answer when someone said, “Pardon me?” It was the son. I figured that I was about to die, when he said, “Please excuse my dad. He can be kinda rough sometimes. Are you the ones who brought the planes back?”

We said yes and he stuck his hand out, “I’m Terry Simms.”

We introduced ourselves and shook hands. We were talking about the planes when his dad stuck his head out of the office and called him.

I was walking over to one of the outside tables so that I could update my logbook when Sam caught my arm. She kissed me on the cheek and said, “Thanks again, Husband,” and went into the office.

I was writing in my logbook when the girl from the car came over.

She wasn’t bad looking. She was small, about 5’ 2”, close to my age, and had a low cut t-shirt and tiny shorts on. She had red hair and a good body, but way too much makeup. She also looked like she had an attitude.

“Is that your girlfriend?’ she asked.

“No, why?”

“Tell her that she needs to do something about her hair.”

I got a little peeved and said, “She did. She used to be a redhead but she changed to being a blonde because it’s so much classier.”

She gave me a dirty look and walked back to the car.

I got home about 3 o’clock. Della was in the main house talking with Mom, Kate, and Tammy. They all grinned at me when I walked in. Della seemed nervous and when she looked at Mom, Mom said, “Go ahead, for God sakes.”

Della rushed over and gave me a big kiss. Then she hugged me so hard that it hurt.

I said, “What’s this all about?”

They all laughed and Mom said, “Della was concerned about you last night, and she came over here. We assured her that you are a good pilot and that you wouldn’t do anything silly. Sam had called her house and they told her that she was here, so she called over here. Della talked about Sam, how attractive she is, and I asked her if she was worried after she hung up. She said no, that she trusted you. Sam called again a little later. I picked the phone up and told her about our conversation, and Sam said that she’d give you a test. Della told her not to, but she obviously did it anyway and you passed, of course.”

Dad called from the airport around 5 o’clock. He had just got in, and said that he was going to pick up some steaks so that we could have a barbeque. Mom asked Della if she could join us. She said yes and Dad said that he’d ask Sam and JJ to come along too.

I asked where Erin was and Mom said that she was having dinner at Clete’s house.

Dad, JJ, and Sam showed up around 6:30.

Della and Sam started laughing together and pointing at me. I’m sure they were talking about what happened last night.

Our family has never been big drinkers. Dad will have a beer once in a while and Mom will have a Martini on a rare occasion. Dad will make what he calls ‘Special Occasion Punch’ on special occasions. We nicknamed it SOP. It has a lot of fruit juice and some alcohol in it. Vodka, I think. It’s not really strong, but he would give us a small glass when Erin and I were little, and we would have fun pretending that we were drunk.

He made a big batch and we all sat around drinking. This batch had hardly any alcohol in it, but it was a warm night and we drank a lot of it. Mom and Kate had put a bunch of foil wrapped potatoes in the fire and were making a huge salad while JJ and Dad were getting the steaks ready.

Chapter 7 »