Chapter 49: Plans For a New Home. Learning to Fly

Mark

There were about a dozen of us standing in the middle of the field we euphemistically called The Farm. I didn’t like that name. I wanted something more like Tara – the fictional plantation in Gone With The Wind. It didn’t even need to sound that dramatic. I even wanted a pastoral feel to the name since we were in the country. I had put out the need for a better name to everyone, and declared I was the judge and jury on what the winning name was. In fact, I wanted every one of us to love the new name.

Standing around in the early afternoon sun were Elsa, Cindy, Sheila, Melanie, KC, and me, plus Greg, Kim, Pam, and Sean, Lucas and Marcia. In the distance along the new access road there were several other security staff, along with our cars.

Greg and Sean had set up a large folding table where about forty large blueprint size pages showing the design of the house lay spread out and held down in the breeze by some rocks. A large portable computer also graced the table. There was also an easel with about ten foam board sketches and plans on them large enough for everyone to see. A bungee chord kept the boards from blowing away in the light breeze.

Greg started the presentation. “This is the first draft of the house plan for you. You’ve all had input to it, even Pam and Kim, and a few others such as Barnes, Marshall, Deke, and so on. On the ground behind you, you can see various colored stakes of different heights.”

Greg walked over to one. The stakes like this orange one map out the perimeter of the main house.” He unfurled the first page of the large sheets and we all looked. “This is one version of what the front might look like. The entry way would be between those blue stakes off of a circular driveway on this side of the house.”

Greg continued elaborating on room arrangement and showing on the computer a ‘fly through’ of the house. He also pointed to various rooms on the plans on the easel.

Sean picked up, “A connected ‘out’ building will house the vehicle fleet, yard maintenance equipment, ten golf carts to get around in, and a full-size gymnasium. Along the backside of the gym is an indoor firing range. You already have an outdoor range down by the runway. Adjacent to the far end of the gym are also several workout rooms, some with mats and some with equipment.” He went on detailing the various components.

Elsa then talked about the sleeping wing of the house and the upstairs rooms, a three-story structure housing six master bedroom suites and ten smaller bedrooms. She explained, “This is to be a party house. We will be able to accommodate about thirty-eight people sleeping over in various configurations, providing there is some bed sharing.” She giggled. “More could probably sleep if we include sofas and futons downstairs.”

Lucas stepped forward and pointed at part of the plan; “We have separate quarters for onsite security staff closer to the roadway. The entire property will be fenced and state of the art sensors will warn of intruders. Cameras will be used extensively throughout the property and inside rooms. There are two safe rooms in the house; one near the main master bedroom that Mark and the girls will use, and one closer to the main living areas. I’ve run this design past several other security firms specializing in this kind of thing and they think our design is the best they’ve ever seen.” Lucas also went through and detailed various aspects of the plan and other security arrangements for the property.

Greg then came forward and talked about what the girls and I should do now, basically pouring over the plans with a red pencil in hand, questioning, improving, editing, adding, deleting, modifying, and on and on. He then walked us around the house stakes, giving us a sense of the views we’d have from various windows, and the distances involved.

When they were all finished about two hours had passed. I suggested we all swim since it was a warm day and the water was a beautiful temperature. We walked down to our sodded area beside the river and stripped down, and then the twelve of us got in the river and swam around.

The buzz of conversation was all about the house – room arrangements, sizes, floors, function, appliances, doorways, windows, and even gimmicks that would be nice to have.

We had a dozen chaises and chairs scattered around on the lawn near our swimming hole, plus Elsa had gotten a large shed installed to house the water toys, towels, and even serve as a changing cabana for our more modest friends – if we ever found any.

Also in the shed was a gas refrigerator than ran on propane. Instead of running electricity a mile to service the only the shed, Elsa had arranged for the site to be self-sustaining providing we got a periodic delivery of propane. There was also a gas grill and several gaslights.

Melanie and KC played hostess and got everyone drinks, as we sat around and chatted. Despite our nudity, no one seemed intent on starting anything sexual, or if they did, they were doing a good job of hiding those needs.

During our chat, I asked Lucas, “Say, what’s happening with our not-so-good-friend Myron Tanner?”

Lucas snorted, “He’s still in jail. Bail has been revoked three times now. He’s considered both a flight risk and a hazard to you and your family. He comes up for a psych evaluation very soon. Just to be on the safe side we did take out a restraining order, but it’s kind of hollow with him incarcerated. He comes up for trial the end of next month, although his lawyers keep arguing for release and extensions.”

“Do any of us have to testify?”

“I think Elsa and Cindy, since there were the ones about to be shot by him. The video and pictures they took of him from that sidewalk café are indicting. Further, the police found the remote control for the drone in his apartment as well as the makings for the fake bomb.”

“He’s a nut case.”

Lucas said, “We recommended the psych exam, but it hasn’t happened yet.”

“Why’d he go after us? His termination from my company?”

“Precisely. He feels you personally were to blame for the loss of his job. He expanded that to the girls when he found out they were close to you. You are all in the news, you know. He claims he never wanted to hurt any of you, only to harass the bejesus out of you. With the gun and a few other things they didn’t mention, the police think that he was escalating things and that personal harm would have started to occur very soon. It’s one of the reasons the DA ask for revocation of bail.”

I watched Cindy gather up her clothing and dress. She said something to Elsa, and then ran up the hill towards the trailer and the cars. I figured she was going to the bathroom, but she didn’t return. I’d find out later what was happening, I felt sure.

About an hour later, during a lull in the conversation, a small high-wing Cessna circled the property three times. The naked women all ran out in the open and waved frantically at the small plane that was up about five hundred or a thousand feet.

I sauntered out, still naked as everyone else was who had been sitting around talking. I asked, “What’s all this about?”

Elsa pointed up at the plane, “That’s Cindy. Today was her first flying lesson. Isn’t this great. She’s going to be a pilot. Eventually, she’ll use the runway here on the property.” Elsa pointed in the direction of the grass landing strip.

I studied the small plane as it eventually leveled off and then headed off to the east, more or less away from the city. In those few seconds, I realized how important aviation was about to become to many of us in the family.

Elsa

I was envious of Cindy and her flying so I decided to take lessons too. I asked her whether my taking them would piss her off because I was treading on one of the things that made her unique.

To my surprise, she was enthusiastic that I join her in her new hobby. She jumped up and down, “We can study together. There are many exams we have to take, lots of book and practical knowledge, plus we have to take oral tests and flights tests all along the way to being good pilots. This will be like a two year journey, just as we’ve been doing with martial arts and the handguns.”

Thus, I found myself a week later on Sunday morning at the Air Ranch Airport getting into a Cessna 152 after learning how to pre-flight the aircraft to make sure the wings and tail didn’t fall off while we were flying. The small airport was about ten miles from our new property and away from the city.

Cindy and I had parallel lessons that day. Her instructor took her to the northeast and mine took me to the southeast to a practice area. I learned about the controls, the feel of the plane, the sounds at various engine settings, gliding and sink ratios, the instruments, and the ‘sight picture’ for straight and level flight. Gradually, I got introduced to standard-rate turns and then steep turns around a point.