Chapter 17

Haley’s turn:

Note to self – webpage. Wonder if DukesField or Dukes_Field is available for a URL. Get with Mister Dukes for an oral history, maybe some old pictures. And some ‘now’ pictures. Gotta get some for today’s arrivals. Got some from the old Stearman, plenty of ‘before’ when we took over and got the renovations started.

Friday morning, after classes on campus ... Well, not traditional classes – more of those conversations with teaching assistants over coursework. Those usually end with “Okay, Haley. Let’s go talk to Doctor What’s ‘is Name,” and I get to talk my way into testing out of the course.

Late morning, though, text from Mandy. “Half an hour out.” After texting a ‘We’ll be there’ I text Deena. ‘Meet me on the corner. I’m getting the car.’

‘K’

“I don’t know why I’m so excited,” Deena snarked as she buckled in. “Not like I can fly it...”

“Bill’s probably gonna get his license in a week or two,” I reminded her.

“Thing’s a two-seater. We can’t ALL go together.”

“Working on that,” I said. “Quarterly bonus is gonna be pretty good. Might be a bigger airplane hidden in there somewhere.”

When we pulled off the highway there was a plane already there, a Cessna 182. We parked, got out to go investigate, then unlocked the office and fired up the airfield’s Unicom transceiver.

About that time, an SUV and a pickup truck pulled in and parked. I recognized neither vehicle, but I definitely recognize Terri bouncing out, followed by Tina who lets little Kathy down to walk on her own feet. I can’t hear the admonishments, but I see Alan wrestling the car seat out of the SUV.

A mature couple get out of the pickup truck, come over.

“Haley, Deena, these are our in-laws – Alan’s sister Elise and her hubby Joe.” She turned to them. “Haley’s sixteen. Deena’s fourteen. Haley’s married to Deena’s dad.”

“Kinda like that Cindy gal?” Mister Joe said.

“I wish,” I laughed. “She’s Doctor Cindy Richards now, and she’s flying us a new plane in here today. That’s why we’re here.”

“New?” Elise questioned.

“Well, new to us. It’s a little trainer.”

Fortuitously the speaker from the field’s radio is mounted on the outside of the office, and it blatted, “Dukes Field, Cessna six six eight two bravo five miles east for landing.”

And, “Cessna five five two three uniform following eight two bravo for landing.” Male voice. I’m guessing it’s Dan 1.0.

We scanned the skies to the east, spotted the two planes. I’m familiar with both of those although I’ve not flown either. The Cessna 172 I’m training with? It falls right in between those two in capabilities.

It’s funny – the little 152 slides down out of the sky like it is on rails. When it’s taxiing up, TWO redheads – Cindy and Mandy. The bigger 180 lands after they clear the runway. Cindy puts the little 152 in front of the hangar, then she and Mandy get out.

Okay, Deena and I skip up and hug the two of them. By the time that’s done, the propeller’s stopped on the 180 and Dan joins us.

“Lunch?” he says, eying Alan.

“Sounds good,” I say. “All of us?”

“You got time?” Alan asked his sister.

“We have time.”

Up the road is a nice family-style restaurant. A CAJUN family-style restaurant. And on weekdays they have some good plate lunches.

We’re at the table. Mister Joe keeps looking at Cindy and Mandy.

“Cindy, I remember you from before, but I didn’t know you had a sister.”

Mandy grinned. “Mister Joe, it’s very confusing. Cindy’s natural mom is MY step-mom, and MY natural Dad is Cindy’s step-dad.”

“Huh?”

“My step-dad didn’t even KNOW he had a daughter until a couple of weeks ago. He married my mom. They have two kids in common now...”

“My little sister’s name is Elise, too,” Mandy said. “And my little brother’s a few months old and his name is Will. After Dad. I got pictures...”

She passed her iPhone over to Elise. “Your namesake.”

Mizz Elise made the appropriate squealing noises. “Red hair, too!”

A few more baby pictures and it was time to go. We had a little parade returning to the airfield. Mizz Elise took Alan and Tina’s rental car back to the agency.

We watched the two planes take off and swing off to the northeast, homeward bound.

“Dad’s gonna wet hisself,” Deena giggled, swinging the keys to the little plane.

I took a picture of Deena standing next to the nose of the plane, dangling the keys, and sent it to Bill, then we pushed our little baby back into a corner and locked the place up behind us.

Bill was home when we got there after yet another campus run. Kisses. Little discussion about dinnertime. Friday nights we usually dine out. Tonight it was Tex-Mex.

Back home. Shower. Deena’s smiling. Her period’s over and she knows I have three days until MINE starts, but tonight’s a free for all.

Friday night’s coursework night, too. Just as well get it out of the way so you won’t have that hanging over your head come Sunday evening. One last run through the list to make sure we have everything packed for tomorrow with the Johnsons and the Gleasons on a sailboat.

Tonight it’s the Simons on a king-sized bed and it’s as much fun as it is an expression of love and sharing. Key scene: somewhere along towards the end, I found myself lying on my back, crossways in the bed, my head resting on Deena’s soft belly, my legs draped across Bill, the three of us breathing after orgasm, and I’m thinking that there’s no way sex could be any better.

Deena stroked my hair away from my face. Bill was holding my right foot in his hand, his thumb massaging my toes. I touched Deena’s hand.

“Gosh, I love y’all,” she sighed.

Just a good sigh, then slowly swing to put my head on a pillow. Bill drew the covers up for us and uncharacteristically, we turned off the lights and went to sleep naked.

That’s too much temptation, you know ... I get myself wrapped up in Bill’s arms for a while, then Deena and I cross each other, and while we’re embracing, I think her hand’s ... I hear Bill let out a satisfied sigh ... yeah, I know where her hand is...

Dash through the shower in the morning, get dressed, load up our bags and hit the local diner for breakfast, then it’s off to the marina.

When we arrive, Carlita and Brindy are hauling things from their SUV, and the Gleason clan is coming up the road behind us.

It’s a beautiful day, maybe twenty percent cloud cover, and a nice breeze, something I imagine to be a ‘plus’ for a sailboat.

The boat in question is BIG. Carlita says thirty-six feet. Looks big. I hear an engine starting, see Dave in the boat’s cockpit.

We start handing him bags.

“Biggest crowd I’ve ever brought out on this thing,” he said.

“We’ll adapt,” Bill said. “What’d’ya need me to do?”

Dan 3.0 was standing beside him, same questioning look. “Uh, Dave, I’ve done bare-boat charters in the Caribbean. These two’ve been with me.

Dave laughed. “Sit down and be a passenger. Let me and my crew get us out of the marina. We got this.”

The ‘crew’ in question consisted of Carlita and Brindy. They tended to ropes at each end of the boat.

“Ready to cast off, fore,” Brindy said.

“Aft is ready,” from Carlita.

“Cast off,” Dave said.

There was a little thump, apparently the engine going into gear, then a change of its sound as he added throttle. We eased out of the slip and into the channel that runs the length of the marina. He turned the wheel, the boat sedately responded by pointing its substantial nose towards the exit into the ship channel. We puttered along at walking speed.

“Anybody ever sailed before?”

Dan and Nina and Sandy responded affirmatively. I and my gang shook our heads in the negative.

“It’s sedate and it’s leisurely and once we’re in the channel we’ll push the throttle and get up to a blistering seven knots,” Dave informed us.

“Seven,” I said.

“Displacement hull,” Carlita said. “Speed is a function of waterline length. Once you reach a certain speed, adding horsepower just disturbs the water unless you get your hull to plane on top of it.”

“Sounds like a physics lesson,” Deena said.

“Or you can just ignore it,” Brindy tittered, “and lie back and enjoy the ride. Who wants the tour?”

Oh, yes ... All six of us girls can fit in that cabin. On one hand, it’s surprisingly roomy, on the other, well, it’s a CABIN – cozy. I can see where it’d make a neat little nest for a happy couple or in a few cases, a happy trio. There’s a little heater...

“In the autumn and in the spring, it makes the cabin a happy place,” Brindy said. “And we can cook on the galley stove.”

“Soups,” Carlita said. “Cool outside, warm inside, and soup...”

“But that bed...”

“It is called a ‘berth’ on a boat...” Carlita said.

“Whatever it is, three people? It’s small...” Deena said.

“We have a way to fix it,” Brindy said. “Otherwise poor Dave would not have a place to sleep.” She giggled at her own joke.

“Doesn’t it get hot in here in the summer?” Sandy asked.

“We have a way of making a big bed in the cockpit. In the summer, we go out into the Gulf, away from mosquitoes, and we anchor and spend the night,” Carlita said. “You can see ALL of the stars...”

“It is a special thing we do as a family,” Brindy said. “We can sleep three in the cockpit...”

“What if it rains?” Deena asked.

“It has happened one time only,” Carlita said. “We made a scramble to bring the bedding into the cabin. It was not a good night. But even that night, we sat outside and watched thunderstorms all around us in the dark.”

“The lightning was spectacular,” Brindy added.

I’m having these thoughts of me and Bill and Deena in a similar situation. I think we’d generate our own lightning. Still, neat thing, this boat. I could see it being a thing.

Our trip, though, points up something about sailboats – where’s the wind? And it’s not just that there has to BE wind, but it’s gotta be coming from a direction compatible with your desires for propulsion.