Chapter 7

The next three months passed slowly by; the winter weather prevented much in the way of construction, except that we did have the airfield surveyed. Jo recuperated from her injuries more quickly than her doctors had predicted. By spring, she was able to walk without assistance, though she tired easily.

We had started flying again once she had graduated to smaller walking casts for her leg. We would take short trips when the weather permitted, flying off for a meal or to visit an event.

Once her casts were gone, Jo went back to flying her Extra. She started slowly, as the g forces from the more radical maneuvers were painful for her. She was dismayed at how much of her skill she’d lost, so she was determined to train herself back up to her former level.

On one of Jo’s practice days, and I was always at the airport when she was flying, serving as her crew chief and aircraft handler, a minivan pulled up and parked next to the van I’d bought for Jo. I stood up from my lawn chair and looked to see who it was.

I was surprised to see Kaitlin and her mother step out and approach me. “Hello, Janice,” I called out.

Kaitlin’s bandages were gone, but her lower face was a mass of reddish-white scars, and her left hand hung awkwardly at her side. She looked at me, her face inscrutable.

Janice nodded to me. “Hello. I wanted to see how Jo was recovering, and Norm, my husband, told me that she flies here.”

“Yes, she does.” I pointed skyward where the Extra was a dot as Jo practiced her maneuvers at a safe altitude. “She’s practicing some aerobatics now.” I patted the chair. “Please, take a seat. I’ll bring two more chairs for us. Would you like some water?”

They both nodded. “Yes, please,” Janice said.

I stepped into the office to retrieve two chairs and three bottles of water, and went back outside. I set up the chairs, handed out the water, and sat down. “How has your recovery been, Kaitlin?”

She shrugged. “It’s been okay.”

“It’s been hard,” Janice added with a sad smile. “She’s had four surgeries, two on her jaw, and two more on her wrist and hand. The last one was a month ago.”

“That is hard,” I agreed. “Other than the infection, Jo has had a good recovery.” Jo and I had received a substantial settlement from the accident, which paid for her medical care and our car. Our attorney had advised us that we could probably get more for damages if we sued, but neither Jo nor I were interested in dragging Kaitlin’s family into court.

“Will you be able to graduate this year?” I asked Kaitlin.

She shook her head. “No, I still have a year to go after this semester.”

“Maybe I should explain,” Janice said quickly. “She is a college junior, and she graduated from high school at age sixteen.”

“That’s really good, Kaitlin,” I said with a smile. “What are you studying?”

“I’m working on a civil engineering degree. I’m so far behind this semester, that I may have to retake the classes, though.”

“Don’t give up on your degree program, that’s a pretty good career to have. People will always need to build new buildings and such.” I looked up at the sound of the Extra in a dive. As I watched, Jo pulled up into a vertical climb, rolling the aircraft like a dervish as she soared upward.

“That looks like fun,” Kaitlin said as she shielded her eyes with her hand.

“You can find out.” I picked up the handheld radio I’d set at the base of my chair. “Extra two three juliette, Unicom.”

“Two three juliette, go,” Jo’s voice came back.

“We have visitors, and one of them wants a ride.”

“Copy that. Two three juliette will be entering the pattern from overhead, landing runway one six.”

We watched as Jo spiraled down to the traffic pattern altitude, crossed over the runway threshold, and bank sharply to the left. The sleek aircraft descended in a tight spiral, straightened out over the runway numbers, and lightly touched down. Jo let it roll up to the center turnoff, and taxied to the hangar in front of us. She shut the engine down, and popped the canopy open.

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s go get you that ride.” I led Kaitlin to the step behind the left wing.

“Hi, Kaitlin,” Jo said with a bright smile. “It’s a great day to go flying.”

“I’ve never been in a little airplane,” the teen said hesitantly.

“Come on, it will be fine. I won’t do anything scary, I promise.”

“Okay.” She looked at the empty seat. “What do I do?”

I coached her through the process of boarding the aircraft, and she settled into the rear seat. Five minutes later, she announced over the intercom that she was ready.

I stepped back, and Jo started the engine and taxied out to the active runway. The canopy closed, and then the engine roared, pulling the agile airplane into the sky.

“Is that safe?” Janice said from beside me. “It’s so little.”

“Sure. It’s even safer with Jo at the controls. She’s a champion pilot.” I gestured to the lawn chairs, and we both sat down.

We watched the Extra climb eastward, toward town. I assumed that Jo was giving Kaitlin an aerial tour of the area.

“Kaitlin has had a hard time since the accident,” Janice said at length. “She’s sorry that the two of you were hurt, and she’s having trouble dealing with her own injuries.”

“It’s not been easy for Jo, but she is recovering, and we expect her to regain her skill,” I replied. “It wasn’t premeditated on her part; we both know that, too. I – we are hoping that Kaitlin will be able to move on with her life.”

“Kaitlin was always concerned about her appearance,” Janice said with a sigh, “and so, she is not well equipped to handle the facial scarring and the loss of motion in her wrist.”

“I’d say that was pretty normal for a teen girl. Have you looked into cosmetic surgery?”

“Yes, but it’s very expensive. Our insurance is nearly at its limit for this accident, and we don’t have much money to cover it.”

I thought for a moment. “She’s studying civil engineering?”

“Yes.” Janice looked at me.

“We hired a firm to design our private airport that’s about ten miles north of here. They might have a position for Kaitlin. I can contact the owner to find out, if you’d like.”

“That would be good for her, I think. It would give her something to think about besides her injuries.”

“I can also ask around about how to get the surgery she needs. There are many foundations out there, and a good number of them deal with medical issues.” I shrugged. “I don’t know if they’d consider cosmetic surgery for Kaitlin, but I am willing to ask.”

“You seem to know a lot about these foundations,” Janice observed.

“I’ve had some experience through my business,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “We’ve participated in several events and fundraisers over the past year.”

“We would appreciate anything you do for us, for Kaitlin.”

“Of course.” I sipped my drink. “She is obviously a bright young woman with a promising future.”

We sat and chatted for the next half hour, until we heard Jo and Kaitlin returning over the airfield. The Extra turned into another overhead approach, and Jo brought it down to a smooth landing. They taxied in and shut down, opening the canopy as soon as the prop stopped.

Janice and I walked to meet them, and I noted the huge grin on Kaitlin’s face. “What did you think,” I asked as she lifted off her headset.

“That was awesome! Amazing! The best!” She lifted an unused airsick bag. “And I didn’t have to use this!”

“We went up and did a couple of loops and rolls,” Jo put in as she unbuckled her harness. “It’s a good thing the intercom has a decibel limiter.” She smiled as I helped her climb out of her seat. She was moving a lot better, so my presence was more to reassure her than an actual help.