FORWARD:

First, I want to thank blackrandI1958 for inviting me to join this fun project and for her editing skills.

I chose a traveling song as the template for my story, “Taxi,” by Harry Chapin. It’s a sad song that I think, probably stirs a small feeling of regret in all of us. No matter how our lives turn out, I would almost bet most of us have wondered about a failed relationship in our life.

Of course this is “Loving Wives,” so although I’ve followed the song to a degree, I’ve had to change the premise of its story some. I hope you like it. As always, I enjoy reading your comments, so please keep’em coming, and if you’re not familiar with the song, I encourage you to take a listen.

I Was Gonna Learn to Fly

It had been a rotten night. The rain was coming down in sheets, so those who didn’t have to go out, stayed home. I was pulled over to the curb, counting my money. I made enough to barely break even for the night, but it was getting late and I knew my lovely wife would be waiting with a steaming cup of hot chocolate, which made the situation much more tolerable.

I was just about to turn my roof light off when I saw a lady exiting the Custom House Theater just ahead. San Francisco is full of small play houses where up and coming script writers, directors, and actors cut their teeth on the way to Hollywood. Of course the odds of actually making it to the top in that town are about the same as being struck by lightning, but that doesn’t stop them from dreaming.

I had assumed she was going to flag me down, so I was already pulling out by the time she raised her arm. It took me only a few seconds to reach the traffic light at the corner, but she already looked like a drowned rag doll as she climbed into the back seat. Her expensive evening gown was soaked and looked more like a blue potato sack.

“Where to, ma’am?”

“Sixteen, Parkside Lane,” she responded.

Her voice was familiar. It reminded me of the night my high school girlfriend and I first experienced making love in the back seat of my old Dodge. I wanted to hear it again. “It’s a shame your dress got all wet. I hope it’s not ruined.”

She didn’t reply, only looked out the side window at the bright reflections in the wet, empty sidewalks.

I made another attempt. “You look familiar. I think I know you from somewhere.”

“I’m sure you’re mistaken,” she flatly stated.

You could tell her hair started the evening elegantly styled on top of her head, but now hung down in a shiny, tangled mess. I glanced in the mirror as she pulled a few wet strands away from her face. It took me thirty years back in time when we stood on the platform of the Jack London train station, in Oakland. It was raining then too. She pulled her wet hair from her face just before our lips met.

“I’ll call you every night,” I promised.

“And I’ll wait for your call every night, Harry. I’m going to miss you so much.”

“Honey, you’ll be so busy becoming a star, I doubt you’ll miss me at all.”

“Yeah—right,” she chuckled. “I’m in three scenes, and none of them are very big. With my luck, they’ll probably all wind up on the cutting room floor.”

“They wouldn’t dare. They’ll have to deal with me. You tell them that,” I said with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’ll scare the hell out of them,” she laughed back. “When do you get your pilot’s license? Maybe you can fly out there for a weekend or something. Wouldn’t that be neat; you and me, parked up on Mullholland Drive under a full moon?”

“It sounds like heaven. Unfortunately, it’ll be a while before I get my license. Besides, even when I get it, I’d need a plane to fly, honey.”

“Details, details,” she said. “Well, I won’t be gone that long anyway. I know they can’t shoot the scenes around my schedule, but I can’t imagine having to be down there more than a couple of weeks or so ... a month at the most.”

Just then we heard the conductor call, “All aboard!”

There were tears in her eyes as she looked at me. She reached behind my head and pulled me into one last kiss. “I love you, Harry.”

“I love you too, Sue ... with all my heart and soul.”

We heard the train making noises, so she ran to hop on just before the conductor pulled the steps up.

“I love you,” she shouted one more time while waving.

I threw her a kiss. “I love you too,” I shouted back, as the southbound Amtrak pulled away. I still remember the excruciating feeling of loneliness I felt while walking back to my car. A couple of times, I had to wipe tears from my eyes. I told myself I’d have to get used to watching her leave like that. That’s what I get for falling in love with someone who wanted to become a movie star.

It’d been her dream since we first met in high school. She starred in all the school plays and was accepted into the Meisner Technique Actor’s Studio, after graduation. It wasn’t long before she rose to the top of her class there too.

She was only in her second local theater production when a producer who was sitting in the audience sent word after the play that he wanted to see her. I was back stage with Sue when he told her he was looking for new faces and thought she’d be perfect for a small role in an upcoming movie. Of course she jumped at the chance.

To tell you the truth, I had mixed emotions. I loved her. I wanted to see her succeed and be happy, but at the same time I knew it was the start of something I’d have no control over. Up till then, Sue’s acting career hadn’t affected us at all. I was always at her plays and got back stage to give her flowers and congratulate her on a great performance. I sometimes helped her learn her lines. We’d always been together, ever since high school. I knew that was about to change.

I wasn’t against moving to L.A. With a commercial pilot’s license, I could pretty much work anywhere, but it still didn’t mean we’d be together all the time. Movies were filmed all over the world. I was simply going to have to get used to being separated for extended periods of time; there was no getting around it.

I was still in somewhat of a fog as I made my way back across the Bay Bridge toward work. I pulled into the garage right on time and walked up to the dispatcher’s office.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to make it, Harry.”

“What do you mean, Sal? I’m right on time.”

“Yeah, but you’re usually twenty minutes early,” he said with a smile. “You’ve got number twenty-three tonight.”

“That’s not the one the guy puked in, is it? I heard all about it when I pulled in last night.”

“No, that was twenty-one. I pulled it out of service and sent it out to get shampooed. That thing reeked to high heaven.”

“You’re a good man, Sal. I don’t care what the other guys say about you,” I told him with a smile.

“Go on, get out of here and make us some money, slacker,” he joked back.

I knew he was kidding because I was always in the top five money producers. I loved driving a cab, not as much as I loved flying, but it wasn’t a bad way to make a living—at least for the time being. Every night, I met people from all walks of life, some rich, some poor, some powerful, and some meek. Sometimes, a passenger wouldn’t say a word during the whole trip, other times they’d tell me their whole life story in twenty minutes. It was interesting, that’s for sure.

I got the job right out of high school. It was perfect. First, the money was better than any entre-level job they were offering to high school graduates. Flight school isn’t cheap and even though driving a cab paid well, it still took me a year to save the money I needed to start. In addition to the money, I could work nights, which meant I could go to school during the day.

Like I said, it was perfect. Flight school was Monday through Friday, and unlike a lot of the other guys, I never missed a day. I had already passed ground school and after only ten hours of actual flying, impressed as hell out of Carl, my instructor, with the way I performed emergency maneuvers.

By the time Sue left for her movie debut, I was well on my way to soloing. That was a must before getting my private pilot’s license. I was proud of what I’d accomplished up till then, but still had a long way to go. To get an actual job as a pilot, I had to have my commercial license. To do that, I had to first get my PPL. After that I had to get my instrument rating to show I could fly in all kinds of weather using the instruments in the plane in case I couldn’t see where I was going. That was a lot harder than getting my private pilot’s license, but it was mandatory before I could even think about getting my commercial license.

My shift was over at eleven. That night I didn’t even stop to talk to the guys. As soon as she got settled, Sue was going to leave a number where she could be reached on my answering machine, so I was in a hurry to get home. It was eleven-twenty when I dialed the number.

“Hello,” giggled a female’s voice on the other end, but it wasn’t Sue.

“Ah, hi,” I said, thinking I might have dialed wrong. “I’m calling for Sue Bennet, is she...”

“Oh yeah, you must be Harry, hold on.”

The line was silent for a few seconds before Sue picked up. “Hi, honey.”

My heart pounded with joy as I heard the happiness in her voice. “Hi, gorgeous, how is it?”

“Oh, honey, I’m so excited. The studio is just marvelous; they’re putting us up in a hotel on Sunset Boulevard. They say it used to be a brothel in the thirties and forties. Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy were regulars, can you believe that?” she laughed. “Oh, and your favorite actor, Errol Flynn used to come here, too,” she gushed.

“Flynn?” I questioned. “Hell, he got practically any woman he wanted. I’m surprised he’d pay for it, but then maybe not. I guess he was pretty insatiable when it came to sex.”

“Kind of like you,” She chuckled. “Are you behaving yourself?”

“I haven’t had a chance to do much else, Hon. I went right into work from dropping you off, and rushed home afterward, so I could call you. Who answered the phone?”

“Oh, that was Jenny. She’s my roommate. She’s going to be in the same movie so we can help each other with our lines, although I really don’t have many. She’s got a lot more than I do.”

“Is it her first movie, too?”

“No, she’s been in five or six. I know,” she said, anticipating my reply. “She has more experience so she gets more lines, I know. You don’t have to tell me,” she said with a chuckle. “We have to be at the studio for our first reading tomorrow morning. We’re going to explore the studio together when we’re done.”

“That sounds like fun, honey. I wish I could be down there with you. I miss you already.”

“I miss you too. I’ve already told Jenny all about you. She’s jealous,” she again chuckled.

We talked for another ten minutes, but she had to be at the studio and I had to be at flight school by eight the next morning so we said our goodnights. The next night, I called her at the same time, but something seemed off.

“Hello.”

I knew immediately something was amiss. “Hi babe, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, why?”

I tried to keep my voice from sounding accusatory or harsh. “Something’s wrong, I can hear it in your voice, honey. You know you can’t keep anything from me, now spill it,” I said in a lighthearted way.

“Harry, nothing is wrong. I’m just tired, I guess. It’s been a long day.”

I still had the sense that something wasn’t right. She’d been through long days of rehearsals before, but I didn’t want to push her too far so I slacked off. “So how many lines do have?”

“Not many,” she replied. “I have four lines in the first scene, one in the second, and nine in the third.”

“Hey, that’s not bad at all, honey. Rock Hudson only had one line in his first movie,” I told her, trying to sound upbeat to see if I could get her out of her funk.

“Yeah, I know. I’m actually pretty lucky. Jenny says she only had two lines in her first movie. Honey, I’m really tired and I have to report to wardrobe at eight o’clock tomorrow morning, so I’m going to say goodnight.”

“Okay, honey. You get a good night’s sleep and I’ll call you tomorrow night about the same time.”

“Okay, hon, good night.”

And with that, the line went dead. She could deny it all she wanted but I knew something was wrong. She had pretty high expectations. I figured that maybe things just didn’t live up to what she was expecting. I was tired as well so I hit the sack and was out like a light.

She sounded better when I called the following night. She told me she got a look at the shooting schedule and all her scenes would be shot in the first couple of weeks. That was great news. I really missed her. I think that was the longest two weeks of my life. There would be more separations, of course, but that first one was really hard.

For the first time since I started, I took a day off from flight school on her return. Her train was due in at ten in the morning. Her parents offered to pick her up, but I couldn’t wait to wrap my arms around her. We drove straight to my apartment.

As we walked in, Sue started tearing at my clothes before I even shut the door. Once she had my shirt open, she threw her arms around my neck and hopped up, wrapping her legs around my waist and locking her ankles behind me. A flurry of kisses followed. I braced her butt with my hands, leaned slightly back for balance, and walked us to the bedroom. She started grinding her pussy into my crotch as I sat down on the edge of the bed.

Unlocking her ankles, Sue stood up and pushed me down, onto the mattress. Within seconds she had my pants around my knees. My cock literally leaped out of my shorts as she pulled them down. I could think of nothing that came closer to heaven than the feeling of her warm, moist mouth as it encased my straining cock. I could do nothing more in the moment than close my eyes and enjoy the sensations.

Sue’s tongue flickered, swirled, and surrounded my tightly stretched flesh, sometimes at the very tip, and other times with her lips buried in my pubic hair. It didn’t take long for the urge to build.

“I ... I going to cum...”

“Oh, no you don’t,” she said, pulling her head away. “I want you inside me.” She immediately stood up, pulled her jeans and panties down in one quick stroke, then sat on the bed next to me and kicked her feet wildly until both garments went flying. She swung her legs over me and scooted to the middle of the bed.

I snuggled up with the intention to start my love making with gentle kisses to her neck.

“Save that for later,” she told me. “My pussy is soaking. Can you hear it? It’s calling for a hard cock ... now!”

Who was I to argue with a soaking pussy? I got in position and slowly slid right in. I had the feeling everybody on my floor of the apartment building was going to know what we were doing. She was moaning before I even hit bottom.

I was a little worried I would be able to keep going long enough for her to come, but luckily, she was as excited as I was and within a few minutes we both broke out in rapturous harmony. Sue reached up, wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled down tightly against her breasts. Somewhere in my brain I was afraid I was too heavy. I felt our hearts pounding in unison and her hot breath in my ear.

As our breathing began to calm, Sue let me go and threw her arms out to each side like a post coital iron cross. I raised my head and looked into her smiling, contented face. I whispered that I loved her before gently kissing her lips. I knew I’d be ready again in no time so I continued kissing, her cheek, her forehead, behind her ear, down her neck.

Still with her eyes closed, Sue moaned as I worked my way to her nipples, sucking, biting, and swirling my tongue around each one before continuing south. By the time I reached her navel, I could feel her body twitching with a series of euphoric tremors.

Luckily for men, God in his infinite wisdom put a woman’s clit above the entrance to her magnificent pussy for such occasions. I felt her hand on the top of my head as started teaching her clit with my tongue while inserting my finger below. In just moments, I felt her walls tightening around my finger. She cried out to the almighty again and again as her body wreathed with another climax. I gave her just a moment before entering her again. Her back arched in response, she grabbed the sheets with both hands and screamed. I changed my pace as I continued to make love to my girl. Finally, once again we came together, falling into a sweaty embrace of pure pleasure.

After a little longer recoup time than before, we continued for a third time. I was ready to call Sal and take the night off, but Sue said she was already going to have trouble walking for the next couple of days and told me to go to work. I asked if she’d be there when I got home. She kissed me before telling me no, she hadn’t seen her folks in over two weeks and she was going to spend the night with them.

Sue’s parents were cool. She was bouncing back and forth between their house and my apartment. Sometimes she’d spend a whole week with me before going home for a couple of nights, but they never gave her any flack about us practically living together. I was a little disappointed she wouldn’t be spending the night, but I understood.

After two grueling weeks without my baby, I was flying high in the cab that night. Not even rush hour traffic could break the mood I was in. A couple passengers even commented on how the grin never left my face during the whole drive.

The following day was Saturday. Since I didn’t have flight school, Sal would let me work the day shift, seven to three. It was considerably less money, but it gave me Saturday nights with my baby.

During Sue’s two weeks in Hollywood, I put some money aside each night so I could take her out for a nice celebratory dinner when she got home. I was sure she’d be at the apartment when I got there, so I stopped off at a party shop and bought her some helium filled balloons saying congratulations. I wanted to surprise her so I was disappointed when I came home to an empty flat.

I was sure she wouldn’t be long so I let the balloons bounce off the ceiling just inside the entrance and ran to grab a quick shower. I thought I heard the phone while I was under the water but I wasn’t sure. I was so looking forward to seeing Sue that I actually forgot about the phone until I got dressed and walked out to the living room. I was hoping to see her, but I saw the red flashing light on my answering machine instead. I hit the play button...

“Hi, honey. I hope you won’t be upset, but I’m going to spend the night with mom and dad, again. We just have so much to talk about and they asked for another night so I said yes. I’ll be over tomorrow morning. Maybe we can go out for a late breakfast. Love you, good night honey.”

After listening, I wasn’t angry, but I was bummed out. We always spent Saturday nights together. If I had known, I’d have worked my regular shift. The night-life crowd always tipped a lot better than the Saturday afternoon shoppers.

I figured I couldn’t complain too much. She spent the last four days and nights with me before she left for Hollywood, so they hadn’t seen her in two and half weeks. I can’t blame her for wanting to spend some time with her folks.

Since I wasn’t planning on cooking anything that night, I went to Applebee’s for dinner, then watched some TV before going to bed early. I was disappointed to see the balloons were already starting to lose altitude and wondered if they’d be completely deflated by morning.

Evidently, my impatience to see Sue had penetrated my sleep because I was awake at dawn. I really didn’t want to get up. I was hoping she’d come in, see me in bed, and climb in next to me, so I just laid there ... and laid there. Finally, at nine-thirty, I gave up. I grabbed a shower, got dressed, and was on my second cup of coffee when I heard her key in the door. I’ll admit to being a little aggravated by that time, but that lasted as long as it took her to walk over and give me a hello kiss that curled my toes.

“Thank you for the balloons,” she said. “I’m guessing you bought those yesterday.”

“Yeah, I stopped after work. They were actually filled with Helium and went all the way up to the ceiling. Now they’re just kind of floating around at waist level.”

“I’m sorry,” she chuckled. “I really do appreciate the thought. You’re not mad, are you? Mom and Dad kept asking me questions about Hollywood and I couldn’t just cut them off.”

“No, I’m not mad. I saved up some money and was going to take you out to dinner, but I guess we can do that tonight.”

“That sounds fantastic,” she said, leaning over and giving me another kiss. “You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

“No, I was waiting for you.”

“Good, because I’m taking us out for breakfast. What’s the sense of becoming a movie star if I can’t treat the man I love?”

All through breakfast, I was getting that feeling again, the feeling that something was wrong. She did most of the talking, which is usually a sign that she’s nervous about something. It wasn’t until we got back to the apartment that I finally learned what was bothering Sue.

We were sitting on the couch wrapped in each other’s arms. She started nervously playing with the buttons on my shirt before looking up at me. “I ... I have something to tell you and I’m afraid you’re going to be mad,” she said, apprehensively.

“I knew something’s been bothering you, ever since we talked that night on the phone.”

“Yeah, that morning was the first time I’d seen the script,” she explained. “I talked with Mom and Dad the other night. Mom kind of took it in stride, but Dad wasn’t too pleased. I can only image how you’re going to take it.”

“Take what, honey?” She was starting to worry me.

“Well, I ... have to kiss a guy, and it’s not just a peck on the cheek, it’s a passionate kiss.”

“That’s it? Honey, I’ve seen you kiss guys on the stage before. I know it’s only acting.”

“Yeah, but ... well, I’m topless when I’m doing it.”

At first I was stunned. I was not expecting anything like that, certainly not in her first film. “You’re topless ... as in naked from the waist up?”

She nodded her head. “There’s more,” she said, sheepishly. “He reaches around from behind me and undoes the buttons of my shirt. I’m not wearing a bra. After the shirt falls open he starts playing with my tits. That’s when I turn around and kiss him.”

I have no idea what contorted mess my face must have been in, but she took one look and got scared.

“Honey, it’s a pretty short scene and we only kissed for a few seconds before they yelled cut.”

My mind was split between two trains of thought. Acting or not, I didn’t like the idea of some guy playing with Sue’s tits, but I was even more concerned about her career.

“Honey, I’m not going to say I’m happy about some guy fondling your tits, but I think before accepting anymore roles, you should ask more questions. You and I have both read about actors who got typecast early in their careers. You certainly don’t want to get hired just because they know you’ll take your clothes off. You’re far too good an actress for that.”

“Harry, they didn’t hire me simply because they thought I’d take my clothes off,” she replied sharply, “and as far as being a good actress—shit, that town is crawling with good actresses, most of them are waiting tables at some greasy spoon. They’d kill for a part like I had.”

My head was swimming. Somehow I hadn’t given much thought to this aspect of Sue’s career, or at least I didn’t think I’d be dealing with it so soon. “So what are you saying, that you’ll take any part no matter what?”

“No!” she said angrily. “You know me better than that. I’m not going to be doing porn, for Pete’s sake. That was a mean thing to say.

“Look, all I’m saying is that I’m not going to turn down a good part simply because it might entail some nudity, I can’t. Hell, honey, there’s a lot of well-known actresses that do nude scenes.”

She was right. At that moment, I remembered watching a very hot sex scene in a movie with Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland. They were both naked as Jay birds. I was trying to be mature and not seem jealous or insecure, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle it if she took parts like that. I tried to push the thought out of my mind. I’d just have to deal with it, if and when it came up.

“I’m not trying to be mean, honey, it’s just ... it’s just that I hope you’ll take parts that show your acting ability and not just your sex appeal, that’s all. I love you, babe, and I have all the confidence in the world that you can make it on talent.” I saw a small smile.

“You maybe a little prejudiced in that department, honey.” Her smile widened as she leaned over and gave me a kiss. “Don’t worry, honey, if I don’t think a part will be good for my career, I won’t take it.

“Mike, the director, told me I should get an agent. He even gave me the name of one to call, Jerry Lundawahl. He said some agents won’t even take on a new actress until she’s been in several movies, but Jerry will take someone brand new if he thinks they have a future. Mike even said he’d call him and give me a recommendation. If he’s my agent, I’m sure he can help me pick the right parts, as well.”

The agent sounded like a good idea to me. I smiled and felt much better. She wasted no time and called him the next day. He had already received the call from Mike so I’m guessing it was just a technicality, but he wanted to see her later that week. I really didn’t want to take more time away from my flying lessons, so I agreed to let her parents take her to the train station.

She was only supposed to be down there for the day, but after accepting her as a client, Jerry wanted her to get professional pictures taken for her comp cards. The earliest appointment she could get was in two days, so instead of going back and forth again, she just stayed in a cheap motel down there.

The day after she came back, the local repertory company approached her with the lead in a new production. She accepted, but was up front and told them they might need a stand-in if a movie role came up. They agreed, and for a while, between her schedule and mine, we barely got a chance to say hi to one another.

Finally, after about three weeks, things were starting to calm down. Cold readings for the new play were over and Sue was learning her lines. Rehearsals weren’t to start for another two weeks, and to her disappointment, she hadn’t heard anything from Jerry.

Over the next couple months, things fell into a regular routine. Sue was a smash in the play and had been written up in several of the local paper’s theater sections. I had my private pilot’s license, but that’s when the real work began.

For Sue, the timing couldn’t have been better. She really enjoyed her part in the play and was sorry to see it end, but two days later her agent called. That brightened her spirits immediately. I’d have given anything to fly her down there, but renting a plane wasn’t in my budget. She didn’t really seem too keen on the idea anyway, so once again, I drove her to the train station in Oakland.

This time it was just to read for a part so she was back that night. From there it was a waiting game. They had more actresses to test and who knew how long before the powers that be made up their minds. After three weeks, she still hadn’t heard, but in the meantime, she tested for two more parts.

This went on for months. Sue turned down a role for another play because she didn’t want to abandon them midway in if Hollywood called.

I think those months were as hard on me as they were on Sue. All I could do was sit there and watch her get her hopes up after testing for a part, only to have them dashed to pieces every time they gave it to someone else. I still had confidence in her talent and knew that if she just hung in there, she’d eventually make it. In spite of my encouragement and rah, rah speeches, however, Sue’s self-confidence was deteriorating.

She was deciding whether or not to decline the next part offered by the playhouse when her agent called again. I could see her eyes lighting up as she talked. It was good to see some new enthusiasm as she hung up.

“I have to go to L.A. again tomorrow for another reading,” she said with excitement. “Jerry says I’m perfect for the part and thinks I have a great chance at getting it this time. He says it’s a break out part. That means it could really boost my career.”

“Honey, that’s fantastic. What time do you have to be there?”

“Ten,” she replied. “I’ll have to grab the six o’clock train, honey. Will you be able to take me?”

“Of course,” I answered with a big grin. It was good to see her smiling again.

Since we had to be up at four-thirty the next morning, we made an early night of it, but we still took the time for a good-luck quickie.

She was back that night again. I could tell she did well by the restoration of her confidence level. She never stopped talking as we drove home. She told me her character was smart, brassy, and sarcastic. It was a part she could play to the hilt. She was sure that if she could just land that one part it would skyrocket her career.