Chapter 46

Once I hung up, Grace looked at me expectantly and I repeated what her mom had told me. She grinned at that, and said she would be right back. And as she was walking towards the nose of the trailer she asked me to get her another drink.

I got her another one, and realized it was going to be her fourth one. And realizing that this was going to end up with her being drunk again and staying here, I decided I might as well join her. I only had a swig left in my can, so pulled out a glass and after adding ice covered them with some whiskey.

Grace came back out from the front, and I paused a moment to look at her. She had changed out of what she had been wearing after the show, and was now in one of my Nine Inch Nails shirts. She then told me to go get comfortable, she would find something on the stereo. I told her it was behind the cabinet under the TV, and she laughed.

“George, remember I spent weekends in here. I probably know more about this than you do. Go get changed, I’ll be fine.” I went ahead and changed into shorts and a tank top, and when I came back out I saw Grace was in the back. And after she asked I turned on everything she would need for the keyboards and she started messing around.

I brought her drink to her, and sat on one of the stools I had brought over and watched. Grace was still a tad chunky, but looking at her legs I could see she was in no way fat. She was simply built like her mom, who was also a tad short and stout. And like most of her family had big thighs from skiing and riding her whole life. But she was fit and well put together, likely no more than 110 pounds soaking wet.

She played this medley of Jewel songs, and smiling when she finished she turned off everything, then picked up her drink. Then surprised me when she sat in my lap, then gave me a hug. “George, this is great. It’s like your own little recording area in the back here. But the acoustics are horrible, you will need to do something about that.”

I moved my arm behind her back and rested my hand on her hip as I often had in the past. “Well, remember that I don’t sing. So for me, this is perfect. Plus I will likely be using it mostly with my headphones on as I don’t want to bother anybody else nearby.”

“OK, fair enough. But you really should look into doing something. I can even see this as a place for a small band to practice. Or hell, even lower the back and this could be a stage.” I told her that had been my thought earlier, and she nodded. And I told her I would talk to some people when I got back to LA to see what I could do to improve it.

Grace gave me a quick hug, then stood up and grabbed my hand and we went back out to the main room. And when she finished her drink she started to get up to get another one and I rested my hand on her leg, stopping her. “Grace, this is going to be number five, no more.”

She looked at me and laughed. “George, look at you! Trying to tell me to moderate myself, the one that seems to live his life doing whatever he wanted. OK, fine, only one more. How about some green, got any of that?”

I looked at her, and she grinned at me. “George, now don’t you get all preachy with me. I’ve been smoking on occasion for a while now, and I know you started younger than I am.”

I sighed and nodded, and told her to wait there. I went and opened the case for the DX-7 and pulled out the plastic cigarette case I had hidden inside. I came back and told her to get her shoes on. She looked at me as I started to put mine back on, then asked where we were going.

“Grace, I am not toking up in here. Not only might somebody smell it and call the cops, if anybody like our parents came in they would know.” She nodded, and soon we were walking along the boardwalk under the highway towards the quarry. But when I started to head up towards Lake Grant she stopped. She asked where we were going, and I said the benches near the lake had long been a favorite place of mine.

And she shuddered and shook her head. I quickly wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and she sighed. “No, somewhere else, please.” At that point, I realized exactly where she had been that night with Jim. I told her to pick the spot, and soon we were walking across the little gulch towards the stables.

She went up and patted a couple of the horses that came to the fence to greet us, and called them by name. And soon we were on the far side and sitting on hay bales. And when I pulled out the joint and handed it to her she looked at it and laughed. “What, is this how they make grass back in LA? Really, George? They sell so much it comes like this?” And she was looking at it, as it did look just like a regular cigarette.

I laughed and shook my head. “Naw, I do this myself. A year or so back I saw in one of the cigarette stores. You can get these tubes that have a filter on the end. And a machine that instead of rolling them you can use to inject it into the tube. I tend to prefer it now if I don’t have a bong, no more spitting bits and pieces out afterwards. Plus it is not quite as obvious. So long as nobody smells it, they would just see cigarettes.”

She said that was a good idea, then asked me for my lighter. And after warning her it was going to be a bit strong because it was thicker than a normal joint she nodded and lit up. And the way she inhaled and held it, it was clear this was not her first time. And as the two of us got baked, I moved so I was leaning back against one of the bales with my legs straight in front of me.

Grace handed me the joint and I took a hit as she scooted back against me. I could feel her back against my chest, and I wrapped one arm around her waist as I handed the smoke back with the other. “You know, you are not as much of a pest as you were when I left.”

She snorted and took another drag, then said I was not quite as much of an asshole as I had been before. And we both talked quietly until it was gone, then after enjoying the glow for about an hour we got up and made our way back to my trailer. Once back we each made use of the bathroom, then holding each other in my bed drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up, it took a few moments to realize that there was a hand holding my cock and it was not my own. I was on my back so carefully turned my head to the side, and saw a head covered with black hair resting on my chest, and a lovely dark tan arm descending from the sleeve of a shirt and grasping me through my underwear. And when I remembered it was Grace, I reached over with one hand and carefully moved it up to my belly. She mumbled something, but seemed to remain asleep.

I waited another few minutes, then slipped carefully out of bed. I took a shower, then went into the main part of the trailer and pulled out some sausage from the freezer. The patties were pre-cooked, so I put them in the microwave as I started on the eggs. I fried six of them, then went to wake up Grace.

After we ate, she hugged me and said she had to get to work as she was opening that day. I went ahead and headed over to the airport for my next lessons.

Later that week, Pete asked me over for dinner. And when I got there, he handed me a beer and we went to his backyard to grill some steaks. Over the years he had really expanded his house, not only up but out. There was a brick grill like the hands used, and it even had natural gas so no need to mess with propane tanks.

He told me that he and Mandy needed to go to San Diego that weekend, and if I wanted to fly them there. “Now technically, one of us will actually be the pilot. But I figure more flight hours will do you good”. I asked if it was everybody, and he shook his head. “Nope, just the two of us, your mom is going to watch the kids this time. This is just a quick trip. One day in San Diego, and another in the Valley to see Linda then back here.”

I thought a moment, then nodded. “That will actually work, because it will give me a chance to stop by and see if I got any mail. I’m expecting an acceptance letter from CSUN.”

I then asked if another could come, and he looked at me. “George, this is business and not pleasure.”

“Oh, I know that. But I was thinking Grace might like to join us.” He nodded, and told me to ask Mandy when we were eating. And once the four of us were at the table, I asked. And after looking at Pete a moment, she smiled and nodded.

“Sure, go ahead and ask her, George. We are leaving Friday afternoon, and returning Sunday. We’ll go ahead and upgrade to a three bedroom suite, but we were going to stay at Linda’s on Saturday.”

“Well, just get a two bedroom, I can sleep on the couch. I don’t need a bedroom to myself just for one night.” And I saw both of them smile and nod, and I realized I had impressed both of them by saying that, and that I would sleep on the couch and not Grace.

After dinner I called mom and told her, then called Jerry. He said that was fine, and he would use the time off to do some maintenance on the plane. And after hugs from everybody I walked over to the Big House. All the kids were in the living room watching TV, and Kim called out that I was here and had me join her in the kitchen. She poured me a glass of apple juice, and asked what I was up to. I was telling her about the trip to LA that weekend as Grace arrived, and I asked if Grace wanted to come, and if she could.

She looked at her mom, and even though she did not say a word her eyes were almost begging. Kim simply nodded and laughed. “Of course you can go, and I think Pete and Mandy are sufficient as chaperones to keep your two out of trouble.”

Grace hugged her mom, then hugged me. “Now this is not like last time, this is just a two day trip. They need to go to San Diego, then to LA before coming back here.” She said that was fine, it would be nice to get away for a bit. “Oh, but I work that weekend” she said, and sighed.

“Don’t worry, Mandy already said she would find replacements for us. Just be ready to go Friday morning. Oh, and bring your flight log. I’m sure they will let you fly a bit also.”

I stopped back across the way, and asked Mandy if I could check out the plane the next day. She nodded, and when she asked when I said after noon when I had finished my lessons. She said that was fine, and she would call to authorize me to check it out.

After spending three hours doing touch and go landings we returned to the airport and spent two hours doing the ground school portion. He also gave me some tips about flying the 441, warning me it was a hot hotter of a plane than the Seminole was. “Most times in the Seminole, air speed is around 160 knots. But in that baby, she’ll be cooking at 260 knots, no problem. And I often rent it from your brother, that’s what I use if I need to give somebody a check ride or certified in a 441.”

I asked him if he had certified Pete and Mandy, and he shook his head. “Naw, his own instructor certified him, Mandy got certified in Boise. That was before we met, but now he has all his pilots come to me for check rides and certifications if they are up here. And I bet someday I’ll be doing yours also.”

I got up early in the morning, and after a shower I put on the diaper then the uniform I usually wore when flying for Pete. I went into the kitchen, and mom smiled and poured me a cup of coffee. And as I was drinking it she filled a thermos and set it in front of me as I had some cereal. I asked her why she was up so early and she laughed. “Oh, I’m going over with you, Mandy and I agreed no reason to get the kids up early just to bring them up here. So I’ll stay there until they get up, then come home.”

We both got in my truck and drove down the hill. When we got to the bottom she went into Pete’s house as I walked to the Big House. Grace opened the door right before I got there, and she had the same idea I had. She was also in uniform, and she handed me her flight case when I reached for it.

We reached the truck and I put it in the back, and said for her to get in. “We’re not waiting for Pete and Mandy?” she asked.

“Nope, we gotta get the pre-flight done.”

And on the drive, I reminded her that she was to get in the back when we took off. “On the paperwork, Mandy is the Pilot in Command. But she already told me you can replace her while we are airborne. You two will have to trade again before we land.” She asked me how many times I had flown the 441, and I laughed.

“Officially, never. I have a couple of hours in the air on it, but have never taken off or landed it. And because Mandy is the better of the two, she is the one in charge on this flight. But this trip will give me more than enough cross-country flight hours for my certifications. And it will help you when you are ready to go for that.”

We were just finishing the inspection and I had shut down the engines after warming them up when Pete and Mandy arrived. They both laughed at seeing us in uniform, and nodded to us as Grace stowed their luggage. Mandy smiled at me and it was strange seeing her in a dress as she climbed into the co-pilot’s seat. I asked if we should switch and she shook her head. And when she reached out her hand I gave her the checklist.

She inspected it as Grace and Pete got settled in, and Grace ran through the safety procedures. I glanced back and saw Pete smiling at her as she did, then after getting clearance from the tower I started to taxi us to the runway.