Chapter 20

Kathy stuck her arm out the window and waved at Roland behind her just before she turned off for the airport. He must have figured out what she was trying to do because he flashed his lights and didn't take the turn. Smiling at how lucky she was to have such good friends, she headed for the airport and the parking lot.

A little later, she walked through the office door as Bill came quickly to his feet, meeting her halfway across the office. "You sure you're okay?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Feeling her face flush with embarrassment, she answered, "Yeah, I'm just fine. Just feeling a little foolish, I guess. I brought most of that on myself."

Standing in front of her, looking down at her he stammered, "Uh Kathy, I don't know how to say this, but I heard... well, do you need to go to the hospital to be checked out, or need to do something? Your health comes first. I can always call Wainwright and tell him we can't make it. I can charter him a plane and crew in Denver."

Kathy looked at him, not able to understand exactly what he was talking about, and wasn't sure why he mentioned Denver. "Bill, I wasn't raped. I think he would have tried, or did try, after I stopped him and pushed him away, but he didn't rape me, if that's what you mean."

"Oh, shit, Kathy," he said, then after a false start, said, "Look, I heard you yell at him about having pulled the condom off, do you need..."

Kathy's face turned redder, if possible.

"Kathy, I'm sorry. I overstepped my bounds; I'm just worried about you..."

Before she realized what she was doing, she grabbed him and hugged him. "He didn't do anything; the phone rang just in time. I was going to do something stupid, that I really didn't want to do, but I just got tired of waiting..." her voice trailed off as she realized what she had almost said.

"'Waiting, ' Kathy?" he questioned, then his face changed as he began to get an inkling of her meaning. "Oh, shit," he whispered.

Hugging her tight, he then pushed her back at arms' length, his hands still on her shoulders. "Let's put this conversation on hold for a while. The Matthews have a friend who is going to bury his wife tomorrow. They just heard about it tonight, and the funeral is in the morning in Georgia. We've got a lot of flying to do, so we need to go as soon as we can."

Dropping into professional mode, she mentally shook herself. "Okay, it will only take a couple of minutes for me to change," she said, hurrying to her closet and pulling out a uniform. "Is David on the way?"

As she turned toward the bathroom to dress, Madison said, his voice as expressionless as he could make it, "Why don't you wear this one, Kathy?" as he stood holding out a pilot's uniform.

She turned in his direction for a second, then froze. "But that's not a flight attendant's uniform, that a... Oh, shit. Bill, don't do this to me. Please, don't tease me," she said almost breathless, her mind jumping ahead as she focused on the brand-new uniform he was holding out to her.

"I'm not teasing, Kathy. I would never tease you about something like this. David had been drinking when I called him. He quit. Said he had another job. Want to fly second seat with me?"

Seeing the look on her face, he continued, "Not just tonight. Second pilot's job. Do you want it?"

He guessed she did, when a couple of moments later, he managed to untangle himself from her and the uniform. Then she put a hand behind his neck and kissed him. Not just a "thank-you" kiss but a toe-curling, thank-you kiss. Breathless they broke apart to stand with their mouths almost touching, just looking at each other. Deliberately his lips slowly enveloped hers — this time, his initiative. When they pulled apart, they were both out of breath and embarrassed.

Sobering, thinking, Kathy said, "What will Wainwright say? There's no way he's going to accept an inexperienced pilot. I just got my license for the jet three months ago, and I've only been able to afford to buy fuel once since then to get flying time. I'm so deep in debt from flying lessons for the last two years, plane rentals, and buying fuel for the jet that I just couldn't afford more time. You can't do this. You'll get into trouble. If you can't get another pilot tonight, I'll fly second seat this trip, but I'll understand when you have to hire someone with experience as your permanent copilot."

"Kathy, Mr. Wainwright has made it very plain that I'm in charge of that aircraft. He doesn't want to get involved in the details; he just wants to get there in one piece. He doesn't know how to fly — doesn't want to learn. When I hired David, and Stillman before him, I didn't ask Mr. Wainwright, and he never even commented on the subject. He knows about your training, and I've kept him abreast about what you've done. He isn't an idiot; he's already figured out that I was grooming you for the job. Now I'll talk to you more about it later. Right now, you need to get yourself into that uniform. And get these others into your bag."

As Kathy took off for the bathroom, he said, a little louder, "I sneaked one of your flight attendant's uniforms out of your closet about a month ago so the tailor could have your sizes. Oh, and there are three caps in the bathroom; they're adjustable a size or so in either direction. One of them should fit you. I can return the other two to the uniform company," he said to the partially opened door. "And your regular black uniform shoes will do fine, If you want something else, later, we can take care of that."

"Oh, Bill," he heard a muffled voice say, "I'm so nervous that I can hardly button the blouse." A little later he heard something hit the floor and a muffled curse, then she walked out of the bathroom.

Madison, so proud he could hardly speak, said, "You look good."

Her eyes focused on her desk where a leather flight case, almost identical to his, was setting. With trembling fingers she opened the case, expecting it to be empty, but it was far from it.

"I've duplicated most everything that I carry. There are still a couple of things that I need to get you..."

"You didn't have to do this... any of it... and I know that." Fighting back tears, she continued, "This is what I've dreamed about since I was a little girl. Oh, Bill, I don't know what to say."

"You've already said it," he said, unconsciously touching his mouth. "The look on your face is more than enough thank-you. Now let's see if we can get to Boulder in time to get these folks to Georgia for that funeral. We're going to be a couple of tired puppies in the morning, since we've both been up all day."

As they walked out of the office, Kathy, carrying her flight case and pulling her bag just like her captain, she felt like everyone was staring at her. Bill looked at her, remembering his first time in a flight uniform — feeling like an imposter — and grinned down at her. He watched her shoulders come back, and her back straighten as his new pilot walked beside him, the smile broadening on her face, as they headed for the plane.

The phone call had been numbing; only Wainwright had been in the living room with Jeff when the call came in from one of Jeff's police buddies in Georgia.

"Jeff, this is Mark."

"Hey, guy. It's great to hear from you," Jeff answered, a feeling of dread belying his words.

"Jeff, has anybody told you about Lieutenant Wilson's wife dying?"

The dread congealed to a knot in Jeff's gut. "Brenda? No... they haven't."

The conversation went on, Wainwright listening to Jeff's end of the conversation. When he heard Jeff recount that the funeral would be at twelve tomorrow, he picked up the phone, punched the other line and started dialing.

By the time Jeff got off the phone, all his women, including Helen, we in the living room, having quietly taken seats, their faces somber, waiting for the conversation to end. Jeff didn't even bother to wonder how they knew something was wrong. Turning to them, he said, "My detective buddy, retired Lieutenant Wilson's wife, Brenda, died day before yesterday of a massive heart attack. The funeral is tomorrow at twelve. Calling me must have slipped through the cracks. Mark looked over the guest register after visitation tonight and my name wasn't on it, so he called.

"I've got to be there. I didn't know her as well as I did Fred, but Fred was good to me — a good friend. He helped me with contacts time and again... we used to shoot together a lot..."

Wainwright hung up the phone, paused a moment thinking, then turned to Jeff and the others. "The crew was on standby. I just talked to Captain Madison. He's calling them in. He'll call back when they're airborne. We've got time, but the three-hour time difference is in the wrong direction. If I heard you correctly Jeff, the funeral is at twelve with the viewing at eleven? That's eight our time."

At Jeff's nod, Frank continued, "You folks get packed and get to Boulder. Margaret and I will take care of the details. We'll get a couple of suites reserved for you, and transportation. We'll call you on the plane, or if you're asleep, which I think would be a good idea, I'll talk to Madison."

As Jeff walked by, he reached out and squeezed Frank's shoulder, then followed his family to pack. Frank buzzed their suite to tell Margaret she wasn't going to bed quite yet. When she answered, he said, "Jeff has got to make an emergency trip to Georgia tonight. I need you to help me make arrangements. You're better at this than I am. I'll probably manage to piss everybody off. I'm in the living room and I'll tell you all about it when you get here."

Realizing he hadn't asked Jeff which city the funeral was going to be in, he buzzed Jeff's suite. When Melissa answered, he said, "I'm sorry Melissa, but I didn't ask Jeff which airport would be best."

After a moment, she came back on the line. "He said they lived in Athens, but the funeral would be in Atlanta."

"Okay, thanks," he said hanging up.

When Margaret hurried in with her laptop, he said, "Here's the problem..."

As they received clearance to taxi to the runway and hold, muttering almost to herself, Kathy said, "I don't mind takeoffs at night. I don't mind landings at night. I keep worrying about turning onto a runway, thinking it's a taxiway," she said following the signs, and checking the taxi chart yet again, although she knew she was correct.

"If you have any doubt, ask the tower for progressive taxi instructions. You know that. Just relax. But the aircraft is yours. I will assist, but just as in training, the only way to do it — is — to do it. And by the way, you're not the only pilot who worries more about getting confused on the ground at a big airport than they do about flying."

A few minutes later, they were cleared for takeoff and he saw her relax as she brought the engines up, now sure of herself. He smiled as the best student he had ever had, not to mention the prettiest, brought them out of Saint Louis.

Later, at altitude, Madison brought Kathy a cup of coffee. When she smiled her thanks, he returned to the passenger area, poured a cup for himself and picked up the phone.

"Wainwright speaking."

"We're on our way. And... I have a new copilot, but I no longer have a flight attendant."

Wainwright chuckled. "Well, that sentence says a lot. What happened? Did you fire Oakland?"

"No, when I called him, he quit."

"I didn't tell you, but he came to me last week, griping about being put on standby so much lately. I know the last month has been hard on you people, and I'm afraid it's going to continue with the... things that are going on right now."

"I didn't know he did that," Madison said, his voice changing. "What did you tell him?" if you don't mind my asking.

Wainwright laughed. "What do you think I told him? I told him he needed to talk to his boss. He didn't seem pleased. I should have warned you, but I figured you would take care of it if he got out of line."

"Well, I chewed his ass out this morning. That was probably the final straw as far as he was concerned. When I talked to him tonight, he said he had a better job, and well... made a few remarks."

Wainwright chuckled. "Yeah, I'll just bet he did. Now tell me about Kathy. How did she take it?"

"She was ecstatic. She was in the process of asking me if David was on the way, hurrying to change, when I held up her uniform."

"Oh, so you had a uniform ready for her, hmmm?"

"You know damn well I did. She doesn't have the experience, but she's going to make an excellent pilot, and she's got the right attitude for this job."

"I'm just kidding you, Bill. We've already talked about this. Now, were you able to find out if she has any other debts?"

"I've tried to skate around the subject. She's mentioned the two credit cards and the bank loan. I felt like a thief rummaging through her purse to get the credit card account numbers, regardless of our intentions."

"Well, she might not be too pissed at you when she finds out why," Wainwright mused aloud. "Okay, let's do this. I'll get the accounting department to pay off the credit cards and the bank in the morning. I'll send her a fax in a few minutes congratulating her on her new position, telling her we're paying off all her debts that she's incurred because of the training, and I'll add a nice little bonus as well.

"Obviously, I'm not going to be picky about what she's charged for herself, or what has been specifically for training. I'm just going to pay everything off. But you need to sit her down and make sure we have all her bills, and make her understand that I do mean all her bills. If she's behind on rent, utilities, and things like that, I want the bills. She's busted her ass to become a pilot for me, and I want her to know that I appreciate it. Besides, we've paid tuition and books for many of our employees to continue their educations; there is no basic difference in this, except she did it on her own, not really expecting a job — just hoping, and she had to make some major sacrifices to get it done on her salary.

"I'll let payroll know about her job change and sign-on bonus." Thinking for a moment, Wainwright continued. "The company is about to make a whole lot of additional money, and you two have worked your asses off just like the rest of us. It's going to be worth your wile. I know that this standby bullshit has to get old, and it will slack off once all the contracts are signed and we're in production, but it's going to continue for the next several months. It can't be helped. But I know it's fucked your home life."

What home life? Madison thought to himself. And when was the last time I got fucked. Aloud, he said, "I'll call Mr. Matthews cell just before we start our approach."

Wainwright cleared his throat, "Bill, I don't know whether this is doable are not, but they have an event scheduled for Friday night here."

There was a chuckle from the other end of the line. "Looks like Kathy is going to get to swim in the deep water right to start. As soon as we're legal on our down time, we can come back. We might be a little wobbly when we get there though, but I'll make sure we have enough sleep before we come back. We're just starting out a little behind because of already being up all day, and being worn out from all the trips lately."

"Okay, I spoke to Jeff about this a little while ago. The family wants you two to come up for the night, and for the weekend if you don't have to go somewhere else." Hesitating a moment, he added. "Tell you what, I'll call Tingle and tell him you're off until Monday. If anyone just has to go somewhere, they can go commercial."

"Uh, Frank, you know we're not going to be very good company. Both of us are going to be bushed... Probably, another time would be better..."

"Jeff likes you, and Kathy. He wasn't as taken, shall we call it, with Oakland. Trust me on this. The Matthews inviting you two for this is an honor, and something very special. They'll tell you what's going on. Besides, they're already discussing you two sleeping all day Friday."

"Okay, okay," Bill laughed, "You talked me into it. None of this would be a big deal if we hadn't been running back-to-back trips for the last couple of weeks. Kathy is still pumped with adrenalin from the new job, but when that runs out — if it ever does," he laughed, "she's going to need some rest, too. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she gets that fax."

"I know I should wait and give her the letter when she gets here, but damnit, I want to make her first trip as a professional pilot one she will always remember." Then, laughter in his voice, he said, "Margaret is glaring at me to get off the phone so we can get on that letter and fax. Keep us posted."

As soon as he hung up, Margaret kissed him, then pushed back and looked at his face, teasing him. "You men like to gossip as much as women. And the two of you are so proud of yourselves. If you knew she was doing this, why didn't you step in and pay for her schooling and plane rentals?"

Wainwright grinned at her, "Actually, Bill did approach her about sending me a letter saying she wanted to train for a pilot's position. But she nixed the idea as soon as he brought it up. Apparently, she didn't think there was much possibility of her getting the job, and just between the two of us, I think Bill has been putting up with a rash of shit from Oakland, trying to keep the job open for Kathy. He told me he chewed Oakland out today — and probably very justifiably so. But I think he has been stalling for time until Kathy got all her licenses, and he felt she was ready. Oakland quit us; we didn't quit him. Hell, he's made a lot of money the last few months, but apparently he's more interested in a few days off that he can count on every now and then. Can't blame him there. But, right now, that's not what we need from a pilot."

Margaret sat back down at the table in front of her laptop, but turned back to Wainwright. "How did Madison tell Kathy about her new job?"

Frank grinned down at her, leaning on the table. "He held up a new pilot's uniform, and asked her why she didn't wear it, instead."

Margaret turned back to her computer, smiling, "I wish I could have been there. We'll have to get her to tell us all about it. Now check this out and see if it's what you want to say. I modified our standard 'welcome' letter, but I think this will do..."

An hour or so later, they heard the chime of an incoming fax. "How about getting that," Madison said as nonchalantly as he could.

She smiled at him as she went back into the passenger compartment. A moment later he heard her squeal, "Bill, oh Bill!"

She came back into the cockpit, almost frantically maneuvering herself into the copilot's seat. "You knew about this didn't you?" she accused, almost babbling, waving the fax. "You set this up. I know you did. Oh, Bill, he paying off all my bills." Suddenly she got quiet, having read the last line of the letter. "He's giving me a bonus," she quietly said. Then looking out the window for a while, suddenly quiet, she sniffed and added. "I can't believe how much the bonus is. But of course you know."

He didn't, but he had a darn good guess that it was a half-year's salary. Madison handed her a couple of tissues and smiled. Yeah Frank, you do things in style, he thought. You just got yourself another loyal employee for life, if she has her way. And I don't have to put up with a copilot bitching when I tell him, or her, as the case may be, that we're on standby. Of course, now I have to hire a flight attendant. Maybe I can find one that's already trained. We'll just have to make do without one until then. And when in the hell am I going to have time to interview for the job? Maybe Kathy knows somebody. Well, shit.

"That looks like them," Kathy said, peering out the window as the two SUV's pulled close to the plane.

"Wear your cap," Madison said, donning his.

When Kathy turned from the window, he continued. "Yeah, I know what you feel like right now. But that cap adds another level of professionalism when we greet our passengers. You know I always wear mine, and so did Oakland; although, he bitched about it." He had added the comment about Oakland, knowing that Kathy would probably wear the cap now without complaints, just because Oakland had griped.