Chapter 12

Day Twelve: Thursday

The next morning for some reason I awoke unusually early, before sunrise, and decided to sit outside and wait for everyone else to arise. As I walked out the dogs barked an excited greeting. To keep them quiet I went over, knelt and petted them. They repaid my effort by giving my face a tongue bath. It had been quite a while since I had time to give the dogs more than a passing glance and as I filled their water dishes I tried to focus my mind on the day's events.

The first thing I saw was several small changes that were needed on the work rosters. Sheila always did a good job but I knew she wasn't a mind reader. I moved the people I had assigned to the blackball committee from the groups they were assigned to for the day. I wanted that group to meet and come up with a list so we could quickly add as many Piney Woods residents as possible to our group.

As I worked on that Sheila, who was already up, brought me a cup of coffee. She sat down next to me and said, "I started to bring the list to you last night to find out where to add the new members. You looked so tired I just used my own judgment. From now on I will try to have the roster ready the evening before so you can check it."

I smiled at her and said, "The way we're adding new people there will most likely always be changes. I'm making this change because I want the blackball committee to get an early start, not because of new people. Your judgment is as good as mine as to where they work."

As Sheila got up and started to walk away I asked, "Do you have another minute or two you can spare?"

She laughed as she sat down and then remarked, "It's a wonder with all you do that you have any time at all to talk to an old lady."

I got straight to the point and asked, "Are you doing okay? I know I've put a lot on your plate and none of its easy stuff. Still you've managed to do things like my laundry and stocking my refrigerator and who knows what else that I don't even know about. I really appreciate all that you've done but I want you to promise me to take it a little easier. Teach the younger ones how to do stuff and then let them do it if possible."

She almost looked embarrassed at my praise and studied her hands as she said, "I don't do that much. Heck, I don't know how to do that much. I'm just a poor country girl. I figure I'm living on borrowed time anyway. If you hadn't of decided to come looking for me I would be resting in my grave right now. Instead of that I've found someone to share my evenings with and feel more alive now than I have in years. I'll do what I can as long as I'm able."

That was what I liked about all of these farming people. They all worked hard but they expected to work hard. They even looked for new things to do while they were working. I reached over and gave Sheila a big hug. She was one special lady. At exactly the same moment I hugged Sheila, Jim walked out of his suite nearby and said, "Ah ha, caught you." I jumped and he laughed. He winked and came over and gave Sheila a proper hug and a good morning kiss. Turning to me he said, "Haven't you got enough good looking women of your own? This one's spoken for."

I smiled and said, "I know and you're a damn lucky man, Jim. We're both very lucky men. You all rested and ready to go today?"

Jim looked over at Sheila and said, "I've been sleeping better the past two nights than any man has a right to do. I think it's the company I've been keeping."

Sheila blushed and gave Jim a kiss on his cheek and then said, "I better get busy. We're going to need a lot more coffee this morning. I've got to find some larger coffee pots."

Jim and I watched her leave and Jim then said, "I never thought I'd find love again at my age. Now if we can just find a preacher that ain't screwed up I may even get married again." Changing the subject he asked, "Boss, what we got going on today?"

I thought and said, "Mopping up I suppose. I can't do much until everyone agrees who we should visit. I think I'm gonna get others to do those visits by truck though. With the number of people we have now we ought to be able to move those people down here, get ready for livestock and planting and still do some searches. If there are that many people in one small area still here then I imagine there are more out there waiting to be found. I've decided to concentrate the next searches along the coast. I know several of us were on boats when it happened. The only problem is trying to figure out where people went when they came ashore. I also think we need to identify what other resources we have in other places, especially other area bases."

Jim asked, "What can I do to help? Before all this happened I kinda' got used to sittin' on my ass. I blamed that damned arthritis on the weather but hell, a lot of it was me spending my time doing nothing. Over the past few days I've almost felt like a young man again. I need to keep busy."

Looking at the duty roster I had just changed I said, "I've saddled you, along with the rest of what I've called the 'blackball committee', with the job of listing all your neighbors and then asking around so we can decide who we should approach to join us. You will also have the pleasure of helping relocate them. It's going to be a big job."

I had just filled Jim in on the specifics of his assignment for the day when my attention was diverted by, Lana and Laura, who chose that moment to step out of their suite. Jim noticed my distraction and smiled. He said, "Well, I'd better get over and see if I can help Sheila find those coffee pots. Sometimes she works too hard."

I got up and put the lists back on the center table where they had been lying and refreshed my coffee from the small carafe on the table. I noticed that Lana had followed Jim towards the kitchen where Sheila was working and Laura was moving towards where I had been sitting. My thoughts had been to waken my mates but thinking about our conversations last night I walked to where Laura was now sitting. I asked, "Mind if I sit down?"

Laura answered, "I was hoping you might."

I thought for a moment and then said, "My mates pinned me to the couch last night and let me know I haven't made the effort I should have to get to know you and Lana. They were right and I apologize for not making time for you."

Laura held up her hand as if to interrupt but I said, "Wait, and let me finished saying what I need to say. They also told me that they have gotten to know you better during the past couple of days and think you will fit right in. They want you to be a part of our marriage but have left the final decision with me. I want you as well, but..."

The 'but' hardly got out of my mouth when I was almost pushed over backward by a squealing Laura, who had jumped into my arms and was smothering me with kisses. The 'but' must have caught up to her mind after a moment because she immediately backed off of the kisses and asked, "But what?"

I smiled and said, "It's hard to remember ... Oh yeah, but I don't know whether it would be fair to you."

Laura looked puzzled and asked, "Why wouldn't it be fair to us?"

I continued, "I just think you may have built up unreasonable expectations as to what kind of a man I am. I'm a good bit older than any of you. There will be five women in our family and only one man. I may be selfish, but I couldn't tolerate another man joining our marriage and I can't hope to, uhhh, perform well enough to satisfy all of you at the same time. You understand what I'm saying?"

I knew I was blushing and Laura was looking at me as if she was having a problem keeping a straight face. Finally she said, "Steve, I ... I don't have much experience, well, I don't have any experience with a man, other than kissing. From what I've read no man can keep up with even one demanding woman. Still Kari, Irene and Julie are satisfied and don't seem to worry about us, uhhh, diluting their pleasure. They wouldn't give us any details but they hinted that they have, uhhh, physical relationships with not just you but with each other."

She blushed as the door to my suite opened and Irene and Julie walked out. Then she quickly said, "That's the only type of physical relationships Lana and I have ever had."

Irene came up to us then and teased, "Damn Steve, you work fast. Shouldn't you take her inside for that? I mean, there will be small children out here in a few minutes."

Laura blushed again and Julie added, "Yeah, when we said you should hurry up and get to know them we didn't mean that in the biblical sense, and surely not in public."

I said, "Stop it! You're embarrassing Laura. We were just talking."

Irene picked up a napkin, laughed and said, "It must have been some talk then. I mean it looks like you're wearing lipstick."

Julie piped in, "And you're not very good at applying it either, it's all around your face. Seriously, if you want to neck with him Laura, you need to make him take you inside."

I thought and said, "Laura, go get Lana. I'll meet you inside my suite." I looked at Irene and Julie and said, "I think we all need to talk."

Julie said, "Oh, goodie, I'll go put on some lipstick."

She and Irene started howling, got their coffee and headed back to our suite.

I hollered after them, "Put on a pot of coffee inside, this may take a while."

It took a few minutes but soon there were six of us sitting in the small living room. No one said anything. Kari had wiped the last of the lipstick off of my face laughing at me after saying something about my being branded for life. They were all unusually quiet, as if they were waiting on me to say something. I savored the moment trying to stretch it out as long as possible. Finally the tension rose to the point that I began to laugh. I looked around and saw five beautiful ladies looking at me and not one of them smiling. Their somber expressions muted those feelings that had swept over me and my laughter died off. "Sorry, you sat there looking so serious that it struck me as funny."

I recounted the crux of my conversation outside with Laura and then continued. "The thing is that each of you is so beautiful, talented and smart that I am overwhelmed that you would want me. Hell, I'd be lucky just to have one of you. Each morning I wake up and feel like a nine year old on Christmas morning when I look around the bed. Then there's the job of keeping all five of you satisfied."

Kari said, "That's a job? Last night you didn't act like it was any sacrifice. As I recall you went to sleep with a big smile on your face."

I tried to smile and said, "That's not what I meant. I've known for a long time that Lana and Laura wanted to be my mates."

Turning to them I continued, "Your dad told me that was what you wanted on the second day you were here. At first I had a hard time believing that was what you really wanted but after I accepted the idea I had to wait for Kari, Irene and Julie to come and tell me they wanted the same thing. They told me that last night. The only way our marriage can work is if it is between each of us. That means that each of you is not just my wife but a partner to each of the others. My talk with Laura this morning left me assured that she and Lana feel the same way."

Laura said, "Lana and I realized almost from the start that we would be joining with each of you. Almost from the first moment we were in love with Steve. What was amazing was that as soon as we figured out you were already committed to Kari, Julie and Irene we weren't jealous but we were envious and wanted to become a part of your marriage."

Lana nodded in agreement. I looked from one set of watery eyes to another. As I saw the love in each set of eyes I was humbled and my eyes too became watery. I got down on my knees in front of all five and asked, "Would you Irene, Julie, Kari, Lana and Laura join with me in marriage?"

Through teary eyes I saw them each nod and whisper yes. The next few minutes were chaotic as each of us hugged and kissed the other. I normally close my eyes while I kiss but this morning I was too busy watching Lana swallowing Kari's tongue while her sister was trying to do the same to mine. After those five kisses, each more passionate that the last, I wondered again where I would get the energy to keep up with these beautiful women.

As soon as we caught our breath Lana said, "I think we ought to announce our intentions this evening and hold our ceremony in the morning, at sunrise."

It was agreed that I would make the announcement that evening. As soon as we parted I went searching for Tom. I needed to let him know so this wouldn't come as a surprise. I managed to find him at the table eating and told him the good news. Janet was sitting next to Tom as he said, "I'm sure Janet heard what you said. There won't be any need to make a formal announcement this evening, everyone in camp will know before lunch." He then started laughing.

Janet didn't look upset at what he had said. She just added, "It's true that everyone will know by lunchtime, but I think Tom will spread the news faster than I will." Nodding her head towards where my wives-to-be were busy talking to a group of ladies she said, "I think that by the time breakfast is over with most will already know."

I tried to grab a quick breakfast so I could head towards the flight line but instead spent most of the morning receiving 'best wishes' from my fellow survivors. Several of the men kidded me by asking if I intended to also take all new single women as my mates. That started the joking. The first joke I heard was that the reason the blackball committee was working so hard was to draft enough men to build us a wedding bed. The second was a query as to who would lead the camp while I recovered from my honeymoon. There were others — I knew we all needed humor and hopefully none of the jokers were too serious. Eventually the groups joined up and everyone headed out to work.

Kari, Laura, Billy and Ron Simmons went with me to the flight line. Our goal was for three short familiarization flights during the afternoon. Ron was almost bubbling over with enthusiasm. We suited everyone up and Kari acted as plane captain with Ron under training while Laura manned the MCP. Billy was my observer for the first flight. This would make up for his missed opportunity three days earlier. I felt a bit nervous as Billy was the youngest passenger I had ever taken up in the T-34. I knew instructors that had taken their families up, one at a time, but the Navy had put a stop to that after a pilot's wife was injured during a training flight. Still, I took longer with Billy's briefing and was very specific with him about his responsibilities.

Billy ended up being a pleasure to fly with. He was observant and questioning and there was no doubt in my mind that one day I would get a great deal of pleasure from teaching him to fly. Heading south almost as soon as we departed the base, I increased airspeed to maximum cruising speed to move past the areas we had searched earlier. My plans called for flying to the coast at Navarre Beach while skirting the edge of the Eglin Air Force Base reservation. Eglin was made up of a portion of what was Santa Rosa County on the west, almost half of Okaloosa County in the center and a small portion of Walton County to the east. As a whole it was the largest military reservation east of the Mississippi River. Serious trips to both Eglin Field and Hurlburt Field would be in order sometime in the future. There were much larger and more sophisticated aircraft at Eglin that I wanted to move to Whiting Field along with ordinance and required maintenance equipment.

After we reached Santa Rosa Sound I decreased airspeed and descended to about 500 feet, a good observation altitude. I began to search for any activity at the marinas or boat basins in the area. I had planned the next search to check for the same activity near Gulf Breeze and at Pensacola Beach. We flew fairly low along the waterline but saw nothing more than boats sitting in wet slips and tied up along the way. We made two passes, first checking the gulf beaches and the marinas on the back side of that barrier island. The second pass allowed us to check Navarre proper and the marinas on the mainland. If there was anyone in the area they were hiding pretty well. I flew low over where I suspected Chuck Nagley would have berthed Emma's Toy and saw her there in a wet slip near a small one story cinder block house. Chuck had made it back but there was no sign of life at the house.

We flew over Midway, halfway between Navarre and Gulf Breeze, and then I pulled the plane up and we headed north checking the inland canals and homes. Billy concentrated on peering out the right side of the aircraft while I scanned out the left side. Again, there were large tracts of vacation homes and residential subdivisions tucked away among the swampy and sometimes wooded bayous. We worked our way north along the Yellow River, really no more than a large creek, spotting nothing but returning abundant bird life and an occasional pack of wild dogs. Billy became quieter the further we traveled as the absence of any humanity pressed on us as if it was a heavy weight.

I lifted the plane higher and increased air speed as we reached an area that I had over flown on an earlier trip. Billy was still quiet and I think he almost welcomed the landing a few moments later. We taxied into the flight line ending the two hour flight.

Kari and Ron met us at the flight line. As we deplaned I watched Laura drive up in a fuel truck. I motioned her to the correct spot and explained how to hook up the grounding wires and properly fuel the aircraft. As we fueled the aircraft I noticed Jim drive up to the MCP in a security truck. As soon as we completed refueling I walked over to the MCP as Laura moved the fuel truck. As soon as Laura arrived Billy and I debriefed Kari on the search as she marked the searched areas on the map.

Jim waited patiently until we were finished and then pulled out a spreadsheet with the results of the blackball committee meeting. There were nine additional families in the Piney Woods community. Jim said the committee recommended that all nine families be invited to the base.

I guess my surprise showed because Jim explained, "We ended up discussing it and decided there was no real reasons for excluding any of those folks."

I raised my eyebrows at that and he continued, "They're all farmers and most grew up with a strong faith centered in the bible as the word of God. Most of them have attended that little church all of their lives and have come to believe that the preacher is God's interpreter of the bible. For the most part that faith has served them well. They ended up putting too much reliance in the preacher and forgot that he was only a man."

I asked, "What did Sarah say about the decision?"

Jim continued, "Sarah couldn't really fault any church members other than her family. She's still bitter that they failed to protect her and forced her into something against her will. Her, Norma and Phyllis have lost faith in others looking out for them. They agree that their families should be allowed to live here as long as they are allowed to live separately, away from those families. I've put it to all the other adults and they all agreed; provided that it's okay with you."

I agreed with the committee's decision and it was unanimous. Jim then said that he figured the committee and several others would drive up to the farms on the list in the morning and approach them about joining us. Tom had told him that enough fencing would be in place by then to corral most of the cows and horses. Enclosures for pigs and chickens would take some additional building but should be finished in a couple of days. Jim expected that we would have to build several hay barns to feed the number of animals we were expecting. Tom figured to augment his crew from the new arrivals and thought that an old fashioned 'barn raising' would be in order.

After talking to Jim I realized that we wouldn't be able to get the next familiarization flight back before lunch. I spent about an hour checking the two helos and showing Ron, Billy and Laura how to operate a grease gun and service the gearboxes. Billy and Laura showed only passing interest but Ron seemed to be interested in the mechanical components of the different aircraft and how they worked. I ended up promising him that he and I would fly over to NAS Pensacola and retrieve training materials that the Navy used to teach jet mechanics and metal smiths. Ron and I kept talking and meandered through the T-34 maintenance hangar after Laura and Billy lost interest and headed back to the MCP. We lost track of time and were standing on a maintenance platform with our heads buried in the cowling of a T-34 when I felt a tug on the cuff of my pants. I looked down to see Kari with her hands on her hips glaring up at me. She said, "I know you two would rather talk about airplanes than eat but it's time for lunch and if you don't hop down right now you're going to have to walk to get it." She grinned to soften her harsh words and turned to walk back to the MCP.

I nudged Ron, who was staring at Kari's retreating figure, and we quickly climbed down off the stand. On the way out we stopped at one of the waterless hand cleaning stations and cleaned the grease off of our hands. As soon as we got to the MCP Kari grinned at Laura and said, "You're going to have to get used to the fact that Steve spends more time with these airplanes than us." I think Laura started to say something but looked at Billy and decided against it. I figured I would hear something from her later.

Lunch time brought even more kidding from all the men. Some of the jokes centered on a betting pool that Frank Willoby had proposed. Seems he wanted to take wagers on when I would be adding Sarah Michaels to my marriage. I just hoped that there was no jealousy and was afraid that when Sarah or the other young women heard that they might not be amused. I got up from my lunch when I heard talk of the pool and went over and stood next to Frank who was busy regaling Tom with what sounded like a sales talk for a particular tractor. As soon as I had his attention I asked him to take a walk with me.

As Frank got up from the table he looked around at the men sitting with him and said, "Sure Steve, what can I help you with." He made the statement a little louder than necessary as if to announce to the table that I had sought him out.

I walked away from the table forcing him to play keep up. As soon as we were far enough from the table that no one could overhear I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Frank, that joke about the betting pool almost made me laugh. If it had been about just me I would have laughed harder than anyone here. The only problem that if gets back to Sarah she might not think it's funny. She's been through a rough time with Pastor Sam and that crowd and she's feeling pretty rough right now. We need to be sensitive to that. Do you understand?"

Frank had looked me in the eyes from the beginning but as I began to talk and mentioned Sarah, he looked down and failed to return my gaze. As I finished he said, "I guess I was a little out of line. I didn't mean anything by it, it's just something that came into my mind and kinda popped out of my mouth before I thought about it. I won't repeat it again."

I looked at him and he seemed contrite so I said, "I don't mean to put the damper on your merriment. We need to joke and kid around about ourselves. Jokes can relieve tension and help us bear up to the heavy responsibilities that we share. We just need to be careful we don't hurt someone." With that I shook his hand and we returned to the table.

Irene looked up at me as if to ask what all that was about and I mouthed 'later' to her and smiled. We discussed the foray north to talk to the other nine families during the remainder of lunch. Sheila sat at the table with us and when the new families were mentioned said, "Steve, I don't think we have enough units remaining around the courtyard to fit nine families. We may want to think about eating inside the building across the street. I've checked it out and they have a commercial kitchen and two full dining rooms over there."

The dining facility that she referred to was the old officer's club. I winked and said, "Sheila as far as I'm concerned that decision is yours. It sounds like a great idea to me. Eventually it's going to rain too hard to eat out here anyway."

I finished eating and immediately headed back to the flight line. Laura suggested Ron fly the next familiarization flight with me. Ron was both nervous and excited about the flight. After mapping out the flight with Kari we moved out of the MCP to the flight line to ready the aircraft for the flight. I realized that we really needed to paint a couple of more planes so we could rotate aircraft.

As I walked out to the flight line I unconsciously tilted my head back to maximize the warmth of the Florida sun on my face. It was as if the sun not only warmed my face but suffused my entire being. That small commonplace pleasure seemed to warm my soul and further lift my spirits. I stopped in my tracks for a moment to glory in this almost perfect day.

Laura, who was walking with us to help with the preflight, looked at me strangely as I slowly returned to reality. She shook her head, laughed and gave me a smile that that seemed to warm me almost as much as the sun's rays. We finished the preflight without a word being exchanged and my last glance at Laura was of her standing by the fire extinguisher as we departed the flight line. The early afternoon was perfect flying weather and we lifted off as if to greet the sun that warmed us. Ron was not quiet like Billy, but constantly asked pointed questions about the mechanics of flight. He had a keen awareness of the aircraft instruments and controls while still being able to monitor the search area. He questioned why I kept a certain altitude and speed and had many other questions about the performance of the aircraft. The questions seemed well reasoned and similar to those I remembered hearing from a midshipman I once took on a familiarization flight as he tried to decide between a career as an aviator or one as a submarine officer.

As I listened to his questions I increased speed and altitude and headed south again for our search area along the coast. The sparsely populated area we were flying over was one that I had crisscrossed many, many times over the years. Ron's questions drew almost automatic responses from those memories as we chewed up chunks of sky heading south. All of a sudden Ron's question was not one I could answer on automatic and it went right by me without registering. I was so surprised with the question that I ended up having to ask him to repeat it. The question had nothing to do with the aircraft or even with any of the area we were flying over. Ron asked, "Are you planning on marrying Phyllis Dixon?"

I almost laughed, as this sounded like some of the kidding from earlier in the day, but he seemed serious and obviously expected an answer. Forgetting what my mom told me about answering a question with a question, I asked, "Why would you think that?"

Ron hesitated and then blurted out, "I heard the men talking about when you were going to ask the other single women to join your marriage." He was breathing heavy at the end of that statement, having pumped the words out of his mouth at least mach 1. I started to laugh and then realized that he was as serious about what he was talking about as he was about flying. I paused and thought of how to phrase my answer.

Finally I replied, "Ron that started out as a joke by one of the men who was trying to kid me after I announced that Lana and Laura had agreed to join my family. You have to admit it's strange for a man to have more than one wife and people always joke about things that are strange."

Ron said, "Oh, I thought it might be something like that."

I didn't exactly know where to go with the conversation from there but I didn't want to leave it at that. Ron had acted mature for his age and yet 15 is an age where most young men have more questions than answers. I simply said, "Ron, I truly love and respect each one of the women that has chosen to live her life with me. Each partner in our marriage is a unique person who has decided to love and honor not only me but each other. It has to be that way for things to work. Hell, I'm new at this and while I can't say we won't add another to our marriage I really doubt that will ever happen."

Then I asked him, "Do you have a special interest in Phyllis?"

Ron was quiet for a moment as if deciding what to say. His voice was almost a whisper as he answered, "Yes sir."

I thought for a moment he was going to explain but he remained quiet. I added, "Phyllis is a lovely young woman but she has been badly hurt by her family and those she trusted. I haven't spoken to her directly, but I think Sarah spoke for all of them when she said they no longer trusted their families and wanted to live together. All of them will probably need some time to heal before they will ready to think about love and marriage. I think that the young man that wins her heart will have to be gentle and give her time to heal."