Chapter 11

"Mom! Dad! They've got TWO airplanes!" Susan squealed.

I shook hands with Mike. "It's not that big a deal. Really. The big one's four seats, and less than an RV, and the little one's two seats and less than a new bass boat. Or a good used pickup truck."

"Still, it sounds impressive," Mike said.

We sat around the table and ordered fried seafood and talked while we were waiting on its arrival. Kathy dove right in. "Susan said you RESCUED Tina at gunpoint?!?"

"It's not nearly as heroic as you make it sound," I said. Tina and I recounted part of the story. "She ended up with no place to go, and I offered her a place to stay until she got sorted out."

"I was stuck. No relatives. Evacuating ahead of a hurricane. And Alan offered. The deputy sheriff talked to me. Told me that if Alan treated me wrong, to call 'im. Alan..."

Kathy looked at me. "Just out of the clear blue, you offered?"

"Yeah," I said. "If it would've been a boy her age, I would've offered. I was just trying to help somebody who needed helping."

"Just sounds kind of ... you know..."

"Oh, believe me, I DO know ... Last thing I wanted was to take advantage of her. If you think it looks strange, you oughtta see it from my side..." I looked at Mike. "What would YOU do?"

Mike smiled. "I like to think I'm that honorable."

"You weren't when you were eighteen," Kathy said.

"Uh ... Mommmmm!" Susan squealed.

"I'm sorry, Alan. Tina. It's just, you know..." Kathy admitted.

"I know," I said. "The age thing..."

"Just numbers, Mizz Kathy," Tina said. "I've seen some absolutely HORRIBLE relationships in my life, and the people involved were the 'proper' age for each other."

"He bought her an airplane, Mom. She's in high school, an' she's at the top of her class, an' she's learning to fly. Obviously we need to see that he gets some pointers on exploitation." Susan folded her arms.

I was thinking 'Way to go, Susan!"

Mike chuckled. "Yeah, I'd say he's missing that whole 'exploitation' thing."

"Okay ... okay... , ya'll made your point. I am just wrong..." Kathy said.

"No, Kathy, ' I said. "You're just cautious, and that's not a bad thing."

"Thank you for your generosity, Alan," Kathy said, "but I'm afraid my motives weren't as pure as one would hope."

""But you're over it," Mike said. "Besides, here's fried catfish. That's sure to bring on benevolent thoughts."

"Tell me again why I married you?" She laughed.

Susan rolled her eyes.

"I think it's cute," Tina said.

Dinner became a lot more relaxed. We talked about college choices for Susan and Tina and my work and Mike's and Kathy's.

"And they're flying to Louisiana this weekend," Susan said.

Tina smiled. "I get to meet my sister-in-law for the first time, face to face."

I told Kathy, "If you think YOU had reservations, you oughtta hear what my sister told me..."

That got a giggle from Tina.

"My sister is woefully conventional," I said.

Mike snickered and got punched in the bicep.

"Lacking in imagination..."

Kathy eyed Mike. "Don't!"

He snickered anyway. Got punched again. "So you're flying down there in your plane?"

"Yep!" Tina grinned. "We'll leave at seven and get there before noon. And fly back on Sunday."

"Heck of a way to travel," he said.

"Sounds FUN!" Susan said. "They're gonna take me flying..."

"Is it safe?" Kathy asked.

"Mooo-ommm!" Susan whined.

"Safer than the drive to the airport, Kathy. Really."

"Safer than Cousin Robby's four-wheeler," Susan said.

Mike said, "My nephew flipped his four-wheeler horsing around. Broken arm. Caved in face."

"Horsing around?"

"Yeah," Mike said. "You know the saying? 'Hold mah beer an' watch this!'? It was like that..."

"There's a lot of truth in that joke," I said. "Sometimes I look back an' wonder how I made it this far..."

"Him too," Kathy laughed. "You're looking at Mister Dirt Bike ... into the door of a pickup truck." Giggle.

"Wasn't too bad. Twenty-eight stitches! That scar right here." He pointed to his forehead.

We finished our meal pleasantly and parted ways with Tina driving us home since we were in her car.

"That was interesting," she opined.

"'Interesting' is a good word for it. I thought Kathy was getting wound up."

"Me too," she said. "But she's not a MEAN person. I think she just wanted to understand..."

"Maybe that's it," I said.

The week went well. Mid-week, Tina went to the airport and came back giggling, showing her logbook with her first hour of instruction toward her private license. Milestone! Studying for her written exam became something we interspersed between her schoolwork.