NaNoWriMo 2022
High Flight
American Kingdom 11.2
Previous scene:
I thought she might have settled into one of the passenger seats back in the cabin, reclined the back and gone to sleep, but it was only ten minutes before she returned.
Two mugs, a thermos full of hot coffee, creamer and sugar. Two crusty po’boys; she handed one to me and perched hers on a tiny fold-down table. I found mine and did the same.
Yum. Shrimp and salad.
“I’ve got fish on mine. We can swap if you want.”
“Atlantic flounder,” I said. “From the Marina; we ate there yesterday. No, I’m good. You can have a bite or two of mine if you want?”
“No, that would be pushing things. Seafood is a risk for a pilot. Best we stick to one each. You’ve seen the Airplane movie, surely?”
“Yes, I have. And don’t call me Shirley.”
We laughed together.
“I think every pilot knows every line,” she said. “Hey, I’ve been hearing some interesting things about you. You had someone hold a knife to your throat?”
“My ex-partner stalked me to a friend’s home where I was asleep on the sofa and threatened me with a chisel. This morning. That’s why I’m here.”
“To seek revenge?”
“No, to get right away. He was putting my friends in danger. He wanted me to come back to him and that wasn’t going to happen.”
I gave Dee some of the details as we ate lunch and the Appalachians appeared, ridge on ridge, below us.
“God’s country,” I said.
“Sure is. You should see the Rockies, though. Up in Colorado they rise straight up out of the prairie. On a clear day in Fall there is no prettier sight. I get down among the high valleys and give my passengers a real show.”
“Do you do this full time?”
“I wish!” She laughed. “For me this is getting away from everything — much like yourself except nobody is holding a chisel to my throat — and it’s my way of getting closer to our Lord.”
“I hear you. We’re lifted by the hand of the Almighty, seeing with His eyes. I wish I could have some of those atheists look down upon the glory of His Creation and say that nobody made it.”
“Sometimes I dance among the clouds. You get a high thunderhead lit up by the setting sun and sparkling from inside with lightning, it’s like holding the hand of the King and sharing His thoughts.
“Molly, I fly when I can. If it means I can get away from the ranch and my duties as a wife, a grandmother, and a leader, I don’t mind putting on a uniform and being nice to clients. They pay us well for the ride and I try to put on a show.”
“I felt the same way in Charleston, showing off the city to tourists. People from all over the world, and at the end of the day we’d ride fast along the river, laughing and whooping. There’s no better feeling.”
Suddenly tears pricked my eyes as I thought of what had slipped out of my hands. My words dried up.
Dee glanced over, reached out and squeezed my shoulder. I yelped.
“Sorry,” I said. “I fell off my bike, hard. You should see my whole left side. It’s all purple and yellow and blue. I’m a regular rainbow.”
“Oh, Molly, I’m sorry. I should have seen that bandage.” She pointed to my elbow. “Have you had it looked at?”
I giggled as I thought of Brian looking at me, a gun in his hand, while I stood naked and outraged, dripping with suds.
“Oh, I had a lawyer put the bandage on. She gave me some painkiller champagne from California. And her husband topped my meds up with a nice red.”
“Oh, you mean Brian, sorry, Sir Brian. Helicopter driver.”
“Yes, and his wife Marion, Duchess of Dallas.”
“Oh, I could tell you some tales about Lady Marion. You definitely want to stay in her good books. Texas is littered with the graves of her enemies.
Something on my side caught my eye. A glint of sunlight on metal. There was urgency in my voice as I realised it was an aircraft, no several aircraft, moving in fast. “Dee! Look!”
“Where?”
What? Twelve o’clock high? Starboard? I pointed.
Dee followed my finger.
“Hang on, Molly. This could get interesting. Air Force F-16s, I think.”
Next chapter:
The whole story (NaNoWriMo 2022 work in progress)
