Wings. Part 17

"I'll be sure to warn her," Ca.s.sie said softly. She was happy with him, she always had been, even now they were more like friends than lovers, except for the sudden fervor of his kisses.

"What about Valentine's Day?" he suggested. "It's sort of corny, but I like it. What do you think?" He sounded as though he were planning the tour, but she didn't mind that. She was used to Desmond being in control of things, but she also knew that he respected her opinions.

It was all so romantic. She was marrying a man that any woman in the world would have given her right arm to be married to, and he wanted to marry her on Valentine's Day. How much more perfect could it get, she asked herself. Not much... except if Nick had felt any different... But she wouldn't let herself think that. She couldn't. She would hold onto the dream of him forever, but that's all it was now.

"Valentine's Day is less than two months away," she said, looking startled. "Will we have a big wedding?" She was looking down at her ring, and flashing it. It looked like a headlamp. Everything seemed so unreal. It had been a remarkable evening.

"Do you like it?" he asked, as he pulled her closer again and kissed her.

"I love it." She had never even seen a diamond that size, nor had anyone she knew. It was beyond amazing. And so was Desmond Williams.

"In answer to your question," he said, with a smile, as she flashed her ring at him again and sipped champagne, with a giggle, "no, I don't think we should have a big wedding. I think we should have a very small one, with only special people in attendance." He kissed her again, and explained, "This may be your first wedding, my love... but it's not mine. I think the third time one ought to be discreet, so as to generate a minimum of comment."

"Oh..." She hadn't thought of it, but he was right. And they couldn't be married in the church if he was divorced. She wondered if her parents would mind terribly, though her parents had never been very religious. "What are you, by the way?" she asked innocently. She had never even thought to ask him. "I'm Catholic."

He smiled. She was still a child sometimes, and he loved that. "I suspected that. I'm Episcopalian. But I think a nice friendly judge would do just fine, don't you?" Feeling herself swept away on his tides, she nodded. "And you'll need a beautiful dress... I'd say, something short but very elegant, in white satin. And a hat with a small veil. It's a shame we can't order something from Paris..." Hats from Paris, fifteen-carat rings... marriage to Desmond Williams on Valentine's Day. Suddenly she was staring at him, wondering if she had dreamed it all, but she hadn't. He was sitting there, talking about white dresses and hats with veils, and she was wearing the biggest diamond she had ever seen, as she looked up at him, and tears filled her eyes. She looked like a child as she sat there beside him.

"Desmond, tell me I'm not dreaming."

"You're not dreaming, my love. And we are engaged. And very soon, you'll be married to me, for better or worse, forever." He looked ecstatic and triumphant.

"Do you want to get married here?" she asked quietly, leaning against him. It was too much to absorb, she almost felt weak looking at him, and suddenly she realized more than she ever had before, how powerful he was, and how handsome. He had a quiet s.e.xuality that he kept in control at all times, but now she could sense his nearness to her, and his interest. He hadn't stopped kissing her since he'd proposed, and she was almost feeling dizzy.

"I think we should get married here. It's not as though we can have a church wedding in Illinois, Ca.s.s. I think this is simpler, more discreet, and requires fewer explanations."

"I guess you're right. I hope my parents come."

"Of course they will We'll fly them out for it. They can stay at the Beverly Wilshire."

"My mother will die." She grinned.

"I hope not." And then he took her in his arms again, and forgot all the arrangements. She was so young, so sweet, so pure, he almost felt guilty kissing her, and there was so much more he wanted now. But it was still too soon, and he knew it.

He seemed to have to force himself to leave that night, and he called her the moment he got home, and then again, as he always did, at three-thirty the next morning. They chatted like old friends, and it was exciting knowing that soon she would be his wife, and she would share his life forever. And together, they decided not to tell anyone, until she had told her parents. They both knew that the entire country would be very excited.

He took her to the airport himself and as usual, she had checked out a plane to fly home. But this time, he told her repeatedly to be careful.

"It hasn't affected my brain, you know. Or maybe it has," She grinned, kissing him again. She noticed one of the ground crew watching them and smiling. "It'll be all over the papers if you don't watch out."

"Something more dramatic might end up in the papers, if you don't hurry up and marry me soon, Miss O'Malley."

"You only asked me last night! Give me a chance to get a dress and some shoes for heaven's sake. You don't expect me to get married in my uniform, do you?"

"I might. Or less. Maybe I should have come to Illinois with you." But he was only teasing. She knew he had too much to do to go anywhere, with all the plans for the Pacific tour. But she was still sorry he wasn't going.

"My parents are going to be disappointed that you didn't," she said sincerely. Especially when they heard the news. She still couldn't believe it herself, even when she saw his ring on her finger. And she would never forget how sweet he'd been when he'd asked her.

"Fly safely, my love," he warned her again, and a few minutes later he left the plane, and waved as he watched her from the runway. She took off easily, and the flight was smooth. She had plenty of time to think of him, and Nick, along the way. Her heart still ached for him, but he had made his choice, so had she. They both had to move on now.

The flight to Good Hope took exactly seven hours. She landed at dinnertime and the first person she saw at the airport was Billy.

"Ready to come to California with me next week?" she asked, but she didn't need to. He was ready to leave that night. For weeks now, it was all he could think of. And then as she signed her log, he noticed her ring, and stared down at it in amazement.

"What's that that? A flying saucer?"

"More or less." She grinned up at him, feeling awkward suddenly. But she'd have to tell him sooner or later. "Actually, it's my engagement ring. Desmond and I got engaged last night"

"You did? did?" He stared at her in disbelief, knowing that was impossible. Or was it? "What about Nick?"

"What about Nick?" she asked coolly.

"Okay... sorry I asked... but does he know? Did you tell him?" She shook her head in answer. "Are you going to? Did you write him?"

"He doesn't write to me," she said unhappily. Why was Billy trying to make her feel guilty? "He'll find out sooner or later."

"Yeah I guess," Billy said, confused by what she'd done. Ever since he'd met them, he had known how much she and Nick loved each other. "He's going to be very upset, isn't he?" Billy said quietly and she nodded, fighting back tears. But she had made her decision, and she couldn't let Desmond down now. He wanted her to be his wife. Nick didn't. He had said so. But still, being back home made Nick all the more real, which only made it harder for her.

"I can't help Nick's being upset," she told Billy quietly. "He didn't want any ties to me when he left. He said he wanted me to marry someone else." She looked at him sadly.

"I hope he meant it," Billy said softly, and drove her home to her parents. Everyone was there waiting for her, and it was only a matter of moments before one of her sisters let out a scream, pointing at her finger.

"Oh, my G.o.d, what is it?" Megan asked, and Glynnis and Colleen pointed it out to their mother, who was playing with the children.

"I think it's a light bulb," Colleen's husband explained.

"I think it must be," Megan teased, as her parents exchanged a look. Ca.s.sie hadn't said anything when she called them.

"It's my engagement ring," Ca.s.sie said calmly.

"I figured that much out," Glynnis said. "Who's the lucky guy? Alfred Vanderbilt? Who is it?"

"Desmond Williams." Almost as soon as she said his name, as though on cue, the phone rang. It was Desmond. "I just told them," she explained. "My sisters went into shock when they saw my ring."

"What did your parents say?"

"They haven't had a chance to say anything yet."

"May I speak to your father, Ca.s.sie?" Desmond asked gently, and she pa.s.sed the phone to him, and after that, Desmond talked to her mother. Her sisters were all going wild by then, and her brothers-in-law were teasing her. She had just told them she was getting married in Los Angeles on Valentine's Day, and Desmond was going to fly her patents out for the wedding.

Her parents had come back from the phone by then. Her mother was crying softly, which she did a lot these days, and she hugged Ca.s.sie close to her. "He sounds like such a nice man. He promised me he'd always take care of you like a little girl," She kissed Ca.s.sie then, and Pat seemed pleased as well. The man had said all the right things to him. But when he was alone with his daughter that night, he asked her some questions, and he wanted to hear her answers.

"What about Nick, Ca.s.s? G.o.d willing, he's going to come back eventually. You can't stay mad at him forever, and you can't marry another man because you're angry at him. That's a childish thing to do and Mr. Williams doesn't deserve it." He had liked him on the phone that night, but he wanted to know that his daughter was being honest with him, and herself.

"I swear I'm not marrying him out of revenge. He just asked me last night, and he took me by surprise... but he's so alone... he's had such a rotten life. He's a decent person and he wants to marry me. And in a funny way I do love him, though not like Nick. We're friends and I owe him so much for all he's done for me."

"You don't owe anyone that much, Ca.s.sie O'Malley. He pays you a salary and you earn it."

"I know that. But he's been so good to me, Dad. I want to be there for him. And he knows about Nick. He says he understands. I think in time, Daddy, I could really come to love him."

"And Nick? What about him?" He looked her straight in the eye. "Can you tell me you don't love him?".

"I still love him, Dad," she sighed. "But nothing's going to change. He's going to come back and tell me why he can't marry me. He's too old, he's too poor. Maybe the truth is he doesn't love me. He hasn't written to me since he left. And before he left, he kept saying no strings, no ties, no future. He doesn't want me, Dad. Desmond does. He really needs me."

"And you can live with that? Knowing you love another man?"

"I think I can, Daddy," she said softly, but just thinking of Nick turned her knees to water. Being back here now made him all the more real to her. But she knew she had to put him out of her mind now. For Desmond.

"You'd better be rock sure before you marry this man, Ca.s.sie O'Malley."

"I know. I am. I'll be fair to him. I promise."

"I'll not have you running around here, cheating on him, and going off somewhere with Nick, when he comes back. A married woman is just that in this house."

"Yes, sir." She was impressed by what he said to her and the way he said it.

"Marriage is a sacred vow, no matter where you get married."

"I know, Daddy."

"See that you don't forget it, and that you bring honor to this man. He seems to love you."

"I won't let him down... or you... I promise."

Her father nodded, satisfied with her answers. But there was another thing he wanted to ask her now. Maybe it was unfair, but he had to ask the question. "Do you remember what Nick said before he left, about how Williams would try and marry you before the world tour, to publicize it? Do you think he's doing that now, or that he's sincere? I don't know the man, Ca.s.sie. But I want you to think about it for a minute and tell me." Nick's words had rung in his ears that night, the moment Ca.s.sie said she was getting married to Desmond Williams.

She was only twenty-one after all, and still naive. Williams was thirty-five and a man of the world. It would have been child's play for him to fool her. But she shook her head as she thought of it. This time Nick was wrong. She was sure of it.

"I don't believe he'd do that to me. I think it's just coincidence. We've worked so closely ever since I said I'd do the tour... and he's so solitary, I think it just happened by accident. And I think it's only coincidence that Nick said it would. It was a mean thing for him to say. I think he was jealous."

Pat nodded, anxious to believe her, and relieved, and then he had to smile at her in spite of himself. 'That's nothing to the fit he's going to have when he comes home and finds you married. I warned him of that."

"I know you did. I don't think he wants to be tied to anyone... and certainly not me..." she said, but she seemed to accept her fate now. It was certainly a lucky one, and her father was pleased with what she'd told him.

He looked down at her tenderly on Christmas Eve, and held her hand in his own, and then he kissed her cheek. There were tears in his eyes when he spoke to her. And in hers when she heard him.

"Ca.s.sandra Maureen, you have my blessing."

16.

Ca.s.sie stayed at home until the morning of December 31, and then she and Billy flew back to Los Angeles together. It was emotional for everyone when they left. And this time, most of the family came to the airport, even little Annabelle and Humphrey. Ca.s.sie wanted to spend New Year's Eve with Desmond. And when she got back, he was waiting for her on the runway. He was wearing a navy blue coat, flapping in the breeze, and the sun was setting just behind him. He looked handsome, and tall, and very distinguished. He was an extremely aristocratic man, and together they made a striking couple.

Desmond climbed into the c.o.c.kpit easily, and he startled her by kissing her on the lips, and smiling down at her before she had even left her seat. He barely even seemed to notice Billy, who looked away with a smile while they were kissing.

"h.e.l.lo there, Miss O'Malley... I missed you..." "Me too," she said with a shy smile. She had had dinner with her entire family the night before, and everyone had toasted her on her engagement. They were all excited about her wedding in six weeks, and everyone wanted to meet him. Suddenly she was the one who had done well. She was the shining star. And her engagement ring sparkled impressively on her left hand as though to prove it.

"I have a surprise for you," he said with a big smile, after finally greeting Billy. He was gathering up his things and ready to leave the aircraft.

"Not another surprise," she beamed, leaning back in her seat. "My life has been nothing but surprises for the past week." It was hard to believe that they had only gotten engaged a week before. It already seemed as though she had belonged to him forever. She was already getting used to it, and she really liked it. He was an exciting man to be engaged to.

Nick had come to mind a lot when she was in Illinois, but she had forced herself to remember that he had wanted her to marry someone else. He had given her up intentionally, and Desmond wanted and needed her very badly. And she had every intention of being a good wife to him. She smiled up at him as she thought of it, and he kissed her again, and gently touched her face with his fingers. The ground crew waited outside respectfully. The word was already out among them. O'Malley was to be the next Mrs. Williams.

"What's the surprise?" she asked excitedly while Billy watched them. Williams certainly seemed to be crazy about her, but Billy still felt sorry for Nick Galvin. It was going to destroy him when he found out he'd lost her.

"We've got some friends outside," Desmond explained, as he hung his head with a sheepish grin that made her smile. "I'm afraid I've been so excited I've been doing a little too much talking... Some of the boys from AP want to get a picture of us together. Everyone wants to be first. And I told everyone you were away, but they just thought... I told them you were coming back tonight, and when I got here... there they were... do you mind terribly, Ca.s.s? Are you too tired after the flight? I just couldn't help telling them we were engaged... I'm so proud..." He looked more boyish and more vulnerable than ever. There were times when he looked like a tyc.o.o.n, or a relentless businessman, and there were others when he looked like a little boy, and she wanted to put her arms around him.

"It's okay. I'm excited too. I told everyone in Illinois. I guess if the press was there, they'd have been on our doorstep morning, noon, and night too." She stood up in the cramped c.o.c.kpit, and picked up her flight bag with her log and her maps, and Desmond reached up and took it for her. And then he glanced at Billy, as though remembering him.

"You know, I don't suppose it would hurt to have your Pacific tour co-pilot on hand too. You're welcome to join us." He invited Billy with a smile, but the younger man looked embarra.s.sed.

"I don't want to intrude."

"Not at all." He insisted on including him, as Ca.s.sie combed her hair and put on lipstick.

Desmond stepped out of the plane first, and Ca.s.sie came out right behind him. And as she did, what seemed like a hundred flashbulbs went off, and she was almost blinded. She and Desmond both waved gamely at them, and then he turned around and kissed her. And as she stepped onto the runway with him, she was stunned to realize that there must have been twenty photographers waiting for them. They didn't even notice Billy.

"When's the big day?" The LA Times Times shouted at them as the shouted at them as the Pasadena Star Pasadena Star News crowded in for another picture. The News crowded in for another picture. The New York Times New York Times took two more, and the took two more, and the San San Francisco Chronicle Francisco Chronicle wanted to know about the Pacific tour wanted to know about the Pacific tour and and their honeymoon. their honeymoon.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute..." Desmond laughed amiably at them. "The big day is Valentine's Day... the Pacific tour is in July... and no, we're not spending our honeymoon on the North Star" North Star" It was the name she had chosen for her plane for the tour. It was the name she had chosen for her plane for the tour.

And then they asked a hundred more questions, and all the while, he stood close to her, smiling and laughing with the press, as she tried to catch her breath, and understand everything that had happened.

"I think that's all, boys," Desmond finally said good-naturedly. "My little bride has had a long flight. We've got to get home and get her rested. Thank you for coming."

They snapped a dozen more photographs as the couple got into his Packard, while one of one of the ground crew gave Billy a ride. And Ca.s.sie waved gamely as they drove away. Overnight she had become the bride of the year and America's sweetheart in a flight suit. the ground crew gave Billy a ride. And Ca.s.sie waved gamely as they drove away. Overnight she had become the bride of the year and America's sweetheart in a flight suit.

"It seems so weird, doesn't it?" Ca.s.sie asked, still struggling to absorb it. "They act as though we're movie stars. Everyone is so excited." People had stopped her on the street back home, just to ask about the Pacific tour, and they hadn't even known she was engaged yet.

"People love a fairy tale, Ca.s.s," he said quietly as he drove her home, and he patted her knee as she sat beside him. He really had missed her. "It's nice to be able to give it to them."

"I guess. But it feels weird to be one. I keep thinking to myself I'm just me... but they act as though... I don't know... as though I were someone else, someone I don't even know... and now they want to know everything, they want to be part of it." It was almost as though they wanted to own her. And the thought of that made her uncomfortable. She had tried to explain it one night to her father, and he had reminded her that it would get worse after the tour. Look at the price poor Lindy had paid... his infant son kidnapped and killed... the price of fame could be frightening. But Pat hoped that Desmond would protect her.

"You belong to them now, Ca.s.s," Desmond said, as though he believed that. And stranger still, he seemed to accept it. 'They want you. It's not fair to hold back. They want to share in your happiness. It's a nice thing to give them." Desmond always seemed to feel as though he owed a great deal to the public.

But she wasn't prepared for the intensity of their attention over the next six weeks until their wedding. She was followed everywhere, and photographed, at the hangar, in the office going over charts and maps with Billy, outside her apartment, on the way to work, in department stores, shopping for her wedding dress, and any time she appeared anywhere with Desmond.

She took Nancy Firestone with her everywhere now, and sometimes she even tried to hide, with a big hat, or a scarf and dark gla.s.ses. But the persistence of the press was astounding. They hung off fire escapes and ledges, dropped from awnings, lay under bushes and in cars. They popped out at her constantly, from everywhere, and by early February Ca.s.sie thought they would drive her crazy. And for once, Nancy was of fairly little help to her. With anything. As organized as she was, Nancy seemed to have a lot on her mind, and she seemed less interested than usual in the details of Ca.s.sie's wedding. Desmond had told Ca.s.sie not to worry about it, and he was having Miss Fitzpatrick and an a.s.sistant handle most of the details. Ca.s.sie had enough to do just dealing with the press, and getting ready for the Pacific tour. He didn't want her too distracted by having to organize her own wedding.

But when Ca.s.sie tried to talk to him about Nancy Firestone, he never took her seriously. She was trying to explain to him that she had the impression lately that Nancy was annoyed at her and she wasn't sure why. Nancy had been irritable and cool ever since she and Desmond had announced their engagement. And there was no rational explanation for it. Nancy herself seemed to spend less time with her, and on the one evening Ca.s.sie had invited her for dinner, she had insisted that she had to stay home and help Jane with her homework.

"I don't know what's wrong with her. I feel awful. Sometimes I get the feeling she hates me." They had never gotten as close as Ca.s.sie had once thought they might when they first met, but they had always been on good terms, and enjoyed each other's company when they worked together.

"The wedding probably upsets her," Desmond said sensibly, with the rationality of a man, a.n.a.lyzing the situation, "it probably reminds her of her husband. So she's backed off so as not to get too involved, or upset. It probably brings up painful memories for her," he said, smiling at his bride. She was so young, there were a lot of things she didn't think of. "I told you, just work with Miss Fitzpatrick."