Wings. Part 5

"Because she flies better than anyone you've ever seen there." Nick tried to stay calm, but he was losing control slowly. Pat was not an easy man, and this was a very volatile subject. "She flies better than Rickenbacker, for chrissake. Just let her show you." But he had uttered the ultimate sacrilege this time, in invoking the name of the commander of the 94th Aero Squadron. Nick knew he'd pushed too far, and Pat stalked off and left them, and went back to his office. He never looked back at them, and he never said another word to his daughter.

She was crying openly by then, and Nick came to put an arm around her.

"Christ, your father is a stubborn man. I'd forgotten how impossible he can be when he gets something in his teeth. But I'll get him yet on this one. I promise." He gave her a squeeze and she smiled through her tears. If she had been Chris, her father would have let her show him anything at all. But not now, not ever, not her, because she was a girl. It was so unfair, but she knew that nothing would change him.

"He'll never give in, Nick."

"He doesn't have to. You're eighteen. You can do what you want, you know. You're not doing anything wrong. You're taking flying lessons. So what? Okay? Relax." And very shortly she'd have her own license. She was more than qualified for it. When Pat had started flying in 1914, he hadn't even needed a license to fly then.

"What if he throws me out of the house?" She looked terrified and Nick laughed. He knew Pat better than that, and so did she. He made a lot of noise, and he was limited in his ideas and beliefs, but he loved his children.

"He's not going to do that, Ca.s.s. He may make you miserable for a while. But he's not going to throw you out. He loves you."

"He loves Chris," she said glumly.

"He loves you too. He's just a little behind the times, and stubborn as h.e.l.l. Christ, sometimes he drives me crazy."

"Me too." She smiled and blew her nose, and then she looked up at Nick with worried eyes. "Will you still teach me?"

"Of course," he grinned, looking boyish and full of mischief, and then he pretended to look at her sternly. "And don't let everything I said go to your head. You don't fly like the leader of the great 94th," he scowled at her, and then grinned. "But you could be better than he was one day, if you'd clean up some of those turns and listen to your instructor."

"Yes, sir."

"Go wash your face, you look terrible... Ill see you at the airstrip tomorrow, Ca.s.s." He smiled at her. "Don't forget, we have an air show to prepare for." She looked gratefully at him, as he strode away, wondering what it would take to bring Pat O'Malley to his senses.

He had certainly not come to to them that night when he refused to them that night when he refused to say say a word a word to to her her at at their dinner table. He had told Oona what she'd done, and her mother cried when she heard it. Pat had convinced her long since that women were not const.i.tutionally or mentally cut out to fly airplanes. their dinner table. He had told Oona what she'd done, and her mother cried when she heard it. Pat had convinced her long since that women were not const.i.tutionally or mentally cut out to fly airplanes.

"It's just too dangerous," she tried to explain to Ca.s.sie later that night in her room. With her sisters married and gone, Ca.s.sie had long since had her own bedroom.

"It's no more dangerous for me than it is for Chris," Ca.s.sie said through tears again. She was exhausted from fighting with them, and she knew she'd never win. Even Chris had said nothing in her defense. He hated getting into arguments with their parents.

"That's not true," her mother countered what she'd said. "Chris is a man. It's less dangerous for a man to fly," her mother said as though it were gospel truth, because she'd heard it from her husband.

"How can you say that? That's nonsense."

"It's not. Your father says that women don't have the concentration."

"Mom, that's a lie. I swear. Look at all the women who fly. Great ones."

"Look at Amelia Earhart, dear. She's a perfect example of what your father says. She obviously lost her direction, or her wits, somewhere out there, and she took that poor man with her."

"How do you know their disappearance wasn't his fault?" Ca.s.sie said persistently. "He was the navigator, not Earhart. And maybe they were shot down," Ca.s.s said sadly. She knew she wasn't getting anywhere. Her mother was completely convinced of everything her husband had always told her.

"You have to stop behaving this way, Ca.s.sie. I should never have let you loll around at the airport all these years. But you loved it so so, and I thought it would be nice for your father. But you have to give up these foolish dreams, Ca.s.sie. You're a college girl now. One day you'll be a teacher. You can't go flying around like some silly gypsy."

"Oh yes, I can... dammit, yes I can!" Ca.s.sie raised her voice to her, and a moment later her father was in her room, berating her again, and telling her that she had to apologize to her mother. Both women were crying by then, and Pat was at his wit's end, and clearly livid.

"I'm sorry, Mom," she said mournfully.

"And well you should be," her father said before he slammed the door again. A moment later her mother left, and Ca.s.sie lay on the bed and sobbed, from the sheer frustration of dealing with her parents.

When Bobby Strong came by later that night, Ca.s.sie had Chris tell him that she had a terrible headache. He drove away looking concerned, after leaving her a note, telling her that he hoped she felt better soon, and he'd be back tomorrow.

"Maybe tomorrow I'll be dead," she said glumly as she read the note her brother handed her. "Maybe that would be an improvement."

"Relax, Sis. They'll get over it," Chris said calmly.

"No, they won't. Dad never will. He refuses to believe women can fly, or do anything except knit and have babies."

"Sounds great. So how's your knitting?" he teased, and she threw a shoe at him, as he closed the door to escape her.

But by the next day she felt better again. She felt like herself, once she and Nick took off in the Bellanca. He didn't feel he should let her fly any of her father's planes now. She handled it skillfully as as usual, and just being in the air with Nick lifted her spirits. Afterward, they sat in the old truck for a while, talking, and Ca.s.sie seemed subdued. She was still obviously upset about her father's reaction to her flying. usual, and just being in the air with Nick lifted her spirits. Afterward, they sat in the old truck for a while, talking, and Ca.s.sie seemed subdued. She was still obviously upset about her father's reaction to her flying.

"As good as Rickenbacker, huh?" she teased Nick after their flying.

"I told you not to let it go to your head. I was just lying to impress him."

"He sure looked impressed, don't you think?" Ca.s.sie grinned ruefully, and Nick laughed. She was a good sport, and sooner or later they'd wear Pat down. He couldn't keep his head in the sand forever, or could he?

Their flying schedule scarcely changed. The only time it did was when Nick had long cargo runs, or she had too much homework. But neither of them was anxious to miss their lessons, so they always worked their other obligations around them. And interestingly her father never asked either of them if they were continuing their lessons.

Nick joined them at Thanksgiving as usual; Pat was cooler than he normally was, to both of them. He hadn't forgiven either of them yet for what he considered their betrayal. At the airport, Nick was walking on eggs, and at home, Pat had scarcely said two words to Ca.s.sie since October. It was getting more and more difficult, but by Christmas he seemed to to have relaxed again. And then finally, he relented totally when Bobby Strong handed Ca.s.sie a tiny diamond engagement ring on Christmas Eve. have relaxed again. And then finally, he relented totally when Bobby Strong handed Ca.s.sie a tiny diamond engagement ring on Christmas Eve.

Bobby said he knew it would be a long wait for her, but he'd feel better if they were engaged. He had been courting her for three years, and he didn't think it was too soon. He looked so earnest and so in love with her that Ca.s.sie just didn't have the heart to turn him down. She wasn't sure what she felt, other than confused, as she let him slip the ring slowly onto her finger. She had felt so guilty and so unhappy about everything, since her parents had made such a huge fuss about her flying. But the engagement seemed to mollify them, and restore her to their good graces.

They were very pleased. They announced her engagement to the rest of the family the next day at Christmas dinner. Nick was there too, and he looked surprised at the news, but he didn't say anything. He only looked at Ca.s.sie, wondering if this would change everything between them. But oddly, she didn't behave differently. She seemed no closer or more comfortable with Bobby now. And she was as easy with Nick as she ever had been. In fact, very little changed, Bobby only lingered a little longer on the porch before he left, but it wasn't what Ca.s.sie herself would have expected of an engagement. But Nick was still wondering about it the next time he saw her at their deserted airfield.

"What does that mean?" He pointed to the ring, and she hesitated for a moment and shrugged her shoulders. She didn't want to be mean, but she never seemed to react to anything the way people expected.

"I'm not sure," she said honestly. She didn't feel any differently about him from the way she had before he put the ring on her finger. She liked him, she cared about him, but she couldn't imagine being more to him than she was now. She had gotten engaged mostly because it seemed to matter so much to Bobby and her parents. Most of all, it seemed to make a difference to him, and she understood that. "I didn't have the heart to give it back to him." She looked sheepishly at Nick as she kept an eye on the Bellanca. They had had a good flight that day, and she had learned some fine points about landing in crosswinds. "He knows I want to finish college," she said helplessly. But college wasn't really the problem.

"Poor guy. This is going to be the longest engagement in history. What is that? Another three and a half years?"

"Yes." She grinned mischievously at him, and he couldn't help but laugh as he resisted an urge to kiss her. He was so so relieved by what she'd said. He had felt sick when he first saw the engagement ring. He hated the idea of her being married to anyone, or even engaged, but Bobby wasn't much of a threat actually. Sooner or later Ca.s.sie would have to figure that out for herself, but then someone else would be. And he knew how much it would bother him when that happened. relieved by what she'd said. He had felt sick when he first saw the engagement ring. He hated the idea of her being married to anyone, or even engaged, but Bobby wasn't much of a threat actually. Sooner or later Ca.s.sie would have to figure that out for herself, but then someone else would be. And he knew how much it would bother him when that happened.

"Okay... get your a.s.s in gear, O'Malley... let's see another dead stick landing." He was going to take her up again.

"You must think I'm going to spend half my life on the ground instead of in the air. Can't you teach anything else, Stick Stick?" She emphasized the word. "Or is that the only trick in your repertoire?" She loved teasing him, loved being with him, loved being with the only person in the world who really understood her. And better yet, if they could be flying.

This time he sent her up alone, and watched her land perfectly, dead stick, then again without a hitch, and finally, without flicking an eye or a wing in the cross-winds.

It really was a shame, he found himself thinking again, that her father refused to watch her fly. It would have given him so much pleasure.

"Ready to call it a day?" he asked, as they walked back to her truck, so she could drive home to Good Hope.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said sadly. "I always hate to come down. I wish I could go on forever."

"Maybe you should be a Skygirl when you grow up," he teased her again, and she swatted him with her gloves, but she looked sad. She really had no options. And if it weren't for Nick, she couldn't fly at all.

"Take it easy, kid," he said gently. "He'll come around."

"No, he won't," she said, knowing her father.

Nick touched her hand, and her eyes met his. She was grateful for all that he had given her, and his kindness. They had the kind of friendship that neither of them had ever found with anyone else. She was a great girl, and a good friend, and they had fun on their stolen afternoons at their airstrip. Nick only wished it could go on forever. He couldn't imagine not meeting her like this anymore, or not having her to fly with, and share his thoughts with. In all the important ways, she was the only person he really talked to. And he was her only friend too. The only tragedy, for both of them, was that there was nothing more ahead for them in the future.

She drove home alone late that afternoon, thinking of him, and it started to snow just after she got back. She went into the house and helped her mother cook dinner for the four of them, but her father was late. And an hour later, he still hadn't come home. Oona finally sent Chris out with the truck to find Pat at the airport.

Chris came back twenty minutes later to grab something to eat for him and Pat. There was a train wreck two hundred miles southwest of them, with hundreds of injuries, and they were asking for rescue teams from everywhere. Pat was organizing rescue teams at the airport, and he wanted Chris to to help him. Nick was there too, and they were calling all their pilots in to fly. But three were home sick, and too ill to come in, and they hadn't been able to reach some of the others. They were still waiting for a few more to come in. Pat had told Chris to tell his mother they wouldn't be back all night. Oona nodded, used to this, and packed some food for them to eat at the airport. help him. Nick was there too, and they were calling all their pilots in to fly. But three were home sick, and too ill to come in, and they hadn't been able to reach some of the others. They were still waiting for a few more to come in. Pat had told Chris to tell his mother they wouldn't be back all night. Oona nodded, used to this, and packed some food for them to eat at the airport.

"Wait!" Ca.s.sie said, as Chris started to go back to him. "I'll come with you."

"You shouldn't..." Oona started to object, but at the look on her daughter's face, she shrugged. There was no harm in it. All she could do was sit at the airport. "All right. I'll pack something for you to eat too."

She gave them a basket filled with food, and Ca.s.sie and Chris drove off, skidding on and off the old road on the property to the airport. It was an icy night, and the snow had been falling for two hours. She wondered if they'd even be able to take off. Conditions did not look good, and her father looked worried when she and Chris walked into his office at the airport.

"Hi, kids." He pushed aside the food. He and Nick were talking anxiously about the planes they could use, and the men they needed. They were trying to send four planes with supplies and rescue teams. Everything and everyone were a.s.sembled, except for the pilots. And so far, they were still two men short, and they were trying to reach them. Pat was going to fly the new Vega himself with Chris. Although, if he'd had to, Pat could have flown solo. Another of their best men had come in, with his co-pilot, and they had each been a.s.signed planes. But they needed two more men to fly the old Handley. It was tricky to fly and because of its age and size, it was wiser to have two men flying it in this kind of weather. Nick could have flown it alone but it wouldn't have been a wise decision. And he wanted someone good to fly it with him. Silently, he looked over at Ca.s.sie, but he said nothing.

They heard from two more men shortly after that. One was bone-tired after a sixteen-hour flight around the country, delivering mail in terrible weather, and the other was quick to admit that he'd been drinking.

"That leaves one," Nick said unhappily. One man left they needed to hear from. He called in finally around ten, with a ferocious earache. "End of the line, O'Malley," Nick said pointedly. They were one man short for their mission. Pat read his mind easily, and began shaking his head, but this time Nick wouldn't listen.

"I'm taking Ca.s.sie with me," he said quietly, as Pat started to sputter. "Don't waste your time, Ace, There are hundreds of injured people waiting for help and supplies, and I'm not going to argue with you. I know what I'm doing, and she's coming with me." The only other choice would have been to let her co-pilot the Vega with her father, and Nick knew he wouldn't let her do it. Nick grabbed his jacket and started moving toward the door, and he held his breath as Pat stared at him angrily, but made no objection.

"You're a d.a.m.n fool, Nick," Pat growled at him, but he said nothing more as they gathered their things, and he called Oona and asked her to wait for them at the airport.

Ca.s.sie followed Nick quietly out to the familiar plane, feeling something deep inside her tremble, and for just an instant she saw her father look hard at her with eyes full of anger and betrayal. She wanted to say something to him then, but she didn't know what to say, and a moment later, he was gone, with Chris, in the Vega.

"He'll be all right," Nick said as he helped her to her seat, but she only nodded. Nick had stuck up for her, as usual; he believed in her, and he hadn't been afraid to say so. He was an amazing man, and she just hoped she wouldn't let him down as they flew the old plane in bad weather all the way to Missouri.

They did the usual check on the ground, and then checked inside carefully. She knew the plane well, thanks to Nick, and as she strapped herself in, she was suddenly excited at what they were doing and she forgot all about her father. They were carrying emergency supplies that had been brought to them at the airport. The other planes were also carrying supplies, and two doctors and three nurses. Help was coming from four states. There were nearly a thousand people injured.

Nick took off cautiously but smoothly. There had been no ice on the wings, and the snow had thinned. It had almost stopped as they reached their final alt.i.tude of eight thousand feet and flew southwest toward Kansas City. It was a two-and-a-half-hour flight for them, although her father and Chris would make it in a little over an hour in the Vega. It was turbulent most of the time, but it didn't bother Ca.s.sie or Nick. Ca.s.sie was stunned by the beauty of the night, and how peaceful it was to be at the controls in a night sky full of stars now. It was like being on the edge of the world, in an endless universe. She had never felt so small or so free or so alive as at that moment.

Nick let her fly the plane much of the time, and when they reached a good-sized field near the train wreck, he brought it in for a landing.

There were wounded everywhere when they got to the train, supplies being brought in, medical personnel trying to help people lying on the ground, children crying. Nick and Ca.s.sie and the others stayed to help until dawn, and by then the state police seemed to have everything under control. Ambulances and medical personnel had come from all over the state. People had driven, flown, they had come as soon as they could. And in the morning, Nick and Ca.s.s flew home with the others. She had scarcely seen her father all night, as they did everything they could to help the rescue workers.

The sun came up just as they took off, and on the way back Nick let her fly it herself, and she brought it in for a textbook landing in spite of heavy winds and slippery conditions on the runway. Nick shook hands with her as she turned the engines off, and congratulated her for a job well done. She was grinning broadly as she stepped off the plane, and she was surprised to almost collide with her father. He was standing right next to the plane, and he looked at Nick with tired eyes, as he barked a question.

"Who landed this plane?" It was his plane, and Ca.s.sie instantly sensed trouble.

"I did," Ca.s.sie said quietly, ready to take the blame for any mistake she'd made. She took her flying seriously and calmly.

"You did a d.a.m.n fine job," he said awkwardly, and then turned and walked away. She had proven everything Nick had said, and they both wondered what Pat would do about her now. It was hard to say. There was no predicting Fat O'Malley. But as she watched him walk away, there were tears in her eyes. It was the only praise he had ever given her that had meant anything. And she wanted to shout she was so excited. Instead, she just grinned at Nick, and saw that he was smiling broadly. And they walked arm in arm back to the office.

Her mother had brought in coffee and rolls for all the men, and Ca.s.sie sat quietly drinking her coffee and talking to Nick about what they'd seen at the train wreck. It had been a long, rough night, but at least they'd been useful.

"So, you think you're a hotshot." She heard her father's words as he stood next to her, and she looked up at him, but he didn't look angry anymore when their eyes met.

"No, Dad, I don't. I just want to fly," she said softly.

"It's unnatural is what it is. Look at what happened to that poor fool Earhart." Ca.s.sie had heard it all before and she was prepared for it, but she was in no way prepared for what he said next, and her jaw dropped as she glanced at Nick to make sure she'd heard him correctly. "I'll give you some work out here, after school. Nothing big. Just the little jobs. I can't have Nick flying around all the time, wasting fuel and time, giving you lessons." She grinned as she looked at him, and Nick let out a whoop as the other men glanced over at them in confusion.

She threw her arms around her father's neck, and Nick pumped his hand, as Chris walked over to his sister and hugged her. She had never been happier in her life. He was going to let her fly... her father was going to let her fly, and give her flying jobs to do at the airport...

"Just wait till the air show in July!" she whispered to Nick as she hugged him tight, and he laughed. Her father was in for a big surprise. But this was certainly a good beginning.

8.

For the next six months, Ca.s.sie's days seemed to fly by. She drove to Bradley every day, worked at the restaurant three afternoons a week to pay (or fuel when she flew with Nick. And she tried to get to the airport as soon as she could before nightfall. She did whatever she could to help there, but most of her work for her father, and flying, was done on weekends. And those were her happiest days. Nick even took her on some cargo runs to Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland.

Her life had never before seemed as perfect. She missed her secret flying lessons with Nick sometimes, and the time they'd shared alone. But he taught her openly now, when they both had time, taking off from her father's airport. And although Pat never said anything to her, it was obvious that he approved of her style, and secretly he admitted to Nick once that she was a d.a.m.n fine little flier. All of his obvious praise went to Chris, who tried hard, but really didn't deserve it. But it didn't bother Ca.s.sie anymore. She had everything she wanted.

The only problem she had was with her fiance, who was aghast that her father had relented. But since he had, there was little Bobby could say, except to remind her constantly of his disapproval. Her own mother thought it was only a pa.s.sing phase, something she would lose interest in once she and Bobby were married and had children.

The biggest news that spring was when Hitler took over Austria in March. For the first time, there was serious concern about war, although most people still believed Roosevelt. He said there would be no war, and America would never step in again if there was. Once had been enough. America had learned her lesson.

But Nick didn't think it was quite that simple. He had read about Hitler and didn't trust him. He also had friends who had volunteered to fly in the Spanish Civil War two years before, and he believed that soon all of Europe would once again be in terrible trouble. Nick could easily envision America getting involved again despite Roosevelt's promises and protests.

"I can't believe we'd get into it again. Can you, Nick?" Ca.s.sie asked seriously after they'd practiced for the air show.

"I can," he answered honestly. "I think we will too, eventually. I think Hitler is going to go too far, and we'll have to step in to support our allies."

"That's hard to believe," Ca.s.sie said. It was harder still to believe that her father was actually going to let her fly in the air show. Nick had talked him into it, and more than anything, Pat was afraid of being embarra.s.sed. He had already seen that she was safe, had good hands, and had been well taught, but what if she did very badly? What if she did so badly he couldn't hold his head up?

"Chris won't let you down," Nick had encouraged him, and Pat had naively bought it. Nick was a lot surer of Ca.s.s, but he wouldn't have dared to say so to her father. Pat still wanted to believe that Chris had a great future in the air, and he refused to see how little Chris cared about flying. In all fairness, Chris didn't let him see his true feelings. He was afraid to.

And when at last the big day came, all of Nick's beliefs and predictions proved to be prophetic. Chris won the prize for alt.i.tude again, but Ca.s.sie took second for speed, on a straightaway, and first for a race on a closed-circuit course. As they announced the winners in the afternoon, Pat couldn't believe his ears, and neither could Ca.s.sie. She and Nick were dancing around like two children, hugging and kissing, and letting out whoops and screams. The local paper took a picture of her, first alone, and then standing next to her father. And Chris didn't begrudge her any of it. He knew how much it meant to her. It was her whole life. Pat couldn't believe what she'd done. But Nick could. He had always known it. And he wasn't surprised either when one of the turn judges said he'd never seen a pilot as good at high-speed pylon turns as Ca.s.sie.

"Well, you did it, kid." Nick smiled at her, as he drove her home at the end of the day, after they had flown all her father's planes back to the airport.

"I still can't believe it," she said, staring at him, and then looking into the distance out the window.

"Neither can your dad." He smiled.

"I owe it all to you," she said seriously, but he only shook his head. He knew better.

"You owe it to yourself. That's the one you owe it to. I didn't give you the gift, Ca.s.s. G.o.d did that. I only helped you."

"You did everything." She turned to look at him, feeling suddenly sad. What if he stopped teaching her now? What if they no longer spent time together? "Will you still take me up sometimes?"

"Sure. If you promise not to scare me." He told her what the turn judge had said then, with real pride in her.