Kitty and the aviator

by Walter Harris Edminster

 

Mary Evens climbed out of bed at 0532 hours.  She didn=t need an alarm clock.   It didn=t matter what time she went to bed, she always got up at 0530.  A habit from her old Navy days.  Actually she wasn=t old.  That=s just a term Navy people often use.   She was 28 but most people thought she was closer to 21.  She never told them any different.

Although she was out of bed that didn=t mean she was awake.  She placed a cup of last night=s stale coffee in the microwave then stripped down for her early morning shower.       She decided  it might be a good idea to feed Kitty  first.  Kitty could get pretty irritable when she was hungry.  She found the refrigerator door slightly ajar and the 10 pound chunk of liver that was to be Kitty=s breakfast missing.  So  that=s why the little devil was being  so  quiet this morning.  Mary walked into the front room expecting to see Kitty hunkering in the corner with a look of guilt on her face.  That=s not what she saw.  Mary screamed loud enough to wake every person in the apartment complex.

Laying on Kitty=s mattress was a male body with a 100 pound female black panther  draped across it.   The writing on the panther=s collar said AKitty.@  Mary screamed again.  This time it was loud enough to wake the dead.  Apparently it did just that because the body on the floor opened it=s eyes and spoke.  

AI told you last night, if you=re going to sleep here you have to stay off of me.  You=re too heavy.@  He rolled Kitty off toward the wall, put his arm around her and went back to sleep.           After regaining her composer, Mary took a deep breath and said, AWho are you? What are you doing in my apartment?@  The body, whose name was Ken Rogers, rolled over and looked Mary  up and down. He was impressed with what he saw.  AGo put some clothes on and I=ll tell you.@  Mary looked down and realizing she was naked, ran toward the bedroom. She stopped for a moment and shouted, AYou stay where you are.  I=ll be right back.@  Ken said, AI wouldn=t dream of leaving.@

When Mary came back she was wearing a robe and appeared to be unarmed.  Ken looked puzzled.  AI=m curious.  Why did you come back in here?  Weren=t you afraid I was going to rape you or something?@ 

AI figured if you were going to rape me you wouldn=t have told me to put my clothes on.  It=s usually done the other way around.  Besides, I used to teach hand to hand combat to Waves in the Navy.@

AYou=ve made your point.  I=ve decided not to rape you after all.   Do you have any coffee?@

AYou break into my apartment, you ogle my naked body, you turn my watch dog into a pussycat, and now you want me to serve you coffee.@

AIt=s either that or rape.@

ADo you take it black or with cream and sugar?@

ABlack.  Besides, I didn=t break in.  I had a key.@

AWhere did you get a key?@

AI met a guy at the bus station who was leaving town for a few days and said I could stay in his apartment.   Said he=d help me get a job when he got back.  He didn=t tell me his girl friend came with the deal.  He didn=t tell me about your kitten, either.@

AHe=s not my boy friend.  He=s my stupid brother,  Bob.  He gave you the wrong key.  His apartment is across the hall.@

AI didn=t think he was stupid.  I thought he was a pretty nice guy.@

AOh, he=s a nice guy all right.  He=s just stupid.  He thinks he has to protect me all the time.  Moved in right across the hall so he could keep an eye on me.@

AThat=s not stupid. If I had a sister who looked like you, I=d do the same thing.@

AI think that=s a complement.  Thank you.@

AAfter I finish my coffee, I=ll get out  of  here.

AOh no you won=t!   You=re going to stay here with me for a few days.  I=m going to teach Bob a lesson.@

AYeah, and get me killed doing it.

ANo. It won=t go that far.@

AYou=re not going to rape me are you?@

AI wouldn=t even consider it.  Kitty would eat me alive if I tried.@

Ken put his arm around Kitty and kissed her affectionately on the head.  Kitty licked his face.

Mary said, AWait until I tell Bob about this.  He gave Kitty to me when she was a kitten so she could protect me.  What line of work are you in, by the way?@

AI fly airplanes the same as your brother.  I was on my way to California to look for a job.  The bus stopped for a lunch break and I met your brother.  Said he was going to Denver to pick up a Cessna 180 for the company he works for here.  Said to hang around  until he got back and he=d set me up with  a job.  They need  a helicopter pilot.@

AWhy did you quit your last job?@

AI didn=t.  They didn=t need me any more.  The war ended.@

AOh?@

AThat=s all.@

AYou mean that=s all you=re allowed to say.@

AMaybe.@

AThe company Bob works for is pretty choosy about who they hire.  Are you any good?@

AI=ve had a lot of experience. Are you picking my brain.@

AWhy shouldn=t I?  I=m part owner of the company.@

AI guess I came to the right place.  Am I hired? By the way, what=s your name?@

AMy name is Mary and no, you=re not hired.  Not until you=ve proven yourself. We=ll go out to the airport tomorrow and we=ll find out whether you can fly or not.  In the mean time, you=re going to take me out for Sunday brunch.  One more question.  How did you  get past Kitty?@

AShe was a little irritable at first but I found a piece of liver in the fridge.  The poor thing was hungry.   We became friends after that.@

AI noticed that.  How did you get to the refrigerator?   I=ve never seen her let anyone get that far before.@

AAnimals are better judges of people than people are.  They can tell the good guys from the bad guys.@

AWell, next time, don=t leave the refrigerator door open.  Let me put some clothes on and we=ll go eat.  I=m starving.@

 

Mary took Ken out to the airport early Monday morning and introduced him to everyone.  All were polite but not overly friendly.  All except one.  An older fellow named Billy Wise.  Billy said, AI know you from somewhere but I can=t place you.@  Ken knew who he was.  They never really knew each other but Ken saved  his life once.  Ken didn=t want anyone here to know about it.  If he was going to get the job he wanted it because of his flying skills only.  Sooner or later Billy will remember and by then Ken will either have a job or he=ll be in California looking for one.@

There was a girl, a female helicopter pilot who reminded Ken of Xena, the famous TV warrior.  Dressed in tight fitting black jeans and a black leather flying jacket, she looked invincible.  Ken figured she could whip any man in the place.  Her name was Jane.  They called her Big Jane for obvious reasons.  Not Fat Jane but Big Jane.  There wasn=t  an once of fat on her.  She didn=t look like the type that smiled much.

Mary said, AJane will take you on a test flight.  If she thinks you can fly, you have a job.  If she doesn=t, I=m afraid we can=t use you.@  Ken went over to shake hands but she ignored him, turned on her heel and started out the hanger door.  Not looking back she growled, ACome on I haven=t got all day.@ 

They climbed into a beautiful, obviously new, Jet Ranger.  In large lettering along the side of the aircraft was written ANumber One.@  Jane said, AThis aircraft was just delivered to us two days ago.  Don=t break it. It cost us a lot of money.  Money  we really couldn=t afford to spend but with winter coming on we need at least one all weather aircraft for emergencies.   It has the best electronic equipment money can buy.  The new INS, Inertial Navigation System, in case you=ve never heard the term INS,  is so new none of us really know how to use it yet.  Let=s see if you can start up and get off the ground without killing us both.@

After an hour of flying around doing routine maneuvers, Jane said, ALet=s go home.  Do you think you can find the airport?@  Ken had been listening to a continuous stream of sarcastic comments concerning his flying skills for over an hour and he was ready to go catch the next bus to California.

They were about halfway home when Ken spotted a herd of cattle running wild.  Three ranch hands on horses were trying desperately to herd them back  through the gate.  They weren=t having much  luck.  Ken said, AWhat they need is a good sheep dog.  Let=s give them some help.@ Jane said, ANo way.  It=s not our problem.  Besides, the owner of that ranch has given us nothing but trouble ever since we started our business.  Keep going.  There=s nothing you can do to help anyway.@

Ken figured he=d lost the job anyhow so he ignored her and peeled of into a steep dive toward the outer edge of the herd.  What followed was an aerial ballet.  Ken was like a sheep dog. Every time the herd made a move to get around him he was right there in front them, three feet above the ground.  He seemed to anticipate every move they made before they made it.   Within 10 minutes  they were all back where they belonged.  All except one. A huge bull who looked mean as hell.  Ken stopped in front of him and hovered.  The bull charged. Just before contact was made Ken lifted the aircraft a few inches and let the bull pass under him. Then he did a quick 180 and  faced the bull again.  After three tries it was obvious that old Number One was going to run out of fuel before the bull ran out of steam so Ken veered away and retreated.  He stopped about  about 200 yards out  and hovered. Then he charged  straight at him, full throttle.  The bull held his ground until the last moment then turned and ran for the gate.  Ken pulled up at the last second and circled the ranch.  The ranch hands were standing around waving and cheering.   They headed for the airport.   

Up until  then Jane hadn=t said a word but that was about to change.  For the next 12 minutes Ken  received a  butt chewing he would remember the rest of his life.  He didn=t care.  He=d lost the job but he wasn=t leaving with his tail between his legs.  He=d just had his pound of flesh and was quite pleased with himself. He didn=t say a word.  He just sat there and grinned.  

When they touched down Jane didn=t wait for the blades to stop turning.  She jump out, stalked into Mary=s office and slammed the door.  The phrases, AThat crazy son of a bitch.  Who told him he could fly a helicopter.  Could have killed us both.@ were still ringing in the ears of the bystanders.

Ken stepped out still smiling.  A few of the guys came up to him, Billy among them.  He said, A You must have made quite an impression on her.  I haven=t seen her in that good a mood in ages.@  Everyone broke out laughing. 

Ken said, Yeah, I guess I did.  Is anyone going into town?  I need to pack and catch a bus to California.  Billy said, I=ll run you in.  I need to get some parts anyway.  I still say I=ve seen you before somewhere.@

AYou have, Billy but I=m not going to tell you where.  I=m going to let you figure that out yourself.@

 

Ken was sitting in the bus station having a cup of coffee and feeling depressed.  He was going to miss Kitty.  He was going to miss Mary, too.  He hoped the note he left along with the key didn=t sound too cold. He wasn=t very good at writing notes.  He was sitting there staring down into his coffee when someone sat down at the counter beside him.  He recognized the clean smell of soap.  He looked around at Mary and said, AJust took a bath didn=t you?@  Her reply was, AAren=t you glad I use dial?@

AIt beats most perfumes.@

AWhy are you leaving?@

AI like to eat and in order to do that on a daily basis I need to have a job.  I=m going to California to find one.@

AYou=ve got a job here if you want it.@

ADoing what?@

AFlying a helicopter.@

AAfter what Big Jane told you?@

ABig Jane, I mean Jane,  doesn=t like you very much but she=s not stupid.  She told me about what happened at the ranch.  After exhausting her seemingly unlimited supply of  four letter words she finally admitted that she didn=t know anyone in the world who could have done what you did with that herd of cattle in 12 minutes.@

AOh, I know a lot of guys who could have done that.@

AShe doesn=t so don=t tell her.  She recommended we hire you but keep you on a leash.@

AIf she wanted to hire me why was she so mad?@

AShe thought you were going to break her airplane.  She=s the other partner, you know.@

ANo, I didn=t know that.@

AAbout an hour after you left Mr. Janson called.@

AWho=s Mr. Janson?@

AHe=s the owner of the ranch where you put on your air show.  He wanted to thank  the people who were in that helicopter personally.  He=s invited the two of you over to talk and eat a couple twenty pound steaks.  I=d appreciate it if you=d go.  It would mean a lot to us.  For some reason he=s been against us from the start and it=s cost us a lot of business.@

AI don=t know.  I don=t feel like spending  an evening with Godzilla.  I=ve had enough of her for one day@

AOh, she=s really not so bad.@

AYou can=t prove it by me.  O.K. I=ll go but tell her she has to leave her whip at home.@

Mary pushed the key across the counter and said, ACome on, let=s go home.  Kitty has been grieving every since you left.@

AHow about you.  Have you grieved a little?@

AMaybe a little.@

 

Jane wanted to come by and pick Ken up but he said no way.  Mary loaned him her car.   Ken pulled into the driveway and sat there for a moment.  This was his last chance to back out.  Finally he walked up to the door and knocked, hoping she wasn=t  home.  No, he heard the latch turn.  He was in for a surprise.  Standing in the door was one of the most beautiful women Ken had ever laid eyes on.   AEither I=m at the wrong house or you=re Jane=s beautiful sister.@  The reply came fast and sharp. AAre you going to act like an asshole the rest of the evening?@

AMy mistake, I=m at the right house.@

During the drive to the Janson ranch very little was said by either of them.  What little conversation there was consisted of phrases such as, ATurn right at the next corner. Go two more blocks and turn left... Follow this road until you see the ranch.@  Then  out of a clear blue sky Jane asked, AAre you sleeping with Mary?@ Ken replied, ANo I=m sleeping on the floor with a 100 pound black panther.@

AWhat=s the matter, you gay or something?@

AYou know, I was wondering the same thing about you.@  That put an abrupt end to the conversation.@

Mr. Janson, who met them at the door personally,  turned out to be a gracious host. He led them into the den and mixed them each a drink.  After everyone had relaxed he told them how much he appreciated what they=d done.  He Said, AYou two did me a much greater favor than you realize.  Someone had left the gate open just hours before a group of very important cattle buyers were to come look  over the herd.  If satisfied  with what they saw, they=d sign a contract  that would  bring in millions of dollars over the next 10 years.  It would have taken at least two days to round up that herd if you hadn=t swooped down from the sky at just that moment.  The buyers wouldn=t have waited two days.  You saved me a fortune.  How can I ever repay you?@

Ken said, AThere might be a way.  I understand you=ve had it in for our company every since it opened. Just  what is it that caused you to have a grudge against a few people who just want to make an honest living doing what they enjoy most; flying airplanes?  I=ve only been with the company a few hours but I=ll tell you this much,  from what I=ve seen so far, these are good people.  People  who want to help the community in any way they can and make a living at the same time.   It seems that you=ve been preventing this from happening.  I=d like to know why?@

You could have heard a pin drop.  Finally he spoke.  AYou=re right, I haven=t been very fair with you people.  Mine is a grievance caused by an incident that occurred many years ago.  Jane, I knew your father long before you were born.  We had a disagreement and I=ve been carrying a grudge ever since.  I=ve been taking it out on you and you had nothing to do with it.@  Jane started to speak.  Fearing that she was about to reignite the anger  that had just been squelched, Ken interrupted.  AMr. Janson, It was Jane=s idea to swoop down out of the blue and help you, not mine.@  Jane was smart enough to keep her mouth shut... For a change.

Jane didn=t opened her mouth once all the way home.  When Ken walked her to the door she opened it and started to enter, then she paused.  There were tears in her eyes as she leaned  over and kissed him lightly on the cheek.  She whispered, AThank you.@ and disappeared into the  house without another word.  Ken reached up and felt his cheek.  AYou know, that wasn=t half bad. In fact  I kinda liked it.  Maybe Mary was right.  She might not be so bad after all.@

 

Mary was waiting up when Ken came in.  Kitty came to the door to greet him and knocked him flat on his back.  It was good to be home.  Mary said, ABob called me.  He just got back.  I told him that he gave you the wrong key and you were now living with me.@

AOh yeah? What did he say?@

AHe said, =Great, Sis.  I=ll be over to say hello after I=ve had a shower and a bite  to eat.=  Can you believe that? He said great!  What kind of a brother is he?@

AThe kind of brother who understands you better than you think.  He knows you wouldn=t do anything wrong.  He knows that if I=m living with you there must be a darned good explanation.  He=s not worried.@

AWhat about Kitty and living across the hall and everything?@

AAh, that=s different.  He=s not worried about anyone you might happen to invite into the house  yourself.  He knows you have good judgement.  It=s the uninvited guests he=s worried about.  That=s why he=s living close by.  So he can be there when you need him.  Don=t knock it.  You=re lucky to have a brother like that.@

AYeah, I guess you=re right.  You know, I=ve really enjoyed having you here.  It=s nice to be able to sit and talk with a man without having to push his hands away every five minutes.  Why can=t men and women just be friends sometimes?@

AJane doesn=t understand that either.  When I told her I slept with the cat instead of you she asked me if I was gay.@

AWhat a terrible thing to say.@

ANo it=s O.K. I told her I thought she was a lesbian.@

AOh my God.  You mean she didn=t break your arm?@

ANo.  As a matter of fact she kissed me goodnight when I took her home.@

ANow that will be the day.....   Did she really?@

ASure did.@

ADamn.  First you tame my cat then you tame my partner.@

AWe tamed Mr. Janson, too.@

AI=ve been dying to hear about that.  Tell me everything.@

AI=ll let Jane tell you all about it in the morning.  Kitty and I need to get some sleep.

 

Business started picking up after that and the company was finally coming out of the red.  They put most of the profit back into the business by adding a few new services.  Crop dusting was one of them.  Bob handled that end of the business.  He could have been a partner but he had absolutely no business sense and didn=t want any.  He just wanted to fly.  Another service was medvac.  Special equipment was purchased which could be installed in any of the helicopters in 10 to 12 minutes.  Equipment that would  keep a patient alive until they could get him or her over the mountains to Riverton. 

The community needed a helicopter service.  There were other small companies at the local airport but they used mostly  fixed wing aircraft. The area around Mountain Springs was ranch country.  Thousands of acres of ranches.  Mountain Springs was a small community situated in the middle.   There was an old time general store that stocked everything from plows to toothpicks.  There was a pharmacy, a small restaurant, a hardware store, a post office, a church, and a small clinic run by a nurse who handled skinned knees, head colds, allergies, and occasionally  set a broken arm. The airport was the largest facility in town.       There was really no need for a hospital with Riverton being as close as it was.  A helicopter flying through the mountain passes could get there in less than 25 minutes.  There was a road but it seemed like it was always snowed or fogged in when you really needed it.  When the weather was really bad, people just waited it out until it got better.  In an emergency they could fly the Cessna over the top of the storm.  The Cessna had oxygen and could get on top without  the passengers turning blue.   There had never been a problem that couldn=t be overcome in some manner.  That is, not until the day of the fog, as it was later called.

No one ever fully explained why  the whole countryside was blanketed with thick, heavy fog for more than a day and a half.  Fog usually burns off soon after the sun comes up but this stuff just wouldn=t go away.   It was unfortunate that Mr. Janson=s grand daughter picked that particular day to burst an appendix. 

Nurse Brown diagnosed it immediately  She told the girl=s mother that if she wasn=t rushed  to a hospital within the next few hours the girl would die.  Nurse Brown, the girl, her mother, and Mr. Janson drove to the airport hoping that someone there would risk  the flight to Riverton through the fog.  No one volunteered.  It wasn=t that they didn=t want to. It was  because it was impossible. The Cessna could probably fly out but wouldn=t be able to land. Everything for miles around was socked in.  No one was going  to fly out of Mountain Springs until that  fog lifted.

The little girl was moaning, the mother was crying, Mr. Janson was threatening everyone in sight because they weren=t  doing anything, and the nurse was standing around feeling helpless.  Finally Ken walked up to Mr. Janson.  AI=ll fly her to Riverton if Jane will allow me to use old Number One.@  Jane said, ANow wait a minute.  You=re not taking Number One anywhere.  If I thought you could make it, which I don=t,  I=d let you take one of the others but not Number One.@

ANumber One is the only aircraft we have that can make it.@

AExplain that more clearly Mr. hot shot pilot.@

AI=ve mastered the new INS in that aircraft.  It=s several steps above any INS  I=ve ever seen.  The laser controlled gyro has practically zero drift.  I won=t go into the theory of operation but that is the most accurate INS  I have ever used.  I programmed it to go through those mountains from here to Riverton.  I flew through the widest gaps in the pass and when a new heading was required, I flagged the longitude, latitude, elevation, new heading, and the distance from the last check point.  Every time I make a run to Riverton now I call up the program and let it guide me through the pass.  I can set us down on the roof of that hospital without ever looking outside of the aircraft.  I=ve done it 12 times without missing it a foot.  I can get us there.@

Nobody said a word.  Finally Mr. Janson broke the silence.  AWell, what are we waiting for. Let=s get a move on.@  Jane said, AMr. Janson, if that aircraft doesn=t make it through that pass several lives will be lost and my company will take a financial loss that will put us out of business.  I have to think about it.@

AI understand. I can=t replace lives, but I=ll make you a deal.  If you give it a try, I=ll buy you two of the same type aircraft.  If you make it or if you don=t.  Frankly I believe that crazy pilot of your=s can do it.@

ASo do I. Let=s go.  There will be four passengers only; The girl, her mother, Ken and me.@   Ken said, AWhy are you going?@

ATo make damned sure you don=t wreck my airplane.@

AIf I do, there=s no reason for  you to go down with it.@

ASo what do you care?@

AI hate to admit it but I kinda like you.@

AReally?  Well I=ll be darned. Come on let=s get the hell out of here.@

 

They slowly inched Number One  through the fog to a bench mark at the corner of the ramp.  Ken had recently had it  surveyed by three different surveyors.  It was accurate to less that a quarter of an inch.  Ken punched in the Latitude, Longitude and Elevation of the marker then let the INS quickly align its gyros and level the accelerometer platform.

AOnce it knows where we=re starting from it=ll keep track of our location from that point on.@   When  the green light came on he punched in an eight-digit code and the screen lit up like a pinball machine.  There on the screen was a map with a course laid out from  Mountain Springs to Riverton.  Ken lifted off and took the heading and elevation displayed on the screen. A small, bright, triangular arrow, started crawling along the line which represented  the first leg of the course.  Ken said, AYou might as well learn how to do this now.  You may have to do it yourself next time.@  Under her breath she said,  AYeah, if there is a next time.@

AIf you drift off course the arrow will also drift.  To get back on course you  take the new heading displayed next to the arrow.  If you press that blue button up  in the right hand corner,  the screen will zoom in on the arrow.  That way you can catch a small drift before it becomes so large you side swipe a mountain.  Punch the blue button again and it zooms back out to full screen.  There=s really nothing to it once you=ve set up the program and checked it out over the course a few times. It=s almost full proof. The important thing is to keep your mind on the screen and not the mountains out there in the fog.@

AWhat do you do if the screen blanks out?@

AAs the famous astronaut, Jose Jimenez once said, AI=m going to cry a lot.@

As they were approaching the first checkpoint,  Jane said, AHow do you know exactly when to take your new heading?@

AWhen we=re within two miles of the check point, the yellow light will start blinking.  When we reach the check point,  the light will stop blinking and the green light will blink four times then go to solid green.  You change headings when it goes to solid green.  Watch, we=re closing on the first check point now.@

Everything went as planned, one checkpoint after another,  then at last they were in the clear,  approaching Riverton.  Ken said, ACall the hospital and tell them to  have people on the roof ready to take our patient down to ER.@ 

As they approached the hospital Ken explained the landing process.  AThe INS knows where the roof is but it doesn=t know the exact elevation of the roof.  When I punch in the elevation, a vertical line with an arrow will appear on the right side of the screen.  This is our elevation indicator.  I can program the INS to enter the elevation automatically but I prefer to punch it in myself.  I like to be sure.  I=d hate to go plowing through the roof of the hospital.  The bottom of the line represents the roof top.  The arrow near the top of the  line represents our current elevation.  As we approach the roof the arrow will move down the line at the same rate we=re descending.  When the arrow reaches the bottom,  we=re on the roof. You back off just before the arrow touches bottom of the line.  It takes a little practice but you get used to it after a few tries.@

Five minutes later they were on the roof and the patient was headed for ER.  Ken said, AGet on the phone and call base so they=ll  know we got here in one piece.  I=ll tie Number One down and meet you in the waiting room.@

 

Jane was sitting on a bench.  She looked beat.  Ken sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulder.  AYou look tired.@

AI=m a little up tight, I guess.  I=m worried about the little girl.@

AI think we got her here in plenty of time.  We won=t know anything for at least an hour.  Let=s go to the cafeteria and get something to eat.  All of a sudden I=m hungry.@

AGood idea, let=s go.@

Ken ate two cheeseburgers and was on his third cup of coffee.  Jane was still working on the second half of her grilled cheese sandwich.  She appeared to be thinking.  She hadn=t said much since they sat down to eat.  Ken said, AO.K. what=s on your mind?@

AOh, just thinking.  You anticipated this didn=t you?@

AIn a way.  While exploring the mysteries of our new INS, I started playing what-if. What if the mountains socked in one day and we need to get to Riverton in a hurry.  Since the technology was there, why not use it.... just in case.  I didn=t tell anyone what I=d done.

Thought you might get mad at me for messing around with your airplane.   I figured if we needed it I could tell you then.@

AYou should have told me.  I wouldn=t have been mad.@

ALike hell you wouldn=t.  You get mad about everything.@

AI do don=t I?@  Tears started forming in her eyes again.

ANow don=t do that.  Warriors like you and Xena don=t cry.  Besides, I like you better when you smile.  You don=t do it often but when you do it lights up the room.@

AWho, me?@

AYeah you.  Let=s go see how our patient is doing.@

She was doing great.  She survived the operation with flying colors.  She=d probably live to be a hundred.  Jane was really smiling now.  Ken realized that she was truly worried about that little girl.  As they left the room she asked Ken, ADoes that contraption of yours work from here to Mountain Springs as well as it does from there to here?@

AIt sure does.@

AO.K. let=s go home.  I=ll drive.@

ALike hell you will.  We=ll wait until the fog lifts.  You need a couple of dry runs first.@

AIt=s my helicopter.  I=ll do it if want to.@

ANo you won=t.  Not without the code to bring up the program.  I=ll give you that after you=ve had a few dry runs.  I don=t want you to break my airplane.@

AWhat do you mean your airplane?@

AWell, you=re about to get two new ones just like it, why can=t I have the old one?@

AI forgot about that.  O.K. you can have this one.  I guess you earned it.@

 

Mary and Ken were sitting on the coach listening to soft music on the stereo.  Kitty was laying across both their laps sound asleep.  Mary was talking about the flight to Riverton.  The fog had finally dissipated and Jane had flown back to Mountain Springs using the INS program.  She wanted to go to Riverton and back again.   Ken told her to go ahead but he was staying on this side of the mountain for a day or two.  She went on back by herself.  She was like a kid with a new toy.

Mary said, AThat was a very brave thing you did to save that little girl=s life.@

AThere was nothing brave about my part of it.  The brave one was Jane.  I knew we could make it because I=d already done it several time. She hadn=t the slightest  notion of what we were going to do. She didn=t have to go but she went anyway, on blind faith.  That took guts. She was really concerned about that little girl.  She tried to act like it was the aircraft she was worried about but that wasn=t it at all.@

AI=m going to tell you a story that will help explain why Jane is the way she is.  Jane and I have known each other since we were kids.  We went to school together.  When we graduated from high school, I joined the Navy to see the world and Jane got married.  She wanted to stay home and raise a family.  Here husband, who was an out of towner, seemed like a nice guy.  Had a lot of charm and a winning smile.  It was long after they were married that his true nature started to show.  Behind that smile was a mean, self centered, bastard.  He treated Jane badly at first but much worse after she became pregnant.  He didn=t want a kid to tie him down.  He had a bad temper and could never hold a job for more than a couple months.  When he had a little money built up he=d go out on a four or five day binge then come back and beat hell out of Jane.  One time he went too far. He beat her so badly he killed the unborn child and almost killed her.  He left town and went to Denver to avoid going to prison.  A few weeks later he was killed in a bar room fight.

She became very bitter after that.  Bitter about everything but mostly about men.  She was about to have a nervous break down when a friend told her  to get involved in something that would keep her mind busy thinking about something other than her problem.  She decided to go to flight school.  Her instructor discovered she had a natural aptitude for flying and talked her into following up with rotary wing lessons.  She was good at that too. 

It seemed that the only thing her husband had ever done right was to  take out a large insurance policy on himself.  He=d probably planned to fake his death then take the money and run  after Jane collected it.  It certainly wasn=t out of  the goodness of his heart because he didn=t have one.  I=d just been discharged from the Navy when she came into her fortune.  We got to be pretty close again and one day she talked me into going into the flying business with her.  I=d run the business and she=d run the operation.  Dad had left Bob and me some money and I=d saved quite a bit while I was in the Navy. Bob had just come out of the Air Force and needed a job so he gave me his share of the inheritance with the understanding that he would always have a job with the company they were forming.  It worked out pretty well but we were barely keeping our head above water.  Mr. Janson=s coming over  to our side was the break we needed.

The reason Jane was so concerned about Mr. Janson=s granddaughter is that her little girl would have been the same age if she had lived.  She was damaged so badly she could never have another child.@

AWell that sure explains a lot.  I=m glad I didn=t give her a hard time.  I can be pretty nasty when I=m provoked.  She almost got to me a couple times but I backed off at the last minute.  I guess I=m getting mellow in my old age.@

AShe knows what you did and she appreciates it.  I guess you know, she=s really fond of you.@

AShe sure hides it well.@

AYou=re the first man since her marriage went bad she=s shown any respect for.  Continue to be nice to her.  I think at last she=s beginning to get her old personality back.  Everybody loved her in high school.  She could have had any man she wanted but ended up choosing Mr. wrong.  Be nice to her but don=t try to hit on her.@

AWhy not?@

ATwo reasons.  If you did she=d close the door on you out of fear.  She doesn=t want to make the same mistake twice.  Let her heal slowly.  The second reason is that it would make me jealous.  Do you realize that since you=ve been living here you=ve never made a play for me?  I=m beginning to think there=s something wrong with me.@

AAbsolutely not.  I=m a guest in your house and as long as I=m a guest I=ll act like one.  If and when I move into my own place,  I=ll come courting.  Be prepared to defend yourself.@

AI know of a nice apartment that just became vacant a few days ago. The landlord is a friend of mine.  I=ll set up an appointment for you tomorrow.@