Wings

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, Cass.” 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 them that night when he refused to say a word to her 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 constitutionally or mentally cut out to fly airplanes.

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

“It's no more dangerous for me than it is for Chris,” Cassie 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?” Cassie said persistently. “He was the navigator, not Earhart. And maybe they were shot down,” Cass 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, Cassie. I should never have let you loll around at the airport all these years. But you loved it so, and I thought it would be nice for your father. But you have to give up these foolish dreams, Cassie. 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!” Cassie 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 Cassie lay on the bed and sobbed, from the sheer frustration of dealing with her parents.

When Bobby Strong came by later that night, Cassie 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 usual, and just being in the air with Nick lifted her spirits. Afterward, they sat in the old truck for a while, talking, and Cassie 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?” Cassie 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 Cassie since October. It was getting more and more difficult, but by Christmas he seemed to have relaxed again. And then finally, he relented totally when Bobby Strong handed Cassie 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 Cassie 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 Cassie, 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 Cassie 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 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 Cassie 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 ass 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?” 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.