“I don't know… thirty, forty years… like forever?” He grinned.
“Sure.” She laughed at his answer.
“I don't know. Awhile. I needed to get away. My mom died, and with Sally last year, I just figured I needed to get away from California. I miss my dad, but he understands.”
“Lucky for us,” she smiled warmly at him. “It was fun today. See you tomorrow.” She waved, and drove home. Her mother was home by then, and she made Cassie a sandwich. Her father was sitting in the kitchen, drinking a beer. He asked her how the flight was, and she told him how impressed she was with Billy's flying. She told him why, and Fat nodded, pleased by her report, though he'd have to see for himself. He told her to get some sleep after she'd had something to eat, and he never mentioned Desmond Williams's visit to the airport.
10
Classie was lying under an Electra the next day, with grease all over her face after working on the tail wheel, when she looked up and noticed an immaculate pair of white linen trousers. She couldn't help smiling as she looked at them, they looked so incongruous here, and so did the handmade spectators where the trousers ended. She looked up in curiosity, and was surprised to see an attractive blond man looking down at her with a puzzled air. She was almost unrecognizable, with her hair piled up on her head, grease all over her face, and a pair of old blue overalls that had been her father's.
“Miss O'Malley?” he asked with a frown, and she grinned. She looked like a bad joke from vaudeville as her white teeth shone in the black face, and the polished-looking man couldn't help smiling.
“Yes, I'm Miss O'Malley.” She was still lying on her back, looking up at him, and she suddenly realized she'd better get up and see what he wanted. She sprang easily to her feet, and hesitated to shake hands with him. He looked so clean and so exquisitely groomed, everything about him was perfection. She wondered if he wanted to charter a plane from them, and she was about to direct him to her father. “Can I help you?”
“My name is Desmond Williams, and I saw you at the air show two days ago. I wanted to speak to you, if I may,” He looked around the hangar and then back to her “Is there anywhere we could go and talk?” She looked startled at the question. No one had ever come to visit her that way, and the only place to talk privately would have been her father's office.
“If you don't mind the noise of the planes, we could walk over near the runway, I guess.” She didn't know what else to offer him.
They began walking side by side, and she almost laughed thinking of how incongruous they must have seemed, he so beautifully clean, and she so incredibly dirty. But she forced herself to look serious. She had no idea if he had a sense of humor. She saw that Billy had caught sight of them by then. He waved, but she only nodded.
“You were very impressive at the air show,” Desmond Williams said quietly to her as they walked along the edge of the fields, and his shoes began to get very dusty.
‘Thank you.”
“I don't think I've ever seen anyone win so many prizes… certainly not a girl your age. How old are you, anyway?” He was watching her very carefully, and he sounded serious, but he was quick to smile at her. She still didn't know what he wanted.
“I'm twenty. This fall I'll be a junior in college.”
“I see,” he nodded, as though that made a big difference. And then he stopped walking and looked at her pointedly before he asked his next question. “Miss O'Malley, have you ever thought of a future for yourself in aviation?”
“In what sense?” She looked completely baffled, and all of a sudden she wondered if he had come here to ask her to be a Skygirl, but even to her, that didn't seem very likely. “What do you mean?”
“I mean flying… as a job… as your future. Doing what you love best, or at least I think it is. You certainly fly as though you love it better than anything.” She nodded with a smile, and he watched her face relentlessly, but so far, he liked it.
“I'm talking about flying remarkable planes, planes that no one else has… testing them… setting records… becoming an important part of modem-day aviation… like Lindbergh.”
“Like Lindbergh?” She looked amazed. He couldn't mean it. “Who would I be flying for? You mean someone would just give me these planes, or would I have to buy them?” Maybe he was trying to sell her a new plane, but Desmond Williams smiled at her innocence. He was glad that no one had gotten to her before him.
“You'd be flying for me, for my company. Williams Aircraft,” As soon as she heard the name, she realized who he was, and she couldn't believe he was talking to her and comparing her to Charles Lindbergh. “There's a wonderful future out there for someone like you, Miss O'Malley. You could do great things. And you'd be flying planes that otherwise you'd never be able to lay your hands on. The best there is. That's quite a thrill. Not like these.” He looked around him disparagingly, and for a moment she felt hurt on behalf of her father. These planes were her friends, and her father's proudest possessions. “I mean real planes,” Williams went on. “The kind that world records are made in.”
“What would I have to do to get the job?” she asked suspiciously. “Would I have to pay you?” No one had ever offered her anything like this, and she had no idea how it worked. She had always thought that important pilots had their own planes, it had never occurred to her that they were given or loaned by aircraft companies like his. She had a lot to learn, and he was more than willing to teach her. She was the first fresh face he had seen since he had taken over his father's business.
“You wouldn't have to pay me anything.” He smiled at her. “I would pay you, and handsomely. You'd get your photograph taken all the time, you'd get a lot of publicity, and if you're as good as I think you are, you could become a very important figure in aviation. Of course,” he looked at her carefully, “you might have to wash your face a little more often than you do now,” he teased and she suddenly remembered that she was probably covered with grease. She wiped her face on her sleeve, and was astonished at what she saw there. But he was even more impressed by the face he could see better now. She was exactly what he had been looking for. She was the girl of his dreams. All he had to do now was get her to sign a contract.
“When would I start?” She was curious, it was the most exciting thing she had ever heard, and she couldn't wait to tell Nick and her father.
“Tomorrow. Next week. As soon as you can get to Los Angeles. We would pay your way out of course, and give you an apartment.”
“An apartment?” Her voice almost squeaked as he nodded.
“In Newport Beach, where Williams Aircraft is. It's a beautiful spot, and you can get into the city in no time. What do you say? Do you want the job?” He had brought the contract with him, and he was hoping she would sign without waiting another moment. But she hesitated briefly as she nodded.
“Yes. But I have to ask my father. I'd have to give up school. He might not like that.” Particularly not for a flying job. Although he'd never been overly excited about her going to college. But he might not like this either.
“We could arrange for you to take classes, whenever you're free. But most of the time, you'll be pretty busy. There's a lot of good will involved, a lot of photography. And frankly, a lot of flying.”
It sounded utterly fantastic. “Actually, I came by yesterday, but the man in the office said you were flying. I left my card with him, and asked for you to call me. You probably got back too late, but I thought I'd better come out here again just in case he lost my card.” He smiled a winning smile at her, as Cassie looked at him pensively.
“You gave it to a man?” It had to be Nick or her father.
“I did and I told him I was staying at the Portsmouth. Did you call me there? Maybe I just didn't get the message.”
“No, I didn't,” she said honestly. “I never got the card or the message.”
“Well, there's no harm done. I'm glad I found you today. Here's the contract for you to go over with your father.”
“What does the contract say?” she asked innocently.
“It commits you to a year of test flights and publicity for Williams Aircraft, nothing more than that. I don't think you'll find anything wrong with it,” he said confidently. He somehow managed to convey, just looking at her, that this was a great opportunity and she would love it.
