“Did she get custody?” Rita asked.
Toad told her about it. Both of them shook their heads sadly. Truly, modern marriage was a misery.
‘Two people who love each other don’t need all that,” Rita sniffed. “I want a man who loves me and wants to be with me, not because he has to, but because he wants to.”
“It’s the has-to part that turns me off,” Toad explained. “You know, I think it’s terrific that you and I think so much alike.”
“Well, we’re very similar. We both have middle-class back- grounds, good educations, we’re naval officers, we fly. You’re only a year older than I am. It’s no wonder.”
“I guess.”
Toad wheeled her Mazda into the restaurant parking lot and found a space. He opened the door for Rita and she smiled her thanks, a gorgeous little grin that he returned. She rested her fin- gers lightly on his arm as they walked across the macadam. He held the door for her and she preceded him through. He had never felt better in his life — so alive, so into all of it. They loved each other without strings. And the best part, he told himself, was that they could be so forthright, so frank with each other. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone’s relationships were so open and honest?
They were married that afternoon in Oakland, Maryland.
The glider wheeled and soared six feet above the dune, the sun flashing on its wings. Jake Grafton sat in the sand with the wind at his back. David and Amy sat beside him, hugging their knees. He manipulated the levers on the radio control box without taking his eyes from the free-flying bird.
“Remember to keep the nose up in the turns,” David reminded him as the glider reached the tuft of sea grass a hundred feet north along the dune where Jake had been turning. He had the technique now, he hoped. He hadn’t crashed in ten minutes. He thought he could stay aloft as long as the wind remained steady.
Back the glider came, crossing silently above their heads. ‘To- tally awesome,” David murmured.
“Awesome” seemed to be the word this year in the sixth grade.
What had it been when Jake had been twelve years old? He tried to remember and drew a blank.
Amy Carol stretched out in the sand on her stomach, her chin on her forearms. Her figure was still a collection of straight lines. Callie said she would start to fill out soon. David matched her position, his big feet incongruous beside Amy’s petite ones. No doubt his growth would also spurt in the next year or so; he al- ready had the feet of a good-sized man, though the rest of him had a lot further to go.
“Your dad’s gonna be a pretty good pilot,” David told her.
“He isn’t my dad. He’s Jake.”
“He’s gonna be good,” David insisted.
‘That’s not so tough to do,” she said, sitting up.
“0h no? Why don’t you try it.”
“Can I, Jake?”
“Yeah, Come over here and watch me for a minute.” He ex- plained the controls and demonstrated how they worked. After two passes up and down the beach with Amy watching intently, be turned the box over to her. She overbanked and nosed the plane in on the very next turn.
David smacked his hands together in exasperation. ” ‘Nothing to it.’ Girls!” He pronounced the last word as if it were spelled “gurls.”
The left wing had torn skin and a broken spar. The three avia- tors collected their gear and trudged for the house. “Don’t worry, Cap’n,” the boy said with a disgusted glance at Amy, “I can fix it good as new.”
“I’m sure you can,” Jake told him, grinning.
“Girls don’t know nothin’ about flyin’.”
“Don’t bet on it, Dave. There’s a woman pilot working for me, and she’s real dam good.”
Amy squared her shoulders, threw her head back and marched proudly before them, at long last assuming her rightful place among the exalted sisters.
“You’re what?” exclaimed Harriet, Rita’s horrified roommate. It was Sunday evening and they were in the bedroom. Out in the living room Toad had settled in to watch a Knicks game.
Rita held up her left hand and waggled it proudly. “Here’s the ring. I’m married.”
“My God! How long have you known him? A month? How long were you engaged?”
“A little over an hour. We were driving to Deep Geek Lake for the weekend and around Prostburg we decided to get married So Toad drove off the next exit and into Oakland. We found the most delightful minister. He knew a lady in the county clerk’s office— she was a member of his church — and she drove downtown and opened up the courthouse just to issue us a license. Was’nt that sweet?”
Harriet lowered herself onto the bed and covered her face with her hands.
‘The minister’s wife gave me some flowers from her garden. Some paper-white narcissus and tulips and multicolored butterfly daffodils, all accented by bridalwreath in a beautiful bouquet- I cradled them in my right arm when we said our vows.” She sighed’ remembering. “I have the best ones down in the car. I thought you and I could press them,”
“A one-hour engagement! Rita, Rita, Rita, you poor poor child. What do you know about this man? What?” Harriet opened the bedroom door a crack and looked with loathing at the groom sagged out in front of the TV with a beer in his hand. No wonder they called him Toad.
“My God, Rita. how could you?” she hissed. “What do you know about him? He could be AC-DC or a closet pervert, or even a Republican! What will your mother say?” Harriet spun like a lion- ess ready to pounce. “Have you told her yet?”
“Wellll—“
“I knew it! When are you going to tell her? After all, Rita, she is your mother. She once told me that after buying a thousand wed- ding presents for all of your friends, she was so looking forward to inviting every one of them to your wedding. You’re her only daugh- ter!” Harriet threw herself backward onto her bed and bounced once. “How could you?” she moaned.
“It was easy,” Rita Moravia Tarkington said lightly. She dearly enjoyed Harriet’s tantrums. “It was so romantic. Just like I always wanted it to be. He’s so handsome, so … We’re going to be so very happy all our lives. He’s… he’s…” She sighed again and smiled.
“0ne thing’s for sure,” Harriet said acidly, “he’s all yours now.”
On Monday morning Lieutenant Toad Tarkington and Lieutenant Rita Moravia entered Jake’s office together, side by side. They stopped in front of his desk and waited at parade rest until he looked up from the report he was working on.
“Yeah.”
“We have some news for you. Captain,” Rita said.
Jake carefully surveyed their expectant faces. He scowled. “Why have I got the feeling I’m not going to enjoy this?”
Rita and Toad both grinned broadly and glanced at each other. “We’re married,” Toad said.
Jake Grafton clapped his hands over his ears. “I didn’t hear that. Whatever it was, I didn’t hear it. And I don’t want to hear it.” He stood and leaned slightly toward them, his voice low; “I have enough problems around here without people sniping at me about the romantic status of my test crew- What you two do on your own time is your business- But until we get the prototype testing completed and I submit the report, you two puppies are going to walk the line for me. All business. No kissy-facey or kootchy-koo or groping or any of that other goofy hooey. No glori- ous announcements. Strictly business.”
“Yes, sir,” Rita said.
“I warned you about this, Tarkington. No romances, I said. And look at you! It’s disgusting, that’s what it is.”
“Yessir,” Toad said.
“I can’t let you out of my sight for a minute.”
“I just couldn’t control myself, sir.”
“You two are going to be very happy someday. But not today or tomorrow. Right now you’re serious, committed, dedicated profes- sionals. Pretend. Try real hard.”
“Yessir,” they both said.
“Congratulations. Get back to work.”
