Lin Chi is well accepted!
We returned home Wednesday evening. It had been a nice but tiring trip,
but we were happy to be home. We drove to mom’s house to pick Jay up.
As we went in the kids were watching television, mom was on the phone talking
to someone.
We walked into the kitchen where mom was and I sat the car seat on the counter.
“Come here kids, I want to show you something! They all hurried in to find out what I had.
“It’s a baby! Where did he come from? Bill asked.
“It’s not a he. Her name is Lin Chi Lamour,” sue answered.
“Lin Chi! What kind of name is that? Bob asked.
“That is a Vietnamese name, her mother was a Vietnamese girl. She’s
my daughter from a girl I knew from Vietnam. She died and they brought
Lin here to me. Sue and I are going to raise her,” I explained.
“Can I hold her?” Phyllis asked.
“Sure you can. Where is Jay? I asked.
“He’s upstairs with Rick.” I went up to get him while they fussed over Lin.
“How is it going Rick?” I asked entering his room. Jay was on
the floor playing with his toys while Rick was watching television.
“Hi Jay! Did you just get back?” Rick asked.
“Yes, and we brought a surprise with us. Hi little man, did you miss
daddy?” I asked, picking him up. He was smiling from ear to ear.
“Come on son, I want to show you something,” I said, not giving away to Rick,
what the surprise was. Rick hurried down stairs to see for himself.
As I returned to the kitchen Jay saw his mom and reached his arms out for
her.
“Hi sweetheart! We missed you so much! Have you been a Good boy?”
She hugged, kissed, and made a fuss over him.
“Look what we brought you, a baby sister!” She Held him in a way to
allow him to see her. Jay reached out to touch her.
“Sue she’s so beautiful!” Mom said, caressing Lin’s face. “She’s
going to be spoiled rotten. Someone is going to have his or her hands
full,” she was looking at Sue and I. We stayed another hour and went
home.
After we got home and put luggage away, Sue put Jay to bed and made a pot
of coffee. It was nine thirty, and we were tired. We had the
car seat with Lin sitting on the kitchen table. Sue poured us a cup
of coffee as we sat and stared at Lin.
“Are you going to be able to handle her?” I asked. She looked at me and turned her eyes back toward Lin.
“I can handle her, can you?”
“What are you going to tell people when they ask if you’re you married to
an Oriental man?” I asked teasing. She cocked her eyes at me.
“I’ll tell them he’s Korean,” she joked and gave me a little smile.
“Touché!” We were silent a few seconds. “Mind game!
What will our families think of this?” I asked.
“What do you think?”
“You are trying to break the rules. I asked you first.”
“You make the rules up as you go along!” She said laughing and raising her voice.
“I’m not! That has always been the rule.”
“You’re such a liar!” She continued shaking her head and laughing at the same time.
“I invented the game, I make the rules. Play by the rules or forfeit!”
I said, putting my forehead on the table trying to cover up my laughter.
“I can’t win can I?”
“Do you forfeit?” I asked smiling.
“And what would I forfeit?”
“I’ll tell you tonight. Now answer my question!”
“Seriously?” She asked looking at me. “I think some of our friends
and maybe some in our families will wonder and even ask me how I can do this.
I’ll tell them that I’m adopting your child because she’s yours and she had
no one else to take her. Now that she belongs to us, I love her like
my own. She picked Lin up and put her against her chest holding her.
“Jay, I love her, I really do,” she said with a soft loving voice.
“I know you love her,” I stated, leaning over and kissing her and Lin.
“I’ll not say this to anyone else ever, and you may think it’s a man thing
but I wouldn’t change anything except for hurting her mother.”
“I feel the same way. I really do. Tell me more about her mother.”
“Put her back in the seat for a minute,” I said.
She laid her down and I put my arms around her and kissed her long and soft.
“You are so wonderful. I have a couple of pictures of her in mom’s
attic. She was very beautiful. I found out after we had been
together that she was sixteen, about to turn seventeen. Her parents
were old and had a small farm. They grew barely enough to eat.
She had two older brothers that were in the Army. I never met any of
them. I would always send things home with her to give to her parents.
Cigarettes, toilet paper, canned food when I could get them and C-Rations.
All the men tried to be with her but she wouldn’t have anything to do with
anyone.”
“Why did she choose you?”
“Because I chose a different approach and didn’t come on to her as the others
did. I took my time and won her affection by deceiving her. I
knew she had nothing and never would except war and destruction. I
offered her safety and comfort.”
“Jay, that’s terrible.”
“I know and I’m sorry for it.”
“Why didn’t you think of me while you were over there?”
“I knew you loved me and I remember that you said you would wait for me but
I had been told the same thing before. I was afraid of being hurt again.
I was clearing the slate in my mind. I did start writing a letter one
night.”
“You were going to write me?”
“Yes. I happened upon your picture in my billfold. It caused
me to think of you and I started writing but suddenly after a half page,
I stopped. I felt it would hurt you more if I wrote and then something
happened to me. Besides, I never expected to see you again and I thought
you would forget about me in time.”
“I didn’t. You were my first and last thought everyday.”
“I know.”
We finished our coffee and went to bed leaving Lin in the car seat on the floor next to our bed.
“Go shopping tomorrow and get her a bed,” I said, after we had cuddled.
“I will,” she said falling asleep soon after. I lay thinking of my
new family. I wasn’t able to fall asleep. I got up to go to the
kitchen but first taking the letters out of my nightstand to read while I
was up. I poured myself a lukewarm cup of coffee and sat at the table.
April 8,1970, 9:30 pm.
My Secret Lover,
I start by saying that because I’m the only one that knows how much I love
you and think about you. In a way, you’re my secret lover. While
I’m at work, I sneak secret thoughts of you while no one is watching.
No one knows about how I have secret thoughts of you while I sometimes set
alone during lunch. How I secretly think of you while someone is speaking
to me. When I’m helping my family prepare supper and everyone is talking
at the same time but I hear nothing, their voices muted, as my mind is thousands
of miles away with you. When someone speaks your name and I sneak away
into a world where you and I are the only inhabitants. Then there are
times when I’m caught off guard, when my thoughts are on the things of the
day and you secretly sneak into my mind spoiling them when I need to be concentrating.
Ha! Ha! I just had a thought! What if I was caught thinking
of you too much and we were sentenced together forever. Oh My!
No matter where I am or what I do, you’re there. I Love You so keep
it up. Kiss me in your dreams.
Your Secret Lover, Sue
April 12, 1970, 11:35 pm.
To my not so secret Lover,
I was caught red handed! I was alone in the kitchen the night before
last drying dishes, thinking of you when Genie appeared. She must have
seen something in my face. You are thinking of him aren’t you?
She asked. I had no excuse for where my mind was so I admitted that
she was right. Then I prefaced any further conversation by sitting
the rules. I said, to her. “If you have anything negative to
say this conversation ends here.” To my surprise, she was supportive.
For the first time in a while we talked to one another as sisters do.
She realizing how much I love you began by apologizing for the way she had
acted in the past.
She held me as I began crying. I miss you so much I couldn’t hold it
in. I cried for fifteen minutes as she held me in her arms. She
now knows you’re my secret lover. I guess it is no longer a secret.
I hope you don’t mind me having a friend that I can talk to about us.
If I needed someone to talk, she said she would be there for me. We
finished the dishes, went to my room, and talked at length. She talked
some about her boyfriend and how much she didn’t really care for him.
How she has trouble maintaining relationships because she possibly expects
too much from them. She wants them to have college degrees but not
be smarter than she, those kinds of expectations.
Then I went on and on about you. She listened to everything I had to
say. She closed the conversation by saying you were the luckiest man
on earth to have me as the one waiting. We hugged and I thanked her
for being there for me.
Tonight she was passing my room and noticed my light on under the door.
She knocked being curious and I opened the door and invited her in.
She asked why I was sitting at my desk at this hour and I explained I was
about to write you as I always do. She asked if you had been writing
back. No, I said, showing her the letters I had written but not sent.
You should have seen the look on her face! She couldn’t believe it
until I explained to her that this was my way of staying near you.
Then she said the most surprising thing. She said she wished she had
someone that could make her feel that way.
I hope you don’t mind. I let her read two of the letters to help her
understand how I feel about you. While reading, she began crying causing
me to cry. She joked to make me feel better and then said, “when you
came back she would do everything in her power to take you away from me so
she could feel what I was feeling”. I knew she was joking but I told
her, don’t even try it”. We had a good laugh and she left me alone
to be with you. I have been so busy saying how much I love you I have
not told you that I love you. I love you so much. My day will
come again. Good night and kiss me in your dreams.
I Love You, Sue
Things couldn’t get any better except!
Another month had passed. Sue and I went to pick Brad up at the airport. I hugged him as he came out of the gate.
“I heard you re enlisted for three more,” I said, joking with him.
“I heard you were going back in too! He said as we laughed.
“Brad, this is Sue,” I said, introducing them.
“Damn Jay! Everyone said she was beautiful but I had no idea!
Don’t ever turn your back when I’m around her,” he looked at me and smiled.
“I found her in a homeless shelter, for the homely,” I joked.
“Stop that Jay!” She said lightly slapping me on the arm.
“Sue, I have never known Jay to lie.” Brad said, and we laughed.
“That’s right Sue. Show Brad all of your warts.” Brad and I continued
laughing. “He knows I’m kidding sweet. Brad, she knows I’m still
in awe of her beauty,” I explained kissing her.
“Why didn’t you bring your kids? Mom wrote me you have another one
now. Mom said she was adorable. I can’t wait to see them,” he
said urging us to go.
We talked Army as we walked to the car.
“I’m glad your home Brad. It was a long three wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, I’m glad you made it home in one piece too. The Medal of Honor,
boy have they reached rock bottom,” he said as we laughed. After putting
the luggage in the car, we drove home.
Everyone greeted us at the door as we entered. The whole family sat
around talking for a couple of hours. It seemed as though the kids
asked him the same questions they asked me when I returned. The questions
stopped as soon as mom told us to come to the table, supper was ready.
While we were eating, the questions continued.
“That’s enough questions kids!” I said, knowing he didn’t feel like
answering any. After supper, Brad and I got us a cup of coffee and
sat on the back porch.
“It’s a little quieter out here isn’t it,” I asked.
“I need a beer. Do you want to go out?”
“I’m game, where do you want to go?”
“Is Milton’s Cave still open?”
“Yes, I see cars parked outside of it when I pass by.”
“Well let’s go!” he said as he stood up.
“I’m going to tell Sue that I’ll be back in a while,” I said, as we went into the house.
“You are P-whooped Jay. You have a bad case of it too!” he said laughing
and patting me on the back. I just shook my head at him, meaning whatever.
“Sue, Brad and I are going to get a beer. Do you want to stay or go to the house?”
“I’ll stay for awhile. Your not going to forget to pick me up, are you?”
“We’ll just have a couple and come on back,” I said, putting my jacket on.
We entered the club at seven thirty and there were about fifteen others there.
We played a couple games of pool while consuming a few beers each.
“I need to slow down on the drinking. I can’t handle it like you can,” I said, feeling a little dizzy.
“Forget the beer then,” he said going to the bar and ordering us a drink.
“Try a little rum and coke,” he said handing me one. We drank several
of them and I was feeling no pain. We began talking, acting a little
goofy and talked of old times. They had been playing country music
all evening and we were trying to sing along.
“Come on, let’s find someone to dance with,” he said looking around.
As I looked around, I noticed the club was full. There were probably
seventy or eighty people in the bar at this time. I could tell Brad
wasn’t feeling any pain either. I didn’t intend to dance with anyone.
He had gone over to another table and asked one of three girls sitting together
if they wanted to dance. I sat down at the table and when I looked
up, he was on the dance floor with her. Everyone was clapping to the
song that was playing. I was feeling good at this time so I joined
in.
One of the other two girls walked over to me and leaned over.
“Do you want to dance? She asked loudly. Her back had been facing
me and I had not seen her face. She was very beautiful. The music
was very loud and it was hard to hear one another talking.
“I’m a slow dancer, I can’t dance to that,” I said, trying to say no politely. She sat down next to me.
“We’ll wait for a slow one then. I would rather dance to a slow one
myself! I’m Lonnie, what is your name? She asked letting her
lips touch my ear.
“Jay! I answered.
“Are you going to dance the next slow one with me?” She said and then
put her tongue against my ear. She sent chill bumps over my body.
“I think I have had to much to drink. I don’t think I could stand straight
enough to dance!” I said, trying to let her down easy. They began
playing a slow song and she pulled on my arm.
“Come on, just one dance. I haven’t dance all night!” She said continuing to pull on my arm.
I stood up and walked to the dance floor with her. She put her arms
around my neck and pulled me closer to her. I put my arms around her
waist and began dancing. As we moved back and forth slowly, she straddled
my leg and began rubbing herself against me. I tried not to react to
what she was doing but I could feel myself getting excited. She knew
exactly what she was doing.
There were so many on the dance floor we were bumping into others.
I knew the song was almost over. I reached my hand up and put it on
her breast. I was thinking this might scare her off but she put her
hand on top of mine. I didn’t know now what I wanted to do. She
was making me feel good. Brad and the other girl were dancing next
to us.
“Do you guys want to go get a room?” Brad said looking at us. I was about to say no.
“We can go to my place!” Lonnie stated before I could answer.
I wasn’t thinking straight. I had almost blocked out the fact that
I was married.
“What do you say Jay?”
I looked at Lonnie, trying to decide. She was beautiful. Slim
with dark hair and brown eyes. She put her mouth to my ear and nibbled
on my earlobe.
“Let’s go have some fun Jay,” she whispered in my ear.
“Let’s go,” I said, dropping my arms from around her waist and grabbing her
hand. I looked at Brad as we were walking out of the place. He
shrugged his shoulders as though he thought nothing of it.
“I’ll ride with Jay and you two follow us in my car.” Lonnie said handing her keys to Brad.
After getting in the car, I was almost to the point of turning back but she
moved next to me, putting her hand between my legs, and began rubbing.
I couldn’t say no. She gave me directions to her apartment. All
the while, I was getting very excited. I put my arm over her shoulder,
slid my hand under her bra, and began feeling her. She was sucking
on my neck and before I could stop her, I knew she put a hickey on me.
I knew I had to check it when we got to her place. After fifteen minutes
of driving, we reached her apartment. We all got out of the cars and
went in.
“Lindsay, you and Brad can find a seat.” Jay, come with me and help me fix us a drink.”
“I don’t want another drink,” I said, following her into the kitchen.
“Let me fix them one,” she said reaching for a glass with her back to me.
I reached around her under her arms, put my hands on her breast, and squeezed
them.
“Let them fix their own drinks,” I said, to her as she stopped and turned
around facing me. I kissed her. I continued feeling her breast
and she put her hand between my legs.
“Come on, let’s go to bed,” I stated looking at her.
“Let’s go!” She said grabbing my hand.
“You two can make you’re own drink if you want one,” she said walking by
the den into the bedroom. As soon as we closed the door, we began stripping
each other’s clothes off.
An hour later I dressed. She was laying on her side using her arm to prop her head up watching me dress.
“Will I see you again?” She asked.
“Sure, I know where you live now,” I answered not knowing if I would.
As I was leaving, I stopped in the den and they were still lying on the couch
under a blanket.
“Brad, are you ready to go.”
“I’m going to spend the night.”
“Well, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay, I’ll see you later,” he answered without moving.
I got into the car and realized I had screwed up. I turned the dome
light on to see if I had a hickey. It was a very small one and I couldn’t
cover it up with my collar. I began feeling guilty. I couldn’t
think straight to fabricate any excuses. It had been over an hour since
I had a drink and I wasn’t drunk. Looking at my watch it was eleven
o’clock. My mind was racing to think of something to tell her.
I reached mom’s house and went in to get her and the kids.
“Where is Sue?” I asked Bill.
“Phyllis took her and the kids home about an hour ago.”
“I’ll see you later,” I said, going back out to the car. I drove home thinking that I had a good answer for her.
Mom’s car was in front of our apartment so I knew Phyllis was still there.
I walked in and I stopped at the door of the kitchen where they were sitting
at the table talking.
“I’m sorry I was late. We had a few more than I thought we would,”
I said, apologizing. She didn’t answer. I stood another minute
waiting for her to say something, and then went into the bathroom to take
a shower. Afterwards, I went to bed. Sue was in the kitchen and
I knew Phyllis had gone. I waited a while for her to come to bed but
I fell asleep.
The next morning I awakened looking at the alarm clock. It was eight
thirty. I began to jump up and get ready for work but then realized
it was Saturday. I noticed Sue had already gotten up so I lay in the
bed a few minutes thinking about last night. I new I had screwed up
and had my excuse prepared in case she asked me about it. I decided
to get dressed, face her, and get things settled. When I entered the
kitchen, she was feeding Lin. Jay sat in the high chair feeding himself.
“Good morning,” I said, to determine her demeanor.
“Good morning,” she answered in a low voice but not looking at me.
I walked over to her leaning my head over to kiss her but she didn’t raise
her head. I poured myself coffee, sat at the table and began reading
the newspaper. After putting the bowl in the sink, she sat down and
took the part of paper that I wasn’t reading and started thumbing through
it. We looked through the paper awhile without speaking or even looking
at each other. I teased and played with the kids as she ignored me.
I wanted to start a conversation but I thought she would give me the cold
shoulder until she calmed down.
I got up from the table, cooked me an egg sandwich, and went into the den
to eat it. I couldn’t understand why she was this angry just over me
being late, unless she knew more than I thought she did. I began thinking.
I need to resolve this. I went back into the kitchen and sat at the
table with her.
She couldn’t have known anything more than I wasn’t where I said, I would be. I decided to go for it.
“Why are you so angry?” I asked as though I had done nothing wrong.
“Where did you go last night? I went by the club and didn’t see your car.”
“I don’t understand you, why are you asking me about this? You act
as though I have committed a crime,” I answered, continuing to act innocent.
“If I had a feeling you had been with someone else, would that feeling be
unjustified. Is that what you’re telling me? She asked almost
in tears.
“I would say exactly that! I may have had a few to many and got a little stupid, but that was it.”
“How stupid did you get?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Were you carrying on with someone last night?”
“Brad met someone and began dancing with her. She was with two other
girls and one of them asked me to dance. I turned her down at first
but she was very persistent so I danced with her. By then I had drunk
a few,” I said, trying to explain without saying too much.
“How many times did you dance with her?”
“Three or four, I don’t remember exactly.”
“Where did you go when you left the club?”
“I took Brad and the girl he was with to her place.”
“You didn’t leave with one of the others.”
“No, the others wanted to stay and they had the car, so I drove Brad and the girl to her place,” I explained.
“Why do I get the feeling that you’re not telling me everything? Is this the way our marriage is going to be?”
“What are you saying? If I go out to have a drink, you feel that I’m
with someone else! Why would you think that way? Have I done
something to you that would give you a reason to think that!” I leaned
over and put my arm around her. “I did a stupid thing last night, I’m
sorry and I love you! It will not happen again, I promise! Will
you let me off the hook this time?” I asked trying to convince her
that I made a small mistake.
“I don’t know. I have doubts in my mind and I can’t make them go away.”
“I understand what you’re saying. However, I’ll never give you a reason
to think that again, and you know I would never do anything intentionally
to hurt you,” I paused a moment thinking of what else I could say.
“Please Sue, I can’t stand the thought of you feeling this way about me.
I’ll never do that again, I promise!” I reached my hand to her face,
and turned her toward me, looking into her eyes. “Please forgive me.
I said, leaning over to kiss her.
“You have hurt me!” She said with tears streaming down her face.
“I’ll never do it again!” I said, putting my arms around and squeezing
her. She looked me in the eyes a moment and kissed me.
I hoped the kiss meant that she was forgiving me. I knew I had gotten
away with one, but at the same time, I knew she felt there was more to it
than I had told her. I promised myself that it would never happen again.
Lin had finished eating so I took her out of the high chair and held her
to change the subject and get Sue’s mind off what had just transpired.
I intentionally made noises, tickling them to create a disturbance.
They were laughing aloud, enough to get Sue’s attention.
“Jay, stop that. Don’t get them all worked up this early!” She exclaimed turning from the sink looking at us.
“Jay, do you think I should tickle mama?” I said, whispering loud enough for Sue to hear.
“Yes daddy! He replied. I stood up and began walking toward sue.
“No, don’t start with me!” She said holding a pot in her hand.
I knew she wasn’t going to use it so I continued walking toward her.
“You wouldn’t hit me in front of the kids would you?” I remarked holding
my hands out wiggling my fingers as though I was going to tickle her.
As I reached her, I wrapped my arms around her and began kissing her on the
neck.
Pulling my head back looking into her eyes I said. “You are so astonishing
and so perfect in every sense of the word. How could I have been so
thoughtless of your feelings? Why do you love me?” I asked with
sincerity.
“Because in some respects you haven’t grown up yet?”
“Do you think I will sometime soon?”
“You have come a long way this last year. I’ll give you a little more time,” she said smiling.
That afternoon we went to the park with the kids. For me it was a time
to reflect on our marriage and what Sue and the kids meant to me. Sue,
Jay and Lin sat on the blanket as I went for a walk. I hope last night
doesn’t come back to haunt me. I love her so much, how could I have
done that? I knew Brad wouldn’t bring it up to anyone in conversation.
I hope Lonnie would never try to call or get in touch with me. I’m
sure that wasn’t the last time Brad would see them. I would talk to
him and he could make sure she knew how I felt. I know Sue wouldn’t
leave me over that because of the way she is. I just don’t want to
live with her not being able to trust me if I went somewhere without her.
I would hate to be jealous of her!
“Did you grow up during your walk?” She asked, as I returned.
“What made you ask that?”
“I felt you were talking things over with yourself,” she said as I lay next to her putting my hand on her knee.
“I have taught you well, haven’t I?” I asked while squeezing her.
She smiled but said nothing. We both knew she was right.
We had eaten the meal she had prepared and sat around playing with Jay and
Lin until the sun had made them tired and they fell asleep on the blanket.
I realized she knew what had happened last night. I don’t know how
she knew and I wasn’t about to ask her, but she knew. I felt the best
thing for me was to let it go.
Trying to keep straight!
The weeks that followed were without incident. I had seen Brad only
twice in this time. He knew without me saying anything not to bring
up the subject. Sue was her normal self, always sweet and loving with
the kids and me. We had grown to love Lin more each day. She
was going to be as beautiful as her mother was when she grew up. Sue
was always talking on the phone to her friends about how wonderful she is.
I wasn’t surprised how Sue fussed over her. She was always the perfect
wife and mother. At times, I would just stare at her in awe and think
how perfect she is as a woman. I knew what I had and I was always afraid
I might screw things up. I wouldn’t do it on purpose but I might do
something without thinking of anyone but myself.
I was working more often now trying to make enough money to put aside for
her to go to school. I didn’t tell her what it was for, just that we
were to put it in savings for the future. I knew she wouldn’t want
to go to college until the kids started school but somehow I would talk her
into it. I knew in her heart she wanted to but she had this bad habit
of putting everyone else first.
I had gotten my Commercial license and all my ratings. I was flying
as much as I could to get hours in, waiting for the right job to come along.
I was offered a job flying Areal photographers over different sites to be
photographed but I turned it down. I knew something better would come
along. I was co-piloting for a friend a couple times a week with Jack
Willis. He flew a Leer for Concord Elevator who’s Engineers and executives
flew to several cities each week to oversee jobs, mostly in high-rise buildings.
I was getting plenty of experience flying jets with minimal pay, but I didn’t
mind. I was doing something I loved and I knew it would pay in the
end. I would be away from Sue two sometimes three days a week but she
never complained as I did. I was still a mechanic but only part time.
In the evenings during the week and on weekends, I gave flying lessons.
During the winter, we had spent a considerable amount of time with my family.
Sue would go to moms and she would spend most of the day there while I was
at work. She and mom were best of friends. All of the kids loved
to play with Lin and Jay. After work, I would meet her there and mom
would always invite us to stay and eat. We accepted most of the time
but not always. Some weekends my entire family would be home.
We always had fun during this time mostly joking with each other about the
old days. Everyone loved Sue and she received a lot of attention along
with Lin and Jay.
Harry was always making comments to me that Sue was so nice and I was so
rotten. He couldn’t see what she saw in me. I knew he was joking
but maybe he was a little serious too. I didn’t care, she was mine
and I loved her. Harry and Barry remained in the army. Their
intentions were to retire from it. That was fine with me but I told
them that I couldn’t handle it myself.
Warm weather was near and I was ready for it. I hated the cold.
I would move to a warmer climate if I had the chance. We had bought
a new house so I knew we would be here for a while. I loved working
in the yard and so did Sue. Sue and I would spend time with the kids
outside on days that we had time. I knew Sue missed her family so I
encouraged her to call them often. She talked to her mom about twice
a week but I knew that wasn’t enough. I told her to invite her brothers
and sisters down for the summer. Her mom said that all of the young
ones wanted to come but she new that would be to much for us and they had
to decide who was coming.
“I’m going to change my schedule this weekend and we can drive or fly up
to see your family and bring the kids back with us. How does that sound
to you?” I asked knowing she would want to.
“I would love to. If we can work it out.”
“It’s settled. We will fly if I can get us a plane for the weekend.”
Jerry Baker, who owned a six seated twin turbo prop, had offered me the use
of it any time I wanted. I was his mechanic for a while until I went
part time. I called him and asked if the offer stood. He was
going to take his nephew up this weekend but he said he could do that any
time and told me I could use it.