Survivors – A Novel of the Coming Collapse

To meet Blanca’s father, Ian decided to wear a suit, instead of his service dress uniform. But borrowing a suit that would fit him well took some scrambling, as did finding cuff links and dress shoes. This turned into an evening-long scavenger hunt for many of the junior officers and GS-9s who lived on his floor of Rick’s Place. Knocking on doors up and down the hall, Bryson Pitcher led Doyle and a parade of suit beggars. This turned into a movable party, with plenty of alcohol served. Doyle heard repeatedly, “This deserves a toast!” The lovely Blanca Araneta was a legendarily unreachable enigma for anyone who worked in flight operations, so the reactions were a mix of envy and awe. The envy came mostly from the officers who were there on PCS assignments. They were miffed that a newly arrived TDY O-2 could break the ice with Blanca, and so quickly.

Blanca drove over from her apartment and picked Ian up at just after three p.m., for the hour-long drive to her family’s ninety-hectare estancia, which was about three miles outside of Talanga. Blanca wore a simple black dress with a very modest neckline and hemmed below the knee. She wore very little makeup. Her hair was combed out and worn loosely. This was the first time that Ian had seen it in anything but a simple ponytail. The only adornment she wore was a single large teardrop-shaped pearl on a gold chain. Ian thought she looked gorgeous. She definitely had the Grace Kelly vibe going. Understated, but stunning.

The drive north from Tegucigalpa was fairly quiet and revealed the nervousness they both felt. There were just a few comments on the scenery and a bit of travelogue from Blanca on the local history and age of certain buildings. Ian felt a new level of anxiety as she turned the car into the estancia’s long driveway. Even from a distance, Doyle could see that the house was huge and that it had stables off to one side.

Just before they stepped out of the Mercedes, Ian straightened his borrowed silk tie. Blanca whispered, “Bring your video camera. My papa will want to see pictures.” After the maid ushered them in, they met Blanca’s father on the screened patio.

As was customary, Blanca began the introductions: “Papa, este es mi amigo, Ian.”

Ian carried on haltingly, “Mucho gusto, Senor Araneta, su hija habla de usted con mucha admiracion, es un honor y un placer de conocer a usted.” (“I’m pleased to meet you sir, your daughter speaks with great admiration about you, it is an honor and a pleasure to meet you.”) Ian did this fairly well, since he had practiced it with Consuelo, but he was obviously nervous.

After shaking hands, Arturo Araneta asked, “So, Lieutenant Doyle, my daughter tells me you are a pilot of F-16 fighting planes.”

“That’s right, sir.” Pointing to the rucksack on his shoulder, he said, “I brought my camcorder with some movies of myself and some of my squadron mates flying F-16s, if you are interested.”

“Of, course, of course. Let’s go to the library.”

Arturo Araneta asked as they walked, “You have this movie in your video camera?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then let’s watch it on my big screen. It is the latest from Japan.”

The dimly lit library was quite a contrast to the brightness of the patio. It took a while for Doyle’s eyes to adjust to the lighting.

As they were getting the camera’s cable hooked up to the television input jack, Arturo Araneta asked Ian, “So, where did you go to college?”

Without looking up, Ian said, “The University of Chicago.”

Arturo pointed to the jacks on the front of the television and said, “You may attach the cables here. And what did you study?”

“Engineering.”

Arturo looked at him and said, “There are many types of engineers.”

“I did a double major, in aeronautical engineering and industrial engineering. I also got minor degrees in English literature and military history.”

The elder gentleman looked impressed. “Engineering, engineering. Excellent! I am surprised that so many other young people waste their time in other trifling fields.” He again looked at Ian intently and asked, “That much work must have been difficult. How were your grades?”

Ian smiled. “It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed the material. I graduated cum laude.”

Arturo stood up, smiled slightly while nodding his head, and said, “Very good. Very, very good.” With a wave of his hand, the maid brought iced tea and they sipped it as they watched Ian’s videotape.

Doyle introduced it by just saying, “These clips you’ll see were all shot by me from the backseat of a D-model F-16-that’s the version with two seats.”

The first clip showed some tight-formation flying. The second showed takeoffs, landings, and touch-and-goes.