Wings

Nick had a lump in his throat the size of an egg and Pat looked gray, but as he realized what she'd done, Nick wanted to throttle her for scaring him so badly. How could she terrify them that way? Even first prize wasn't worth it. He ran to where she taxied the plane and almost yanked her out of the cockpit.

“What the hell were you doing up there, you damn fool? Trying to kill yourself showing off? Don't you realize that another foot and you couldn't have pulled up?”

“I know that,” she said calmly, startled to realize that he was shaking. She had done everything intentionally and with flawless calculation.

“You're a lunatic, that's what you are! You're not human, and you have no right to be in a plane.”

“Did I lose?” She looked agonized and more than ever he wanted to shake her, as her father watched from the distance with a look of fascination. And as he watched Nick's face, he realized that he was seeing something there he had never seen before. He wondered if Nick even knew it.

“Did you lose?” Nick raged on, holding firmly to her arm. “Are you nuts? You almost lost your life up there, and killed about a hundred people.”

“I'm sorry, Nick.” She looked suddenly contrite. “I thought I could get away with it.”

“You did. Damn you. And it was the finest piece of flying I've ever seen, but if you ever do anything like that again, I'm going to kill you.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now get out of that damn plane, and go apologize to your father.”

But surprisingly, he was much kinder to her, although he had been as scared as Nick, and he was grateful that Oona wasn't there to see it. She had stayed home with Glynnis, who was pregnant again, and all five of her young ones had the measles. But Fat had seen what Nick had done, and he thought there had been enough said. Instead, he complimented her on her style and her courage.

“I guess Nick was right after all,” he said almost humbly. “You're quite a flier, Cass.”

“Thank you, Dad.” He gave her a hug, and it was the greatest moment of her life as he held her.

They watched Billy Nolan fly again after that, and he won first prize in his last race too. Cassie had won a second and three firsts, which was better than she'd dreamed. And the newspaper kept taking her picture.

They were all standing around drinking beer and watching the last event, when suddenly Cassie saw Nick's jaw tighten as he stood beside her. She followed his eyes high into the sky, and saw smoke, and suddenly, like everyone else there, she looked frightened.

“He's in trouble,” Nick whispered to her. They all knew who it was. It was a young pilot named Jim Brad, shaw. He had two babies and a young wife, and a plane that wasn't worth spit, but more than anything in life, he loved air shows.

“Oh, my Cod,” Cassie mouthed the words, as they all watched in horror, as he began to spiral lazily, just as she had, but this was for real, and the plumes of smoke from his fuselage told them all that this was no stunt. This was a disaster. The crowd began to run away from where the plane appeared to be, and people started screaming. But Cassie found she couldn't move, all she could do was stare at it, the lazy bird falling head over heels, into the ground, and then suddenly it hit with a tremendous crash and an explosion. People ran from everywhere, and Nick and Billy were among the first there, trying to pull Jim from the wreckage, but it was too late. He was inhumanly burned, and it was obvious that he had died on impact. His wife was sobbing hysterically, and two of the women held her, as her mother held onto the children.

The ambulances were already there, but it was a somber end to an exciting day, a reminder to all of them of the danger they constantly courted.

“I guess we'd better go home,” Nick said quietly, and Fat nodded. Earlier that day, Pat had feared that Cassie might meet the same fate and he was ashamed to admit now how grateful he was that it had been someone else and not his daughter.

Billy came to say good-bye to them, as they loaded their three planes onto flatbeds, and tied them up firmly.

“I'd like to come out and see you at the airport before I go,” he said to Fat after they shook hands.

“Anytime. You going back to San Francisco?”

“Actually, I was wondering… I was kind of hoping maybe you could use another pair of hands… I… I wouldn't mind sticking around and doing some flying.”

“We could use a flier like you, lad. Come by and see me tomorrow morning.”

Billy thanked him profusely, and they all said goodbye again. His friends were all going home the next day, and Billy looked thrilled to be staying.

“What do we need another hotshot kid for?” Nick asked Fat, with a look of annoyance.