"I didn't notice. We didn't talk until you asked your questions." I glanced over at her. "When did you decide to bid on me?"
"The instant I saw the gown. But then I saw you hadn't come there with full knowledge, so I needed to know if your participation would be full hearted or if you would just go through the motions."
"You bid too much for me. You both did."
"Are you kidding? I got a steal. I saw the look in Gwendolyn's eyes. I could have bid your price up a lot higher than I could have paid, and she would have kept raising me. I wasn't going to win. So I made the proposal I did."
"Did I really cost you the commission on three houses?"
"No. I was trying to bluff Gwendolyn."
I did another course correction before Moira could point it out to me, then noticed we were low again. "Why do I keep losing altitude?"
"You're probably putting just a tiny bit of forward pressure on the yoke."
As soon as she said it, I knew she was right. I relaxed the forward pressure and pulled backwards just a little. We began climbing again. When we reached our altitude, I released the pressure.
"Good," she said. "The standard for brand new pilots is plus or minus two hundred feet. You are more likely to lose it during maneuvers than when going straight, but on a long flight, it's easy to lose track."
"You're spoiling me," I said. "I could never afford to fly on my own."
"Whether or not we enter into a romantic relationship, Pamela, I will happily take you flying, with or without kisses afterwards."
"You must have so many friends already."
"Acquaintances," she said. "Not that many friends."
We flew along for a while. I glanced down and saw the wrinkled countryside of Wisconsin passing along below us. I reached over and put my left hand on Moira's leg. She immediately covered my hand with hers.
We didn't talk for a while, then I felt her stir. She was reaching into the side pocket and pulled out a map. I glanced at it. It looked weird.
"Keep flying," she said. "I want you to fly us most of the way there. I'll manage the radios and tell you what to do. I'll take over when we get close to the airport."
"Don't let me crash us!"
"Have no fear."
She opened the map, then glancing between both the map and the panel, she adjusted the radios. A voice came over the speakers with more recorded information. She listened for a minute, adjusting more things on the panel, and suddenly we were two hundred feet two high.
"Did I do that?"
"No. Different air pressure. Let her come down, but no rush."
She changed the radios again and the recording went away, but after a moment I heard a live voice. There was an exchange between two people.
"That was an airliner talking to Chicago approach," she said. "We'll start talking to them soon. You'll need to be quiet."
I nodded.
We talked for a little bit further. Moira was watching the panels, then held up a finger for me to be silent. She keyed the radio and began talking to Chicago approach. When she was done, she said, "We're going to start descending. I'm going to adjust the trim. Let the plane come down the way it wants."
Then she rotated a wheel, and I felt the pressure on the yoke change. I left off the pressure, and the nose dropped a little. The altimeter started slowly winding down.
I stayed at the controls for another twenty minutes before Moira said, "There's the airport." She pointed straight ahead. "Can you see it?"
I looked, then suddenly I saw the runways. I nodded.
"Head straight towards the middle." She paused. "I am adjusting the trim again. Hold this altitude."
The trim changed again, and the plane leveled out. I didn't need to do much.
"My airplane for just a moment," she said. She took the controls, adjusted the wheel again, then said, "Your airplane. Next time we do this, I'll teach you what I just did, but not today."
The airport grew closer. Moira talked on the radio.
"All right, Pamela. You're going to fly the plane most of the way to the ground, but I'm going to ride along on the controls and fix things for you."
"I'm scared."
"We're fine. You're doing really well." She paused. "Right turn now, we want to be parallel to the runways with the runway out my window."
I started a right turn. I saw Moira pull back on the yoke a little. "Level out," she said. And I straightened the wings.
"Look over my window. See the runway?"
I glanced over. "Yes."
"Fly parallel to it, right at this distance, and hold this altitude."
"I can't." I said after a minute. I had the plane all over the sky.
"Calm down," she said. "You're doing great."
"Moira..."
"You're doing great, Pamela. Have faith."
We reached the end of the runway and I guessed about a mile away from it. "I'm going to lower the power. Hold the nose up and let the plane slow down."
She pulled the power and the nose dropped. I pulled back until we were level.
"Moira-"
"You're doing great. I'm going to help with the next turn. Let the nose drop now, we're doing good." She did something with the wheel between us. I let the nose drop until there wasn't any pressure.
She looked over her shoulder.
"Okay, left turn, perpendicular with the runway."
I started the turn, and I felt Moira helping me. "Perfect. Pull up the nose a little bit."
She played with the power setting and continued to guide me.
"Start another left turn now," she said. "And line us up with the runway."
"Moira, please."
"Start turning, Pamela."
I started the turn and straightened us out when we were facing the runway, more or less.
"Good job," she said. She paused then said, "My airplane. Ride along lightly on the controls so you can feel it."
Immediately the plane settled down. I'd been yanking it all over, or so it seemed, but under her touch, it smoothed out. Then we were over the runway, the ground rushing up to us. Moira pulled up on the nose, slowing our descent, and a siren started to sound.
"Ignore that," she said.
Over the next several seconds, she worked the controls, and then I realized we were down without so much as a bump. The plane's nose was in the air, and I could feel when the front wheel settled onto the runway. Then we were slowing down until finally we turned off the runway and came to a stop.
"No talking now until we're parked." And she was immediately talking to someone on the radio.
She drove us along the taxiway for a while, then turned us around, fiddled with some switches, then, with a small coughing sound, killed the engine. She flipped more switches, and it was quiet. I watched as she removed her headset.
I was sweating like a pig.
She reached over and took my headset off for me.
"You were great!" she said. "I've never let a first time pilot fly us that low. You were amazing." She put her arm around my shoulder and gave me a shoulder-to-shoulder hug.
"I'm all sticky now. That was hard!"
She smiled and helped me out of my seat belt, then reached past me and opened the door. Cool air came wafting into the plane, chilling the sweat on my skin. "Climb on out," Moira said. "Remember where it's safe to hold and to step."
I crawled out onto the wing before standing up, then slowly climbed down onto the ground. I turned around and waited for her. She crawled out, then closed the door and locked it before joining me on the ground. I immediately threw my arms around her.
"Eww! Sticky hugs!" but she was laughing and hugged me back.
"That was so much fun! Scary but fun! Will I get to fly us home?"
"If you want," she said. "But you're going to be worn out. We may let the auto pilot fly us there." She paused. "I won't let you help with the landing. Night landings are harder. But you'll do our take off."
"I couldn't!"
"Take offs
are easy. I'll ride along on the controls and override you if I need to."
"Where is our stuff?" I asked.
"In back," she said. She turned to the plane and opened a small door in the side. She reached in and started handing things out to me. I ended up with my garment bag and small suitcase, and she had the same.
"Now we find our ride," she said. She led the way to a nearby building.
"Don't you have to put the plane away?"
"No. If we were staying overnight, or if it was windy, we would tie it down." She held the door to the building for me and I stepped inside. I looked around.
It was a modest building, about the size of a college classroom. There was a desk with someone waiting behind it, talking to a customer, and a corridor directly opposite us leading to other offices. There were a few people milling around or sitting on a sofa, most of them men of varying ages.
"Andi!" Moira said.
She stepped forward, and a slender woman with sharp features, a dark complexion, and black hair enveloped Moira in a deep hug that was passionately returned.
I was immediately jealous, and my back stiffened. It wasn't helped when I saw them kiss each other's cheeks.
"You look great," Moira told the other woman.
"So do you. How was the flight?"
"Fabulous." She pulled away and said, "Andi, this is Pamela. Pamela, Andi."
I stepped forward and shook Andi's hand somewhat coolly. Moira noticed my reaction. "Andi was my college roommate, Pamela. She is married with three children."
I immediately realized I was over-reacting. I smiled more warmly and told Andi I was pleased to meet her.
"I thought you said she was straight," Andi said to Moira. "She was jealous."
I began blushing and looked away. Moira stepped to my side and wrapped her arm around my waist. I leaned against her, still embarrassed.
Andi looked at me and said, "You're just as pretty as Moira described. No wonder she's besotted with you."
"She's not besotted," I said.
"So this is more complicated than you originally thought, Moira?" Andi said.
"Maybe. Maybe not." Moira looked down at me. "We'll see."
"Well, where am I taking you?" Andi asked.
"Your place first, if that's okay. Let us clean up a little. Then we want to go downtown. We'll take the train back in the afternoon and change for dinner."
"I could loan you a car," Andi said.
"I'd accept," Moira replied. "But I hate driving in Chicago. Just give me a second."
Moira stepped away from me and talked to the woman behind the counter for a moment. Andi and I eyed each other. Then Moira stepped back up to me.
"Well then," said Andi. She turned heel and led the way out a side door of the building, Moira and I following. Andi led the way to a parking lot and to the back of a Mercedes. She popped the trunk, and we slipped our things in. I climbed into the back seat behind Moira, fastened my seatbelt, and sat back to listen to the conversation.
Andi drove with a disregard for traffic laws. I almost closed my eyes for the last half of the ride. She glanced in the mirror and noticed my expression.
"Does my driving frighten you, Pamela?"
"I have no intention of criticizing," I told her. "Or distracting you."
"Now you know why I hate driving in Chicago," Moira said. "I have my eyes closed."
I laughed.
"You two are such babies," said Andi, narrowly avoiding another collision.
Andi and Moira talked quietly for the rest of the trip. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I presumed they were catching up. Finally we pulled up in front of a large, brick house. I stared at it. "Andi, what does your husband do for a living?"
"Don't be a sexist," she said. "He is a school teacher. I, however, am a vice president at an investment banking firm."
"Investment banking firm."
"Yes," she said.
Moira turned around to me and grinned. "Surprise number two. And they have a Minneapolis office. That is surprise number three."
Andi turned around and looked at me. "I understand you are a mortgage loan officer at a bank, but that you have an MBA in finance."
"Yes," I said in a small voice.
"I also understand you are disappointed working as a loan officer."
"Yes."
"I bet right about now you are wishing you hadn't dissed my driving or gotten jealous when I hugged Moira."
"Yes."
She laughed.
"I bet also you want to know whether we have openings in Minneapolis, and whether I can get you a job."
"Yes. Oh god."
She smiled at me. "Today is your date with Moira. I will give you my card, and you will call me next week. Yes, we have openings. I can't hire you, as I have no authority in Minneapolis, but I can get your resume to the top of the pile. After that, it would be up to you. But you will need to convince me you would be a good fit before I will put in a good word for you."
I looked at Moira. "Is this why we came to Chicago?"
"It's a bonus, but I'd already decided to take you here before I thought Andi might be able to help you."
We climbed out of the car and retrieved our bags from the trunk, then Andi led the way into the house. She gave us a tour before directing us to a bathroom we could use to freshen up.
"Pamela, you may use this room. Moira, unless your relationship has you sharing a bathroom, you may use my master bath."
Moira looked at me. "Just clean up, Pamela. The day is casual with a lot of walking. We'll come back to change for dinner." I nodded.
I spent about twenty minutes cleaning up as best I could without taking a shower. When I was done, I felt relatively fresh. I stepped out of the bathroom and descended the stairs, finding Moira and Andi sitting on stools in the kitchen.
"Better?" Andi asked me.
"Yes, thank you. She let me fly."
"Oh, she did that with me a few times. It was nerve-wracking."
"I don't know what the big deal is," Moira said quietly.
"Yes, Ms. Flying Since She Was Seven," I said. Moira and Andi laughed.
We headed back out to Andi's car and I closed my eyes as she drove us downtown. She must have noticed because I heard her say, "Chicken" to me.
We came to a stop and she told Moira, "Call me from the train station and I will pick you up."
"Thank you, Andi. You're a doll."
"Of course I am." She looked back at me. "Have a good time in the Windy City."
We climbed out of the car, and Andi drove away to the sound of honking cars.
"How often is she in an accident?"
"A few times a year. Never very seriously, but I worry about her."
I stepped closer to Moira. "Are you really besotted?"
She looked down at me and took my hand. "Don't believe everything Andi tells you." Then she tugged me along the sidewalk before saying quietly. "Yes."
I squeezed her hand.
First she took me to a bakery where we bought coffee and croissants. We stood on a bridge over a river, or a canal, and watched the boats drive underneath while eating our croissants. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and the sun glistened off the green water.
"What is the plan?" I asked.
"Museum, then lunch, then we'll go visit the Water Tower. After that, back to Andi's."
We walked side by side down the street, holding hands. Soon I could see Lake Michigan in front of us. We turned right and walked a few blocks before arriving at a museum. We walked towards the museum doors. Just as we were about to enter, I pulled Moira to the side, then stepped up to her and wrapped myself in her arms. I pulled her lips down for a kiss.
It wasn't a long kiss, but it was sweet and lovely.
She was smiling when next I looked at her.
We spent the next two hours in the museum. It was fantastic, and being there with Moira made it especially sweet. When walking between exhibits, we held hands, but when looking at an exh
ibit, Moira tended to stand behind me, her arms wrapped around me, or her hands stroking my arms. At one point I looked over my shoulder and said to her, "I am going to become addicted to that."
"Good," was all she said.
We finished at the museum. "I'm so hungry," I told her. "But I could have spent more time here."
"Me, too. We'll come back sometime."
I smiled. "I would like that, Moira."
I slipped my jacket back on, and, hand in hand, we walked to a little Thai restaurant she knew of a couple of blocks off Michigan Avenue. While we ate, we played footsie under the table.
I knew I should be questioning what I was doing. I was falling in love with her. There had been times when I'd considered seducing Sam or letting Bonnie seduce me, but I'd never been serious about it, and I'd never met any of their gay friends who interested me.
Moira definitely interested me.
Over lunch I decided not to worry about it. I was just going to let it go. That wasn't my normal personality, but I could tie myself in knots if I tried to get my head around everything I was feeling.
I knew I liked the way she treated me. I knew I liked how it felt to be in her arms. I knew we fit as friends. That was something I had rarely had with men, a man who enjoyed doing any of the same things I did, yet Moira appeared to enjoy everything I did.
And I knew I loved kissing her.
I couldn't resolve all of that with how I felt about Gwendolyn, who also treated me well, but who was complicated with a dark past. Gwendolyn needed someone to take care of her emotional side, if she was even going to have an emotional side. Life with Gwendolyn would be exciting at times, but I thought it might be very lonely at times, too. But she needed me, or someone like me.
"Earth to Pamela," Moira was saying. "Honey?"
I refocused my eyes. "I'm sorry," I told her.
"What were you just thinking?"
I thought about whether I wanted to tell her.
"You can tell me," she said when I paused.
I smiled. "I was trying to figure out what is going on with my emotions."
"Good things?"
"Confusing things. Maybe good. We fit."
She smiled. "Yes, we do."
"You probably find me boring."
She sighed. "You aren't normally given to saying stupid things." I shrugged. "Have you come to any conclusions?"
Bidding War Page 13