by Ann McMan
Maddie folded her hands around Syd’s and returned the box to her lap. “I want you to have it. Please.” The expression in her blue eyes matched the intensity of her voice.
Syd could barely speak. She felt tears sting her eyes, and she blinked rapidly to keep them back. She met Maddie’s gaze again. “Okay.”
They stared at each other for a moment. Then Syd moved closer, and Maddie quickly closed the distance between them, pulling her into a warm hug.
“Thank you,” Syd whispered against her ear. Maddie squeezed her tighter in response, before releasing her and sitting back to assume the most respectful distance the small settee would allow.
“Veeeerrrry nice,” David said. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
Michael simply smiled.
Syd gently lifted the necklace from the box and held it up to the light. She turned to Maddie and shyly asked, “Would you fasten it for me?”
Maddie nodded as she took the necklace from her. Syd sat forward. Maddie leaned closer and reached around her to position the pendant on her chest. She drew the chain around Syd’s neck and fumbled briefly with the clasp, but finally succeeded in hooking it. She then briefly rested her warm hands on Syd’s bare shoulders and retreated once again to her side of the sofa.
Syd faced her. The small pendant fell to just above the valley between her breasts, and the shiny gold was a perfect complement to the emerald green of her dress.
“Beautiful,” Maddie said, quietly. But her eyes were fixed on Syd’s face.
“You got that right,” David added. “Pretty impressive bit of bling, Cinderella. It’s clear that you’ve been holding out on us.”
Maddie turned to him. “Maybe I had a secret or two left in me, after all.”
David nodded at her. “I’ll drink to that.”
Michael held up the bottle of Bailey’s and topped everyone off. “Let’s all drink to that.” They picked up their cordial glasses, and he raised his high in the air. “Happy birthday, Syd. May we all continue to make sweet music together.”
As they drank, she realized that this was the best birthday she’d ever had. She wished with all her heart that his words would prove prophetic.
Chapter 14
The Tri-County airport was small, even by rural standards. The FBO was a tiny brick building that housed a small pilot lounge, a weather computer, and a telephone used to file and close flight plans. It was outfitted with a couple of shopworn recliners, a sofa, an old console color television, and several vending machines that had seen better days. The air inside was stale from cigarette smoke and smelled like burned coffee. The Spartan accommodations did little to calm Syd’s jittery nerves. Outside near the field, she could see a litter of small planes—mostly high-wings. A few of the nicer-looking aircraft were tied down under aluminum t-hangars that ran at a right angle to the runway. While Maddie amused herself playing with the weather computer, Syd watched a fuel truck slowly make its way across the field and wondered when their pilot would show up.
Maddie went to the counter and picked up the telephone receiver just as a squat, middle-aged man entered the room from outside. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit and a cap that read AeroServ.
“Hey, Doc!” he called out. “Do you want me to pull her up for you?”
“Sure, that’d be great, Tommy. I have a few minutes ’cause I still need to file my flight plan. Oh, by the way. Top the tips for me while you’re at it.”
“Can do, Doc.” He touched the brim of his cap and headed back outside toward the row of t-hangars.
Syd watched this exchange and the man’s departure with a growing sense of dread. “Maddie?”
Maddie turned to her with one eyebrow elevated. “Yeeesss?”
“Is there something about this trip you neglected to tell me?”
“Um . . . like?” A smile pulled at the corner of her mouth.
Syd was losing patience. “Like just whointhehell is our pilot?”
“Ahh.” Maddie stroked her chin with the fingers of her right hand. “That would be me.”
“You? You? Are you kidding me with this?” Syd was nearly beside herself. “You told me our pilot was experienced. You told me our pilot owned his own plane.”
Maddie put a hand on Syd’s arm to stop her tirade. “She is. I do. You have nothing to be worried about.”
“I don’t believe this. How could you not tell me?” Syd paced back and forth across the stained and faded carpet.
Maddie sighed and leaned her long frame against the counter that held the telephone. She crossed her arms and quietly watched Syd pace. “Once your extremities come to rest,” she finally said, calmly, “I’ll be happy to share the details of my flight credentials with you.”
Outside the plate glass window that faced the field, Syd could see Tommy in a tug, pulling a shiny and sleek-looking low-wing out onto the tarmac. It was brightly painted in blue and yellow, and sported two big engines. She inclined her head toward the scene. “That yours?”
Maddie’s eyes followed her gaze. “Yeah. I’ve had it about five years now. It’s a honey.”
Syd nodded. “Well, of course it is. It would have to be, right? I mean . . . how could it be otherwise?”
Maddie uncrossed her arms and took a deep breath. “Look. I see now that not telling you about this was a mistake, and I apologize for that. I thought it would be a nice surprise for you—honest. Obviously I was wrong. Can you tell me now why this is so upsetting to you? I’ve been flying since I was sixteen. I’m a careful and experienced pilot. You really will be quite safe with me. I know what I am doing, and I never take chances.”
Syd turned to her, suddenly a bit ashamed of her overreaction. She put a hand to her forehead and shook her head a couple of times. “I really am sorry. I don’t know why that ticked me off so much. I guess it’s just . . . I don’t know.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Shit. Tell me, is there anything you can’t do?”
Maddie stood there looking pensive. Then she smiled slyly. “I have many skills.” Syd rolled her eyes. “But . . . yeah. There are a lot of things I positively suck at.”
“Like?”
“Well. I can’t cook to save my soul. And no matter how hard I try I can never get just one of those damn tongue depressors out of the jar.” She thought for a minute. “And there’s always relationships.”
Syd gave her a quizzical look. “What about relationships?”
“I really suck at those.”
Syd smiled and shrugged. “Well, I certainly can’t offer much in the way of advice there, but I might be able to help you out with the cooking thing.”
Maddie smiled back. “I’ll take you up on that. Now . . . how about letting me file our flight plan, and we’ll get on our way?”
Syd sighed, and then nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll get our stuff out of the Jeep.”
Ten minutes later, Maddie joined her out on the field and unlocked the door to the plane. Syd was shocked by its compact but fairly comfortable-looking interior. “This is really beautiful. What kind of airplane is this?”
Maddie was busy stowing their gear in the cargo hold behind the rear passenger seats. “This is a Cessna 310. It’s small, but still nicely sized and fast for a twin-prop plane. My dad and I actually bought this together. We mostly kept it down here, but I often used it to hop back and forth between Jericho and Philly after I finished my residency. It was quicker and more accessible for me than trying to get in and out of Charlotte or Roanoke.” She stuffed their last bag into the cargo hold and climbed back out onto the tarmac. “Lemme do my preflight, and we’ll get underway.”
Syd stood back and watched as Maddie walked around the airplane checking the tires and running her hands along the edges of the wings. Then she checked the props and tested the fuel with a tiny-looking cross between a test tube and a syringe. Then they were ready to head out.
She showed Syd how to step up onto the wing and into the cabin, then climbed in ahead of her and scooted over into the left seat
. Once Syd was aboard, Maddie helped her fasten her seatbelt and put on her headset.
Maddie picked up a clipboard from behind her seat and ran through an instrument checklist. She flipped a couple of switches, lowered her window, and called out, “Clear prop!” Then she started the left engine.
Even wearing the headset, Syd was surprised by how loud the noise was. It only increased when the right engine roared into life. She was startled when she heard Maddie’s low voice speak over the radio transmitter in her ear. “You okay? I have to take us to the end of the taxiway and do a run-up to test the engines before we take off.” Syd nodded. “It’ll be loud, and the plane will shake a bit . . . didn’t want you to be scared.” Syd nodded again. “Syd . . . you can speak. That thing in front of your mouth is a microphone.”
Syd smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. I’m not used to any of this. You’ll have to bear with me.”
“Tri-County traffic, this is Cessna Four Two Nine Whiskey Papa, departing runway two-three, Tri-County,” Maddie said into the radio after the run-up. She released the brake, and the plane started rolling down the runway. As it gained in speed, Syd began to feel a sense of exhilaration as the landscape raced by.
“Here we go,” Maddie said as she pulled back on the yoke, and the nose of the plane lifted up.
Soon, they were airborne and rotating out over the field. Syd felt a rumble as the gear retracted and stowed away beneath the plane. Below, she could see the brick building of the FBO and the small parking lot where Maddie’s Jeep was plainly visible.
Maddie executed a turn and headed them away from the field and toward the eastern horizon. “Tri-County traffic, Cessna Four Two Nine Whiskey Papa is departing the pattern, heading north.” After a moment, she said, “Washington Center, this is November Four Two Nine Whiskey Papa. Just departed Tri-County, climbing to 7,500 feet VFR, and would like to pick up my IFR flight plan to Richmond.”
“Roger, Four Two Nine Whiskey Papa,” a crackled voice answered. “This is Washington Center. You’re cleared direct to Richmond. Maintain 9,000 feet. Squawk 3612.”
“Two Nine Whiskey Papa, maintaining 9,000 feet direct to Richmond. Squawking 3612. Roger.” Maddie adjusted a set of four dials to read 3612. She punched a set of coordinates into the plane’s GPS system, and then engaged the autopilot.
She turned to Syd. “So. That’s pretty much it. We let the plane do the hard work, now.”
Syd looked surprised. “That’s it? No mystery? No drama? No mile-high heroics?”
Maddie laughed. “You’d better find some wood to knock on. The one thing we don’t want is any mile-high heroics. What you wish for is a nice, uneventful, and boring flight.”
“Oh now you tell me,” Syd quipped. “Do I at least get a free bag of peanuts for my trouble?”
Maddie smiled and reached behind Syd to rummage around in her flight bag.
“Here.” She handed Syd a foil-wrapped breakfast bar. “It’s the best I can do on short notice.”
Syd smiled. “At least tell me that this trip will count toward my frequent-flier miles.”
“Tell you what,” Maddie said, unwrapping her own bar. “You may redeem this wrapper for one free round-trip to the destination of your choice.”
AFTER LANDING AND taxiing to Million Air, the Richmond general aviation center, they offloaded their gear and carried it inside the slightly more opulent FBO. Syd waited by their bags while Maddie took care of getting her plane safely stowed. They took a cab from the airport and arrived at their downtown hotel shortly after one. Maddie’s first session wasn’t until four, but Syd’s first meeting with the State Library representatives was scheduled for two-thirty.
Maddie unlocked the door of their room, and they both stepped inside. The room was located on the fourth floor of the stately Old Dominion Hotel and overlooked the James River. It was large and comfortably appointed with vintage furnishings. One king-sized bed stood boldly in the center of the room like some kind of fabric-draped behemoth. They both stood stupidly in the doorway for a moment.
Oh shit, Maddie thought, before dropping her bags and looking around the room. “Where’s the phone? I’ll get this straightened out in no time. I distinctly asked for two beds.”
Syd didn’t say anything as Maddie crossed to the nightstand next to the massive bed and dialed the hotel’s front desk.
A man’s voice answered on the fourth ring. “May I help you?”
“Yes. This is Dr. Stevenson in Room 412. I just checked in. I requested a room with two queen-sized beds, but this room has only one king.”
“I’m sorry, Dr. Stevenson. Let me check into that for you.” There was the sound of clicking on the other end as the clerk typed. “Yes, I can see here that you reserved two queens. Unfortunately, we had a water leak on the second floor yesterday, and several of our rooms are closed for repairs. With the AMA conference in town, we were already overbooked, so we don’t have any extra rooms available.”
Maddie eyed Syd in agitation as she deliberated. “So there’s no potential for you to switch us to another room?”
“I’m sorry, Doctor. To apologize for the inconvenience, I’ll code your account so that you and your guest can enjoy complementary breakfasts in the hotel dining room each morning during your stay with us.”
Syd walked in behind her and calmly laid her garment bag across the bed with something that seemed like determination.
Maddie sighed. “I understand. Thank you for checking into it.”
“It’s my pleasure, Dr. Stevenson. I apologize again for the inconvenience. Please let us know if we can do anything to make your stay more enjoyable.”
Right. You mean besides make me share a bed with the beautiful straight woman I’m in love with? Yeah. I’ll be sure to let you know. “I’ll do that,” she said instead and hung up the phone.
She turned to Syd and waved her hand in frustration. “Well, it appears we’re stuck. They had a water leak, and it took several of their other rooms off-line. They don’t have any others available because of the conference.”
Syd hesitated for only a fraction of moment. “It’s okay. We’re both grown-ups. This bed is large enough to declare statehood. I think we can manage.”
Maddie was still doubtful. She didn’t want Syd to feel uncomfortable, and she noticed that Syd had been unwilling or unable to make eye contact with her since they entered the room. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. You’re already doing me a huge favor by letting me share your room. I have no concerns.” She finally looked up at her. “Unless, of course, you snore?”
Maddie saw the faint glimmer of humor in Syd’s green eyes. She feigned indignation. “I’ve never had any complaints.”
“It’s settled, then. Dibs on the bathroom side.”
Maddie raised an eyebrow.
“What can I say? I have a pea-sized bladder. It’s a curse.”
Maddie chuckled as she hefted her suitcase onto the stand at the foot of the bed.
Syd went to the windows and looked out across the city toward the river. “Wow. This is some view. I’ve never spent much time in Richmond. Do you get here often?”
Maddie joined her at the window. “Hardly ever. But I do know a couple of good restaurants.”
“Great. I hope I can remember what to do with a full set of silverware.”
“Oh, I think it will come back to you.”
Syd continued to stare out the window. “It’s odd. You never really think of Richmond as a port city, but that certainly looks like an active waterfront.”
“Well, that’s why it was the capital of the Confederacy.”
Syd turned to her. “I keep forgetting that you’re a native Virginian.”
“Oh, you’re just deluded by the fact that I don’t have a stars-n-bars bumper-sticker on my Jeep. It throws a lot of people off.”
“I would never have pegged you as a covert secessionist.”
Maddie laughed. “Nothing covert about me these days—not since I moved back to
Jericho. Don’t you know by now that intimate details of the local doctor’s life are considered public domain?”
Syd nudged her. “Well. Not all details.”
Maddie smiled sheepishly. “Touché.”
“But putting that aside, I have wondered how you cope with it.”
Maddie shrugged. “Fortunately, most people are so motivated by self interest that their provincial concerns about the great mystery of my private life are secondary to whatever malady prompts them to seek medical attention. And I have the advantage of being perceived as more-or-less a native. For once, trying to fill my father’s shoes is a benefit.”
“For once?”
Maddie lowered her gaze from the window to regard Syd. “I knew you wouldn’t let that comment slide.”
Syd glanced at her watch before smiling at Maddie. “Well, you’re in luck. Right now I’m faced with the unhappy prospect of trying to fill my own shoes. I guess I should go and try to make myself look halfway professional before my meeting.”
Maddie laughed and gestured toward the bathroom. “All yours.”
SYD LEANED HER back against the closed bathroom door and stood for a few moments with her eyes shut. Oh my god, how am I supposed to survive this? I can’t let her see how freaked out I am. She’ll think it’s because she told me she’s gay. Jesus. She opened her eyes, went to the vanity, and looked at herself in the mirror. The face that gazed back at her was completely distracted. What a mess. How do I act all blasé about this when I’m terrified? What if I have another one of those damn dreams while I’m actually in bed with her? Fuck, fuck, fuck. I so am not up for this. In desperation, she looked at the tiny window over the commode. I wonder if I could survive a jump to the street?
Sighing with resignation, she began to remove cosmetic items from her small travel bag.
MADDIE WAS RECLINING in a chair with her sneaker-clad feet propped up on the windowsill, reading the entertainment section of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. She looked up as Syd entered the room. She felt a twinge of pleasure as she noticed that Syd was wearing the necklace she had given her for her birthday to go with a striking, dark green suit.