by Dave Nesbit
Meanwhile no one seemed to want to mention the seventeen-year-old elephant in the room. Which was a bit strange.
That was till one of my uncles who shall remain nameless, but he is the eldest of my dad’s brothers, finally said. “I heard you had a little excitement last month.” And then the room grew kind of quiet.
“Well, yeah, I did.” I said after swallowing some mashed potatoes. Which then led me into explaining the whole ship and Lake Michigan incident. In most of its gory detail. Dear Lord, did that open the floodgates for the rest of my family.
“You mean you can fly?” One of my cousins said. “How fast?”
“Yes, and the highest speed I've been clocked at was 880 miles an hour, give or take a few.” I said and shoveled in more turkey.
“That's past the speed of sound.” Another one of my cousins said. “How do you handle that?”
“Wear a helmet and a Nomex flight suit. They asked me not to get close to that speed at low altitude or over a city.”
“They give ya a cool name yet?” My uncle smiled.
“Ryan.” That got a laugh from my Grandfather. “Hey, it's the name my folks were kind enough to give me. Right now I don't think they have plans on calling us any cool superhero names.” Which I hoped would remain the case.
“I don't know I saw fan page for you that had given you the nickname ‘strange attractor’.” Dad said.
“Really? I haven't seen that one. And I'll admit I'm strange by any standard, but attractor?” I responded. Truth be told, I had done my best not to look for fan pages of me or the other folks at the school. The whole notion that we had actual fans seemed weird. Some of the kids at the school were soaking that stuff up. To me, though it all seemed really intrusive.
“Any cute girls at the school?” Grandpa had a devious smile as he said that.
“More than a few.” I said with a grin.
“Seeing any?” He continued.
“No one at school, but there's a girl nearby I’ve been having coffee with.”
“When did you start drinking coffee?” My mom looked surprised at that admission.
“Since she suggested it.” I replied and wolfed down more potatoes.
“Smart man.” Grandpa said. “Going out for coffee again?”
“Hopefully this weekend.”
Dinner got back to being mundane after that burst of questions, and it all felt a little less strained. Once dinner was done, and I had helped collect and clean the dishes, I settled into a nice relaxed mode and sat back to watch two groups of eleven guys beat the crap out of each other. Neither of them represented Green Bay which made my interest mostly academic.
“Wanna take a walk?” Dad asked. He’d already put on his jacket; it was a green air force survival jacket he’d kept when he left the service. Mom had been trying to get him to get rid of it, but he’d had it for so long it was pretty much molded to his body shape.
“Sure, I need to wake up a bit.” I said and got out of my chair. Okay I have a metabolism that destroys steak dinners like no one’s business, but Thanksgiving still left me with that wiped-out post-feast drowsiness. I wasn’t complaining though, that feeling reminded me so much of other family gatherings that it allowed me to feel normal for a while.
I got up and grabbed my jacket, then followed my dad out into the late afternoon suburban stillness. The air was crisp and the leaves had by and large finished changing colors. It was that period just before winter where the last few green leaves reminded me that things do cycle around. The world kind of felt dead now, but in a few months it would all feel alive and green again.
We walked out of the house and down the road. There wasn’t much traffic out on the streets. Most of the city was still inside feasting or hanging out with family. “Mind if I ask what you are going to do?”
“About what?”
He sighed. “You’ve got a lot on your plate. The government is teaching you a lot and asking for a lot more. I just want you to think about your options.” He thought about it. “It just scares the shit out of me that they threw you in at the deep end.” I had been wondering when we’d have this talk.
“It was a mess.” I said. “But...”
“But what?” We walked to a corner and past a strip mall. Not much going on there, but the 7-11 was open.
“Those people would have died if we hadn't been there. I mean it just now hit me that we saved people’s lives.” I walked into the 7-11, somewhere in here they had to have something with caffeine in it to wake my mind up a bit.
“Feels pretty good doesn't it?” He said as I perused the multiple types of coffee they had. Dad had done pararescue in the air force. From the stories I’d heard, he’d seen a bit of excitement. I had a feeling he was speaking from experience.
“Yeah, it does.” I confessed with a smile. Two girls were talking in the back of the shop, they looked a couple of years younger than me. They were looking down at their phones as Dad and I talked. One of the girls looked up at us idly then got a curious look on her face. “I got in trouble for it. But it was worth it.”
“How did you get in trouble for that?”
I broke down and grabbed a 24-ounce cup and filled it with vanilla flavored something or other.
“We thought we had the ship fixed. We had just got the generator up and running and the ship’s pumps were working.” Now we were at the part I had been trying to avoid telling them about. Topping off my cup I said, “Then we had the worst luck ever. The ship got caught up between two waves and the keel broke.”
Dad's eyes went wide. “Now is that why it looked like it got smacked by God's own hammer?”
“That would be why. Anyway, the guy in charge called abandon ship.” I paused, remembering the moment. “Keep in mind there was 100 mile an hour winds plus forty plus foot swells. If we'd gone into the lifeboats we'd have been just as dead.”
“What did you do?”
“Told the boss I had a radio malfunction, and then we found a way to fix the keel.” The two girls were now looking at my Dad and me. Which wasn't surprising. Dad was male model handsome.
“How did you do that?”
“We lucked out. A container in the hold had I-beams. I ferried them down and my two partners sort of welded them in place. After that we spent the whole night watching over it to make sure they didn't break loose.”
Dad shook his head. “I can see why you were in trouble. I don't know which one of you I want to smack upside the head first, your boss or you.” His face held a mixture of anger and relief as he said that.
I sighed. “It makes sense now, but at the time it was just an impulsive decision, and twenty-six people are still very much alive.” I said, reminding him of the happy ending. Which is when I noticed the girls were walking toward us.
“There is that. Did it ever cross your mind at all that you were making a decision that could get you killed?” He asked in a voice that was a lot calmer than I would have expected.
“Sure, but then the other choice was certainly gonna get us killed. Any chance is better than no chance. I think you told me that.” I said.
“When did I do that?” He gave me a curious look.
“That time when you told me to try asking Melanie out to a movie.” I countered. Now it was obvious that they were definitely headed our way.
“How did that work out?” He saw them to and I could see him holding back a chuckle.
“She said yes. Mind you I was a stammering idiot the whole night.” Not my proudest memory I admit, but at least I got a good night kiss from it.
“But it did get your foot in the door.” Dad said as he stepped back to let the girls come closer.
“True.” They were facing me as I said that and I wondered just what was going on. I wasn’t used to strangers stopping by to say hi in a store.
The two girls were both blond. Both of them had that Middle America look to them, not super model generic beauty, but a cuteness that made you want to look them both over. One of them
came up.
“OhmygodareyouRyan?!!??” I swear to God she said it just like that, mixed punctuation and all.
“Well I'm a Ryan. I don't know if I'm the Ryan you're looking for.” I said in reply. Dad turned away. Now I knew he was trying not to laugh.
“Like, that guy who broke up the robbery.” The other girl seemed to be able to speak in single words.
“And the ship thing?” The first one continued.
Dad was walking away a bit. Aimlessly acting like he was checking out magazines.
“Uh yeah that's me.” I said.
One of them shrieked and the other kind of hugged me. While they did, I was trying to get a handle on this. Laugh all you want but being at the school meant I hadn’t had much of a chance to experience the public’s positive reactions to “The Touched”. Knowing I had fan pages was one thing; meeting actual fans was quite another.
“Sweetcanwegetapicturewithyoumyfriendsaregonnabesoooooojealous.” The first one said. Just like that, part of me wondered if she blurred her words together like that all the time.
“Umm sure.” I said, I had no, zero, completely no concept at all of how to handle a situation like this. “Uhh, Dad would you hold this girl’s phone and take a picture?” I looked toward him, trust me there was no way I was gonna let him escape this scene.
He got up from the magazine rack and came over, taking the girl's phone. The two of them put their arms around me and dad took a picture, then took the other girls phone and repeated the process. I was getting kissed on either cheek by both of them.
I'm pretty sure I was blushing down to my socks when the last pic was done. Which took a bit as dad kept “having trouble with the focus.” For the record my Dad has a pretty twisted sense of humor.
“Thanks so much.” The second girl said as she retrieved her phone. I was shaking my head as they both ran out of the store with a squeal.
Dad grinned watching them go out and from the front I could see the store clerk looking bemused. “My boys getting to be famous, how does that feel?” He asked as we went to the front.
He reached for his wallet but I held him up and paid for my coffee and his iced tea. “Seriously embarrassing.” I responded. The clerk behind the counter shrugged at me as I collected my change.
“Oh good.” He said with a grin and we walked out. “I'd hate to think you're getting all rock star on us.”
“Well first I'd have to be good at music.” I said with a grin.
“True, I mean you have good taste in music, but I remember you trying to learn the sax.” We bantered all the way back. The scene at 7-11 was weird for me, but Dad seemed to enjoy it. It seemed as though, as scared as he was at what I was doing, he carried a sense of pride in me for doing it. The scene changed a bit when we got back to grandpa's though.
“Why does Ryan have lipstick on his cheek?” Grandma had a stern look on her face.
“He ran into a couple of fans at the 7-11.” Dad said. Mom shook her head and grandma kind of rolled her eyes. She was a sweet woman but very much of the old school. Such public displays did not match her idea of what she considered proper behavior.
“Well wipe that off before we sit down to dessert.” She said and walked off.
“Yes Ma’am.” I grinned and went to take care of the issue.
Chapter 32
I spent the next couple of days being normal. Like really normal, hanging around the house. Doing the chores Mom wanted me to do, fixing stuff in the garage that Dad wanted taken care of. A few times I used my power to handle parts of it when the folks weren’t around, but it was blissful, no tests, no stress. No big decisions or conflicts.
I had told my folks I had a coffee date that Sunday with Cathy. Dad offered to drive but I had another plan. Among the things I packed in my bag when I was heading out of school were my flight suit and the helmet Shawn rigged up for me.
Pulling out my phone I contacted O'Hare Airport Air Traffic Control. Hamilton had set me up with a rapid access number. He had wisely realized that his chances of keeping me from flying on my downtime was somewhere in the range of less than zero. So, instead of fighting the notion, he found a way to make it safer.
“Air Traffic Control.” A voice said.
“Hi, uh, this is Ryan Larkin.” I rattled off a number on a piece of paper. There was a laugh on the other end of the line. Which had me puzzled for a second.
“Hang on.” The person said. The phone got muffled. “Who had Sunday at 11:00?” There was a pause. “We were told to expect your call.”
“Did you guys have a betting pool for when I was going to call?” Somehow I wasn’t surprised.
“Of course not, that would be horribly unprofessional.” Then added, “we’ve had betting pools for all the local “Touched” who can fly. Now what can I do for you?” The guy on the other line said, it was obvious he was trying to stifle a laugh.
“I need a safe route from Kenosha, Wisconsin to 32nd and north Clarke St.” I said trying to ignore their humor with dignity.
“Hang on just a second.” There was pause then my phone got a file sent to it. “Upload what I sent you to your GPS and you should be fine. If there are any questions, feel free to get in touch.”
“Uh, will do. Thanks a lot.” The guy hung up and I did as I was told. Thankfully the helmet had a usb jack for quick inputs. As I put on my helmet I could see a green line pointing due south with a height and speed marker.
“Well shit.” I said and slipped on my flight suit with a smile. It was a pleasant surprise for things to work with such convenience.
Mom walked in as I was slipping the leather and Nomex on. She shook her head as she said. “I always hoped you'd be a pilot, but when I thought about it, I figured you'd be in a plane.”
“Life is full of surprises.” I said and kissed her forehead. “I'll be back this evening.”
“Be careful out there.” She said.
With that, I grabbed my backpack and walked outside. With a thought, I was airborne and following the directions I had been given. Cruising at about four thousand feet put me under the commercial traffic. Flying at around five hundred miles an hour kept me safely below supersonic speed, which would cause a boom, and the transonic speed that caused buffeting issues.
The upside of this was that a trip that would have taken an hour and a half got cut down to 15 minutes. The downside was figuring out a place to land in downtown Chicago that would be inconspicuous. Sure, good luck with that.
I dropped to about a hundred feet. Looking down I could see people looking my way and pointing. Seeing all the excitement, I hoped my appearance didn't cause any car accidents. Getting close to my touchdown point I flew behind a building and executed a perfect two-point landing.
Right in front of a guy doing his best to pass out from drinking a bottle of cheap whiskey. He looked up at me as I took off my helmet. His eyebrows went kind of crazy and I smiled. “Don't worry, you really did just see that.” I said and walked off down the alley.
Of course that meant I was the only guy walking down the street of downtown Chicago wearing a red Nomex flight suit. Well, so much for being discrete. People stared and pointed, obviously making the connection between the person they saw flying above them a minute ago and the kid walking past them, doing his best to look like no one special, and failing miserably.
Looking for a place to escape all the glances I saw a store front and ducked into it. As I walked in, the lady behind the counter looked up and gave me a once over. At the same time, I took the place in visually. My eyes took a second to adjust then saw lots of women’s clothes made of silks and laces. Which is when it dawned on me.
I had just walked into a lingerie shop.
Nothing for it, I guess. “Hi, what would it cost for me to use your changing room and the back door out of this place?” I inquired with a weak smile.
She thought about it a moment. “Ten bucks?” She said with a shrug.
“Sounds fair.” I reached into my suit and gave h
er a ten-dollar bill. Then ducked into the changing room quickly, brushing across a black lace something or other as I got in. Once inside I pulled out a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and jacket from my backpack and changed quickly. Then packed my flight suit back into it and strapped my helmet to my bag.
The lady was standing at the door to the changing room as I came out. “Were you just flying past here a minute ago?”
I managed to bite back a response of. ‘No I think that was the other guy wearing a red flight suit and helmet.’ There was no need to be rude. “Yeah that was me.” I said simply; hoping that maybe settling her curiosity would be enough for me to escape. No such luck though.
“Any chance I could get a picture of you for our wall here? We like to get shots of celebrities.” I looked at the wall and saw a few shots of various local and national female celebs in the shop.
Oh for fuck’s sake. “Uh, sure.”
“We usually give freebies to the people we get pictures of.”
I looked around. “Well it’s not my usual apparel.” I’m pretty open minded but I just couldn't see myself rocking a red teddy and matching G-string.
“Maybe for a lady friend?”
In my mind I saw the scene. ‘Hi Cathy nice to see you. Let's have dinner and here’s some lace panties.’ Sure, it could go well, but on the other hand it would be embarrassing to come home with her handprint on my face from getting smacked.
“Could you let me come back and collect on that?” I asked.
“Certainly.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and I posed with her assistant who kind of draped herself over me. Usually I wouldn't have minded a cute lady lounging on me. At that moment though, I was hoping the phone wouldn’t pick up how hard I was blushing.
“Now then, if you could show me how to get out of here discretely?” The windows to the place were dark but I could see people looking in. It was beginning to dawn on me that celebrity might have its upsides but the big downside was living as though you were the permanent resident of a social fishbowl.
“Sure. Follow me.” I did as I was instructed, which turned out to be no real hardship. She was wearing a short form fitting red dress, it tied in the back like a corset and the effect on her form drew the eye. It was business-like in a way, especially in a place like this, but it was just a step or two away from being evening wear. My eyes kept moving downward to enjoy the view almost as if they were being attracted by some force of gravity.