Flying High

by Gwynne Forster

  * * *

  Audrey sat on her back porch enjoying a warm evening in late May and thinking how wise she had been to add the porch after she bought the house. She had planted honeysuckle vines, but, to her dismay, that variety didn’t have a sweet odor and cutting them down only guaranteed she’d have more of them. She’d have to dip up the roots. The scent of magnolias coming from a neighbor’s garden teased her olfactory senses and, when the breeze shifted, a profusion of sweet smells—roses, magnolias, white irises and heather—rustled her way. She tucked herself into the big chair and dozed off to sleep.

  Now who could that be? she wondered, awakening with a start and, praying that it wasn’t a patient with an emergency, dashing inside to answer the phone.

  “This is Dr. Powers.”

  “Hello, Audrey. This is Nelson Wainwright. I’m calling to—”

  She sat down. Control, girl. Control. “What a surprise! I hadn’t expected to hear from you. How’s Ricky?”

  His silence probably wouldn’t have unnerved her if it hadn’t lasted so long. She didn’t know whether to hang up, ask if he was still there or just wait.

  “Audrey, this is my call,” he said after a while. “Thank you for spending your Saturday with us and for helping out. And I apologize for Lena’s underhanded way of getting you to do it. I also want to know how you are.”

  “Whew! Get your money’s worth yet?”

  “Now look, Audrey. I didn’t call to create a misunderstanding where none exists. How are you?”

  Cut and dried, was he? Well, if he was after plain truth, she’d give it to him. “You woke me up, so I don’t yet know how I am. I was sitting on my back porch sleeping peacefully and almost fell on my face getting in here to answer the phone. How are you?”

  His laugh, deep and throaty, seemed to rise from the pit of him. “You’re murder on a guy’s ego. Fortunately, I didn’t call to be cajoled. How am I? Rotten. I just sent five good men off to their dooms, and what’s more, they know it. I called you because I figured a conversation with you would get it off my mind, at least while we were talking.”

  She hadn’t expected that, and it was on the tip of her tongue to ask why he didn’t have a nice warm woman to give him comfort when he needed it, but she thought better of it.

  Remembering some of her own frustrations at work she said, “That’s got to hurt, and I’m sure it’s the part of your job that you like the least. If it wasn’t so late, we could go to the annual Mount Vernon Wine Tasting Festival. I’ve heard it’s like being back in the eighteenth century.”

  “I’ve never thought of going, but I think I’d like it. We could go tomorrow right after work. What do you say?”

  Why on earth had she brought that up? She was being nice, and the idea was convenient because she thought the festival lasted that one day. She didn’t want to encourage a relationship with him, but she couldn’t back down, could she?

  “You still there?”

  “Uh...okay. I’ll... It ought to be fun.” She said that more to console herself than to be congenial. “By the way, how’s your neck?”

  “’Bout like it was when you first saw me.”

  “Oh. I am sorry.”

  “Where are you, Audrey? I mean where is your home?”

  “I’m in Bethesda, and I’m home.”

  “Whoa, there. Didn’t mean to suggest otherwise. It’s only a quarter of eight. How about meeting me at the Omni Shoreham on Calvert at Connecticut. It’s almost midway between us, and I can talk to a person rather than a voice, nice as it is.”

  “The Omni Shoreham Hotel? Is that what you said?”

  “The lounge, Audrey. The lounge.” She imagined that he’d begun to pace the floor in exasperation, but she rubbed it in nonetheless.

  “Sorry. Can’t be too clear about these things. Many a gal went for a ride and ended up walking...if you see what I mean.”

  “I wish I could have been looking at you when you said that,” he said in a low, almost surly growl. “I don’t try to bamboozle women. If I want something from them, I ask.”

  She leaned back and swung her left leg over her knee. “Nicely, I hope.”

  “You bet,” he growled. “Otherwise, how would I always get exactly what I want?”

  “Whew!” she said. “Honey, I’m fanning. Can’t you feel the breeze?” His laughter curled around her. “Hmm. You’re a lot looser than I thought you were.”

  And, whether he knew it or not, he’d piqued her curiosity and revved her feminine engine. She ought to stay home. Her father, God rest his soul, had always said the way to avoid trouble was to go the other way when you saw it coming. I’m in no danger. Only a fool would have to learn a lesson twice. And I could use some diversion.

  “Me, loose?” he asked in a voice that hinted at surprise. “Just depends on who you are and where you catch me. I can be as loose as they come. How about it? We already wasted fifteen minutes.”

  “Okay. Meet you at the Omni lounge in half an hour, and be prepared to watch me eat a sandwich. I haven’t had dinner.”

  “See you there, Audrey, and I’m looking forward to it.”

  He hung up, and for a full minute she sat there staring into space. What had she let herself in for? Nelson Wainwright had served notice that he was not the one-sided, straitlaced man she’d thought. She hurried into a long, narrow, red, gray and black paisley skirt with a side slit to the knee, topped it with a sleeveless red silk, cowl-neck sweater and matching cardigan, and inspected herself in the mirror. Displeased with what she saw, she combed her hair out to fall carelessly on her shoulders and put a pair of large silver loops in her ears.

  “I don’t care what his reaction is,” she told herself when she recalled how that outfit heightened her sex appeal. “And what can he think if I didn’t put on any lipstick?”

  Although she left home quickly and drove directly there, Nelson was sitting in the lounge when she arrived. A point in his favor. He didn’t allow her to look around for him but went to meet her.

  “Thanks for coming. Our table’s in the corner, and I got a menu for you. The food here is good.”

  “I bet you’ve already eaten,” she said, and gave the waiter her order.

  “We eat early for Ricky’s sake. That boy really is taken with you.” He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “He drew this this morning, I’m told, and asked if I would mail it to you.”

  She looked at what she assumed was a little boy and a bird. “This is... I don’t want to seem maudlin, but it’s so dear I could...tell him I love him.”

  His gaze drilled into her. “I will.”

  Just that, and nothing else. And why was he looking at her like that? “Is...uh, something wrong? I mean...”

  “You’re a beautiful woman, and I’m talking about the inside. I like the way you look in this—” he waved his hand around as if he were at a lost for words “—this getup. But that isn’t what I’m talking about. I got an inkling of your caring and concern for others when you were at my house, and I’m more certain of it now. Your patients are very fortunate.”

  He’d knocked her for a loop. So direct. She was that way herself, but being on the receiving end of such candor shook her a bit. “Thank you... I’m embarrassed.”

  “I see that, and I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Certainly not that.” His fingers strummed along the beige marble that served as a tabletop. “I don’t often see compassion in my work—that’s not what the Service is about—but I value it.”

  The waiter arrived with her shrimp salad, relieving her of the necessity of replying and plunging them more deeply into a topic that would ultimately lead to intimate disclosures.

  “This looks great,” she said. “Want some? They put enough here for a family outing.”

  His gaze bore into her. “I don’t have a f
ork.”

  She beckoned to the waiter. “Would you bring me another dinner fork, please?”

  “Why didn’t you ask for a plate?”

  The waiter brought the fork, and she handed it to him. “You eat from that side, and I’ll eat from this side. Meet you in the middle.”

  He continued to look at her. “Go on,” she said. “Eat. It’s good.”

  He put a forkful in his mouth and savored it. “Yeah. It is good. Tell me. What do we do when we reach the middle?”

  Bait her, would he? “I haven’t figured that out yet. I thought of this...our starting from different sides, I mean. You figure out about the middle.”

  She stared in amazement as his cheeks curved slightly, releasing the beginnings of a smile that drifted slowly toward his eyes and lit sparkles in them. Then his long silky lashes hid his eyes and with his elbow resting on the table supporting the hand that held his head, he erupted in a laugh that seemed to tax him because he couldn’t explode in that public place. She thought she would have to pound his back.

  When he sobered he said, “Figuring that out won’t cost me one bit of sweat. Audrey, learn right now not to hand me those double entendres. I can’t resist setting them up to suit my own funny bone. You going to Mount Vernon with me tomorrow afternoon?”

  “I said I would, didn’t I?”

  “You said it would be fun. I hope the people working and volunteering there are wearing period clothes. Tell me where, and I’ll pick you up.”

  “I’ll be driving.”

  “Leave your car at Howard, take a taxi and meet me at the entrance of Macy’s in the Pentagon. Can you do that?”

  “Taxi all the way to Arlington? Sure, but—”

  “It’s on me. You won’t have to worry about parking or fighting the traffic, and I’ll take you back to your car. How’s that?”

  She wished he wouldn’t look at her like that. Or maybe it was just her, but his eyes seemed to possess her. She felt like pulling off her sweater. Both sweaters.

  “I’m not yet sure I should go anywhere with you,” she blurted out. “You’re dangerous.”

  He leaned back, hooded his eyes with his long lashes and let a smile play around his lips. “You should know better than to tell a man he’s dangerous. If he wasn’t, he damned sight will be.”

  “Well, now that you’ve warned me, showed your hand, I mean, I feel perfectly safe.”

  He laughed, and how she loved the sound of that deep, masculine rumble that seemed to start in a bottomless pit and sneak its way out. “You’re as safe with me as you want to be, Audrey. What do you want me to tell Ricky tomorrow morning?”

  She stood. “Let’s see if the gift shop is still open.” She reached for the bill, but he grabbed it first.

  “Next time, you pay. This one is on me.”

  They walked around to the gift shop, where she found a white rabbit that sang “Twilight Time” when squeezed. “Think he’ll like this?” she asked Nelson.

  “He’ll like anything you send him.”

  She had it wrapped, gave it to him and they walked outside to her Ford Taurus. When she reached for the door, he stilled her hand.

  “What’s your favorite place in Washington?”

  Surprised, she said without hesitation, “The Tidal Basin. Any time of year.”

  “And what perfume are you wearing?”

  “I didn’t put on any—”

  He interrupted. “Maybe not tonight, but earlier. What is it?”

  So now he knew she hadn’t put on any perfume for him. “Fendi. It’s the only one I wear.”

  He stared down at her. “I like it. It becomes you. Thanks for getting me out of the doldrums tonight. See you tomorrow at four o’clock.”

  She told him good-night, and he stood there until she drove out of the parking lot. She took a shortcut through Rock Creek Park; though she didn’t like driving that long, unlighted stretch of road, it saved a lot of time. As she reached her house and was about to drive into the garage, she heard a horn toot several times, looked to her right and saw Nelson as he waved and drove by. How did you like that? He tailed her home to assure himself of her safety before taking that long trip back to Alexandria. Another point in his favor.

  * * *

  Nelson took his time getting back to Alexandria. He had plenty to think about, not the least important of which was his powerful attraction to Audrey Powers. He shouldn’t have called her, and it made even less sense to inveigle her into meeting him for a chat. Admittedly, he needed a diversion, but choosing her for it didn’t make sense. He parked in front of his house, got out of the BMW and leaned against the hood. An unbelievable night. A blanket of stars, and not a cloud. And the breeze soft and warm... “Damn!” he said aloud when demon libido began its predatory gallop through his body. “If I had any sense, I’d cancel that date with her for tomorrow. I’m not getting emotionally involved with her or any other woman.” He straightened up, went inside and headed straight for the telephone. But when he started to dial her number, he couldn’t make himself do it.

  “That you, Colonel?” Lena called from upstairs.

  “If it isn’t, Lena, you’re in serious trouble.” He wouldn’t be surprised if she asked him for a record of his daily activities. It wasn’t that she was meddlesome. She cared about him and Ricky. He met her at the top of the stairs.

  “You should be asleep, Lena. Ricky doesn’t let you sleep after he wakes up.”

  “I don’t mind. Poor little thing don’t like being alone. Sometimes I wonder what he went through before he came to live with you.”

  He leaned against the edge of the bannister and folded his arms across his chest. “I often wonder the same thing. After my brother was widowed, he had a woman taking care of Ricky, but I knew he’d wanted to change that arrangement, so I did. I placed him with three different foster mothers, and he hated them all, especially the last one. He and I both are happy with our present arrangement.”

  “Thank you, sir. I’m happy here, too. I never was contented at home after my husband passed. Just couldn’t get used to being there by myself. And those big-shot RNs I worked with at the hospital didn’t help none. I tell you they were so hinkty, you know, ornery and acting like they were better than us LPNs, that I got fed up and quit.”

  He patted her shoulder. “You have a home here for as long as you want it.” Halfway down the hall to Ricky’s room, he stopped and turned around. “Lena, we’ll get along fine if you don’t try to regulate me.”

  She laid her head to one side and braced her right hip with her fist. “Y’all can’t be serious, Colonel. Ain’t a man been born that don’t need a little regulating sometime. I was married for almost forty years, and I can testify to that.”

  He could feel his lower lip sag and his eyes widen. No point whatsoever in trying to deal with that kind of logic. He’d take it as it came.

  “Good night,” he said, then checked on Ricky and turned in for the night. If the Commandant didn’t need to know every sweep of his eyelash, neither did Lena, and she’d soon learn that it was useless to try.

  * * *

  He got to work around eight-thirty the next morning, his mind full of the evening to come. Thinking that it had to be time for lunch, though he wasn’t hungry, he looked at his watch and, figuring that it may have stopped, put it to his ear. He looked at it again. Four minutes after ten. His regular lunchtime, one o’clock, finally arrived at what seemed like quitting time to him. The day dragged until, in exasperation, he began to pace the floor. The phone rang and he rushed to it. Anything, he thought, if it will make time move.

  “Hi,” she said when he answered. “I’m leaving now, and I should be at the entrance to Macy’s in about forty minutes.”

  He exhaled a long breath. “Great. Are you in a taxi?”

  “I dec
ided to take the metro. It stops there, and I won’t have the hassle of getting a taxi at rush hour. I’m a five-minute walk from the metro. Oh, and you can pay my metro fare.”

  “I can pay... Whatever. See you shortly.”

  He had a feeling that her cussedness was deliberate. Hell, he didn’t care; he just wanted to see her. His mind told him to slow down. “I can handle it,” he said aloud.

  He got to the appointed place seconds before she arrived, and gave silent thanks that he had. He didn’t want her to think him rude or that he didn’t value her company.

  “Hello,” he said, and smiled to add warmth to his greeting.

  “Hi. I made it,” she said with a gasp. He wondered if she was short of breath because she had run or because of a health problem.

  “I didn’t want to keep you waiting. Would you believe I ran up those steps?”

  He took her hand and started for his car. “You shouldn’t have. I’d wait for you indefinitely.”

  A smile lit up her face. “You’re just saying that to make me feel good. You’d get fed up.”

  He had to laugh at that. “No doubt about it. I’m a patient man, but I’d know if I was being had, and I’d leave.” They reached his car. He opened the passenger door, seated her, strapped her seat belt, and got in. He wondered if she realized he’d been holding her hand.

  “I hope the sunset is as beautiful over the Potomac as it was last night over my garden,” she said. “It’s still light, so the setting should be breathtaking.”

  “Let’s hope so. I love beauty, especially the beauty of nature.”

  “Me, too. I bought my house because of the garden and the park behind it. It’s beautiful.”

  “Are you going to invite me to enjoy it?” he heard himself ask.

  After a few minutes of telling silence, she said, “I don’t know. I kind of hope I do.”