“That’s right, dear,” Grace agreed. “Your mother’s identity was bound to come out sooner or later.”
“It’ll be okay, Allison,” Heather said. “The people who really know you like you for who you are. They don’t think any of those awful things.”
“In time this will all blow over,” said Grace. “Just you wait and see.”
Allison wanted to agree with their wisdom and advice, but she wasn’t totally convinced. They hadn’t heardeverything that she had heard. They hadn’t felt the sharp, cutting edge of words spoken so thoughtlessly. As they drove home, Allison promised herself that she would never say anything so cruel about anyone. She was sure that she had probably repeated rumors about others in the past, but now that she knew how it felt, she would make every effort to never do it again.
Before Allison went to bed, she asked God to help her to forgive Shirley. She knew from experience that it was better to forgive than to hold a grudge, and Allison was eager to forget the whole thing. Besides, just last week their pastor had said that unforgiveness was like poison to the soul. Allison had tasted that kind of poison before—she didn’t want any part of it now.
The next morning, Allison tagged along with her father to the airport again. As expected, Andrew was there waiting. James had already told him that he could join them again today.
“Good morning,” Andrew said with a bright smile. “Mac and I have just been discussing how I might be able to help out here part time and earn some flying lessons in exchange for work. I guess he’s been having some problems with Larry Burns.”
“So I’ve heard,” James said.
“Mac said that he didn’t even show up for work yesterday.”
“That’s too bad for Mac, but it sounds like a good opportunity for you, Andrew.” James spoke cheerfully, but his expression said otherwise.
Poor Dad, Allison thought. She knew he was still sweating bullets over how he was going to break all this to Grace, and now he had Andrew to contend with, too. It seemed that secrets were hard to contain.
“I’m going up today, Andrew,” Allison announced. “Dad said I can sit in the copilot’s seat and actually control the plane for a little while.”
“Just a little,” James emphasized. “I’m still trying to build up my flying hours, and I’ll have to be stingy until my log is nice and full.”
Allison glanced at Andrew and saw the longing in his eyes as he stroked the sleek wing of a small plane. “I wish Andrew could come up, too,” she said, looking up at her father with raised brows.
“No, Allison,” Andrew said. “Thanks anyway, but it’s not fair to pressure your dad about this.”
James laid his hand on Andrew’s shoulder. “Thanks for understanding, son. I’m just looking for the right moment to bring this up with Grace.”
Just then Mac joined them. “The right moment, James? Well, I’ve got an old advertising banner that you could drag behind the plane. We could arrange the letters to say, ‘Look at me, Grace, I’m flying!’ ”
“That’s just what I don’t need.”
It wasn’t long before Allison was securely buckled into the little yellow Piper. It was fun to sit right up in the front of the cockpit and watch the blur of the propeller until it slowly became invisible to the eye. Soon the runway was speeding in front of them, then the sky loomed before them—bright blue with a bank of clouds coming in from the sea. James flew for about thirty minutes, then finally allowed Allison to take the stick.
“Just like I told you, Allison. Back toward you for up, forward for down, and of course right and left.”
Allison pulled the stick toward her, and the plane’s nose lifted and rose higher into the sky. It was a great feeling of ultimate control. She leveled it out for a few seconds, then firmly pushed the stick forward and they began to dive down. After a long moment of going down, she pulled it back up again and leveled it out.
“Remember, Allison, this isn’t a carnival ride,” James said with a grin.
“But it’s so much fun!”
“I guess I should have expected as much.”
Allison maneuvered the small plane around the sky for about ten minutes before James took control once again.
“That was wonderful,” Allison breathed. “Even better than I thought it would be. I love to fly, Dad. When do you think I can take lessons?”
“I’ve already discussed it with Mac.” His brow creased slightly.
“But you’re worried about Grace.”
“I just know she’s going to be upset with me.”
“Maybe you should just tell her and get it over with. Like you guys were saying last night, just get it out into the open and deal with it.”
“You’re probably right, Allison. Maybe I’ll arrange to take Grace to dinner and break the news to her. I’m just not very eager to do it, although it will be a relief to get it over with. The worst she can do is punch me in the nose and leave me in the dust. But I’ll still have you, won’t I, Allison?” He grinned at her.
“That’s right,” Allison said protectively. “And we would be just fine, the two of us, wouldn’t we?”
“We’d be just fine.”
Once again Allison realized she was starting to resent that Grace should have a say about any of this. She loved Grace dearly and knew that her dad did, too, but why should Grace have so much influence about whether or not they wanted to fly?
When they landed, Andrew was sweeping out a hangar. He waved to them as they taxied over to him and hopped out of the plane.
“Looks like Mac has already put you to work,” James teased as he closed the door.
“He said I could start stocking up hours as soon as I liked. Especially since he’s shorthanded around here right now. In fact, he said the airport is up for sale, and if someone doesn’t buy it soon it may be shut down altogether.”
“Really?” James said. “I didn’t know things were that bad.”
Andrew nodded. “That’s what Mac said.”
“What did Mac say?” Mac echoed good-naturedly as he came around the corner.
“I was telling Mr. O’Brian about the possibility of shutting down the airport. Hope that was okay.”
“Sure. It’s no secret. I just don’t like worrying the few paying customers I do have. Don’t want them to give up on us just yet. But the fact of the matter is, Hugh Anderson wants to sell this place off and move down to Arizona. Don’t know why anyone would want to live in Arizona—nothing but desert and cactus there. Anyway, so far no one’s been interested, and Hugh is talking about shutting it down completely. He wants to be out of here by the end of November.”
Mac rubbed his chin thoughtfully and continued. “I wish I could buy the place. I’ve set a little savings aside, but it isn’t nearly enough. I’ve been telling Hugh for the last several years that we could build us up a nice little air shipping business if we wanted to. You know how things have picked up since the war, and there’s no one doing that sort of thing in this part of the country. Many is the time I’ve gotten a call to go pick up medicine or what-have-you over in Portland, then deliver it somewhere along the coast. You know how long it can take to drive those curvy roads. Flying is a lot faster. I think if Hugh had taken the time to set up a regular air shipping business, it could have been profitable.” Mac sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I reckon it’s too late.”
“I wonder,” James said.
Allison looked curiously at him. “What, Dad?”
“Oh, nothing really. Just a pipe dream. . . .” James turned to Mac. “What will you do if the airport shuts down?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I like living here, but I’d have to move on . . . or else look for work in Port View. I haven’t really given it a lot of thought. I keep hoping things will change.”
James scratched his head. “Maybe they will, Mac.”
“I sure hope so,” said Andrew. “I want to learn to fly.”
“Me too,” Allison agreed. “Someone just has
to buy this place.”
Mac grinned. “Well, don’t you folks worry. Things seem to work out in the end.”
James and Allison told Mac and Andrew good-bye and headed for home. On the way, Allison kept pondering over the trouble with the airport. Finally she spoke.
“Dad, I know this sounds crazy. But I wonder if we could buy the airport.”
“We?”
“Well . . . I don’t know how these things work—it may not even be possible, but apparently I have some sort of fortune in the Madison estate—”
James chuckled. “Yes, I can just imagine your grandmother Madison’s face if you even suggested cashing in your inheritance to purchase a rinky-dink airport. Besides, any inheritance of yours is tied up until you turn eighteen.”
“Oh.” Allison frowned. “I guess it was a silly idea.”
“Not really, Allison. I was toying with the idea myself.”
“Really? How, Dad? Can you afford to do something like that?”
“Your grandfather left me pretty well off, and with the way things have been going with the Jensons lately, a new business opportunity might be a nice change. Marge seems to want to run the shipping business right into the ground, and Hal just idly sits by twiddling his thumbs.”
“And?” Allison looked at her dad with wide eyes, but he didn’t continue. It was almost as if he couldn’t bring himself to actually say the words. Finally Allison said them for him.
“So maybe you’d like to get out of ocean shipping and get into air shipping instead?”
He nodded slowly. “That’s what I was thinking.”
“Dad, that’s a terrific idea. You would be doing something you really loved. It’s fantastic!”
“Except for one thing . . .”
Allison thought for a moment. “Grace.”
James nodded. “I can’t plan my future without giving her a chance to say something.”
“But why should she have the final say?” Allison asked.
“Oh, Allison, you know Grace would never be like that. But knowing what I do about how strongly she feels about flying . . . well, it’s hard to ignore her opinion.”
“I know, Dad. I didn’t mean to sound cruel. I respect Grace’s opinion, too. I just wish that she saw the fun in flying like we do. Maybe she will eventually.”
“Maybe she will.”
“So will you look into it, Dad? Will you consider getting out of the partnership with the Jensons and buying the airport?”
“Of course I’ll consider it. In fact, it’s probably all I’ll be thinking about for the next few days.”
Allison smiled as she thought about what a huge relief it would be not to have to be nice to Shirley anymore, but then she reminded herself that she had already forgiven Shirley. Once again, she had to let go of her bitterness. There was no point in hanging on to hurt feelings. She sighed, hoping Shirley wouldn’t always be her cross to bear.
Allison tried to turn her thoughts to more exciting subjects, primarily the Harvest Ball, but her spirit sank once more. Would they still be talking about her and her mother’s identity? Would people think poorly of Andrew because he was taking her to the dance? Would they think she had used Heather to get to Andrew? Oh, it was all just so ridiculous and unfair! This was a night she should have been looking forward to, and now she was dreading it so much she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to go.
“Oh, Heather,” Allison exclaimed for the third time. “You look so gorgeous! Just like a princess.” Allison replaced a golden lock that had come loose from one of the glittering combs that Grace had used to sweep back Heather’s hair. Allison stared at Heather in wonder. The sophisticated cut of the moiré satin gown made Heather look like she was at least twenty. The neckline seemed to frame Heather’s ivory skin like an elegant picture frame. “And this necklace is perfect with the dress. The stones are the same color of pale blue.”
“They’re just rhinestones, of course,” said Grace apologetically. “But, actually, I think you both look like princesses, and I don’t know if we should even let you two out looking so grown-up. Please don’t forget you’re still just kids.” She turned back to doing Allison’s hair.
“Don’t worry, we don’t want to grow up yet.” Allison watched in the mirror as Grace skillfully styled her auburn curls. “You know,” said Allison thoughtfully, “Marsha picked out this gown.” She ran her hands down the smooth satin skirt that flowed from the tightly fitted waistline.
“Marsha has exquisite taste,” Grace said as she tucked a bobby pin into Allison’s hair to discreetly pull her hair back from her face. “That soft shade of yellow makes your skin glow, Allison. And those sweet little sleeves remind me of a porcelain figurine that my mother used to have. It’s too bad Marsha can’t see you right now.”
“I’ll have to send her a photo.”
“Yes,” agreed Heather. “And I will send John a photo, too.” Heather spun around in a pirouette. “Don’t you love the rustling, swishing sound of satin and tulle? It sounds so happy—it reminds me of water rushing down a creek.”
Allison smiled. “You’re exactly right, Heather.”
“There,” proclaimed Grace, stepping back. “I think that should do it.”
“Grace, you are an absolute whiz with hair.” Allison couldn’t believe how Grace had smoothed the curls into a perfect style. “It reminds me of Lauren Bacall’s hair.”
“There was a time when I thought I wanted to become a beautician instead of a nurse, but I finally decided that perhaps it was better to make people well than to make them pretty. Still, it doesn’t hurt your health to look good.” Grace went over to her handbag on Allison’s bed. “I don’t know if you want to try this or not, but I saw some ribbon at the fabric store, and I thought it might look pretty in your hair, Allison. . . .”
“It’s beautiful, Grace. But what will you do with it?” Allison stared at the stream of satin ribbon. The color reminded her of the ocean on a day when it looked almost green.
“Let me show you,” said Grace as she slipped the ribbon around Allison’s head and tied it like a headband. “It’s just a little touch, but I thought this color of green was a lot like your eyes.” Grace stepped back. “There, now, doesn’t that look pretty.”
“Thanks, Grace,” said Allison. “It’s perfect.”
“You girls stand still.” James popped his head through the door and aimed his big camera. “I want to get some candid shots before the boys get here.”
Allison’s room was getting crowded as James squirmed in and out popping flashbulbs until Allison was sure that she would be seeing blue spots all night. He finally handed the camera to Grace and stepped up to Allison with a wide grin. Then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a lovely strand of pearls.
“These were your grandmother O’Brian’s,” he said as he slipped them around her neck and clasped them in back. “You don’t have to wear them if you don’t want to, Allison, but I thought they might look pretty with your dress.”
Allison spun around to look in the mirror, then turned back to her father. “They’re absolutely perfect, Dad. But are you sure you want me to wear them? What if I lose them?”
He grinned and gave her a gentle hug, as if he were afraid of crushing her dress. “Don’t worry about that. They are meant to be worn. Your grandmother would be so happy to see you wearing them, Allison. She would be so proud of you.” He stepped back and looked at her with glistening eyes, then shook his head. “And to think I could have missed out on all this. I thank God every day, Allison. I really do.” He got his camera again and took several more shots, finally one with all three of them together. Then he caught Muriel in the hallway and made her come join them for a photo.
“Goodness,” Muriel exclaimed with a bright smile. “I’ll surely spoil the photograph for everyone.”
“No, you won’t,” declared Allison as she pulled Muriel into the room.
“Okay, now let’s get some photos of the girls downstairs,” James sug
gested after several more pictures.
A few minutes later the doorbell rang, and George formally led Andrew and Curt into the library, treating them as if they were visiting royalty. Allison studied Andrew’s expression as he walked into the room and saw her. She was satisfied when his face lit up like a Christmas tree. Then she looked at Curt as he greeted Heather—it looked like his eyes were going to pop right out of his head! Allison wanted to clap her hands with joy and laugh out loud, but instead she maintained a dignified sense of decorum. More photos were taken, then coats were put on and it was finally time to leave. James slipped the keys into Andrew’s hand and gave him a look that Allison knew was meant to be fatherly but looked almost threatening. Andrew nodded respectfully, as if they had some unspoken understanding, and then the four of them were off.
Allison sat in the front seat beside Andrew, with Heather and Curt in the back. There was an uncomfortable formality in the air that none of them were used to. They made polite small talk as Andrew carefully drove. At Heather’s timely prompting, the boys began to rehash last night’s football game, and the conversation became more natural and relaxed. Unfortunately for Allison, the talk of last night only reminded her of the mean gossip she’d overheard at half time. She tried to push those awful comments from her mind, but it was of little use.
By the time they were walking across the crowded school parking lot, Allison felt certain that everyone at Port View High thought she was the most horrible girl ever. She imagined the stares she would receive, the murmurings she would overhear. Her stomach began to tie itself into dozens of tight little knots.
As they entered the decorated gym, Andrew extended his arm like a perfect gentleman. She took his arm, trying not to reveal how nervous she felt by clutching it too tightly. Taking a deep breath, she fixed her focus on the colorful harvest decorations. She observed the pumpkins, scarecrows, and cornstalks neatly arranged by the doors, and above their heads hung an array of fall-colored crepe paper streamers crisscrossing all about the gymnasium. Finally she allowed herself to look at her fellow students, who were also dressed formally for the dance. It was a kaleidoscope of color, full of nervous energy and life. And she was not surprised to see many sets of eyes fixed on her and Andrew. She couldn’t tell if they were staring with hostility or simply amazed that Andrew had brought her as his date. Perhaps it was better not to know.
Allison O'Brian on Her Own, Volume 2 Page 13