My Little Rock Airman

by Brittany Fichter

  “Oh.” I sat back, a blush heating my cheeks. It wasn’t the declaration of love I’m sure Madison would have wanted, but it was something to think about, at least. “Well…thanks.”

  “Let’s finish this thing, huh?” He smiled, pushed his glasses back up his nose, and pulled out yet another syllabus.

  An involuntary sigh escaped, but I covered it with a yawn. He was right. This degree was what I wanted.

  It really was.

  26

  Not a Date

  Jessie

  “Are you sure this isn’t a date?” My mom gave me her best mom look as I held another shirt up in the mirror before tossing it on the bed.

  “I told you. It’s purely business. And me feeling slightly sorry for the guy whose fiancée dumped him because his little sister has special needs.” I sighed and went back to my closet to dig into it once again.

  “You know…” my mom said slowly. “You don’t have to abide by all your rules all the time.”

  I stopped my perusing to look at her. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you made those dating rules yourself. And while most of them are good…they’re not the Ten Commandments. The only one enforcing them is you, you know.”

  “You know, you and Dad were the ones who drilled a bunch of those rules—”

  “Honey, that was in high school. You’re twenty-three now. Grown up enough to start basing your choices on maturity. In fact, what if…” She frowned thoughtfully at my desk.

  I paused and turned around. “Uh-oh. I know that tone. What if what?”

  “What if,” she said slowly, “instead of getting rid of all your rules, you…what if you amended some?”

  “Amended?”

  She nodded. “Let’s look at these and see how many you really need.” She went over and dug the planner out from where I had most recently tried to hide it to prevent talks just like these.

  “Mom—”

  “‘Christian man who attends a similar church to mine.’” She nodded. “Definitely a good rule. Let’s see what else we can keep. ‘Great with kids.’ ‘Values my education degree.’ ‘Has a stable job.’ ‘Has a retirement account in place before the age of thirty.’ See, these are all fine, but…oh, Jessie.” She held it up and frowned at me. “‘Hates the local football team.’ Really? You live in Arkansas, girl. Odds are no one here hates them as much as you do. If you want this in a man, you’d better move to Alabama.”

  I rolled my eyes, but she had a point. Even the military guys here liked the the local college team. “Fine. We can scratch that one off.”

  “‘Must make the first move.’ ‘Doesn’t have a beard.’” She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head. “Whatever.”

  “Mom.” I sighed. “I have to go in like three minutes. What’s your point?”

  “I just think,” she picked up a pen and pointed to the first line, “that this one…well, maybe you should rethink it.”

  I pretended to study the pile of clothes already on my bed. But inside, I was panicking. Could I rethink that one? Did I want to? Because if I did, everything would change.

  I grabbed one of the blouses I’d discarded and held it up again. It was white with little red and green cherries all over it, puffy at the top with a waist made with smocking that went all the way around. It was flirty but conservatively so, which was the vibe I wanted. At least, I hoped it was. This wasn’t a date, but I didn’t want to embarrass myself or Derrick by looking like a kindergarten teacher at his picnic.

  “Those are cute together.” My mom nodded at the shirt and dark jeans I’d paired it with. Then she cracked a smile. “Derrick should like it.”

  “I need to get dressed. Maybe we can talk about this later?”

  “What about the rule?”

  I huffed. “Fine. I’ll think about it. Happy?”

  “Yes.” My mom snickered as she closed the door behind her. “Enjoy your date.”

  “Not a date!” I called after her. But I didn’t have time to sit and stew. Throwing the blouse and jeans on, I ran to the bathroom and did the best makeup job I could before the doorbell rang. My mom answered, and I could hear a familiar voice answer.

  Wow. Derrick was here. Not just in his truck, but on my front porch. He never rang when he came to pick me up. He just texted me that he was in the front drive, which was fine, as I’d always assumed it was because he didn’t want to leave Jade in the car. My heart thumped a little unevenly. Why change things up now?

  “Jessie, he’s here,” my mom called from down the hall.

  “Coming.” I snapped the lid back on my lip gloss, gave my face and hair a once over in the mirror, then took a deep breath as I grabbed my purse.

  My stupid heart tripped on itself again as I reached the entry. I hadn’t seen him in his full uniform since our fateful introduction, just the light brown shirts Jade called, “sand”. He was fit without the uniform, keeping a tall, lean build with just enough muscles to fill his t-shirts out nicely and make women do a double-take (though I suspected he would have liked to bulk up more, judging by all the protein shakes I found lying around the house). But now I could see that his boots added several inches to his height, and the way he carried himself was different, like he was all about business. The snarky boyishness that was usually in the corner of his grin and the cocky tilt of his head were gone. And for the first time since meeting him, as he turned to look at me and his blue eyes met mine, I realized that he looked not like Jade’s annoying big brother…but like a man.

  He watched me with a strange expression as he filled the doorway in his camouflage pants and jacket, and I had to take extra care to avert my eyes so he wouldn’t catch me gawking. Then I’d never hear the end of it.

  “Ready to go?” he asked, holding open the door. “Jade’s in the car, and I’ve got the AC running.”

  “Yep.” I kissed my mom on the cheek and ignored her smug look as I made my way out to the truck. My door was already open, and Jade was in the back, oblivious to the world as she read what looked like a new book on geodes.

  Derrick closed my door then got in and revved the truck up.

  “Thanks again for coming to this,” he said as we left the drive. “It’s going to be a lot more enjoyable without a million questions about Amy.”

  “What will we tell them if they ask?” I pictured Amy in my head, and it wasn’t without some sourness that I recalled her striking blue eyes, just as bright as Derrick’s, and curly dark hair and perfect, unblemished skin. Like Snow White, if Snow White had been slightly tanned with the body of a triathlete. If his coworkers had seen her or her picture, no one would be able to mistake me for her. But we weren’t dating, and I wasn’t jealous, so it didn’t really matter anyway. “I mean,” I added with a shrug, “not that I care. They’ll probably just be wondering where you got the blond, short-haired gnome and wonder where your forest elf went.”

  Derrick’s laughter exploded through the quiet car. “You,” he said, giving me another glance, “do not look like a gnome.”

  Was that a compliment?

  Not that I cared.

  “Speaking of clothes,” I nodded at him, “I thought you didn’t have to work tonight.”

  He grimaced. “Well, I’m filling in today for someone who got hurt this morning. They called me right before we left. I barely had time to change into my uniform.”

  A strange silence settled over the car. And though I scrolled through my inbox, I found myself more and more unsettled by the man sitting beside me. Which was stupid. This was Derrick, the guy who tormented me for half of our relationship and spent the other half playing pranks and begging me to help him avoid his boss.

  So why did I feel like I was really meeting him for the first time? And why did it suddenly feel like maybe…maybe it was time to rethink the rules after all?

  27

  I Don’t Mind

  Derrick

  Jessie was oddly silent as we drove up to the base gate. There had been times where I
would have given my left foot to shut her up when we first met, but I found now that I didn’t know what to do with the silence. Every so often, out of the corner of her eye, she’d sneak a glance at me before her eyes darted back down to her phone.

  It had to be the uniform. Women were weird about uniforms. It was just something I wore every day. It had function and utility. Once I’d accidentally terrified a group of kids in a gas station, who I quickly realized were from another country. But Jessie didn’t look terrified. She looked…curious. And though that would have concerned me two months ago, now I couldn’t help but wonder if I liked it.

  It was hard not to keep looking at her, too. She was dressed up more than usual today, wearing fitted dark jeans, and a blouse that was the kind that sat just on the edges of her shoulders, revealing her graceful neck and the sharp angles of her collarbone. Her blond hair was curled, rather than up in its usual ponytail, and she was wearing makeup. And every time she glanced up at me from below those long lashes, I had to remind myself to focus on the road.

  “If anyone asks,” I said, remembering the question I hadn’t answered, “we can tell them you’re a friend, and you’re helping me with Jade this summer.”

  “And if they don’t ask?”

  Her question caught me off-guard for several reasons. First of all, she seemed fine with the statement that we were friends. A month ago, she would have nailed me for saying she was anything but Jade’s teacher. This was progress, I supposed, that she let it slide now. And yet…friends. Not that we weren’t. It just didn’t quite fit what we were.

  What were we anyway? A team, yes. Jade’s sidekicks? That fit, too. But everything I could think of involved Jade. And I couldn’t help but wonder about how if Jade were removed from the picture, we would have nothing left to tie us together. And it dawned on me that I didn’t like that. After the summer we’d had, life without Jessie would have a gaping hole.

  “And?” she asked, looking slightly bemused.

  “Oh.” I shook myself. “Sorry. Well, if they don’t ask, we’ll just let them think what they want.” If they wanted to think the beautiful woman at my side was my girl, that was fine by me.

  “I hate to ask this,” I said, “but I don’t know how long I’ll be at work after this. Hopefully, it’ll be less than an hour. If that’s the case, you and Jade can come hang out at the barbeque. She’s got a few extra toys in her backpack for if that happens. But if you really want to leave, maybe you could take Jade home in my truck? My mom could drive you home when you get back to the house.”

  She turned to gape at me. “You’d let me drive your truck?”

  I cringed. “I’m honestly reconsidering this very instant.”

  She swatted me.

  “But if you’re determined to go home…” I shrugged. “Can’t have your boyfriend thinking you’re being held hostage.”

  “My…Oh geez. Sam is not my boyfriend.” Something in her voice colored just slightly, and I grinned. I knew it was true, but for some reason, it felt good to have her say so.

  After we got Jessie’s pass from the visitor’s center, we went through the gate, and I proceeded to give her a tour from the truck as we drove past the various parts of the base.

  “This is the main road that almost everything for civilians lies on.”

  “What’s that?” She pointed to the walking trail that wound in and out of and around a bunch of stationary planes, which all stood on their concrete beds around the flagpole in the center of the green.

  “We call plane displays like that museums. They’re really just old planes set up where people can see, but we’re the military, so everything needs an important name.” I pointed across the street. “Here’s one of the two gas stations. This one stays open longer than the other one, which we’ll see in a minute. There’s the library and the base pool.”

  “It’s busy.”

  “It’s summer. Oh, and there’s the chapel. That’s where I went until we started going to your church. And there’s the clinic on that side and the BX and commissary up ahead on the other.”

  “The commissary is the grocery store, right?” she asked.

  “Right. And the BX is like our Walmart, but without taxes.”

  “Are those military houses?” She pointed to the other side of the street. “They’re nicer than I thought they’d be.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, because those belong to the officers and senior NCOs.”

  “NCO?”

  “Non-commissioned officer. Basically, higher-ranked enlisted people. They get the new ones. The old homes with all the problems are in the back, where you can’t see.”

  “Where are the planes?” she asked, looking through the window like it was magical and everything might disappear.

  “On the other side of all those trees. You can’t see it from here, but I’ll take you by the runway when we’re done if you want. That’s where I work, actually.”

  “It’s like its own small city,” she said, her eyes wide.

  “It has to be,” I said. “If something happened, like an emergency, everyone on base would need a way to keep functioning so we could do our jobs and help everyone else.” I waved at the world around us. “And this is it.”

  She nodded and went back to staring, but as we neared the park, I found myself praying.

  I also wondered if any of this would change her mind?

  We passed the second gas station and turned onto a road that led to a small park with a large pond and a dozen picnic tables set up beside several large park grills. I found a parking space and pulled in.

  “I’m sorry to ask this,” I said, as I hopped out. “But I’m not supposed to carry Jade’s backpack in uniform…or any backpack that’s not regulation. If I get Jade, can you get it for me, and then I’ll find a place to put it once we have our seats?”

  I expected her to tease me about stupid military protocol because the rule really did seem stupid. But to my surprise, she only nodded and slipped the backpack on without a word.

  As we made our way from the truck to the picnic area, where three guys were already grilling, and the rest created a sea of camouflage uniforms, sprinkled with civilian clothes from the spouses and kids, my heart clenched a little. It felt good to all walk up together. Almost like…

  Nope. I wasn’t going to think it. Best to not even let my mind wander in that direction, because either my own heart or Jessie would make me pay for it later, should she ever find out. But still…

  “Allen.” Sergeant Barnes greeted us as we neared the picnic tables, which were already nearly full. He was in civies, which I hoped meant he wouldn’t follow me back to the office after the picnic to question me about Jessie.

  “Sir.” I shook his hand.

  “And this is Jade.” He smiled at my sister. “And,” he looked up at Jessie, and I could see the confusion on his face.

  “Jessie.” Jessie reached out to shake his hand. For being so against dating anyone in the military, she seemed really comfortable around all these airmen. Then I remembered, she probably worked with half their kids. “We met at the mall,” she said with a smile.

  “Oh, that’s right! Well, we’re glad you’re here today.” He pointed to the line behind the grills. “Burgers and hotdogs are there. Dessert’s on that table, and drinks are in the cooler there.” Then he spotted someone behind me and waved. But as he passed me to greet whoever he’d seen, he grabbed my arm and whispered in my ear.

  “That’s not Miss Colorado, is it?”

  I shook my head. “No, sir.”

  He gave me a long, thoughtful look before nodding slightly. “All right,” he said and then moved on. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but at least he wasn’t pressing it here.

  As we got our food, I felt like I could jump up and down. I’d passed the Barnes test, more or less, and now I just got time to hang out with my buddies and Jade and Jessie.

  Jessie continued to amaze me as we moved in and out of the crowd. She was polite and easy with eve
ryone, which was interesting, considering the impression I’d gotten that she was somewhat of an introvert. She didn’t look tired at all, though, after I’d introduced her to the twelfth person who asked.

  “Hey,” she said, brushing her bangs out of her face and probably having no idea how incredibly attractive it was. “Jade keeps eyeing the pond, so I’m going to be proactive and take her to the swings. Sound good?”

  “Sure.” I smiled and watched as she led Jade over to where the other children and their parents were playing by now.

  “Looks good on her,” Hernandez said when Jessie was out of earshot.

  “What does?” I pretended to mess with my phone.

  “She fits right in. Look, she’s already talking with the moms.”

  I looked up to see that sure enough, Jessie already had Jade on a swing and was laughing at something the woman beside her had said. And my friend was right. It did look good.

  “This is the one you hired, right? The one you’re going to the ball with?”

  “Would you keep it down?” I glanced over my shoulder. “Barnes already approves.” Well, kind of. “I don’t really want to explain to him any more than I already have.”

  “Look, dude. All I’m saying is that she doesn’t look hired. She looks happy.” He bumped my shoulder. “And she seems to really care for Jade.”

  “She does.” Jessie might curse me up one side and down the other one day, but I would never question her attachment to my sister.

  “And Amy didn’t.” He shook his head. “Look, I just don’t get it. Why aren’t you going for her?”

  “One problem.” I gave him a wry smile. “She doesn’t date airmen.”

  “What?”

  “I’m serious. She has this whole list of rules about things that disqualify guys from being datable. And dating airmen is number one.”

  “But…” He frowned. “Why?”