“Eastwood’s character in the movie is a boxer named Philo Beddow who travels with an orangutan named Clyde.”
“He’s named after a monkey?” The laughter was beginning to roll up from somewhere in the middle of my stomach.
Ryan was trying to keep a straight face, but he was already chuckling, “Orangutans are apes, not monkeys. And no, his mom named him Philo after the boxer, but he had such shock red hair that everyone said he looked more like Clyde the ape and that’s how he got the nickname.”
“That’s awful! You’re kidding about this, right?”
“Swear to God, it’s the honest truth-his hair is redder than mine.”
“He’s at least a handsome redhead right; he doesn’t look like an ape in the face?”
“Hey, that’s a girl’s department to judge. I don’t rate guys, but it’s just the color of his hair that earned him the nickname. My sister likes his looks. Man, when we land I’ve got to get some Clint Eastwood movies for you to watch.”
“Finish telling me about Dianna and Clyde; you got side-tracked.”
“Oh, yeah. Anyway, Clyde is thirty and he’s a master sergeant with the 46th Test Wing at Eglin. They live off the base and Mom thought I needed another male influence in my life so she decided I should stay with them for a little while. Well, that and the fact I could be in the Air Force ROTC at Pensacola High.”
“I thought you said your mom is against the idea of you enlisting?”
“She is, but she said she can’t live my life for me, I’ve got to make my own choices, so she let me go.”
“She sounds like a good mom. Where does Palm Beach fit into all of this?”
“She is. Mom is originally from there. Her family is old money and no matter where we moved with Dad when he shipped around the states, Palm Beach was always home base. We moved back there when they sent him overseas.”
“So you still have friends out here?” I asked as we neared our destination.
“Yeah, I have a couple buddies that are already enlisted and a few that are finishing up high school-like us,” he emphasized, letting me know he still wanted both of us to get our diplomas.
“I don’t know how we’re going to do that, at least not for a little while until we make sure we don’t have to move again.”
“We’re going to be okay here, Leese. He only found us because of what happened at the airport.”
“You don’t know his family,” I said, trying not to let the pain hit me. “His mother is an expert when it comes to tracing people and finding out every detail about their lives. I wouldn’t be surprised if Micah knows every place you’ve ever lived.”
“Maybe, but until then we’re going to settle in and get comfortable here. If we have to go, we’ll pick someplace that neither of us has ever been.”
I was thinking if it came to that, I was leaving here without him. He looked at this as a game until this morning when we actually had a near encounter. He didn’t know Micah like I did. He’d never watched him empty himself of emotion and become the person he was trained to be. Ryan would hate me for running without him, but it would be one time I would leave a big enough trail that Micah would come straight after me and leave him alone.
We landed at COS and I gave Ryan a roll of cash to cover the costs for storing the airplane. He left me for a little while when he went to talk to the guys at the office. I dug into my duffle while he was gone, realizing I never even brushed my hair this morning, but it was so short I could straighten it out with my fingers if I had to. I looked in the mirror and still couldn’t get over how good of a job he had done. I put on my makeup. Then, making sure no one was around, I changed my clothes. I folded and repacked my bags and then sat there wondering what was taking Ryan so long. I considered opening his bags and folding his clothes, but I didn’t want it to appear that I was simply snooping through his things.
Finally, my wild redhead appeared at the door of the plane.
“Wow, leave you alone for a little while and you get all dolled-up.”
I smiled, “I’m not ‘dolled-up’ I just put on a little makeup and some decent clothes.” I passed him the bags as he reached for them. “Did you call for a taxi? I’m sure there are some hotels here at the airport that-”
“We’re covered. I’ve got a couple friends coming to get us, we’re going to stay with them tonight, and tomorrow we can start looking for our own place. And by the way,” he said as everything was unloaded and he put out his hand to help me down the stairs, “You are a doll with or without the makeup.”
He let go of my hand and placed both hands around my waist and lifted me off the stairs and set me gently on the tarmac, surprising me as I looked up into his happy expression. He was evidently enjoying our time together no matter the circumstances.
I heard a car approaching as Ryan reluctantly let go and grabbed up the bags, “Okay, here we go baby, get ready for some wild people.”
“What?”
“Just smile,” he said out of the corner of his mouth.
A white Chevy Caprice barreled toward us with two massive young guys in the front seat. They were built like Micah, wide chests, thick necks and burly biceps, but they both had crew-cuts and were whooping and hollering out the windows before the car even stopped.
“Who did you call?” I questioned through gritted teeth.
“Friends,” he gritted back. “Take off your rings,” he whispered and then stepped in front of me to provide a little cover.
I quickly pulled the wedding set off my hand and slipped them into the pocket of my jeans.
“Andy! Ty! How’s it going!” he shouted at them as they rolled out of the car and headed our direction.
They practically dog-piled Ryan, which isn’t easy to do to someone his height, but it was no problem for these two monsters. He got slugged a couple times, in teasing of course, but I could still tell it hurt. They were laughing and asking what happened to his hair as they roughed his head.
“My hair?” Ryan scoffed, “You guys are ones to talk. What happened to your hair?”
“We got ours cut, but someone didn’t turn our asses over and dip us in friggin’ pumpkin colored paint!”
“It’s red, not pumpkin,” Ryan rebutted, defending his color choice.
“It’s my fault,” I spoke up, causing all three heads to snap my direction. “I’m responsible for the color job, but we’re dying it back to black tonight.”
Both guys straightened up and big smiles came across their faces. “Damn, Ryan-you’ve done all right for yourself, son,” the largest one stated.
I felt the blush hit my cheeks.
“Andy, Ty, this is Leese, she’s-”
“A good friend,” I finished for him, reaching out to shake hands. I didn’t expect to get grabbed but the one Ryan referred to as Andy, pulled me next to him and wrapped his arms around me.
The smile fell off Ryan’s face.
“Well, girlfriend, if he’s just a buddy, I’m your new man,” he laughed and gave me a brief hug and turned me loose.
Ty reached out and took my hand and brought it to his mouth and kissed the back of it, “Not if I have anything to say about it,” he quipped. “Nice to meet you, Leese. And don’t mind my brother, he’s a dipshit, but I know how to treat a lady.”
Ryan pushed them both away from me and stepped between, “Back off you idiots, she’s here with me and she’s not looking for a Romeo-or a pair of clowns.”
“Ah, man, you’re just jealous because we look better than you, Pumpkin Head,” Andy laughed.
“Maybe we’ll look for that apartment today,” Ryan growled, turning to me.
“The hell you say!” Andy responded. “Momma’s got a room ready for you and supper planned. She’ll kick your ass if you bail on us now.”
The trunk was opened and our bags were tossed inside. The guys tried talking me into sitting between them in the front seat, leaving Ryan alone in the back, but I politely refused. I think they were kidding, but it was a little hard to tell.