“More of what?”
“I don’t know. Do you think they should have a father?”
“If a man comes into your life who loves you madly and who loves those two like they’re the only stars in the sky, then yes, but a father for the sake of a father, no.”
“I let them down.”
“No you didn’t. Their father let them down. Now you’re making the best of it. And you’re doing a bang-up job.” Liddy sat up in the chair. “That’s what life’s about, the way I see it, making the best of it. How are you gonna play your cards? You know what I mean?”
“So do you think about him?” Louise asked Liddy.
Liddy’s mind began to wander, where her heart didn’t want to go. “I try not to.”
“I don’t’ mean to sound insensitive. But I wish I had someone to think about like Reid. I’d think they’d be good thoughts to have.”
“Too nice. Reid makes everything else look gray. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in gray.”
“How’s it all looking now—color wise?”
“Kinda of a light blue, sky blue I think.”
It was these visits with her old baymates and going home to Holly Grove that kept Liddy going. Calli and Joy Lynn were practically neighbors in Atlanta, and little James Lee had become the pride and joy of the Calbert Clan. When Liddy was down south, she got to catch up with both of them and played with her namesake.
Marina had gone back to New York and the airlines when the WASP ended, not as a stewardess though. She earned her commercial license but then wasn’t allowed to use it. The airlines were no further along than the Army, and were in fact watching the WASP program carefully. When the Army tossed the women, the airlines dug in their heels too.
Marina instructed airline pilots who needed to maintain certification in the Link Trainer for awhile. But she eventually left the job, and spent most of her time raising money for the war effort and entering air races across the country.
Turns out Marina had a pretty sizeable inheritance, which never came out when they were baymates. Liddy and Louise weren’t the only ones who could keep a secret. Most of Liddy’s deliveries were in the east, so Marina was who she got to see most. But nothing had changed, and Liddy still couldn’t keep up with her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
By the spring of 1945, the war in the air overseas was winding down, and it was up to the ground troops to move in force and push back the enemy’s lines. In March, Daniel was shipped back to the states to finish out his enlistment at a base in North Carolina. He would be one of the many men that were filling the jobs the WASP had done. When Liddy heard he would be testing repairs and rebuilds her gut twisted, but he had survived the war and she had decided he would be fine.
Liddy went to Holly Grove to help Celia plan his homecoming party. Crik cleaned out the old hay barn and set up fire barrels, and Liddy and Celia did the rest. The day Daniel was to come home, the two women drove to the station to pick him up. He was already waiting when they pulled up to the platform. He had taken an earlier train and the telegram he’d sent didn’t arrive until after he did.
Liddy couldn’t stop giggling as she watched Celia crush her man till she thought Daniel would pass out. When she finally let go, Daniel set down his duffle and hugged her back and kissed her. Then he gave Liddy a big hug, and she kissed him big on the cheek.
“Hey, Danny Boy, you made it.”
“How ‘bout that. But really, was there any doubt?”
“Not in my mind, Daniel Cooper. Welcome home.”
The party was one big reunion and Liddy noticed that Holly Grove had grown up. Married couples and babies had replaced wild young people, and it was a different kind of party from the ones Liddy had known in her hometown. Rowby cradled his seven month old son Tony on his hip while he danced with Trina. In spite of her pregnant belly, she still oozed her Italian sexuality.
Faces were missing—some would return, but many would never appear again. And there were new faces. Like Rowby and his Trina, girls and boys had found each other because of the war. Letters, USOs and the moving of soldiers across the country had brought hearts together and new faces to Holly Grove. But mostly, there were less faces.
May Tully was there without her boyfriend Harlan, who was still fighting in the infantry, and she seemed a little lost without him. Comfortable old shoes, even when they have a hole or two, can be better than no shoes at all for some people. But then there are those people who prefer to go barefoot. Evidently, May was not one of those people.
Liddy hadn’t seen Frank and some of her other old run-abouts since her WASP career ended, and she had no desire for the company of a man. She wondered if parts of a person can just cease to exist. She did enjoy time with old friends, but was happy to get back home to her little house in Clayton and be alone. She sat on her sofa reading Stick and Rudder, while Gossy sat behind her head and purred.
The next Monday morning, Liddy delivered an Ercoupe to one ALB Enterprises in Chicago. When she pulled into the private hangar a Lincoln limousine was waiting. By the time she had shut everything down and left the cockpit, the new owner was circling the plane. She walked up to the man and peeled off her gear. “It’s all yours Mr. …” She looked down at the paperwork on her clipboard and finished, “…Bradon.” Liddy grinned when she saw his shock. It just never got old.
He held out his hand. “Alan Bradon,” he said and smiled with his whole face.
Liddy tucked the clipboard under her left arm and shook his hand and said, “Liddy Hall.”
Alan Bradon was just slightly taller than Liddy. His black hair was slicked back and shined. His blue eyes were part of the whole face smile that Liddy couldn’t help but smile back at. A pinkness glazed his very fair cheeks, and his teeth were gleaming white and perfect. His nose and mouth shared the space on his face with his eyes quite cordially.
His vested suit was as beautiful, although not as colorful, as the one Uncle Geoffrey wore at the WASP graduation. It was tightly tailored to his shoulders and his waistline. His black shoes were so clean and new that they were reflective like his hair. He had the look of money but not the air. He was as pretty a man as Liddy had ever seen.
“I need you to sign here and here,” Liddy said as she pointed to the Xs and handed Alan Bradon a pen. “So are you going to be flying this girl?” Liddy asked and then offered, “I can go through her with you if you want.”
“That would be great.”
Liddy cleared her things from the cockpit and walked the plane with its new owner. She talked about the wing span, weight, top speed, landing speed, and she showed him the instruments. Clearly he knew nothing about planes by the questions he was asking, but he asked with such enthusiasm that it was endearing, so she finished the tour.
“So, what are you going to do with this fine machine, Mr. Bradon?”
“It’s that obvious is it?”
“That you don’t know a flap from a rudder? Yeah, it’s pretty obvious.”
“I want to learn how to fly. I was told this was a good plane for a beginner.” His eyes danced like a kid on Christmas morning.
“Well, she’s not exactly chopped liver, she can scoot, but I guess if you take it slow, she’ll be good to you. I have to get back, got another delivery today. Get yourself a good instructor, Mr. Bradon and good luck.” Liddy shook his hand and zipped her gear into her bag and walked toward the doors.
“Miss Hall.”
Liddy stopped and looked back.
“Can I give you a ride to your gate?”