Wings (12 page)

Louise strode defiantly back to the waiting area. Her jaw was locked and a vein throbbed from her right temple. Gant had stopped to talk to another instructor, and Liddy left the bench, walked up behind him and waited.

When he finished his conversation, Gant turned and yelled, “Hall.” He was startled by Liddy’s stone cold face that was inches from his own.

She kept pace with Gant as he berated and cursed her all the way to the plane. She hopped onto the wing and into the front cockpit, where she geared and strapped before Gant’s butt had landed in the seat. She stroked the throttle with the tips of her fingers and she said in a good strong voice, so that Gant could hear, “It’s a pretty good day to die.”

A medley of aircraft flew in the sky
above the base. The planes seemed to exchange places in a well-choreographed promenade, except Liddy’s ride. Liddy’s plane was shooting loops and tumbling, diving and spinning.

Back at the benches, the women cringed at the sure torment Liddy was going through. Bet chewed furiously on her fingernails, giving each one its fair share of attention as she and the others watched. The flight had also caught the attention of everyone else on the ground. Major Trent and Captain Charles were watching from the boards.

“Holy smokes, he’s trying to ring her out,” Charles said to Trent.

“Who is it?”

“Instructor Lewis Gant…” The Captain looked at his clipboard. “… and L. Hall.”

“Liddy Hall?”

“Yup, looks like she’s the only Hall we have.”

Major Trent walked quickly to the line and waited until the ride came in. He watched Liddy pop out of the cockpit and strut toward him. Her amber eyes locked into his as she passed and her face held no expression, but it was glowing with her Liddy glow and she kept up a strong gait toward the benches.

Gant was several paces behind her. His face was a greenish-white and his hair and skin were soaking wet with sweat. He didn’t make eye contact with the Major, but he looked out in front of his steps, concentrating on walking in a straight line.

When Liddy was back with the girls, they were still disassembling what they were seeing and what they had seen. Disbelief turned to thanksgiving for sweet justice, and the women couldn’t get over the happy ending. Gant forced his head up as he walked toward the bench silently and their breath sat in their chests, and waited, till he had passed. Then they giggled at the sight of the stain on the rear of his flight suit.

Liddy stood in front of the gals and peeled off her gear. “I’m pleased to announce, you have all passed your first checkride. Let’s get some supper, shall we?”

Liddy waved them up with her hand, and the women sprung from the bench, took one another arm in arm and marched toward the mess hall. How quickly emotions can spin, and they were all as light and happy as they could be.

Although many had tried to get the story, Gant and Liddy never spoke about what had happened that day. And to everyone’s surprise, Gant stayed on as an instructor. He and Liddy had an understanding, and his new-found perspective mellowed him—a bit. He didn’t become a nice guy by any means, but he settled in to do the job he was hired to do, which was to train women pilots to fly for the Army.

With the weight of their first checkride off their shoulders, Liddy, Bet, and Louise were over the moon as they crossed the base until they passed a woman dragging herself and her suitcase to the office—washed-out. Their cheer was smothered and in unison they had the same thoughts and words, “Let’s go find the girls.”

In the mess they found Marina, Calli and Joy Lynn dining from tin trays. A celebration ensued. Bet’s appetite was having a good old time as she rejoiced that she wouldn’t be buying a ticket home, just yet anyway. She scooped and gulped, drawing attention from her new friends.

Liddy watched them watch her and laughed. “Don’t mind her. She won’t bite if you keep your fingers clear of her plate.” Liddy patted Bet on the back.

“My goodness, Bailey, where’s the fire?” Joy Lynn sat back in her seat, disgusted.

“Sorry, bad habit. First of all, I’m always starved after I fly.” Bet winked at Liddy. “In addition, I have three older brothers. Food disappeared before it hit the table when I was growing up. My mother was a big bowl of fluster at meal time, trying to keep us all nibbling and chewing, slowly, slowly. She’s made the prediction that we’re all going to die by choking.”

“How is it that you don’t weigh three hundred pounds?” Marina watched Bet with wide eyes.

“I burn it all right up I guess.”

After the meal, trays were cleared and stacked and the baymates were headed out the door when a trainee entered and called out, “Hall, L. Hall.”

Liddy walked up to the messenger and was handed an envelope. She opened it and peaked inside and was reading when Jenna Law walked up behind her.

“So you’re Hall?”

Liddy pinched the top of the envelope closed as she turned around. This woman had an air that stitched a tightness in Liddy’s jaw, and an irritation grew in her that was exceeding her quota for the day.

“Yes, I’m Liddy Hall.” She shoved the envelope into her pocket.

“That was some stunt you pulled today.”

“It wasn’t a stunt.”

“Well listen, Hall, whatever it was, it wasn’t too smart.”

“You’re Jenna Law, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, listen, Law, what you think about me, or my flying doesn’t matter too much to me. So, save your breath.”

“Look, you may not care how long you last in this program, but it seems you’re going to be a mother hen to those baby chicks. This program hinges on its successes and that includes graduation rates, so try to rein yourself in, would ya’?”

“Your concern is touching, really. But I don’t think you need to worry yourself over me or our class.”

Jenna’s little toady, Rena Naston, walked up with her stiff little mouth and their double disapproval of Liddy was daggers. But Liddy didn’t care, and walked away.

Joy Lynn and Marina were listening to the whole exchange and caught up to Liddy.

“Who does she think she is, the Queen of Sheba?” Joy Lynn griped. “Dam, Liddy, don’t know I coulda stayed so calm.”

“What should she have done, Georgia, popped her one?” asked Marina.

“Just saying, that’s some thick attitude in that woman.”

“Forget about it. I’m going to.” Liddy pushed the door open and left the mess hall.

The name plate read—
Colonel Lawrence Wate
. Liddy stalled at the office door before she knocked softly and then harder when she didn’t get an answer.

“Come in,” spoke a voice from inside the office.

Liddy entered and the Colonel was sitting behind his desk.

“Sir, I’m Liddy Hall.”

“Yes, Hall, come in and please, sit down.”

Liddy sat in the chair at the front of the desk and rested her hands on her knees.

“Miss Hall, I review all of the initial checkride reports. I’ve received those from today’s rides. It seems there were some problems with yours and, being your first day, I wanted to be the one to discuss this with you.”

“Instructor Gant passed my check, sir.”

“I realize that, but apparently your sequence was not exactly regulation.”

“I executed all of the requirements, sir.”

“Yes, and then some from what I understand. Miss Hall, Major Trent’s notes indicated that he has some concerns about your approach. He’s in charge of the flight line and his orders need to be strictly followed. No Less.”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’ve discussed it, and we feel it necessary to issue you a pink slip.” The Colonel slid the pink form across the desk.

Liddy clenched her jaw and a heat rose in her face as she picked up the paper without looking at it.

“We have the other trainees to think about. We don’t want anyone to get the impression that orders are negotiable. And unfortunately, everyone saw your negotiations.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re obviously a skilled pilot. I hope you can learn to fall in. You’re dismissed.”

“Yes, sir.” Liddy stood up and walked toward the door.

“And, Hall…”

Liddy turned and gave Colonel Wate her attention.

“… I know trainees are not always treated with the respect they’re due, but if I had wanted to take my instructor for a ride, I would have taken my plane out of field view.”

“Yes, sir.”

Liddy left the office and walked toward the front door of the administration building. The door opened and Major Trent walked in. She looked right at him and he looked back at her with a blank, or was it a serene face? It almost looked as if he might smile. Whatever it was, it irritated her even more. A small part of her cared what he was thinking, but the rest couldn’t have cared less. Or was it the other way around? As they passed each other, she couldn’t look at him. She pushed the door open and then caught it before it swung closed. If she didn’t say something, she was going to burst. But say what? Liddy changed direction and followed him into his office.

“Excuse me, Major Trent?”

Trent walked behind his desk and turned around. He looked at her with that blank look but said nothing.

“Instructor Gant was out of line today. I was just—”

“Lift level and land—that was your ride, Hall.” He lifted a folder from his desk and walked toward a file cabinet and opened it.

“And I did that.”

He calmly flipped through the tabs, slipped the file in its place and then turned around.

“My assignment here is to make sure every pilot that graduates from this base can fly safely, without risking the plane, themselves, or others. And that means learning to follow orders.”

“I didn’t do anything I couldn’t do safely.”

“Hear me, Hall. If you do not follow orders, I will pink slip you. Is that clear?” Trent’s neck reddened, but his face was relaxed and his voice level. “I have flown with the best pilots in the world—strong, well-trained men who sometimes can’t do the job. Good pilots, that’s what I care about. If you can do the job—”

“I can do the job.”

“You clearly know how to dance a plane around, but will you be able to make a tough decision that will keep you and the plane in one piece if you’re backed into a corner? This wasn’t just my decision. You didn’t leave many choices here.”

“There’s always a choice.”

“This is the Army, Miss Hall.”

“I just wanted you to know why I did what I did.”

“I don’t care why.”

“I can see that.”

“Orders are given for a reason. I will pink slip you if you don’t follow them. Is that understood?”

Liddy wasn’t sure how long they stood there without speaking. She locked her jaw and wanted to shake all the calm, or was it smugness, out of the man. But this was the Army and she’d better get used to it.

She hated that he looked at her so blankly. Finally she answered, “Yes, it’s understood.” She spun around and left. Walking down the hall, she heard a loud bang come from the Major’s office. A grin tipped Liddy’s mouth. It sounded like his file cabinet slamming shut and she thought to herself,
Good.

When Liddy walked into the bay, the gals all looked up and waited.

“All clear,” she announced and put on her best, ‘who cares’ face.

A communal sigh of relief escaped into the room. Louise was propped up in bed writing a letter and Marina was touching up her nails. Joy Lynn, Bet and Calli were playing cards.

“Deal me in,” Liddy ordered.

“I don’t know if I can take another day like today. The yelling, the language makes me a nervous wreck.” Bet laid her hand down. “Gin.”

“You can and you will,” Liddy commanded.

“Just pretend it’s a foreign language,” Calli said.

“Another one?” Bet scrunched up her face and let her head fall back.

“That’s what I do. My Father likes to drink. And when he does… so colorful are his words, you can see them chug from his mouth like a circus train.” Calli finished shuffling and began to deal.

Marina tilted a dreamy look to the ceiling. “Give me more days like today and I may choose to never graduate. Who would have ever guessed a man with a name like Homer Nash could be so dreamy. What a looker and he could not have been more of a gentleman. If the cockpit had a door, he would have rushed ahead and opened it for me.”

“Instructor Paxton asked me if I knew where the throttle was. Gosh, how does he think I’ve flown up till now?” Calli complained.

“I know. It was like pilot kindergarten. He gave me a complete tour of the cockpit. Explained everything, ‘til he got to the pee tube,” said Joy Lynn.

“Eww—classy.” Marina looked at Joy Lynn with disapproval.

“That’s what it’s for. Then he realized that was an unnecessary item in my case, and stammered a bit. The tour ended right quick after that. I wanted to tell him, ‘this is Miss HP you’re talkin to here’—”

“HP?” Bet questioned.

“Hot Pilot,” Liddy translated for her.