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?”

“Sure, thanks.” Liddy felt pretty silly as Alan Bradon’s driver took her old leather bag and placed it in the trunk of the limousine like it was filled with china. Then he opened the back door for her and she slid in. Mr. Bradon talked non-stop all the way to Liddy’s gate and then continued until she had to interrupt and leave for her flight. He was possibly the most pleasant person she had ever met. The way he made himself laugh as he talked, made her laugh too.

Liddy had a run of interesting deliveries that week. If I can’t fly for my country, this is a pretty good gig, she thought as she flew a Piper J-3 Cub down to New Mexico. The little put-put seemed a toy compared to flying a P-47 Thunderbolt or even a primary trainer, but it took her into the sky and she gave the little girl a loving pat when they leveled after take-off.

At her destination, she was greeted by a rancher and Rusty, his pilot, on a dirt strip that was a mile or so from a sprawling ranch house. Rusty was a week or two out from a shave, and his flight suit and gear had more miles on them than Liddy had days in her life. When Liddy ran through the features and manual with him, she knew he was seasoned.

Rusty reminded Liddy of what Jack would have been like as a man of thirty. She was pleased that the arrangement was for Rusty to shuttle her to the Albuquerque airport to catch her flight home. He wasn’t quite as talky as Jack, but maybe Jack wasn’t either at that age. She took in every word and enjoyed the outback way he flew. He didn’t finesse the plane. He just had complete control of the up and down, and right and left.

The following week brought another order from ALB Enterprises in Chicago and Liddy thought, some people really do have more money than sense. But when she found out that it had been requested that she be the pilot to make the delivery, it seemed that a plane may not be all that Alan Bradon thought he was buying.

Liddy pulled into the hangar and saw the Lincoln and Bradon standing by its door, smiling. She shut everything down and grabbed her bag before she left the pit. “So, we meet again, Mr. Bradon. Your lessons must be going well. This ship is hotter than the last one you bought.”

“Well, I thought it might be good to have a back-up and variety.”

“Nice if you can afford it. No doubt of that.” Liddy held out her clipboard and pointed to the Xs. “If you can sign here and here, I’ll be on my way. The manuals are in the pit. Your instructor will be able to get you familiar with her.”

Alan Bradon smiled as he signed and passed the board back to Liddy, and she picked up her bag and walked away to leave.

“Miss Hall.”

“Yes,” said Liddy as she turned and walked backwards.

“Can I give you a ride to your gate?”

“I’m good walking, but thanks.” Liddy turned back around and left the hangar.

She was a hundred yards across the mat when the Lincoln pulled up beside her. The back window lowered and Alan Bradon looked out. “It’s that obvious is it?”

“Painfully so,” said Liddy as she kept walking and the car rolled along with her.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to see you again.”

“So you bought a four thousand dollar airplane to take a five minute ride to my gate?”

“Actually, I was hoping we could have dinner.”

“I have a plane to catch.”

“Miss Hall.” He opened the door and hopped out of the car that rolled alongside the two of them now. “I’m sorry, really, it was a stupid thing to do. It seemed like a rather romantic idea at the time, but—”

“Romantic? I don’t even know you.”

He shuffled out in front of Liddy and held up his hands as he stepped backwards. “Please, just stop for one minute, please.”

Liddy stopped walking and clenched her jaw.

“Haven’t you ever made a mistake? I made a big mistake. Please forgive me.”

“Okay, I forgive you. Now I’d like to catch my plane.” Liddy stepped around him and started walking again.

“I don’t believe you’ve really forgiven me. This doesn’t look like forgiveness to me.” He walked backwards in front of her, but to the side. “David, does this look like forgiveness to you?” he called out to his driver and looked at Liddy with his happy face.

What a goofball. Liddy couldn’t keep a slight smile from breaking through and she stopped and stood in front of him. “Okay, I really forgive you.”

He raised his eyebrow with distrust.

“I promise, I really, really forgive you okay.” Liddy held up her hand in oath. “But now, I have to catch my plane, Forgiven Man.”

“Stay and have dinner with me and I’ll get you another flight.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“I’ve been told.”

“No,” said Liddy. “For three reasons, “One: I don’t know you. Two: I’m dressed for flying not for dining. And three: Then you win.”

“Is that so bad? I’ll let you win next time.”

“Now there’s already a next time? Mr. Bradon, has—”

“Call me Alan.”

“Mr. Bradon, has anyone ever said no to you?”

“Once or twice maybe, I can’t remember.”

“Well, try to remember this, No,” Liddy said firmly and started walking again.

Alan kept pace beside her. “You can’t blame me for trying, and I just want to touch on One and Two for a minute. One: You do know my name, you know my planes and where they live and you know David.” Brandon looked over at the car and called out, “David, you remember Liddy Hall. And Two: I had dinner brought to the hangar—you’re dressed perfectly.”

Liddy stopped and shook her head at the man. “Again, you are unbelievable. You’re going to follow me all the way to my gate, aren’t you?”

“Well, actually, I hadn’t thought that far. I’m just doing as I go here.”

“If I have dinner with you, then what? You kidnap me and I’m never seen or heard from again?”

“No, no kidnapping. I get you a flight home, I promise, but you have to call me Alan.”

David drove Liddy and Alan back to the hangar, and Alan wasn’t kidding, he did have dinner waiting, along with a chef and a waiter. The whole production was set up in the office, complete with linens and candles. So Liddy sat with this pretty man in his pretty suit, and she with her mangled helmet hair in her leather flight jacket and seat-wrinkled slacks. But somehow, Alan didn’t seem to notice. Liddy wondered what was wrong with this man—surely something was.

He had the meal choreographed perfectly, and he was the show. The last time she had laughed that much, she was sitting around with a bunch of fly girls. When Alan left Liddy at her gate that night, she left him with the number where he could reach her at Clayton Air Field, and as she did, she questioned her judgment.

Jerry Bluff was at his desk when Liddy walked into his office the next morning. He leaned sideways, peeking out from behind a rather large vase of yellow roses that were sitting in front of him.

“Who’s the admirer, Hall?” asked Jerry.

“If I took a wild guess, I’d have to say a crazy man,” said Liddy and she plucked the tiny envelope from the arrangement. Inside was typed: Call me collect, Lakeview 387. Alan

“Can I leave these here?” she asked.

“Oh, please do. I’m enjoying the lovely fragrance,” Jerry sniffed at the air.

Liddy sneered at Jerry and left to teach her instrument class. Her classroom students were mostly men, but three were women. The gals wanted to know everything about Liddy’s time as a WASP, and she was sad they wouldn’t have the experience. She found she made a good teacher, in that she knew the subject well, and she had patience for those students that didn’t get the information as quickly. She knew that Jerry had lost some enrollment because he had a woman teaching, but he didn’t seem to care so neither did she. It was all part of the cost of progress.

The classroom door had a window, and Jerry strolled by every once in a while that morning with one of the yellow roses between his teeth. Liddy was beginning to think everyone around her might be losing their minds.

After her class she gave two flying lessons. Then she called Alan to thank him for the roses and tell him that she was sure something was seriously wrong with him, and he should see a doctor. He promised he would, and they made a date for the weekend.

Liddy flew to Chicago and took Alan up for a lesson. He had been working with an instructor every day since his first plane had been delivered, but he still didn’t even seem to know which way to tilt the stick. His forehead wrinkled up, and he had a ridiculous look of concentration on his face that made Liddy laugh.

“What?” Alan asked.

“You look like your head’s going to explode,” Liddy giggled.

“Well as long as yours doesn’t, we’re okay.”

“You need to relax. I’m doing most of the flying here. You realize that, don’t you?”