Cynthia Cartier - Wings

“Okay,” Liddy squinted with concentration. “His name is Neville Brink and those trunks are filled with jewels and priceless masterpieces.” Liddy flipped her palm over and gave Bet her cue.

“Okay, okay I’ve got it.” Bet studied the scene out the window. “He stole them.”

“Is that all?”

“No. Patience!” Bet held her hand up. “He stole them from his employer, Carlisle Worthington the III, a cruel and ruthless man.” Bet flipped her hand back at Liddy.

“Very nice, Bailey.” Liddy gave Bet a nod and drummed her fingers on the glass. “Neville had worked for Carlisle Worthington for many years and had given up everything for his job, even love—”

“Oh, oh, I got, I got it. Let me go.”

Liddy shook her head and grinned at Bet. “Okay, but it better be good.”

“It is,” Bet promised. “But he did love and her name was Vanessa. Vanessa was the daughter of…” she searched for her next line.

“The town’s shopkeeper,” Liddy offered.

“Okay, good… Vanessa was the daughter of the town’s shopkeeper, but Neville knew his job was to be in total service to his employer. So he had to smother the flames until the day he would have enough money to take Vanessa for his bride.”

“But,” Liddy cut in, “Worthington found out about Neville’s plans—”

“How?”

“He read his diary, okay?”

“Okay.” Bet nodded with satisfaction.

“He didn’t want his servant to leave him. It wasn’t that he was fond of Neville, but he believed he owned him and it infuriated him that this man thought he could choose to leave. So…” Liddy waved a hand-off to Bet.

“So, Carlisle Worthington crafted an evil scheme.” Bet shifted her eyes. “He set out to woo Vanessa and make her fall in love with him and succeeded.”

“Wow, Bailey, you’re scary.”

“Thank you.” Bet raised her eyebrows. “When Neville found out, he was devastated.” She pointed at Liddy.

“He knew he had to get away, so he told Carlisle Worthington he was leaving. Worthington was maddened that his plan had failed. So he used his influence to drain Neville’s bank account, and he went through his room and found what cash he had hidden. Neville knew he had no recourse because he was only a servant and he felt trapped like a caged animal. And then Worthington…” Liddy pointed at Bet.

“Worthington broke off his relationship with Vanessa…” Bet held up her hand and closed her eyes for a moment and then continued, “… and told her that he had never loved her. He asked her how she believed he could possibly love someone so beneath him. Vanessa ran back to Neville. He still loved her and couldn’t stand to see her in pain. So he took her back and the two of them came up with a plan to bring Carlisle Worthington the III to ruin.”

“I don’t know, Bailey. I don’t think Neville would take her back. She obviously didn’t really love him.” She nodded off Bet’s choice with a grimace.

“You can’t do that. You have to continue with whatever I say.”

“Okay,” Liddy agreed reluctantly and continued, “So they hatched a plan to ‘bring him to ruin’. They hired Vanessa’s seedy cousin to rob the estate of the most powerful family in the local society and they had him hide the goods in Worthington’s private quarters.”

“I’ve got it, Hall. Let me wrap it up.”

“Be my guest.” Liddy sat back and folded her arms.

“Vanessa tipped off the police and Worthington was arrested and shamed. He had no family and the estate was left without an heir. Neville and Vanessa took what they could fit in five large steamer trunks and set out for an exotic island where they would live out their days in love and luxury.” Bet took a bow from her seat, collapsed back and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead.

“Well, maybe he was in love,” Liddy questioned. “But I’m afraid Vanessa may be a bit of a gold-digger and a tramp.”

“Liddy.”

“Okay, they lived happily ever after, in ‘love and luxury’.” Liddy applauded Bet’s finale. Just then ‘Neville’ walked into the car with a beautiful woman on his arm, and Liddy and Bet looked wide-eyed at each other and laughed until tears streamed down their cheeks.

None of the scenarios they came up with for their next story subjects was anything but sad. After leaving the train, two little girls held onto each other tightly as they walked nervously to an elderly couple, where they reluctantly accepted cheek kisses and rigid embraces. Liddy and Bet watched the girls follow the couple down the platform until Liddy said, “Cards?” The guessing ended and then began the first of many hands of Gin.

As the train rolled to yet another platform, Liddy and Bet saw a couple dozen service men waiting to board, and they both brightened. They hoped some of the men would choose their car. When eight of the uniformed gods appeared in the walkway, Liddy waited till the men were situated in their seats and then wasted no time.

“Lucky us, come on.” Liddy grabbed Bet’s hand, pulled her out of the seat and pushed Bet down the aisle. “Hello, gentlemen,” Liddy greeted. “You’re just in time to save us from death by boredom.”

Making no attempt to hide their pleasure, two of the soldiers were first to jump up and move their duffle bags to the overhead rack, clearing seats for the women. Bet took a seat and Liddy was still standing when an officer entered the car and met her in the walkway. She stood, blocking the aisle and found herself looking up at the man.

His evergreen eyes were so sure and full of life, and he held a smirk that sent a weakness tingling through her body. She scanned his decorated chest and stumbled on the shiny metal wings. Liddy had never been caught up in a man and wasn’t even aware that she was staring.

“Excuse me,” the man said in a low, smooth voice as he smirked down at her and looked into her eyes.

She turned sideways and he settled in across the aisle. One of the sergeants interrupted her daze and offered Liddy a seat. She sat down next to Bet who was already chatting up the men. Liddy tried to appear as though she was listening to the conversation, while she fought with the impulse and apprehension of engaging the officer, sitting just feet away. Then she heard his voice, “Excuse me, Miss.” Liddy turned to face him.

He reached across the aisle and offered her his hand. “Reid Trent.” With confidence, he looked at her so fully. And it was a confidence she knew he had earned.

Liddy placed her hand in his, and he wrapped it up in a firm, warm grasp. A current ran through this man that Liddy couldn’t quite read, but it unraveled her just the same. He continued to hold her hand in his until she introduced herself, which was no quick thing. “Liddy,” was all she finally managed to utter.

“Nice to meet you, Liddy.” He looked straight into her eyes and smiled. And then his eyes roamed over her face and she felt flushed.

Within minutes, Bet had two soldier boys sitting across from her and two others leaning over the backs of the seats. The young men shared story after story, just to hear her giggle.

Liddy and Reid Trent leaned into the aisle on the arm rests. He had calmed her with his relaxed manner and quick wit, and soon they were making small talk about train travel. It was the kind of easy and exhilarating talk that you have with someone you’ve only just met, yet feel you’ve known for a lifetime.

He removed his cap and passed it playfully hand to hand. The short clip of his dusty blonde hair couldn’t hide its natural wave. Liddy searched to determine his age, but his sun thickened skin had a ruggedness that didn’t match the boyish twinkle in his face. He didn’t wear a ring, but she knew that didn’t mean a thing.

The light outside dimmed. Time disappeared with the words and the long moments when Reid Trent would look at Liddy and she at him and they would just stare, without words, sometimes with a smile, sometimes without. It was such a luxury to be able to study his face, as much as she wanted, and not have to look away. Something she had never done with any other man, or had the desire to do. And he took her in without any hesitation. Listening to this man, looking at him made her feel completely happy and calm.

“So what are you ladies doing on a desert-bound loco?” one of the men ask Bet.

“We’re headed to Sweetwater, Texas to train for the WASP,” Bet answered.

“WASP?” another man questioned.

“Women Airforce Service Pilots,” Bet said.

Reid was telling Liddy about all the lost and founds he’d discovered when he was a teenager and had a job cleaning train cars one summer. He stopped mid-sentence and looked wide-eyed at Liddy.

“Did you hear that, Major? These ladies are gonna be flying Army.”

Reid Trent’s eyes had changed and Liddy saw the moment he locked her out. He rose from his seat and spoke but didn’t look at her. “Miss, I’m sorry I didn’t catch your last name.”

“Hall.” Liddy looked up at him, trying to catch up with what was happening.

“Miss Hall, it was nice to meet you.” The major looked in her direction, but not at her, and extended his hand for the second time and accepted hers briefly before releasing it. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to attend to some business. Have a safe trip.” He took his bag from the compartment overhead and left the car.

Liddy felt abandoned like someone had cradled her, dropped her to the floor, and then stepped over her and walked away. She was stunned but tried to appear detached from what had just happened, whatever it was. Liddy shifted toward Bet’s chatterfest and feigned an interest, while she tried to make sense of the sudden turn in Reid Trent. She soon accepted what she knew was true. The more she stewed, the more her irritation grew.

She had never cared what anyone thought of her being a pilot before. It had never put a chink in her, but this time she cared. When enough time had passed since Major Reid Trent had left the car, she excused herself and went back to her seat and then to the sleeping berth. She unbuttoned and let her clothes fall to the floor and buried herself under the blankets. An ache filled her that called for home and kept her awake, but when Bet came into the room, Liddy laid still and pretended to be asleep.

Major Reid Trent didn’t return to the car that night or the next day, which was fine with Liddy. She had dismissed the whole thing and scolded herself for being such a sap. The call for Sweetwater, Texas came just after lunch and the soon-to-be WASP trainees gathered their luggage. With her suitcase in hand, Liddy climbed down from the train. Bet followed with her red case clutched in one hand and her matching bag slung over her shoulder.

After traveling in the rocker for so many days, it would take some time before they would have steady legs again, and the women felt the solid ground move beneath their feet. Through the people coming and going, Liddy spotted Major Trent exit a car at the end of the train, and an uninvited yearning reared up, which she immediately hushed. He walked to a waiting Army jeep and was saluted by the driver posted by the passenger side door. The driver took the Major’s duffle bag and threw it in the back seat.

“Now what?” Bet broke Liddy’s trance.

“Huh?”

“What now?”

Liddy snapped out of her daze and read the paper clutched in her hand. “Come on.” She headed toward town and Bet followed.

With their luggage in tow, the women walked street to street. The town was an extreme contrast to what Liddy had known in Holly Grove since it had been quieted by the war. Sweetwater had the dismay and fortune to be the funnel and neighbor to a military facility, which changed a place. And for Sweetwater, the facility was solely to train female pilots to fly for the Army, which was an added oddity. But it covered up the loss of their sons and brothers, so apprehension mixed with the relief of distraction.

The women were aware that they were being watched by the people they passed. When they walked by a filling station, a small girl hopped out of a pickup truck. She shuffled to the sidewalk in shoes that she hadn’t yet grown into. “Ma’ams, are you the pilot women?”

“Yes, we are.” Liddy smiled down at her.

“Can I git your autographs?” The child held up a postcard-sized book that had been put together with paper and string.

Bet was amazed, but it was old hat for Liddy. “Sure, honey.” Liddy took the book and flipped to a blank page.

“I don’t got no pen. Do you?”

Liddy looked at Bet looking down at the girl. She was still stunned, but she slowly unsnapped her purse and felt around the inside. She found a pen and handed it to Liddy. Liddy signed and passed it to Bet, who was now giggling at the whole notion. Bet signed and handed the book back to the child.