Dreams Take Flight (7 page)

“Looks good to me, Lucas—that should also put us on the back side of this front.”

Heather had forgotten the warm feelings in her stomach caused by Lucas’s arm brushing up against her leg. That romantic encounter had been replaced with uncertainty and a little fear. For the last twenty minutes, her leg had been slapping against Lucas’s elbow and there hadn’t been anything romantic or seductive about it. Perched on the jump seat, there wasn’t anything of substance for her to hold onto. She thought to herself,
If it weren’t for this seat belt, I would’ve been making love to the center console long ago
. Her posture, legs spread apart to straddle the console, had seemed so seductive when the flight got underway, but had since become uncomfortable, to say the least.

The Convair reached the other side of the front, and the turbulence disappeared as quickly as it had started.

Lucas turned to look partly over his shoulder and said, “You can relax now, Heather.” He lifted the armrests that he had been using to stabilize his arms.

Beyond the windshield, they could see stars in the sky and lights on the ground. The noise had disappeared, as had the turbulence.

“Mike, you want the plane back?” asked Lucas.

“No, just keep it—I’m going to give Center an update on the weather.”

Mike called Oklahoma Center and said, “Oak Center, this is Convair thirty-seven-thirteen-papa.”

“Go ahead, thirty-seven-thirteen-papa.”

“One-three-papa has cleared the weather and would advise other planes in the area that we encountered moderate turbulence and heavy rain as we picked our way through the front just north of Springfield. We’re going to proceed direct to Dallas at eight thousand.”

“Got it, one-three-papa—appreciate the update. Are you making a return trip tonight?”

“Sure are,” responds Mike.

“Your trip home should be uneventful—looks like that system you just came through is falling apart.”

“Thanks; wasn’t looking forward to doing it again—couldn’t sleep!”

“OK,” the controller said, laughing.

The cockpit got very quiet, with everyone engrossed in their own thoughts, appreciating a tranquil flight once again. The remainder of the trip was uneventful, including the turnaround in Dallas.

On the way back to St. Louis, everyone remained silent. It was late, and there wasn’t anything taking place to encourage discussion. Mike flew the plane while Lucas focused on first-officer duties. Heather napped most of the way home. She leaned far to the right in order to use the bulkhead as a headrest. It wasn’t particularly comfortable, but the hum of the engines was soothing.

CHAPTER FOUR

Reliving the Present

D
espite sleeping most of the way back to St. Louis, Heather occasionally woke to thoughts of Lucas, causing her to reflect on what it took just to be in the jump seat of that plane, occupying a small piece of his world.

Heather had been fascinated by Lucas from the day she began working for Gold Coast Aviation as a customer service rep; as she saw it, her job title was nothing more than a fancy phrase for “receptionist.”

Like most pilots, Lucas only came around shortly before a flight, so Heather never really had an opportunity to meet him. She wondered how a person she didn’t even know could capture her attention so fully. What did he have that made her become so self-conscious when he was around? It couldn’t merely be his uniform, because many others wore uniforms. She decided that it must be a simple physical attraction, but felt confident there was more to be discovered.

Heather’s work area wasn’t fancy or inviting for customers. The lobby area had a high ceiling with long fluorescent lights. The lights weren’t even recessed, but instead hung directly from the ceiling. The floor was a gray tile beginning to show wear. There were several chairs and a couch around the outside wall, but they, too, showed wear. They were really only there for transient pilots, so management didn’t find it necessary to spend money on quality materials. The walls had a few photographs of airplanes, but all of them were old and in need of dusting.

The lobby doors opened on the airport side of the building—the ramp, and in the back of the lobby a door opened into the hangar. A third door opened to the parking lot, and was referred to as the front, or “main,” door. When any two doors were opened at the same time, the lobby became like a wind tunnel, very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer. The receptionist’s desk was located behind a modest counter, and only displayed a few necessary pilot supplies. It also came with a small space heater and a fan, tools to deal with the extreme temperature fluctuations. In the summer, reps usually only wore enough to keep them modest. Such an arrangement became popular with the pilots, possibly ensuring that the situation would never be remedied.

Heather could clearly remember the first time she’d ever seen Lucas. He’d passed through the lobby, obviously on a mission. He stared directly ahead, looking so serious. He didn’t even notice Heather, and yet it seemed to her that she wasn’t seeing the
real
Lucas. She had no specific reason to think that; it was just a hunch. Later she found out that he’d had equipment problems that day—problems that needed immediate attention in order to deliver his cargo on time.

As Heather continued to reflect on the night that Lucas came into her life, she couldn’t help but wonder what life would have been like had she finished college. Working the second shift at a fixed-base operation wasn’t exactly what she thought life would be like at twenty-one. The working conditions weren’t very good and neither was the pay, although it did pay enough for her to afford a one-bedroom furnished apartment just six miles from the airport.

Many pilots passed through the lobby every night, and each added a little spice to what would otherwise be a humdrum job. Hardly a night passed without some hotshot pilot putting the make on her. Although not a particularly outgoing person, Heather didn’t mind the attention and realized that most of the flirting was nothing more than a guy’s attempt to relive his youth or pass the time while his plane was being serviced.

Evenings usually passed quickly, in part because of the traffic. There would generally be fifteen to twenty freighters passing through the operation a night, either taking a load somewhere or bringing one to St. Louis. With fifteen to twenty planes would come between thirty and forty pilots, each of whom often needed as much attention as his plane.

When asked, Heather described herself as an average gal who could be found in any mall on a Saturday night. She was also willing to admit that she probably received more compliments than the average person. She had even been encouraged to run for Miss Missouri by her friends, but decided she didn’t want the attention. Besides, most contestants were tall with long legs; she wasn’t convinced that a five-foot-six, 115-pound brunette would have a chance of winning.

She found her way into the jump seat on a bumpy trip to Dallas because of Lucas. She wished that he would spend more time in the lobby. If he did, she knew that she might be able to strike up a conversation and find out a little more about her mystery heartthrob. Since that was unlikely, she felt compelled to figure out another way to spend more time in his presence.

She’d pondered this question for a long time, and her creativity and persistence eventually led to success. She knew that State Side pilots often took passengers for the fun of it, or helped pilots get home after their flights. Lucas’s flights usually departed shortly after Heather’s shift was up, so she knew she had a workable plan. Since she knew that Mike and Lucas always flew together, she decided to ask Mike for a ride. That’s all she needed—one flight. She hoped it would lead to another as she tried to find a way into Lucas’s life.

“Heather, make sure your belt is tight; we’ll be landing shortly,” announced Lucas.

Only semiconscious, Heather heard Lucas’s voice and jerked back to reality.

“I got it, thanks,” she said. “Jeez, I must have slept most of the way home. Did I miss anything?”

“Not a thing.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Dreams Come True

A
few days later, and still determined to spend more time with Lucas, Heather stopped Mike on his way through the lobby. “OK if I go with you guys again tonight?” she asked.

“Once wasn’t enough for ya, huh?”

“It was fun! Besides, I have this thing for Lucas and he doesn’t even know I exist. I hoped that after the last trip, he might ask me out.”

“Sure. No one else is going tonight. It will be a quickie, though. We’re just going to Omaha tonight.”

“That’s OK. I just want Lucas to know who I am.”

“Well, little lady, a cockpit isn’t the place to get to know someone. Our cockpit is our office—our workplace.”

“I know, and I won’t bother either of you—I was OK last time, wasn’t I?”

“Sure you were. I’m just saying that it’ll be difficult for Lucas to get to know you on these trips.”

“I know, but I don’t know of any other way to be close to him or spend time with him.”

“Not a problem. We should be departing around ten thirty. Oh, and when you see Lucas, will you mention that I’m looking for him?”

“Sure will, and thanks.”

Mike walked off, proud of his little scheme to have Heather deliver a message for him. He’d be the first to admit that he wasn’t a matchmaker, but Heather was a cute girl, and if he could help move romance in her direction—well, why not?

Shortly after Mike walked away, Lucas came strolling through the lobby, en route to the office. As he walked past the counter, Heather sprung to her feet with the enthusiasm of a lottery winner, shouting, “Lucas, Lucas, just a second!”

Hearing urgency in Heather’s voice, Lucas nearly stopped dead in his tracks.

“Mike wanted me to be sure to mention that he was looking for you,” said Heather. “I think he’s in the office.”

“Oh, OK. Did he tell you what he wanted?”

“No, but he said I can ride with you guys to Omaha tonight. I hope that’s OK with you.”

“Sure. OK by Mike, OK by me. See you shortly. Incidentally, how is Autumn doing?”

“I saw her last night just before I got off work, but we didn’t really talk. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. I saw her the night of the storm and she seemed rather frazzled. When you see her, tell her I said ‘hi.’”

“I’ll see her shortly and I’ll mention that you were asking about her.”
There is no way I am going to relay that message to Autumn. I’m not stupid! Autumn is a looker. Girls like her are a nightmare for people like me. She has boobs to die for. She has a way of talking to guys that always gets her asked out. I’m confused. Lucas has never asked about her before. In my last conversation with Autumn, she said she wasn’t dating anyone, and she didn’t express interest in Lucas or anyone else. This is definitely going to require further investigation. I can’t get Lucas to notice me, and here he is asking me about another girl—and a gorgeous one, at that.

Lucas opened the office door, stuck his head in, and asked Mike what he wanted.

“Lucas, I did ask for you, but can’t remember what I wanted. If I think of it, I’ll be sure to tell you.”

“Hey, I got this call from Global and they’re asking for another interview. It’s about delaying my start date. If you recall I mentioned this to you earlier.”

“Again, why are they delaying your start date?”

“Has something to do with hiring experienced pilots, furloughed from other airlines. They’re running out of seats in my class—I think the fellow I’m talking with said they were down to two seats, but they’ll probably hold those for more experienced pilots.”

“Experience always gets in the way of young pilots.”

“I guess,” said Lucas, concerned. “I asked if there was anything I could do to move things along, to keep my start date the same, and he said they’ll schedule another interview for me. Think I have anything to worry about?”

“Probably not, but like I said before: experience is always a killer for young pilots. I’m sure they don’t have any doubts about you; they just want to hire as much experience as they can.”