The Boxcar Blues (20 page)

In Denver, Catwalk laid over for the night,
then paired up with Barney for the leg to Salt Lake City with a
stop in Grand Junction. As soon as they reached their cruising
altitude, Catwalk asked, “I haven’t been back to see my family for
a while. Any problem if I request some time off from crew
scheduling?”

“
No problem, but you’d
better hurry. If Curly leaves we might be short of
pilots.”

“
I understand and I can
wait until it won’t put you in a bind.”

Barney then showed Catwalk a photograph of a
new airliner that was being built by the Douglas Company. “They
call it the DC-1. She’ll carry eighteen passengers; cruise at a
hundred and ninety knots, with a range of fourteen hundred
miles.”

Catwalk couldn’t believe his eyes. The plane
was all metal, had a single wing and twice as big as the Boeing
Model 80. It only had two engines but if Barney was right, it would
outperform the Boeing in every category. He said, “That’s an
impressive plane. When will they be available?”

“
They’re starting test
flights in a month and they’ll be taking orders in July. I’m
ordering two of the planes. A couple months after that I’ll start
sending our mechanics back to St. Louis for training.”

“
Our loads have been good.
Having new equipment should increase them even more.”

Barney said, “Flying is getting to be very
popular and with the faster planes it’ll be much quicker than the
train. And, this plane will work out well with my long range
plans.”

Catwalk said, “What are your future plans
for the airline?”

“
I’m going to apply for
two new routes, one from Salt Lake to San Francisco and another
from Albuquerque to Phoenix. We’ll open the routes when we get the
new planes. I’ve got an architectural firm designing a maintenance
hangar and administrative offices that will be built at
Albuquerque. Julio will be moving the maintenance duties out there
as soon as it’s done.”

Barney hesitated, then said, “I want to make
you the chief pilot of Rocky Mountain Airways. This means you’ll be
in charge of crew proficiency and training, and speak for all the
pilots in matters that concern management.”

Catwalk was stunned. He was so happy flying
for the airline, he’d never thought beyond that. If Barney expanded
the routes like he’d planned that meant the airline would soon have
several dozen pilots, and he’d be speaking for all of them, a
responsibility not to be taken lightly. His concern was how the
pilots would feel about being represented by a black man. He knew
all the current pilots and got along well with them. As far as he
could tell, race was not an issue. If they hired several more, he
figured there would inevitably be someone who didn’t want him
representing them. Obviously, Barney had taken this into
consideration, so he wasn’t about to let this stop him. He said,
“I’d be honored to be your chief pilot, Barney.”

“
Curly has more flying
time and more seniority than you do, but, he might be leaving us
for a while and quite frankly, I’m concerned about his drinking.
You have to realize that I’m putting you in a position where there
might be some disagreement between us in the future.”

“
Why is that?”

“
I know you’ve read about
the labor unions that are being formed to represent the work force
in other jobs.”

“
Yes, I’ve read about them
representing miners and railroad workers.”

“
Union representation is
getting to be very popular. They’ll be representing airline pilots
before long. When the pilots unionize, you’ll be aligned with them
so we’ll be on opposite sides of the fence.”

Catwalk thought about this as he eased back
the throttles to start their descent into Grand Junction. He said,
“I’m not worried about that.”

“
Good. Neither am
I.”

Two days later, when Catwalk returned to
Albuquerque, he and Curly were talking over lunch and the future
plans for the airline came up in their conversation. When Catwalk
told him about the plans, including his possible promotion to chief
pilot, Curly didn’t take the news well. “Cat, after all the shit
you been through, I don’t have a problem with you getting the
promotion, but I don’t see how Barney could do this. I’m the senior
pilot.”

Catwalk had expected him to be upset, and
he’d decided he wasn’t going to placate him, or sympathize with
him. He said, “Curly, you can’t blame him. He’s still concerned
about your drinking, and the fact that you might be leaving the
airline for a while.”

“
Aw bullshit, Cat. That’s
a crock. He could of at least said something to me.”

“
We all said something to
you. Julio and I told you to watch your drinking.”

Curly lit a cigarette, then said, “Well,
that does it. I’m giving him my resignation and leaving. I’m going
back home.”

Catwalk warned him against doing anything he
might regret later, but his words fell on deaf ears. In his
despondent state Curly didn’t give Barney the two weeks notice he
wanted. Two days later he resigned from Rocky Mountain Airways and
left for his family’s farm in New York.

Because Curly had left them in a bind with
his short notice departure, Catwalk had to wait two months to get
his week off. When the time came to go back home he packed his
bags, and two new dresses that he bought for his Mom, into the
Jenny and took off. It had been several months since he’d flown the
Jenny and he’d forgotten how different flying in the open cockpit
was from the plush, comfortable Boeing. However, he enjoyed the
flight without having to worry about schedules or passengers.

He arrived at Meridian late the next day and
surprised his family while they were eating dinner. He popped his
head in the door and said, “Do you have enough for another
mouth?”

“
Oh my gosh, Luke.” His
Mother cried as she wrapped her arms around him.

He sat down to eat with his family and they
all had questions about his job with the airline. While talking
about his job, it struck Catwalk just how much his life had
changed, and how far removed he’d become from his life as a
sharecropper. He hoped he could use his experience to help the rest
of his family to get off the farm and find work for some of them
that came with a future.

With this in mind, he told John, “The
airline is growing. We’ll be hiring more mechanics soon. Would you
be interested in going to school to become an airframe and power
plant mechanic?”

John’s face lit up in a broad grin. “Of
course I would, Luke, but I only went to school through the fourth
grade. Do you think you could get me into a job like that?”

“
I’m pretty sure I can
because most of the people we’re hiring now don’t have very much
education. Of course, you’d have to move to Albuquerque and you’d
have to go to school, but you get paid while you’re
training.”

John looked at Dee who had a smile on her
face. He said, “Yes, I’d go in a minute.”

Luke knew his Mother was smiling in support
of John’s wishes, but below the surface, she’d be distressed about
another child leaving home. He also knew she’d never let on how she
felt, or do anything to stand in John’s way. He said, “I’ll look
into it and write you.”

He then unwrapped the new dresses and gave
them to his Mother, who was speechless. Everyone urged her to put
on the yellow dress, which she did. Georgie summed up everyone’s
feelings when he said, “Momma, you look too pretty to work in the
fields.”

Catwalk said, “Momma, you look so elegant. I
want to do something for you. How would you like to spend a night
in a hotel where I’m staying.”

His Mother looked hurt. “Luke, you’re not
staying with us?”

“
Momma, I thought you and
I could stay at a hotel tonight and tomorrow morning you could eat
in their restaurant. Wouldn’t you like that?”

“
They won’t serve us in
their restaurant. You should know that.”

“
I’ve already talked to
them. They have a black manager and they’ll serve us.”

“
Luke, I appreciate your
thoughtfulness, but I’m not going. This is my home and my family.
Unless all of us can go, I don’t go. Are you too important to stay
with your family?”

“
No, Momma. I’ll stay here
tonight.” His Momma pecked him on the cheek. He said, “There’s
something else I’d like to talk to you about.”

“
What’s that,
son?”

“
Well, I’ve been able to
save some money. When I’ve got enough saved up, I’m going to make a
down payment on a house for you and the family.”

“
Oh, Luke, do you mean we
might be able to get off this farm?”

“
I hope so, Momma. I don’t
have enough saved up yet, but when I do Barney said he’ll help me
buy you a house, with curtains on the windows and a flower
garden.”

Through tears of joy and relief, she said,
“Luke, that would be a dream come true.”

Later that evening, Luke walked down to the
creek with John and Georgie. John said, “Luke, that’s the happiest
I’ve ever seen Momma. I hope I can help her out like that one
day.”

“
I hope so too, John. She
deserves all the help we can give her.”

Before he fell asleep that night, Catwalk
thought about his job and wondered what the future held for him.
Right now, his life was good, although he still missed Sam
terribly. He wondered, as he often had, if he’d ever meet another
woman who could light up his life like she did.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Catwalk returned to New Mexico and spent the
next several months splitting his time between flying and helping
Julio prepare for the move into the new hangar. The actual
construction of the building wouldn’t start for another month, but
Barney wanted everything ready so when the first sections of the
new hangar were completed, they could start moving. They were going
over the blueprints of the hangar when Billy Sue drove up in her
Ford roadster.

She waved and said, “Hi, Cat, is Curly
around?”

He noticed she was carrying a newborn baby.
He then thought about the time element since Curly and Billy Sue
had been together; it was almost eleven months “Hi, Billy Sue. He’s
not here. He went back to New York several months ago. They think
his Dad has cancer and they’re about to lose the farm.”

“
Any idea when he’ll be
back?”

“
I don’t know. He resigned
from Rocky Mountain, so I think he’s staying there to help his
brothers until things get better.”

“
Wonderful.” She pulled
back the blanket so Catwalk could see the baby’s face. “This is
David. He’s Curly’s son.”

Catwalk concealed his surprise and looked at
the tiny sleeping baby. He said, “He’s a beautiful baby, Billy Sue.
Does Curly know?”

“
No, and I don’t think
he’d care if he did know.”

“
C‘mon up to the
house.”

They walked to the porch where Catwalk said,
“You want a cup of coffee?”

“
That would be fabulous,
Cat.”

As Catwalk poured, he thought about this
situation. He didn’t want to get involved in Curly and Billy Sue’s
problems, but he was worried that Billy Sue would tell Curly about
the baby, and he wouldn’t want anything to do with it. He realized
the misery she faced trying to raise a baby as a single mother in
these hard times.

He asked Billy Sue, “Are you working
now?”

“
I’m waiting tables in
Odessa, but I don’t know how long that’ll last. The restaurant is
about ready to close. I had to quit wing walking when I got
pregnant. Man, was I surprised.”

“
When Curly left here he
was pretty upset. Before he left he said the farm wasn’t doing
well, so I don’t know if he’ll be able to help you out
financially.”

“
That figures. If I didn’t
have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any at all.”

Catwalk hesitated as he thought of how he
could help her. He said, “I’ll write him to find out if he’s
planning on coming back out here. Do you want me to tell him that
he’s a father?”

“
I don’t know. What do you
think he’ll say?”

“
I have no idea, Billy
Sue. Either way, I doubt that he’ll come back out here for a
while.”

“
Don’t tell him yet,
Cat.”

“
O.K., I don’ think he’ll
answer anyway. He never was much for writing letters.”

“
I appreciate that, Cat.
Have you been flying anymore air shows lately?”

“
No, I haven’t. We just
opened up a route to Salt Lake City, so I’m flying more hours with
the airline and we’re getting ready to move into a new hangar at
the airport in Albuquerque.”

“
Well, at least for you a
dream came true.”

“
I can’t believe how
fortunate I’ve been, and it’s all been due to Barney.”

“
He sounds like such a
nice man. I’d love to meet him sometime. Is he flying
now.”

“
Yeah. He’s got the Salt
Lake to Denver leg today, and tomorrow morning he returns home and
I go back to work.”

Little David started making hungry noises.
Billy Sue said, “He’s getting hungry, I’d better go in and heat a
bottle.”

Catwalk thought about Curly being a father.
He knew he hadn’t planned on it, or even thought about it, but he
hated to see Billy Sue face the prospect of raising a baby alone.
He suspected Curly was not having an easy time of it back on the
farm and raising a son would be the last thing on his mind.