Chapter 22
SAMANTHA
“How are you feeling?” Medusa asked.
“Good. Much better.”
“No more morning sickness?” she asked in a low voice.
“Oh no, I still have it, but I’ve learned to trick my body to think I’m not sick.” I laughed. “I’ve been very careful to keep crackers on hand. They do seem to help a lot. If I eat a little throughout the day, it seems to work.”
“Good. Have you thought about telling him?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. I mean, I will. I think I will, but not right away. I’m not sure where we are. We went out last night and talked a bit.”
She laughed. “Talked?” she asked and bounced her eyebrows.
“Yes. Mostly.”
“I knew it!” She gave me a big hug. “You’ll have to tell me everything tonight.”
“Good luck up there,” I said.
She joined the rest of the crew. They stood in formation with Mitch looking over at me and flashing me a smile.
He looked very handsome in his blue flight suit with the khaki hat sitting on top of his head.
He was the tallest of them all. He was also the most handsome.
PitA was an attractive guy, but he did nothing for me.
Watch Dog was good looking as well. I was still not entirely sure what the deal was with Medusa and Watch Dog.
They flirted a lot, but I had never seen them actually touch.
I wondered if they had ever slept together. There was some chemistry between them.
Once the pilots walked to their jets and climbed inside, I found a place to watch the show with the rest of the crew. I was doing my best to avoid inhaling too much exhaust and gas fumes. I doubted it was good for the baby. It sure as hell wasn’t great for my morning sickness.
I listened to the announcer go through the usual speech.
I always got butterflies in my stomach at the point of takeoff.
It was a little different sending the father of my child up into the air.
As usual, he broke right into the dirty roll before joining the formation.
They usually did the same routine. I could almost predict what came next.
Every once in a while, Honcho would change things up.
I supposed that’s why I couldn’t look away.
I wanted to see what new trick they were going to put into the show.
Usually, it was Mitch that was pulling a new maneuver.
He often brought in Number Six for one of his little tricks, but usually it was just him.
I watched the jets disappear with only the smoke trailing behind them.
My mind started to drift. What would it be like to be his wife?
Wife might be moving a little fast. Girlfriend.
Baby mama. He would make a good father. I just knew it.
He was cocky and a little obnoxious, but he was also a man with good moral character.
I noticed it in the way he respected others.
The way he defended my honor. He would teach his child to be a good person.
That was assuming he would want to be a part of the child’s life.
What if that good moral character was all a show?
What if his true colors came through the moment I told him I was pregnant with his child?
He could do a complete turnaround and run off as fast as his legs would carry him.
Then again, he might be even more pissed by the fact I had kept it from him for over a month.
He was the kind of man that would want to know something like this.
Maybe. I wasn’t sure if I was creating a fantasy.
I wanted him to be my hero, but he was just a man.
A man with a military career that didn’t leave him a lot of room for family.
With Medusa’s encouragement, I had made an appointment with a clinic in town.
I was hoping to put it off until I got back home, but she was insistent it was important I get in sooner rather than later.
I had to admit I was concerned and a visit to the doctor would put my mind at ease.
I thought about telling Mitch about the appointment, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
I had made a deal with myself over the last week.
After I went to the doctor and they confirmed the pregnancy and everything was okay, then I would tell him.
There was no point in telling him anything if things weren’t going well.
The announcer’s voice changed. It was one of excitement. I focused my attention on the sky and saw it was the diamond formation. The pilots were putting on their usual show. I needed to check some things and went toward the hangar with some of our gear.
“Sam!” I looked up and saw one of the guys waving me over.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Did you already sign off on seven?” he asked.
“No,” I replied. “The mechanic was going to adjust some things and then I’ll sign off.”
“Alright folks, there’s no reason to panic,” I heard the announcer say. “We’re just going to bring in Number Four.”
“What did he say?” I asked the crewman.
“Sounded like he said Medusa was coming in,” he said.
I walked back toward the runway to see Medusa coming in. The smoke coming out of the plane wasn’t the usual smoke we used for the show. There was a definite white color that was not right.
“Oh shit,” I murmured. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.”
The team was rushing out with the fire trucks running and the lights flashing red.
My heart was in my throat. “Please don’t let this end badly,” I whispered.
I would never forgive myself if she crashed into the tarmac.
I had never personally witnessed a jet crash, but I had watched countless videos. I knew what happened.
“Can I use those?” I asked while snatching the binoculars from someone’s hand.
I focused on the jet slowly lowering in altitude.
The landing gear was down. That was a major plus.
Medusa was a skilled pilot. I followed the trail of smoke and noticed it was coming from the left engine.
I didn’t have to ask what was going on. She’d lost an engine.
The jet tilted before she righted it. It rocked a bit once again.
The crew chiefs were covering the mics on their headsets. I knew they were talking to her.
I handed the binoculars back and rushed over to find out what was going on.
“What happened?” I asked. I heard my own voice and my panic. I couldn’t be panicked. I took a deep breath. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine,” the crew chief said with his binoculars on the jet. “She’s got this.”
I nodded and watched as the jet came into view. “Medusa is a good pilot.”
“She is,” he said before lowering the binoculars and looking at me. “She lost an engine. Any ideas?”
The way he said it made me feel like I was about two feet tall. “No, but I’ll find out.”
The entire team on the ground was watching her come down.
The announcer was doing his best to keep the crowd focused on the jets in the sky.
If the worst happened, it would be a nightmare.
I didn’t want an entire audience to watch what very well might be my fault.
The wheels bounced once before the brakes were locked tight.
The jet raced down the runway before coming to a sharp halt.
The relief from those around me was palpable. I felt it as well. I stayed out of the way while her crew rushed out to get her out of the cockpit. I waited until the engine was completely off before I started onto the tarmac. Medusa pulled off her helmet and laughed. She actually laughed.
“What happened?” I asked.
She pointed to a spot on the canopy.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I can’t tell you the exact species but it’s a bird.”
“A bird?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Yep. Hit like ten of them. I’m guessing one took out the engine. One minute I’m watching paint, and the next there’s blood splattered on the canopy and I’ve got alarms screeching at me.”
“Oh my god,” I gasped. “You’re kidding.”
“No,” she said. “I’m sure there is evidence in there. I’d rather not see it.”
“Yeah, me either. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said.
“Are you sure?” I asked again and looked her over. She obviously looked hale and hearty, but I had to see it to believe it. I had to make sure she was okay. I couldn’t forgive myself if something had gone bad. I was certain I would have melted right into the blacktop.
“I’m fine,” she said. “I had one engine. That’s all I needed.”
“I saw that smoke and I thought for certain I missed something,” I said. “Everyone was looking at me. I felt the blame coming my way.”
“No one would blame you,” she said. “This shit happens. Not often, but it can. We all know it’s a possibility.”
“You’re sure you’re okay?” I asked again.
“Sam, relax,” she said. “This isn’t on you.
You could have done a hundred checklists and you wouldn’t have found anything.
This was not your fault. This is one of those freak accidents we’re all warned about.
I handled it like the pro I am. No one in the audience would have known it was even happening if not for the smoke. ”
I smiled at her. “You sound so much like Mitch. I guess you guys really are birds of a feather. You have to be just a little confident.”
“Exactly.”
I held out my hand and realized I was shaking. She had seriously freaked me out. “Girl, you need to take a breather. You’re stressing out over nothing.”
“Are there more birds up there?” I asked. “What about the rest of the team? What if they run into them?”
“I think they were just moving through,” she said.
“Fucking birds,” I muttered.
She laughed. “Everything is okay. I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink.”
“A drink?”
“Water,” she said. “Just water. Come on, you need to get out of the sun for a minute.”
Now that the crisis was over, the adrenaline ebbed.
I felt stiff and weak at the same time. I would never forget the moment the announcer said the words that would haunt me for the rest of my days.
It was my biggest fear. It was the one thing I worked so hard to prevent from happening.
Those moments when I thought it was me who had failed her were the worst of my life.
“I hope you’re okay,” Medusa said. “You look very pale.”
“I’m not going to lie, you scared the hell out of me,” I said. “I thought for certain it was happening. Happening on my watch.”
“It’s okay,” she said again. “You have to know things like this happen quite often. We train for this stuff. I didn’t panic. It got my heart pumping, but I wasn’t really scared. I’ve flown on one engine before. Piece of cake.”
I snorted. “Piece of cake. That’s not funny.”
“You’re going to work yourself up and stress out the baby,” she said.
“My baby is the size of a peanut. I don’t think it can feel stress.”
“Just take a minute to catch your breath,” she said. “I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of action once the show is over.”