Epilogue #2
Erica stripped off her clothes and climbed into the fighter pilot gear as fast as she could. She smiled wryly at the bright orange patches saying Visitor that were sewn on the front and back of her flight suit. She was just trying on the Nomex gloves when a knock sounded on the door. “Come in!”
A brown-haired woman wearing a flight suit like Erica’s, minus the orange patches, came through the door, carrying two helmets with visors and oxygen masks.
“Ms. Ortiz, I’m Lieutenant Commander Carla Newsom, but please call me Rocky.
” She held up one helmet with her nickname on it. “I’ll be your pilot for today.”
“Please call me Erica.” She accepted the helmet that Rocky handed her. “Why Rocky?”
“Not because of my landings, I promise you,” the lieutenant said with a grin. “I studied geology for two years before I went to the Naval Academy.”
“I understand.” Erica chuckled.
“Okay, let’s get this show on the road,” Rocky said, leading her out of the room.
After a lot of instruction, mostly about safety and what not to do, Rocky loaded Erica into the back seat of a white-and-red training jet, checking her harness at least three times.
“It’s not just to secure you for the ride,” Rocky explained through the mic in her helmet.
“It’s to hold you in the seat if you have to eject. Not that I expect that to happen.”
Rocky climbed into the front seat of the jet, which was lower than Erica’s, so all she could see was the top of Rocky’s helmet.
The glass canopy closed over them, and the jet began to taxi, following the directions of various yellow-shirted deck crew members.
As they moved onto the runway, nerves and excitement tightened Erica’s throat and made her pulse pick up.
Another training jet was lining up beside them, the jet blast deflector already raised behind it. A pack of crewmen in different-colored shirts scurried around it and then raced away. The engines revved, and suddenly it shot forward and into the air.
“We’re next,” Rocky announced as the multihued shirts swarmed around their aircraft.
Erica watched as Rocky ran through a list of cockpit checks before giving a thumbs-up to the yellow shirt.
“Look to your left,” Rocky said.
Erica turned her head to see Raul standing tall among the crew members, his blazer flapping in the wind, a headset covering his ears while his hair fluttered around it. She waved. He lifted his hand to his lips and blew her a kiss.
“You are one lucky lady,” Rocky said.
“Don’t I know it,” Erica agreed as she returned Raul’s gesture, happiness tumbling through her.
“Okay, lean back as hard as you can in your seat,” Rocky instructed.
Erica braced herself the way Rocky had shown her and waited as the engines revved, and the plane moved forward on the catapult. After some more checks, Rocky saluted the deck crew.
And Erica felt like her eyeballs were being pushed toward the back of her head while the rest of her body tried to meld with her seat. She barely had time to register the deck passing under them before they shot off the carrier and were airborne.
“Holy shit!” Erica whooped as the jet raced over the waves before tearing skyward like a rocket.
“You got a strong stomach?” Rocky asked.
“Try me,” Erica said, knowing what was coming and hoping her stomach could indeed handle it.
The jet twisted, turned, rolled, and inverted in a series of high-speed maneuvers that sent Erica’s insides ricocheting around while she laughed in sheer exhilaration.
Rocky leveled out. “You seemed to enjoy that.”
“Oh, yeah,” Erica said, swallowing to settle everything back in place. “That was a trip and a half.”
“I hear you’re a pretty good pilot,” Rocky said.
“Nothing like you,” Erica said.
“They let you fly the royals around, so someone trusts you,” Rocky pointed out. “Since it’s your birthday, want to fly this baby for a couple of minutes?”
“Are you serious?” Erica scanned the controls in front of her with eager anticipation.
“Just don’t tell my boss,” Rocky joked, although Erica was sure she had gotten her commanding officer’s permission. “Besides, this is a trainer, which means I can stop you before you do anything stupid.”
Erica laughed and listened carefully to Rocky’s instructions, testing the feel of the stick and pedals.
“Okay, I’m handing over control of the aircraft to you. Acknowledge,” Rocky said.
“Acknowledged,” Erica said.
Suddenly, the jet was responding to Erica’s movements, which meant it wobbled a bit before she got the hang of it. But then it began to feel like an extension of her body, as though she could almost think commands at it, and it would obey.
“Good. Now try turning her very, very gently,” Rocky said. “Remember how fast you’re going.”
Erica eased into a righthand turn without too much jerking around.
“Now try the other direction,” Rocky said.
“This is amazing!” Erica said as they swooped to the left at an insane speed.
All too soon, Rocky said, “Okay, I’m taking control of the aircraft. Acknowledge.”
“Acknowledged.” Erica felt a sense of loss as she took her hands and feet off the controls. “Thank you! That was fantastic!”
This had been the experience of a lifetime, and they hadn’t even landed yet. How on earth would she ever conjure up a birthday gift that would come anywhere near this for Raul? But she would make sure he got a very nice thank-you reward tonight.
“Hey, we’ve got company,” Rocky said. “Starboard side.”
Erica looked right to see a jet just like theirs flying near their wingtip. The person in the back seat was waving to her, and then Raul’s voice crackled over the radio. “Erica, are you having a good time?”
“What are you doing up here?” She couldn’t believe he had followed her off the carrier’s deck.
He laughed. “I have an important question to ask you, and it couldn’t wait.”
“What? A question?” Totally confused, she watched as he leaned forward before lifting what looked like a rolled-up piece of paper.
He fiddled with it for a few seconds before unfurling it.
Then he pressed it against the side of the plane’s canopy, and she saw that something was written on it in capital letters.
I LOVE YOU! WILL YOU MARRY ME?
Shock ran through her as she stared at the sign. “Rocky, does that sign say, ‘Will you marry me?’”
“Affirmative,” Rocky said. “And I have twenty-twenty vision.”
She and Raul hadn’t talked about marriage. They had been enjoying the freedom just to be a couple. Her heart felt like it would pound out of her chest as she tried to wrap her mind around what was happening.
“I need a piece of paper,” Erica said to Rocky. “Do you have a piece of paper?”
“Reach down in that pocket beside you on the right, and you’ll find what you need,” Rocky said.
“Wait, I’m working on my answer, querido mío, ” Erica said into the mic as she scrabbled in the pocket and yanked out several sheets of paper. She laughed as she saw that they all had YES! printed on them.
She held one up to the window, dropped it and held up another, dropped it and held up the last one. “Yes, I’ll marry you, you crazy person! I love you too!” She felt like fireworks were exploding inside her.
Their two pilots cheered before Rocky said, “We’re transferring you two lovebirds to a private radio channel now.”
“ Ay, mi amor, you kept me waiting so long,” Raul said, but there was laughter in his voice. “I thought you were going to reject me.”
“How could I when the only options you gave me were ‘yes’?” Erica pointed out.
“I was taking no chances,” he said.
“I want to kiss you so badly right now,” she said. “Why did you have to propose to me while we’re in separate jets?”
“I wanted to catch you in a good mood.” His tone turned serious.
“ Mi corazón, marriage with me will alter your life in ways you might not like. That’s another reason I proposed to you in separate jets.
You’ll have a little time to think about it before we get back to the carrier. You can change your mind.”
She shook her head, the helmet making the motion awkward. “Nothing could make me change my mind.”
“I hope not, but you have that right. Marrying me brings a lot of burdens. I’ve tried to show you at least some of them.”
He had, hadn’t he? Given that she had no official role, she had sometimes been puzzled about why he had wanted her to accompany him to various events in his role as crown prince. Now she understood. He wanted her to experience being constantly in the public eye. Another thought slammed into her.
Someday I will be the Queen of Caleva.
She shoved the thought away, hating it for all kinds of reasons, but mostly because it would mean that Raul’s father would be dead, and she didn’t want to think about that.
Better to think that her children—if she and Raul were lucky enough to have them—would be princes and princesses. How insane was that?
The image of having children with Raul made her insides go squishy. He would be such a wonderful father.
“I jumped into the terrifying ocean in the dark to save a dragon for you,” she said.
“I found the courage to do it because I knew you would be there to pull me out. I can face down a horde of ministros and paparazzi because you’ll be right beside me.
Together, we can handle anything the world throws at us. ”
“That is another reason that I proposed to you in a fighter jet,” Raul said. “It seemed like the appropriate place for my fierce Amazon.” He paused a moment. “I don’t doubt your courage, mi amor, but it would break my heart if you hated the life you would have to live with me.”
“The only life I would hate is one without you,” she said. “Now stop trying to talk me out of marrying you. I accepted your proposal. It’s a done deal.”
His laughter held a note of relief. “And that is why I adore you.”
Rocky’s voice broke in on them. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re coming up on the carrier. Who wants to land first?”
“I will,” Raul said. “Let Erica have every moment she can in the sky.”