Chapter 7 #2
“Wrong pilot and call sign,” Bode interrupted, grinning. “That other guy’s kinda skinny, and his wife made our wedding cake. I’m much better looking with a hotter wife who loves flowers.”
Eli rolled his eyes and bit his tongue. Flora was ‘okay’ – but as long as she made his brother happy, that was all that mattered.
Maureen was striking in a very pretty way.
He wasn’t sure what made someone ‘hot,’ but maybe that was just a term some guys threw around to sound tough – which was totally Bode’s method of operation.
“What about your chick? What’s she like?”
That was such a simple question – yet Eli couldn’t answer it any other way but honestly. “I’m already trying to find out.”
Bode nodded in approval. “Be yourself, and she’ll come around.”
“Come around to what?”
“Well, she’ll either thump you right between the eyes – or hug the stuffin’ out of you because you are long overdue for a little affection and fun.
Have you ever played ‘Monster’ with a child who insists that tickling someone involves raking their little fingernails on your skin?
Yeah – it doesn’t tickle, but I’ll never tell Austin that.
The kid’s got fingers like one of those little garden rakes you use for weeding. ”
“A what?”
Bode stared at him and then burst out laughing. “You need a dose of reality or to come down to earth. I swear, how are we related? You’re stuck up, and I’m gutter trash.”
“Maybe I should be a little trashier?” he offered, and Bode laughed even harder, making Eli frown.
“Archangel, I don’t think you’ll ever be trashy – now, reach out to your girl and schmooze her over with all that char…um, well maybe ‘charm’ is a bit much, but you can give her that glorious gargoyle stare that you do oh-so well.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Eli listened as Bode told him, with stars in his eyes, about his plans to buy a small airplane and that he intended to get a job at Flyboys.
Apparently, Loki - Bode’s former wingman before Banshee - had convinced him that the Flyboys team would help him get started.
They had promised to help him with setting up a flight schedule or chartering flights across the state to a smaller landing strip that was also part of Flyboys.
It was surprising to hear that they were branching out like this, but it was also quite savvy.
He had all of his eggs in the Air Force’s basket, and while he’d always been grateful before for this opportunity, the threat of losing everything was there today for the first time.
The two brothers talked for almost two hours with only a few interruptions before Eli made his apologies.
“Hey,” Eli began uncomfortably, but he had reports to turn in. “I’ve got to get some stuff done, and you need to pack.”
“True that,” Bode responded, almost bragging. “I’m expecting you to come visit me when you get some leave accrued.”
I have leave; I’m just not sure I can use it right now…
“I’d love that – and appreciate the offer,” he replied instead, keeping his thoughts to himself once more.
“My sofa is your sofa,” Bode joked, grinning. “Except I don’t have a sofa - yet.”
Typical, Eli thought, smiling as they hugged once more before his brother left the room, closing the office door behind him.
Turning to the stack of reports, he began sifting through them, working diligently.
His neck ached from the angle and stress, tensing as the task seemed never-ending – and then he moved to tackle the plethora of emails that were now waiting in his inbox.
He was on the seventh one when he recognized the email.
“She wrote me…” he began, surprised, and quickly double-clicked on it to open the email – before frowning as his eyes scanned the email.
“Narcissistic? ‘The Ego is Might’ – sheesh – ‘The Dimly Lit Light’? Oh my gosh, she thinks I have a melon-head? What the heck? Apparently, I made quite an impression.” Rolling his eyes in frustration and defeat, Eli clicked delete – and paused as a second email popped up from Maureen again.
He almost didn’t open it. His finger hovered over the mouse where the cursor was waiting over the delete button, and then sighed.
Moving the cursor, he opened the email and braced himself for a second mental beating and whatever ‘gems’ she decided to throw his way this time around…
and was pleasantly surprised. He read the email, rubbing his aching neck once again as he read her letter – and smiled.
It was nice.
It was exactly what he needed right now.
Elijah pulled her business card out of his desk drawer, looking at it once again.
He wasn’t sure why he kept it so close; it was almost like one of those ‘worry stones’ a school counselor had given him in middle school.
He’d rubbed that indented surface of the stone that he kept hidden in his pocket for years until it broke by accident.
He still remembered what it looked like, how cool it felt, how lovely the quartz striations in the rock looked…
and kinda wished that I had one right now, he mused, rubbing his thumb over the flowery, foil script on her business card in the same manner.