Chapter 3
Why was Ernie complimenting her when he was supposed to make her quit? It made no sense. Focus, Ernie.
Her look of surprise matched how he felt. It must have been a deeply ingrained habit. He was merely being polite. That must have been it.
It couldn’t possibly have been that he was impressed.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she said, smiling at him for the first time in their acquaintance. It tugged on something deep inside him.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He winked at her, grinning like an idiot as she walked away.
Then he shook himself. Was he losing his mind?
He couldn’t get caught mooning over Millie Aldrich.
His job, his career—he could kiss them goodbye if he so much as looked at her wrong.
He shouldn’t have been looking at Millie Aldrich as anything but a problem to be solved.
He was about to head to his own hotel room when a familiar, lanky figure came sauntering in, dark hair plastered to his head from hours in a flight cap. “O’Donnell, is that you?”
“In the flesh.” O’Donnell paused beside him, staring after Millie’s disappearing form. “Say, was that Miss Aldrich?”
“Yes, but I have a much more important question for you. Would you like to grab a temperance beverage with me?” The last thing Ernie wanted to do was discuss Millie Aldrich with the biggest gossip he knew, and he desperately needed a chance to unwind after the day he had.
O’Donnell grinned. “I would not mind a fine temperance beverage one bit.”
“Excellent. Meet me back here in the lobby in fifteen minutes. I just need to clean up and change.”
Refocusing on the evening ahead, he headed for the reception desk to check in. “Hiya, Mort. Any room will do.”
The balding, middle-aged proprietor opened a cabinet of keys on the wall and took one down. Ernie tapped his foot to the ragtime on the polished wood radio behind the desk with the speaker shaped like a peacock’s tail.
That reminded him he had a dinner date with Vera. She was much more his speed than Millie. He couldn’t resist a naughty teacher, and it was such a lovely coincidence that she’d come down from New York to visit her aunt in Philly.
Mort handed him the key, and Ernie headed up the stairs to room 204, making himself at home in the narrow room with an even narrower bed. Opening his bag, he pulled out clean clothes that didn’t smell like an engine fire and added a tie and blazer. After all, he had to look his best for his date.
He’d meet her at the restaurant, and Vera would be dressed in one of those flapper numbers, knees peeking out beneath the scandalously high hem. Boy, was he looking forward to that!
He shrugged out of his sweaty clothes and changed into his fresh ones, then got out the pomade to comb his hair into some semblance of respectability.
When he got back to New York, he was going to have to visit the barber.
His hair was getting out of hand. He knew the ladies loved it, but it was a safety hazard once it was long enough to get in his eyes.
One last look in the mirror, and he was ready to go. Locking the door behind him, he headed downstairs to meet O’Donnell.
“Do you have a date tonight, you handsome devil? You’re looking exceptionally well groomed. I assume this isn’t for little old me.”
Laughing, Ernie nodded. “With Vera Clarke.”
“Have I met Vera?”
“I’m not sure. Short and cute. Black hair in a bob. She’s a schoolteacher. Lives in Brooklyn Heights, but she’s visiting her aunt here in Philly this week.”
O’Donnell shook his head. “Doesn’t ring a bell. Who was the one I met in New York two months ago? Redhead with the…” He gestured in front of his chest.
Ernie shook his head. “I thought you weren’t supposed to notice those things as a married man.”
“Purely a scientific observation, I assure you. You know I have eyes for no one but Ann.”
“I do.” It was true. The man was smitten. “And for your information, that was Lillian. She and I parted ways after she started hinting at a ring.”
“Not ready to settle down?”
“Vera and I have an understanding. She knows I’m not the marrying type.”
Vera was thoroughly modern in all the best ways.
All she wanted was a little fun on the side while she pursued her career.
No strings. No commitments. Teachers had to quit their jobs when they married, so she wanted nothing to do with matrimony, which suited him fine.
He had too many responsibilities to consider settling down.
“Still playing the field, eh, you hound dog?” O’Donnell elbowed him in the side.
Ernie shrugged to avoid answering.
Sure, he wanted to marry eventually, but he couldn’t afford it until his sisters were off his hands.
Once they either married or got careers of their own, he could consider it.
But even the generous salary he received from the Postal Service wouldn’t let him support two households.
He had Constance’s secretarial school tuition to pay, and Verity and Prudence were still in high school.
He’d had no idea how much high school girls cost until he found himself supporting them. And, of course, there was Mom and Pop.
Most of all, he didn’t want them to want for anything.
Ever since Pop’s hand got mangled in that factory accident, Ernie had been the family breadwinner.
The whole family had been relying on him since he was seventeen, and by some miracle, he’d managed to keep them all afloat.
The airmail was the best job he’d had yet.
Sure, it was dangerous, but it paid well.
And he was lucky. He’d survived the war, hadn’t he?
He touched the pocket watch he got from his grandpa—his lucky charm. He took it with him everywhere he went, and so far, it hadn’t let him down.
“Shall we head out? Our sodas await.” O’Donnell gestured toward the door, and together, they ambled down the block to the soda shop. But instead of entering, they circled around to a side door in the alley and knocked a special knock. The door opened, and they descended into a bar.
It was quiet right now, it being late afternoon. Ernie knew in a few hours it would be full of pilots trading war stories. The walls were covered with trophies and memorabilia from air shows, but they were hardly visible in the dim light.
They took seats at the bar and ordered two whiskeys.
“So tell me more about this Vera.” There was a twinkle of mischief in O’Donnell’s eyes.
Ernie always had to watch what he said to O’Donnell, or the entire airmail operation would know within twenty-four hours. Fortunately, Vera was a safe subject.
Their drinks arrived, and Ernie took a leisurely sip before answering.
“She loves Mamie Smith singing the blues and drinking sarsaparilla soda, preferably with a little kick in it. I like her cute little bob, and she’s got curves in all the right places.
” Yes, he would enjoy seeing Vera tonight, and he could relax and forget all about his day with Millie Aldrich.
Did he feel a little bit bad about keeping things casual with Vera? Well, sure. It wasn’t how things were done in his parents’ day. But he just needed to blow off a little steam.
We can’t all be as righteous as you, Pop. You made supporting the family look so easy before the accident. How did you carry so much weight on your shoulders without needing to escape?
Ernie wasn’t a saint like Pop, and he knew it. He did what he had to in order to keep himself sane and get by. And was he really harming anyone?
“She sounds like a dish.” O’Donnell raised his glass. “I hope you thoroughly enjoy your evening out.”
Ernie clinked glasses with his friend but very much wanted to change the subject from his personal life. “Did you hear Hopson got caught again dropping his laundry out of the plane at the laundromat in Bellefonte?”
“Again? That man has no shame. I would never do that. What if something went wrong and my undergarments got strewn all over town?”
“Lewis buzzed the Bellefonte courthouse again too. They say he sent the weathervane spinning.”
Given the antics of his fellow pilots, Ernie couldn’t figure out why Mr. Dickson was always so hard on him. Shouldn’t he have been paying more attention to the other mischief makers in the fleet? Ernie took a drink. God, it felt good trickling down his throat.
“And I hear you had yet another near-death experience today?” O’Donnell raised his eyebrows expectantly.
Uh oh. What did O’Donnell hear about today’s little mishap? “It was hardly near-death. The driveshaft in my engine broke down again, and I had to land in a pumpkin patch of all things.”
O’Donnell grinned. “A pumpkin patch? How seasonally appropriate. And did Miss Aldrich…uh…rescue you? That’s what I heard.”
Oh, no. The last thing Ernie needed was for the other pilots to think he’d been rescued like a damsel in distress by that virago. “Hardly rescued. She was flying with me to learn the route and landed with me, so I used her plane to fly us the short hop to Bustleton airport.”
O’Donnell’s grin got wider. “That sounds like a rescue to me.”
“Stuff it, O’Donnell. You know we all go down in a farmer’s field from time to time.
This is no different. She happened to be there with me to give me a ride.
Otherwise, I would have waited for the emergency crew from Bustleton.
The last thing I need is you spreading the story that Millie Aldrich rescued me. I’d never hear the end of it.”
“No, you won’t.” The damage was done. O’Donnell was a dog with a bone, and he meant to let everyone know. All innocence, he said, “None of my doing, I assure you. The story’s already circulating without my help, but now that I have a firsthand account from you, I’m an authority on the matter.”
“I thought you were my friend, O’Donnell.” Ernie took another drink.
“Oh, I am. I promise to make you sound very valiant as you…er…get rescued by a girl from a pumpkin patch.”
Crap.
“Don’t look so sad, Pritchard. Everyone has their turn being humiliated by the rumor mill. Believe me, I’ve been a victim more often than most.” True, but he’d also been the perpetrator more often than most.
“Just remember all I’ve done for you and Ann.” The man needed a reminder of where his loyalties should lie. After helping O’Donnell win Ann over after a misunderstanding about some lipstick on his collar, Bill owed him.
O’Donnell’s expression sobered. “I will never forget. I am grateful every day. I promise I’ll stick to the facts.”
Good. O’Donnell would tone down the story. Thank heavens.
“And how is Ann? How are the kids?”
“Everyone’s doing fine. I miss them when I’m away. Though I miss this when I’m home. It’s good to escape the chaos from time to time.”
Ernie smiled. “And that is one of the many reasons I remain a bachelor.” He clinked glasses with O’Donnell and took a drink.
“Speaking of which, are you sure you don’t want to settle down? Sounds like you like this new girl of yours. I can assure you that matrimony with the right woman is a delight.”
“You sound like my mother.” His face heated. With his fellow bachelors, playing the field was something he might brag about, but admitting it to a married man, even when that man was O’Donnell, made him feel slightly abashed.
“Watch yourself. The parson’s trap comes for everyone eventually.”
“Ha! Not for me. I’m perfectly content as I am,” he said, though a splinter of doubt wedged its way into his conscience.
Suddenly, he didn’t want to be there anymore, so he pulled out his pocket watch. “Just look at the time! I should head out to the restaurant.” He finished off the last of his drink.
Saying goodbye to O’Donnell, he headed up to the street and flagged down a taxi.
Directing the cabbie to Chez Louis, he arrived at 8 p.m. on the dot, just in time to catch Vera getting out of a cab of her own—one leg then the other, then a little shimmy as she stood.
She looked smashing in a slinky green satin dress that clung to her petite frame. Even with heels on, the top of her head barely reached his chin. He bent over and kissed her cheek.
“I love that dress on you, sweetheart,” he murmured in her ear, then offered his arm to take her into the restaurant.
She beamed as she clutched his arm and sauntered beside him with swinging hips.
The ma?tre d’ led them through the maze of round tables with crisp white tablecloths and napkins folded to look like fans. Dangling globe lights made the curving, wood paneled ceiling and walls shine with honey-colored light. The place had the sleek lines of a radio, and Vera seemed delighted.
As they were sitting down, he glanced at the neighboring table only to see Millie Aldrich, Katherine Stinson, and a woman he didn’t recognize, all dressed to the nines and chattering excitedly.
Dear God. Was there no escaping this woman?