Chapter 19
Mr. Dickson’s furrowed brow and clenched jaw did not bode well.
“You were supposed to get her to quit.”
Every pen and pencil Mr. Dickson owned was lined up, points outward like a spikey barricade aimed at Ernie.
“I thought the Chicago route would do it. I was wrong.”
Truth be told, Ernie no longer wanted Millie to quit. He wanted to keep flying the same route as her and having secret trysts at the hotels along the way. If she quit, would he ever see her again? But there was no question he’d failed Mr. Dickson.
“I’ll keep her on the Chicago route. It’s only October, and I’m willing to bet she’ll quit once winter truly sets in.
You, however, have disappointed me. Don’t think that just because you broke a record flying back from Chicago last month that there won’t be consequences.
Effective immediately, I’m assigning you to the Boston route. ”
Even though he knew it was coming, he winced. “Yes, sir.”
The Boston route was miserable this time of year, and the weather-related delays meant anyone on it was perpetually in hot water for late deliveries.
Not to mention the brutal cold in the winter.
And, more importantly, he had no idea how he was ever going to see Millie if they were on different routes.
“For some reason, I can’t seem to keep pilots on that route,” Mr. Dickson grumbled. “You are going to provide the coverage we need while I find some other way to get Millie Aldrich to quit. I’ve heard you’ve gotten a little too friendly with her.”
Too friendly? Oh, no. What had Mr. Dickson heard? He thought they were being discreet.
“I’ve heard that you give her compliments and encouragement and that you’re far too patient with her hot-headed ways.”
Phew! If that was all, this would soon blow over.
“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t feel it would be gentlemanly to be impolite.”
Mr. Dickson looked up from under his bushy brows. “I wasn’t expecting you to be ungentlemanly, just discouraging. A woman in an airplane is a danger to herself and others. We need to end this farce.”
“Respectfully, Mr. Dickson, I disagree. Miss Aldrich is a highly capable and experienced pilot. More so than most of the men we bring in to join the team. I’ve had a chance to see her performance firsthand, and I can honestly say she’s probably one of the best pilots we’ve got.
And she’s far more determined than most. The airmail would do well to keep her. ”
As soon as he said it, he knew he’d made a tactical error, but he wasn’t sorry for standing up for Millie. She was a damned fine pilot, even if Mr. Dickson was too myopic to believe it.
Pinning him with a glare, Mr. Dickson cleared his throat.
“You are formally relieved of any responsibilities related to Millie Aldrich, and going forward, if you want to keep your job, you should think twice about contradicting me. Clearly, I assigned the wrong man to this job. You start the Boston route on Friday morning. You are dismissed.”
“But Mr. Dickson—”
“I said you are dismissed.”
Ernie got out of Mr. Dickson’s office before he could make anything worse.
As he cranked up his car, his mind was preoccupied with Millie. How could he let her know that his route had been switched? He didn’t even have her number. He paused in his cranking and went back inside to the message cubbies. He pulled a flier out of his and scribbled on the back.
I’ve been switched to the Boston route effective immediately. I fly on Friday. My number is Brooklyn 65182. Call me. –Ernie
He folded it, stuffed it in her cubby, and headed back out to the car.
As he drove home, he wondered how long it would take her to see it.
She’d already left by the time he got out of Mr. Dickson’s office, and it would be three days before she was due back.
Three agonizing days, and possibly longer if she didn’t see the message immediately.
And what if she called after he left for Boston?
Or what if she didn’t call at all? What if she decided their affair was over?
It was one thing to sneak into each other’s hotel rooms when they were on assignment together, but something else entirely to intentionally see each other outside of work.
Would she see this as an opportunity to end things?
It was an easy way out for Millie if she decided she wanted to be rid of him.
Three days! How was he going to survive three days of not knowing?
He wasn’t even going to be at Heller Airport the same time as her. Mr. Dickson said Friday. That was four days away. Maybe he should make up an excuse to go to the airstrip on Thursday to see if he could catch her. No, that would seem too desperate. He needed to trust his note and wait for a call.
Arriving at home, he parked, bracing himself for the noise and chaos he was about to endure. Much to his surprise, the only sound was the clacking of typewriter keys.
“Constance?”
He found her in the parlor, set up at the old-fashioned rolltop desk next to a window.
Upon seeing him, she beamed. “Ernie, you’re home! Mom and the girls just went out to do some shopping. Pop’s at church. How is my favorite big brother?”
“I’m your only big brother.”
“So?”
Ernie settled himself on a chintz sofa. “How have things been while I’ve been away?”
“Mostly good. The girls have been well behaved for once. It’s Mom I’m worried about. She’s been in the doldrums this week missing Grandpa.”
Oh, dear. Mom’s doldrums had come and gone unpredictably since Grandpa passed last year. Some days, she was right as rain. Others, she could hardly get out of bed.
“It’s been a while since her last downturn. I was hoping we’d seen the end, but I guess not.” He touched his pocket watch. The ache was still there for him too, much though he tried to ignore it and pretend everything was fine.
“I convinced her to take the girls shopping to get her out of the house. A little sunlight and socialization will do her a world of good. But how are you, Ernie? You look tired.”
He chuckled. “I am tired.” Not that I’m going to tell you the reason I’ve barely slept over the last week.
“But you also look happy.”
“I do? I’m in hot water with Mr. Dickson at work. He just switched me to the Boston route.”
Constance shrugged. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s definitely something that’s making you glow. Is it a woman?”
Oh, no. She guessed it, though she couldn’t possibly know the extent of it. His neck and face heated. So much for keeping secrets.
“You did meet someone, didn’t you? Who is she?” Constance leaned forward with eager eyes.
For once, he actually wanted to tell Constance about the woman he was with—not the prurient details, obviously, but he didn’t want to hide Millie from his family.
“She’s a pilot.”
“A pilot? Oh, that’s perfect,” she said, clapping her hands. “Tell me all about her.”
“Only if you swear on your life to keep it secret.”
“Ooh. Mysterious. You have my promise.”
Looking up into his sister’s bright eyes, he confessed, “It’s Millie Aldrich.”
It took a moment for the name to sink in, then Constance’s eyes went wide. “Not that movie star barnstormer from the papers!”
“The very one. She’s flying the mail now, and I was assigned to show her the ropes. I’ve never met a woman so capable, spirited, and determined. Well, aside from my own sisters, of course.”
“Of course,” she said with a nod.
“When we’re together, it’s like… It’s like… Well, I don’t know how to describe it. We have this electrical connection. And even when we argue, there’s this powerful bond between us. I’ve never felt anything like it.”
Constance smiled slyly. “You should bring her around. I’d like to meet her.”
“What? Here? I can’t bring her here.” What a disaster that would be!
“Of course, you can. Invite her. I bet she’ll come.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Smiling and shaking her head, she said, “Oh, ye of little faith. Just think about it, will you?”
He shrugged. “All right. I’ll think about it.”
The answer was no, absolutely not. There. He’d thought about it.
At that moment, there was a commotion downstairs at the door.
“They must be home from shopping,” Constance said.
With a sigh, Ernie braced himself for the arrival of the twins.
“Constance, Constance,” cried two competing voices from down below. There was a scrambling noise from the stairs.
The twins burst into the parlor, each with a pile of books. “Look what I got at the bookstore,” said Verity, dumping her entire pile of books into Constance’s lap. “Oh, hi, Ernie.”
“I got just as good as her,” said Prudence, dumping her pile on top of Verity’s. “Hi, Ernie.”
Mom came into the room, looking worn and drawn. “Ernest, it’s good to see you.” She came over to give him a hug. “Your sisters have worn me out. I need to go upstairs and lie down for a bit.” She touched the gold cross necklace Grandpa gave her and turned back to the stairs.
Constance’s eyes flickered to his, her concern evident. They would need to take extra good care of Mom until she pulled through this, which meant more time wrangling Prudence and Verity. At least it would be a distraction from Millie.
“Verity, show me what you got,” he said. Constance handed him Verity’s books with a grateful look.
Ernie perused the pile of crime novels. “Who is this author? Agatha Christie. I’ve never heard of her,” he said, picking one from the pile at random.
“She’s new. This is her first book. It’s supposed to be marvelous. I can’t wait to read it.”
He listened patiently as Verity told him about each book and why she was excited to read it.
“Do you want to read any of these?” Verity asked. “I can’t read them all at the same time, and I’d be happy to share.”
“Thank you, that’s very kind. I think I’ll read this one.
” He picked one from the pile. Why not? Crime novels were a good read, and he needed to kill the next few days somehow.
He didn’t dare go out on the town. The last thing he wanted was for Millie to think he was still playing the field while canoodling with her.
He was going to have to take a cue from Jack and spend his evenings at home with a book.
Not that he had any assurance Millie would ever even speak to him again. Here he was, saving himself for the mere possibility she might call. For her, he would be a saint. Good God, how she’d changed him! He hardly recognized himself. But she was worth it. If only he could get her to call him.
The phone rang, and he jumped, running for the receiver before anyone else could pick it up.
“Pritchard residence,” he said into the phone, breathless.
“Hey, Ernie. It’s Jack.”
Ernie’s shoulders sagged in disappointment, even though he knew there was no way Millie would have seen his note yet.
“Hiya, Jack. What’s up?”
“I was just wondering if you might like to meet up for a sarsaparilla and some chess at the American Flying Club tomorrow afternoon.”
Normally, Ernie went out too much to have time for a slow afternoon at the club with Jack, but right now, soda and board games sounded like just the thing to keep him away from temptation.
“Sounds great. What time?”
“Say two-ish?”
“Perfect. I’ll see you then!”
“See ya, Pritchard.”
Something told Ernie he was going to drink a lot of soda and play a lot of chess over the next three days.