“What an idea Barbara. Why didn’t I think of that? I am going to call him right now; I’ll let you know how it comes out.”
Phone calls fly back and forth and in no time Jack is on his way into town. Nothing ever surprises me with Jack and that jet. He was to fly from Boston back to Florida and with nothing more than a phone call or two; he made the decision to stop over for a couple meetings here rather than just work on he phone.
When my husband calls me back to tell me about Jack, he immediately suggests that I might have to substitute in for him at dinner. That bothers me; that was way too easy; does he suspect something? I would never know with him until it was too late. There has never been suspicion between us, so I have no idea how to read him if I would suspect. I try to stay noncommittal,
“Let me see how things go here at the office. I should be home in fairly good season; let’s say seven o’clock. Give me a call once you know what the schedule is”.
He seems quite genuine when he replies
“Great, Right now I expect him to land around five o’clock but, I will call you as soon as I have heard from him and we will see what his schedule is like. Do plan dinner with Jack, one way or the other. I may be there or maybe not; it will all depend on how tired I am.”
Chapter Twenty Seven
Jack is arriving around five o’clock! Dear reader you know exactly how I feel. By now, you know exactly what I am going to do. You know me too well.
I race out of the office and drive as fast as Myrtle can go to Millionaire. I burst through the sliding glass doors right at five. My eyes are flying in all directions. Has he arrived? Am I late?
Right there in front of me are the brown leather chairs still arranged in the neat conversation group where I “met” Perry Sands on that fateful day. All those embarrassing memories flood into my mind but I kick them downstairs very quickly as I move across to the flight line door to check the ramp for Jack’s jet. A voice stops me as someone comes from behind me,
“He is on the ground; should be in here in ten minutes. Busy out there tonight, takes time to taxi”
I turn to see the same ramp guy that recognized me before. He associates Jack and me, perhaps everyone here does. Is that good or bad.
“Come with me and you can ride out in my golf cart to meet him, if you like.”
I can tell he is really pleased to have me join him. You would think I was getting into Walter’s limo the way he assists me.
Jack taxies in and we move out in time for ramp guy to spread out the red carpet. (That always impresses me!) As the engines spool down (I am learning all this airplane jargon) I can see Jack’s face in the cockpit and his surprise at seeing me is obvious.
His eyes shine. His eyes are a shade of blue unlike any other eyes I have seen, dark with such depth like that of deep water and a shine that can only be described as a sparkle. His eyes tell me just how much he loves me, how surprised and pleased he is that I am here. Jack opens the door and lets down the little stairway. He turns to the ramp guy,
“Hello, how about three hundred a side and would you see if you can get us in the hangar for overnight; I’ll be wheels up late tomorrow.”
I come walking up now that things are quiet and Jack turns to me with a smile I will never forget. (And one that I am sure ramp guy will remember at least until he has told several others.)
“Hello Barbara, what a surprise. Would you like to step into my office for a late day cocktail?”
With out a word I reach up to take his hand. I find my seat in the back starboard side. The same seat Jack and I made so famous one evening not long ago. Jack moves up to the little service bar and returns with two glasses of Merlot.
“Barbara, wow am I delighted to see you. Your being here is the best surprise. I have missed you so. Notice the Merlot? It is here just for you. I started stocking some on here just to keep my hopes up that you would soon be back on board and drinking it with me; and here you are. This is so neat. I have made reservations at the Raddison for tonight. We have so many possibilities. I could call your husband and tell him I am bushed, and that I am just going to have an early dinner over here and come around town to his office in the morning. Does he know you are here?”
It is so unlike him, but Jack is just rattling, he is so happy to see me. I can hear my breathing getting stronger and stronger. We are together at last.
Jack is seated directly in front of me. He slides down to his knees in the space between us, moves to me, my legs part automatically to greet him, and he wraps me in an embrace. Our lips meet and electric chills pass up and down my back. His lips linger and love and then leave to pass downward to my neck and then lower, as his right hand comes up to test the button at the top of my blouse. I am wild and I sense I am the second wildest human on board this jet.
My hand comes up to catch his hand and stop it in the middle of its movement. Startled, he moves back just a bit. I realize it is the first time I have ever made any attempt to stop Jack from what ever access he desires of me. It is obvious we both are surprised by my move.
“Jack, I love you and I want so much to be with you and you know that; but right now I need your help. I need your help so badly.”
I can see alarm filling his face.
“What is wrong? Barbara, you look so concerned. What ever is wrong, we can solve it. There is nothing we cannot solve together. Are you pregnant?”
“Jack, it’s not that. It is that I need desperately to get in touch with Dutch Knoltenstein. Desperately! It is as simple as that but as complicated as I need to make it to find a way to contact him.”
Jack slides back into his seat.
I look at Jack trying to anticipate his response. I have never pushed him away. It was a rude departure from our loving, but I am filled with apprehension about Dutch’s life and I fear running out of time. I realize that such a pleading from me comes as a real shock. Jack knows nothing of my relationship with Dutch beyond a very few business meeting he knows I have attended. He knows nothing of the complicated relationship that developed between me and Dutch; nothing of Perry Sands and the nightmare that he brought into my life. These last weeks have been filled with events surrounding Dutch that Jack does not know. (And I am glad he does not
Phone calls fly back and forth and in no time Jack is on his way into town. Nothing ever surprises me with Jack and that jet. He was to fly from Boston back to Florida and with nothing more than a phone call or two; he made the decision to stop over for a couple meetings here rather than just work on he phone.
When my husband calls me back to tell me about Jack, he immediately suggests that I might have to substitute in for him at dinner. That bothers me; that was way too easy; does he suspect something? I would never know with him until it was too late. There has never been suspicion between us, so I have no idea how to read him if I would suspect. I try to stay noncommittal,
“Let me see how things go here at the office. I should be home in fairly good season; let’s say seven o’clock. Give me a call once you know what the schedule is”.
He seems quite genuine when he replies
“Great, Right now I expect him to land around five o’clock but, I will call you as soon as I have heard from him and we will see what his schedule is like. Do plan dinner with Jack, one way or the other. I may be there or maybe not; it will all depend on how tired I am.”
Chapter Twenty Seven
Jack is arriving around five o’clock! Dear reader you know exactly how I feel. By now, you know exactly what I am going to do. You know me too well.
I race out of the office and drive as fast as Myrtle can go to Millionaire. I burst through the sliding glass doors right at five. My eyes are flying in all directions. Has he arrived? Am I late?
Right there in front of me are the brown leather chairs still arranged in the neat conversation group where I “met” Perry Sands on that fateful day. All those embarrassing memories flood into my mind but I kick them downstairs very quickly as I move across to the flight line door to check the ramp for Jack’s jet. A voice stops me as someone comes from behind me,
“He is on the ground; should be in here in ten minutes. Busy out there tonight, takes time to taxi”
I turn to see the same ramp guy that recognized me before. He associates Jack and me, perhaps everyone here does. Is that good or bad.
“Come with me and you can ride out in my golf cart to meet him, if you like.”
I can tell he is really pleased to have me join him. You would think I was getting into Walter’s limo the way he assists me.
Jack taxies in and we move out in time for ramp guy to spread out the red carpet. (That always impresses me!) As the engines spool down (I am learning all this airplane jargon) I can see Jack’s face in the cockpit and his surprise at seeing me is obvious.
His eyes shine. His eyes are a shade of blue unlike any other eyes I have seen, dark with such depth like that of deep water and a shine that can only be described as a sparkle. His eyes tell me just how much he loves me, how surprised and pleased he is that I am here. Jack opens the door and lets down the little stairway. He turns to the ramp guy,
“Hello, how about three hundred a side and would you see if you can get us in the hangar for overnight; I’ll be wheels up late tomorrow.”
I come walking up now that things are quiet and Jack turns to me with a smile I will never forget. (And one that I am sure ramp guy will remember at least until he has told several others.)
“Hello Barbara, what a surprise. Would you like to step into my office for a late day cocktail?”
With out a word I reach up to take his hand. I find my seat in the back starboard side. The same seat Jack and I made so famous one evening not long ago. Jack moves up to the little service bar and returns with two glasses of Merlot.
“Barbara, wow am I delighted to see you. Your being here is the best surprise. I have missed you so. Notice the Merlot? It is here just for you. I started stocking some on here just to keep my hopes up that you would soon be back on board and drinking it with me; and here you are. This is so neat. I have made reservations at the Raddison for tonight. We have so many possibilities. I could call your husband and tell him I am bushed, and that I am just going to have an early dinner over here and come around town to his office in the morning. Does he know you are here?”
It is so unlike him, but Jack is just rattling, he is so happy to see me. I can hear my breathing getting stronger and stronger. We are together at last.
Jack is seated directly in front of me. He slides down to his knees in the space between us, moves to me, my legs part automatically to greet him, and he wraps me in an embrace. Our lips meet and electric chills pass up and down my back. His lips linger and love and then leave to pass downward to my neck and then lower, as his right hand comes up to test the button at the top of my blouse. I am wild and I sense I am the second wildest human on board this jet.
My hand comes up to catch his hand and stop it in the middle of its movement. Startled, he moves back just a bit. I realize it is the first time I have ever made any attempt to stop Jack from what ever access he desires of me. It is obvious we both are surprised by my move.
“Jack, I love you and I want so much to be with you and you know that; but right now I need your help. I need your help so badly.”
I can see alarm filling his face.
“What is wrong? Barbara, you look so concerned. What ever is wrong, we can solve it. There is nothing we cannot solve together. Are you pregnant?”
“Jack, it’s not that. It is that I need desperately to get in touch with Dutch Knoltenstein. Desperately! It is as simple as that but as complicated as I need to make it to find a way to contact him.”
Jack slides back into his seat.
I look at Jack trying to anticipate his response. I have never pushed him away. It was a rude departure from our loving, but I am filled with apprehension about Dutch’s life and I fear running out of time. I realize that such a pleading from me comes as a real shock. Jack knows nothing of my relationship with Dutch beyond a very few business meeting he knows I have attended. He knows nothing of the complicated relationship that developed between me and Dutch; nothing of Perry Sands and the nightmare that he brought into my life. These last weeks have been filled with events surrounding Dutch that Jack does not know. (And I am glad he does not
