Page 77 of Soaring Sweethearts

She sat up, certain she looked like a madwoman. “No. I’m not going anywhere until I know for certain.”

Mr. Dickson backed away swiftly, as if she had bubonic plague, and hurried to his office grumbling something about emotional, irrational women.

Ann pressed her lips together. “Don’t listen to a word he says. Here.” She handed Constance knitting needles with the first row started. “Make Jack a beautiful blue scarf for when he comes home to you. Do you remember how to work the needles?”

“Yes.” She sniffed, taking them, and she started to knit. Ann was right. It did help to have something to do with her hands. Somehow, it made the passage of time more bearable, and the thought of making something for him, however flawed and modest, gave her the hope she needed to carry on.

After a little while, Ann said, “You were going to tell me how long you and Jack have known each other.”

Could she talk about Jack without falling apart?

“There is no right way to go through this,” Ann said when she didn’t speak. “Sometimes it helps to talk about him, but if you don’t want to, that’s fine too. We can just knit.”

“I do want to talk about him. I can hardly think of anything else. I keep picturing the most terrible things. They scroll through my mind over and over and over.”

Ann nodded. “That just means you love him, and you’re scared to lose him. But try to think of the good times. When did you first fall for him?”

Taking a deep breath, Constance tried to steady her voice as she started to tell the story. “I think I was eight and he was ten. A baby bird fell out of the elm tree in my back yard, and I was crying because I wasn’t a good enough tree climber to put it back in its nest. Ernie was teasing me, but Jack felt bad for me and climbed up to put it back himself. Only he slipped and fell on the way back down and ended up breaking his arm. I felt so awful about it, but he just winked at me and said, ‘For you, I’d do anything.’ And then he headed off to the hospital with his mother. I was lost from that moment forward.”

Ann reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “You’ve loved him an awfully long time, then.”

“I have. And I only just—” A lump formed in her throat, and it took her a moment to go on. “I only just found out that he’s had feelings for me all these years too. He asked me to marry him, and I told him I wanted to wait three months for propriety’s sake.” Tears trickled down her cheeks, but she didn’t care. “He said he wanted to marry me tomorrow, and I turned him down because I was worried what people might think of me. Isn’t that silly?”

She thought they had time. They were supposed to have a long and happy life together. This wasn’t supposed to happen. “I⁠—”

The phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. “Heller Airfield,” she said in the steadiest voice she could manage.

“Constance, thank God,” Ernie’s voice sounded rough and strained. “Mom and Pop were worried sick when you didn’t come home last night. I thought you might have stayed at Heller overnight because of Jack. I’m glad I was right and that you’re okay.”

“I couldn’t go home. I just couldn’t. Not when I didn’t know.” She should have called home. She’d even thought about it, but she was so scared that would be the moment they would call about Jack, and she’d miss it.

“Any word about Jack?”

“Nothing yet.”

Ernie let loose a string of curses that he’d never spoken in her presence before. “Sorry,” he said when he was done. “I’ve had a rough night too. Listen, I’m going to hang up and call Mom and Pop to let them know you’re all right. Hang in there, Sis. If you need anything, we’re all here for you.”

“Thanks. I love you.” She had to tell him. Her feelings were too raw to hold anything back at the moment.

“I love you too, kiddo.” The way he said “kiddo” didn’t even bother her.

The phone clicked, and she hung up the receiver and picked up her knitting again. The clicking of the needles soothed her, as Ann sat beside her crocheting something gorgeous and elaborate. It looked like a peacock feather fan but in a circle. “What are you making?”

“It’s just a tablecloth for an end table. Bill teases me about covering every surface in the house with a tablecloth or doily. He says someday he’s going to come home, and I’ll have crocheted a cozy for the whole roof.”

Despite herself, Constance chuckled. She didn’t realize she was capable of that at the moment. “I think you should. Roof cozies might just be the next big thing. Imagine how much easier it would be to heat your house if it was wearing a sweater.”

Ann laughed. “Maybe I will. Now that you’re feeling a bit better, would you like to take a break and freshen up? I could cover the phone for you in case any calls come in.”

She really should. It would do her wonders to splash some water on her face. “Yes, thanks. I think I’d like that.”

Aching all over from her night in a chair, she headed to the ladies’ room. Usually, she and Millie were the only ones who used it. Millie had stocked it with all the essentials for recovering from a long and grueling flight. There were hair combs, pomade, toothbrushes, baby powder, lipstick, and a spare rag bag filled with clean cotton pads in case either of them got their monthlies at work.

After relieving herself for the first time in God knew how long, she washed her hands and face and brushed her teeth. For the first time since she woke up, she felt almost human. It took some effort to comb her hair into some semblance of its usual order, and she used a bit of makeup to try to disguise the bags under her eyes. With a dash of lipstick and a touch of blush, she almost looked like her normal, composed self.

When she walked out of the ladies’ room, she almost felt ready to face whatever the day would hold. She was stronger than she looked. And while she might have sunk to the depths in the past, she’d always found her way out again. She made her way down the hall and stopped short when she saw a group of pilots and Mr. Dickson, all gathered around Ann as she slowly hung up the phone.

They all turned to look at her as she walked into the room, and she almost turned around and ran. Whatever she was about to hear, she didn’t want to know it, but the look on Ann’s face told her what she was about to hear before she spoke a word.