Out of a Clear Blue Sky

He smiled and did so as I turned to get my wrap. Since it wasn't going to be really cold I had a cape instead of a coat. He reached for this and I relinquished it as he held it for me. Manners. Rare, but definitely appreciated.

We left my apartment and I locked the door behind me before turning and seeing the car at the curb in front. A Porsche! Tom Larson must have been fairly well off. He held the door for me as I took my place inside. Fortunately I had learned how to enter a low sports car. If you know how such an entrance can be smooth and even sexy whereas if you don't it will look clumsy at best. One boyfriend in college had shown me how so I put one foot inside, swung my ass into the bucket seat and pulled the other leg in after me. This not only looks smooth but shows a lot of leg - especially with a short dress - and is generally appreciated by men. Tom looked like he appreciated it.

He went around to his side and entered. He started the powerful engine with its low throated throb and said, "To the Brown House, My Lady," and put the car into gear. The short drive took only a few minutes and we soon pulled into a space in the parking lot. Once more he moved around, opened my door and reached out a hand to help me out.

I know a lot of women - especially ones who have accomplished something unusual - such as flying - feel insulted when a man does things for them like opening doors. They seem to think he is saying he thinks they are incapable of doing it on their own. I've never thought like that. I just feel honored when a man shows such courtesies.

Tom offered his arm and led me to the entrance where he again held the door. We entered and moved towards the reception desk. This would be where there would be a problem if Tom was uncomfortable with my asking him out. We'd soon see.

The maitre'd approached and spoke. "May I help you?"

I quickly spoke. "Yes, I have a reservation. Branson." I glanced at Tom's face. If he was bothered it didn't show at all. He seemed perfectly comfortable with my arranging things and made no attempt to take over in any form.

The man glanced at his list and replied, "Certainly. If you'll follow me, please."

He led the way, me following, and Tom bringing up the rear. I did notice that none of this seemed to bother Tom. Points in his favor. He had enough confidence that having a woman set things up didn't bother him. And he didn't mind that I flew. He seemed almost too good to be true.

Dinner went smoothly without a flaw. There was no awkwardness or hesitation on either of our parts. Instead we spoke freely and easily. I'll readily admit that one of the problems I have with men may have to do with the fact that I won't hide myself and play the helpless damsel. If I have an opinion I'll give it. Tom seemed the same way. If our opinions differed we were both willing to accept that and go on. We might try to convince the other of our position but if it didn't take we let it go. Neither of us felt we had to win.

Fortunately there was little difference of opinion at all. We seemed to think alike on many subjects. Especially flight. But not limited to that. I quickly found that Tom was widely read and knowledgeable on a variety of subjects. I also found he managed an air charter service. Managed and, I gather, largely owned.

Because we would both be flying in the morning we limited ourselves to one glass of wine. Thankfully. I say thankfully because I was paying for dinner and I knew it would already be straining my budget. Another thing I found I liked about Tom. I'm sure he realized from our talk that I was not loaded financially. He obviously was much better off in that department but he never made any suggestion that he pick up part of the tab. He was astute enough to realize I would be hurt if he had. The more I knew him, the better he looked.

When the waiter brought the bill I simply reached for it and handed over my credit card. Tom made no move to interfere and I could see it didn't bother him to have a woman paying the tab even though I was sure that was a rare occurrence for him.

We left the restaurant about a quarter of eight and walked over to his car. Tom once again held the door for me as I entered - and watched my legs as I swung them inside - before going around to his own side.

"It's still early. Is there something you'd like to do now?"

It was a lovely night. Warm for September with the temperature in the upper sixties and Tom had the top down on the Porsche.. The sky was still perfectly clear and the evening stars had begun to appear. I looked up at them and on impulse said, "Maybe we can just go somewhere where we can look at the stars and talk."

My hand almost came to my mouth as I realized what I had said. On a first date - well, not even really a date - and I was suggesting something like this. However the suggestion didn't seem to phase Tom at all. Instead he replied, "Sure. How about up at Indianhead Park? The parking lot at the top of the cliffs."

I smiled at him. "Perfect."

He started the throaty engine and pulled out of the parking lot. In another few minutes we were heading through the outskirts of the town towards the park in the foothills above the river. The sounds of the town faded behind us and by the time we turned into the park entrance the traffic had diminished to only an occasional car. It was Saturday night, classes at the college had begun, so it wasn't surprising that there were a few cars parked at various places in the park but most seemed to be in small side roads or parking areas and as we climbed to the high ground overlooking the river they became fewer in number.

The lot at the top was fairly large, serving both the viewing area and a medium sized picnic area. Now the picnic area was empty and only three other cars were parked where they could look out at the view. These were separated and besides I think the couples inside were too busy to notice anyone else.

Tom pulled into a space near one edge, looking out from the top of the high cliffs. He turned off the engine and silence seemed to flow over us. Not really quite total silence. We could still hear distant sounds from the roads and the town below as well as closer the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze. We were facing northeast and in the darkened sky I could see Ursa Major and Cassiopeia circling the North Star. Off to our left the bright spot of Jupiter out shown the lesser stars. I leaned back in the leather seat, just looking up, for long seconds. Almost under my breath I quoted, "and a star to steer her by."

Tom turned his head towards me and from the corner of my eye I saw him smile. "Yes, that would do, but sometimes GPS helps."

I gave a slight laugh. "True, very true. But still there is something about the stars that no digital display can match. Sorry, Tom, I've always loved looking up at the stars."

"Nothing to be sorry about. I've always loved that myself." He was silent for half a minute. "Sometimes I wonder if traveling out there might be like the glider. You know, big and open and quiet. To where you are almost one with your craft and can almost become part of the universe itself."

"I've never been in a glider but I get the same feeling when I'm alone in a Cessna. After the last couple of days I think it would be even better in a stunt plane."

"Maybe tomorrow you'll see the best of both. I'll admit that sometimes I love the throb of a powerful engine but the silence of a sailplane is something else. There's also that you almost have to become part of the plane because you don't have an engine to provide brute force to get you out of trouble. Sort of the difference between a powerful motorboat and a kayak."

I smiled at him. "Do you use a kayak?"

"I have one and try to get out in it as frequently as I can, but never enough. What about you?"

"One of my few possessions. A twelve foot Wilderness Systems. I'm not really into white water but I would love to have time to make a long trip - maybe a week or two - down some river. Mostly just paddling with the current, camping at night. Just me and the boat and the wilderness. That sort of thing."

"Yes, that does sound nice. It's not like flying in an empty sky but, then, it's hard to just pull a plane over and camp for the night."

I gave a small laugh. "True, true."

We were silent again for a couple of minutes, just gazing out at the incredible celestial display. Then without looking around Tom said, "Tell me some more about yourself. I mean I can almost see the wings that should be showing at the back of that lovely dress, but tell me a little more."

I smiled again and then also without looking around I replied, "I guess I grew into them." I went on to tell about my dad and granddad and my mom's granddad and great uncle. " Oh, and dad's sister was in ROTC and wanted to be an F-15 pilot. She changed her mind before she was commissioned but while she was still in college she started working on a private license. She once told me that during her ROTC summer camp they all got F-16 rides. Somehow she managed a slightly longer one than usual and the pilot let her handle the controls a little and actually put it in her log book. She had only a few hours then but her book read 'Cessna, Cessna, F-16, Cessna...' Dad first took me up - I mean not just as a passenger - when I was about six. It was in a 172. He actually rigged some kind of booster seat for me on the right so I could see and even reach the yoke. He even let me help make a few turns and a couple of altitude changes. I think I was hooked from then on. I got my license as soon as I was legally old enough but before then I actually had quite a few hours even if I couldn't log them. I now have a commercial ticket and instrument rating but only for single engine."

"Are you planning on making flying a career?"

Slowly I replied. "No, I don't think so. I love flying and want to do more and more of it, but I don't want to do it for a living. I know that might sound a little funny but I guess it just seems that if I do it every day as a way to make a living, it will become routine. No, that's not the right word. Maybe not routine but it would be like ... like the magic had gone out of it. I guess I'm not putting this very well, am I?"

"Don't worry about it, you're putting it just right. I know exactly what you mean. Look, I fly a lot as part of the business but the glider is something else entirely. I would never want to do that as a career. I want to keep it different. Special. Keep the magic in it."

We were quiet for a few more minutes, just watching the stellar display. Then Tom spoke softly once more. "Tell me about the rest of your life. Friends, boyfriends, what you do when you're not flying or working."

I let the question swirl around in my head for a minute or so. "Not really that interesting. I tend to be rather a loner. I don't mean I don't get along with other people. Rather that I just don't seem to have a lot in common with them. Parties and drinking are not my thing." Then I added, "I like to fly and I couldn't if I drank much at all. You know, no flying for twelve hours or so. Mostly when I'm not flying or working I do things like reading or just listening to music or watching a DVD or something. If I have longer I might go hiking or take the kayak out or something like that."

"No boyfriends?"

My voice dropped a little more. "Not really. Somehow I don't seem too attractive after the first date or so."

With surprising force he said, "I find that hard to believe."

"You can believe it. Once they find I fly most lose interest."

"What about men who fly themselves? Surely you must meet some of them."

I looked down hiding my face a little. "Mostly they don't even try the first time."

He was silent again for some seconds, then quietly said, "I'll bet that's because you're better than they are. If Sam gives you kind of praise he did, then I know you are very good. And what you've told me about your background confirms it."

I could hear the almost disgust in his voice but I didn't think it was for me. This was confirmed a second later when he said, "I can never understand men who are afraid of someone who knows more or is better at something than they are." I looked up in surprise at the tone of his voice. "Those who are really good have no fear of others who are good - men or women."

Still trying to absorb his attitude I tried to change the subject a little. "What about you? I know you said you weren't married. What about girlfriends?"

Tom shook his head slightly and then turned smiling towards me. "No one in particular right now. Want to apply for the job?"

I felt my face go warm. Maybe that was what I was thinking. Still I managed to get out, "Should I be filling out an application? Or are you just thinking about taking me for a test flight?" I tried to make it sound like a joke and from Tom's reaction I believe he took it that way.

"Well you always want to know someone's qualifications before they fill a position. However, I never take anything - or anyone - for a test flight unless it's wanted by everyone involved."

"Seriously," he went on, "I don't have much of a social life. I guess like you I'm sort of a loner." He stopped for a few seconds. "I guess it's hard for a human to compete with the open sky."

I thought about that. "Maybe. In most cases, I think. Still a lot of birds flock together."

"True," he replied. "But not all. The best birds - the exceptional ones, the eagles, the hawks, the falcons - they go solo."

"Yes," I agreed. "Although I have read that when they do find another like themselves, they mate for life." We looked at each other but neither of us said anything. I think we both felt we might be reading a little too much into that observation. I don't even know if I had been when I made it.

We changed the subject again and Tom asked a little about my job. I told him how I handled the IT services for the little biotech firm. Nothing really too complicated. Just keep their machines up and running and try to prevent any malware getting in and doing any damage. Mostly boring. No, not really boring. I like what I do and always found it interesting but most of my tasks were pretty routine.

"You know," Tom remarked, "we're getting to the point where we should probably think about hiring an IT person for our company. I expect a biotech firm uses more computing power than a charter outfit, but we still have a lot of computers and I'd hate to think of the mess if the whole system got messed up."

"I assume you do back up everything?" I asked.

"Certainly. But isn't it possible to get the same virus or something into the backups also?"

"That's always a possibility. Also, back ups should not be located in the same physical place, in case of a fire or something."

"Oh, we do have off site back up as well. I wouldn't want everything off site because then I'd feel we would have lost control."

"Actually, that's a very good attitude. Keep multiple back ups, but keep them in different places. Makes it harder for a real catastrophe to happen - either by accident or on purpose."

We talked some more about his system and I finally remarked, "It doesn't sound like your system is really too complicated. You could probably get by with an on call consulting company instead of a full time IT position. Who takes care of your problems now?"

"We do have a guy who seems to know quite a bit about computers and he is able to straighten out the small problems when they occur. Thankfully, we've never had a really big problem." He stopped for a second and then said, "Maybe I should hire you as a consultant."

I wasn't sure if he was kidding or not. "You don't really know anything about what I can do. I might just mess things up worse for you."

He smiled. "I doubt that very much." He hesitated a few seconds, obviously thinking. "Seriously, maybe you could come over some time and see just what we have and decide if maybe you could be of some help to us."

"Sort of taking me for a test flight?" I kidded.

"Maybe something like that. But, Sandy, I'm serious. Come out sometime. I'll pay you as an outside consultant. Or ... Maybe you'd like to take your fee as some flight time in some types other than Cessnas?"

I sucked in my breath. "He did know how to get to me. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. You have a commercial ticket. You couldn't fly if we were carrying passengers, but most of our business is moving small cargo. I could put you in the right hand seat of a couple of different birds."

"I would love that! Damn, Tom. You haven't known me twelve hours yet and you already can see right inside and know what makes me tick."

"No, I'm just seeing the surface now. But I very much like what I see. In more ways than one."

We changed the subject again to less intense topics, but before too much longer we headed back to my apartment. Tom pulled up and parked out front and came around to open my door and help me out. He walked me up to the door and when I took the key from my clutch he reached for it and unlocked it for me. I wondered if he expected me to invite him in and if so I wasn't sure what I would do. Normally I never would with someone I had just met, but I did feel quite comfortable with Tom. However as he returned the key to my hand he said, "I'll still see you at eleven tomorrow?"

"Most definitely. I look forward to it." He still had hold of my hand where he had placed the key and I started to shake his but before I could he turned my hand over, raised it to his lips and placed a kiss on the back. He then released it and with a smile turned to go back to his car. I stood watching until he rounded the vehicle and entered his side. I was still watching as the deep sounding engine came to life and he drove off.

Sunday morning I once again dressed in jeans and an open neck shirt, picked up my baseball cap and aviator sunglasses, and just before eleven drove out to the field where I parked by the Falcon Club. I saw Tom's car already there. When I went inside he saw me and waved me over to his table.

We greeted each other and the waitress brought over another menu. After making our selections Tom turned to me and asked, "Ready to try some silent flight?"

"More than ready." I answered back. "Thanks again for asking me."

Our conversation was light, nothing serious. Just easy talk, two people getting to know each other. When we finished our meal Tom paid the bill and as we walked out he said, "Just follow me over by the hanger and then I can spend a little time telling you about the differences you might expect. There are some things you can do in a powered craft that you'd better not try in a glider."

"Oh, you mean like taking off?" I quipped.

He laughed. "Well, that, too. Although there are some ... One type is a Sperber which is really a powered glider. I think it actually used a Volkswagen engine. You could do a ground takeoff and once aloft cut the engine and fly it like a glider. But what I really meant was about how you have to seek out thermals if you want to climb and things like that."

He got in the Porsche and I got back into my little car and followed him the short distance over to where I parked next to him beside the hanger. We climbed out and walked inside. Here the glider rested on its sleek belly with the nose tipped downwards onto a skid. The plane had a set of small wheels but the center of gravity was such that after landing the plane dropped forwards onto a nose skid.

The plane had two cockpits, one behind the other, with a single canopy covering both. The low wings were much longer in proportion than I was used to and were in general more narrow, tapering to a very narrow tip. Rudder and elevators looked much the same as other craft but the nose was smooth. No propeller. The aft end also tapered to a small, smooth and rounded termination.