Back to Yesterday (10 page)

Our second date.

My second chance.

It had to be good. It 
had
 to be.

I briefly glanced at Sophie before turning back to the road. She was wearing a white dress, black belt, black gloves. Her hair was down, long and wavy to her shoulders. And she was wearing her signature red lipstick. She was a vision of sweet beauty. I looked back to the road then glanced at her again.

“What?” I said. “Why are you staring?”

“I’ve never seen you drive.” She angled her head to the right, then to the left, and to the right again.

“What are you doing?” I said.

“I’m…looking for clues.”

“Clues to what?”

“To where you’re taking me. Why won’t you tell me?”

“I told you. It’s a surprise.”

“Hmm,” she said, tapping her chin. “What could it be? We’re going in the wrong direction to be going to the movies. I guess we could be going to dinner, although, it’s a bit too early for that and we’ve passed plenty of places.” She studied my profile while she made her mental list. I could feel my skin heat under her gaze the longer she perused me. “Plus, you borrowed Tank’s truck. What are you up to, Charlie?”

I continued to drive, letting her bask in her curiosity. She would find out soon enough.

When we made it to our destination, she looked around. I could see the wheels turning in her head. I climbed out of the cab of the truck and made my way over to her side, opening the door for her, and making a dramatic sweep with my hand.

“After you, sweetheart.”

“What are we doing here?” she asked, stepping out. I reached for her hand and led her over to the gentleman who was waiting for us.

“She’s all ready to go,” William said, gesturing to the Boeing PT-17, painted in its yellow and blue glory, waiting to be flown. I had met him through a friend I worked with on base. He was allowing me to take his plane up, and Sophie was coming with me, only I failed to mention that part to her.

“You brought me here so I could watch you fly?”

I squeezed her hand. “No, I brought you here so you could fly with me.”

She took a couple of steps back, dropping my hand like a rock. “No, Charlie. I am not getting in that plane!”

I thought she might say that, so I came prepared. I looked at William and shook my head. “Pay up.”

Having planned this with William in advance, he pretended to be disgruntled while he took out his wallet and prepared to hand over my winnings.

“What are you talking about?” Sophie said.

I waved it off like it was no big deal. “Ah, nothing. I bet William that you wouldn’t go up with me, that you’d be too scared.”

“I’m not scared…I just…don’t want to is all.”

“Right.”

“You think I’m scared, Charlie? I’m
not
scared.”

This time, I took a step back and looked at her with skepticism. “I bet you won’t get in that plane with me and let me take you flying.” Yes, I was challenging her.

Her eyes narrowed as she placed her hands on her hips. “You’re betting me again?”

“Easy bet. Easy money.”

She was scorching me with her glare. “Ha! Have you forgotten I
never
lose?”

I shrugged and tilted my chin in the direction of the plane. “Prove it, then.”

She stared at the plane with an open cockpit and double seating, one behind the other, considering it. “Would I sit in the back?” she asked.

“No. You would sit up front. I would sit in the back.”

She chewed on the inside of her cheek while she contemplated. Then resolve set in, having made up her mind while she mumbled to herself, “I never lose.” Shoulders back, chin forward, she marched toward the plane.

That’s my girl.

Without hesitating, I helped her up. Once she was seated I took the time to show her what all the controls and gadgets did. She listened with rapt attention like I might quiz her on it later.

“Relax,” I said. “It’ll be fun, I promise.” She looked tense, and maybe a little afraid.

“I’m okay. I’m not scared.” She swallowed and I knew she was telling herself that more than she was telling me.

She
was
scared but being afraid of something doesn’t make one a coward. I admired her for pushing her fear aside, even if it was to win a bet or shut me up.

“Charlie, you’re…you’re a good pilot, right?”

I touched her cheek, wanting to ease her nerves. “The best,” I said softly.

I handed her the goggles and headset and let her know that it would be loud, but I could talk to her through the rubber hose that ran from her ear and would be connected to me, but she wouldn’t be able to speak, a one-way communication device. When she got settled, and I was sure she wouldn’t bolt out of her seat, I sat down in mine directly behind her and went about securing my own headset and goggles.

I gave the thumbs up to William, who was standing by the left wheel behind the propeller. He turned the crank and pulled out the lever to engage the engine, and spun the prop.

The beautiful aircraft came to life.

The engine blew out exhaust and then idled steadily. It was noisy and the
yellow peril,
a nickname given to the PT-17, mostly in reference to the dangerous nature of flight training, shook and rattled.

“You doing okay?” I yelled. Sophie nodded. I couldn’t see her face so I had to use my instincts, which told me she was fine.

Because of the low tail wheel the plane sat at a high angle, blocking our view ahead, only seeing sky through the whirring propeller. When we began moving forward I had to make “s” turns so I could see what was straight ahead. When we made it to the end of the field I let Sophie know that I would be pushing the brakes and run up the engine. The yellow peril shuddered as the engine ran up to full power and I throttled back to idle.

“The moment of truth!” I shouted, “You ready?”

I received one quick nod. I chuckled, wondering what she was thinking and hoping it wasn’t to throttle
me
. I placed my feet on the rudder pedals and held the control stick. We began moving forward, accelerating quickly. The tail came up, allowing us to see ahead. We charged across the ground, pushing sixty miles per hour and bumped along a few more seconds when the bumping stopped. I looked over the side and the ground was rushing by ten, fifteen, twenty-five feet below.

“We’re flying!” I said.

I was in my element, my zone. Having Sophie with me only amplified how I felt. You don’t know what it’s like to have your two greatest loves coupled together, filling your soul differently, yet completely and equally. Or perhaps you do. Either way, I knew that particular moment would be burned into my memory forever.

The trees at the end of the airfield rushed towards us but at our rate of climb we flew over them easily.

“Still doing okay, sweetheart?”

Sophie nodded. I would have given anything to know what she was feeling. When I flew for the first time it was the most fantastic moment of my life. I wanted to give a moment like that to her. A moment of pure fascination and exhilaration. A moment she would remember for a lifetime.

I wasn’t doing this for me. I was doing this for her.

“Remember when you asked me what it was like to fly?” Another nod. “This is it, baby. This is what it’s like. Are you looking?”

She shook her head.

“Are your eyes closed?”

She nodded.

“Open your eyes, Sophie.”

She shook her head fervently.

If I could have held her in my lap I would have. I wanted to at that moment, but I couldn’t so I talked her through it.

“Okay, I’ll tell you what I see and you can picture it. I see green fields below us, a beautiful sky above us, and to our right is a lake. Do you like to swim? Maybe we can go swimming sometime.” I knew she couldn’t answer me, but I wanted my voice in her head as we climbed higher and higher. “Now I see white. We’re in the clouds, sweetheart. It’s so beautiful, like floating marshmallows.” We climbed out of the clouds and the horizon was now even with the nose and extended as far as the eye could see. The sun was beginning to set and it was so beautiful my heart skipped a beat.

“Sophie,” I said, “God is painting us a picture. Look, sweetheart.”

I knew that was the moment Sophie opened her eyes. Her hair whipped with the wind and I watched her every movement. After a few moments, she turned her head so I could see her, and what I saw were tears in her eyes and a smile more magnificent than any sunset I’d ever seen. And I knew then I had given her that fantastic, exhilarating, fascinating moment, the one she would remember for a lifetime.

The memory that would always include me.

“Do you love it?” I asked her.

She nodded enthusiastically, and turned back around, facing forward. She held up her right hand and motioned something. Confused, I asked, “What are saying? I don’t understand.”

She motioned again by twirling her finger.

“You want me to do a barrel roll?”

She dropped her hand and nodded.

A big toothy grin lit up my face. “All right.” I did a slow barrel roll for her by rolling all the way to the right and an easy loop up and over. When we were right-side up again she gave me a thumbs-up.

“You want me to do it again?”

Another nod. This time I rolled to the left, looped up and over.

I couldn’t see her face, although, I knew she was having the time of her life. We flew for a while longer and then all too soon it was time to land. I guided the plane down, dropping gently, with the two main wheels and the tail wheel touching the ground at the same time. A perfect three point landing.

We came to a complete stop and I helped Sophie exit the plane. She threw her arms around me when her feet hit the pavement. “Thank you!” she said. “Thank you thank you thank you! That was the most fun I ever had!”

I held her in my arms and kissed her temple. “You’re welcome.”
God
, how I wanted for this moment to go on and on and on.

On the way back to her house she was quiet, reflective, and I drove with my own thoughts swirling about, still feeling like I was flying high. I parked in front of her house and shut off the engine. Without a word, I got out and opened the door for her. Taking her by the hand, I led her to the front door.

She stood, staring up at me. I looked into her eyes and swam in her ocean. And then I had to look away because I was drowning, with no life preserver to save me. That was what became of me. A man clinging to survival in a deep, beautiful sea.

And then Sophie threw me a lifeline. “You can kiss me, Charlie. I mean, if you want, you can kiss me.”

I cupped her cheeks with both my hands. “I definitely want to.” Moving in closer, I brushed my lips against hers. Soft and full, they tasted sweet, like cherries. Her lips parted. She welcomed me with warmth and I thanked her with passion. Her words had said… ‘
you can kiss me’
and her kiss said… ‘
don’t ever stop
.’ I lost myself somewhere in between. There was no going back. I gave my heart to her in that kiss and she swallowed it down with a sigh. She owned it. Maybe she always had. I don’t know. All I knew was that wherever she was, my heart was also.

“Do I get a third date?” I whispered across her mouth.

“Yes,” she whispered back.

“And a fourth?”

“Okay.”

“And a fifth?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Can I have forever, Sophie?”

“Char–”

The porch light came on, and it felt like we were under a spotlight, a sign that it was time for me to leave.

“What were you gonna say?” I asked, brushing her cheek with my fingers.

“I – I have to go inside.”

She looked down at her feet. I lifted her chin, kissed her forehead and asked again. “What were you gonna say?”

“I – I’m afraid.”

“Of what?”

“Of getting my heart broken.”

“I would never–”

“You can’t say that. You don’t know. You could die, Charlie. When you go back to war, you could die. And
that
would break my h-heart.”

I wrapped my arms around her, held her to me as tightly as I could. “I’ll come back. You’ve given me a reason to come back.”

We stood like that for what seemed like hours. She trembled in my arms and I held her closer. I made promises to her that night I had no business making. I made it all sound so easy. But there was nothing easy about our situation. Because the truth was, she was right. I didn’t know if I would come back. However, you don’t tell the girl you’ve given your heart to that these moments might be all we have. Besides, I still had some time before the inevitable happened and I was living for today. I needed her to live for today too.

The porch light flickered, a gentle reminder it was time for me to go. I kissed her cherry lips and whispered, “Good night, sweetheart.”

“Goodnight, Charlie.” I was halfway back to Tank’s truck when Sophie said, “Charlie?”

I turned around. “Yes?”

“Thank you…for today. I’ll remember it always.”

It sounded like a goodbye. I didn’t say anything. I smiled and waved at her father, who was watching from the living room window.

I think he knew his daughter had become the center of my whole world.

And what I wanted more than anything was to be the center of hers.