Josh was introduced and was totally awesomized by Jess's
beauty and youth, and he told her he would take most excellent care
of her Jeep. She told him that he sure had a "wild" father, and they
all bantered on some about that fact and a little more.
        Kit finally said, "I'd love to take you in for a drink to celebrate
everything, especially seein' you, pal, but, well Son, we can't. And
I'm the one most sorry. We really have to be getting on to
Washington....I hope you understand."
        It was the suit guy still possibly being around that Kit was
concerned about (he and Jess sharing a knowing look). They had
a hard flight ahead, too, with the weather, and Kit was going on
just a couple hours sleep already. Plus, they couldn't tell Josh what
was really going on, so the conversation might get too telling. Kit
hated cutting it that short, especially since it had been so long that
they had seen each other, and it showed in his face and voice.
        "That's OK, Dad. I understand...really," giving them a smart
smile. "It was great to meet you, Jessica. He'd told me about you
years ago, and now I see why. I don't know what's going on here,
but it's sure OK by me."
        They bid loving adieus with hugs, shakes, pats, a kiss from
Jess and tender words, then Josh watched them carry her things out
to Juliet, waved back at their waves and waited there for their
departure.
        As the guys belted everything down in baggage or the back
seats, Kit asked her if anyone had been at the farm, realizing she
might have had a lot of explaining to do.
        She answered, "nope...I didn't have to explain you away. But
I called Flece and she said she'd cover for me, and was surprised as
heck, by the way, of you...and us."
        "You told 'er?!"
        "I had to tell someone! We can trust her," she asserted as he
asked her to scoot into the left seat.
        "How much did you tell her?" as he got into the right seat,
turned to look at Josh at the fence and saluted, and Jess waved.
Josh waved back, then saluted.
        "I told her all about the plan and the mine," she joked,
checking out his reaction as he realized his question was off the
mark.
        "Good," he kidded back, smiling over.
        "Don't worry, honey, she's definitely on our side."
        "Hay, that's reassuring," he said as he showed her how to
buckle in.
        "Are you trying to tie me up?"
        "We did go over the bondage agreement, didn't we?" then,
buckling himself in, added, "so, you really want to learn how to
fly?"
        "Yeah! I've heard something about a mile high club or
something."
        "Well, shoot far!" he laughed, "welcome aboard Quixote Air, then"
and checked everything was ready, "every mile'll give ya a smile."
        "Feelin' a little cocky, are we?" she smiled over.
        "Well, they do call it a cock...pit," and flicked his brows, then
gave Josh a long distance look with smile, which Josh reciprocated.
        She poked him in the ribs and came back, with a smile full of
enticement, "yea, that's what I have...huh?"
        "Mmmmm..." was all his brain could muster as he nodded with
a big smile at the thought.
        "So, cocky, you goinna show me how to fly this, or what?"
        He laughed and shook his head in Josh's direction, who returned
a long distance laugh, then Kit answered, "well, almighty righty then
...uh, we usually do a pre-flight walk around the ship, but I checked
it all this morning and again with Josh and everything was fine and
we didn't see anyone around her while we were at your Jeep...."
        "Right, skipper," she shot back like a ripe first officer.
        "OK, let's see. Josh and I flew about 45 minutes, there's four
and a half hours of fuel when full, so we have enough to get to DC,
which should take less than three hours, and still have the legal
reserve in the tanks. So...flip up this toggle...it's the master, which
opens up all the circuitry."
        "Gotcha cappy." She did and they heard the gyros start their
spin-up.
        "Next we turn on this dude, the rotating beacon, the flashin'
red light on the tail..."
        She flipped that up, with a smile, "flashin' red on the tail?...."
        "Mm hm," he came back, adding, "then radio master...here,"
and she did, "...and see we're on the right radio, and that radio has
the right freq - in this case ATIS..." and they listened to "Information
November".
        "They're givin' the information for November?!" she wondered
as Kit reset the altimeter.
        He laughed, only because students are expected to have read
the "AIM/FAR" to there before that lesson, "November's for 'N'...
now we turn the radios back off for the start...and clear our prop so
we don't kill anyone or any animals or such or damage our prop or
engine...looking around...like this..."
        She looked around with him, then turned in his direction and
looked in his eyes, which were then looking in her's, and said, "I'm
your dream come true, aren't I, Quixote?"
        He absorbed all her beauty and grace and love and, in all
seriousness, answered, "...the very one, Jessica...you verily are,
majesty...."
        "And we are really going to try and change the world?..."
        "If you believe in it...."
        She thought a moment and didn't want to kid then either, so
said, "I do, Kit Cody...and I believe in us too...."
        "Awww baby..." he melted.
        She gave him a tender kiss on his lips, then said, "well, let's
start this beauty, then, and fly 'er the heck there!"
        "You got it, love...turn the key, here, for the mags...."
        She turned the key the three clicks, at his coaching.
        "An' push this in - the fuel mix."
        And she did that.
        "Now this fuel pump switch..." and they heard the pump start
when she did. "Now, push this starter button and hold it in 'til she
catches."
        She did, Kit got on the brakes, the prop spun and the engine
started.
        "HOO HOO!" she cheered.
        "Neat, huh?...I can't believe I'm the lucky soul who gets to
show you this."
        "Yep. You're the first, Kit. I'm Virginia's virgin."
        "WO! That's a hecky place to go," he smiled. "OK, radios back
on and radio 2 on Ground," showing her how, "...and check oil
pressure coming up," pointing to the gauge, "and now," picking up the
mike and handing it to her, "when you press the button and hold the
mike to your...luscious lips," smiling at her, "you say Lunken Ground,
Mooney five zero seven nine Juliet," pointing to the placard in front of
her on the panel, "muni ramp with November, taxi for East departure.
OK?....But don't say the OK," he smiled.
        "I think I've got it!" She gave it the ole college try and did good, then
Kit took her thumb off the button when she finished and kissed it. Her
thumb.
        "Roger, 7-9 Juliet," Ground came back and Kit adjusted the
volume and squelch, "taxi the East-West to zero two left, hold short,
Tower one eighteen point seven, altimeter two niner seven eight."
        "What's all that mean?" she asked.
        "You'll see, darlin'...tell them 7-9 Juliet."
        She did, into the mike, as he reset the altimeter a tweak.
        "All right, Jess!" he coached, and turned on the ADF, which gave them
AM and FM radio, then asked her to tune in to what she wanted to hear,
which was 'EBN - classic rock - and "I Want To Know What Love Is"
was just starting up.
        "Remember that?" she asked.
        "Sure do, precious," and cranked the volume some. Then they looked
at each other, and leaned together as he added, "and I thought of you
every time I heard it," and kissed her. On her lips.
        "Same here...." she answered softly and kissed him back.
        He reached up and touched her face, and she touched his the same,
and he whispered, "we should git."
        She whispered, "yeah," and they both remembered Josh at the same
instant, still at the fence, and waved so ever lovingly at him, and he waved
back, laughing, but just as lovingly, then Kit released the brakes and they
started a slow roll out.
        Jess leaned over and kissed her captain some more and he just
turned his head, O, ever so slightly toward the front windscreen as they
osculated, and he pushed in a little left rudder pedal, and Juliet ambled
across the ramp and turned onto the ole East-West runway, now taxiway.
        He meandered his right eye occasionally out the screen to make the
appropriate nosewheel changes to keep them straight down that centerline
as they continued kissing and, at the hold line, put his toes up on the tops
of the pedals - thinking of flower petals, he was - and, sure 'nuff pards,
stopped at the line just a little off to the right and layed into her
unbelievable lips, then whispered on them, "uh, now we're supposed to
do the runup...."
        "Uh huh," she whispered back on his lips as they kept on. She was
loving the kisses. And Kit, well, Kit had dreampt and dreampt
again of such kisses for how many days and nights, how many
breaths, how many heartbeats? It was her lips, her mouth, her face, her
soul, her breaths...and her heartbeats.
        He mouthed on her lips, "this is Heaven...but...there's war to end,
precious...we've gotta be like the wind...."
        "Yes...." she mouthed back on his. And inside of them it was like
their spirits were burning the homewood - they were burning the old
fenceposts and fallen branches around their soulsteads - in their new fire,
she painted it later in one of her songs, as we all know now.
        "History's waitin', Jessy," he whispered.
        "God, yes!" she whispered back and they ended their kiss and
looked in their eyes as close as they could and still be in focus, which
was about an inch and a half farther for Kit because of his age.
        But he said softly, "...that was the kiss of my life, Jess...but, if
you wanta go, highness, we're all set and wastin' gas...."
        "I want to go, Kit...."
        "Awww God...well, ain't like you're not comin' back, huh? Let's
vamos, then...we gotta switch to radio one," and she did, "an' when
there's a pause in the chatter, you tell 'm 7-9 Jessy's ready to depart
two left."
        She did that and Tower came back with clearance, altimeter
and winds for 7-9 Jessy and she rogered that.
        Then Kit told her, "o-k, we turn ourselves toward the front of
our ship...like this..." he kidded as he turned to face forward, "...and
release the brakes..." which he did, "...and check the controls," and
showed her how, "...and go through the quick checklist..." which he
ran her through.
        One of the guys in the Tower had sighted his binoculars on the
Mooney and had caught some of the amor and had told the others up
there, who had demanded their look-sees, and was then commenting
about how lucky the guy in that plane was, asking around for whom
had gotten a look at the girl while in the terminal, telling them what a
knockout she was. Well, that old guy in the black suit was up there
too. But he didn't say anything.
        Meanwhile, Kit was rolling Juliet out to the numbers, instructing
Jess on the turning and turning the transponder to "standby", then on
turning the landing lights on and advancing the power, holding the
throttle with her after putting her hand on it; and they started down the
runway, Kit telling her to turn the strobe and transponder to "on" and
checking everything as they rolled on, quickly picking up speed. He
helped her steer, then handle the crosswind with the ailerons as their
wings began to take the weight off the gear. And she was just ebullient,
trying hard to do it all right herself. Kit had just a few fingers on the
yoke when he said, "OK, pull back just a little," and she did and Juliet
lifted off skyward.
        "YEE HAW!" she cheered.
        He took her through the climbout, raising the gear, the power
reduction, his throttle hand still on top of hers, the instrument checks
and the left turn out over Mount Lookout, taking them over his old
family home, which he pointed out to her. She made the 45-degree
right turn to depart the pattern, at his suggestion, and he just had to
step on the right rudder for her, he told her. "You're really gettin' this
fast..." he smiled over.
        They rolled out of the turn and she answered, "I LOVE this! I
just LOVE it!"
        "I know, beautiful. That's great! You're doin'...just great! You're
a natural!...gotta hold a little right rudder when your nose is up and
turnin' right with high power, though, darlin'..."
        She rogered that.
        They were coming up to the overcast so he added, "OK, your
captainness, we want to level off now because of the clouds. Push in
the yoke easy...nice and smooth...that's it...yeah...good, sweetheart...
and pull the power back - slow - a little...that's it, Jess," his hand still
guiding hers, then pointing out the manifold pressure, then RPM's. And
she was doing it. She was good. And had the woman's touch on things.
Plus all that other right stuff. He was a little surprised, though, that she
was that good, as she gently screwed the prop back to 23oo RPM all
on her own, though with his suggestion, yeah. Then he showed her
how to trim up the elevator for cruise. "You've done this before," he
accused.
        "Have not. I sware," she smiled with a look over.
        "You're too good," he grinned over at her.

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