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Published by Nicholas Donavon Jaeger, 2019-03-06 21:01:42

Twin Engines

Eugene M. Koon

Vera smiled. “It’s a small town. Don’t walk through unless you don’t mind people seeing
your dirty laundry. Me, I’m pretty much a homebody. Keep my business to myself,” Vera again
looked down to her watch.

Sensing she might get up to leave at any moment Jack decided to take a big risk, swiftly
changing gears.

“Keep her cool in the motor pool,” he blurted.
No reaction.
“Rhododendron,” he said, prepared to rattle off all five messages if necessary.
“What are you doing? Is this a game?”
“No Vera, it’s not a game. I was anonymously sent five puzzling emails; short, cryptic
messages connected to my dad, calling upon me to be here, now, today.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Probably nothing. Maybe everything.”
“Are you insinuating I sent them?”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Why would you possibly think I sent them?”
“Call it a hunch.”
“You flew all the way from Oregon on a hunch?”
“Yes, I guess I did.”
“Did you enjoy your trip?” Vera asked, lowering her gaze.

250

“It was stormy at times, but for the most part, yes.”
“Good, then at least you got something for your dime,” she said derisively. “I’m
disappointed. I thought we were off to such a good start. Now you’re playing games with me.
Shame on you. There’s no need for that, but so be it. Let’s be square.”
Vera lowered her sunglasses, shielding her eyes, then dramatically shifted her position,
almost wolf like.
“You’re not here because a handful of enigmatic emails tempted you. You came because
Barbara led you to believe I would enlighten you, to shine a light on your father’s accident. Am I
right?”
“Maybe in part.”
“What’s the other part?” She asked.
“We’ll get there.”
Vera gave him the once over, sizing him up from head to toe, her body language
changing, tightening. “Jack, you’re what, in your early forties?”
“Go on.”
Vera leaned closer to Jack, noticeably trying to restrain her antipathy. “You’re at that
nasty stage in life where your past is colliding into your future like sugar in the rain. It’s ripping
you up inside. I’m guessing you thought, its summer, the weather’s nice, it’s a good time to visit
the place where it all began, the home of your father and the fountain of your endless nightmare,
Manistee, Michigan.”
“Do you have a problem with that?”

251

“I do when you launch into wild accusations, then expect me to hold your hand while we
walk down memory lane.”

“Vera, I have a right to know what happened to my father.”
“At the expense of others, opening wounds of the heart?” Vera wagged her finger.
“That’s very, very selfish of you, young man.”
“I have a right to know,” Jack repeated.
“It won’t help.”
“Help what?”
“It won’t help absolve your guilt, if you’re the religious type.”
“What would I have to feel guilty about?”
Vera pursed her lips, then smiled. “Jack, are you really going to pretend like I didn’t
know you were supposed to be sitting beside Merritt in the airplane? We both know you let your
younger brother, Kevin, die in your place. You must feel just a little guilty. Am I right?”
“You’re the doctor.”
“I was a nurse, and I’m telling you the best thing for you to do is to go home and let it
be.”
“Vera, I didn’t intend to open old wounds. I just want to learn enough to close mine.”
“I don’t have anything to say that would heal you, Jack. Even if I did I don’t know if I’d
be able or willing to tell you. I certainly don’t owe you any explanation. Do yourself a favor,
strap into that fancy airplane of yours right now and fly home.”
Jack fully understood his mother’s and Buffalo Bill’s particular negative take on Vera,
but he was still willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

252

“Why would I want to do that? I like it here. I could stay all summer, probably longer.
What’s Christmas like in Manistee? Beautiful I bet, snow on the ground, tinsel in the trees.”

“It’s going to be like that, is it?” Vera said through raised eyebrows.
“It’s going to be like that.”
“You’re as stubborn as your father. Did you know that?”
“Didn’t have a clue.”
Vera broke a smile.
Sensing he was breaking ground, Jack pressed on. “My mother said you left her stranded
at the airport?”
Vera picked up a celery stick and pointed it at Jack. “I wouldn’t put too much stock in
what your dear mother told you. Barbara was in a serious state of confusion, not to mention
hysteria. Under the circumstances I suppose she was entitled, to some degree.”
“You’re saying you were there?”
“Of course I was there. I was in the airport office with airport manager making calls,
organizing rooms and food, that sort of thing. Barbara was busy taking sedatives or who knows
what. It’s not a wonder she doesn’t remember my help.”
“She remembers Aunt Betty helping.”
“She should. Barbara couldn’t have tied her own shoelaces without mother’s help.
You’ve got to understand it was a horrible time for everyone, not just for ‘poor, poor’ Barbara.
She kept Mother so busy she never had time to grieve for herself. Not one second. Barbara
robbed her of that. It took its toll on Mother. She was never the same.”
“Your mother just passed away, didn’t she?”

253

“Two weeks ago, Tuesday. She’d been ill for months.”
“I’m sorry.”
“She was living on borrowed time. She accepted it.”
“What was she like?”
Suddenly, Vera’s face softened.
“She was a mountain. My mountain,” Vera answered without hesitation. “She was
everything beautiful, strong, and inspiring. She was my song.”
Jack was taken aback, surprised by Vera’s sudden heartfelt turn.
“She was my teacher, my coach, my role model, and in time she became my best friend.
Father died before I was two, turning her into a single parent, forcing her to wear both hats, that
of a mother and a father. She did what she had to do. It’s expected here in this little town off the
lake to play with the cards you’ve been dealt. Like I said, Mother not only raised me, but Merritt
as well; leading by example, subtly guiding us, and loving us unconditionally. If she told us to
climb a mountain, she’d be the first one to the top. She taught us everything from how to ride a
bicycle to driving a car. She showed us how to fish and shoot a rifle. She read to us constantly,
mostly H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. And she loved music. She played the piano, mostly
Gershwin. She was fearless and expected… no, demanded that Merritt and I do the same, to
believe in ourselves. To believe we could do anything and everything as long as we did it for the
right reasons. More to the point, to give back. To help others. It was no accident Merritt turned
out to be a brave firefighter, and me a nurse. That was Mother’s influence. Unfortunately, I
didn’t fully appreciate her sacrifices until Merritt moved on, and I grew up. Only then did I open
my eyes.”

254

“What about my grandparents, Dwight and Margaret? Where were they?”
“They were always working. Besides, Merritt had nothing in common with Dwight. I
think sometimes Dwight was grateful the boy wasn’t around so he didn’t have to talk to him.
And Margaret, she loved Merritt, but she loved her job too. No, they didn’t seem to mind if
Mother stepped in to raise their boy for them.”
“You lived with her most your life. You never married.”
“She made sacrifices in her life. I made sacrifices in mine. Mother was my family. You
do what needs to be done for family.
Jack instantly thought of Jeffrey, how he had made the same choice taking care of
Barbara.
“Did she ever tell you my dad was adopted?” Jack asked.
“That was never a secret.”
“Did you know he kept it a secret? Not even my mother knew.”
“I’ll be darned. You don’t say?”
“Why would he keep that from her?”
“Well that was up to him, wasn’t it? We all have our secrets, don’t we?”
“Do we?”
“There was nothing for him to be ashamed of. His birth parents were killed in a car
accident before I was born. I think even you can understand why his adoption was never
discussed. There was never a reason to point it out or make a big deal out of it. He accepted it.
Like it or not, even today there is a stigma associated with adoption, don’t you agree? How did
you react when you found out, differently?”

255

Jack didn’t have an answer.
“See what I mean,” she said. “He was part of our family, same as the rest of us.”
“He was part of your family, yet you say you barely knew him?”
“How well do you know your brother? Jeffrey isn’t it?”
“Touché.”
“Are we done, Jack, or is there anything else you’d like to poke your nose into?”
Jack was saving the best for last.
“There is one more thing. I took a walk on the beach, not far from the house you sold to
Warren Talbot.”
“You’ve been to the family house? Why on earth would you want to do that?”
Jack disregarded her question. “A box had been left there, leather jacket, flying goggles,
other items inside. I didn’t know you were a famous pilot.”
“My good luck jacket? I thought mother had thrown it away,” Vera said, again visibly
changing gears, becoming sentimental. “Oh, how I remember those times. To be young, free, and
innocently reckless in the sky,” Vera said, revealing the powerful love she had to take flight.
“You gave it up.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Why?”
“I told you. To become a nurse.”
“What’s the real reason?”
“If it’s all the same to you let’s talk about that another time.”

256

“I left the box with Warren until I figured out what to do with the items. I’ll have him
bring it to your house.”

“No. No. No. I’ll make arrangements to have it picked up.”
Jack decided this was the time to make his final play.
“Vera, the house, Warren’s house, there’s woods separating the house from the lake.”
“It’s hard to miss.”
“I have woods surrounding my home in Oregon. The kids love to play in them. How
could you keep them out, right? Sometimes kids gather the fallen branches. They make forts, tree
houses, and secret hideaways. The woods are a special place where they can go and imagine
themselves as cowboys or explorers, whatever they want to be. I made a rocket ship out of an
uprooted tree stump.”
“Very brave of you.”
Jack let the sarcasm go. “I started to think; I’ll bet my dad might have done the same
thing; your house being so close to the woods and all.”
“What if he did?”
“I swear, if you didn’t know your way you could get lost in those woods, and they’re so
close to the lake.”
“Oh, I see where you’re going,” Vera stood, wagging her long finger again. “You talked
to the pilot, didn’t you, Jack?” Vera took off her sunglasses purposely allowing Jack to see the
red in her blue eyes. “I know all about that drugged-out super hippy pilot, said he saw the plane
crash right off shore. Everyone loves a conspiracy theory,” Vera said, raising both hands and her

257

voice. “You said you didn’t believe in fairy tales, so let’s get right down to it and save us both a
lot of time.”

“I insist.”
“You’re thinking Merritt’s body was never recovered. That alone was enough for you to
create a fantasy, giving you hope all these years. You’re thinking maybe his body isn’t in the
lake after all. Maybe it’s somewhere else. Like in the woods? Well, it’s not. Don’t you think they
were checked? I promise you the woods were searched thoroughly by the police, search and
rescue teams, and even by the girl scouts. Jack, please, you’ve done all you could to find your
peace. It’s time to grow up and let it go. If you need something to hold on to, hold on to this,
Merritt died a hero. He was able to get his little boy out, not alive, but at least there was a body
to bury. In doing so, Merritt went down with the plane. End of story.”
“Not quite, Vera. What about these?” Jack vehemently extended his right hand to her
face, rattling the tarnished silver and blue keys that were delivered to the vineyard.
Completely caught off guard, Vera’s eyes opened wide. Jack knew he struck a nerve.
Vera turned away, shaking her head. “Okay! I give up. You win. I don’t want to play this
game anymore! You want to know who sent you the emails? You want to know who sent those
keys? Fine by me. You should play your hunches more often. You were right. I sent them. It was
me, Jack.”
Jack backed away. “What? Why?”
Vera gaining the upper hand sipped her ice tea, taking her time. “Tomorrow is June 30t​ h.​
Twenty-five years, Jack, twenty-five years. You come here acting like you’re owed an

258

explanation because you’re ‘family’ yet you never even bothered to meet us before now. No
phone call. No letter. Not even a postcard. Nothing.”

“I’m confused. My mother said she tried calling?”
“She may have called once or twice at the most, but that’s not the point. I’m talking
about you, Jack, not Barbara. You ignored us. Mother had one wish before she died. When she
saw you at Kevin’s funeral she was startled, seeing how much you resembled Merritt when he
was that age. She never forgot that, ever. She had one last wish before she died. She wanted to
see him one more time, through you.”
“Why didn’t you call? Why all the riddles?”
“That was her idea. I was completely against it from the get-go, she insisted. She thought
you’d be intrigued, by making a game out of it. To challenge you. It looks like she was right.
You’re here.”
“Why?” Jack demanded.
“I’ve told you, Mother loved to teach by example. In this case Merritt was the example.
She knew you had your pilots’ license; she wanted you to fly here just like he did. So you’d
understand what kind of a man your father was, to gain a better appreciation for your father.
What better way to learn about a man than to share his same experiences? Admit it, you did have
a good time, didn’t you? She thought it was equally important you come by your own free will.”
“By baiting me?”
“Call it what you want. Mother’s two weeks gone. You didn’t make it here in time. You
were too late. Now, it doesn’t matter if you’re here or not. Not to me. I’ll tell you what. Let me
make it right. You leave right now and I’ll pay for your gas.”

259

Vera was Jack’s last card in the deck and now he could see he had no other choice but to
fold. He had flown thousands of miles to find the answers to questions that had haunted him for a
lifetime. Questions answered by a pugilist woman who clearly had her own scars, deeper than his
own. Now, it was over. It was time to put it all to an end and give up hoping.

Jack calmly brushed off his jeans with his hat. “Leave, now? I’m afraid I can’t do that,
Vera.”

“No, and why is that?” Vera asked.
“I have a date tonight.”

############
“She’s just about to go on,” Elizabeth whispered to Jack as he squeezed into the crowd,
left of the main stage. “You just missed Jenny Bingham singing ‘On My Own.’ She was terrific,
as per usual.”
Jessica assertively took the stage dressed in a blue and white Dorothy dress and flashy
white Annie Oakley cowboy boots.
“This one’s for my mother.” Jessica winked, then dramatically launched into
‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow.’
After the performance, Elizabeth and Jack met Jessica and her best friend, Alison, at
Stanley’s ice cream shop.
“I was so nervous, I thought I was going to barf,” Jessica confessed.
“I thought you were terrific. Better than the movie,” Jack said.
“Thank you, Jack. I’m glad you could make it, and that you could keep my poor mom
company.”

260

“Don’t start,” Elizabeth said, holding back a smile.
Jessica scooted her chair away from the table. “Mom, do you mind if Alison and I walk
around before the fireworks start?”
“Okay, but be careful. And be careful you don’t get anything on your new dress. It’s not
paid for yet.”
“Mom!” Jessica moaned, heading towards the door.
“I guess that leaves just the two of us,” Elizabeth said to Jack.
“Can I buy you another cold one?” Jack asked, gesturing to her empty ice cream dish.
“And ruin my girlish figure? I’m tempted, but why don’t we borrow the girl’s idea and
walk instead.”
Elizabeth and Jack strolled through the crowded festival, past the amusement rides and
musical stages, down the Riverwalk, eventually ending back on the catwalk at the Pierhead
Lighthouse.
Jack gazed at the marvelous glow of carnival lights reflecting off the lake.
“Best view in the whole town to watch the fireworks is right here in the very spot you’re
standing,” Elizabeth said.
“You don’t say?”
“It’s the truth. I swear, cross my heart. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but back when I
was in high school, senior year, I’d come down here with my girlfriends to watch the fireworks.
Sometimes a breeze would blow in from the lake. One of us would bring a little something,
something special to keep us warm, just in case. Are you chilly, Jack?”
Elizabeth opened her bag, taking out a small bottle of something, something special.

261

Jack took off his jacket, draping it over Elizabeth’s shoulders, and accepted the bottle.
“You’ve had quite a day, Jack Kelley.”
“You can say that again. Meeting Vera did not go down the way I hoped.”
“The goggles, the whizzy wheel thingy and everything, they did belong to Vera?”
“That’s right.”
“Now that you’ve talked to her what are you going to do? Will you be leaving soon?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Elizabeth gasped. “I didn’t expect that soon. What’s your hurry?”
“I talked to Walter. He said Bob spent all day overhauling the plane. It’s ready to go.”
“Oh, terrific. I didn’t know Bob was so efficient.”
“I was as surprised as you are. I told Walter, if I hadn’t known better I’d think Bob was in
a hurry to see me leave.”
“Do they know you’re leaving tomorrow?”
“No, I hadn’t made up my mind until about an hour ago. As far as they know I’m sticking
around a while longer.”
“I wish you would. I know Walter and Jessica would like that too.”
“It’s time to go home, Elizabeth. I have my daughter I need to make peace with. Not to
mention a cranky old man on my porch without his airplane who must have run out of beer by
now.”
“Sounds serious.”
Jack took a small sip. “It is for him.”
“You sure I can’t change your mind? An extra ten percent off your room?”

262

Jack knew he could stay. He wanted to stay. But there was something deep inside him he
couldn’t explain. He finally had to admit John was right. Every time he’d begin to get close to
someone emotionally he’d shut them out, driving him to leave, or to run, as John had put it.

She looked him in the eye. “You’re afraid of getting hurt.”
“What?” Jack hesitated, thrown by her observation.
“You’ve built a fortress around your heart, haven’t you? I know I did.”
“You did?”
Elizabeth nodded. “Haven’t we all, us kids who’ve lost someone before their time?”
Jack took the Fifth.
“I’m sorry. I put you on the spot. I didn’t mean to. The invitation will be there if change
your mind,” she offered.
“Thank you.”
“I’m curious. Despite Vera letting you down, do you think you still might have found
what you were looking for?”
“I’ve taken it as far as I could. All the way from Oregon to the world famous Manistee
Pierhead Lighthouse.” He smiled, took another swallow, then passed the miniature bottle. “It’s
time to stop. It’s time I let it go.”
“Can you?”
“I think so. I’ve met a lot of nice people who helped me fill in some of the blanks,
including you.”
“Don’t make me blush.”

263

“I’ll try not to,” he grinned. “I got to see a whole lot of this country I wouldn’t have
otherwise. And the best part, I got to know my daughter just a little bit better.”

“But, you’re still not satisfied, are you?”
“No. I’m not.”
“You were hoping to find your dad, weren’t you?”
“I hate thinking he’s out there. I just hate it,” Jack said, glowering at the water. “The lake
is too big, too cold to hold even one soul.”
Elizabeth took Jack’s arm. “What I meant was, you were hoping to find your dad, alive? I
mean that is the dream for both of us, isn’t it? I lost my dad out there, same as you. I swear
almost every night I trick myself into believing this is the night he’s going to come home and
walk through the front door. This will surely be the night.”
“When there’s no body to bury, it’s hard to believe otherwise,” Jack admitted.
“So, I was right. That’s why I asked the question. I was hoping we shared the same
dream. You came to Manistee hoping to find him alive. That was the real reason.”
“You’re not going to tell anybody?”
“It will be our secret,” Elizabeth smiled, squeezing Jack’s arm tighter.
“Elizabeth, I was thinking, the summer is just beginning,” Jack started to say; fully
realizing the step he was about to take would be the equivalent of him jumping off a cliff. “I
could do what I need to do back home, then maybe fly back here for a while.”
Elizabeth threw a look. “You’d do that?”
“On an airliner, the biggest one they’ve got,” he said.
“I’ll keep a room open for you,” she said, nuzzling in a little closer still.

264

“You’d better.”
Blue, red and gold rained down from the night’s sky; the fireworks had begun.
Elizabeth’s cell rang.
“Hello.”
“Elizabeth, it’s me. There’s a fire,” Warren’s voice cried out from the other end of the
line.
“What?”
“Are you with Jack?” Warren choked.
“Yes, but…”
“Elizabeth, it’s the barn. I’ve called the fire department. They’re on their way.”
“We’ll be right there.”
“What’s happened?” Jack asked as she disconnected.
“We’ve got to go.”

##########
They sprinted back to the SeaGal and jumped into the rented truck. Jack crossed his
fingers it would turnover on the first try. It did. Ten minutes later, Jack and Elizabeth were
following a Manistee fire truck into the airport.
Jack parked as close as he safely could to the blazing hanger and jumped out of the cab.
“Elizabeth!” Walter called out, running to Jack and Elizabeth.
Jack watched the smoke billowing from the roof and every side of the hanger, as the fire
department swiftly organized their hoses and equipment.
“Bob’s inside!” Walter cried out.

265

Elizabeth gasped, shielding her face from the intense heat.
“Stand back! Stand back, everyone!” A fireman called out to the growing crowd.
“Give me your coat, Walter,” Jack demanded.
“Why, what do you want with my…?”
Jack didn’t have time to discuss. He yanked Walter’s coat right off him and dashed
towards the hanger door.
“Jack!” Elizabeth called out.
Thirty feet from the hanger a fireman stepped in front of Jack, blocking him. “Get back!
Get back!” The fireman roared.
Jack bent his knees, raised his left shoulder, twisting his body around the bulky fireman
and ran through the fiery entrance door.
Having a fireman for a father, Jack learned what to do in case of a house fire. He dropped
to his belly, staying low hoping to avoid the thick mass of smoke. He made sure he was covered
the best he could be, using Walter’s leather coat as protection.
“Bob!” Jack called out. “Bob!”
“He was making a few minor adjustments to Jack’s plane, since he had the extra time. I
don’t know what happened,” Walter tried explaining to his sister.
Jack tried the best he could to see through the smoke, assessing the situation. The hanger
was big enough to store three airplanes, the Baron, a Cessna 150 and Piper Cherokee. So far all
planes were untouched; only the building itself was on fire. Jack knew the contents of the
building could be a big problem, aware there were elements that could produce toxic gases, not

266

to mention the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning or too much carbon dioxide in the air. He
needed to find Bob quickly and get out.

“Bob!” Jack couldn’t see. He was tearing up, taking valuable seconds to wipe the smoke
from his eyes. A metal beam dropped, landing five feet to his right. He heard a low moan. On his
knees and elbows he crawled to the tail of the Baron, finding Bob curled in a fetal position.

“Bob, Bob!” Jack flipped him to his back, cleared Bob’s throat and pressed down on his
chest.

Bob coughed and spit up fluid. “What happened, I was working on …?”
Jack listened to the thunderous sound of water spraying the sides of the hanger and
rooftop. With their axes, firemen were busy working the main hanger doors, trying to pry them
open before the gas tanks in the airplanes blew.
Dazed and confused, Bob managed to sit upright.
“Bob, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think, I think so,” he said rubbing his eyes.
“We’ve got to get out of here. Now. Can you stand long enough to make it to the door?”
“I’m not leaving without your airplane,” Bob said, then wrapped his hands in a cloth rag.
“Forget the plane. We’ve got to get out of here,” Jack said, watching the fire inch closer
to the Cessna 150.
Bob pushed Jack backward. “I said I’m not leaving without your damn airplane. I mean
it, Jack!”
The firemen popped the metal door, creating enough space to get the airplanes out.

267

Bob managed to get to his feet and pressed his wrapped hand on the left wing of the
Baron. “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me?”

Jack quickly grabbed another cloth rag and wrapped it around his hands to avoid being
burned, then raced to the right wing and they slowly inched the Baron towards the exit door.

They barely cleared the hanger, planting the Baron on the tarmac.
Jack turned; looking back at the blazing building lighting up the clear night sky, then felt
the explosion and everything went black.

#

“Over here!” Kevin called, ducking under a tree branch. “This is it!”
Jack caught up with his younger brother, Kevin and agreed it was a great location to build
a tree house, deep in the woods, and close to the river for fishing.
Jack climbed high into the tree to build the floor.
Kevin tossed his older brother the rope, and joined him.
“Did you hear that?” Kevin whispered.
“What?”
“Shhhhh. Keep your voice down, they’ll hear you.”
“Who?”
“The bees. The bees.”
“Can bees hear? They don’t have ears do they?”
“I think they can hear vibrations.”
“Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Do you want to go somewhere else?”

268

“I don’t want to start all over again. Do you?”
“Not really.”
“Let’s just see if they go away.”
“What if they’re like us, too lazy to go away?”
“I guess we get stung,” Kevin laughed.
“I hope you get it first.”
“Thanks brother. Hand me your knife.”
“Why?”
“Just give it to me.”
Jack reached into his pack, handing over his fishing knife to Kevin.
Kevin withdrew the knife from its sheath, driving it into the tree.
“Stop that!” Jack shouted.
“Shhhhhh, do you want to get stung?”
“What are you doing?”
“We’re carving our initials.”
Jack grabbed the knife away from Kevin. “No, we’re not.”
“Come on, Jack. We got to do this.”
“How do you figure?”
“Because, it’s a marker. It says we’ve been here. Geez Jack! It’s not going to hurt the
tree.”
“Do you know how much trouble we’d be in if Dad ever found out?”
“Yeah I know, none.”

269

“None?”
“That’s what I said, none.”
“And why is that?
“Because, he told me we should do it.”

#
Jack woke up to a gray headache. He was safe and unharmed in his bed at the SeaGal.
He dressed, gathered his things and came downstairs hoping to find twin Bayer’s and
eggs on his breakfast plate.
His original plan called for placing a note on the kitchen table, then quietly slipping out
the backdoor. He’d said his goodbye to Elizabeth at the lighthouse, promising to call her once he
was back on his porch in Oregon. That plan was scrapped the moment he rushed into a burning
hanger. All was not lost. Although the hanger was burned to the ground, Jack safely made it out
with Bob with just a scratch and no damage done to the Baron. It could have been worse. Jack
had been thrown like a Nerf football when the Cessna exploded inside the hanger, driving him to
the ground, knocking him out for a few seconds. Now, the hard part was how to tell Elizabeth he
was leaving right after he washed his breakfast plate. Saying goodbye once was hard enough,
doing it twice seemed unfair and awkward.
“How are you feeling?” Elizabeth asked.
“Considering the circumstances?”
“I put a couple of aspirin out by your plate. I thought you might need them,” Elizabeth
said, pouring Jack a cup of coffee.
Jack flashed a grateful smile and sat down. She took the chair beside him.

270

“Are all the forest festivals as lively as the one last night?” He asked, devouring his eggs
over easy.

“Only when you’re in town.”
Jack chased the aspirin down with a big gulp of hot coffee.
“I saw you have your bag packed?”
Jack nodded.
Elizabeth tapped the honey jar, then poured a teaspoon into her coffee. “Don’t you think
you should stay at least one more day and let your head clear? You were knocked out after all.”
“If I don’t leave today I might not want to leave tomorrow.”
“Would that be so bad?” She said, scooting closer. “I know you have your reasons. But,
I’m holding you to your promise you’ll be back as soon as you can.”
“I promise.”
Jack cleared the table and helped in the kitchen. Afterwards he brought his bag
downstairs. Elizabeth offered to drive with him to the airport. He declined and she walked him to
the rented truck.
Jack felt the potentially awkward moment he was hoping to avoid; the moment where it
felt like there should be a kiss before he sat down behind the wheel to say his final goodbye
before heading off into the sunset. He resisted.
“Too soon?”
“Too soon.”
Jack waved goodbye, put the truck in gear and drove to Little Mel’s Café for two coffees
to go, then continued on to the airport.

271

“Did you bring any sugar packets?” Walter asked, popping off the plastic lid.
“In the bag.”
“That was a hell of a night, Jack. I can’t thank you enough for all you did.”
“How did the fire start?”
“Not a clue,” Walter answered, then took a sip. “The fire inspector will be by later
today.”
“How’s Bob doing?”
“He came by earlier this morning to double check your plane, making sure it was still
tip-top. He wanted to stick around to thank you for saving his behind. But I told him to take the
rest of day off and go see the doctor. You should do the same.”
Jack plugged a quarter into the gumball machine, handing Walter the blue gumball.
“Give this to Bob for me. He likes the blue ones.”
“Sure thing,” Walter said, placing the ball into an envelope with Bob’s name and sealing
it. “Do you know why he goes for those crazy things?”
Jack waited for the answer.
“Because of his dad. Dale bought that old gumball machine years ago from a veteran
pilot from Tuskegee for five hundred bucks, ten times the amount the damn thing’s worth. He
claimed it was his good luck charm. The pilot needed the money to help his son who was in a
motorcycle accident. They couldn’t afford health insurance. Dale was that man’s luck charm that
day. Can’t argue with what a man believes is luck. Dale always said the blue ones brought him
the best luck because that’s what he was chewing the day his son, Bob, came into this beautiful
blue world.”

272

“Sounds like Dale was a real good man.”
“He was. Then….” Walter stopped, abruptly.
“Then what, Walter?”
Walter hesitated for a moment and lowered his voice. “Dale slipped into the bottle. It
broke Bob’s heart to watch his father do that to himself. Don’t tell Bob, but I keep that silly old
candy machine just for him because it reminds him of the good times he had with his dad.”
Jack walked back to the machine, put another quarter in and palmed a ball. “Look at that.
My favorite color.”
“That’s a real good omen,” Walter replied. “I filled your tanks. You’re all set to go, if
you’re insisting on doing so.”
“How’s the weather, looking good?” Jack asked, officially filing his flight plan, though
he already knew the answer.
“Gorgeous, if you take the long way around.”
“I’m in no hurry,” said Jack, sinking into an office chair, staring off into nowhere.
“Are you feeling all right? You look a little discombobulated.”
“A little what?” Jack said, furrowing his eyebrows, running his hands through his
unkempt hair.
“A little out of sorts. Discombobulated.”
“Is that a real word or did you make that up to sound more like a manager?”
“I’ve made up other managerisms. Discombobulated is real word, managerisms is not.”
“Then yes, I’m discombobulated. I feel like I’ve got two sumo rhinoceros wrestling in the
back of my head.”

273

“From getting knocked out last night?”
“No. Not like that.”
“I heard you partied with my sister at the lighthouse last night?”
“No. I mean yes. I did that, too. But no, that’s not what I’m talking about, Walter.
Something’s not adding up. I can’t pull it together and it’s driving me crazy. I know I’m missing
something.”
“I hate when that happens. Trust me. It will eventually come to you. Relax and let your
subconscious kick in. You know, like when you leave the house for work and halfway down the
block, out of the blue, you remember you forgot your wallet.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Jack said, tossing his paper cup. “Well, I better get started.”
“Come on back again sometime; you know the way. I’m sure my big sister wouldn’t
mind.”
“I will, maybe sooner than later,” Jack said on the way out of the office.
He took his time, looking around the airport, halfway thinking Elizabeth may have tried
to surprise him by showing up to see him off. She did not.
Jack tossed his gear in the back of the Baron. His eyes happened to fall upon Merritt’s
model airplane poking out from under the backseat, the model John insisted Jack take for good
luck. Everyone carries his or her own good luck.
Jack picked up the Eddie Rickenbacker autographed biplane and held it up to the sky,
thinking it very well might have brought him good luck, twice, and hoped it would continue to
do so, during his journey home.

274

He remembered his mother saying Vera had given Merritt the model. It was this very
WWI biplane that inspired him to take up flying, to build his own model airplane, only bigger. It
had to be the very same model Eddie had seen Vera holding at the hobby store, igniting her
short, but brilliant aviation career.

Jack smiled, carefully placing the precious model in a safer place in the plane than it had
previously been.

Then it hit him.
Jack sprinted back to the office.
“That was soon,” Walter said.
“Walter, call your sister. Tell her to keep my room,” Jack said, catching his breath.
“You’re not leaving?”
“No, not yet,” Jack said, pushing past Walter, rushing towards the back office.
“What the hell are you up to?” Walter asked, watching Jack comb the office.
Jack smiled, disregarding the question, then hurried back out the door.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Walter asked.
“Hiking.”

###########
He followed Lancaster Road, a lonely country road running parallel to the lake, for
almost fifteen miles before he was certain he’d found the right house.
The Hudson house was just as Buffalo Bill Caldwell had described it, an enormous white
seaside house with a wrap-around porch, poised high atop a dune facing the lake in such a way it
defensively demanded privacy.

275

Jack parked a quarter mile past the house, then checked his watch.
With the Eddie Rickenbacker biplane in hand, Jack cautiously approached Vera Garner’s
front porch.
“Jack, what are you doing here?” Vera shouted from the doorway, holding a rifle tight in
her arms.
“I was in the neighborhood. I thought I’d stop by, say hello.” Jack removed his hat and
wiped his forehead. “It’s awfully hot out here, Vera. What are the chances you put the popgun
down and you invite me in for a beer? We can talk.”
Vera raised the rifle just a tad.
“I can see the beer is out of the question. How about we just talk?”
“We’ve already talked.”
Jack stopped forty feet shy from the porch.
“I want you to leave, now. I told you I’m having work done on the house. You’ll be in the
way of the workers.”
Jack looked around the quiet lot. “Are they on a lunch break, or is it a union job?”
“What’s that in your hand, Jack?”
“Does it look familiar, Vera? It should,” Jack said, taking another step.
“Stop right there. I mean it. Don’t come any closer. I’m an old woman living alone out in
nowhere. I could shoot you for trespassing, defending myself. No one would blink an eye,” she
said, raising the rifle’s barrel a little higher.
“Vera, that’s a Daisy BB rifle.”

276

“I know what it is. Look around. You don’t see any rabbits do you? They didn’t care
what kind of rifle it was.”

Jack took another step.
“Stop right there, Jack. Turn around and go home.”
“I just want to get closer, so you can see,” Jack held up the model airplane.
“I can see it just fine from here. It’s a toy airplane. So what?”
“Not just any toy airplane, Vera. Take a closer look. It’s THE toy airplane. The one you
gave my dad.”
“What if I did?”
“It’s a pretty generous gift don’t you think?”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so. I didn’t catch it at first, but just look at the detail. Somebody put a lot of
work into it. It’s not fair to call it a toy, is it? I bet it must have cost a pretty penny, then to have
Eddie Rickenbacker autograph it, that puts it over the top. If I ever got a gift like this I’d say it
had to come from a real good friend. Like a best friend,” Jack held the plane in the air like it was
the Holy Grail. “Carl Graham, he was the closest friend I ever had. Once he gave me a set of
dominoes for my birthday. Dominoes don’t compare to this airplane. But do you know what I got
to like about dominoes? You stand them up, end to end, then tip one over.”
“You didn’t come out here to tell me about a hundred things to do with dominoes.”
Jack took another step closer.
“You’re right. But I was thinking, ideas are sort of like dominoes, aren’t they? One leads
to another, to another, until you reach the end. Vera, here I am. And we’re at the end.”

277

“Meaning what?”
“I was all set to take off this morning to fly back home. Then, I find this model biplane
you gave my dad staring right at me like it was begging for attention, daring me to take a closer
look at it. I did, and the first domino tipped.”
Jack defiantly took another step.
“I started to think. Why would you give dad such a significant gift? It had to be
meaningful to you too, sentimental. After all, you didn’t buy the model in the shop, did you?
Eddie Rickenbacker saw you with it and bought it for you, didn’t he?”
“You heard the stories?”
“I did. So, why did you give it to my dad?”
“He was family,” Vera snapped.
“Exactly, he was family. And, I’m betting you were a close family, though you made it a
point to convince me otherwise, that the two of you were practically strangers. What was it you
said? He had his friends and you had yours? Vera, remember I told you when I was a kid I’d go
into the forest and play with my buddies? We’d build forts, tree houses, that sort of thing. You
remember I said that?”
“That’s what you said.”
“I did. But I forgot to tell you one of those things we did was carve our initials into a
tree.”
“Like a million other kids who played in the woods.” Vera held the BB rifle tighter,
glaring at Jack.

278

“Yes, Vera, that’s right, like a million other kids. This morning I went for a hike on beach
where you and my dad grew up. I discovered a path leading from the beach to the woods. It had
been overgrown for quite some time. I looked all over those woods thinking if I were to build a
special hiding place where absolutely no one would find me, where would I build it? It took a
while. I was about to give up when I stumbled upon a large tree laying flat on its side. Now, I
know something about tree stumps. I told you, I turned one into a spaceship. I had a hunch. You
know how I am with my hunches, Vera.

Sure enough, I hit the bull’s-eye. I found a hole had been dug underneath the tree, like a
big ole’ rabbit hole, just big enough for me to squirm my way into. It led to a small hideaway.
Kids had built it with branches, sheets of plywood, odds and ends. I found a few items still in
there, tin cans, forks, a toy car, a comic book that had deteriorated. Anyway, this hideaway was
pretty torn up, in real bad shape overgrown with moss; the weather had taken its toll. But, you
could tell that once, a long, long time ago it must have been a perfect place to play in, or to hide
in.”

Jack’s eye caught Vera’s grip loosening around the rifle. He knew he was almost there.
He continued. “I found something I thought was pretty interesting carved on the side of
the tree. Do you know what it said? I bet you do. It had been worn down with time, but I could
make it out. It said, THIS HERE HIDEOUT IS PROPERTY OF MK RR VG. Another domino.
It didn’t take but a second to figure out your initials, but tell me, Vera, who or what is RR?
“I want you to leave, now,” Vera said, tilting the rifle directly towards his chest.

279

“Not yet, Vera. I’ve got one last domino standing. You told me you sent the emails.
‘Keep her cool in the motor pool, N, Rhododendron, Are You Coming, Hurry and that last one,
Too Late.”

“That’s right.”
“But that’s not true, is it, Vera?”
Jack carefully placed the model airplane on the first step of the porch.
“You didn’t send the email. Did you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“No, Vera, you didn’t. Aunt Betty did.”
Vera’s face appeared to have fallen from the moon.
“You could have sent some of the emails, but not all of them. ‘N’, ‘Are you coming’,
‘Hurry.’ But, there was one you couldn’t possibly have sent, ‘Rhododendron,’ because you
wouldn’t have known its significance. You didn’t attend Kevin’s memorial service. And no one,
not my mother, Jeffrey or me ever wrote or called you to give you that information. You didn’t
know he was buried in the Rhododendron Court, but Aunt Betty knew.”
“She could have told me.”
“But she didn’t, did she?”
Vera, weakening, set the rifle down. “Please, Jack. Please leave,” she said, now pleading.
“What’s going on, Vera? I need to know. Why didn’t you want me to know about your
close relationship with my dad? Why keep that a secret? Why? Why did Betty send the email,
baiting me to come? Why?”
“Please keep your voice down,” she now begged.

280

“I’ve got one more hunch. Want to hear it?”
Vera didn’t so much as blink.
“Call me crazy, but I think my dad is alive.”
“Please stop.”
“I think he’s alive and I think he’s right behind the door you’re standing in.”
“Please leave me alone. Go away. You don’t know what you’re doing. Please, please
leave us, me alone.”
Jack stepped onto the porch, disregarding her request.
“I almost forgot. I found something else in the hideaway. It was in such bad shape, but I
recognized it immediately. It was a seat cushion… from my dad’s plane. He used it to help float
to shore.”
“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” A long wailing moan cried out from inside the
house.
”You need to leave, RIGHT NOW!” Vera shouted, frantically racing backward to close
the door. Jack rushed past her, into the entryway and stopped.
“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Jack cautiously crept down a dark narrow hall, tracking the terrifying cries, leaving Vera
weeping at the door.
“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
The hallway snaked around to the back of the house, opening to an enormous bright and
beautiful sunroom, filled with plants, flowers and an arsenal of medical apparatus.

281

In the center of the room facing the bay window, a man’s head with white hair poked just
above a wheelchair with his back to Jack.

An army of tubes was connected to the man, pumping him full of who knows what. His
head was cocked to the right, like a chicken with a broken neck.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA,” the man howled, then howled some more.
Jack circled to the front of the wheelchair.
The old man was breathing heavily through a plastic hose connected to a yellow and
orange oxygen tank.
Lifting his head the best he could, the man opened his red swollen eyes and reached out,
clutching Jack’s wrist.
Twenty-five years had passed, but there was no doubt.
“Dad.”
Jack dropped to his knees, shouting to Vera.
“CALL AN AMBULANCE!”

############
Buffalo Bill Caldwell escorted Barbara and Jeffrey, who’d taken the red eye, to room
M190.
“Wait here. I’ll see if it’s okay to go in,” Bill said, leaving Barbara and Jeffrey in the
hospital hall. Jack came out a minute later with the doctor, joining his family.
“Keep it short. I’ll be back in fifteen,” the doctor ordered, leaving the family to their
privacy.
“Jack?” Is all Barbara managed to get out.

282

Jack wrapped his arms around his mother. She buried her fragile frame into his chest,
tears trickling down her cheeks.

“Are you sure?” Jeffrey asked.
“It’s him.”
“Can we see him?” Jeffrey asked, fighting hard to keep his emotions in check.
“I’ll take you in, but I want to warn you, he isn’t doing very well.”
Jeffrey nodded.
“And…” Jack cautiously added, “Vera’s inside with him.”
“What?” Barbara cried out. “I want her out of here, now! I want that woman in jail,”
Barbara shouted, breaking away from Jack.
“Mom, she needs to be with him. He needs her.”
“You’re not hearing me, son. I want Vera arrested immediately. She kidnapped my
husband and she’s going to prison!”
“Mom, there will be plenty of time to sort that out later. For right now she needs to stay
with him. She’s what he’s used to. Her presence comforts him, like a baby blanket. The doctor
insists. He said it’s best she’s near him, at least for the time being.”
“It’s best his wife is with him,” Barbara said, unfalteringly.
“I know how you must feel, but it’s got to be this way.”
“Out of the way, Jack. I want my husband, now!” Barbara demanded, elbowing her way
to the door.
Jack eased up, then Barbara and Jeffrey into Merritt’s room.

283

Merritt lay in his hospital bed; eyes wide open staring into space, surrounded by medical
equipment, more tubes running into his veins.

“Oh my lord,” Barbara gasped, cupping her hand over her mouth, tears streaming down
her cheeks. “Merritt, is that you, darling?” Barbara said, softly, slowly approaching her husband.

He was older, heavier, but his big blue eyes still shined brightly for her. She ran her hand
across his cheek, and then tried to fix his messy, snow-white hair.

Jeffrey stayed back, next to Jack, staring at a miracle, his father.
“Merritt. Darling, it’s me, Barbara,” Barbara whispered into his ear.
“He can’t understand you,” Vera said, partially hidden in the corner by the barricade of
medical devices.
Barbara’s eyes left Merritt, turning to Vera.
“You bitch!”
Barbara leaped towards Vera.
Jeffrey grabbed his mother by her tiny waist, stopping her before she got to Vera.
“Let me go, Jeffrey!”
“No, Mom.”
“Go ahead, let her go. I wouldn’t like anything more,” Vera said, waving Barbara to
come and get it.
“Both of you stop it!” Jeffrey shouted.
Vera raised her finger to her lips to quiet everyone down.
“Why, Vera? Why did you do this to me?”

284

“To you? Why don’t you stop thinking about yourself for one minute,” Vera scolded.
“It’s always been about you, hasn’t it? After all these years you still haven’t changed. I suppose
you never will.”

“How dare you!”
“If you care one single bit about Merritt you’ll keep your voice down. He needs his rest.”
“But why? Why did you keep him from me? From his own children?”
Jack guided his mother to a chair close to Merritt.
“Mom,” Jack said, showing Jeffrey to another chair. “Let me try to explain, at least get
you slightly up to speed.”
“I’m waiting,” Barbara said, crossing her arms.
Jack took a deep breath and began to unravel the story he pieced together during the last
twenty-four hours. “Okay. Dad ditched the plane closer to shore just as Tony Henderson said he
did. And, Dad did get Kevin out alive. But Kevin probably had been knocked unconscious on
impact and drowned.”
Jeffrey nodded, as if to say that’s what he’d thought all along.
Jack continued. “Mom, do you remember when you were waiting at the airport with
Vera? The supervisor, Dale Evans informed you dad sent a Mayday.”
“Yes.”
“And Vera immediately left you there, alone. Do you remember that?”
“Yes, she did,” Barbara glared.
Jack glanced at Vera who was staring down at the floor. “She had her reasons. Vera took
a chance. It was a million to one chance, but still, she left you alone with Jeffrey to race off to

285

see if she was right. Vera was betting if Dad was lucky enough to survive the crash, if he was
able to swim to shore he might head straight to a place that was familiar to him. There were a
couple of possibilities. One place she thought he might go was to her family home where she and
Aunt Betty lived at the time. It was the same house where Dad more or less had lived for the
better part of his childhood until he grew up and left for good.”

“When he met you,” Vera added.
“Vera, please, let me continue,” Jack cut in.
Vera shifted noisily in her seat, and all eyes briefly fell upon her.
Jack went on. “The house was close to the shoreline, so it would make perfect sense he’d
show up there. But that’s not where he was. She tried another location. When Dad and Vera were
kids they spent a lot of time playing in the forest by their house, which was, like I said,
coincidently located by the lake. They knew every tree, rock, meadow and hole in the ground in
those woods by name.”
“You’re giving us way too much credit,” Vera chimed in.
“I don’t think so,” Jack continued. “They had one very special place they’d like to go to
be by themselves, a clubhouse under a large tree. It took them a few summers to build it, to get it
just right. They painted the inside walls and even laid cheap rugs on the plywood floors. It was
perfect for a couple of adventurous kids growing up with woods as a backyard. And that’s where
she found him on June 30th, bloodied, shivering in wet clothes, huddled in a fetal position,
nearly catatonic.
“Am I getting this right, Vera?” Jack asked.
“Don’t let me stop you.”

286

“Why didn’t the search teams find him?” Jeffrey asked.
“Don’t you remember? They didn’t start looking for Dad until hours later. Vera already
had him by then.”
Barbara reached over, taking Merritt’s hand.
Jack continued. “Vera carried him back to her house and put him to bed, waiting for Aunt
Betty to come home to decide what to do next.”
“Aunt Betty knew from the very beginning?” Barbara asked.
“Keeping him a secret was partially her idea,” Vera confirmed.
“What do you mean, partially?” Jeffrey interrupted. “Who else’s?”
“It was his wish.” Vera gestured to Merritt.
“What are you talking about? He can barely move a muscle.” Barbara sneered.
“True. Merritt injured his head in the accident and suffered massive brain trauma. But,
sometimes, not often, he’ll have brief moments of coherency. And early on he demanded. And, I
stress, demanded that everyone believed he died in the airplane. It’s what he wanted, and mother
agreed.”
“Why?” Jeffrey asked.
“Because he might as well have been dead. His injuries rendered him hopeless with
absolutely no chance of recovery. You had to see him to get the picture,” Vera sympathetically
said to Jeffrey. “Look at him now. Not much has changed. He isn’t a functioning human being at
all. He can sit, stare out the window at the airplanes flying by, and grow older. He didn’t want to
be a burden to you.” Vera paused long enough to gaze into each of their eyes. “If you know him
at all, you know this must be true.”

287

It was hard to accept, but Barbara knew deep down in her heart it was indeed true,
recalling the many conversations she had with her brave husband after he’d come home from
fighting a dangerous fire. Merritt always maintained if it came down to it, to pull the plug. This
enlightenment however did not detract from the enormous hostility she was feeling towards Vera
at the moment.

“If he was so bad off why didn’t you insist on taking him to the hospital?” Jeffrey asked.
“That was Mother’s decision. She thought there was nothing doctors could do that I
couldn’t do for him at home. I was a nurse after all. It makes a lot of sense don’t you think?”
“Not to me,” Jeffrey said.
Barbara tried to understand where Vera was coming from. “You spent the last
twenty-five years of your life taking care of my husband.”
“I had to. I wanted to. I loved him. Mother loved him. Put your emotions aside for a
moment and think about it, Barbara. What do you think would have happened if he did return to
you in this physical state you see him in now? What kind of life do you think he would have had
full of routine hospital visits that wouldn’t change his condition? Think about the impact it
would have on your life. Could you have stayed home to care for him twenty-four hours a day
like my mother and I did, feeding him, bathing him? Because, that’s what he needed! Not to
mention the cost involved. Your life as you know it now, never would have happened. Could you
have made the sacrifice that my mother made, that I made? Think about it, Barbara. You may not
appreciate it now, but I did you a favor. I allowed you get on with your life by giving up my
own.”

288

“No, Vera, you’re wrong. My life, Jeffrey’s life and Jack’s, we didn’t get on with living.
We were stuck.”

“We were all stuck. We were all going to be stuck. That was decided the moment Merritt
stepped into his plane and flew it over the lake. There is always going to be collateral damage
with tragic accidents. It’s what you do next that matters. I decided, and Mother decided we
would work together to make Merritt as comfortable as we possibly could.”

“But why, Vera? Why did you give up your future when you didn’t have to?” Jack asked.
Vera turned to Jack, smiling. “He was family.”
“He was only your cousin. I could see donating a kidney or something like that, but to
give up twenty-five years of your life for a cousin?” Jeffrey cut in.
“No, Jeffrey, that’s not quite right,” Vera said correcting him.
“What do you mean? Of course he’s your cousin?”
Vera drifted to the window and peered through the drapes. “Merritt wasn’t my cousin.
He was my older brother, my half-brother to be precise. Betty was Merritt’s birth mother.”
Jack, Barbara and Jeffrey were thunderstruck hanging on Vera’s every word.
“You have to keep in mind that back in those days it was a different time, a different
social environment. People judged you and your family harder when Mother and Margaret were
young.” Vera turned to face them. “Mother met a boy when she was sixteen and got herself into
trouble. She never would say with whom, ever. She ran away and had the baby. Merritt was a
bastard child. Margaret was mother’s older sister, and already married to Dwight. When she
found out about the baby she came up with a plan to save Betty and the family from
embarrassment. This is a small town. News travels fast. Everybody knows everybody, as Jack

289

already found out. Margaret adopted the baby before anyone knew, raising him as her own,
letting everyone believe it was hers. It was more common back then than you think. It even
happened to a few movie stars you might have heard about.

“Aunt Margaret adopted Neil, then changed his name to Merritt,” Jack pointed out.
“Neil, the name on the adoption papers,” Barbara said.
“And the email, the letter ‘N’. At first I thought the ‘N’ had something to do with the
airplane’s tail number, but that wasn’t the case,” Jack added.
“N for Neil,” Vera verified.
“Why did Betty send me the email?” Jack asked Vera.
“She knew she was dying. She knew he was dying. She began to weaken and had a
change of heart. She thought it was time the truth came out before either one of them died. She
wanted you to know the truth.”
“Me?”
Vera nodded. “Like I said, they weren’t often, only four or five times in all these years,
but when Merritt did have his moment of clarity he called out Jack’s name, nobody else’s.
Sometimes he’d say something more, like, Jack, you’re one of the good guys now.”
“Wow!” Jeffrey said, voicing the collective feeling in the room.
“Mother knew I didn’t approve of her dying wish to contact Jack. I was totally against it.
So, she went behind my back. I found her searching for Jack’s phone number a couple of times. I
had to convince her not to call. Somehow she found his email address and the temptation was too
much for her. You know what happened next.”

290

“What do you mean he’s dying?” Barbara said gazing at her husband, horrified. “No, that
can’t be. That just can’t be?”

Vera came around to Merritt’s side and pulled his blanket up. “They stayed alive for each
other. She had to stay alive for as long as she could for her boy. Now she’s gone, he knows it. He
can feel it. His health has been deteriorating so fast since she’s passed. You can see for yourself.
He doesn’t have much time.”

Barbara looked at her husband, warmly resting her hand on his.
Merritt open his eyes, squeezing Barbara’s hand.
In a sweet, gentle whisper, he said to her.
“I don’t know you, but I know you have a good heart.”

##########
Twenty-Five Days Later
“I don’t want to impose on your family reunion,” John said over the phone.
“John, you are part of my family.”
“I appreciate your saying so. I can wait another week to see Merritt. When the doctor
says it’s okay to toss these crutches I can fly the Baron back to Oregon. I don’t figure you’ll want
to fly her home. Besides you’ll be there for a while.”
“You figure right. I’m not making plans to leave anytime soon.”
“I bet Amy loves being there.”
“She does. I’m glad she asked to be here. She’s getting to know her grandma and Jeffrey,
and me for that matter.”
“How are the ladies getting along?” John chuckled.

291

“Mom and Vera, they’ve had their moments. For the most part let’s just say they’re
trying to play nice with each other. Right now they’re outside in the front lawn doing a little
gardening together.”

“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Barbara. She’s handled this right, not letting her
emotions get in the way. She could have had Vera in cuffs and behind bars.”

“Yes, she could have. At first I thought she was going to. Maybe that’s one reason Vera’s
being so generous, letting us all stay here at her house to be closer to Dad. Of course Mom’s
room is the farthest away from Vera’s. That helps. I’m proud of Mom. She thought it through,
making her decision based on what would be best for Dad, and to honor his request. Not for her
personal payback. She knew she couldn’t get back the twenty-five years she’d lost with him.
Though she disagreed with Vera and Aunt Betty’s reason to keep it a secret, Mom thought in
some abstract way it made a lot of sense. Vera was a qualified nurse and she did take better care
of him than he ever would have had at any health care facility. Besides, I don’t think Mom had
the stomach to send a seventy something woman to jail.”

Elizabeth entered the room, kissing Jack on the cheek. “Bob’s outside, taking a look at
your new truck,” she whispered in his ear.

Since he had no idea how long he’d be in Manistee, Jack thought it made sense to make
cousin Sticky Ricky an offer on the pickup he’d grown fond of. For eight hundred dollars the red
Chevy truck was all his. As a thank you for rescuing him from the hanger, Bob insisted he’d take
a look under the hood.

“How are you holding up, Jack?” John asked.
Jack smiled at Elizabeth. “Never better.”

292

“You do sound better, happier, like a weight has been lifted. I don’t suppose it has
something to do with the new gal you met?”

“Elizabeth. She might have something to do with it.”
Elizabeth perked up upon hearing her name, and winked.
“And having your whole family together again,” John added.
“I can’t even begin to describe the feeling, John.”
“How about connected?”
“Yes. That’s it. Connected.”
After another five minutes getting caught up Jack and John were saying their goodbyes.
“Would you help me carry in the groceries?” Elizabeth asked as Jack was hanging up the
phone.
They walked outside to Elizabeth’s SUV parked beside the old truck.
Bob was busy with his hands buried deep under the hood, reminding Jack of the time he
saw him with his hands buried inside the Baron’s engine.
“Hey, Bob.”
“Hey, Jack.”
“Thanks for coming over.”
“Glad to help.”
Jack unlatched the tailgate and Elizabeth took his hand, steering him to sit down beside
her and the groceries.
“I got a call from Buffalo Bill Caldwell this morning,” Elizabeth said.
“Really? What did he have to say?”

293

“He didn’t want to bother you. He wanted you to know he contacted his sister. They’re
going to meet next weekend.”

“You don’t say?”
“She invited him to Miami. He insisted she come here first. He wanted her to see his
world. The following weekend he’ll go see hers.”
“He’s making moves to heal his family,” Jack said.
“Yes, he is. He said you’re to thank. You gave him hope.”
“Well, I don’t know about that.”
“You did, Jack. You gave him hope, and you gave me hope.”
Jack sighed and turned his head away. Elizabeth took his hand.
“You didn’t give up, Jack.”
“Didn’t I, Elizabeth?”
“Of course you didn’t. You found your father. You brought your family together again.
Don’t you know what that means to me?”
Jack didn’t answer.
Elizabeth squeezed his hand tight. “It means I can go on believing one day my father
might return. Sure, it would be a long shot, a miracle. But, you proved it could happen. As long
as I keep a light shining bright in my heart for him to follow, I too have a chance.”
“Sure it worked out in the end, Elizabeth, when I finally did something. But look how
long it took. Why didn’t I start sooner? There was a part of me that did give up.”
“And the part that didn’t is the part that matters, the part that won out. Don’t you see?
There was a hole in your heart. Finding your father, no matter how long it took, filled that hole.”

294

Jack smiled. “It did.”
“Speaking of hope. Look what else you started.” Elizabeth pointed to Vera and Barbara
working together pruning the rose bushes. “You may have planted a seed to a new friendship.
Something they both needed.”
Jack laughed.
“Come on, help me with these groceries,” Elizabeth hopped off the tailgate, handing Jack
two brown sacks.
Jessica and Amy rolled up on their bicycles.
“Hi, Dad. Hi, Elizabeth. Jessica and I just found this really cool path leading into the
forest. We’re going to explore it after lunch,” Amy said, beaming.
“Exploring the forest? I think that’s a great idea.”
“Then, I’m going to start Amy with voice lessons. I had her sing ‘Popular’ from Wicked.
I think she’s already pretty good. She just needs to learn the basics,” Jessica added.
Amy turned to Jessica. “And, I’m going to introduce Jess to the classics, like Dylan,
Jimmy Page and Allen Collins.”
“Sounds like a very busy day,” Elizabeth said to the girls.
“That’s not even half of it,” Amy went on. “After dinner, Aunt Vera’s promised to show
us her photo albums from the time she was a famous pilot. I can’t wait!”
“Vera said she’d do that?” Jack asked, a little surprised.
“Yep,” Amy said. “Aunt Vera’s really cool, Dad. She wasn’t as famous as Florence Lowe
Barnes, but if she’d stuck with it she could have been. I’m so glad she invited us to stay with her.
Thanks for flying me here, Dad. I’m having the best summer ever!”

295

“Me too,” he sighed. “I just wish it were under different circumstances.”
“I know Dad, me too. But, maybe this was Grandpa’s Kelley’s wish, not yours, to have
all his family together again. To be under the same roof one last time while he’s still with us.
Maybe that was his wish.”
“I love you,” Jack said to his insightful daughter.
“I love you, too.”
Elizabeth reached into the SUV for a sack to carry. “Okay, girls, lunch will be ready in
about a half hour. Try and keep your voices down just in case Mr. Kelley is sleeping.”
“Okay, Mom,” Jessica said, leading Amy to the side of the porch. They parked their
bikes, then went inside.
Walter, in his beige minivan pulled into Vera’s long driveway, followed by a police
patrol car.
Vera and Barbara stopped their gardening, while Jack and Elizabeth set their grocery
bags back down on the tailgate to see what was going on.
Walter parked and approached the house, leaving two policemen leaning against the hood
of their car.
Bob picked up the heaviest wrench in the toolbox, casually lifting his head and turned
towards the patrol car.
“Hey, Keith,” Bob called out, addressing the older of the two policemen.
“Hey, Bob.”
“I don’t recognize your partner?”
“This is Raymond Dubey. He’s Bruce’s nephew.”

296

“Oh yeah, I see the resemblance.”
Walter came beside Bob. “Hey, Bob.”
“Walter.”
“Keith allowed me to come get you. As a favor he’s giving us a minute before they take
you in.”
“For crying out loud, Walter, couldn’t this have waited until I got back to the airport?”
“Can’t do that, Bob. The airport is a crime scene. You’re not allowed on the premises,”
Keith hollered.
Elizabeth marched up to her younger brother. “Walter, what’s this about?” she
demanded.
“Bob knows.”
“Arson and attempted manslaughter,” the young policeman, Raymond Dubey, eagerly
blurted, like he couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Bob started the fire at the airport. We’re here to
bring him in.”
Jack stayed by the SUV, wondering what was going on.
“That’s enough, Raymond,” Keith ordered.
Bob returned the wrench to the toolbox, and turned to Jack. “I’m sorry, Jack. No one was
supposed to get hurt.”
“Fortunately for you, nobody did. But you’re still in serious trouble here. Why did you do
it?” Walter asked.
Vera took off her gardening gloves and slowly approached Bob. “Don’t say anything,
Bob. You don’t have to say anything,”

297

“Vera, shut up. Just shut up!” Bob barked.
Everyone’s eyes shifted from Vera, landing on Bob.
“I’ve really had it with you. You could have told me.”
“We knew you’d be upset. That’s why we kept it from you,” Vera said to Bob.
“Upset? Of course, I’m upset!” Bob turned to Jack. “Betty and Vera never told me your
dad was alive.”
“Stop right now, Bob,” Vera, warned.
“Do you two know each other?” Elizabeth asked.
“As far back as I can remember,” Bob, answered. “She was one of my dad’s best friends.
They knew each other since they were kids.”
Walter looked on, flabbergasted.
Jack’s eyes locked onto Bob’s. “Dale Evans knew my dad?”
Looking defeated, Vera turned to Jack. “You wanted to know whose initials were on the
tree besides mine and Merritt’s… RR? They were Dale’s.”
“I don’t get it; Dale was RR?”
Vera shrugged. “We were kids. Dale hated his name. It was a woman’s name after all, the
television cowgirl, Dale Evans. He hated his name. But he loved the way her partner, Roy
Rogers’ name sounded. More masculine. Sometimes Merritt and I humored Dale by calling him
RR or Little Roy.”
Bob picked up where he left off. “I used to help Betty out from time to time. Sometimes
I’d help Vera, but mostly Betty. She was a terrific woman.”
“So you did know my dad was alive? You had to have seen him at the house.”

298

“No, Jack, I didn’t. Betty never let me go inside. We always met at the beach or a store,
or Little Mel’s coffee shop. I repeat. I did not know your dad was alive. Trust me on that.”

“What kinds of things did you do for her?” Elizabeth asked.
Bob sighed. “Well, mostly miscellaneous work. I guess what’s relevant now is, I sent
Jack the emails. For Betty.”
Jack was speechless, waiting to hear more.
“She was dying and she knew it. She asked me if I could find you on the Internet. I did. It
was easy. She gave me a list of messages to send and told me when to send them. There were
more to come, but Vera found out what we were doing and was pissed off. She put a stop to it. I
think she sent you the last email hoping you’d stop, turn around and go home. Damage control.”
Jack nodded, recalling the last email, ‘Too Late’.
“I sent you the keys too. I didn’t know what they were for. I just made the arrangements
to get them to you without being traced, just as Betty asked.”
“They were in Merritt’s pocket when I found him,” Vera explained. “They were his
house and car keys. They meant a lot to Mother. She kept them in her jewelry drawer with her
other special keepsakes.”
It was Walter’s turn to ask a question. “Bob, why did you burn the hanger down?”
Again, Bob turned to address Jack. “Jack, I’m really sorry. I really am. I really screwed
things up. I didn’t mean to get caught inside. I didn’t mean for anyone to risk their life to rescue
me. I owe you, Jack. That’s why when you came in after me I wanted to do everything I could to
get your airplane out.”
“Answer Walter’s question, Bob,” Jack insisted.

299


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