Letters From the Grave
didn’t exist anymore. Most of his memories of Mineral Wells were flying above it. He’d never been part of the community when training there. He didn’t know a soul and doubted that any Army helicopter pilots lived there anymore. Oh, well. He could survive one overnight stay, even if they repelled each other. He could get a night’s sleep and head home in the morning.
Her directions were perfect. He found her house without one missed turn. It was a neat nineteen-eighties single story ranch on a manicured half-acre residential lot. All the houses nearby were well maintained, like people took pride in their neighborhood. He guessed it was one of the most desirable areas in Mineral Wells. He parked his truck at the curb and walked up the driveway carrying a bottle of red wine, which he knew she favored and flowers from the Safeway nearby.
The door opened before he could ring the bell, and she greeted him with a hug. “Come on in, Jake.”
He was taken aback by her youthful appearance in a cowgirl shirt and blue jeans, nicely tailored to her slim frame. He hoped her first impression of him was as pleasing, but doubted it after hours on the road. “Wow, you have a nice place here, Julie.”
She closed the door and Jake handed her the flowers. “You know, Jake, I’m a sucker for cut flowers. I can’t raise them worth a darn, but sure do like them in vases.” As he looked around, she had at least one other display of fresh flowers. She called from the kitchen, “Come on in and get comfortable.”
The large family room was directly in front of the entry with a wall of French doors, leading to a patio and grassy back yard framed by a split-rail fence. Beyond were brush and a view of the distant mountains. When she returned with the flowers, he was looking out the back. “You know, I remember flying in those mountains near the end of basic. Lots of lousy wind currents, but man, what a view! It’s still beautiful here.” He had turned to face her.
She responded, “I guess it’s a lot different than flying over the water all the time.”
“Yeah. The peaks and valleys I see now only exist between oil rigs where I fly.”
She motioned him to sit on the couch. “Well, I’m just delighted to meet you finally. It seems like I know you from all of our phone calls, but it’s so nice to meet you in person.”
He couldn’t help looking at her pretty face. “You know, this is really a treat for me. I don’t get out of Lafayette much.”
“Well let’s just hope you’ll have more of an excuse now.”
His visit could not have gone better. He was on break for five days and had planned to spend only one night in Mineral Wells. He stayed two nights instead. She showed him all around the area, knowing he would like to visit Ft. Wolters where his passion for flying helicopters began over thirty years earlier. It was a sad experience, except that he was having it with a lovely woman who had once been the girl his buddy fell in love with. The primary flight training center for the Army had been de-activated many years earlier and now housed several businesses and a prison. The old military housing was burned for practice by a local fire department. He sat quietly as she drove around. So much looked different, hardly anything he could remember, but mostly it just looked dead. When he had gone through basic flight training, the base was alive with vigorous young men running in formation everywhere in green uniforms, all eager to be combat pilots. It’s not the kind of thing he would do today, but mortality wasn’t a factor as a kid. They had all been kids. There were countless memories of minor accidents and flight incidences that would fail a student pilot today. The Army had forgiven them then. He remembered first trying to hover, moving all over a football-field-size practice area. He thought for sure that he’d be washed out. Then he remembered flying solo for the first time to one of the practice LZs (Landing Zones) to wait for orders to return. He fell asleep under a tree and nearly washed out again. After all these years, he reflected on how close he’d come to never being a pilot, never knowing Bobby, never meeting Julie.
He was looking out the window saying, “That’s Heliport Bronco. I recognize the old water tower.” It had long ago run dry and now stood as a rusty monument to his bygone youth.
She smiled. “I bet you have a lot of memories here.”
“Yeah. I was one of the few pilots in training that was licensed before the Army. My folks gave me flying lessons as a kid. I was ahead of most of the other WOCs (Warrant Officer Candidates), which was my first experience leading anything. My IP (instructor pilot) gave me the lead for most of the formation flights. I don’t think I would have liked the Army so much if I’d been at the back.”
She glanced over at him, “You stayed in the Army, right?”
“Yeah. The Army was good for me. I got to fly a lot with some good people. Never had any other real obligations and flew most days. The Army was a home for me.”
“I thought you became a Ranger?”
“Yeah. After my tour in South America – with Bobby – I thought about leaving flying. Since I was technically coming out of a war zone, the Army gave me preference for my next assignment. Most guys would pick some vacation spot and fly just enough to keep their flight pay, but I wanted a complete change. I requested Ranger training because I liked the guys I’d worked with in the Jungle. The Army sent me to OCS to get my ‘hard bar’ commission (second Lieutenant) before sending me to Ft. Benning. Once I got my Ranger Tab, they put me in an air mobile brigade, and I ended up flying again. I kept flying after that.”
She said softly, “Well, we’ve left the base, but there’s nothing to indicate it. Feel like some lunch and maybe riding a horse afterward into the hills?”
“Sure. I haven’t ridden in a long time.”
“I know a stable with some gentle old nags that you can handle.” She smiled at his amusement.
His first trip to see Julie was transformational, like when Callie first came to him, but different. On the drive back to Lafayette, he had time alone to reflect on how life might be different if he had come to meet her after Bobby died. He’d enjoyed her company, not like anybody he’d ever met before. Sometimes neighbors or work friends in Lafayette would have him over for dinner or celebrations, and he’d seen the interaction between couples, but this was different. Maybe it was because two older people with more of life’s experience related differently than courting youngsters or couples after long marriages. He and Julie had not shared the bonding experiences with children or careers. They met after most parental trials would have been over in a traditional marriage. Would they ever get married? Did it matter? He didn’t know the answers, but knew they would see each other again, maybe often. He smiled and the trip back to Lafayette went by quickly. Oddly, Bobby never came up directly during his stay with Julie. He was always in the shadows somewhere, but neither felt any urge to dwell on him. They had vastly different memories. Her memories were of a young lover. His was of a dead co-pilot, which had brought them together decades later.
They talked on the phone each evening after his visit and agreed that it would be fun to be together again soon. They were separated by too much distance to make impromptu plans. His flight schedules gave him long periods off, and she had the summer free. He actually felt happy. His issue with Ryan, the recovery of his collection, was on hold anyway while he was in prison. He had no idea what he’d do after Ryan was released, if anything, to get his coins back.
Returning to work, Jake followed his usual morning routine, including having coffee with BJ. “Okay, Jake, how’d it go?”
“BJ, it was great! I guess it was the right time for both of us.”
“Did you talk about Callie much?”
“No, not really. Julie’s a good person, BJ. Even though she was ripped off by Callie, she understood why I feel the way I do. She’s got the right kind of values and sense about her. I feel good about her.”
“So, you gonna go see her again?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Throughout the summer, Jake made two more trips to
Mineral Wells then got the nerve to ask her to come to Lafayette. “My place isn’t as plush. I’ve lived as a bachelor forever, but I’d like to show you around my part of the world.”
She drove down the last day of his flight schedule to stay all five days.
Once again, they had a wonderful time. He took her to New Orleans and to Avery Island with the Mcllhenny Plantation (Tabasco). On her last full day, he called BJ early in the morning before she woke. “Hey, BJ.”
“Jake! I thought you’d be enjoying your lady friend.”
“I am, man. I want to take her on a helicopter ride, got anything on the schedule? It’s a pretty summer day for sightseeing.”
“Well. You’re on the schedule to carry some parts to Corpus tomorrow, dead-heading back. Won’t be anyone in the helo but you, so I can pull that up to today. 067N is fueled and the only bird available.”
“Sounds good. I might not get there until ten or so.”
“No problem, pal. I’ll get the parts loaded and update the flight schedule. Do you want to take tomorrow off since you’re coming in today?”
“She’s leaving in the AM, BJ. I’ll work. Today’s on me, but I might be a little late checking in tomorrow.”
“No problem, you’ll be on standby if someone gets sick.”
“Thanks, man.”
She was accustomed