A CLEARING HORIZON... with just a little fog (Part 67b)

I didn’t have to call Lance because he called me. When he set up the flight for his wife he forgot that the airbase was going on holiday schedule as of that day. Because of it he subsequently found that he was on duty at the same time he was supposed to pick her up at the airport. Because half the base was on leave there wasn’t anybody for Lance to switch with. Naturally, he wanted me to go get her. If the trailer was still being delivered on time there was no way I would’ve gone... but, old softie me, I said I would. I did remind him of the missing money and he promised I’d get it... sometime. He said that he had to spend more money on the ‘49 Ford to get it on the road than expected. But, the big problem that neither of us realized at the time was that he and his wife would need a place to stay that night.

It was Elle who did. We’d arranged for our friends Mac, Jim, Tom and Andy to help us move. Basically, it was just our foodstuffs and clothes since the new trailer would come fully furnished. Things were hectic enough what with Christmas only a few days away and when she called to tell me I didn’t know what to say or do. Her first thought was the motel just down the road but I knew from Lance when he’d called me that he barely had enough cash to buy basic food to live on.

I don’t remember which one of us spoke first but the idea was that we could “squeeze them in” for the night. All we could do was to hope that the new trailer would arrive sometime that same day and that the "boys" could get it set up on Friday. That would still give us time to get everything organized and ready for Christmas and to let Lance take over the old trailer. That was our prayer as we tried to go to sleep.

The storm that the trailer had been caught up in was in the process of passing through as I got up. As I looked out at the weather I wondered how I'd got myself into this airport shuttle mess. The plane was due in around 3pm which gave me time to get the payroll finished and the checks to the Treasurer's office in plenty of time. It was still snowing when I left for the airport but the roads were clear. This time I was on time. But the plane wasn’t. Her plane was over an hour late due to the snow storm. Lance had made a sign with her name on it so she could find me. I felt sort of stupid holding up a sign with “JUDY” printed on it in front of all those people. At first I thought I was in the wrong place because all these people filed past me and there wasn’t anyone that even came close to the girl who’s picture Lance had shown me. I was concerned that she’d missed the plane and I had no idea what to do if she had. I started looking for someone with a uniform on to ask and then I saw this waif like girl shuffling somewhat towards me. The first thing I noticed was that the overcoat she was wearing was way to big for her. It went almost all the way to her shoes. Looking at her face it was basically colorless except for redness around her eyes. When she saw the sign she did perk up a bit as we walked towards each other.

It was obvious that she was scared and upset but I was certainly not the guy to offer her comfort. I was uncomfortable enough without adding her state of mind to the equation. I think the first thing I asked was how many bags she had brought with her. She said it was two and I turned towards the baggage claim area. Now you have to remember that this was 1961 and airport terminals were still pretty basic. There were no baggage carousels. The bags were unloaded from the carts onto a raised platform and you had to roam from one end to the other trying to find your bag(s). By the time we got there most of the bags had been picked up. She picked out one and as I went over to grab it I had the feeling that I’d seen one like it before. As I set it down beside her I remembered that my grandfather had one very similar. I also remember him telling me that he’d bought it to go to my father’s college graduation, thirty plus years earlier.

We made a few more passes up and down the platform and she told me that none of the bags belonged to her. Then she started crying. Not knowing what to say or do I started looking around. I saw a group of suitcases at one end of the room and headed that way. About the time we got to the bags a round little man appeared with a clipboard. This was the lost baggage area and he took down the description of the missing bag and my address and phone number. Then he told us that when the bag showed up that they would deliver it. (Remember, this is 1961 when the airlines really did provide “service”.)

By that time it was dark outside. I’d told Elle that I’d be back around 6pm and to have supper ready. There were lines in front of each pay phone that I saw and I wasn’t sure that I had the right change anyway so headed right for the station wagon. When Judy went to get in I saw her lean in and feel the seat. I wondered what she was doing but she then got in and I forgot about it. When I got in I looked over at her and with her looking straight ahead I got a good profile look. She did appear to be somewhat cute as I noticed the tip of her nose had a slight rise to it.

To be continued...