Alien Among Us (TJ Steele Book 1)

by L. Edwin Brown

  As I was pulling out of the driveway, Monday morning, I told the security guard, at the gate house, I would be gone for about a week, and Lois was also out of town until the first of February.

  I was taxing out to the runway, at Moffett Field by 9:00 AM and airborne, soon after. I claimed to thirty five thousand feet and cruised at Mach 0.875, five hundred fifty miles per hour. My maximum fuel range was three thousand four hundred miles, which was more than enough to get me to Sarasota, Florida.

  I landed in Sarasota, a little after 5:00, Eastern Standard Time, that afternoon. With assistance from the tower, I taxied over to a private hanger, on the southeast side of the airport. The owner, of Florida Coastal Aviation, had arranged a rental car for me. A gentleman, from the car rental company, was waiting at the Private hanger. Once I signed his paperwork, he handed me the keys to a Ford Crown Victoria.

  The hanger’s owner gave me directions to the funeral home and I took off. The funeral home was in an area called Kensington Park, not far from the airport. It took me twenty minutes, to get there. As I entered the funeral home, Rosanne was seated across from the door. She saw me, stood up and walked over and hugged me.

  I almost didn’t recognize her. It had been ten years, since I saw her last and she had aged. She and Tom came to my parent’s funeral, in 1993. Maybe they were showing their age back then and I just hadn’t notice.

  We walked together, up to the open casket. I didn’t recognize Tom either. His Alzheimer’s, had taken a toll on him. His face was drawn and thin. He was dressed in his full Air Force Captain’s dress uniform, displaying all his metal and awards.

  We stood at the casket and talked about the days at Edwards. Rosanne said they were planning on a memorial tomorrow for Tom, at the Lutheran church they attended in Sarasota. On Wednesday, the Air Force will take Tom to Arlington, Virginia, for a military burial at Arlington National Cemetery, on Friday. Her and her son’s will drive up on Thursday.

  We walked back to the chair, where she was sitting, when I came in. She picked up a brown envelope and pulled a dozen, eight by ten photos, from the envelope. They were photos of me and my parents at Edwards’s air base, when I was young. Some were of me, at the base, on the martial arts mats, in the gym. There was one of me sitting on Rosanne’s lap, when I was about a year old. She told me to take the pictures and cherish them.

  Rosanne said, when Thomas retired from the Air Force, he brought her back here to Sarasota. She grew up here and he wanted to bring her home. Tom opened a martial arts school, the first year they were here, and it grew to over three hundred members.

  I stayed at the funeral home with Rosanne and family, until nine. Before leaving, Rosanne’s oldest son Richard gave me instructions, on how to get to Saint Paul Lutheran Church, for Tuesday’s memorial.

  I drove to the Ritz Carlton Hotel, in downtown Sarasota, and checked into a suite, on the twelfth floor. I told the young lady, at the registration desk, I wasn’t sure how many nights, I would be staying, but it wouldn’t be longer than five.

  Tuesday Morning, I woke early. I stepped into the suites small kitchenette and brewed a pot of coffee. I showered while the coffee brewed. I was looking in the mirror shaving, after my shower.

  Richard Hines was the same age as me, but he looked fifteen years older, or maybe I just looked, fifteen years younger. I stared at myself for several minutes. I really hadn’t aged that much. I have perfect vision, exceptional hearing, perfect teeth and I’ve never been in pain, except when treating someone, who had been injured.

  Lois was now on my mind. I was remembering when she and I first laid in bed together. She suffered from a mild case of arthritis. I could feel it in her body. While she slept, I removed all the illnesses that inflected her. She never knew, what I had done, but always said she feels great, when I’m around. I often wonder if what I had done, was the right thing to do. I remove the normal aging process that humans go through, from Lois’s body.

  It was daylight now, and I could see a large marina, in Sarasota Bay, out my window. The downtown area had several tall buildings, but no skyscrapers, like San Francisco.

  I finished several cups of coffee, while I dressed for Tom’s memorial services. I left the hotel at 9:30 and drove over to St Paul Lutheran Church, on Bahia Vista Street. It was a modern structure, with two buildings and plenty of parking.

  When I entered the building, there were two gentlemen, one on each side of the door, handing out small prayer booklets. I took a seat about half way down, on the right side of the church. I saw Rosanne and her two sons, their wives, and her grandchildren seated in the front pews.

  The ceremony lasted several hours, with prayers from the minister and eulogies, from family members, friends, and martial arts students.

  After the memorial, I wanted to tell Rosanne goodbye. There were so many family and friends crowded around her, giving her their condolence, I decide to not hang around and headed for the door.

  Just as I reached my car, I heard a voice yell, TJ. I turned and saw Richard, coming towards me. I apologized for leaving. He said that was alright, but his mother wanted to see me, before I got away.

  Richard and I, re-entered the church, at a side door, near the altar. Most of Rosanne’s friends had left and only family members remained. When she saw me, she walked over and took my arm. She pulled me to the other side of the church and we sat down. Richard kept the other family members away, so Rosanne could speak to me in private.

  I wanted to tell you, Thomas and your father were best friends, she said. He also loved you. He always said, there is no one quite like you on this earth. He was amazed at how quickly you learned things. Over the years, when we read about you and your companies, in trade magazines and newspaper, he would tell people, you were the brightest of them all.

  He said working in martial arts with you, was the thrill of his life. Richard was never interested in martial arts, but Thomas loved him, just the same. He said he couldn’t wait for summer, when you would return to the base, from college. He knew you would be in every class, until you had to go back to school.

  Rosanne reached into her purse and removed a folded piece of black fabric. Once she was holding the item, in the palms of her hand, I could see it was Tom’s, East Asian martial arts black belt. It was folded back and forth, so it would fit in her purse.

  Thomas wanted you to have this, she said to me. I turned my hands, palms up, and Rosanne unfolded the belt and placed it over my hands. I raised the belt to my lips and gently kissed it, then held it to my forehead, for a few seconds, like I had seen the monks do, so many times.

  I only remember a few times in my life, when tears entered my eyes, and this was one of them. I thanked her and said, I will cherish this forever. Rosanne placed her hand on my cheek and said for me, to take care of myself. She said my parents told her, I was one of a kind. She said she never understood them, until now. You are aging only in mind and spirit, but not in body. I feel in my heart, the best of you is still to come, she replied.

  She walked me to the door, at the back of the church and reached up pulling my head down, so she could kiss me on the forehead. She said, she plans to move from Sarasota to Richmond, Virginia, in a few months. Her son doesn’t want her living here alone. With those final words, I turned and walked through the doors.

  When I reached the rental car, I slipped my suit jacket off and dropped it on the passenger seat. I loosened my tie and unbutton the top button, on my dress shirt. I slipped in behind the wheel, fastened my seatbelt, and spent the rest of the day, exploring the Sarasota area. I had lunch at a quaint little sea food shack, on a coastal road.

  It was late, when I returned to the hotel. I had a quick dinner in the hotel’s restaurant, before heading up to my suite.

  Wednesday, I took off and drove down the gulf coast, staying on roads as close to the Gulf of Mexico, as I could get. Some coastal roads would dead end and I would need to turn around and find an alternative route. I ended up in South Naples, late after
noon. I had a quick lunch at a local restaurant, before driving back up Florida State Highway 41 to Sarasota.

  I spent the evening in the Ritz lounge, talking with other guest at the bar. One gentleman recognized me and asked if I was Theodore Steele. I told him I was and explained, why I was in Sarasota. He said his name was Dominic. He was a pleasant gentleman and also an engineer. He said he was privileged to have seen one of my drone designs, while working on another military project.

  We talked until around seven, when his wife Erika and daughter Angela, came into the lounge. They had been out shopping, and had their hands full of bags. The two women said, they were going to take the bags to the room, and would be right back.

  A half hour later the two ladies returned and said they were hungry. I said I would be honored,, to buy them dinner, if they allowed me to. After downing the rest of my drink, the four of us took off for, Jack Dusty’s restaurant, next to the lounge.

  Erika and her daughter Angela owned several women’s clothing stores, in the Atlanta area. They were in Sarasota for a clothing convention, at the Sarasota Convention Center. Dominic was an engineer, for General Dynamics in Atlanta.

  We had a great dinner and conversation. I was more interested in their lives, but they kept asking about mine. I told them about my friend, Tom Hines and his memorial. I said I live on the west coast, near San Jose and I flew here in my plane. Around 9:00, Dominic and Erika said they had enough for one day and was ready to return to their room.

  Angela stayed with me and we went back into the lounge. I figure she was in her mid to late twenties and very smart. She asked me if I were married and I told her, no. She said she was married for two years, before catching her husband, with his old girlfriend. She said, her husband had been seeing, his old girlfriend, from the first day of they were married.

  We stayed in the lounge, until midnight and I walked her to her room, which was next to her parents. She invited me in, claiming we could raid the mini bar. When we entered the room and the door was closed, she turned and caught me off guard, with a passionate kiss.

  My last sexual encounter was with Wanda Dubois, about two years ago, but I knew what to do and where things went. I spent the night, leaving around 6:30, Thursday morning.

  After a shower and a change of clothes, I headed out on the road again. This time I drove north, along the coast. My journey ended in St Petersburg, where I turned around, working my way back south, towards Sarasota. I stopped at several interesting looking shops, but only purchased a couple items.

  When I reached the hotel, I went straight to my room. I called dogAngela room, to see what she had planned for this evening. When I got no answers, I headed down to the restaurant, by myself for dinner.

  When the elevator doors opened, on the ground floor, Angela and her mother and father, were in the lobby. They had just returned from the clothing convention. Angela came over and handed me several garment bags and tugged on my arm, pulling me back into the elevator, followed by her parents.

  After dropping the garment bags in her room, she and I took off for La Malinche restaurant, out on St Armand’s Circle. Although it was January, it was surprisingly warm. After dinner we walked around and shopped, at some of the stores on the circle.

  We spent the rest of the evening, in the lounge at the hotel, before once again going to her room. The next morning, we were lying in her bed, and she asked me if I would take her up in my plane. I told her I would be happy to, as soon as I got cleaned up and dressed.

  I called Florida Coastal Aviation and told them I was going to take my plane up today, but would be back later. Angela met me in the lobby. We stopped at a small diner, near the airport, for coffee and a bagel.

  When we got to the airport, I parked in front of the hanger. The owner opened the secured door and Angela and I, walked into the hanger. The large doors on the back side of the hanger were open and my Gulfstream G100, was sitting on the tarmac.

  Angela was looking around for a smaller plane. I took her hand and we walked over to my plane. This is yours, she asked? I told her it was and helped her up the steps. Once inside, I put her in the co-pilot’s seat, on the right side of the cabin space. I closed up the plane and sat down in the pilot seat. I put a set of head phones on Angela before putting on my set.

  She could hear everything I was saying to the tower. We taxied out to the runway, but had to set and wait, for several commercial planes to land and take off. When we finally got clearance, I moved out onto the runway. I quickly pushed the thruster controls forward and the jet rocketed down the runway. We were airborne banking to the right, as we climbed to thirty thousand feet, headed south over the gulf.

  We flew south, and the tower at Bradenton Sarasota International, handed me off to Naples Municipal airport. We flew down over Key West, turning east over the Florida Straits. I moved, as close as I dared, to the Cuban island, as we flew east. I was now getting chatter from Miami International, with new flight paths and altitudes. We stayed off the coast, flying north towards Jacksonville, Florida.

  Angela was having the time of her life now. She was a little scared when we first took off, but once she saw I was a serious pilot, she settled back and enjoyed the views.

  We stayed up for over four hours, flying over Savanah and southern Georgia. As our flight was coming to an end, I reached over and placed Angela hands on the steering yoke. She was very nervous, but she held the plane straight. I knew, I could over-ride her action at any point, but I didn’t want her to know that.

  As we got closer to Sarasota, I took the controls and landed the plane. We taxied to the hanger, from where we had left hours earlier. Once we were off the plane Angela jumped into my arms screaming, that was fantastic. The hanger crew didn’t know what had thrilled her, but I knew it was the thrill of flying a jet.

  We spent the day together and had dinner with her parents. She told me she was leaving, the next day for home. I said I would be returning to the west coast on Sunday. Her parents went to their room after dinner and Angela and I, headed into the lounge.

  There was a new bartender, tending the bar, and he asked to see our identification. It was obvious we were both old enough to drink, but state law requires them to check.

  After showing the bartender my ID, I laid my billfold down on the bar. Angela picked it up and looked at my driver’s licenses. She looked over at me, than my licenses again. Is this a typo she asked, as she pointed to my birth date? No sweetheart, I responded. I’m forty three years old.

  I thought you were around my age, she said. No, I just look younger than I am. I wasn’t sure, but it seemed to bother her that I was fourteen years older, than she was. She closed my billfold and handed it to me. We had a couple more drinks, but she was quieter, than she had been the last couple days.

  I walked her back to her room around 10:30. She didn’t ask me in this time, but she did give me a nice goodnight kiss. The whole time we were together, I hadn’t thought about my youthful appearance, being a problem. As I rode the elevator up to my floor, I was smiling. Even though she now knows, I’m older than I look, we still had a great time together.

  When I got to my room, I kicked off my shoes and turned on the television. I pulled a cold beer from the mini fridge and plopped down on the sofa, with my feet up on the coffee table.

  A weekly sitcom had just gone off, when I heard a knock at my door. I peeked through the peep hole and saw Angela, standing on the other side. I opened the door and she threw herself at me, almost knocking me down. She was kissing me and saying she didn’t want to go home, without telling me how much she liked me.

  I told her, I like her too. She grabbed my hand and dragged me over to the bed. She stayed with me all night and we made love several times, just to make sure, we had enough of each other, to last us a while.

  The next morning, I slipped on a shirt and pants and walked her back to her room, in my bare feet. I kissed her goodbye at the door and told her to be careful going home. She said it was a seven hou
r drive and she would be thinking of me the whole way.

  After Angela and her parents left, I spent some time with a real estate agent who had offices in the Ritz Carlton. I wanted to see what kind of homes were available in the Sarasota area. I told the agent I wanted a home on the beach with a pool and a little privacy.

  We looked through a large book, at about two dozen listing. None, was what I was looking for. I told the agent, if I come back to Sarasota, I would look her up and maybe we could check out some of the available homes.

  Sunday morning, I turned in my rental car and flew out a little after 10:00. The flight was four and a half hours and I picked up three time zones, as I flew across the country.

  I landed at Moffett Field in Mountain View and taxied to the hanger. I left my plane on the tarmac and carried my duffle bags over to my SUV. Once I had things loaded in the Cadillac Escalade, I headed for home. Because of the time zone changes, Sunday was a long day.

  I stayed busy the next two weeks, looking forward to seeing, Lois again. I also thought a lot about Angela. I called her several times, but was unable to reach her. I had the phone numbers, of the shops her mother and her owned, but she was never there or was avoiding my calls. I did reach her mother and she said she would give Angela, my message.

  I got a call late Saturday, January 31st, from Lois. She asked if I had time on Sunday, to come to Phoenix. I replied, I did and would be there, whenever she wanted me. She said to bring a change of clothes. She wanted me to stay for one day. I told her I would see her around noon, on Sunday. She said she would meet me at the airport at the hanger where I had dropped her off.

  I was airborne for the hour and forty five minute flight at 9:00 AM, Pacific Standard Time. It was ten o’clock in Phoenix. I would land a little before noon. The flight was uneventful and I landed at 11:50 and was on the tarmac, at a private hanger, at noon.

  I saw Lois and her sister, sitting in a car, on the other side of a high chain link fence. I stayed on the tarmac, just long enough to make arrangements, to have my plane taken care of. I had more than enough fuel to fly back to Mountain View, but I needed to make sure, the plane was secured.