Mars with Venus Rising

by Hope Toler Dougherty

  The plane bucked, and John adjusted the yoke. She swung a desperate gaze to him.

  He shook his head. “That was a thermal. We just flew through a cloud.”

  Weren’t clouds supposed to be soft and fluffy? Soft and fluffy shouldn’t rock a plane like that.

  A mechanical groan sounded from underneath the plane before a slight jolt startled her. Her gaze flew to John again.

  “Yep. Landing gear’s in place.” He pointed in front of the plane’s nose. “When we bank to the left in a minute, you can see the airport if you want to look.”

  Shaking her head, she clamped her eyes shut. Pinks and blues appeared inside her lids. What were those verses? Disjointed images swirled through her mind.

  God, please help me. It’s almost over. Help me, God. Land this plane safely.

  The verses drifted gently and quietly into her consciousness.

  I am with you always.

  She relaxed, opened her eyes. John’s hands worked the controls. He reached over and patted her knee. Warmth soothed its way through her magenta capris.

  He held out his hand, an invitation.

  Her hand remained planted on the armrest. She shook her head again, keeping her eyes centered on the controls, not the window.

  John smiled and caressed her knee before adjusting a knob. He grabbed the yoke and banked left.

  Another verse floated into her mind. Her body listed to the left. A wave of nausea rolled over her. She pinned the bag waiting in her lap and swallowed again.

  Landing. The only thing standing between herself and the sweet, solid earth. Landing. Fear popped in her chest and spread like an ink spot on a white shirt, speeding her pulse, robbing the air from her lungs. Whispering, she drew strength from the words. “When I am afraid, I will trust in You.” The first verse she’d ever learned in Bible School.

  She’d secretly practiced it all week, and on the final day with the families in the sanctuary, she walked up to the platform where the director stood and recited the whole verse. The surprise and joy on her aunts’ faces as she said every word without hesitation thrilled her more than the small silver cup she’d won for memorizing the verse.

  Jancie and Winnie. They loved her so much. What was happening with them right now? Tears prickled, and she dragged her thoughts from them.

  She remembered instead the director placing the cup in her hand. The cup had turned out to be tin in actual fact, but Penn loved it. It resided on a shelf in her bedroom today. When she got home—if she got home—no. No negative thinking. When she got home, she’d move the cup to her dresser, a daily reminder of...of this ordeal? Of the Bible verse? Of God’s faithfulness?

  Another slight jolt jostled the bag in her lap. She watched it move and lifted another thank You prayer she hadn’t used it.

  Yet.

  The engine noise changed. New, unfamiliar noises filled the cockpit.

  John’s voice sounded louder, easier to hear.

  A movement in the corner of her eye moved her attention to the window. Before she thought about what she was doing, she looked out the window. Green things whipped by. She focused and realized the green things were trees. Trees?

  She swung her gaze back to John, grinning and working the controls. “On the ground. Safe and sound. Thank You, Lord.”

  “We landed?”

  “Yeah. Where were you?”

  “I...I mean...I felt a little bump. Was that it?” Her arms and legs trembled like the congealed salad languishing in her refrigerator back home.

  “It was a pretty sweet landing if I do say so myself. But...as we say in the business, any landing you walk away from is a good landing.”

  Penn slumped against the seat and watched the parked planes come into view. She’d just flown in her first plane ride. And survived. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Praise be to God.

  And John.

  Penn glanced at him. His gaze focused ahead, concentrating on his task as he taxied the plane to a parking place, but his face stretched wide in a victory grin. He leaned back in his seat, and pressed the pedals with his feet. “Penn, babe, we’re here. You did it. I knew you could.”

  She didn’t do anything but hang on for dear life. Hang on and trust John to fly the plane as he said he could.

  And God, of course.

  She’d trusted God to carry her through. Those verses hadn’t surfaced in years, but they’d come to her exactly when she’d needed them, dormant until a time such as today.

  Just like God. He’d always been with her whether she acknowledged Him or not, loving her, helping her, carrying her through every rough patch.

  Praise be to God.

  Indeed.

  ~*~

  John cut the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Hang on. I’ll come round and help you.” He leaned toward her and kissed her forehead. “You did fantastic! Great job, Penn.”

  Thank you, God.

  He hopped out the door, sprinted around the front of the plane, and climbed up on the wing to get to her.

  Thank you, God.

  Her head lolled against the seat. Her face was as white as the clouds they’d flown through. He opened the door and grabbed the buckle.

  “I’m so proud of you. Can you believe it?” He removed the harness from her shoulders, tossed the barf bag to the floor, and tugged at her legs to get her to exit the plane.

  She met his gaze. “I don’t know if I can stand.”

  “I’m right here to help you. You made it this far. I’m not going to let anything happen to you now.” He set her feet outside the door and reached for her arms. “We’ll just take it slow and easy.”

  She slid forward and edged to the wing.

  He hopped to the tarmac, gripping her calf. “I’m right here, Penn. I’ve got you. Come on down.”

  “Seriously, John. I don’t think I can move.”

  “You don’t have to.” He stretched up and grabbed her waist, lifting her to stand beside him. “I got you, Penn. Stand right here until you get your land legs.” He gathered her to him, so proud of her and thankful for the great flight that his heart pumped like he’d just bungee jumped off the Perrine Bridge in Idaho.

  He kissed the crown of her head, breathing in the scent of flowers. He kissed her temple and trailed his lips to the frantic pulse in front of her ear. “Can you believe it, Penn? We’re here. Great job, babe.”

  Shifting to meet her eyes, he brushed curls away from her face. Before he could think about what to say next, Penn rose on her tiptoes and reached behind his neck. She tugged his face down, clamping her mouth to his. She pressed into him, twining her fingers into his hair, with a kiss that meant business.

  Adrenaline from the landing pumped in his veins and ramped up with the shock of her kiss.

  He cradled the back of her head and answered her as he’d wanted to since the first time he’d sat with her on the front porch swing. A shiver that had nothing to do with the landing tingled the back of his neck.

  Their trip was only partially over. They had to get to the hospital and find out the state of things with Jancie, and they’d do that. But right now for a couple more seconds, he wanted to revel in Penn’s being in his arms and kissing him.

  She felt so good crushed up against him. His hand traveled her spine to the small of her back, and he let himself fall into the deepening kiss.

  Her sigh brought him back to his responsibility. Get her to her aunts. He dragged his mouth to her cheek and rested his chin on the top of her head. She laid her forehead against his chest. Her crazy breathing keeping pace with his own.

  “Penn, as much as I want to pursue this new development between us, we need to get going.”

  She burrowed her face into his shirt. She didn’t want to let go yet. He tightened his arms around her. Good. Neither did he.

  He stroked her hair and let her have a few minutes. After that kiss, he needed calming, too. As he stood, he felt a warm wetness seep into the front of his shirt. Concerned, he lifted her chin
. Smudged tears matted her eyelashes and highlighted her cheeks.

  “Hey. What’s wrong?” He dried the tears with his thumbs, cupping her face in his hands. “Penn, talk to me. You’ve barely said a word since we took off. What’s wrong? You were a trooper on the plane, and that part’s over.” He smiled at her.

  Silence.

  “You didn’t bump your head on the way out, did you?” He inspected her curls, appreciating their softness again. “What’s wrong?”

  She whispered into his damp shirt, “I don’t know.”

  ~*~

  That was a bold face lie.

  Her entire body had been suffused with trembling when the plane had taxied to a stop. The tremors had stolen her muscles and left al dente noodles in their places. Without John’s help, she was certain she’d never have been able to exit the plane.

  The plane.

  She’d flown in a plane. The enormity of what she’d just accomplished hovered just outside her comprehension.

  Before she’d had a chance to process the flight, get her land legs as he’d suggested, John began exploring her profile with his kisses. The tremors that had slightly subsided returned like swarming bees looking for a new hive.

  And then.

  And then she’d kissed him like...like she’d just passed her CPA exam, or won a million dollars, or flown in a plane and survived.

  The adrenalin had to go somewhere, and she’d poured it into kissing the daylights out of him. When he broke it off, her body and mind overloaded with sensory feelings, culminating in a liberating catharsis all over the front of John’s shirt.

  He massaged her shoulder. “You’ve had a tremendous day. Unfortunately, it’s not done. Some of your family is supposed to be here to pick us up.”

  “What?”

  “Reesa called some numbers I gave her and radioed me that somebody, Benjamin, I think, is taking us to the hospital.”

  “Benji and Alice.” Sweet Benji and Alice. Always together. Always helping, bringing casseroles, visiting shut-ins, chauffeuring sick ones to doctors’ appointments.

  “Right. Family?”

  “They’re my aunts’ first cousins on my grandmother’s side.”

  “You ready to go find them, or do you need more time out here?”

  She wanted to stay right here in John’s arms. Not think about what was facing her with her aunts. Not think about anything but him.

  Penn covered the wet splotches on his ivy colored cotton shirt and felt the heat from his chest on her palm. She arched her neck, regarded his dark chocolate eyes, and lowered her gaze to his mouth that lifted into a smile.

  More zings skittered down her spine.

  He slid his hand over her arm and spread his fingers over her hand. “Come on. I’ll walk you in and come back for our bags.” He tucked her under his arm, close to his side, safeguarding, supporting.

  Benji and Alice appeared at the glass double doors, waving and smiling. “Penny, dear, so good to see you. Wish it could be in better circumstances.” Both of them surrounded her with a bear hug as she and John crossed the threshold. “She’s doing all right. She’s out of surgery. The doctor placed two stents in to repair two blockages on the left side of her heart.”

  “Thank God.” So much to thank Him for—especially in the past couple of hours.

  26

  Penn’s nose twitched at the antiseptic smells wafting in the hospital corridor. Alice pushed the elevator button. “We can go right up to the heart patient waiting area. That’s where we left Winnie. The preacher stayed with her.”

  Penn relaxed against John as the lights blinked the floor numbers. Exhaustion swelled to every pore of her body. She snuggled into his shirt, searching for the familiar clean, spicy scent.

  Thank you, God, for this man beside me.

  The doors pinged open and spewed a crowd of men and women in scrubs.

  John shuffled her out of the way.

  Alice led them onto the elevator. “We told her she ought to get something to eat. She won’t be able to see Jancie till she wakes up. But you know Winnie. Stubborn. Said she’d wait a while.”

  John nudged her. “You need to eat, too. You had a couple of bites of pizza before you got the call.”

  Although her stomach felt empty, it rejected the idea of food. A picture of the barf bag that had journeyed with her to North Carolina appeared before her eyes. Triumph curled her lips. The bag, clean and empty, waited for someone else, not her. She’d conquered that bag.

  Conquered.

  What a special, powerful word.

  But John had to be starving. “We’ll get something in a little bit, OK?”

  Alice led them to a group of chairs behind the reception desk. Winnie sat crocheting in a chili-colored hospital room chair, chatting with a man Penn assumed to be the pastor.

  Penn raced out of John’s hold and draped herself across Winnie’s lap with a fierce embrace, the hook bouncing on the carpeted floor.

  “Oh, Penny, girl. I’m so glad you’re here.” Winnie extracted a wadded tissue from her shirt pocket and dabbed her eyes with the damp shreds. “And so fast. How in the world? No traffic, huh?”

  Penn stroked her cheek. “I made it, Aunt Winnie. I’m here.”

  “I’m sorry I was in such a tizzy when I called you, honey. I just...I just didn’t know what to do.” Winnie buried her head into Penn’s neck and sobbed.

  John handed her fresh tissues snagged from the side table and greeted the pastor.

  When the sobs subsided, Penn wiped her aunt’s face with the new tissues. “I’m here. We’re going to handle this together.” She guided Winnie to the olive love seat. “Let’s sit and tell me everything.”

  Benji took Winnie’s vacated chair, leaving John and Alice to the paisley couch perpendicular to the loveseat.

  Winnie removed her glasses and wiped the lenses on her shirt hem. Replacing them on the bridge of her nose, she gasped. “John. Oh, Johnny boy, you’re here, too?” She blew her nose. “I thought I was done with the crying, but I just might have to start all over. I can’t believe you’re here.” She wiped her eyes.

  “Couldn’t let Penn come alone. I’m glad to be here, Winnie.”

  Alice assumed hostess duties, introducing the pastor before he left for more hospital visits.

  Winnie grabbed Penn’s hand and nestled her head on her shoulder. “It’s been a long day, Penny.”

  Alice took charge again. “Why don’t ya’ll go down and get something to eat? The cafeteria has pretty good food. Benji and I can stay right here and wait in your place. We’ll call if the doctor calls. Probably be a while still before she wakes up.”

  Benji slid back in the chair. “We’ll call the minute we hear something.” He wiggled his flip phone and dropped it into his chest pocket.

  Several minutes of cajoling later, the three of them negotiated the maze of halls to the hospital cafeteria.

  At the checkout line, John unfolded his wallet.

  Managing her tray with one hand, she stilled his movements with her free one. “Let me pay for you. Let this be the start of what I owe you.”

  He frowned. “For what?”

  “For the...for today...” The idea of her...flying...in a plane...

  “First off, letting a woman pay for my meal,” he shook his head. “Not the way I was raised up, as they say. Second, today’s on me—and my boss. So don’t worry about that.”

  Winnie, holding her tray with a tuna salad sandwich, joined them.

  Penn tabled the argument.

  Over a few nibbles of a quinoa salad—her feet may have been back on the ground but her stomach hadn’t completely landed yet—Penn listened to Jancie’s story.

  Winnie managed to relate it without fresh tears, but her chin trembled, and her voice broke a couple of times.

  Jancie had complained of heartburn but blamed it on the Mexican food they’d eaten. She’d been up several times during the night and about eight o’clock started wondering about going to the emergency
room. About nine, Winnie convinced her to call the rescue squad. She’d had the heart attack on the way to the hospital.

  “I followed in our car behind the EMTs. I found out after when I came in from the parking lot.” She sniffed and wiped her nose with her napkin.

  “Aunt Winnie, I’m so sorry you had to go through all this by yourself. I’m here now. We can face it together. Right?”

  Winnie pushed away her half-eaten sandwich. “I’m ready to go back up when ya’ll are.”

  John, with two cheese burgers fortifying him, gathered the plates and glasses and stacked them on a brown plastic tray. “Let’s go.”

  Five minutes after arriving back at the waiting area, the doctor called for Winnie, but she asked Penn to take the call.

  Prickles stung Penn’s chest as she and John proceeded toward the phone.

  Penn came back and offered a tentative smile to the waiting group. “She’s awake but groggy and can have two visitors for ten minutes.”

  Alice rose, adjusting the skirt of her dress. “Thank God. You two go right on ahead. We’ll stay here and get to know John.”

  Penn searched John’s face. He opened his arms for her. His breath warmed her ear. “You’ll be fine. I’ll be here when you get back.”

  She snuggled close to his chest, listening to his heartbeat. She released her hold and missed his solid strength immediately.

  “Aunt Winnie, you ready?” Penn enfolded her aunt in a side hug and walked with her to the locked door that led into the ICU.

  When she saw Jancie lying in the bed, Penn’s heart sank. She stopped inside the door.

  Jancie looked pale and tiny. Frail and old. Vulnerable without her glasses.

  Winnie strode right to the bed and grabbed her sister’s arm.

  Jancie’s eyes opened, squinted and tried to focus. She shifted her head to see both of them. “Hey...” her voice croaked. “Penny, you’re here?”

  “It’s me, all right.” Penn pushed her legs forward, kept her voice light. “Didn’t want to miss anything.”