My Little Rock Airman

by Brittany Fichter

  “So you’re turning her into a classical violinist?” It was my turn to glare.

  “Studies show that children who listen regularly to classical music can better focus than their peers.”

  I shook my head.

  “It also,” she continued, “significantly lowers anxiety and reduces physical tension.” She flipped me a wicked, flirty smile. “Does Bon Jovi do that?”

  “Jade?” I glanced in the rearview mirror, far less amused with the situation than I’d been five minutes earlier. “Do you want Bon Jovi or classical?”

  “Classical.” Jade didn’t even bother looking away from the window.

  “Traitor,” I muttered under my breath.

  Jessie snickered, and I gripped my steering wheel harder, praying that God would give me strength for the days when I had to do this after working a full shift. Because I got the feeling the week wouldn’t be getting any better.

  To put it mildly, the rest of the week didn’t get any better. Every time I thought I’d won the upper hand, she came back with some below-the-belt blow. I got back at her for the music intrusion by giving Jade a whole bag of gummy worms right before Jessie came over the next day, which meant Jessie arrived to find my sister somewhat akin to a pinball…a pinball she had to get ready for speech therapy.

  That was fun to watch until Jade crashed into my mother’s side table and broke a vase. Even less fun was explaining the incident to my mother.

  Wednesday, Jessie struck back with a shiny new CD of Jade’s favorite learning songs, including, “The Cow Says Moo, Moo, Moo, Moo, Moo”, “The Green Cat Likes P-I-N-K”, and “The Shape Shark Song”. By the end of the ride, I was an inch away from pleading for Jessie to go back to Beethoven.

  Thursday, at least, was a win in my book. I made sure to slip Jade her iPad, which was supposed to be off-limits until the end of the day, right after my mother left. By the time Jessie arrived, Jade was glued to the screen, and there was an atomic level meltdown that occurred as Jessie fought to separate the child from her game to take her to therapy.

  But even with this win, I was forced to admit that I was exhausted by the time Jessie left on Thursday night. As soon as my mom got home, I excused myself and dragged my sorry butt to the casita, where I flopped onto my bed to squeeze in six hours of sleep before I had to dress and leave for work. Thanks to my determination not to leave Jade alone with Jessie, I was going straight from a full work shift to a day with my sister and her bull-headed teacher. That left me time to sleep between four and ten every evening before I got up and started all over again.

  As I dozed off, I came to the conclusion that something was going to have to give. And I had the awful feeling that it just might be me after all.

  7

  Why I Don’t

  Jessie

  Thursday evening, after Mrs. Allen had relieved me of Jade, I climbed into my car and leaned my head against the steering wheel. One more day and this horrible week would be over.

  How was I going to make it through the summer? Full-time nannying, because if I was honest, that’s what I was really doing, was hard enough without having to be on my guard every second for Derrick’s next attack.

  My phone buzzed, and I answered without looking at the name.

  “Hello?”

  “Jessie! Please tell me you got my text.”

  “Hi, Madison.” I put the phone on speaker and pulled out of the drive. “What’s up?”

  “I know you didn’t want to go on that double date, so I canceled.”

  “And I thanked you for that.” I rubbed my eyes. “Several times.” So why was she bringing it up now?

  “You’re going to like this so much better. Sam set up a night out at Donny’s for the staff for whoever—”

  “I know. My mom told me.”

  “Then why don’t you sound excited? Or respond to my texts?”

  “I’m sorry, Madison. It’s not that. I’m just more exhausted than I can even begin to—”

  Madison sighed. “Jessie, Sam told me not to tell, but I’m going to anyway. He set this night up for you when he realized you’d never been to any of the extracurricular staff functions.”

  Despite my exhaustion, my heart jumped a tiny bit. “Sam set this up?”

  “Yes. What did you think it was? Some sort of trick to get you on another date?”

  I laughed. “All right, fine. You’ve got me. I’m in.” Maybe I did need a night out, something that would distract me from the annoying owner of the red truck I could see in my rearview mirror.

  There was a pause.

  “Wait…fine?”

  I nodded, still glaring at the red truck in my rearview mirror. “I’ll be there.”

  “Wow. That was easier than I thought.”

  “You were right. Sam was right. I need a distraction.”

  “Great!” Madison squealed. “Meet me at—”

  “Let me guess. Donny’s Bar at seven.” As if there was anywhere else to go in Jacksonville.

  “Actually, it’s six-thirty. But yes. You’re the best, Jessie.”

  If that were true and I were the best, I’d have gotten rid of a certain pesky older brother by now.

  “See you then,” I said before hanging up. Two weeks before, spending the evening with loads of people after a full day of working would have been detestable. But if they were able to take my mind off the airman I wanted to strangle, my coworkers were welcome to try.

  It only occurred to me that I probably should have dressed up a little more as I got out of my car and saw Madison coming out of the bar to meet me. The once-over she gave me wasn’t happy.

  “You’re late. And what are you wearing?”

  “It’s only six-thirty-five. And this was all I had ready at the last minute.”

  She huffed. “Well, you’ll have to do.”

  “I thought this was a staff thing. Why do you care what I wear?” I wrinkled my nose at her as she dragged me inside.

  Instead of paying heed, her pursed lips turned up into a magical unicorn smile as she dragged me inside.

  “Hey, where is everyone?” I couldn’t see anyone I recognized at the bar. But before I could investigate, she was turning us toward a corner booth where two guys were sitting.

  “I might have asked you to come a little early,” she said in a low voice.

  “Wait, what? Why?”

  “Since I found something to start this evening off even better.” She grinned.

  “Madison, the only reason I came was because you said Sam—”

  “We’ll see Sam and the others soon enough. But first I want you to meet someone.”

  I stopped. “Madison—”

  “Please, Jessie?” She stopped walking and clutched my arm. “I met him last week, and I really have a good feeling about this one. Like…a really good feeling.”

  “And how long have you known him exactly?”

  “I told you. I met him last week, and he texted today to say he was bringing a friend, so I said I’d bring one, too.”

  “Why?” I pulled my arm out of her grasp.

  “Seriously, Jessie.” She squeezed my hand. “I really need a wingman. I haven’t met a guy like Adam in a long time. Not since Bryce.”

  I glared. Everything in me rebelled. But as Bryce had been the last decent boyfriend Madison had held in her string of beaus, for my own sake, I capitulated. “You have until seven, when everyone else gets here. Then I’m done.”

  “Thank you!” She squealed and hopped up and down before taking a deep breath and leading me the rest of the way to the booth.

  “Gentlemen,” she beamed, “this is Jessie. Jessie, this is Adam.” She pointed to the blond one with brown eyes and a crooked smile. “And that’s Tanner.” Tanner’s eyes were hazel, and he had a dimple on his left cheek. His hair was the reddest red I’d ever seen. Though they wore civilian clothes (or civies, as my students referred to them), their hair was a dead giveaway, shaved close everywhere but the very top, which had a near squar
e look to the cut. About two-thirds of my boys sported the high and tight as well.

  Casting one more longing look back at the bar, I took my seat and groaned on the inside. Leave it to Madison to go to a staff party and find dates. But why I was surprised, I couldn’t say.

  “Are you a teacher, too?” Adam asked as Madison slid into the booth beside him…a little too close for someone she’d met only last week, in my opinion, but no one asked me.

  “I am.” I gave him my best tired smile. “Madison’s room is next door to mine.”

  “So you teach first grade, too?” Tanner turned to face me better.

  “I will be. We’re moving up with our classes this year.” I picked up the menu. Why did I think this was a good idea? I was exhausted, and hanging out with strangers was sure to exhaust me further. I should have just gone home. Twenty minutes. I was giving her twenty minutes of this charade, then I was fleeing to the safety of the bar.

  “You must like kids then,” Tanner said.

  I chuckled. “My life would be rather miserable if I didn’t.”

  He leaned forward slightly, his eyes glued to mine. “Do you want any of your own one day?”

  I blinked up at him over my menu. “Excuse me?”

  “How many do you want?”

  “Lives?” I laughed weakly.

  “Kids.” He folded his hands like one of my old college professors, the one who had liked to make us do mock interviews during our freshman year. “How many kids do you want to have?”

  “I…” I looked at Madison, but she looked as though she were stuck between smothering a laugh and blushing profusely.

  She was dead. I was going to kill her and write my name in her blood.

  When I didn’t answer immediately as I was plotting her demise, he tried again. “I just wanted to know if you—”

  “Actually,” Adam, the blond one, gave his friend a not-so-subtle kick beneath the table, “before we get too far in, would anyone like a drink? My treat.”

  I wasn’t a drinker in general, but this time, I didn’t hesitate to order a glass of wine. If Tanner’s studious gaze, which still hadn’t abated despite his friend’s kick, was any sign of the evening to come, I was going to need it.

  “Jessie,” Madison said, a little too loudly, “is going to be starting her master’s degree soon. So she’s spending the summer earning a little extra money.”

  “What are you doing?” Adam asked, casually draping an arm around Madison’s shoulders.

  “Tutoring.” I smiled, taking a sip of my wine. Okay, that was a slight understatement. A big understatement. But I was too tired to explain to the world that I was here to escape. “What are your AFSEs?”

  “Ah, so you speak Air Force lingo?” Adam looked impressed.

  I laughed. “I’ve learned enough from my students to make basic conversation and order dinner.”

  “That’s impressive.” Tanner was studying me with that intense tilt of his head again. “Military terms are often confusing to civilians.”

  “So what do you two do?” I took another quick sip of my wine.

  “We’re security forces.” Tanner sat taller in his seat, his chin lifting slightly and his eyes brightening.

  I finished off my glass and stared at it morosely.

  “Jessie?” Madison said with a nervous laugh, “do you need to—”

  “Get some water?” I hopped off the bench. “Yes. Yes, I do.” Without waiting to hear her answer, I grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the water station.

  “Maddie, are you nuts?” I whisper yelled.

  “What?” She played with her purse’s zipper.

  “They’re Security Forces! One little slip here, and we’re going to get traffic tickets any time we even think of driving on base.”

  Madison rolled her eyes. “How often do you actually drive on base?”

  “That’s not the point. The point is that you have set me up with someone who is very interested in…in procreation. With me, I might add!”

  Madison avoided my gaze. “He’s in the military.” She shrugged. “They move a lot. He’s probably trying to find someone before they send him away again.” Then she smirked. “You complained that Sam Newman wasn’t forward enough. This guy meets your scruples and raises them.”

  “This,” I gave her my best glower, “is why I don’t date airmen.”

  “Would you get your water?” She scowled back. “They’re waiting on us.”

  “You’ve got five minutes left,” I muttered as I indignantly filled my water cup from the clear jug with lemon slices floating in it. After the wine, the water tasted as sour as the look I hoped I was giving Madison.

  Under Madison’s direction, I pasted a smile on my face, and we returned to our table. Thankfully, Tanner didn’t seem as intent on putting his arm around me as Adam was to Madison. But Madison wasn’t complaining, and neither was I.

  “So, Adam,” I said, purposefully ignoring the look Tanner was giving me again. “What kind of car do you drive?” A stupid question, but it didn’t involve me or Tanner, and would hopefully get Adam talking.

  “I’ve restored a 1965 Ford Mustang.” He sat up straighter with a gleam in his eye that I hoped promised lots of talk about something other than me and my future progeny.

  He opened his mouth, but before he could launch into car brags, Tanner said, “I just bought a new car.”

  “Oh,” Madison said politely. “What kind?”

  “A fifteen-seater van.”

  Madison and I stared at him, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adam rub his eyes with the slightest shake of his head.

  “That’s…a lot,” I said. “You don’t have any kids yet do you?” Please say no.

  “No. But…well, you know, car seats take up a lot of space.”

  Madison, who had been taking a swig of her beer, snorted and just barely missed covering her date in spit. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. “Just how many car seats do you plan on having in there at once?”

  “Many, I hope.” He gave me another sideways glance.

  Thankfully, however, I was saved from having to respond when Adam turned the conversation away from me and to his crazy ex-girlfriend.

  “You know,” Madison laughed. “Jessie has her own way of getting back at people who make her angry.”

  Adam snickered. “Hopefully, not by sticking fish in people’s curtain rods. I still can’t get the smell out of my apartment.”

  “Jessie,” Madison’s eyes gleamed wickedly, “writes letters.”

  “Letters?” Tanner echoed, his steak halfway to his mouth.

  I rolled my eyes and grinned. “I don’t actually send them.”

  “No, and it’s a good thing you don’t.” Madison put her beer down. “You should have seen the one I caught her writing to me the day I tried to play a practical joke on her.”

  “You ruined my school planner!” I laughed. “I’d just filled it out, too! And you wouldn’t have seen it at all if you hadn’t been poking around my desk.”

  “If you think this cute little thing couldn’t hurt a fly,” Madison waved her hand at me, “you’d be sorely mistaken. You wouldn’t believe the verbal lashing she can write out. My eyes hurt for a week.”

  “Man.” Adam rubbed his chin. “I can’t remember the last time I wrote or sent a real letter.”

  “I filled out that card to register to vote,” Tanner said. “Does that count?” He turned back to me. “You know, if you married someone in the military, you could keep voting here since it’s your state of residence.” He sat straighter. “Have you ever considered it?”

  “Considered what?” I squeaked.

  “Marrying someone in the military?”

  8

  What-Ifs

  Jessie

  Before I had to choose between decking this guy and figuring out how to escape, a deep, deliciously familiar voice spoke from behind me.

  “Jessie, I didn’t see you get in.”

  We al
l turned to see Sam standing beside our table. Instead of his usual button-up shirt and khaki slacks, he was wearing jeans and a blue polo shirt. Casual looked good on him, and it took all my effort not to start singing a song in his honor.

  “Hey, everyone.” I turned to the rest of the table. “This is Sam, one of the other teachers from our school.” I stood and grabbed my purse. “Thanks so much for keeping me company while I waited for this guy. I’ll see you around, all right? And thanks for the wine, Adam.”

  I put my arm through Sam’s and whirled us around to march off in the opposite direction. I wasn’t fast enough to miss the look of devastation on Tanner’s face, but I made sure he wouldn’t be able to get in a final word as we left.

  “You were waiting for me?” Sam laughed softly.

  “I was waiting for the first person who could drag me away from the train wreck.” I let go of Sam and sank onto a bar stool. To my relief, I was safely surrounded by at least six more teachers by that time. “Where does she find these guys?”

  “At bars, apparently.”

  I laughed ruefully and shook my head. “Either way, thank you. I really needed to escape.”

  “He sounded fantastic. You should get his number.”

  I rubbed my face. “Not just him. Everything this week has been a disaster.”

  “Hold that thought.” He flagged down the bartender. “What do you want?”

  I gave the bartender a sheepish grin. “Shirley Temple?”

  Sam watched me for a second before chuckling. “Do you make those?” he asked. The bartender looked less than thrilled but nodded.

  “Great.” Sam grinned. “And put it on my tab. Now.” He turned back to me. “You were saying?”

  So I told him about my first week with Jade. Or rather, her brother. It felt good to get it all out. I’d told my parents some, but if I shared too many details, I knew they’d just want me to quit. Telling Sam felt like letting out a breath after holding it underwater for too long.