The Wild Blue Yonder
By
Stephanie
Disclaimer: This short
story is a work of fiction and was written purely for fun. I don’t own
the characters and my intention is not to infringe upon anyone else’s
copyright. I also do not intend to profit from this endeavor. That
said, thank you to Universal and Donald Bain, respectively, for the wonderful
characters Jessica Fletcher and George Sutherland. I would also like to
extend a very special thank you to Anne, not only for her assistance with the
editing and veterinary-related information, but also for allowing
Tipper to join Jessica and Seth on this adventure. I hope that I have
remained true to the wonderful character that Anne has created.
Editor’s Disclaimer: I’ve been
reading bits and pieces of this story since its conception, and can swear,
cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye, that Stephanie came
up with her plot twist involving the airplane long before Donald Bain
independently came up with his. -Anne
Jessica poured herself a tall, refreshing glass of iced tea and sat down at her kitchen table to rest for a few minutes after spending the afternoon working in the yard – pulling weeds and tending to her rose bushes, which were particularly beautiful this year. She had closed her eyes and was enjoying the cool, gentle breeze that blew through the house when she heard a light knock on the door. The knock was followed by a squeak as the door opened and Tipper Henderson poked her head into Jessica’s kitchen.
Jessica opened her eyes and beckoned Tipper inside for a glass of iced tea.
“You mean Doc Hazlitt hasn’t fixed that yet?” Tipper asked as she stepped into the kitchen, half hoping that Seth was lurking somewhere close by.
“No, it’s next on my list of things to do today. Seth has been exceptionally busy this week, covering for Doctor Rush while he’s on vacation,” Jessica explained before setting Tipper’s glass down on the table and offering her a small plate of cookies.
Tipper declined the cookies and instead added a small amount of sugar and lemon to her iced tea. “Before I forget,” she started to say as she reached into her pocket and removed a single key, “your house key.” Tipper slid the key to the center of the table and sipped at her tea.
Just as Jessica sat down to join her guest, the telephone began to ring.
“Hello,” she answered brightly once she had lifted the receiver to her ear. Upon hearing Jed Richardson’s voice on the other end, she asked the owner and operator of Jed’s Flying Service, “Are we still on for tomorrow?”
“Oh, Jed, I’m sorry to hear that,” Jessica offered sympathetically. “Is there anything that I can do for her?”
While Jessica and Jed spoke Tipper sat quietly, enjoying her tea and trying very hard not to eavesdrop.
“Maybe Doctor Henderson would like to join us tomorrow at the Blueberry Festival?” Jessica suggested loudly enough that Tipper couldn’t ignore her.
The young
veterinarian nodded her head in agreement.
With a three day weekend ahead of her she was game for something new, and
despite the fact that she had been born and raised in
*****
Early the following morning Seth pulled his car away from Jessica’s curb and announced that they were running five minutes ahead of schedule.
“Good,” Jessica replied, “we have plenty of time to pick up Tipper and we’ll still be right on time.”
“You never said anything about Doctor Henderson joining us,” Seth grumbled.
“Jed called yesterday afternoon and Alicia is laid up with her back, so Tipper is taking her place.”
“Alicia didn’t call me,” Seth complained, “and I’m her doctor.”
“Yes, Seth, I’m aware of that and so is Alicia, but she knows how busy you’ve been this week with Doc Rush on vacation. Jed said that she was planning to rest in bed for a day or two and she’s taking the muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatories that you prescribed for her the last time that her back went out. If it doesn’t improve, she’s planning to schedule an appointment with her physical therapist on Monday.”
“That all sounds well and good but I should see her before we leave,” Seth decided.
“Is there anything that she should be doing that she isn’t already?”
“Well, no,” he sputtered as he parked the car in front of Tipper’s house.
Jessica laid her hand gently on Seth’s arm. “Why don’t you check on her when we get to the airport and then try to enjoy your day off?”
“I can do that,” he agreed. “Now, we’re going to be late if…” but before he could finish his complaint that Tipper wasn’t ready yet, she jogged down the walkway to the car and climbed into the back seat.
“Morning, Jessica…Doctor Hazlitt,” she offered cheerily as she settled into the back seat, “ready to go?”
“Ayuh,” Seth answered.
Jessica and Tipper chatted
enthusiastically while Seth drove them to the
“I’ll just check on Alicia then,” Seth said before getting out of the car and retrieving his black medical bag from the back seat.
For the first year after the Richardsons had moved to Cabot Cove they had lived in an old farm house that was located on the airport grounds and which was provided to the airport manager free of charge. During that first year they purchased a parcel of land adjacent to the airport property and built their own home there. The farm house was now used by the city as a rental property but currently stood vacant.
While Seth tended to Alicia, Jessica and Tipper went into the terminal, a small concrete block building that had been painted white with green trim. Since Jed had taken over operations at the airport, it had been rejuvenated. In the past several years the city had built a new fifteen thousand square foot maintenance hanger as well as twenty new T-hangers for storing private airplanes. Another large hangar stored several commercial aircraft.
Construction on a new terminal had begun in early June and was scheduled to be finished by mid-October if all went well. While Alicia and Jed had cleaned up the old terminal, given it a fresh coat of paint and replaced most of the furnishings with newer used pieces, the building was definitely in need of being replaced.
Jed was behind the counter, talking
on the telephone with a customer who wished to schedule a charter flight to
Tipper listened to the terminal’s
radio, which broadcasted the chatter of pilots preparing to take off and land,
while she watched their activities through a large picture window. While she enjoyed watching the buzz of activity
outside and she didn’t mind flying commercially, she had no intention of ever setting
foot inside a small airplane. She checked
the time and quickly calculated that the three plus hour drive would put them
in
Jed completed his call, making notes on his calendar regarding the specifics of the flight before replacing the receiver. “Is Seth checking on Alicia?” he asked as he wrote.
“Yes,” the women answered together.
“Well, I’ve already done the pre-flight on the Skylane and filed our flight plan so why don’t you ladies load up while I get my flight bag ready to go?” Jed suggested.
“What do you mean ‘load up’?” Tipper asked hesitantly.
Jed looked at Jessica who now
realized that she had forgotten to mention to Tipper that they were flying to
“Does flying make you nervous, Doctor Henderson?” Jed asked with complete sincerity.
“No, flying doesn’t make me nervous. But being hurtled toward the ground at over two hundred miles per hour in little more than a tin can certainly does,” she said, correcting him.
As a seasoned pilot, Jed had no intention of forcing anyone who wasn’t willing into an airplane. Over his career as a commercial airline pilot he had accumulated numerous stories about passengers who had become hysterical while in the air because they were afraid of flying. At least in a commercial airplane there was a barrier between the cockpit and the passengers, but that was not the case in a private airplane.
He had intended to offer Tipper the use of the courtesy car to drive herself back into town, but before he could suggest it Jessica intervened with a few words of empathetic encouragement.
“I was a bit apprehensive myself, when I started taking lessons,” Jessica admitted as she sat down on the large sectional couch that filled nearly a quarter of the small building.
“You took flying lessons?” Tipper asked, amazed.
“Yes. I was doing research for a book and Jed offered to give me a few lessons. I had so much fun that I kept at it and eventually earned my private pilot’s certificate.”
“Wait a minute,” Tipper said, waving off Jessica’s story. “You don’t even drive a car.”
“No, I don’t. But I do have a license to fly an airplane,” Jessica announced before removing her pilot’s certificate from her purse and handing it to Tipper.
Tipper regarded the small green card that she now held in her hand and tried to envision Jessica at the controls of a small plane.
“Ready to go?” Seth asked impatiently after entering through the rear door of the building. “I don’t want to miss the pancake breakfast,” he added before noticing that the room was silent and that all eyes were on Tipper.
Tipper handed the card back to Jessica and mumbled something about calling a taxi.
“What’s the matter, Doctor Henderson? You afraid of flying?” Seth blurted out.
“No,” Tipper said defiantly as she stood from the couch. “Let’s go,” she insisted before turning toward the door and marching out to the parking ramp where Jed’s red, gold and white Cessna 182-RG waited.
“Let’s go,” Seth repeated happily as he followed her. Jed grabbed his black flight bag and after being assured by Jessica that Tipper would be fine, they joined the others on the parking ramp.
“Tipper, would you like the co-pilot seat?” Jessica offered as they stood on the ground next to the four seat plane.
“No, no, that’s quite alright, Jessica,” she said as she stepped up onto the foot grip mounted on the landing gear. “I’ll be fine right back here,” she added as she climbed into the back seat, where Seth was already waiting, and secured her seatbelt.
“Jessica, do you mind if I take the right seat?” Jed asked as he walked around the plane after stowing his flight bag on the floor between the rear seats.
“What?” Tipper exclaimed. “Jessica’s going to fly the plane!”
“No,” Jessica assured her very calmly. “Jed can fly the plane from the right seat.”
“I teach from the right hand seat,” Jed explained after he climbed in.
Tipper let out a very noticeable sigh of relief. “Sorry, Jessica, nothing personal,” she added when she realized how melodramatic she must have sounded. It wasn’t that Tipper didn’t trust Jessica, but if she was actually going to go through with this, she would much prefer to have a professional pilot at the controls.
Jed gave Jessica one of his David
Clark headsets and offered Tipper her choice of a headset, ear plugs or ear
protectors. She chose the ear plugs,
figuring that she was better off being oblivious to any and all conversations
that Jed might have while piloting them north to
Jed taxied the plane to the holding point and because the airport was too small for an air traffic control tower, radioed his intentions to the other airplanes in the area over the general radio frequency.
Tipper said a silent prayer and closed her eyes as Jed taxied the plane onto the runway and increased speed. Angela Elizabeth Henderson, you’ve gone completely insane, she thought to herself as the plane lifted off the runway. She clutched her seat and kept her eyes tightly closed and somehow managed to survive take off without screaming. Eventually, she opened her eyes just wide enough to see that they were flying along the coastline. What a view!
Very quickly she became too
distracted by the beauty below to worry about where she was. Coastal
In less than an hour’s time they
were on the ground again, having landed at the
“Look at all of these airplanes,” Tipper commented to Jessica while Jed and Seth tied down the Skylane.
“Look there,” Jessica said, pointing almost directly above them, “a sky writer.” Tipper looked skyward and watched as the red, white and black plane created its message of welcome to everyone below.
“What is all of this?” Tipper asked as she surveyed the airfield. “I’ve never seen so many small planes.”
“It’s called a fly-in,” Jessica explained. “It’s a social event for pilots.”
Tipper began to walk along a row of airplanes that was parked on the grass, bordering the parking ramp. Even without knowing anything about airplanes she was aware of the pride that each owner took in his or her aircraft. It was something akin to a classic car show. Of particular interest to all of those in attendance was a fully restored DeHaviland Beaver, a red and black bi-plane with the insignia of the ‘Red Baron,’ a mustard colored P-51 mustang, and a bright blue and yellow tri-plane. There was also a group of smaller experimental and home built aircraft including one with its propeller mounted on the rear of the plane.
At one point Tipper stopped to watch as a sleek, bright purple number taxied onto the parking ramp and was deftly maneuvered until it fit in line with the others. After shutting down the engine and waiting for the propeller to stop turning, a woman with long, bright red hair leaped down from the cockpit and was greeted by another female pilot.
Seth caught up with them just as they reached the gate that allowed people to enter and exit the tarmac. There was nothing more than a chain link fence and padlock to keep people out when the gate was closed. Perhaps there is other security that isn’t so obvious, Tipper thought as she looked around in search of something that she may have missed.
As they approached a sign that advertised free shuttle service to the festival, they were greeted by a small group of men from the airport board, as well as the airport manager, who informed them that they were welcome to wait under the shade tree and a shuttle would be there to transport them shortly. As they waited Jessica spotted Jed carrying his flight bag in one hand and his briefcase in the other, making his way across the parking ramp. She also noticed that he was greeted warmly by most of the pilots who were milling about, socializing. It had been Jessica’s experience that Jed was not only a charismatic individual but also an honest businessman, so it didn’t surprise her in the least that he was popular among his fellow pilots.
Just as she was planning to call out to him, the airport manager, who was now holding court with two of the local pilots, cursed loudly and angrily regarding Jed’s presence. Jessica was taken aback as the man had seemed to be very friendly when he had greeted them just five minutes earlier.
Noticing the three men in heated conversation as he approached his own group, Jed limited his interaction with them to an acknowledging nod.
“Here’s the shuttle,” Jed announced as a gray van pulled into the airport parking lot. “I have a little business to attend to and then I’ll catch up with you at the park.”
“We can wait until you’re finished,” Jessica offered, much to Seth’s dismay.
“Don’t worry, Doc, I’m sure they’ll save you some,” Tipper half-whispered, earning her a stern look from Seth.
“That’s okay, Jess, I’ll be an hour or two and I don’t want Seth to miss out,” Jed replied with a note of humor. “We submitted a bid to the airport board for the management contract here and they are announcing their decision at the end of their meeting, which starts in about a fifteen minutes,” he explained as he adjusted his flight bag, moving it from his hand to his shoulder.
“You and Alicia aren’t planning on leaving Cabot Cove?” Jessica asked, both disheartened and surprised by the idea.
“No, Jessica, we’re not,” he assured her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, “but we are ready to expand,” he explained, “and this place has a great deal of potential…if it’s managed correctly,” he added quietly.
*****
The trio filled up on blueberry pancakes, eggs and sausage links. The park, which was the site of the festival, was a two block square, grassy area that was surrounded on all sides by cobblestone streets and historic buildings that still served as the center of business and government for the small town. The streets were lined with vendors and crafters and the group soon agreed that there was no limit to the number of products that could be made from or inspired by blueberries.
Jessica purchased a birthday present for Donna and Tipper couldn’t resist adding to her vast collection of t-shirts by purchasing a humorous one promoting the festival. They took their time and after meeting up with Jed continued to enjoy all of the day’s events.
“You up for a challenge, Doc?” Tipper asked when she noticed a sign promoting the upcoming pie eating contest.
“Not if that’s what you have in mind,” Seth begged off after eying the poster that informed anyone who was interested that they could sign up in the events tent.
“Does he even know how to have a good time?” Tipper asked Jessica and Jed, trying unsuccessfully to bait Seth into joining her.
“Runner-up, Doctor Henderson, I’m impressed,” Jed said after the contest was over and Tipper had wiped off the majority of pie crust and filling that had covered her face. “What did you win?”
“Everything I’ve always wanted,” she answered with a grin: “two homemade pies - blueberry, of course - two free flight lessons, and another t-shirt,” she answered.
*****
When they arrived back at the airport Jed introduced Jessica, Seth and Tipper to a few members of the airport board who were still hanging around outside the terminal building, seeing the last few pilots off. Jed had been awarded the management contract at the airport and would start providing services in six weeks.
After noticing a group of storm clouds far off in the distance Jed excused himself to check the weather and to file his flight plan while Jessica, Seth and Tipper chatted with two board members who seemed very happy to have Jed on board.
“We had a good turn out today but typically I would say that the number of flight operations here has declined by more than seventy five percent over the past three years,” Bud Moore, the senior member of the board, explained.
“We are very happy to have your friend taking over, especially after what he has accomplished at the airport in Cabot Cove,” Nancy Turcott commented. “This used to be such a nice, small town airport and now it’s just dead. This is the only weekend all year that it’s busy and that’s only because of the Blueberry Festival.”
“I would think that in a town the
size of
“In years past, there were,” Bud answered, just before Jed exited the building and informed them that they had better get in the air if they wanted to avoid the thunderheads that were approaching from the west.
Tipper was the first one to reach the plane, but she didn’t climb in right away.
“Are you alright?” Jessica asked, concerned that Tipper might be nervous about the approaching storm, which Jed had assured them was far enough away that it wouldn’t affect their flight if they left now.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she answered, tentatively. “I was just wondering if you might be willing to change seats with me.”
“Of course,” Jessica agreed happily before climbing in and joining Seth in the back seat.
“Well, Doctor Henderson,” Jed said once he had completed his pre-flight inspection and climbed into the seat next to her, “I see you’ve been bitten by the bug.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” she replied cautiously, “but since I have to do this again, I thought that I might as well see what it’s all about from up close,” she said rather convincingly as she twisted a strand of her long auburn hair around her index finger.
Jed gave Tipper a headset and helped her to adjust the mouthpiece. After they were airborne he asked her to hold his map, which he had folded to make more manageable. He explained the different symbols on the map and provided a brief explanation of the numerous dials, knobs and switches that were staring at her.
“I think I’ll stick with my Civic,” Tipper decided, earning her a laugh from Jed. She quickly realized why Jed was considered to be such a great flight instructor. She appreciated his effort to put her at ease but was simply happy to watch him manipulate the controls, something that he did effortlessly. When she turned to give Jessica a ‘thumbs up,’ she noticed that both Seth and Jessica had dozed off. You guys are really missing out. This is great! Tipper thought to herself before returning her attention to the scenery below.
For the next few minutes she
watched as the rugged
Panicked, she looked into the back seat again at Jessica and Seth, neither of whom had woken in the intervening time.
“Jed,” she said, tentatively poking him in the shoulder. “Jed,” she repeated in much more of a panic when he didn’t respond.
Not knowing what else to do, Tipper yelled for Jessica – a completely pointless thing to do as the roar of the engine and Jessica’s ear plugs prevented her from hearing much of anything. Tipper reached into the back seat and grabbed Jessica’s knee, causing her to wake up from her nap. Seeing the panic on Tipper’s face, Jessica retrieved an extra headset from the luggage compartment behind her seat and plugged it in so that they could hear each other.
“There’s something very wrong with Jed. He won’t wake up,” Tipper explained, her words tumbling out very quickly. “He’s still breathing but he’s definitely unconscious.”
After trying unsuccessfully to wake Jed herself, Jessica woke Seth. He tried his best to assess Jed from the back seat but it was too difficult. “I can’t tell much from here,” he told them both.
Like everyone else, Tipper was certainly worried about Jed, but that was not her number one concern at the moment. “Who’s going to land this thing?” she finally blurted out when neither Jessica nor Seth seemed the least bit concerned about how they were going to get back on the ground in one piece.
“Don’t look at me,” Seth answered, and immediately both he and Tipper looked to Jessica, who was momentarily speechless.
After taking a deep breath, Jessica began to implement a very quickly formulated plan. Tipper reached across Jed’s lap and released the lever that allowed the seat to recline. After removing his headset Jessica and Seth pulled him into the back seat between them, causing the weight inside to be unevenly distributed. The plane nosed upward, startling Tipper and causing her to become even more distressed. Jessica slid into Jed’s seat and leveled the plane out long before there was any risk of it stalling.
Jessica scanned instrument panel. Next, she took the map from Tipper and asked her to find the plane’s manual, which was probably in Jed’s flight bag.
Jessica had taken all of her lessons in a smaller plane, a Cessna Skyhawk 172. Jed’s Skylane was a high performance plane and Jessica did not have a rating for it, which meant that legally she couldn’t be the pilot in command.
After getting a better look at Jed,
Seth recommended returning to
In preparation for landing she
paged through the Skylane’s manual to find the proper landing speed and flaps setting. When
Fortunately, air traffic was very light and Jessica didn’t have to wait. As she maneuvered the plane to enter the landing pattern an alarm sounded in the cockpit and an orange light began to flash. Landing gear! Jessica thought when she saw the flashing light. The Skyhawk that Jessica had always piloted had fixed gear and she wasn’t accustomed to having to raise and lower the landing gear. She moved the lever but did not hear the gear come down.
When she looked out her window, she did not see a wheel. “Tipper, do you have a wheel on your side,” she asked as calmly as she could.
“No, should I?” Tipper responded after peering out the window.
Jessica adjusted her course and left the pattern in order to evaluate the situation further. Wisely, she radioed the terminal for assistance. Tipper immediately lost all color when Jessica was informed that the recommended course of action was for one of the able bodied passengers to open the door, lean out, and manually pull the landing gear into the down position.
“They’re not serious?” Tipper exclaimed in disbelief, knowing that if Jessica was flying the plane and Seth was taking care of Jed that it was up to her to get the gear down.
“Tipper, I know that you can do this,” Jessica assured her very calmly. “We can secure you with your shoulder harness just in case,” she added in an effort to make both of them feel better about the situation.
After resigning herself to the idea, Tipper lowered her head and said a silent prayer before releasing the clasp on her seatbelt. She pushed the seat back as far as it would go and wrapped the strap around her arm several times, gripping the end tightly in her clenched fist. It was a tight squeeze but eventually she was able to get to a kneeling position on the floor and after giving herself a last second pep talk, she opened the door. Perched in the open doorway, the wind lashed at her while she struggled to reach the landing gear. With her hair whipping in her face, she pulled with all of the strength that she could muster - once, twice and finally a third time before the gear lowered completely.
She pulled the door closed and struggled back into her seat before looking heavenward and thanking the Lord for giving her the strength that she had needed. “Now what?” she asked Jessica, hoping that the worst was behind them.
“We hope that the landing gear doesn’t collapse when we set down,” Jessica said matter-of-factly before maneuvering the plane back into the landing pattern.
What! Tipper exclaimed silently to herself as she jammed her fist into her mouth to keep from screaming.
Jessica went through a mental check list in preparation for landing and radioed each leg of the pattern to the other traffic in the area and to the terminal below. “N-2-3-5-8-Charlie, on final approach for runway 34,” was her last radio message before powering down the engine and gliding the plane down onto the runway, touching down directly on the numbers but bouncing hard enough to jar everyone inside before setting it back down again more smoothly. After applying the brakes and slowing the plane, she taxied to the parking ramp nearest the terminal and saw that the ambulance had already arrived.
After killing the engine Jessica caught Tipper in a huge hug, which was interrupted when the paramedics opened the doors and helped the women out of the plane. Next they removed Jed, who was still unconscious, and placed him on a gurney. When Seth climbed out he was met by a local doctor who happened to be in the airport’s terminal when Jessica’s initial call had come over the radio. Seth provided the paramedics and Doctor Howard with Jed’s medical history and explained what had happened while they were in the air.
Benjamin Howard was a very handsome and composed young man and if Tipper hadn’t been on her knees kissing the ground, she might have actually given him a second look. As it was, when she tried to stand up she became instantly lightheaded. She began to sway and then collapsed. If she hadn’t fallen into the arms of the young doctor, who had been watching her closely, she would have fallen and struck her head on the asphalt.
“Whoa, I was afraid that that might happen,” Howard said as he caught her. “Why don’t we just lay you down right here for a minute,” he suggested as he slowly lowered her to the ground. As the paramedics, accompanied by Seth, had already departed for the hospital and he wasn’t the doctor on call, he decided that it was best to keep an eye on Tipper until she recovered from the shock that followed her heroic actions.
After Tipper insisted (for the third time) that she was fine and the doctor finally agreed, Ben drove both women to the hospital to check on their friend.
Once they arrived at the emergency room they were led into the only occupied treatment room, where they found Jed and Seth. A pale teal curtain separated Jed, who was now awake but not looking well, from Seth and the doctor-on-call, Dr. Adam Flathers. The treatment room was in pristine condition and by Tipper’s estimate couldn’t have been more than a year or two old.
Dr. Howard suggested that they say hello to their friend and then excused himself to visit two of his own patients.
“Jed, it’s good to see you awake,” Jessica said as she approached one side of the treatment table. Tipper took a place on the other side and inquired as to how he was feeling, although there was little doubt that he felt horrible.
Cringing and rubbing his forehead, he answered, “To be honest, I’ve never been so physically exhausted in my entire life and my head feels like it’s been crushed in a vise.”
“Have they told you what happened?” Jessica asked.
“No, they haven’t told me anything and whatever they’ve done to me, they did it before I woke up,” he answered, looking at the I.V. that was dripping fluid into his arm. The clear plastic bag, now half empty, contained a clear fluid labeled as a saline and glucose drip. A good sign, Tipper thought.
When Seth began to yell in a whisper, a talent that he was noted for, everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to the curtain that divided the room.
“I don’t care what your lab tests show, that man is neither hypoglycemic nor diabetic. I should know. I’ve been his doctor for the past dozen years,” Seth insisted adamantly.
“Then how do you explain the fact that he had a blood sugar of 24 when he arrived?” Flathers shot back.
Before Seth could answer, they were interrupted by a middle-aged woman who stood in the doorway. She was wearing a white smock and holding several sheets of green paper in her hand. “Excuse me, Dr. Flathers, we were told that you wanted the rest of Mr. Richardson’s lab results as soon as they were available.”
“Yes, I do,” Flathers answered as he crossed the room and took the papers. “Thank you,” he said almost absently as he began to review the reports. He held one of the papers out in Seth’s direction and stabbed it with his index finger before lowering his voice. “See, Doctor, he has metaformin in his system.”
“Let me see that,” Seth said incredulously, maintaining a loud whisper. After snatching it from Flathers’ fingers Seth adjusted his glasses and began to read. “This can’t be right. There must have been a mix-up in your lab because the only medications that Mr. Richardson takes are over-the-counter Prilosec and the occasional ibuprofen.”
“It’s not only accurate, but this man has no business flying an airplane, a fact that I should know because I happen to be an FAA certified physician. Besides that, he had enough medication in his system to make me think that he may have overdosed intentionally.”
It wasn’t merely Flathers’ words and attitude that nearly sent Seth through the roof, but also the fact that he, too, was a certified flight examiner for the FAA. In addition, he had performed Jed’s annual flight physical every year since Jed and his wife had moved to Cabot Cove. And he certainly knew Jed well enough to know that the man was in no way suicidal.
Listening closely and sensing that Seth was about to make a major scene, Jessica intervened. Leaving Tipper with Jed, she moved to the other side of the curtain, where she placed a calming hand on Seth’s arm and in an equally calming voice asked, “Seth, what’s the matter?”
Fortunately, that was enough for Seth to regain his composure. “Jessica, this is Dr. Flathers, the doctor on call today,” he said gruffly, but respectfully. “Dr. Flathers, this is Mrs. Fletcher, a friend of Mr. Richardson.”
After Jessica and the doctor had exchanged greetings Seth started to explain the situation. As for Tipper, she remained at Jed’s side, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t eager to hear what was being said. And after adjusting her chair slightly, she managed to eavesdrop without too much difficulty.
Seth decided that the sensible thing would be to begin with the facts. “Jed passed out because his blood sugar dropped too low. His glucose level was only 24 when he got to the hospital.”
Jessica was stunned. As an aviator herself, she knew the dangers of piloting an airplane with low blood sugar and she knew for a fact that Jed kept glucose tablets in the first aid kit of each of his airplanes, just in case of an emergency. “How can that be? I know for sure that he ate at least two hotdogs, a hamburger and a piece of blueberry pie between noon and the time that we left.”
“Well, Jess, they found metaformin in his system. It’s a medication for diabetes,” Seth continued.
“But Jed isn’t diabetic, Seth. You know that.”
“Of course I know that, woman, but Dr. Flathers here doesn’t seem to believe me and to make matters worse, he thinks that Jed may have purposely overdosed in an attempt to…to commit suicide.”
“Jed would never do that,” Jessica insisted, keeping her voice low.
“He might if he thought that he was never going to be able to fly again,” Flathers proposed.
“No, I just don’t believe it,” Jessica decided, shaking her head. “There has to be another explanation.”
“Regardless, in all good conscience, I have to report this to the FAA,” Flathers pointed out.
“Yes, of course you do,” Jessica conceded, “but I also suggest that you consider the possibility that someone may have intentionally drugged Jed, and that should be reported to the local authorities.”
Before Flathers could respond he was interrupted by a voice on the overhead speaker system, “Code Blue, room A-14. Code Blue, room A-14.” He dropped Jed’s chart and lab reports onto the counter and dashed out of the room.
Much like driving past an automobile accident, Jessica, Seth and Tipper were all drawn to watch the frantic scene being played out just across the hall. One by one the other members of the code team hurried into the room and finally someone yanked a curtain closed, obstructing their view.
Voices from behind the curtain could still be heard, including one very calm, controlled voice that Tipper thought she recognized as belonging to Dr. Ben. After nearly twenty minutes a few members of the team, looking hot and tired but relieved, began to emerge from the room. “What’s going on?” Jed asked after waking again to find his trio of visitors standing just inside his room, but looking out into the hall.
The sound of Jed’s voice startled them all, causing them to turn in his direction, but not before Tipper locked eyes with Ben as he, too, came out from behind the curtain. She smiled, not a flirtatious smile, but rather one that conveyed respect and understanding. Ben responded with a simple nod, nothing more, as he passed.
Tipper watched him for another minute as he stepped behind the nurses’ station and began to write orders in the patient’s chart while at the same time verbalizing those same orders to one of the nurses, a beautiful young blonde with big brown eyes. His brow glistened with sweat under the bright fluorescent lights and perspiration had begun to soak through his gray t-shirt, all evidence of a well-fought battle.
He went about his business in a professional yet casual manner, chatting amiably with the staff as he did so. He was polite and respectful and somehow he even managed to dismiss the flirtatious blonde who looked at him with doe-like eyes and hung on his every word, without being rude.
Ugh, Tipper thought as she rolled her eyes. He’s not that good looking…well, maybe he is, but have a little self respect.
When Tipper returned her gaze to Ben, he was staring right at her. She felt her face begin to flush and immediately ducked back into Jed’s room.
*****
Jed had suggested that Jessica, Seth and Tipper charter a plane back to Cabot Cove at his expense, while he stayed behind. His plan was to call one of his own A&P’s to drive up to inspect the Skylane before flying it back to Cabot Cove sometime the following day. Despite his protests his friends decided to spend the night and return to Cabot Cove with him the following day. If he couldn’t fly, Jessica would try to schedule her biennial flight review with one of the local flight instructors sometime the following day and then she would fly everyone back home – legally.
While they waited for Dr. Flathers to complete Jed’s discharge paperwork, Jessica, Tipper and Seth went in search of the hospital cafeteria. The dining room could best be described as cozy and offered seating for no more than twenty people. As they perused the menu posted next to the door leading to the kitchen, a voice from behind them suggested that they avoid anything other than dessert and coffee.
“Dr. Howard, I didn’t see you there,” Jessica said.
Ben looked freshly showered and had changed into Levi’s and a white t-shirt with the U Penn Med School insignia on the pocket. He was carrying an orange tray with an empty coffee cup and a plate that contained a small portion of unfinished blueberry cobbler.
Seth eyed the remaining cobbler with a degree of skepticism. “It was really quite good, Doctor Hazlitt,” he offered, “but to be honest, I’ll be happy when blueberry season is over. There is a limit to how many blueberries a man can be expected to eat.”
Jessica laughed softly and nodded her head in agreement. “We were just planning on having a cup of coffee. I think we got our share of blueberries at the festival today.”
“Speak for yourself, woman,” Seth replied as he eyed the desserts that were on display.
Ben laughed warmly and shook his head in amusement before suggesting that Seth try the Boston cream pie.
“I think I’ll do that,” Seth decided before stepping into line.
“Glad to be of help,” Ben responded politely. He then excused himself to check on his patient one last time before leaving.
“Before you go,” Jessica said, “could you recommend a hotel in town?”
“A hotel?” he repeated, a bit surprised. He had assumed that Jessica would fly the quartet back to Cabot Cove as soon as Jed was released.
“Yes, we’ve decided to stay the night and fly back tomorrow after Jed’s mechanic has a chance to come up and give the airplane a thorough going over,” Jessica explained.
“That
sounds like a wise decision,” he replied thoughtfully. “Why don’t you try the Black Swan B&B? It’s on Hillcrest, a block off
“Oh, no, we couldn’t ask you to do that,” Tipper interjected, shaking her head. Wow, wouldn’t that be incredibly uncomfortable, she thought as she bit down on her lower lip while she tried to think of a good excuse. “We still need to run back out to the airport for a few minutes and then we should probably try to find a grocery store and a department store of some kind as none of us was planning on spending the night. And then we’ll have to find some place to eat dinner and Jessica needs to find a flight instructor to do her…what did you call it, Jess?” Tipper rattled on nervously.
“You’re rambling, Dr. Henderson,” Ben pointed out, his words causing Tipper to clam up instantly. He rocked back onto his heels and his eyes smiled brightly as he continued to look at her. He wasn’t quite sure if he found Tipper to be completely adorable or extremely annoying, but he certainly intended to find out.
Rambling! she thought to herself, stuffing her hands in her pockets and fixing him with a steely stare.
“Tipper’s right,” Jessica said. “We couldn’t possibly take up so much of your time.”
But Ben had no intention of allowing them to decline his offer. “I insist. I happen to be free the rest of the day and it would be my pleasure to chauffer you around. Besides, there is no taxi service in town,” he added, leaving them little choice but to accept his offer.
Jessica and Tipper joined Seth for pie and coffee while they waited for Jed and Ben. “Dr. Howard seems to be a very nice young man,” Jessica observed, nudging Seth with her elbow and watching Tipper closely for any reaction.
“Ayuh, a nice young fella, and a mighty fine doctor,” Seth agreed, not sure why he had been elbowed, but playing along just the same.
Tipper took a bite of pie, figuring that if her mouth was full she would be spared having to tell them what she really thought of Dr. Benjamin Howard, who incidentally had been a royal pain in the neck at the airport after she had collapsed. Extremely opinionated and darn stubborn - that’s what he was. On the other hand, based on her own observations, she had already concluded that he was a good doctor. And he did look awfully good in a pair of Levi’s. Then what was it about him that was so irritating and why did he make her so nervous? And why would he blow off a completely gorgeous nurse and then flirt with her right here in front of Jessica and Seth? “What’s up with that?” Tipper mumbled, shaking her head as she examined her fork.
“What’s up with what?” Jessica asked curiously. It was quite out of character for the young woman to be so quiet.
“Oh, nothing,” she answered, waving off Jessica’s question and taking another bite of pie. Maybe he wasn’t flirting. Yeah, that’s it. He wasn’t flirting. I imagined the whole thing.
“It looks like Tipper is smitten with Dr. Howard,” Seth teased.
Tipper
looked up sharply at Seth. “Am not!” she
retorted. “He’s sooooooo not my type,”
she added. But maybe I am. Nah, couldn’t
be. He’s a U Penn
alum. Ugh! What could be worse?
*****
A half hour later Ben parked his Pathfinder in the airport parking lot. He hopped out and unlocked the gate that separated the lot from the parking ramp, allowing Jed and his passengers access to the plane.
“I see you have pretty tight security here,” Tipper commented with a hint of sarcasm.
“Most of the local pilots have keys to the gate and a few have keys to the terminal,” Ben explained as they approached the Skylane, “otherwise there would have to be someone on duty here twenty-four seven and I don’t think that would fit into the county’s budget for the airport.”
Jessica and Seth retrieved their jackets and books from the back seat while Jed re-packed his flight bag. Tipper grabbed her sweatshirt from the left front seat, pulled it over her head, pulled her ponytail through, and then grabbed her backpack and threw it over her shoulder.
“Cornell, huh?” Ben observed, eyeing Tipper’s sweatshirt.
“As a matter of fact,” she answered defensively.
“Impressive,” he said, nodding his approval. “I like intelligent women,” he added just as Jed, Seth and Jessica walked around the tail of the plane and joined them.
Tipper looked at him, slack jawed. Now that was definitely flirting.
“Ready?” Ben asked with a broad smile.
“Yes,” they answered in a chorus with Tipper echoing their sentiments. As they approached the parking lot Jessica inquired as to whether or not Ben was one of the pilots who had a key to the terminal.
“As a matter of fact, I do. Did you leave something inside?”
Jessica shook her head. “No, I just thought that I might use the ladies’ room while I have the chance.”
Ben unlocked the terminal, flipped on the lights and pointed out the location of the bathroom before heading back to the SUV. “I think I’ll go, too,” Tipper said, staying behind with Jessica.
Once he was gone Tipper closed the door and looked at Jessica. “Okay, Jessica, what are we looking for?”
“I’m not sure – a prescription bottle or maybe some kind of powdery residue. Jed said that he had a cup of coffee while he was filing our flight plan, so maybe a coffee cup,” she answered as she stepped behind the counter and started to open drawers.
Tipper looked over at a small metal garbage can located next to the coffee maker. It was overflowing with white coffee cups, several of which had either toppled off the pile or had never made it into the can to begin with and now lay on the floor. “I guess I’ll take the garbage can,” she said with a sigh.
“Found it!” they exclaimed simultaneously as they turned to look at each other. Jessica was holding a small brown prescription pill bottle and Tipper a white coffee cup with the Star Point Aviation logo on it. Upon close inspection, Tipper had noticed what looked like a powdery residue mixed with a few coffee grounds on the bottom of the cup. After finding a box of large Ziploc bags in the storage closet, they sealed the items separately and stored them in Tipper’s backpack.
Tipper stopped for a moment to read
the label on the prescription pill bottle before dropping it in. The prescription had been filled less than two
weeks ago at a local pharmacy for someone by the name of Gerald Harper. Glucophage – also known
as metaformin. Bingo!
“Jessica, don’t you think that Mr. Harper is going to notice that his entire bottle of pills is missing?”
“I plan to return it as soon as possible – hopefully first thing in the morning after speaking with the Sheriff. Besides, I can only think of two reasons that someone would have left it here overnight.”
Tipper looked at her expectantly.
“If Mr. Harper works here he probably left it here out of habit and has another bottle at home or in his car. If he’s one of the local pilots, he probably either assumes that he lost it, in which case it could be anywhere, or he doesn’t have a key to the terminal so he’s waiting until first thing in the morning to come looking for it.”
Tipper zipped up her backpack and threw it over her shoulder. “Works for me,” she decided. They replaced everything in its proper place, turned out the lights and locked the door before walking back to Ben’s Pathfinder.
“It’s about time,” Seth said impatiently when Jessica and Tipper joined him in the back seat. “What took you so two so long?”
“Uh, I’m not feeling so well,” Tipper said, giving Seth her best ‘I can’t go to school today’ look. “Maybe I’m finally crashing after the big adrenaline rush.”
“Could be,” Seth agreed much to Tipper’s relief.
By nine o’clock they had purchased a change of clothes and other overnight necessities, checked into the Black Swan and eaten dinner at the local steak house. Ben had turned out to be a perfect gentleman. He had opened Tipper’s door for her and then anticipating her reaction to that had very casually raced her to the restaurant door and opened that one too. Drat! He had even pulled her chair out for her when they were shown to the table by the hostess, an act which was rewarded with a few sarcastic words from Tipper. “I suppose you’re going to order for me now, too,” she whispered.
His smile was smug. “I wouldn’t even consider it,” he responded in a low voice right next to her ear as he seated himself in a chair adjacent to hers. He was confident and relaxed; was polite and courteous; drank his milk and ate his vegetables. No Poptarts in his pantry, she thought. Worst of all, he still made Tipper nervous, especially when his knee brushed against hers under the table. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it had only happened once, but no, it had happened several times, causing her pulse to quicken and giving her a warm feeling inside each time. And he knew exactly what he was doing.
*****
Ben dropped them off at the B&B again after dinner and agreed to drive Jessica and Jed to the airport early the next morning before heading into the hospital to do rounds. Jed excused himself and headed straight up to his room in hopes of getting a good night’s sleep. Jessica invited Ben to join them for coffee, but he declined.
“Thanks for the invite, Mrs. Fletcher, but Katie’s waiting for me and if I don’t get home soon I’m sure to be in the dog house.”
This immediately caught Tipper’s attention. Katie? Schmuck! she thought followed by a mental head slap. I should have known. Tipper slammed the SUV’s door quite a bit harder than she had intended, turned on her heel and marched up the sidewalk. Without turning around, she gave a wave and muttered, “I’m going to bed.”
“Wow, is she always this cranky?” Ben wondered a bit too loudly.
Jessica leveled Seth with a look that said ‘don’t you dare,’ catching him before he could utter a single syllable.
“I heard that,” Tipper yelled from the front porch before opening the door and disappearing inside.
“I think Tipper’s had a very long day but I’m sure she’ll be herself again by morning,” Jessica explained. “She was a little nervous about flying in a small plane to begin with and after what happened today I wouldn’t blame her if she never gets on board one again.” It was a good excuse, Jessica thought, but probably not the true root of the problem.
After saying their goodbyes to Ben and thanking him for his help, Jessica and Seth decided to prolong the evening with a game of chess. “I’ll get the coffee if you set up the board,” Jessica had offered. The B&B provided three full meals per day for its guests, all of which were prepared in the main kitchen. Just off the sitting room, there was also a small kitchenette area with coffee maker, toaster, microwave, and a small refrigerator/freezer, stocked with individual cartons of milk, juice and snacks. This is where Jessica found Tipper – dipping a large spoon into a one pint container of Ben & Jerry’s Pfish Food.
“Would you like to join Seth and me for coffee and a board game?” Jessica asked as she searched for coffee cups.
“Sure, but I think I’ll just watch,” Tipper replied tiredly.
Tipper’s lack of enthusiasm didn’t go unnoticed but Jessica decided that it was best not to pry, at least not yet.
Seth, who always looked forward to his little verbal sparring matches with Tipper, also noticed her subdued demeanor and focused his attention on the chess match instead of baiting her, as he was prone to doing.
Midway through the match Tipper unzipped her backpack, reached inside and rummaged around for a small package of travel Kleenex. As she pulled her hand out the zipper opened wider and several items spilled out, including the plastic bags containing the used coffee cup and prescription bottle.
Oops, she thought to herself. She hurriedly threw everything back inside and zipped up the bag but when she looked up she saw Seth, who didn’t look the least bit happy.
“What did you just stuff back in there,” he wanted to know.
“Ah…my prescription,” Tipper answered, “and a cup…for water. I can’t swallow pills without water,” she added, looking incredibly guilty.
“Not likely,” Seth responded before turning his attention to Jessica. “Would you like to tell me what she’s hiding in her backpack?”
Tipper was up and out of her chair in a heartbeat. “I think I’ll go get some fresh air.”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Seth said, grabbing her pack from behind as she tried to step past his chair.
Tipper and Jessica looked at each other. “You might as well show him,” Jessica told her.
Reluctantly, Tipper set her pack down on the edge of the coffee table and opened it. She removed the two bags, handed them to Seth and then looked at Jessica again.
“Go ahead and get some fresh air,” Jessica told her. “I’ll explain.”
Tipper grabbed her backpack and her Ben & Jerry’s and headed out the front door. The wrap around porch had several comfortable chairs. She picked one and deciding that there was just enough light to read by, removed a hardcover book from her pack. She curled up in the chair with her book in one hand and a spoonful of ice cream in the other. The temperature had cooled but not so much that she needed more than her sweatshirt to keep warm. There was a light breeze that carried on it the sounds of the occasional passing car, the cheers from what she suspected was probably a baseball game, and someone searching for his dog – a whistle and a ‘here girl.’
She turned a page and was nearing the bottom when she heard the familiar sound of a dog trotting up the sidewalk. Without hesitation the animal climbed the stairs and sat down next to Tipper’s chair. She was a beautiful chocolate Labrador retriever. Two metal tags dangled from the dog’s orange nylon collar and they jangled a bit when the dog cocked its head to one side and eyed Tipper’s ice cream.
Tipper set her book and snack aside and untucked her legs from beneath her. “Well, aren’t you a sweetheart?” she asked, slowly reaching out to pet the dog. “I think someone is looking for you,” she added softly as she continued to caress the dog while also trying to read its tags. Unfortunately, the only thing that Tipper could make out was that one tag was for a rabies vaccination. That’s good. “Why don’t we go for a little walk?”
Tipper got up from her chair, descended the steps and strode toward the sidewalk that paralleled the street. She walked to the corner, where there was a street light, and the dog followed and sat down next to her when she stopped. Tipper knelt down to read the tags.
“There you are,” she heard a calm, but firm voice say from half a block away. The dog turned her head, stood and trotted slowly down the sidewalk to her owner. “Sorry about Katie,” the man apologized as he approached.
He stopped short. “Oh, it’s you,” he added, obviously surprised to see Tipper.
The dog walked back over to Tipper, nudged her with her nose and then sat down, all the while wagging her tail. Tipper looked at Katie, smiled and began to massage both of her ears. “And this is Katie?” Tipper asked, arching one eyebrow and looking back up at Ben.
“Yeah, this is Katie.” His answer was followed by an awkward moment of silence while Tipper played with the dog. “I thought you were going to go to bed?” he asked at length.
“I opted for ice cream instead,” she answered as she scratched the dog along the length of her back.
“It wasn’t chocolate ice cream, was it?”
Tipper looked up, regarding him curiously for a moment before answering. “Ben & Jerry’s Pfish Food.”
“Well, that explains it,” he said as he knelt down and looked Katie in the eye. The dog, tail wagging, stood up, turned in a circle and then sat down again, obviously pleased with herself. “No more chocolate ice cream,” Ben scolded. Katie lay down, but her tail was still wagging.
“I swear she can track down a bowl of chocolate ice cream a mile away, can’t you girl?” he added before giving her a pat on the head. Katie rolled onto her back and laid there with her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. “No, I’m not rubbing your belly,” he told her sternly. Katie stayed on her back just long enough to decide that she wasn’t going to get her way and then rolled back onto her side and rested her head on one paw.
When Ben looked back at Tipper, she was smiling. He stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. Good one, Ben, she probably thinks you’re a complete idiot – you shouldn’t have mentioned the ice cream thing. “Well, we’d better go if we’re going to catch the last few innings of the Legion game,” he said, glancing down the street toward the ballpark.
Baseball! “Are they playing under the lights?” Tipper asked.
Ben looked up into the night sky. “I certainly hope so,” he answered. “It’s the second game of a double header. Hopefully we’ll be able to catch two or three innings. It just depends how the first game went.” He paused, looked at her again and asked, “Would you like to come with us?”
“Yes!” Tipper exclaimed, “I love baseball.” She ran back to the porch, grabbed her ice cream carton and spoon and took them inside. When she stepped back out onto the porch she found Ben holding her book in his hand. “Good book,” he said as he handed it to her.
Tipper slid the book into her backpack and zipped it closed. She dug out her wallet from the small front compartment, grabbed some cash, shoved it into her pocket and set her backpack just inside the front door. The Cabot Covers were the only ones staying at the B&B tonight and with Seth and Jessica still playing chess, she felt comfortable leaving it in the foyer.
*****
Jed Richardson groaned as he tried to get comfortable in bed. He had a headache of monster proportions and knew that if he was going to fly everyone home the next day he would need to get some sleep. As he descended the stairs in search of something to lessen the pounding in his head, he heard Jessica explaining to Seth about the prescription bottle and cup.
Jed stopped midway down the flight of stairs and leaned against the railing. “But, Jessica, I hadn’t even met Gerry Harper until this morning at the board meeting and he wasn’t anywhere near the coffee pot when I poured myself a cup.”
Jessica and Seth’s heads turned in unison. “Jed,” Jessica exclaimed in surprise. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better,” he admitted as he descended the remaining steps. “Honestly,” he continued after meeting Seth’s eyes, “I was hoping I could scrounge up a something for a little headache.”
“It looks to me like you’ve got more than a little headache,” Seth observed as he rose to retrieve his medical bag. When he returned, he handed Jed two pills and a glass of water, which the pilot accepted gratefully.
After downing the pills, Jed closed his eyes reclined slightly against the back of the love seat that he shared with Jessica. “I suppose he could have drugged my coffee when I was using the weather computer or the rest room,” he said contemplatively.
“Was there anyone else around that you do know,” Jessica asked.
Jed shook his head. “Bob Albert was there and so was Val Grant. A couple of the other faces were familiar, but I don’t know their names.”
“Bob Albert?” Jessica repeated. “You’ve mentioned him to me before.”
Jed opened his eyes and sat upright once again. “Bob owns the ‘Red Baron’ replica. He and I retired from United about the same time,” he reminded her.
“Oh, yes, that’s quite a plane,” Jessica remembered. She took a sip of her decaf coffee and tried to remember anything else that Jed might have mentioned about Bob Albert in the past. “You were business partners at one point, weren’t you?”
Jed nodded his head. “For about six months, but Bob decided that he would rather start up his own regional commuter airline out of Bangor than to own a couple of small town FBO’s. So,” he added with a shrug, “we went our separate ways – no hard feelings. That’s been ten years ago now.”
“Was he successful?” Jessica asked.
Jed shook
his head. “No. The business filed for bankruptcy a few years
back and never recovered. Bob, on the
other hand, seems to be doing okay.
Alicia and I ran into him and his wife last year at the fly-in in
Osh-Kosh. I was a little worried about
how he would handle it, but
He could still harbor some resentment toward Jed, who had made a success of his own business venture, Jessica thought.
When Jessica asked about Valerie Grant, Seth frowned and tapped his watch, indicating that it was time for Jed to call it a night.
“Ah, Valerie,” Jed said sentimentally. “Val and I knew each other a very long time ago…back when I was flight instructing full time, trying to build up time and get a job with an airline.”
“Did you work together?” Jessica asked naively.
“Not exactly,” he answered before yawning and stretching. “Val was one of my first students. She was bright eyed and as fiery as her hair was red. After she finished her own CFI certificate, she stayed on at the fight school as an employee and…”
“And what?”
“We dated for about six months,” he admitted. “It was casual, nothing serious. Then I got my big break with United. She got hers with Continental a couple of years later.”
“Did you ever see each other after that?”
“Not really. Our paths crossed once in a while, in this airport or that, but we never…” he paused and his face became flushed. “We never revisited our previous relationship - not that she didn’t express interest - but I was married by then.”
*****
The walk to the baseball complex was only a short distance - six blocks according to Ben. Tipper was suddenly in a very good mood and had a noticeable spring in her step. “Can I ask you something?”
He nodded. “Sure.”
“Have you really read ‘The Cat Who Brought Down the House?’”
Katie was a well trained dog, walking beside her master, not getting too far ahead nor too far behind and only occasionally weaving her way in between them.
“I’ve read them all,” he admitted.
Tipper stopped. “All of them?” she asked, not really believing him.
Ben stopped, too. “Yes, all of them, but it’s a long story,” he added and began walking again.
“Well, you’ve got three more blocks, so let’s hear it,” Tipper said when she caught up with him.
“It’s not likely that you’re going to drop this particular subject, is it?” he asked, dreading her response.
“Nope,” Tipper answered, bouncing along next to him.
“If I tell you, we never speak of it again.”
“Sure,” Tipper agreed. “Let’s hear it.” This must be good.
“Okay,” he started before pausing, looking upward toward the sky and shaking his head. “This is so embarrassing. I can’t believe I’m going to tell you this.”
Tipper simply smiled at him and said nothing.
“Just remember that I was pretty desperate, okay?”
Tipper nodded.
“Okay, I was in my first year of medical school and I was completely broke when Christmas rolled around – practically penniless as a matter of fact. Anyway, my grandmother is a nut for those books but her vision was starting to get pretty bad and she couldn’t read very well any more, so I borrowed a couple of them from the library and read them into a tape recorder for her.”
Tipper stopped in her tracks and stared at him. “You mean you’ve made books on tape of all of the ‘Cat Who’ books for your grandmother?”
“I’m still working on it,” he mumbled. “After I finished my residency and had a little more money to spend, I tried to buy one on tape for her and she wasn’t very happy about it. She wanted me to make them myself. She’s 97 now and that’s still what she wants every year for her birthday and for Christmas.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Tipper
exclaimed before catching herself. Oops,
did I really say that? Boy, I bet that
sounded girlie.
“I knew I shouldn’t have told you,” he grumbled, shaking his head and continuing toward the ballpark.
It took Tipper a good ten feet to
catch up with his long stride. “No,
really, it was very thoughtful. Most
people would never think to do something like that.” And it’s quickly becoming apparent that
you’re not most people.
“Not another word, right?” Ben said as they reached the ball park.
“Right,” Tipper agreed. Easily embarrassed by personal
acts of kindness. Check.
Katie picked up her pace a little, trotting ahead past the ball field and then up a small hill located behind the outfield chain link fence. She turned in a circle three times and then sat down to wait for Ben and Tipper. The grassy hillside offered a great view of the field. Tipper sat with knees bent up to her chest while Ben lounged, long legs stretched out in front of him. He was still wearing his Levi’s and had thrown a navy sweatshirt over his white t-shirt. His running shoes were well worn - not ratty - but they had definitely put on a lot of miles, which Tipper decided might explain why he looked so good in his Levi’s.
Katie laid down next to her master, rolled onto her back and was treated to a chest rub from Ben.
The game was nearly over when they arrived, with only two innings remaining, but there was plenty of action. The final play was a line shot into right center field just beyond the reach of the second baseman, scoring the winning run from third and capping off a three run comeback. Tipper, not being the least bit reserved, jumped to her feet and whooped and hollered when the runner scored. Ben watched her reaction and was captivated by her spontaneity and enthusiasm. Oh, Ben, my boy, you’re a goner!
“What?” she asked when she looked down at him and noticed that he was smiling at her, a genuine smile that reached the corners of his blue-gray eyes. “Don’t you ever get excited when you watch a game? It’s a lot more fun when you do.”
He laughed softly and shook his head. “Yeah, I do, but you’re cheering for the wrong team.”
Tipper looked back at the field. “Oh, I guess I missed that.” She plopped back down on the grass and watched as the players began to shake hands and the fans packed up their belongings and filed out of the bleachers. “I probably would have figured that out if we could see the scoreboard from here,” she decided.
“I’m sure you would have,” Ben agreed. Katie was now up on her feet and anxious to move on. She nudged Ben with her nose and when he didn’t budge, she tried Tipper.
“Does she really sniff out chocolate ice cream?”
Ben reached over and gave Katie an affectionate head rub. “Unfortunately, yes, but I may have exaggerated her abilities. Her radius is probably closer to a hundred yards.”
Once all of the lights had been turned off and only a few cars remained in the parking lot Ben stood up, brushed himself off and reached his hand out to help Tipper. “Much better,” he said once she was on her feet.
They started down the hill. “What’s much better?”
Ben looked back over his shoulder. “You are. The last time I helped you up from the ground I thought you might hit me.”
“That’s because you were being stubborn, opinionated, bossy and…macho.”
“Ouch, that hurt,” he replied, pretending to have been wounded in the heart by an imaginary dagger. “And what should I have done, let you get up, pass out and fall flat on your face or better yet, smack your head on the tarmac?”
There was no response from Tipper because he was absolutely right.
“You know, Dr. Angela Henderson, we don’t know each other very well, but something tells me that you can be pretty stubborn and opinionated when it comes to your own patients.”
Tipper nodded her head. “Yes, I can,” she admitted honestly, “when necessary.”
“Then, what’s the problem?”
“I didn’t particularly care for the whole damsel in distress and knight in shining armor routine.”
“This might be a newsflash for you, Tipper, but you’re not exactly what I would call a damsel in distress.”
“And you’re no knight in shining armor.”
“Of course I’m not. And you know what else?”
It was a rhetorical question and no response was expected, so Tipper didn’t give one.
“This conversation is completely pointless,” he said, throwing his hands up in the air.
They walked on in silence for a few minutes before Ben grumbled something incomprehensible.
“What did you say?”
“I asked what kind of medicine you practice. I sure hope it’s neurology because I’m getting a migraine.”
Tipper set her jaw stubbornly and fixed him with narrowed eyes. “Very funny - I’m a vet.”
Ben smiled. “Really?” he asked, both surprised and pleased.
Nice powers of observation, Dr.
Ben. It pretty much says that on my
sweatshirt, Tipper thought sarcastically before looking down and noticing
that she was wearing the wrong one. This
one simply said
Ben whistled for Katie who backtracked and heeled with nothing more than a simple hand signal.
Tipper sighed. “Here we go again.”
“What?”
“There’s something wrong with Katie and you’re going to pick my veterinary brain, aren’t you?”
Ben looked sheepish. “Uh, well, yeah…I suppose you get a lot of that, don’t you?”
Tipper quirked an eyebrow at him. “Don’t you?”
“All of the time. The grocery store is the worst. ‘Hey, Doc, I’m glad I ran into you – I’ve got this awful pain in my neck…’” He delivered his lines in his best crochety old man imitation, making them both laugh.
“Just forget I said anything. I’ll c