Untethered by R.A. Thorn

Author:R.A. Thorn
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2015-04-06T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

FOAM FLOATED on top of the beer and stuck to Frankie’s upper lip. He scrubbed it away, pleasantly woozy after a couple of drinks.

“I can’t believe I didn’t realize it,” he said to Ed, who was sitting next to him at the bar.

Ed raised his eyebrows. “Realize what? How sore your ass gets sitting in a plane for six hours?”

“No, that Jim—” He recollected himself just in time. Christ, he hadn’t been able to think about anything else ever since they left the airfield. First he had been stuck on berating himself for never having approached Jim. He had been so worried about losing their friendship, so certain Jim would never return his feelings. Then his mind had rapidly gone through a list of topics ranging from whether Jim had ever been with anybody else, which he quickly decided must be a yes, to thinking about what Jim might have done with them and what he might be doing soon with Frankie. His brain had stuttered to a stop there because although Frankie had only his night with Sergio to go on, that didn’t mean he didn’t have an imagination.

“Well?” Ed prompted.

“Nothing.” He could tell Ed, of course, but not in the middle of the pub and not when he wasn’t even sure how this thing between him and Jim would turn out. “Just that I didn’t realize how thankful I am my aircrew keeps my engine so nice and clean. Wouldn’t have wanted to be in Henderson or Gregg’s shoes—forced to turn back to base because of engine trouble.”

“True. I think all of us are glad to have the first one behind us.”

George had gone outside a few minutes ago to read a letter that had been waiting for him when they returned from the mission, and Roy had followed. Those two would have kept poking and teasing, and maybe he would have let something incriminating slip. But Ed wouldn’t push him, and he’d keep Frankie from doing anything too stupid.

“I’m glad we’re all here in it together, Ed.” Frankie waved a hand, trying to encompass the stodgy interior of the little pub, the thick accents of the locals rising in between the American twang of the pilots, the remembered bursts of flak and bombs. “It’s all so strange sometimes, you know? It helps to be surrounded by familiar faces, I guess is what I’m trying to say.”

“I know,” Ed agreed, and he did seem to understand.

“Pete—you remember him, right? You know how I thought—sometimes I hoped—he would be there, in that way.” Frankie took a long swallow. “And then he wasn’t, but now I think, maybe, someone else might be.” He motioned for another beer, but Ed stopped him.

“That’s good, Frankie. Real good, but I think you’ve had enough, yeah? Chances are we’ll be flying another mission tomorrow.”

Frankie nodded and then grinned because he hadn’t even been thinking about the next one. He’d been thinking about Jim. He remembered those two WASPs back in Arizona—Iris and Bonnie, and the way they’d been kissing, their easy, happy way with each other.

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