The Virtuous Woman (23 page)

Babe took a sip of the coffee and slowly took a bite of the pie.

“How’s Kev doing?” Francis asked.

“Good. He’s got what it takes.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Too bad about his face.”

“Yes, it is. He’s had a hard time living with it, but he seems to be learning to get along with it now.”

“Why hasn’t he had it fixed?”

“He’s been to several doctors, but so far none of them have been able to do all that much. His dad told me once that it used to be worse.”

“He’s a nice guy on the inside. All the scars are just on the outside.”

The remark caught Key’s attention. “You always were pretty sharp, Babe. You’re right. Most of the lumps we get on our head don’t hurt as bad as the ones we get inside.”

When the two finished eating, Key got up and put the dishes in the sink. Babe lit a cigarette and studied him with narrow eyes. Finally she put the cigarette out in an ashtray and said, “I’ve got to get on home. I’m tired.”

“Thanks for coming by.” The two walked together to the door, but instead of stepping outside Babe suddenly turned, and Francis found himself standing only inches from her. She put her arms around him and drew him close as he watched her nervously.

“You ever think about when we were together?”

“I try not to.”

“We had something, Francis.”

“Had something! We fought like cats and dogs half the time.”

“But when we weren’t fighting, it was sweet.” She pulled him closer and kissed him on the lips. She held the pressure against him, and he was aware of the softness of her body against him. But he kept his arms carefully away, and she soon pulled back and laughed.

“You haven’t forgotten me. I can tell.” She reached out and ruffled his hair. “Good to have you back, sweetheart.”

At that moment they heard a motorcycle pull up front. “There’s your girlfriend. Is she special to you?”

“No, not at all. She’s not a girlfriend.”

“I don’t believe that.”

They stepped out on the porch, and Grace hopped off the motorcycle. She pulled off her helmet and came forward, and Key said quickly, “Babe came by to tell us that Kev’s working late.”

“How’s he doin’, Babe?”

“Fine. He’s going to be a good pilot. Well, good night, you two.”

Key turned and went inside as Babe drove off, and Grace followed him in. When he turned around, she laughed and cocked her head to one side. “Your lipstick’s on crooked.”

He quickly wiped his lips with his handkerchief but could think of nothing to say.

Grace laughed at his confusion. “A few coals still there, Francis?”

“No!”

“Why such a big a no? You were in love with her, weren’t you?”

“I ... thought so at the time.”

“True love never dies, ya know. There was a song once that said that. I never believed it.”

“I think I do.”

“Why, you baby! You haven’t been around enough to know any better.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, Grace.”

“You’re a piece of work, Francis. Good night.” She turned and went to her room, but after her bath, she lay for a long time thinking of what a strange situation she’d fallen into. She was happy for Kevin, but for some reason she was disturbed about Francis Key. She thought of the lipstick on his face and grunted, “That woman’s still got a flame for him. And she’ll eat him alive—just like she did before!”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Grace Gets a Touch

The Stearman approached the runway, and the wheels touched down as light as a feather, giving Kevin the thrill of making a good landing. He brought the plane to a halt in front of the hangar, then cut the engine.

“Well, I hate to say it, Winslow, but that was pretty good,” Babe said from the back seat.

“Thanks, Babe,” Kevin said as they both climbed out of the plane. “That’s the first nice thing you’ve said about my progress.”

She arched her eyebrow. “I bragged on a student once, and it got me into trouble. He thought I was trying to make a pass at him.”

“Well, I don’t think that. You’re a good teacher, Babe.”

“Here comes Lucy,” she said.

Kevin looked across the field and saw Lucy coming toward them, a smile on her face.

When she stopped in front of them, she said, “Did the teacher give you an A?”

“She actually said something complimentary for a change,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. She must want to borrow some money from me.”

“I think Kev deserves a reward for all his hard work,” Lucy said to her sister. “Can you spare him long enough for me to buy him a hamburger?”

“Sure. You can take my car,” she said, pulling out the
keys and tossing them to Lucy. “And when you come back, Winslow, sweep the hangar out, will you?”

“Sure thing.”

Kevin and Lucy walked to the Roadster. “Why don’t you drive?” she said, handing Kevin the keys.

“All right.” He quickly went around and opened the door for her.

“Thank you kindly,” she said with a sweet smile.

“I always aim to please.” Kevin got in the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Where do you want to go?”

“Let’s go to the Green Lantern. You can tell Grace about your flight today.”

“You shouldn’t be going to joints like that.”

“If Grace can work in one, it won’t kill me to go inside. I don’t think I’ll see or hear anything I haven’t seen or heard before.”

“All right, if you insist.”

As Kevin drove at a fast clip toward the Green Lantern, he asked Lucy a number of questions about her studies.

She answered all his questions, then finally said, “Why do you want to know so much about my coursework?”

“Because I’m interested. It must be pretty hard work learning to be a nurse.”

“It is, but I like it.”

Kevin fell silent and she asked, “What’s the matter? Why so quiet, Kevin?”

“I guess in the hospital you see some people who are hurt pretty bad, huh?”

“Mm hmm.”

“The first time I met you, you know what I thought?”

“What?”

“I thought she hides her emotions pretty well. She looks at this scarred face of mine and doesn’t even blink.”

Lucy did not answer for a moment. “You know what
I
thought?” she finally said. “I thought what a shame it is. It
always makes me sad to see somebody who’s been hurt. But you know it could have been worse, Kevin.”

“How?” he asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “It couldn’t have been much worse.”

“Suppose you had lost your legs. That would have been worse. Or if you had lost your vision, you couldn’t have been a pilot. One of my patients is a young woman who was in a terrible car wreck. It tore both her eyes out.”

Kevin gripped the wheel until his knuckles were white. “That’s terrible,” he whispered. “You’re right. I can do plenty of things. I can fly.” He turned and smiled at her.

“That’s better,” she said. “I want you to think like that all the time.”

They arrived at the Green Lantern a few minutes later, and when they went inside, they noticed that Grace appeared to have an admirer. “That’s Paul Ranier,” Lucy said in a low voice. “He’s quite a ladies’ man.”

“How do you know? Has he tried out his ways on you?”

“Well ... yes, he did once, but my friend was with me. She threatened to shoot him if he bothered me again.”

Kevin grinned. “Sounds like Babe!”

As they came closer they heard Grace say, “You just want girls to fall for you, Paul. Why don’t you go give one of the others a chance?”

“Oh, come on. I only want
you,
Grace.” Ranier was a lean and strong-looking Cajun with olive skin and lustrous dark eyes. He was well dressed and fine looking. According to the local gossip, he was the best zydeco dancer in Louisiana and played a fiddle, which made him popular at all the get-togethers. He was, indeed, a threat to the young women of the town, and more than once he had barely escaped a father’s shotgun or a brother’s beating.

“Hello, Grace,” Lucy interrupted, seeing that Grace was tired of Ranier’s attention. “Come over and wait on us.”

“Why, Lucy,” Ranier said as he put his hand on her shoulder. “I haven’t seen you in a while.” She moved away quickly,
and Ranier laughed. “You need a man, sweetheart. I could show you a good time. Why don’t you and me go out tonight?”

When the Cajun tried to grab Lucy’s arm, Kevin intervened, striking the man’s hand away.

Ranier’s face flushed. “Keep your hands off me!”

Ignoring him, Kevin said, “Come on, Lucy. Let’s sit down.”

“Don’t turn your back on me,” Ranier shouted.

“That’s enough, Paul!” Grace snapped. “You’ve had too much to drink.”

Ranier ignored her, grabbed Kevin by the arm, and struck him in the chest. Kevin reeled backward, then caught his balance.

Ranier advanced toward him, his fists up, when suddenly something struck him painfully between the neck and the shoulder. It numbed his whole right arm, and he turned around to see Grace standing there, holding a blackjack, her eyes flashing. “Get out of here, Paul, or I’ll break your nose. Then the girls won’t think you’re so pretty.”

Ranier lifted his arm and shook his head. “Say, that thing hurts bad. You sure got spirit, woman.” He laughed, shaking off the pain and acting lighthearted. “I’ll come back later. You and me got things to talk about.”

When Kevin rose to forcibly help the man out the door, Grace put her hand up to stop him. “Don’t pay any attention to Paul, Kev. He’s always in a fight with someone.” She led Kevin to a chair. “What can I get you?”

“Bring us two hamburgers and two Royal Crown colas,” Lucy said.

“All right. Coming right up.” As she turned to go away, she felt her anger at Ranier dissipate as her thoughts turned to her brother. She was so proud of Kevin and how he was showing the courage to be out in public now, and for how well he was doing with his flying lessons. It was also heartwarming to see his friendship with Lucy.
I don’t think he’s ever had a girl,
she thought,
and she’s a good one to start with.

****

Kevin was changing the oil in the biplane when he heard the roar of a motorcycle. He grinned when he saw Grace’s bike heading toward him. He watched as she circled the plane twice, leaning in, then slammed on the brakes until the tires screeched. She came to a stop not a foot away from him, then reached down and shut off the engine. Kicking the stand down, she climbed off and pulled off her helmet. “Hello, brother. What have you been up to today? Any flying?”

“I got in two hours. I’m building it up, sis. Won’t be long before I’ll be talking about a solo flight.”

“What happens after that?” Grace ran her hand through her strawberry blond hair and fluffed it out. Her cheeks were flushed from the windy ride.

“Get enough hours, and then I try for my private pilot’s license. I’m just taking it one step at a time. I’ll keep going up, up, up until I get to the top. Come on inside. I’ll get you something to drink.”

The two went into the office and found Babe sitting on her desk talking to Jerome Ruker, one of the other students. He was a balding man in his forties who was evidently well off. He was also one of the worst pilots Babe had ever seen. But he was stuck on her and learning to fly only because it gave him a chance to be with her. She kept him on because she needed the income.

“Hey, Grace. How are you doing?” Jerome said.

“All right, Jerome. How’d the lesson go?”

“He nearly killed us both,” Babe said sourly. “Someday he’s going to.”

“Aw, come on, Babe,” Jerome whined. “I’m getting better, and you know it.”

Just then Lucy entered through the hangar entrance and smiled. “Hi, Grace. You on your way to work?”

“No, I got the day off. Just been out riding around.”

“How’s the famous writer doing today?” Babe asked.

“If you’re talking about Francis, he’s okay. He’s at home writing the great American novel, I expect.” Grace laughed at her own humor.

“He and I are going to hear Billy Sanders tonight,” Kevin put in. “That evangelist everybody’s talking about. Anyone want to come?”

Grace shook her head. “Count me out.”

Babe grinned. “That’s right, Grace. Stay away from those preachers. They’ll mess you up good. Besides, I don’t think he’d look very favorably on a barmaid from the Green Lantern.”

Grace glared at her. “I never saw a preacher I was afraid of.” She lifted her chin. “I changed my mind, Kevin. I’ll go with you.”

“I want to go too,” Lucy said.

“Good! We’ll all go,” Kevin said.

“Can I borrow the Ford, Babe?” Lucy asked. “Or maybe you’d like to come too.”

“You won’t catch me going to hear a preacher! I’ve got better things to do with my time,” she grunted before turning back to shuffling papers on her desk.

****

The crowds were already streaming into the huge tent that had been erected just off Airline Avenue. As Grace walked beside Francis, she was sorry that she had agreed to come. She had only wanted to show Babe up. Kevin was walking ahead with Lucy, and the two were speaking excitedly. Grace turned to Francis with a frown. “I shouldn’t have come. I don’t really want to be here.”

“Well, it made Kev happy,” Francis replied. As they turned toward one of the entrances, he asked, “Didn’t you go to church much as a child?”

“Not at all—Bertha didn’t believe in God.” She said no more until the line slowed down and narrowed into a single file as people moved into the tent entrance. “I felt bad about
not going to see her in prison. She gave me a hard life, but there were times when she was pretty nice.”

Inside, Grace looked around at all the folding chairs that were filling up rapidly. Kevin led the group as close to the front as he could find four empty seats in a row. They moved in, trying to avoid stepping on toes, and Grace was thankful to sit down. A large choir was seated on chairs on the platform, and a lady was playing the piano beside them. Grace noticed that the crowd seemed to be made up of the affluent as well as the poor.

“Did you ever hear this man before, Francis?” she asked.

“No, but everyone I’ve talked with says he’s a great preacher.”