“You’re pretty good at that, yourself,” I offered.
Thankfully, the estimated delay was pessimistic. We were pushed back only ten minutes behind schedule.
Once at cruise, I ate my late lunch, eschewing the same airline-provided options that’d been served for three weeks straight. Yeah, I paid for my own lunch instead of taking the free offering, but I’d eaten enough stuffed manicotti already.
“What do I owe you for this?” Mack asked when I handed him the bottle of tea.
“It was four bucks, but don’t worry about it right now. We can even up later.”
Aside from dodging some towering cumuli, we made it into DFW airport with relative ease at 4:45pm, only seven minutes late.
We had an hour to turn around before our flight to Hobby Airport in Houston where the crew of six would overnight.
ROBIN
St. Peters, Missouri
Sunday, March 1, 2020 7:45pm
I smiled when the FaceTime alert appeared on my iMac’s screen. I clicked the icon.
“Hey, Sweetie!” I said to the woman smiling on the other end of the call.
“Hey yourself, Handsome. How’s your day been?”
“Really good. I’ve written more today than I think I have in a single day for a year. I probably got a good four thousand words down.”
“Four thousand?”
“Yeah!
“And who says they’re good?”
“Har har,” I mockingly guffawed. “How ’bout you? Judging by the time, you got to Houston on schedule. No delays?”
“Nothing significant. It was a really smooth day considering how short our turnarounds were. I’m counting the blessings because bad weather season is just around the corner.”
“Good point,” I agreed.
“I’m going to need to cut this call short, Babe. The crew’s meeting downstairs for dinner. It’d be rude if I show up late, and I still need to change out of my uni.”
“Ooh,” I cooed. “Can I watch?”
She laughed sweetly. “Jeez, you wanna be a peeping Tom, huh?”
“Can I? Can I?” I begged like a horny teenager. After all, she made me feel like one.
Much to my enjoyment, she removed her uniform. She approached the camera she’d propped on the desk, turned slowly, and swayed her beautiful panty-covered tushy at it.
“Damn. Why can’t Apple make iPhone cameras VR capable?” I whined.
She pulled the pins out of her hair and let it fall while making eyes at me before she pulled on a simple sweatshirt followed by a pair of jeans. She showed me the back pockets quite provocatively.
“Jeez, you’re so gorgeous,” I sighed when she picked her phone back up. “I can’t wait until you’re home so I can kiss that fine little butt of yours.”
“You’re so sweet,” she said with a sweet smile. “I love you, Hon.”
“I love you, too. Enjoy dinner. I’m probably gonna stay up late and keep working, so give me a call later if you have any energy left.”
“I probably shouldn’t. We have an early departure tomorrow so we’ll all need to be at the airport at like five o’clock. Is that okay?”
“Of course, Baby. Be safe, alright?”
“Always, my love.”
She audibly smooched then disconnected.
I turned and looked at who’d been standing next to me the whole time, just beyond the field of view of the camera. I pointed at the screen where the incredibly sexy strip show had taken place only moments before.
“Did you see that? That’s a treat I sometimes get because I’m married to a smoking hot airline pilot.”
His response was a simple wag of his nub before he dropped his favorite rope toy in my lap. I picked it up and tossed it behind the couch on the opposite side of the living room, forcing him to navigate the sectional furniture in a longer route in an attempt to wear him out faster. He didn’t walk around it. Instead, he jumped on then over it.
My wife didn’t have any particular breed in mind when we visited the SPCA of St. Charles County, but when I spotted a particular timid three year old, she knew he’d grabbed my heart. I did a double-take of the information card held by clips on his kennel. The breed was listed as “Mixed.” I knew he wasn’t, because my brother and I were raised with them in our home.
“Do you all have a clue what he actually is?” I asked one of the volunteers.
“Of course we do. For some reason, the breed’s name frightens off some people. Calling out a Rhodie is almost as bad as identifying a Staffy as a pit bull.”
I leaned closer to my wife and whispered, “Check this big guy out. Ridgebacks are renowned for being incredibly loyal family dogs.”
“Can we spend a little time with him?” she asked the volunteer that quickly assented.
In short order, we were escorted to a large indoor enclosure to meet, greet, and interact with the pooch. Brandi and I sat on the floor. The dog, after sniffing my wife’s hands and various other places, plopped himself next to her with his head in her lap, nudging her for scritches.