Chapter Nine

The sun shone bright over a nearly cloudless Friday afternoon sky. Lucas Gregory called Paul just before lunch and said, excitedly, “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and go fly in it!”

By one o’clock, they were standing beside Lucas’ white and blue two-seater airplane. Paul’s stomach had worked into a knot of anticipation and good old-fashioned nerves.

“Well, what do you think of her?” Lucas pumped the side of his fist a couple of times against the door of the plane.

It sounded solid enough, and Lucas’ eagerness inspired a renewed sense of confidence in Paul. Father Lucas tended to have that kind of effect on people. Tall and tanned, he had a winning smile and a self-assured but humble way about him.

Paul had once asked Kate what the women in town thought of the youngish single man of the cloth. She had thought it over a minute or two. Then, grinning, she’d told him that Father Lucas was what they used to call a dreamboat.

Paul didn’t exactly see that, of course. But then, he couldn’t argue that Lucas did seem to have a certain star quality about him. Better than that, to Paul’s way of thinking, he had a good sense of humor and a great love of life and the Lord.

All in all, Paul really couldn’t have found a better person to have as his pilot for the afternoon. He turned his attention to the small aircraft and peered into the interior. “I thought it would be...bigger.”

“Naw. Bigger only means more machine between you and the sky.” Lucas opened the door to climb into the pilot’s seat.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Paul wondered out loud as he followed suit.

Lucas laughed, and Paul’s apprehensions eased as he settled into his seat.

Lucas began ticking off his checklist. Paul marveled at the thoroughness of the task and at Lucas’ unwavering attention to the smallest detail. After about fifteen minutes, Lucas reached the end of the list, then slid on a pair of authentic aviator sunglasses and an old baseball cap.

“All done?” Paul asked, his heartbeat picking up at the thought of the impending takeoff.

“Just one more thing between us and the wild blue yonder. But it’s one thing I’d never even consider starting off without.” Lucas turned in his seat and gave Paul a look over the top of his aviators. “You want to give a quick blessing before we go up, or shall I?”

Paul deferred to his Episcopalian counterpart, promising to handle the honors himself next trip. Only a matter of moments after they had said their amens, the plane began to taxi down the runway.

Paul had been in airplanes plenty of times before, some of them fairly small, but he’d never experienced anything like this. Lucas had gotten it dead-on when he’d dismissed the idea of having more “plane” around them. The smallness and simplicity of this craft created a sense of oneness with the power of the engines, the wonder of flight. The breathtaking awe of ascending up and up and up in it as the world fell farther and farther away was unlike anything Paul had ever known.

Because Lucas had an agenda, mapping out one of a couple of routes he could offer to any interested bird-watchers, Paul had no say in where they went. But that suited him just fine. He was along for the ride, and what a ride it was!

The engine of the small craft hummed loudly, making it hard to carry on any kind of serious conversation. The plane itself puttered along, occasionally shuddering when buffeted by the wind. Once, catching an updraft, it lifted like a kite catching the wind. Lucas told Paul he loved that sensation because it felt like the physical manifestation of the kind of total surrender he had always tried to give to God.

Paul gazed out his window onto the serene landscape of this special slice of his beloved Tennessee. They made the trip from Pine Ridge to Copper Mill, following Pine Ridge Road for the most part, Lucas told him. Lucas also scouted out fields and open stretches of road to stay aware of possible spots for an emergency landing. He assured Paul he’d never had to do that sort of thing, but he liked to be prepared.

The trees and hills made an awesome display of color and gave Paul a whole new appreciation for the layout of the area. When Lucas turned the plane back to the airfield, Paul was a little sad. But at least he had a few more trips to look forward to.

“SO HOW WAS THE FLYING?” Kate met Paul at the diner, where Bonnie had offered to buy them supper.

“Exhilarating.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug. When he noticed that she squeezed him a little tighter and hung on a few seconds longer, he smiled to himself and added, “And perfectly safe. Lucas sure knows what he’s doing.”

“Of course, it’s safe,” Kate said, but her contented sigh as she smiled at him let him know she’d been nervous about it.

They went inside. He and Kate knew most of the people in the diner, and they said hi to each of them. Then they slid into a booth, the two of them on one side and Bonnie on the other.

As soon as they placed their order, the retired schoolteacher wriggled anxiously in her seat and asked, “So, did you see any flocks of birds during your flight? How many and what kind?”

“I knew you were going to ask that.” Paul gave a playful wince. “I feel like a kid saying, ‘The dog ate my homework,’ but I have to tell you, Bonnie, I didn’t pay attention to any birds.”

Bonnie looked crestfallen.

Kate rubbed his arm, then curled her fingers around his and held his hand. “That’s okay. You were probably so caught up in the moment, you didn’t have time to think about it. I’ve spent the past two days thinking about the local birds, and I’m not sure I’d have remembered to look for flocks myself.”

They all agreed that if he had seen any large migrating flocks, he probably would have taken note of it. Paul did promise that the next time he went up, he’d keep his eyes open for birds and give Bonnie a full report.

“Next time?” Kate paused in midsip of her ice water. “So you’re definitely going up again?”

“If Lucas needs a warm body to fill the seat, I’d love to do it,” he said. He looked at his wife, who smiled at him, supporting his decision but not altogether enthusiastic about it. He grinned and added, “And who knows, I may see something from that angle that you nonflyers might overlook completely.”