Against his desire, Mary had taken a job in Suffolk, and the daily scramble — to get the kids off to school, fight the I-64 traffic, and deal with the guilt of after-school daycare — was taking its toll on her. And where was he? At sea or on a detachment for weeks or months at a time, preoccupied with the squadron and bringing the job home, not engaged with his family. And yesterday he was in “paradise,” partying it up — and talking to strippers.
Who is Mary talking to? Probably the guy in her office, Tom, divorced, outgoing, a single parent—like Mary. They had lots “in common,” lots to share. What else are they sharing?
“She’s doing great, kids are great. All good,” Wilson quickly responded.
Annie smiled and nodded her approval. “She’s such a doll. Mike says she’s doing a great job taking care of him and all the squadron girls in the spouses’ club.” Wilson didn’t want a reminder of more of Mary’s responsibilities. He needed to change the subject.
“I hear a bunch of fleet training guys came aboard. Have you seen any of them?”
“Yes,” Annie replied. “My red-haired brother Weed is in the group, and some other guys I don’t know. TOPGUN types.”
Wilson smiled. Mike “Weed” Hopper had been his roommate in the Ravens. Promoted to the rank of Commander and serving as a staff member on the Operational Test and Evaluation Force, Weed had hoped to get his own squadron command; however, his career timing had gone against it. This Caribbean at-sea period would be a fun opportunity to fly together again.
Just then the ready room door burst open. “Kemosabe!”
Beaming, Wilson rose to greet his friend and grasped his outstretched hand. “All right, Weed! Welcome aboard!”
“Hey, Flip! Hey, Annie! Great to be haze gray again! Only been aboard thirty minutes and I’m tired, hungry, and — well — never mind!”
“Glad to see you in a flight suit,” Wilson said. “How hard was it to extricate yourself from your desk?”
“I managed. Part of my job description is to bag traps with fleet pilots like you so I don’t go insane. And down here, in our sunny warm-water playground, like the old days.”
“What are you guys doing aboard this time?” Wilson asked him.
“Well, we’re working a project with DARPA on some cool new sensors. We’re going to run some profiles with them, maybe drop a few precision weapons to get these boxes a full test. What’s coming down the road is incredible.”
Annie asked, “Whose jets are you going to fly?”
Weed turned to Flip and suppressed a smile. “Well, ah, yours, if you have one to spare. You’ll be happy to know, Flip, that I asked for the