TIME-TO-SEE-57
The cockpit was larger than most. It had two small beds for the pilot, copilot, and navigator to rest, and it contained workstations for each of the three officers.
The boys were speechless as they moved past glowing dials and flashing lights on the communications equipment and navigational instruments. Conventional digital displays flickered and published status information on the myriad systems operating in the aircraft as it flew gracefully through the sky.
"What are those big black bubbles with the little white airplanes floating in the center?" Nicky asked.
"That is an instrument that tells us whether the aircraft is flying level, climbing, or descending and the amount of either. It shows us when the airplane banks left or right and helps us to guide it into a smooth turn, like we had to make just after we left Kennedy International, the airport in New York," the pilot replied.
"And those dials and lights tell us how the various hydraulic and control systems are operating."
"Ohhhhhhh!" Shannon said with big eyes. He had to stand on his tip toes to see better.
"Which one of you is going to fly the airplane first?" the pilot asked.
"You're really going to let us fly the airplane?" Jilder asked.
"Well, of course." the pilot replied.
"We'll be able to fly the plane using parallel controls if you do something that might disturb the smooth flight, but you'll be able to make it go faster or slow it down and steer it just the same."
"Oh, Yeah! I'll go first," Jilder volunteered eagerly
The other two boys seemed more than ready to let Jilder try first. The vast display of lights and meters was more than a little intimidating, but they seemed willing to take their turns just the same.
The pilot showed Jilder how to climb down into the copilot's seat, strap himself in with the seatbelt, and put his hands on the wheel in front of him.
"Is it OK to touch the steering wheel?" Jilder asked.
"Yes, of course. Now remember, Jilder. If you push the wheel forward, you'll make the nose of the plane dip down in the front, and if you pull back on it, the nose of the plane will point up and the plane will climb up higher. Now you do need to coordinate the foot pedals too, but the copilot will do that for you on the parallel controls."
"And over here is the accelerator or throttle. If you want to climb, you need to pull back on the wheel and on the throttle at the same time to make the aircraft engines go faster. Okay, now, let's try those two moves together... The copilot will let you do the flying, but he'll keep the plane from tossing about out of control... You ready?"
"Yes, Sir," Jilder said tense, holding the wheel with his right hand and the throttle with his left, and his eyes trained on the big bubble in front of him that would show him the plane is changing attitude.
"Okay. Pull back on the throttles to gain speed.... That's right... a little more.... good... Now pull back on the wheel-- it may take both hands, 'cause it'll feel pretty stiff... that's it. Now look at the bubble instrument... see the plane is rising above the white line... You're making the plane fly higher..."
Jilder didn't smile or register any emotion. He just concentrated intently on his job, and he wouldn't dare to divert his attention in the midst of such an important task as he'd just undertaken... His fingers went white, he was clutching the wheel so tightly.
The pilot said, "Now, Jilder, push the wheel back toward the front of the cockpit and allow the aircraft to level off..... VERY NICE... you certainly have a steady hand, Jilder. You could make a very good pilot someday if you went to school..."
"Okay. Now return the throttle to it's original setting... good... Did you hear the engines quiet down when you told them to go more slowly?" the pilot said.
"Yes, Sir," Jilder said, not looking away from his task for even a moment...
"Now just hold her steady for a while." The pilot instructed.
"Yes, Sir."
At that moment the aircraft bumped and it's wings rose and fell over several of these bumps.
Jilder went white but he didn't shrink from his duties. He instinctively pulled back on the wheel and pushed the throttle forward again, bringing the craft through the series of warm air pockets... Quickly it settled down into a smooth and steady path. Then Jilder lowered the throttle and returned the aircraft to level flight.
The pilot said, "Woah! I couldn't have done better myself, Jilder... " Then he turned to the other boys, "All right, you guys. You saw how a "pro" does it. You're next..."
"We'll let you hand the control of the aircraft over to your copilot, Jilder. And then these other two guys can try their hand at climbing."
"Who's next? This man right here?... Shannon?... Do I have the name right?" the pilot asked.
Shannon suddenly seemed even smaller than he was as he answered with a clear "Yes Sir" and stepped up to the seat that Jilder had just climbed away from.
Jilder turned and gave directions to Shannon, "Just sit down in that big seat and buckle yourself in, Shannon. That's first."
"OK." Shannon said following directions to the letter settling his little hands on the steering wheel.
The Captain followed up on Jilder's beginning. "Now, Shannon, you saw what Jilder did to make the aircraft climb. You think you can do that? You'll have to pull back on the steering wheel, and sort of-- at the same time-- advance the throttle until you hear the whine of the engines get louder telling you that you're gaining speed for the climb.
Jilder coached from behind the big pilot's seat: "You have to pull kinda hard, Shannon, cause the wheel thing is really stiff. But you can do it, just pull hard..."
And with the same concentration that Jilder manifest, Shannon began the operation. He pulled the wheel back with both hands where the muscles in his little arms tightened and bulged under his skin, and then holding the wheel with his right hand, he moved his left hand to the throttles which moved more easily. The sound of the monstrous engines roared loudly--more loudly than when Jilder directed them to climb--and the aircraft lurched and headed to a higher altitude.
The pilot smiled and said, "Well, Shannon, all of the passengers will notice that move for sure... Now, why don't you level the aircraft by pushing forward on the wheel and moving the throttles back a notch..."
Shannon didn't utter a word. He was too busy concentrating on his flying maneuvers, but he heard every word of the pilot's instructions and executed them masterfully. Here was another bright, pilot-hopeful.
"Okay, bud. Maybe you can pass control of the aircraft to the co-pilot and let our third pilot trainee get into the pilot's seat where you are.
Having not uttered the first sound, but having been super alert and utterly responsive, Shannon relinquished his piloting to the co-pilot, turned and climbed out of the pilot's seat without saying anything.
Nicky said, "You did GOOD, Shannon... I hope I can do as good as you did..." on the way to taking the pilot's seat and buckling up.
Shannon was mesmerized by his experience. His eyes were fixed on the instruments and his breathing was smooth and even. He turned his gaze to the pilot and spoke, his first effort at communication since before he began his piloting the aircraft. "Thank you, Sir. That was AWSOME! I can't wait to tell my dad!"
"You did a great job, Shannon. I'm sure your dad will be proud," the pilot replied.
Nicky went through the operations that Jilder and Shannon had executed, demonstrating a capacity for smooth and commanding movements. And, very shortly, there was yet another transfixed boy on the flight deck feeling like he'd just made a real start on his trip to the stars.
The pilot spoke as he indicated that he would be accompanying the boys back to their seats now, "That was the perfect beginning to a career as a pilot, or at least a suggestion that acquiring your pilot's license one day, boys, is definitely not far-fetched. Each one of you-- with study-- when you're old enough, can certainly attend flying school and earn your pilot's wings." The pilot reached over and pinned little plastic wings on each boy's shirt, which left all three of them smiling, just beaming with delight...
And with their experience echoing in their minds, the boys left the cockpit and filed to their seats with a serious demeanor that, at first, alarmed Kevin and Hugo, but that they quickly realized had just been a tiny peek into the bright and serious young men these boys would eventually become. The pilot winked at Hugo and Kevin, saluted to the boys, and turned to re-enter the cockpit.
Shannon was the first to speak. "Did you feel it when I made the engines jump and push the airplane higher? That was me!" Shannon said with a prideful smile.
"So THAT was YOU," Kevin replied. "How does a little guy like you make such a big thing happen?"
"Oh, the pilot told me what to do, and I did it as best I could. It was kinda hard to pull on the controls, 'cause they're made for adults, but I could make the plane climb higher after he told me what to do. It was fuuuuuuun!" Shannon said as he sank back into his giant, upholstered seat with a beatific smile on his face, reliving the joy of his first piloting experience.
Jilder went on, "Yeah! Dad. It was awesome. Maybe when I get older, I can take pilot's lessons and get my wings? You think?"
Kevin interrupted, always ready to hammer in a lesson. "Of course, but you'll need to keep your math scores high; so you can calculate the direction that your airplane goes and such."
"Yeah! That's right," Jilder said thoughtfully.
"It really was great, Dad. I really want to do that some more. And like Jilder said, maybe we can both go to flight school and learn to pilot a plane some day," Nicky added.
And very little more was needed to augment the consciousness that these boys had found in their one little trip to the cockpit and into adult satisfaction and adult responsibility.
Everyone sat peacefully without speaking.
And the aircraft engines thundered on toward Europe.
Maybe 15 minutes later, Nicky stood up and moved the short distance over to Kevin's seat. He leaned down and spoke privately directly into Kevin's ear.
"Dad. I read that email you got from the pilot, sorta by accident. I wasn't trying to pry into your mail. It was lying out where I could see it when we went up to the cockpit," Nicky confided.
Kevin replied, "Yes? That's alright, Nicky. You didn't do anything wrong. If the message was really that private, I should have put it away, but I didn't. I'm sorry you felt that you'd done something wrong. You definitely did nothing wrong."
"Thanks, Dad," Nicky said exhaling and with some relief in his voice he went on.
"I been thinking... Would it be Okay for me and Jilder to invite Shannon to stay with us for the week that his dad has to be on his business trip? I mean, I'd like for him to visit us after we get to Europe, if it's OK with you and Hugo."
"Hummm... Well, we'll have to ask Hugo what he thinks. Checking with your dad is important... to make sure he won't feel stressed, since he's got to go to those meetings; but I think you may have a good idea there," Kevin replied.
"You see. I'd be really bummed out if my dads couldn't be with me when I came to visit; so I don't want Shannon to feel bad like that, if I can help it. Shannon can feel at home with us until his dad gets back. Right?" Nicky asked.
"You bet, Nick. That's a very mature and empathetic assessment you've made. Why not see what Jilder thinks about it?"
Nicky moved carefully back to where he had been seated, then he moved forward to Jilder's seat, and getting down on his knees he cupped his hands and whispered his plan to Jilder.
"Yeah! That'd be cool. Let me talk to Shannon with you," Jilder said.
"Let's talk to him now," Nicky said.
And the two boys got up and moved the short distance, more forward still, until they arrived at Shannon's very comfortable swivel seat. Jilder leaned over Shannon, and Nicky got on his knees in front of him; so that he was looking directly into Shannon's face.
Nicky began, "Say, Shannon, we just found out somethin from an email that the pilot brought to our dads from your dad. It says that your dad has to go on a business trip, and he will be able to pick you up in a week from now; so's Jilder and me thought we'd like to ask you to visit with us for that time, 'cause we like you and want to be with you some more, like while your dad can't come. Do you think you'd wanna stay with Jilder and me, Shannon?... Don't feel bad if you don't wanna stay. I'd understand, but since your dad has to be away, I thought you might be willing to visit with us some more..."
Shannon looked at Nicky with a shocked expression on his face. The thought that his dad wouldn't be waiting for him hadn't crossed his mind, and now it brought a wave of sadness and disappointment through his little chest that he just couldn't hide, not from two boys who understood what that kind of news does to a guy...
Shannon sat forward in his seat and turned his head in Kevin's direction. As soon as Kevin caught Shannon's eye, he rose and went to where the three boys were. He stooped down; so as to be on eye level with Shannon too.
"Shannon, the pilot brought me this message from your dad that says that he will be delayed a little while meeting you, when the plane gets to Ireland. Nicky and Jilder and I... and Hugo too... would love for you to stay with us for the few days that your dad has to be delayed-- that is, if you would consider that. Your dad says that he will send his butler to meet you at the airport, and you can go to your dad's house with the butler, if you want. But I'd really like it if you'd consider staying with Nicky and Jilder and Hugo and me. We really love having you around. You're a pretty neat kid..." Kevin said, trying to sound comforting while delivering the unhappy truth of the message Shannon's dad sent.
Shannon looked down and his eyes began to fill with tears. Kevin reached over and rubbed Shannon's back with his big, warm hand..."Yeah! Man. That sucks!" Kevin said quietly.
"That's a bummer!" Nicky volunteered in a considerably more robust volume. "I'd be pissed... Ooops! Sorry, Dad," Nicky added.
Shannon looked up at Nicky and smiled through his tears. "You guys are really nice. But I just wanna see my dad. That's why I'm crying, not cause I don't wanna visit with you...."
"Well, Shannon, you don't have to decide right now, if you don't want to. We all understand. But when you decide, whatever you decide, it will be alright with us..." and Kevin rubbed his hand around some more on Shannon's back and leaned over and gave him a kiss on the forehead, just as he would comfort either Nicky or Jilder. Love is not only for your own family.
Shannon's trickle of tears instantly became a flow, and he dissolved into a little bundle of quivering, inconsolable sadness.
Kevin simply continued to rub Shannon's back, and Nicky reached over to put a hand on Shannon's arm, while Jilder, just as affected as the others, squeezed Shannon's shoulder. No one said anything for a few minutes. Only the roar of the mighty engines inserted itself into the world of this sad little guy... But Shannon was NOT left to be alone in his saddness.
Nicky looked up at Jilder and silently mouthed a message: "You think he's okay?" To which Jilder shrugged his shoulders, indicating he was unsure of what was happening. Kevin put his index finger to his lips to indicate to the boys that they might best continue to be silent.
In a moment, Shannon's tears subsided, and he looked up into everyone's faces and said, "I'd really like to be with you guys, 'till my dad comes for me."
They all smiled at once, communicating their pleasure at Shannon's decision, collectively radiating a warmth that could almost be measured with a thermometer.
"Oh, that's terrific news, Shannon. Thanks for staying with us... We love you very much, and are really happy you'll be staying with us," Kevin said.
And the brave little pilot of the aircraft that now pushed on through the night sky knew that all of the guys cared about him-- all four of them, even if life had delivered him a blow that he was unable to control. He was going to be alright in the cradle of all the love the guys provided.
Nicky went over to his seat and pulled his laptop computer from the little storage compartment next to the seat. Then he went back to Shannon's seat.
"Look, Shannon. You can use the email address on your dad's email to write him an email letter and tell him what you are going to do... And you can tell him that you want him to hurry and get you."
Bringing up the Google mail Sign-In screen, Nicky handed his laptop to Shannon.
"Shannon wiped his tears away with the back of his shirt sleeve, gave a little shiver as he cleared the crying from his system, and began to type in: ShanNY2IR along with his secret password. The laptop jumped to work instantly and presented Shannon a blank page on which he could write to his dad..."
"Dear Dad...
I am very sad that you can't come to get me at the airport when we get there but I have new friends named Nicky and Jilder and Kevin and Hugo and they want me to stay with them while they go to talk at a doctor's meeting. I really want to do that, if you can't meet me. So I'll tell your friend who comes to meet me at the airport that I'm going with Nicky and Jilder. You can always write me a letter and I'll get it on Nicky's laptop. He told me how to write this letter, and he helped me get a userID and secret password. Please hurry because I miss you. Love, Shannon Oh, and I'll send you our hotel room number as soon as we get one. The doctors will have our hotel when we get there.
"What do I do now?" Shannon asked Nicky...
"Look at the top of the screen. See up there... there's a button: 'SEND', that you're supposed to click on. That'll make your letter go in your dad's mailbox."
"Oooookay!" and Shannon sent his letter on its way.
"Now dad will know where I am, and I won't have to be alone while I wait for him," Shannon explained to both Nicky and Jilder who hovered over his seat.
"Cool." Nicky said.
"And you can check for an answer from your dad as often as you want," Jilder added. "You can use either MY laptop or Jilder's too."
Although he never said it, it seemed pretty clear for Shannon that we had all just established: "ISSUE CLOSED"... Well, at least for the time being.
"Let's go exploring the airplane," Jilder announced to Nicky and Shannon.
"Yeah! Let's go to that salon and the bar too, if they'll let us in," Nicky said.
"What's a salon?" Shannon said.
"I don't know, but our dads said that this plane is full of rich people. I guess they want to go somewhere and drink beer and stuff."
Shannon volunteered, "Isn't it sorta late to go explorin? I mean, the lights are turned down low, and I see some people are sleepin."
"Yeah! But I'm not sleepy yet," Jilder answered, "and the movies don't start for almost another hour... We gotta do somethin..."
"Well, OK. I think that would be fun," Nicky contributed his opinion.
"Yeah. I'll go too. Do you think they'll let kids in?" Shannon wondered.
So off the three of them marched... Kevin and Hugo were both dozing; thus the usual supervisory and sanity filters were off-line for just this one moment. (Recall: Kevin understood that it only takes a 'moment' with these guys...)
There were two remarkably long aisles, parallel to each other, leading to the rear of the aircraft. About half way to the very tail of the aircraft were two spiral stairways-- one for going down to the salon deck, and one stairway for returning.
Jilder disappeared down the stairwell first. Then Shannon went. Finally Nicky... What they found at the bottom of that stairwell shocked all three of them.
There was actually a dance floor with flashing colored lights and a big revolving hemisphere, covered in mirror chips that made the lights twinkle and sparkle and reflect moving colored spots all over everyone. Muted but very jivy dance music played, and five couples danced-- or rather shook their booties-- while a lot of single males hung around the bar at the far end of the dance floor (at the tail of the aircraft) cheering, laughing, and holding glasses which must have contained alcohol. (At least that's what Jilder thought anyway...)
As soon as the boys arrived on the scene, two women--perhaps in their 30s came over to them, one taking Jilder by the hands, the other taking Nicky, and dragged them out on to the dance floor.
Now Jilder had no idea what was going on, but he knew he liked the looks of these women, and he smiled and decided to join them and shake his butt around too. It didn't appear that it required any special training, Jilder concluded. And in no time at all, Jilder was the center of attention.
Nicky was nervous, but definitely game. The woman who "abducted" him started rubbing her hands through Nicky's ample head of bright red curls and laughing and blowing kisses to him as she did so. The guys at the bar at the far end of the dance floor just cracked up when the lady ran her hands through Nicky's hair...
Then she took Nick by the hands and started shaking her butt too... Nicky was feeling major self-conscious, but then he looked over at Jilder and saw that Jilder was way gone by now; so he decided to relax and dance too... ("What the hey," he thought...)
Shannon-- tiny little guy that he was-- just stood there while his buddies were out 'womanizing'... No more than had he realized that he was alone, than a third woman, perhaps only in her early 20s, came to Shannon and dragged him out on to the dance floor with Nicky and Jilder. Shannon was actually terrified! But he didn't want anyone to know it; so he smiled and started bobbing up and down to the beat of the music.
Jilder wiggled around past Shannon smiling like he was on a rollercoaster ride at Magic Mountain. Well, if Jilder can do it; so can I, Shannon thought... After all, I can fly the airplane; so I can do this too.
And the music played on... and very quickly the three little guys became the center of attention of the entire salon deck... The music grew louder in volume and the ladies laughed and put on seductive demonstrations for their under-age escorts, while the guys at the bar clapped, hooted, and yelled encouragement to the boys...
The festivities were in full swing, and a huge crowd had gathered around the dance floor where the boys were putting on an exhibition for all to enjoy.... when WHO SHOULD APPEAR, climbing on the DOWN-STAIRCASE, none other than-- you guessed it-- THE DADS!
They didn't want to embarrass the boys; so they made their way unnoticed over to the DJ booth and whispered to the DJ. In just a few moments, the music turned into a very primitive THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, giving the signal that THAT particular dance had ended, and that NEW dance couples or new partners were called for...
With that, the three lovely ladies who had captivated our Three Musketeers each gave their under-age dance partners a kiss on the cheek and left them on the dance floor. And all three boys just stood there dumbfounded smearing the lipstick around on their cheeks. That made the guys at the bar just roar...
And with impeccable timing Kevin and Hugo stepped out onto the dance floor and grabbed the kids by the hand with a friendly invitation to "get their asses" outta that place.... SMILE.... "IT'S FOR ADULTS WITH ALCOHOL AND NOT FOR kids! you whackos!" they stage whispered to the boys.
Well, truly, NONE of the three boys wanted to retreat up the spiral staircase to the passenger deck from which they came. They had learned yet another adult enterprise-- substantially different from piloting the aircraft but equally as much fun--but the message from Kevin and Hugo was unmistakable: "asses upstairs!"... No problem, if they just go back to where the kids are supposed to be: watching movies and playing computer games with their laptops...
So back they marched in the direction of the stairs, Hugo leading the parade. Everyone in the salon dance floor clapped and cheered for the boys as they started back upstairs. The boys waved good-by to their fans, and Kevin turned to the assembled crowd and shouted loudly, so as to be heard over the thunderous disco-bumping rhythm: "Thanks for taking such good care of our boys," they won't forget THIS trip..." And he waved as he followed the boys...
The clapping and whistling continued until the little family was safe back on the passenger deck where, surprisingly, one could barely hear the reveling going on in the salon, and passengers slept in the quiet, dimly lit compartment.
"Wow! Dad.... So THAT's what a salon is! That's cool," Jilder said loudly when he plopped down in his seat...
Kevin turned to Hugo with a knowing smile and murmured under his breath, "I think we've definitely got ourselves a pair of 'BREADERS'" And Hugo laughed out loud as soon as it registered with him what Kevin had just said.
"Okay boys. So now you know what a salon is, and you will have to wait until you are much, much, much, much, much older (that's FIVE "much's") than you are now to do that by yourself." Kevin pronounced closure on this escapade too.
Shannon sat in his seat smiling from ear to ear. "We weren't supposed to go down there, were we," he said to the dads.
"No. There's lots of other stuff for guys your age. That's not what we want your dad to think we allow our kids to do. So NO MORE TRIPS TO THE SALON DECK... 'Comprender?'" Kevin said.
"Okay. No more..... But what's 'Com-prehn-deer' mean?" Shannon said.
Hugo spoke up, "It's VERY POOR Spanish that's the best my partner here can do. But under the stress of this evening, I'll forgive him..." and he leaned over an gave Kevin a peck on the cheek. ("It means: UNDERSTAND?" Hugo contributed...)
"Gosh. Do you guys kiss each other?" Shannon asked innocently. Apparently he'd never seen such goings on in his world.
"Well, we love each other, and when we feel like we want the other one to remember it-- again-- maybe 10 times a day, we give him a kiss," Hugo said.
Upon a few moment's consideration Shannon said, "Hummmm? ...That's pretty nice."
Nicky made an announcement: "Shannon. Check your email. Maybe you have a message from your dad..."
And with that, the boys returned without complaint to their comfortable kids' world of computer games and movies and snacks with lemonade.
"Can I use your computer?" Shannon asked Nicky...
"Sure..."