rules?”
“I don’t know. We’ll make them up as we go.”
The rest of the afternoon was like a shopping spree. They didn’t buy groceries until late. First, he took her to Wal-Mart for new clothes. She was so grateful and said she’d never had brand new clothes before.
He bought steak for dinner and an assortment of vegetables that neither one knew how to prepare. Both were excited.
Later that night, after eating and sharing a bottle of wine (he passed on the temptation for hard liquor), he helped her open the sleep sofa and they laughed a little bit. He realized how hard it was for her to feel joy after what she’d been through. His life was no model of normalcy, but his childhood had been healthy and happy with loving parents in Southern California. She’d had none of that joy. She’d been deprived in every way for almost thirty years. He decided then that things would be different for her from now on. They would be different for him as well.
After two more days, Jake was feeling more comfortable with Callie around the house. In fact, he enjoyed her company. When it was time to go back to work, he regretted having to leave her alone during the day.
Each time he returned at night, she had a new surprise waiting. Sometimes it was dinner. She also methodically cleaned each room, one each day. After eight years in it alone, every inch of every room was filthy and smelled even worse than it looked. Of course, it was even worse as a smoker’s house. Each day, the house smelled better. He’d had no idea how much it had deteriorated since he’d bought it in pristine condition.
Day after day, with sufficient cleaning fluids, dusting and vacuuming every inch, the inside environment improved. He appreciated her effort and enjoyed her company. They played board games, and he had cable television installed. In the past, he used the computer in the hangar for the internet, but he wanted her to have a PC at home and surprised her on the last day of his on-duty cycle. She said she’d never used one before, but she learned to use its basic functions quickly. The relationship was bringing joy to both of them that neither had felt for a long time.
On his first day off, he got up a little later than normal and stayed quietly reading the paper while the coffee brewed. When he heard her stirring, he made a big breakfast of eggs and bacon, and slice cantaloupe for the first time in years. She appeared in fresh jeans and a tee shirt, drawn by the breakfast aroma. She walked in saying, “Good morning! It smells so good in here.”
He glanced at her while finishing his presentation on their plates. “I can’t cook much, but I’m good with breakfast. Here, enjoy this. How about some orange juice?”
“Gee, I never had it so good. Can you really afford to have me around?”
“Don’t you worry about that. I’ve been with CHI for eight years and make decent money, a lot more than the rookies. As a matter of fact, I thought we’d travel down to New Orleans and I’d show you around, then we could have dinner in the French Quarter.”
She pressed her fingers together as if to pray. “Oh, wow. I ain’t been there, ever. We could have some fun!”
“Yeah. Maybe we can even get you some more clothes. What else would you like?”
“Oh, Jake. You been extra nice to me. I already got more new stuff than I ever dreamed.”
“Nonsense. I’ve never had anyone but myself, and I really enjoy buying you things. You’re sort of like the daughter I never had.”
She put her hands on the table and looked excitedly at him, “Well, okay. I really love this, too.”
In less than half an hour, they were backing out in his pickup for the trip south. In eight years, he’d only been to New Orleans a few times and then only to go to Superdome with BJ to watch the Saints play. He needed to use a map to find his way around the city. He’d never been to the French Quarter, but had always heard about the jazz and food.
They had a great time together. It didn’t even occur to Jake that he didn’t miss smoking. He’d thought it was one of those unbreakable habits, but Callie convinced him not to smoke in the house anymore, and he just seemed to stop craving the tobacco. If it was addicting, he wasn’t feeling any withdrawal symptoms. Even more amazing, he wasn’t drinking much and was eating better. Over the next several weeks everything about life between Jake and Callie seemed to get better. Even his neighbors noticed it and invited the two of them to dinner and other social gatherings. He was no longer the hermit down the street, and she was the pretty surrogate daughter that was changing his life. Even the management of CHI became friendlier to him, probably because his attitude was better.
Jake and Callie joined a local health club under a “family” plan. After a month of conditioning, they were regular fixtures, working out at least five nights per week. Callie enrolled in a GED program at the local community college in the fall and spent most nights studying. She was immediately self-conscious of her poor grammar and made a concerted effort to improve her speech. Jake had completed his college degree in the Army, attending several schools at night. He was certainly no scholar, but could generally speak correctly. She asked him to correct her language whenever she lapsed, and it didn’t take long for everyone to notice the improvement. She even started talking about getting a job, and attending college someday.
After three months living together, their routine had evolved to simulate a true father/daughter relationship. Both felt comfortable about giving each other advice and scolding certain behaviors. Jake loved every minute of it. During this period, she also met Will Ryan when Jake took her to work with him to meet everyone. Will and Callie were about the same age (Will was three years younger), but Jake wasn’t thrilled about Will as a deadbeat, although he didn’t say anything to Callie. Will asked her out once his pickup was drivable, but she declined, making up some excuse to save his feelings. She told Jake that Will wasn’t someone she would ever regard seriously.
One night after months living together, Jake asked Callie to join him in the living room after supper. He sat next to her on the couch with a manila envelope closed in his hands. She wasn’t sure what it was about but showed some apprehension, as well as curiosity. He looked at her saying, “Callie, you’ve brought joy into my life that I never expected, nor felt I deserved.”
She reacted quickly, “Oh, Jake, I feel the same way!”
“Okay, but let me finish because I have something I think is important to say. In here (patting the envelope), I’ve got my will that my attorney prepared. It makes you’re my sole heir.”
She took on a serious expression and placed her hand on his. “Jake ... I don’t know what to say. I didn’t expect this. I don’t deserve this.”
“Look. I don’t have anyone else, and you’ve become like a daughter to me. I’m just glad we finally met. I couldn’t feel more joy if I had my own family, and you’re it as far as I’m concerned. I could never want anyone as my daughter any more than you. I mean look, I’m twenty pounds lighter, tons healthier. It’s all because of you.
“This doesn’t change anything now. I want to continue to give you whatever you need as long as I’m working. So, this will only counts once I’m gone. And as things are going now, I hope we have a lot of good years together. Hell, I’d like to see you go to college, get a job, get married, have kids -- the whole thing.”
She put both hands on his and kissed his cheek. “Gosh, Jake, this is too much to believe. Just this summer, I was begging for help, with no prospects. Now all of that has changed. It’s kinda like fate, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, fate. That’s a good way to look at it. So come on, let me show you the will, and then I’ve got some other things to show you in case I get hit by a train.”
Port Arthur
Jake’s on-duty rotation began the next day. It was his turn to man the base at Port Arthur, Texas, on the Gulf. Twice per year, two pilots from Lafayette would drive to Texas to provide relief for the pilots at PA to go on leave. It meant that the relief pilots would be away
from home for seven days. Jake had often volunteered for PA to spare the family men in Louisiana. He liked the freedom from household duties and pocketed some of the per diem at the same time. This time was different. It was his normal rotation, but he didn’t want to leave Callie alone for a week. She had taken care of herself all of her life, so he wasn’t worried about her being alone. He would simply miss her. It was the first time since she’d found him that they were staying in different locations. This was the feeling he had saved so many of his buddies from experiencing, but now it was his turn, and no one else ever volunteered to go to PA.
After driving five hours to get there, he settled into the company apartment in the hangar that he would share with the other pilot and called Callie in the evening.
He was strangely relieved to hear her voice, even though he didn’t think she had any outside activities planned. He said, “Hi, how you doing?”
“Jake! How was your trip down?”
“Oh, you know. I didn’t run over any armadillos.”
“So, what’s it like there? Is the apartment nice?”
“I don’t know. I used to think it was nicer than my place, but that’s not true since you cleaned up everything and made it feel like a home.”
“Sounds like you miss it here.”
“That’s true.