He hasn’t looked at me yet. I wonder if something like what happened to me has happened to him, something that made him lose his interest in the opposite sex? When they were up in the air about as high as they were apparently going to fly, the stewardess came down and offered coffee, tea, or Coca Cola to the passengers. When she got to them, the young man raised his head from his puzzle long enough to ask for Scotch and water.
“I’m sorry, Sir,” the stewardess said.
“There is no cocktail service on this flight.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t make the rules, Sir,” the stewardess said. “In that case, bring me two glasses of ice water, please,” the young man said. And in that moment, with his face turned to look up at the stewardess, Roberta Whatley recognized him. He looked at her, too, but with neither interest nor recognition. But now she was sure. He was a Navy officer, a naval aviator like Tom. The last time she had seen him was at Pensacola, and he had been wearing a high-collared white uniform with golden wings pinned to the breast. She stole another glance at him to be sure. it was him, all right. His name was Richard Canidy, and he was a bachelor with a terrible reputation. if the stories could be believed, he had carried on with half the unmarried women at Pensacola-and some of the married ones. A dangerous man, a real wolf. down the little table The stewardess appeared with a tray, He folded the back of the seat in front of him and put the glasses of ice water on on the b it while Roberta did the same thing with her Coca-Cola.
After the stewardess had gone back down the aisle, Richard Canidy took a swallow of his water, then took a silver flask from his pocket and poured whiskey into the glass.
I know it’s him! Tom had known Canidy’s roommate, Lieutenant (j.g.) Edwin H, they’d had Ed Bitter to supper, even at Annapolis; and his escapades. the men-had been upset at Canidy’s romantic As if he sensed her looking at him, he looked at her.
“Would you like a little taste?” he asked. “No, thank you,” Roberta said primly.
“I think it’s against the rules.”
“It’s the only way to fly,” Canidy said. And then he returned to his puzzle. He looked at me. If I recognized him, he should have recognized me. I@You’re Lieutenant Canidy,” Roberta accused. o look right He looked at her. He had very dark eyes. They seemed t inside her. “I’m used-to-be-Lieutenant Canidy,” he said.
“Do I know you?”
“I’m Tom Whatley’s wife,” Roberta blurted.” Oh,” he said.” And we’ve met? ” “At Pensacola,” she said.
“I didn’t mean that “You didn’t mean what?”
“I’m not Tom’s wife,” she said.
“Not anymore, I mean. We were divorced. just now. That’s what I was doing in Chicago.” ‘t have a little nip?
“Oh,” he said.
“In that case, are you sure you won’t Either to celebrate or the reverse?” didn’t stop him. He reached for the flask, and she so Rule One’ had worked, Dick Canidy decided. When he had seen this one walking out to the airplane, and knew because it was the only vacant seat that she would be sitting beside him, he decided he would have a shot at her, if for no other reason than that it would make the Chicago Cleveland-Washington flight pass more quickly. Now it looked as if he might strike gold. His experience was that divorced women had a hunger to prove to themselves that they were still desirable. It followed that that particular flame would burn especially bright a few days after a divorce. “Just now divorced, you said?” Canidy asked. “I’d rather not talk about it,” Roberta said. Bingo! “You said ‘used-to-be’ Lieutenant?”
Roberta asked. “I’d rather not talk about it,” Canidy said. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m out of the Navy,” Canidy said.
“I got out about a year ago.”
“I didn’t know they were letting officers resign,” she said. “It was decided I would be of more value as an engineer than as an airplane driver,” he said.