Free Driver, T. C. by The Great Ark

protective as to what close to ground foolishness his Sarah could be involved in with the new B48s. Unk and Sarah could often be heard screaming at each other at the top of their lungs as the old Russian 'weasel' did Daddy Coe's bidding in our flying routines. Towards me, Sarah was also hostile, cold and snobby; not like herself. Always pouting and uncaring; even more so around our comrades.
    Mitch Johnston, a Boeing Vice President, would    soon place orders for another three hundred B48s during this big air show. The plane was now up to seven years of production. He broke all of his sales goals. Mitch and his wife, Janet, make a good-looking, classy couple. Both were press magnets, very much at ease at black tie events.   This pair was extremely popular about town. Their pictures and those of their twin daughters and sons-in laws stayed in the newspaper and on most magazine covers during the Big Air Show. I found out that they were all related to Coe's first wife, Gloria. Mitch and Janet had known all the Coe kids from childhood.
    Our new B48s were not a dramatically different looking version of the B44s. No mention of a carrier version was made during the air show. Like B44s, they were light-weight and not supersonic. The B48 was almost a foot longer and five hundred pounds heavier than a 44. This weight came from an engine modification which hurt radar image a bit. It was the new plane's need of less maintenance and added thrust when using hydrogen fuel that ruled the engineering changes. Wings and tail section 'skin flex' was more 'bird like' in each generation. A one hundred mph faster dive put this plane right at the speed of sound. These planes could turn faster than the human body could endure.
    “Indeed” said Mitch.
    These manned versions are popular, but the unmanned versions were the main thrust of military sales worldwide. Without complex computer restrictions on flight, a B48 would kill its own pilot, snapping his neck at the first sudden turn and then making mush of his face, splashing the pilot against the inside of his helmet. When the plane landed, the flight suit would have a pilot milkshake inside. Not a pretty sight, and also bad for morale. The unmanned version was very hard to shoot down with straight flying missiles because of this bat-like flying agility.
    Five large 'world class' resort hotels were close to both the college and the big Air Show. These were good times, indeed. We all received the red carpet treatment. My Sarah was constantly burning mad. She was always cold now in public; often hurtful, belligerent and stubborn (just like her Father), but little Sarah did have her warm side. Our third night in town, Sarah Coe smarted off to me in front of friends. She put on a good show with a loud, flippant goodnight. She was acting like I was siding with Unk against her. As she smarted off, she also placed a plastic room key in the left hand behind my back. This was the beginning of our 'air show honeymoon' together. I used my key and went to her that night. Without speaking, we    had marathon sex, almost fighting each other in unbridled passion. Before speaking (full sentences), our bodies were spent. My old plumbing had kept up only with the help of pills. Our daily sex romps made me feel young again. Both of us enjoyed playing the part of lovers. Yes, during our month-long honeymoon together, we were both very happy. Being lovers was much more enjoyable than just being friends, and we needed to spice up our bland lives. We both wanted to live the good life. Unk started talking about 'The Stunt'. Unk said he would take the stunt himself if I was too old or didn't like the odds. I knew what he wanted. My old 'tail stall landing' like in Paris way 'back in the day'. Twelve years back, in fact.
    “Unk, don't they do something new by now?” I groaned. “Do you think that old stunt would go over?”
    “Old Corny, if you want it, the last stunt is yours. If you pass, then let me know now”