Free My Cousin Wendy by Al Sloane

starve."
    I got a subdued "Thank you."
    There was nothing wrong with Wendy's appetite. She reminded me of a Golden Retriever I used to have. I swear Bear was always trying to empty his dog food bowl before it hit the ground. The eggs took more than one gulp but not much. The ham took a little longer but it was gone before we turned onto the main road. Like she hadn't eaten in months.
    I heard Kathi say "Damn." As if she was in awe.
    Wendy covered her mouth as she burped. "Excuse me."
    I drove a couple of miles and turned left. I went down a bit and made a right.
    Kathi was the first to notice. "Oh, my God."
    They all looked and then the excitement spread throughout the car.
    Yes, we're all going up in the same balloon. No it won't crash because there are so many of us. Yes they know how to steer them.
    We pulled onto the lot and a guy with a backwards baseball cap walked up to me with his hand out.
    "I'm Joseph. You must be Pete."
    I took his hand, assured him I was and introduced the girls.
    "Well, you've got quite a crowd here. Looks like we'll have a fun trip."
    He pointed to the balloon we were going to take. It was probably about half full.
    Wendy said "I can't wait for it to be hard."
    Beth shot back "You never can, Wendy" and got a laugh from the other two. It took about five seconds for Wendy to get it and turn red.
    It took a while to get everything set up. At 7:20 Wendy complained she could have gotten more sleep. She shut up when I offered to let her drive back to the motel if she wanted to go back to bed.
    Despite her rush to get out, she looked pretty good. She had a pair of khaki shorts with a crease down the front and back. They came down 2/3 of the way to her knees. A white sweatshirt with smurfs on it but it worked for her. And of course her (almost) MOTHER hat, her hair hanging out the hole in the back.
    Kathi had jeans and a Fullerton sweatshirt, Beth had shorts and a flannel shirt. All four of them had rosy cheeks due to the brisk weather. It would warm up soon but it was nice while it lasted.
    The time came for us to board the balloon. The basket was sitting on the ground but the entry door's bottom was a couple of feet up. The floor was just below the door, so there must be some kind of storage beneath the floor. There were a couple of portable steps next to the balloon for us to get in. June and Kathi went right in. Beth and Wendy had to be coaxed when it came time to actually get on the thing.
    Joe piloted the balloon. That had been one of Beth's questions. I'd told her that I'd read about ballooning and was going to steer us. She took me seriously and asked if I was sure I could fly it safely and I said I was pretty sure I could steer it but getting back down was worrying me a bit. The others were cracking up before she caught on and turned red. And then she hugged me and told me to quit.
    There were five other balloons there, each with it's own pilot and passengers. I saw a couple of couples and two families with kids. There was one guy whose job it was to release the ropes that held the balloon to the ground and help as needed with takeoffs and landings.
    There were four ropes holding us down. Joe told us to hang on just before the third one was released. The floor definitely tilted. Not as much as I thought it might but there were a few breaths sucked in despite Joe's warning. The fourth rope was untied and we straightened out and jolted as the whole thing shot up.
    I'm sure all four of them were wondering what they'd gotten themselves into. Both Wendy and Beth had their knees bent, their arms over the top of the basket, pulling it into their chests.
    Joe stood free in the middle of the platform. "OK folks. The worst is over. From now on it should be smooth sailing."
    June had one hand on the rail and was pointing at something out in the distance. "Look at that."
    There was a hawk soaring about a quarter mile from us. Swooping in circles, looking as if he was totally enjoying his flight. All of a