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Chapter one
Gabe
As I looked over the flight manifests for the week, I leaned against the wall of the hangar. After thousands of hours of flight in the Navy, this was nothing for me. I loved the feeling of being in the pilot’s chair in the air, watching the clouds and the air rush around my plane. This one couldn’t take many people around, but I made enough money on the flights I ran that I was able to survive off of it easily.
But then, if I hadn’t been able to do it this way, I wouldn’t be doing it at all.
I had only had one rule for myself when I started this business: I was going to run it as practically as possible. That meant some cheaper flights depending on how far the flight would be, but others were more costly. They were all less expensive, however, than what the commercial airlines would charge to get to and from the smaller airports.
Even though the Tulsa airport was a large international airport, the other landing strips in Oklahoma were not. They were all regional. I flew in and out of these, and often in and out of other airports like Boise, Idaho Falls, a few around Nevada, some in California – and even a small private one in North Carolina when I wanted to see my brother Zeke.
This week’s manifest showed that I was going to Nevada with a full day’s break in Utah. Someone had decided it was better to pay me three hundred dollars to go from Tulsa to Salt Lake City instead of just paying for a normal ticket. Perhaps it was because all my tickets included however much luggage they could fit on the plane.
I groaned at the memory of some passengers showing up with a small U-Haul full of boxes. I didn’t particularly enjoy those sorts of hauls, but I knew that it wasn’t worth fighting the customer over.
The only saving grace for tonight was that I had tickets to go see a classical concert at a nearby concert hall. I didn’t get to do things like this often. I had carefully planned, so I’d have tonight and tomorrow off without worrying about getting up and heading to the airport first thing in the morning.
After putting the manifest away, I let out a soft breath.
“Even the hardest-working man deserves a break every now and then,” I muttered as I shut the hangar door, my plane shining silver and clean in the dim light. “And that’s what tonight and tomorrow are. I’ll have a great time at the concert, and tomorrow, I’ll get some errands done before I leave.”
As I pulled the hangar door shut the last few inches, I heard the sweet click that let me know it had locked. This airport used small internal locks. As long as the door was properly shut, it would lock automatically. And the only key outside the airport was on my keyring.
As I walked through the halls of the Tulsa airport, the employee-only ones, I muttered a brief prayer of thanks for my pilot’s wings. Getting through the airport without a pair of pilot’s wings was a nightmare and a half. I remembered the first time I walked through this very airport with the small token pinned to my chest. I’d been in Tulsa for the military, making a brief stop before deployment, and I still remember how much relief I felt at being able to walk through the employee-only sections instead of pushing my way through all the crowds.
Once I got to my truck, I unlocked it and threw my duffle bag across the front seat. If I timed this right, I’d be able to order pizza, get home, eat, and get ready in time to drive to the concert if I ordered from the truck. I jumped in and glanced at the clock to see if I was right.
A half-hour drive home and about forty-five minutes for the pizza to arrive. I’d have to shower before I could put on my suit for the concert, so ordering from the car would be a good move.
I set up my phone for car mode before putting on the music. Then, I called the pizza place. If it had been any other night, I might have made the pizza myself, but this occasion called for something that I didn’t have to cook or eat on the road and risk spilling on my suit.
“Tulsa Pizzeria, home of the famous Tulsa Pizza with the alfredo sauce. My name is Todd. How can I help you today?”
“Hey, Todd. It’s Gabe.”
“Gabe!” Todd’s tone completely changed upon hearing who was on the other end of the line. “It’s been a while since you’ve ordered from us! What can I get you?”
“I try not to order too often,” I said with a bit of a laugh. “One large pepperoni pizza, extra cheese and extra pepperoni would be wonderful. For delivery.”
“Oh, delivery. All right. Give me just a moment to get that all put in. One large pepperoni pizza, extra cheese, extra pepperoni. Any dipping sauces, sodas, anything like that?”
“Add a bottled water.”
I knew I was only paying an upcharge for the convenience of having this sent to the house in a bottle, but I figured it would be helpful to have a bottle in my truck for the drive to the concert hall. As I thought about this, I realized I could hear Todd continuing to put the order in. Todd was usually the man working the phone when I ordered. He was good about making sure there was enough pepperoni on a pizza for me after a few other employees had skimped despite my ordering ‘extra pepperoni.’
“All right. We have one large pepperoni pizza, extra cheese, and extra pepperoni, with a bottled water. Is that it for you tonight, Gabe?”
“Yup. I’ll pay with cash upon delivery,” I said.
I had enough cash on me to cover the order. I always kept enough cash on hand to cover miscellaneous expenses – wanted to make sure that if I needed something, like ordering a pizza, I could do so without having to worry about giving out my credit card information. Being in the military and seeing what the government could do with technology, I worried about what someone brilliant and bent on making the world feel their wrath could do if they got their hands on credit card numbers.
“All right. We’ll have that pizza out to your place in about forty-five minutes. You still live near the airport, that address, right?”
“Sure thing. I have no plans of moving any time soon, Todd,” I confirmed.
“Wonderful. Then, you have a good night, and enjoy your pizza.”
“Thanks, Todd. Have a good night.”
