Page 17 of Soaring and Saucy

“You made the news, bro…”

“This is so cool…”

“I had no idea he had some girl on the side…”

“Isn’t he Ohio’s buddy who is always picking up girls in bars?”

“Aviator… yes. Faithful, guess not…”

“Pasteur, I’m gonna need that address,” Lance said hoarsely, looking at the other aviator whose lips were pressed together grimly.

“My part was done. The address is written on a napkin in a trashcan somewhere along Forty-Second Street or Fifth Avenue when we were headed here.”

“You threw it away?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, but I had no idea that you didn’t know the woman.”

“Nooooo?? I didn’t know her, dude. She was my bacon!” Lance exclaimed in a panic and heard laughter all around him at the term.

“Ohhh no, Trophy,” Ohio groaned in awareness, looking shocked. “Really?”

“Awww crap, bro,” Tic-Tak chuckled. “She was your bacon?”

“Yup! I knew it immediately - smells amazing, tastes even better… but not worth getting killed over later on if you eat too much. I need that marriage license, Pasteur. No more kidding around, bro!”

“I’m so sorry, Trophy. It’s gone.”

Lance was going to be sick.

His ears were ringing, and he felt like he had cotton stuffed in them as he continued to stare at the screen, completely befuddled. Someone had taken their photo and sent it to the news station – and submitted it to Time Magazine?

Stephanie was from Louisville, Kentucky?

The marriage license was on its way to Louisville – and he was headed in a completely different direction, sailing south to Florida. Stephanie worked at a bank, and her last name was Wood. That was all Lance knew, and now he was married to the woman.

He had no clue how to get a hold of her and never thought about it. Maybe she would reach out to him since he’d left his contact information tucked between those mind-numbing boobs he’d been so fond of last night. He really needed to get his act together – and this was a huge wake-up call.

Lance was good and truly stuck now. It would be just a matter of time before his parents or his sister called to congratulate him. Oh man, his mother was going to be upset that she was the last to know – and his dad would be beyond hurt for keeping secrets, even if he did hide things from his parents. His know-it-all sister would really give him a hard time, rubbing his nose in the situation if she knew the truth.

It wouldn’t be hard to hide, either. The first time they asked him for Stephanie’s contact information, he was doomed. If he couldn’t get his hands on the marriage license, it was going to be hard to relay her information to a very loving and inquisitive family.

He was so screwed.

“I’ve gotta call home,” he said weakly, turning and leaving the room. His legs were trembling, and he heard his friends talking around him, but nothing was clicking. No, he needed to sit down somewhere privately and call his mother to let them know what was going on.

Returning to his rack, he grabbed his cell phone from the drawer and grimaced. It was at forty percent charge, but that was enough. He rarely used the darn thing except to call his family when needed, like now. Shoving his phone in his pocket, he looked for a place to hide that would get reception inside the massive metal hull of the carrier – and ended up leaning against one of the walls, looking out the plane elevator on the side of the ship while others worked in the distance.

Dialing, he swallowed back bile as he realized just how bad this was going to be if they already knew or had seen the footage regarding fleet week. He would have to be open about this because there was no hiding things anymore. —not when the fact you had gotten married was on display for anyone who watched television.

“I was wondering when you’d call,” his mother began, answering the phone on the second ring. “What’s going on Lance? We just turned on the news because Mrs. Chumley from my quilting club called and told me that she saw you on television.”

“Mama…” he said hoarsely, hesitating.

“Honey,” her voice softened, and he immediately felt a lump in his throat. “What’s going on? Talk to me. You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“I don’t think I’m a very good person,” he began and slumped down along the wall because his knees would not hold him anymore. “I’ve done a lot of things that I’m ashamed of – but I really think that I’ve messed up this time. Please don’t say anything to Dad or Laura.”

“Give me everything from the start, and let’s figure out what is so terrible that it has my brave boy quaking in his boots.”

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