Silver Wings by H. P. Munro Read Free Book Online Page A

married.” She gave a forced smile feeling the simple act of speaking the words aloud choke in her throat. She had made the decision to lie about her marriage to Ben when she knew that she would be training in Texas; a state that regarded her marriage illegal thanks to the color of Ben's skin. Her mind flittered to her husband who, to her great pride, was part of the 99th Pursuit Squadron; a small group of black men trained to fly, and was to the best of her knowledge now in Europe somewhere.
    “Not married,” she repeated sadly. “As for flying, when I was sixteen my father was hosting a benefit dinner for one of his charities and one of the guests was Amelia Earhart. I heard her talk about flying and I was hooked. I begged him for lessons and within a month I had my license,” she laughed as a barrage of questions about her meeting Amelia Earhart were fired her way. Patiently she answered her star stuck bay mate’s questions, until finally they ran out of queries. Adrienne turned in her bed to face towards the woman in the bed next to her, “Marjorie?”
    Marjorie raised her head up from her pillow. “I'm married to Daniel; he's a doctor and is out in the Pacific and my first…” she looked over towards her sister. “Well I guess our first flying,” she clarified with a sly smile. “When we were kids we stayed near a base and we would both run out anytime we heard a plane going over. There was just something about the sound of the engine.”
    She and Lucy shared a grin as Lucy took over the story.
    “We both got onto the Civilian Pilot Training Program while at college and got our licenses through that, so I guess compared to the Addies here,” she smiled towards Adrienne and Adele, “we're late bloomers.”
    Adrienne groaned and picked up her pillow and tossed it in Lucy's direction. “You just know that name is going to stick!” she grimaced towards Adele who laughed in response.
    Lucy laughed and tossed the pillow back, “I'm married to Peter; he's also a doctor and is serving with Daniel in the Pacific.”
    “Please tell me that your other first times aren't as linked as your husbands and flying experience,” Adrienne grinned as she tucked her pillow back under her arm and turned her attention towards Lily. “So, our two quiet ones! What're your stories?”
    Lily's eyes widened. “I, um, I'm not married,” she said hesitantly. “And my first time was when I was twelve. Flying that is,” she added as she noted the raised eyebrows from Adrienne. “My dad owns a base so I grew up around planes, he took me up on his lap when I was four and I was hooked,” she smiled fondly as she thought about her father and the others at the base in Florida. “And up until a few weeks ago I played violin for the New York Philharmonic. Just in case you were worried by the violin case. It's not for show, I can actually play it.”
    Helen frowned during Lily’s speech, as she listened she looked closely at Lily's left hand which bore the telltale indent on her ring finger. She could have sworn that Lily had been wearing a wedding ring when she had seen her at the interview and the paper work that she had seen, when completing her own, had her name listed as McAllister.
    “So, hey, Richmond just you,” Adrienne called, stopping Helen's musings.
    “Oh yeah, um, not married, never will,” Helen nodded to emphasize her words. “I was about seven when my father took me and my brother to see a barnstormer near where he was based.” She took a deep breath as her mind flashed up the image of her father and brother’s smiles that day, “We basically lived on Army Air Corp bases our entire life without blinking twice at a plane and then after that one afternoon that was it for us, we both talked nonstop about planes and flying. We drove my father insane!” She giggled and shook her head at the recollection. “My father refused to teach us but agreed to my brother getting lessons when he turned sixteen. I tagged