“I look dreadful!” Lily wailed as she clutched the news article in her hand, her face scrunched up in an expression of horror worthy of a screen star. They had just taken a break from practicing their stunts outside to read the afternoon paper. “The second picture is even worse! I look downright hideous with my makeup dripping over me. How will I ever be discovered with press like this? My life isover. Fini. Fait accompli.”
Leo saw Mattie and Sadie share a look as Lily draped her hand over her forehead and swayed backward slightly, as if she was about to faint. Vera’s cousin, Alice, however, stepped forward to wrap her arm around Lily’s shoulder.
“It is not as drastic as that.” Alice gave the blonde’s bicep a pat. “All performers get bad pictures taken of them. It happens to me all the time.”
“You mean I’ll have more of these!” Lily’s voice climbed even higher. Leo fought against the urge to wince as he tried to drift farther away from the center of the scene.
“Yes, but you’ll have plenty of wonderful ones too,” Alice said.
“And the best way of doing that is to come up with a routine that puts you in the spotlight in the way you want to be seen,” Vera advised.
Lily sniffled. “Should I practice my dance routine some more?”
“You’re a wonderful artist.” Sadie grabbed her sister’s hands. “You’re sure to wow the crowd.”
Lily squared her thin shoulders and looked surprisingly resolute. “Alice? Aida? Will you help me again?”
“Certainly!” Aida closed the notebook she’d been scrawling in. Together the three wing-walkers marched to an elevated board where they’d been practicing earlier. One of them would stand on the piece of wood while the other two pulled ropes attached to either end of the lumber in an attempt to simulate the movement of an airplane wing. As far as Leo could tell, the women had just made this exercise up out of whole cloth. Although they’d hung a net under the “training equipment,” he doubted they’d put much science behind their madness.
“This really is a setback for the circus,” Vera said quietly, her voice pitched low enough so that it would not reach Lily’s ears. “Wemustcreate stellar acts. We can’t allow folks to view us as a bunch of incompetent amateurs. If we do, we’ll never attract audiences, and this enterprise will end before it even has a chance to begin.”
“We can’t let that happen!” Mattie spoke emphatically, and Leo could hear her unspoken fear. Both of them needed the money from this gig.
“I’m sure we can come up with something.” Carrie tapped her finger against her cheek thoughtfully. “Mattie and I are both skilled barnstormers. It won’t take much to think of something visually impressive from the ground without taking unnecessary risks.”
Finally, a sensible thought.
Leo was about to second Carrie’s statement when the blare of fast-paced jazz music drew his attention. Standing on the elevated board, Lily waved her arms and kicked up her legs. She was a lithe and energetic dancer, but the sight of her routine caused nervousness to skitter through him. On the surface, the quick steps didn’t look particularly dangerous until one considered the fact that Lily clearly intended to try them on the wing of a movingairplane.
Mattie’s voice suddenly broke into Leo’s concentration on the wing-walkers’ practice. “And then you could climb from Carrie’s plane holding a spare landing wheel...”
With a snap that literally cracked his neck, Leo spun toward her. He almost hated posing his question for fear of the answer. “Why is any spare wheel involved?”
“Because I am going to change Mattie’s wheel in midair.” Vera smiled at him in the same manner she’d employed when she’d offered him a frothy pink cocktail.
“In midair?” He couldn’t help it. He crossed his arms. All four women followed his gesture with their eyes. Mattie scowled, her back noticeably straightening several notches.
Vera, however, merely arched an eyebrow. “Well, it wouldn’t be very interesting if I changed it on the ground.”
“Do you have any idea how dangerous that would be? You’d be dangling on the underbelly of a plane as the earth whizzed below you at fifty miles per hour or faster.”
“There are more flying circuses than ever,” Mattie pointed out. “We need to do something to stand out, to bring in the crowds, Leo.”
He heard the unspoken message, and guilt strafed him as he thought about the debt hanging over both their heads. Leo jammed his fingers into his hair, massaging the crown of his head.
“Why don’t we test how close Mattie and I can fly in tandem before we make any decisions?” Carrie asked. “Vera can ride in Mattie’s bird so she can experience what it feels like when the planes pass each other. Sadie can ride along with me to pick up more techniques. What do you think?”
Before Leo could object, the women chorused their yeses and quickly raced off. Within minutes, the noses of Carrie’s and Mattie’s planes lifted into the air. As the two flew side by side executing various maneuvers, the little differences in their flying styles stood out to Leo. Most people wouldn’t notice, but he’d been trained to watch each rattle and shake of a plane, each faint dip and lift of a wing as he tried to divine a Fokker’s next move. And he’d watched over the new aviators in his squadron, giving them pointers to help keep them alive during the next battle.
Carrie flew with surgical precision: straight, smooth, and crisp. She did not waste a single movement. Mattie’s style was more brazen and spontaneous as she rushed into each maneuver with endless exuberance. Although diametrically different, both methods resulted in an aerial grace that was absolutely stunning.
“They’re amazing, aren’t they?” Alice asked.
Leo grunted.
“It is really true, then, that Mattie taught you to fly?” Aida asked, her voice taking on a sharper quality. He’d felt less scrutinized when standing at attention in front of a commanding officer.
He dipped his chin brusquely. His eyes followed the sunny yellow tips of Mattie’s plane as she flew inverted above their heads with Carrie soaring above her.
