Her eyes almost as deep purple as the fresh irises in the centerpiece, Vera sobered again and leaned forward across the white tablecloth. “Do you know what I dream of? That someday a woman can be unabashedly who she is and still taken seriously. Enjoy this opportunity to be admired both as a female and as a pilot. Perhaps seeing you marketed as a fly girl will make girls realize that they can do what they want and they don’t have to sacrifice parts of themselves to get it.”
“You aren’t who the press thinks you are, are you?” Mattie asked.
Vera laughed, the sound as bright as always. But in all the lightness, a somber chord rang. “I’m who the press wants me to be so that I can use their attention to become who I desire to be.”
“That’s very convoluted.” Mattie frowned, pushing some of the leftover pineapple syrup to the side of her plate. “Aren’t you ever afraidyou might get lost in who they wish you to be and forget the goals that drove you in the first place?”
“It’s a risk,” Vera answered as she shrugged, causing the thin silk of her orange dress to flutter, “but I am not afraid of losing any bit of myself that I don’t wish to shed, nor do I shy away from positive change. Although self-reflection sounds like a terrible bore, it really isn’t. It’s good to check in on yourself from time to time and confirm you like what you see.”
Mattie went back to drumming her fingers against the table. Could she do what Vera proposed? Could she be the flirty fly girl whom Rockol wanted and still be herself? But why not? Why couldn’t she be feminine and tough all at the same time?
“I’ll do it,” Mattie said. Then she pushed her chair back from the table and bobbed her head. “I’ll do it.”
Vera winked. “Well, then we have an amazing stunt to perform, don’t we?”
Mattie jerked her chin in a way she hoped conveyed steely determination. She knew exactly what trick Vera wanted her to perform. “Should I warn Leo?”
Vera raised her thin eyebrow and delivered a rather penetrating look. “Wouldn’t you wish to know ahead of time if Leo was going to try something like this?”
Yes, Mattie would, but unlike Leo she wouldn’t try to stop him.
But that was the thing. Leo was no longer trying to prevent her from performing. He didn’t patronize her but instead gave good suggestions like he would to a male pilot.
A few weeks ago, Mattie would have hidden this from him. But not anymore. Besides, if she caught Leo by the supply trailer, they might have time to slip inside for a kiss. Or two. Or three.
“I’ll go find him,” Mattie said as she started to rise, but Vera laid her hand on Mattie’s arm.
“Mattie?” Vera sounded serious and perhaps cautious even. Mattie had never heard her bold, irreverent friend sound quite like this, and she instantly sank back into her wooden chair.
“Is something wrong?” Mattie asked.
“Not precisely. I am not sure if this is exactly my place to say this. Goodness knows that I’m the last person who should ever give relationship advice beyond how to embark on jolly good affairs.”
“Is there something about Leo and me that’s concerning you?” Mattie asked. Her heart seemed to slip sickly around her chest.
“No. Not in particular.” Vera rubbed her forehead. “I was ossified that night in Iowa when we tested your prototype, but I still meant what I said. Marriage can be a ball and chain for women.”
“Do you think Leo would try to restrict me?” Mattie asked, feeling her old unease roar through her. Hehadstopped fretting over her constantly, but had Vera noticed something that Mattie had been blinded to?
Vera rubbed her temples. “This was much easier to say drunk. Leo appears to be a rather lovely man, but any marriage—any long-term partnership—will cost you some degree of independence. If you were not something to Leo, then you would have no need to tell him that you’re about to perform a new stunt. Small things like that are necessary when two people form a connection and are not necessarily bad. But you need to consider how much freedom you are willing to part with and how much Leo expects you to. My parents never had that discussion. Most couples never do. But it is imperative that you have it, especially as the man rarely if ever considers what a woman sacrifices. Society has never informed him that she loses more autonomy than he.”
“Do you think I’ve become too serious with Leo?” Mattie asked, not exactly sure what to think. She did not want to consider these questions. Not now. Not when things were so new and wonderful. Not when she wasn’t sure of the answers. Not when she didn’t know if she’dlikeher answers.
“No.” Vera drew in a sigh, as if returning to her normal self. “I wouldn’t have arranged for you two to have a private steam bath this evening if I had. I just don’t want you going too far down a path you might not wish to take.”
“I’ve just started down this particular one. I am still getting my bearings,” Mattie said, feeling as if she’d been given a reprieve.
“Well then,” Vera said as she began to rise, “it is good that you are an expert at figuring out methods to chart your own way.”
Mattie jumped to her feet. “I’d better go find Leo and give him fair warning about our stunt.”
“And I’ll tell my driver to gas up the Duesenberg.”
“We’re really doing this?” Mattie asked, letting the thrill of what she and Vera planned to accomplish push out the spiderwebs of doubt that Vera’s words had inspired.
“We’re really doing this.” Vera’s lips curved into a resolute grin.
“Now, it’s very dangerous for a pilot to fly this close to the ground.” Carrie spoke with authority to the reporters gathered around her and Leo, but he barely registered her words.
