Page 52 of Air Affair

“Rory? Is that you? The operator said you’re calling from Mineola. Why are you in Mineola?”

Rory heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank God, I reached you. Papa is likely trying to keep it all hush-hush, but I got caught with my pilot. He’s cut me off without a cent, insisting that I come back and marry Edward if I don’t want to be cut off for good.”

“Good gracious! What can I do to help?”

Thank God for Evelyn!

“I need to figure out how to get a job. I was thinking of a secretarial or teaching position, nothing fancy, but enough to eat and get a room somewhere.”

There was a moment of silence, then, “I have just the thing. You should take over as Executive Director of the Pilots’ Benevolent Association. You did all the work anyway. I was always a figurehead so that your father wouldn’t suspect. You could pay yourself a reasonable stipend. Lord knows there’s enough money for it.”

“How much did we make?” She was almost afraid to ask.

“One hundred and twenty-six thousand dollars.”

“One hundred and twenty-six thousand… How are we ever going to spend that much money?” The total requests from the women she’d been in touch with amounted to eight thousand.

“Sounds like the organization needs a paid Executive Director to figure that out. Will you do it? I need someone to take over managing the staff.”

“The staff?” When she last spoke to Evelyn, there was no staff.

“You now have an accountant and a secretary. I hired them this morning when I found out the final numbers. I couldn’t manage this on my own.”

Grinning from ear to ear, she said, “I’ll do it. Can you send me a letter, or better yet a telegram, formally offering me the new position? Put down a salary of $1000 annually.”

“You’d better make it $3000. We pay the accountant $2000, and you need to make more than him. And I should send you some money too. Will $100 do?”

“I promise I’ll pay you back.” It seemed exorbitant, but what did she know? This was certainly more than she would make as a teacher. She felt guilty about taking anything from the PBA and silently promised she would give back whatever she didn’t need to cover her living expenses. Maybe with a bit of time, she could come up with a better plan, but at the moment, she had to agree this was her best option.

“Don’t worry about it, dear. How else can I help?”

“That is more than enough. You are a life saver, my dear.” Evelyn had her eternal gratitude for this.

“Where is your pilot, by the way?” Evelyn asked. “What does he have to say about all this? Surely, he has an opinion.”

Rory sighed. “He had to fly to Washington D.C., but I think he’s going to ask me to marry him when he gets back.”

“As he should. What are you going to say?”

What was she going to say? She’d only just gained her independence. She wasn’t sure she was ready to give it up so soon.

“I’m not sure.”

“He’s not marriage material?”

“No, it’s not that. Papa wouldn’t approve, but who cares what he thinks?” She paused for a long moment. “The thing is I’m free now. No one can tell me what to do. I think I might like some time on my own before I think about tying myself to someone for life.”

“Understandable,” Evelyn said. “It’s wise to take your time now that you have the option to do so. I almost envy you. Not that I’m willing to give everything up like you have, but it must be nice to be captain of your own destiny.”

It was terrifying and humbling, but Evelyn wasn’t wrong.

“It is. And who needs all that money anyway?”

“Darling, you know I need my diamonds and champagne.”

Rory laughed. “Of course.”

“Well, I hope you’re happy, whatever you decide. Where should I send that telegram?”