Chapter 16: Mel's Argument with Vernon

Chapter 16: Mel’s Argument with Vernon

Mel had decided that it would be impossible for him to leave the airport that night.

He was in his office, and had been getting the latest reports on what was happening on the airfield. Runway three zero was still blocked, and there were many delays. It was possible that the airport would have to be closed in a few hours.

Planes were still taking off over Meadowood, and many of the people who lived there had telephoned the airport to complain about the noise. Mel knew that there had also been a meeting, and now it seemed that some of the people from the meeting were coming to the airport. They would add greatly to the problems which he already had.

One good thing was that the emergency was over. The Air Force KC-135 had landed safely. But Mel still had the feeling that there was going to be another emergency, and that it would be worse than this one.

Cindy was waiting for him at the party. He must phone her immediately, although she wouldn’t be very pleased to hear what he had to say.

He had to wait for several minutes before she came to the phone. He was surprised at how quiet her voice was. There was no anger in it now, only an icy calm.

He had not expected this, and found it difficult to talk to her. He told her that he would not be able to come to the party, and then paused, uncertain what to say next.

‘Have you finished?’ she asked coldly.

‘Yes.’

‘I’m not surprised at what you’ve just said. I never expected you to come. I knew that you were lying to me, as usual.’

‘I wasn’t lying, Cindy, and-’

‘I thought you said you’d finished?’

Mel stopped. Why argue with her?

‘You’re staying at the airport?’ she went on,

‘I told you I was.’

‘How long?’

‘Until midnight. Possibly all night.’

‘Then I’m coming to see you there.’

‘Listen, Cindy, you can’t come here. This is neither the time nor the place.’

‘Then we’ll make it the time. And for what I have to say, any place is good enough.’

He tried to reply, but she had already put down the telephone.

He sat in silence for a moment, and then, without knowing why, he called home. Mrs Sebastiani, who was looking after the children, answered.

‘Is everything all right?’ Mel asked. ‘Are the girls in bed?’

‘Roberta is, Mr Bakersfeld, but Libby’s still awake.’

‘May I speak to her?’

He heard her small feet running to the phone. As usual, she had a question for him: ‘Daddy, does our blood keep going around and around for ever?’

‘Not for ever, dear,’ Mel told her. ‘Nothing’s for ever. Your blood has been going around for seven years so far.’

‘I can feel my heart,’ she said.

Mel was sure that she could. Libby had a good heart - whichever meaning you gave to the word.

He didn’t know why he had telephoned home, but he was glad that he had. He supposed that Cindy would come to see him tonight. If she wanted to do something she usually did it. Perhaps she was right, and it was time to decide whether their hollow marriage should continue or not. If they talked about it here, at least the children would not have to hear them.

At the moment he had nothing to do. He left his office, and looked down over the crowded hall. He thought again that so much in the way airports worked was wrong and would have to change in the near future.

He saw a crowd in front of a notice that said ‘Flight Two - Rome - the Golden Argosy’. Tanya was standing near it, talking to a group of passengers. Mel walked towards her, and when she saw him she left the passengers for a moment.

‘I mustn’t stop,’ she said. ‘I’ve got so much to do here. I thought you were going to a party!’

‘My plans have changed,’ Mel told her. ‘Why are you still on duty?’

‘I’ve been asked to stay. We’re trying to make it possible for the Golden Argosy to take off on time. I think it’s because Captain Demerest doesn’t like waiting.’

‘Don’t think too badly of Captain Demerest,’ Mel said, smiling. ‘Although I do have doubts about him myself.’

Tanya pointed to a desk where two pretty girls were standing. ‘That’s the reason for your fight with Captain Demerest, isn’t it?’ she said. The two girls were busily writing insurance policies.

‘Yes,’ Mel admitted. ‘That’s a large part of the problem. Vernon thinks that we should stop selling flight insurance at airports. I don’t. We had a battle about it in front of a lot of important people. I won, and Vernon hates being the loser.’

‘I heard all about it.’ Tanya looked hard at Mel. ‘A lot of us agree with Captain Demerest.’

‘I’ll just have to disagree with a lot of you, then,’ Mel replied.

He remembered his fight with Vernon well.

---

It had happened at a meeting of the Airport Committee. Mel and all five committee members were present: a woman called Mrs Mildred Ackerman, two local businessmen, a union official and a teacher. The only outsider at the meeting was Captain Vernon Demerest. They decided to hear what he had to say first.

He spoke confidently and well. He argued that flight insurance was an insult to modern planes and pilots. Insurance policies were not sold at bus stations and garages! Why should they be sold at airports? Flying, he said, was a safe way to travel. Insurance companies and airports continued to sell flight insurance in order to make money out of the public. To sell huge insurance policies for a few dollars at airports was to invite criminals and madmen to murder for money, Vernon said.

‘Do you have any facts to support this view?’ Mrs Ackerman asked.

In reply, Vernon spoke of many cases of people who had blown up planes in an attempt to claim large amounts of money. They had failed, but others would continue to try.

Mrs Ackerman was not satisfied with this answer, and interrupted Vernon several times with questions. He was not used to being attacked, especially by a woman! People usually took orders from him. He lost his temper immediately, and made it clear that he thought her questions thoroughly stupid.

He had argued his case well, but nobody would agree with him because of his rude behaviour. Even before he began to speak, Mel knew that he had the advantage.

He told the meeting that many people, rightly or wrongly, were afraid of flying and liked to have insurance. If they couldn’t buy it at the airport, they would simply buy it somewhere else. But his most important point was that the airport needed the money that it made by selling insurance policies. This was certain to be a popular argument with the committee.

After the meeting Vernon was waiting for him.

‘Hello, Vernon,’ Mel said quickly. ‘I hope we’re still friends.’

‘We’re not,’ Vernon said, ‘and we never have been.’

They both knew that this was true.

‘You people who work on the ground, safe behind your little desks, can’t possibly understand how we pilots feel about this matter. If you could only see things as clearly as I do-’

‘I’ve been a pilot, too, Vernon,’ Mel said. ‘I wasn’t always flying a desk, remember. And you may find this hard to believe, but you could be wrong. You’re human too, I believe.’

‘You’re childish and stupid!’ Vernon shouted. ‘Keep away from me in future. I don’t want to see you any more than I have to!’

If only it had never happened. Mel could not change his opinion about insurance, but he wished that he had not made an enemy of Vernon.

---

‘You’re dreaming,’ he heard Tanya say. She was looking at him with a smile in her gentle, understanding eyes. Suddenly he knew that he wanted to get to know her better. He wished he could accept the offer she had made him earlier, of a good dinner at her apartment. But he had to accept the facts and behave responsibly. He couldn’t leave the airport yet.

‘Let’s meet for dinner later tonight,’ he said. ‘Don’t leave the airport without me.’ He wanted to reach out and seize and hold her, but there were crowds of people all round them.

Tanya put her hand on his. ‘I’ll wait for you,’ she said. ‘I’ll wait as long as you want me to.’ Then she walked away through the crowd of waiting passengers.