“You and Bill should go for a swim in the lake.”
“Maybe.” Betty took a final bite of melon. She hadn’t yet told Bill about her father’s unemployment and how her future at Northwestern looked uncertain. She wanted to focus on the National AAU Championships. Bill had been following the news about Babe Didrikson and Stella Walsh in the newspapers, even stopping by the library to read papers from their hometowns, Dallas and Cleveland.
When he had stopped by to pick her up last night, Bill had pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket and reported that Babe’s times in the 100-yard sprint didn’t come close to Betty’s. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. You’ve beaten Stella twice now, and Babe’s strengths, while impressive, do not lie in sprinting. She’s good at everything else, but she’s not a threat to you.”
“You sure? I’ve been worrying.”
He winked. “I’ve got some ideas about how we can help you relax.”
“I’ll bet you do.”
“Let me take you to this new little spot I’ve found to park by the lake.” He tugged at the neckline of her dress as he spoke and nestled close to kiss her earlobe.
As Betty thought back to what they had done to entertain themselves the night before, her face heated, but her mother didn’t seem to notice. It had been almost five months now and everything had been going smoothly with Bill, but if she wasn’t returning to Northwestern in the fall, what did that mean for the two of them?
Betty decided she needed a distraction and telephoned her cousin Wilson to ask if he’d take her for a ride in his plane. After he agreed and told her to meet him at the airfield at one o’clock, she telephoned Bill. As the hour neared, she powdered her face, fetched her flying cap and goggles, and sat outside on the front stoop in the shade waiting for Bill to appear. His Chevrolet coupe rounded the corner and Betty trotted down the front walk and pulled open the passenger door to hop inside.
From behind the wheel, he grinned at her. His only concession to the day’s heat was the fact that his crisp light blue broadcloth shirtsleeves were rolled up around his elbows. “Hiya, kiddo. Aren’t you a cool sight for a hot day?”
“Hardly. I’m practically melting. Thanks for taking me to see Wilson. Sure you don’t want a ride too?”
“If there’s time I’ll go for a spin, but some of Wilson’s tricks can leave me feeling a little green around the gills. I don’t have your stomach of steel,” Bill said.
Betty peeked in the back seat and spotted a straw basket and red-checked tablecloth. “Your favorite? Chicken salad?”
“The one and only. Don’t get mad if I start on some while you’re up in the air.”
“Just don’t eat it all.” Betty ran her fingers through her hair, relishing the air as it rushed by them through the open windows of the car, but then they turned at an intersection. Betty glimpsed a handwritten sign that said Evacuation Sale tacked to a dented mailbox, and the perilousness of her own family’s situation came roaring back to her. All her gaiety evaporated.
Over the purr of the car’s motor, she cleared her throat. “I have some bad news. My father lost his job.”
“Aww, Betty, I’m awful sorry. How’s he taking it?”
“He’s not missing a beat and is already out looking for a new one. It’s distracting him from all of the bad news about Al Smith so I suppose that’s an upshot.” Nominating conventions for both the Republican and Democratic Parties were being held in the city that month, and all anyone could talk about was the candidates.
“At this rate, it sure looks like Governor Roosevelt’s going to steamroll his way into the nomination,” Bill said.
“Father wants nothing to do with Hoover anymore, so we’ll see what happens.” A vision of her mother’s coat about to be hocked flashed before her eyes and her mouth went dry. “But here’s the real stinger: I’m not sure I’ll be returning to Northwestern in the fall. I may have to start looking for a job.”
Bill kept his gaze on the road, and only his fingers tightening on the steering wheel gave her any indication that he had heard her. He turned the car off the main street and onto the bumpy dirt road that led to the airfield. When the vehicle rolled to a stop, he turned to her. “Betty, I was planning on waiting until next year for this, but why not talk about it now? What would you say to marrying me? I’m going to take over my father’s company after graduation, and while business has been shaky, I can keep it together, and keep us together.”
Betty inhaled sharply. “Bill, I didn’t expect this.”
“I know, this is hardly the way I pictured asking you, but maybe this is fate’s way of telling us something. Let’s get married this summer, and my parents can put us up in a place for one more year. It won’t be fancy, but it’s only until graduation. You could finish school, but you won’t need it anymore if we’re married.”
He was right. Her degree in physical education wouldn’t do much for her if she accepted his proposal, since a school district would be unlikely to hire her if she was married. “And what about the Olympics this summer?”
“Go and compete. We can marry at the end of August. You could still coach if you want to. You don’t need a college degree for that.” He laced her fingers through his own, and his hands were cool and dry. How did he always manage to stay so calm and collected? A lifetime with Bill would be safe and happy. How could it not be?
And I won’t be a burden on my family anymore. The temptation to alleviate her father’s worries pulled at her.
“Yes, of course.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled close to him. He tilted her head back and kissed her.
“You’re shaking,” he said.
“I can’t help it. I’m so excited.” She pulled back and looked around the airfield like she’d forgotten where they were and then started to pull on her leather flying cap. “My stomach is already flipping before I’ve even gone up into the air.”
“Forget the plane. Let’s go celebrate now.”
“No, this’ll just take a minute, and I’m so hot. I’ll yell the news from the plane to everyone below.”
“Well, in that case.” He laughed and kissed her on the nose. “Be sure to wave at me from up there.”
She opened the car door and stepped onto the grass not far from where her cousin’s sporty little red Waco biplane waited. Wilson and his friend Harold were inspecting the control panels in the pilot’s cockpit.
“Hey, Betty,” called Wilson. “I had some trouble getting her started a few minutes ago, but it looks like we’re back in business.”
Bill stepped from the car and cupped his hand around his mouth to shout, “Take care of this girl. She’s going to be my bride.”
“No kidding.” Wilson looked at Betty, eyebrows raised. “Wow, congratulations! You still want to go up? Don’t you two have something better to do now?”
“We’ll have all summer to celebrate, but I’ve been dreaming of cool air over the lake all morning,” she said. “Want me in front here?” She gestured toward the front seat and Wilson nodded.