Chapter 11 - Page 155 - Rhasha Goes Flying

   Rhasha had a goofy smile on her face. Jim laughed as he kissed her. He knew she was just teasing. Or was she? “Sweetheart,” he said, “you can’t learn to do everything in a day. It’s going to take forty hours of lessons before you can solo a plane.” Jim thought about what he’d said, and added hastily, “I can never let you solo a plane by yourself. You promised me you would never fly alone as long as we both live.”

   “And I don’t want to, Jim,” Rhasha said. “I can’t think of one reason why I would ever want to go flying without you at my side.”

   “I’ll make a deal with you, Rhasha,” Jim said. “If you can drive for one hour without making any mistakes, I’ll start teaching you how to fly tomorrow.” He knew she couldn’t do it, so he felt safe making that deal.

   “I’ll do it. You’ll see. I won’t make even one mistake.”

   The village came into view, with its thatched roofs and bamboo frameworks, the hospital and dining hall, the swimming pool and the church.

   “Look, Jim!” she yelled, “There’s our house! Look! It’s right over there! See?” Rhasha waved her arm and pointed toward the ground.

   Jim didn’t have the heart to tell her he’d seen it long before she did. “Yes,” he said, acting excited. “I see it! It’s right there!”

   Ahead of them was the dirt runway with the hangar at its end. Jim circled around the village until the runway was lined up straight ahead of them. He lowered the nose of the plane ready for landing, and Rhasha braced herself and started to shut her eyes, then quickly realized she needed to watch Jim land. She opened them with a determined look on her face. The closer they got to the ground, the bigger everything looked.