Chapter 9
Cathy slept until late afternoon the next day. When she awoke, Randy was gone. Sleepily, she managed to stagger into the shower where she came fully awake under a cold needle shower. After she had dressed in sun shorts and a halter she saw the note in the kitchen. It was from Randy and told her that he was on the beach with a cooler full of beer, hard-boiled eggs, sandwiches and potato chips. Cathy looked at her watch and saw that it was after two o'clock. Suddenly, she was famished.
The sun rode high in the sky. The beach was almost deserted back of the quadruplex. Randy waved to her as she strolled through the sand, perspiration from the high humidity already beginning to glisten on her arms and legs. She sat down next to Randy. He handed her a beer which she took eagerly.
"Where's Linda?" Cathy asked.
"Still asleep, I imagine."
"Seen Pete?"
Randy looked at her. "No, I haven't seen him. Did you know that he was Linda's brother?"
"Yes, she told me last night."
"She must like you. They don't give it out to strangers. They grew up together in the South where incest is more common than where you were raised. They're very close."
"I could see that last night," Cathy said drily.
"Does it bother you?"
"I don't know. I have a brother myself, you know. I can't imagine ever doing anything with him. He's older than I am and travels around the world. I hardly ever see him."
"Did you ever think about it? Balling your brother, I mean."
Cathy flushed slightly.
"No, Randy. How can you say a thing like that?"
"Forget it, Cathy. How do you feel?"
"Actually, I feel pretty good. Considering."
"I know what you mean. When I woke up, I realized I had one too many boozes last night. I feel great now, though, after splashing in the Gulf to wipe away the cobwebs."
"The sand is warm," she said.
"You know what they say about Florida, Cathy. If you get sand in your shoes you're hooked."
Cathy looked down at her thongs.
"Well, I guess I'm hooked," she laughed. "It is so nice here. Peaceful and warm. No fog."
"Not like Sutro's, is it?"
"No," she grinned, "it's not like the beach there."
Later, she swam in the shallow waters of the Gulf, floating easily on the salty water. She and Randy played tag for awhile until her appetite brought her back to the wide beach towel and the picnic basket. She ate a boiled egg and a sandwich, then lay back to get a tan. The afternoon dwindled away as Randy fell asleep, her head on his shoulder. She too, finally fell asleep after turning over on her stomach.
Linda woke them up toward dusk.
"Hey, you two," she said. "It's getting dark."
"Oooh, I'm sunburned," Cathy said, feeling her shoulders.
"I'll rub you with some cream," Linda said. "I'm sorry I missed your picnic. I slept so long my eyes got puffy and I spent the last hour trying to make myself presentable for tomorrow's flight back to San Fran."
The three of them walked back up to the apartments where Linda told them she had a dinner date.
"Didn't Pete come over?" Cathy asked.
"No," Linda said, shooting Cathy a searching look, "he called and said he was tied up. I think he's out motorcycling with his buddies, frankly. He said he'd see us the next time we got in."
"Oh," said Cathy, obviously disappointed. She tried to hide her feelings from Linda, however. She felt uncomfortable, knowing that Linda and Pete were brother and sister. She had never run into such a situation before. It was best, she thought, to appear casual about Pete. Perhaps, she reasoned, she shouldn't mention him too much.
"Well, Cathy," said Randy, "let's go have some steak and lobster ourselves. First, though, I'll call Tampa and check tomorrow's weather. We'll see you tomorrow, Linda."
"Right. Have fun, you two."
When they parted, Cathy was suddenly suspicious and jealous. She was sure that Linda was having dinner with Pete. If so, she thought, it was very selfish of her. A minute later she was admonishing herself for being so petty. Accusing Linda of something when she had no proof. Besides, Linda wasn't a liar. Why was she acting this way? Maybe she liked Pete more than she realized. There was something mysterious about him, something intriguing. And it wasn't all sex. The fact that he had been balling his sister added to his mystique, however. She couldn't deny that. But, there was something else about him. She decided not to think about him anymore. She was with Randy and he was man enough for any woman!
The flight back to San Francisco was uneventful. Cathy took some kidding from the other stews, but she realized that she could handle it. After her experiences in Florida, she no longer felt like some kind of sexual freak.
Randy had assured her that most of the single people who flew with the various airlines indulged in similar sexual behavior.
She was paired, on that flight, with Sue Everly, a girl she knew only slightly. She was a redhead, well filled-out, not as tall as Linda or Cathy herself, with a pleasant outgoing personality. Her breasts were large and yet not out of proportion with the rest of her body. She had startling green eyes that blended strikingly with her copper hair. Cathy liked her and was pleased when Sue asked her to be her roommate in San Francisco.
"I live on Oak Street right on the panhandle," Sue told her. "My other roomie got transferred to Chicago so I have this big old flat. Cheap too. I pay only a hundred-twenty-five a month for it. You could pay fifty and we'll share the groceries and utilities."
"Why, thank you, Sue. I'd like that very much. Can I move in right away?"
"Sure can. I'll take you over there after we check out. It's a groovy neighborhood."
"I know. I used to go to the panhandle and read, then walk over to the park, visit the Aquarium and the Museum."
"Great. We'll have a ball!"
Cathy wanted to be on her own and she knew Linda lived with a man in San Francisco. She herself hated to be alone and pitied the girls who stayed at hotels. These were stews who didn't like housework and liked to meet rich men in hopes that they could marry and get out of working altogether. Sue's offer was just what she needed.
Before they landed, she saw Randy briefly. His face was dark and sad.
"What's the matter, Randy?" she had whispered to him when she brought him coffee aft of the flight cabin.
"It's Mac," he said. "He's dead."
"Captain MacAdams? Dead?"
"Heart attack. It happened back in Tampa. We just got word."
"Why, that's terrible," Cathy said.
"I know. He checked out on his last physical, I thought. It was sudden, I guess."
The word passed around to the other stews before the landing in San Francisco. Cathy was stunned by the news and yet knew it wouldn't do to break up in front of the passengers. She held her emotions in check until after she had checked out with Sue and Linda. The captain of her flight, Jim Paulson, gave her a funny look when they disembarked. Cathy wondered why until Linda told her something that gave her cause for concern.
"Cathy, don't let this get you down," Linda said. "They're saying that Mac screwed himself into a heart attack. With you. It's bullshit, of course. But, you may get feedback on it."
"How horrible!" Cathy said. "That's positively morbid!"
"I know. I just wanted to warn you. Paulson was a good friend of Mac's. He's a bastard and he's the one spreading the word. He knew Mac had performed the 'rites of passage' with you on the flight out."
"I—I just don't know what to say," Cathy said.
"Don't say anything. Just keep your mouth shut. And stay away from Paulson."
"I will. And thanks, Linda."
"Here's my phone number. Call me if you need me. I don't know if we'll be together on the next flight to Tampa or not. Also, I have a message for you."
"For me?"
"From Pete. He says you and he have a date the next time you're out."
Cathy beamed.
"That's wonderful. Thanks, Linda. Some good news with the bad."
"Yes," Linda said wryly. And then she was gone. Sue met her at the taxi stand and they rode into the city, with Sue talking all the time about things far removed from Cathy's own thoughts. She was grateful, however. She didn't want to think about Mac and Sue's chatter didn't allow her to think of Pete and the message he'd left with Linda.
It was fun moving in with Sue. Two taxi rides completed Cathy's task, with Sue helping her. She had her own room and delighted in the spacious flat that overlooked the green sward of the panhandle, that strip of park, tree-dotted, that led to Golden Gate Park. Cathy called Linda and gave her Sue's phone number so that communications could be established. Linda said she was going to the beach the next day and invited Cathy along, but she declined, not wanting to leave her new home so soon. Instead, she told Linda, she and Sue were going to get better acquainted and relax before their next trip.
Two days later, Linda flew to Texas while Cathy and Sue made a San Diego trip that was routine and uneventful. It was a quick round-trip and hardly seemed like work-more like an excursion at which she was the gracious hostess to a lot of preoccupied businessmen and some old ladies going to Sea World.
That night, Randy called her and wondered if she were free. Glad for the diversion, she told him she was.
"How about dinner at my apartment?" he asked. "Italian interest you?"
"Sure," she said. "Give me the address."
"I'll pick you up at seven. How's that?"
"Fine, Randy. I guess we fly to Tampa together tomorrow."
"Right. Paulson's the pilot."
Cathy had a sinking feeling, but she kept it from her voice.
"See you at seven," she said.
"Bring your overnight kit."
Thrilled, she hung up the phone and told Sue the good news.
"That'll work out great," said Sue. "I ran into this stockbroker and gave him my number. He wants to take me out. Maybe I'll lure him into my bed if you're not going to be here. Not that it would make any difference, but he's shy, I think."
"He must be young," said Cathy.
"Young and rich," said Sue. "The way I like 'em."
Cathy looked forward to seeing Randy. Somehow, she thought of him in connection with Pete and she missed Pete. They had never been alone together as she and Randy had been. That made her sad. She loved Pete's body and the powerful way he made love, but she felt disappointed that she had had to share her experiences with him in front of others. She was hoping that when they met again she could be alone with him.
What had happened to her in Florida seemed as much an initiation as what had happened to her on the plane with Captain MacAdams. And, she couldn't help thinking of that middle-aged man as she had known him for that brief fragile time. She was sorry he was gone. He had given her so much and she had probably contributed to his death. She felt guilty about it, at times, although she knew in her heart that she wasn't to blame. She couldn't forget that MacAdams had been the first, however, and that it was he who had opened up a whole new world to her. Now, she wondered just where her new knowledge about herself and others would lead her. In some ways, the uncertain future was frightening. There was still so much she didn't know. Everything had happened so fast and she felt as though she were on an island, by herself, with a sea of doubts foaming around her.
She was waiting for Randy to pick her up when Sue called her to the phone.
"For me? Who is it?"
"It sounded like Linda," said Sue. "An inebriated Linda."
Cathy picked up the telephone.
"Linda?"
"Right on, Cathy. You busy?"
"Yes. Randy's picking me up. I'm having dinner with him."
"Oh, too bad, doll. You'll never guess who I ran into on my last trip. A really swinging dude. He boarded in Houston and is here with me in San Francisco."
Linda's words were slurred and Cathy knew she was stoned on something.
"Who is it?"
"You'll never guess."
"Well, why don't you tell me, Linda."
"Here, I'll let you talk to him yourself. Talk about coincidences. We got to talking and I enticed him up to my apartment. Shame on you for not telling me!"
"Telling you what? Linda, don't keep me in suspense. Who's there with you?"
"Here, let him tell you, doll," Linda said.
A moment later, Cathy heard a familiar voice over the phone. A chill ran up her spine as she realized who it was.
"Hi, Cath. I ran into a friend of yours down Houston way. A very charming young lady."
"Bill!" Cathy exclaimed. "I had no idea! I thought you were in New York." It was her brother.
"I was. Then I had to close a deal in Houston and I have about a week's work here in 'Frisco. How're you?"
"Why, just fine. I'm leaving for Tampa tomorrow, though."
"Hey, too bad, Cath. Was hoping I could see you. Got plans tonight though. With little Linda here. She's some chick."
"Bill?"
"Yes, Cathy?"
"Oh, nothing. When will I see you, then?"
"We'll run into each other. You know me. Airplanes are my second home."
Cathy heard the doorbell ring and knew it was Randy. She wanted to talk to her brother some more, but she didn't want to hold up Randy.
"I—I've got to go, Billy. You have a good time. Hope to see you soon."
"Oh, I'll have a good time, all right. Linda's assured me of that. You take care."
She said goodbye and hung up the phone. Sue had let Randy in. She grabbed her coat and purse, while Randy took her overnight case. They left before she had time to collect her thoughts.