Nobody's Sorry You're Dead

47

"You did what!"

It was Maury. Hadley phoned her after she and Rayna had finished discussing what this year's theme for the bazaar would be.

"Hadley! You could have killed yourself," Maury said. "What were you thinking? What if that thing had stalled in midair? What if you'd run out of fuel? Oh, dear me. I get weak just thinking about all the things that could go wrong. What if I'd needed you? Oh, Hadley! You're aging me with worry worse than Bill and Skip!"

"Mary Maureen, take a breath. Bill is a good husband, and Skippy is a good son. Don't worry. Stop making mountains out of molehills. I was perfectly safe in that plane. Anna's a really good pilot," Hadley said.

"You sound like you liked it," Maury said. "I would have fainted dead away. Whatever possessed you to climb up in that contraption in the first place? You're not a child, anymore. You could have broken something."

"The only thing I popped was the button on my jeans. I think the back seam split a few inches when I crawled over into the plane, but it's nothing I can't fix with a needle and thread."

"Hadley! I ought to have Bill come over there and lock you up. For your own safety! I will not sleep one wink thinking of this! You were always too impulsive for your own good."

"Maury, stop. You're making me woozier than the flight. It really was a special feeling flying all over the county like that. It all looks so different from above. I could never have imagined it. You have to experience it, Sis.

Everything looked so clean from up there. And you can see for miles. The orchards laid out in neat patches, the dense woods clustered here and there. The toy houses. The dirt roads crisscrossing the landscapes. It such a peaceful feeling soaring high above it all. It was amazing."

"Hadley Jane, I am not believing my ears. I cannot be hearing what I think you are saying. You sound like you like flying!"

"Well, I think it's something that can grow on you," said Hadley, sipping her coffee.

"Like a wart," said Maury.

"Are you going to stop fuming and fussing and let me tell you what we got done on the bazaar," Hadley said, to change the subject.

"Did you get a lot done?" Maury asked.

"We did. Rayna's a dynamo. But there's still tons left to do. Maybe you could come over next week and help us out."

"Sure, sis," Maury said. "I'd be glad to."

Hadley hung up the phone.