Fighter Pilot

5.

Vivienne wanted to be buried in the Scottish Highlands. That's what her dad told me when I stood at his doorstep the day I returned to London. It was fitting though. That Vivi wanted to rest in the Highlands. It suited her.
We buried her on a Monday. It was raining. Her brother couldn't come because he was still fighting, but her dad was there. And Winston Churchill. Both were dressed in full black, immaculate suits. I stood by the casket, at attention, in my dress uniform. Lucy, Kitty, Ann, Evelyn, and Josh were all there as well. The girls were still grief stricken. Josh's wife had come as well and stood quietly at his side.
"Pilot."
"Prime Minister."
"Thank you for returning my niece."
"It was my duty, sir."
"And a hard duty to complete, young bloke. I get the feeling you had something special with little Vivienne."

I slept in the room above a pub that night, a two minute walk from the cemetery. I didn't want to go too far...she might still be passing over.
It was a fitful night of sleep. By the morning, the covers and pillows were strewn about the floor. My eyes had dark circles beneath them. On my way out the door in the morning, I stopped for a moment to ask the owner a question?
"Do you know if there are any properties for sale? Preferably close to the cemetery."
"Aye, laddie, there's one up jus pass it. Big ol farm house and property."
"Thank you, sir."

And that was how I bought my own house. A big farm house just up the road from the cemetery Vivi was in. My mum was furious. She'd wanted me home the second Vivienne had been buried. But England just didn't seem much like home right now. No, there was something about the way Scotland felt that told me I needed to stay.
The house was cheap, considering everything that came with it. There was a large property, a big barn that could be converted, the house, and a rooster. The rooster came with the house. And the blasted thing was hard to shut up.
"Rocco, come here you little shit."
I spent a good twenty minutes trying to catch he bloody thing, and finally I just gave up. Then it dawned on me that I was already nearly to the cemetery. So I went to visit Vivi. The soil was still mounded atop her grave and the flowers were beginning to die. Everything was muddy. It had rained all night.
"You know, Vivi, when I thought about discussing houses, this wasn't what I had in mind. I was thinking it would be a few years away, we'd be about to get married, have our honeymoon all planned. And I didn't think the house would be in Scotland. I thought we'd live in London or maybe somewhere in Wales. I think Wales could've been a good fit. But you know, I think you'd like the house. It's the big farm house up the road. I think I'm going to start running a repair shop out of the barn. There don't seem to be any near here. And maybe I'll get a dog. It would be less lonely up there. And maybe he'll eat that blasted chicken. Rooster, I suppose. You know what I mean...I just wish it was our house..."

The next day, I found Maverick. I'd walked into town to go to the shops and pick up a few things. My kitchen was still sparsely stocked. I wasn't much of a cook. I'd just left the grocer's and I saw him down by the little foot bridge. A little boy was telling him off.
"Go on, Maverick. Ain't none of us got the foods for ya."
"This your dog?"
"No, sir. He just wanders round town. We called 'im Maverick."
"Maverick, aye? Well, sounds like none of you would be too sad if I took him home with me."
"No, sir. Nothin but a mutt he is."
So I coaxed Maverick back to this house using vegetables. He liked them, a lot. I put the groceries on the counter and then I hauled the dog into the bathroom. He needed a bath if he was going to stay in the house.
"Now don't fight me, Maverick. This is for your own good."
Maverick didn't fight the bath. In fact, he splashed about all over the place in the soapy water. Once he was washed, his coat was shiny. He looked like an Irish Setter. Beautiful dog, definitely. He followed me back to the kitchen and sat wagging his tail while I put away the food.
"You're not getting more right now."
He just cocked his head and kept wagging. He was a sweet dog, that I couldn't argue.
Maybe the best thing about the house was that it came fully furnished. I didn't have to spend nights on the floor while I put the place together. When I sat down in the chair in the living room, Maverick jumped up in my lap. Even though he was too big to really fit on my lap.
"You just want a friend don't you?"
That earned me a wet kiss across the face. This was going to be an interesting experience, getting used to having my own dog.

I put an advertisement in the local paper the next week. Automobile and Aviation Repair. I'd fixed numerous cars and planes, and the business was slim for it in this area. I started getting calls as soon as the paper ran. Apparently, most people needed car repairs. I stayed busy for weeks doing repairs on the townsfolk's cars. I even ended up repairing an old wagon. Not everyone had switched to automobiles here.
When I had time, I went to see Vivi. Maverick started coming with me after a few trips. He usually behaved well when we went down. He'd just lay on the other side of her grave while I talked to her. That dog even started pulling out wildflowers on our walks over so he could leave them against the headstone. Vivi would have liked Maverick. He was special, almost human in ways. And he made missing her a little easier.