A Model Gift
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Louie's Place
Two Weeks Before Christmas
Baloo and Kit were enjoying a short stopover at Louie's. At least it was supposed to have been short until Baloo started to dance to the upbeat holiday tunes that the band was playing.
Kit, knowing that they'd be there awhile, munched on a slice of pizza and viewed the nightclub scene from his perch on a tiki bar barstool. It was a pretty typical Friday night - the jazz band, the energetic dancers, pilots from far and wide enjoying Louie's tasty treats and eats. But what really caught his eye was a Great War era model airplane sitting on a shelf above Louie's fruit flavored syrups. He'd never seen anything quite like it. It was larger than a regular model airplane and there was a box covered with dials and buttons beside it.
"Hey, Louie," Kit said, pitching his voice over the din. "I like your Spar S-13 model. Is it radio controlled?" Flyboy Magazine had had articles about radio controlled model airplanes, but he'd never actually seen one.
Louie was in the middle of making his umpteenth Krakatoa Special. "Sure is, short stop, but it ain't mine. It belongs to Aunt Louise."
"Baloo would love something like that for Christmas, but no way can I afford one. It's gotta cost two hundred bucks at least."
"Aunt Louise is dancin' and prancin' right over there." Louie pointed with an unlit sparkler towards the dance floor. "If the price is right, she might sell it to you."
"Well, all she can do is say no, right?" And with that, Kit approached her on the dance floor. "Uh, Miz L'Amour, ma'am, would you…?"
"Of course I'll dance with you, sugar!" Quicker than a flash, Aunt Louise grabbed both of Kit's hands.
"Whoa!" Despite the fact that Kit was twelve and Aunt Louise was a woman of advanced age, he found it difficult to keep up with her as she dragged him around the dance floor. But eventually he was able to ask about her model airplane.
"There's only one thing that would make me give up my radio controlled airplane, sugar. A date with Don Karnage. Does that pirate jingle my bells!" At the top of her lungs, she sang along to the last lyric: "Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleeeeeiiigh!"
When the song ended, Kit slipped away to do some serious thinking about the impossible task of getting Don Karnage to agree to a date with Louise L'Amour.
The Malt Shop
The Next Day…
Armed with his life savings and the knowledge that Don Karnage had a secret weakness for strawberry milkshakes, Kit waited at the malt shop in downtown Cape Suzette.
Finally, a man disguised in a trench coat, fedora, sunglasses, and false mustache slid into the booth opposite Kit. Without a word of greeting, he demanded, "Where are my free strawberry milkshakes like you were saying on the radio, boy? And there had better be no skimping on the whipped cream either too."
Kit hastily slid a milkshake in front of Karnage and motioned to the soda jerk to keep them coming. As the pirate noisily slurped it down, Kit relayed his request.
After the first milkshake, Karnage scoffed, "Are you in possession of all of your marble cakes?" But seven milkshakes later, he leaned back and surveyed his former protegé with a greedy gleam in his eye. "My wonderfully brilliant mind has been thinking it under. In exchange for letting this Louise type person bask in my marvelous presence…"
It truly was the season for miracles.
Kit stammered, "Y-you mean, you'll do it?"
Karnage held up a hand. "I am requiring all the ice cream I can eat during the time I am condemned to put up with her. And I want a snow cone machine. But there is only one snow cone machine worthy of yours unruly: the Ice Shaver 2000. You can only be getting it in…"
Thembria
Later That Day…
While Baloo filled out a stack of official apology forms for flattening Thembrian snow by landing an airplane on it, Kit went in search of Sergeant Dunder.
He found him stamping a pile of official forms in the Glorious People's Capitol building. Without ceasing his endless work, Dunder said, "Sure, Kit, I know where you can get an Ice Shaver 2000."
"Great! How much do they cost?" Kit hoped it wasn't too much, because he had spent more than he had expected on Karnage's milkshakes.
"Oh, you can't buy them. The High Marshall gives them to the top officers as annual Christmas bonuses. Colonel Spigot has about ten of them."
Just at that moment, the man they'd been speaking about entered. "What are you telling this Uslandian swine, Dunder? State secrets?" Spigot demanded accusingly.
"We were talking about the Ice Shaver 2000, sir. Kit would like to buy one from you."
Kit explained, "It's sort of to get Baloo a Christmas present."
Col. Spigot's eyes brightened. "Baloo? The pilot who's at the top of the Air Race Wall of Fame at Louie's Place?"
"Yeah…?" Kit replied warily, not knowing where this was going. In Thembria, the slightest, oddest thing could lead to unspeakable punishment.
"My picture should be on the Air Race Wall of Fame at Louie's Place! Not only am I head of the Thembrian Air Force, but I invented the world-famous maneuver called 'hanging a Spigot'. Perhaps you've heard of it?"
Kit blinked disbelievingly. It was another Christmas miracle. "You mean you'll give me an Ice Shaver 2000 in exchange for your picture on Louie's Air Race Wall of Fame?"
"As long as the picture's in a prominent place as befitting someone of my superb piloting skills. Besides, I have about ten Ice Shaver 2000s."
It was almost too easy.
Higher for Hire
The Next Day…
As it turned out, it was too easy.
Kit was disappointed when he replaced the receiver to the phone on Rebecca's desk. Louie had no problem with adding Col. Spigot's picture to his Air Race Wall of Fame. The problem was that he didn't want Don Karnage to have a date with Aunt Louise at his nightclub. The only way he would remotely consider that idea was if Baloo paid his tab.
'What's wrong, Kit?" Rebecca asked, noticing her young navigator's glum expression. Her curiosity was piqued after hearing Kit's half of the bizarre telephone conversation. She didn't see how a model airplane, Baloo's tab, a date with Don Karnage, Louie's Aunt Louise, a snow cone machine, and Col. Spigot's photo on the Air Race Wall of Fame fit together.
The boy plunked himself down on a crate, put his elbows on her desk, and cradled his chin in his hands. "I need $78.46 to get Baloo a Christmas present."
"That's an awful lot of money for one present. I'm sure Baloo will like anything you get him. Maybe a new tie? Or a box of candy?"
"How about crayons and a new coloring book?" Molly suggested. The little girl was sitting on top of the desk, drawing a picture of a Christmas tree. Her doll, Lucy, leaned against her, supervising.
Kit smiled at Molly and shook his head. "This model airplane is the absolute perfect present. Baloo deserves it after everything he's done for me, and I wanted this Christmas to be special, this being our first together and all. I guess the whole thing was a long shot," he sighed.
"If it's that important to you, then today is the day for Christmas bonuses." Rebecca opened a desk drawer and pulled out an envelope with Kit's name written on it.
"Really?" Kit peeked at the cash inside the envelope. It was more than he had expected. Better still, it was more than enough to pay Baloo's tab. "Gee, thanks, Miz Cunningham!" he exclaimed, hugging her.
Rebecca laughed and returned the hug. "You've earned it, navigator. And here." She removed some cash from Baloo's envelope and gave it to Kit. "Baloo should pay his own tab."
Later at Louie's Place…
Col. Spigot marched through the door with Sgt. Dunder trailing behind.
Dunder, who was carrying an Ice Shaver 2000 and a very important photograph, was saying, "I don't think the High Marshall will notice the scratch on the plane's nose, sir, but should I try to buff it out anyway?"
"At once, Dunder! I'm not facing the firing squad because a pirate attacked a Thembrian officer!"
"What pirate, sir?"
As if on cue, Don Karnage crashed through the thatch roof.
A furious Spigot pointed upwards and shouted, "That pirate!"
Karnage, dangling by his parachute straps, shouted, "You were the one smashing into me, you piggy pippingsqueak! Get me down!" He kicked his feet furiously as if he was trying to run on air.
Seeing the love of her life - or at least today's love of her life - Louise giggled girlishly. "I'll save you, my little sweet potato pirate!" She hurried to get her radio controlled airplane.
Realizing that it was Louise L'Amour, Karnage screeched like a little girl. "Save me from that distressing damsel!" He yanked his saber from its scabbard and started sawing at the parachute straps.
Meanwhile, Col. Spigot was engrossed in a more important matter. "Move it a little to the right. My right, Dunder!"
"Sorry, Col. Spigot, sir." Sgt. Dunder quickly adjusted his superior's picture on the Air Race Wall of Fame. "Is that where you want it, sir?"
"Hmm…" Spigot took a step backwards and eyed it critically. "Do you think it shows my best side?"
Both Thembrians yelped, "Air raid!" and hit the deck when Louise's model airplane zoomed past them.
Reflexively, Dunder tossed the snow cone machine before he hit the plank flooring. It flew through the air and into Karnage's hands. "My Ice Shaver 2000!" the pirate captain crowed happily.
Just at that moment, the model airplane's propeller sliced through the parachute straps. A frightened Karnage said, "This is going to cause the big ow-ee." He hung for a second midair before landing in a heap on top of Spigot. He was still clutching the snow cone machine.
"Dunder-her-her!" came Spigot's muffled voice.
Giggling happily, Louise helped Karnage up, smothering him with hugs and kisses. "Now we can have our date, sugarplum!"
Whimpering, Karnage pushed himself away from her octopus-like grip; he could swear she had eight arms. In desperation, he said the first thing that came to his head. "Date? But, madam, I-I was forgetting I have a d-dentist app-appointment!" He scooped up the Ice Shaver 2000 and sprinted to the door and freedom. If he had to swim all the way to Pirate Island to get away from her, then a pirate had to do what a pirate had to do.
Meanwhile, Sgt. Dunder was peeling his superior officer up off the floor. Woozily, Spigot said, "Landing on a Thembrian officer? Arrest him, Dunder!"
Spigot and Dunder staggered out, passing Baloo and Kit coming in.
Louise tossed the remote control to Kit as she rushed out the door, shouting, "Wait for me, my little Don Juan Karnage!" Before Karnage could dive off the dock, Louise bodily picked him up and stuffed him, kicking and screaming, into the cockpit of her plane, The Pink Piranha. "And a snow cone machine? I just love snow cones! They'll be perfect for our date!"
"Heeelllllpppp!" The rest of Don Karnage's scream was drowned out by the Pink Piranha's engine.
"What in the…?" Baloo murmured perplexedly, scratching the back of his neck.
Kit flew the model airplane once around the room before landing it. He grinned. It handled like a dream.
Baloo took one look at the remnants of the parachute protruding through the hole in the roof, Col. Spigot's picture on the Air Race Wall of Fame, then back at the open door. "Louie, what in blue blazes is goin' on?"
Louie, who had watched the entire spectacle from behind the bar, shook his head in disbelief. "Baloo, my man, it's been one craaazy afternoon! Thanks, short stop," he said as Kit handed over a wad of cash. Louie put it in his cash register drawer and slammed it shut with a cheerful ding of the bell.
Higher for Hire
Christmas Morning…
Molly bumped the jingle bells hanging on the Christmas tree as she dug out one last present from beneath its branches. She read the tag. "This one's to Baloo from Kit." Since the package was so large and heavy, both Wildcat and Kit had to help her set it on Baloo's lap.
Rebecca winked at Kit as Baloo ripped off the wrapping paper. When Baloo saw the radio controlled model airplane inside, he gasped, "Li'l Britches, I-I dunno what to say. This musta set you back a fortune." He gave the boy a one-armed hug.
Kit, who was still amazed that the entire scheme worked out, grinned. "It was completely worth it for you, Papa Bear."
The End