Chapter 54
Flying over Los Angeles was an amazing experience.
Los Angeles In terms of land area was one of the largest cities on earth, it sprawled across a wide landscape of flat plains and hilly areas.
Stretching from the sea clear up to the Angeles national forest.
It was a polyglot of smaller communities all linked together politically and economically, Los Angeles, California was regarded as one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in history.
From their perch at 8,000 feet altitude, it stretched as far as they could see and Freya muttered,"Ah'd forgotten hoo big thes city is...Does it e'er end?"
Roger laughed and replied,"Not really, the coastal region of southern California is pretty much one city after another, damn near to the border with Mexico.
"Once we make our turn over San Diego and head east, it'll thin out fairly quickly."
When they spotted the Del Mar race track far below, Freya gently banked the massive seaplane to the new compass heading that would take them to Phoenix, Arizona.
Leveling off again, Freya reengaged the autopilot and leaned back in her seat Phoenix was only another hour or so to fly and soon, they would be landing.
Roger got out his satellite phone and called George Bryce, his former partner in the field and now happily married to a beautiful lamia named Mia.
"Rodge! I figured you'd be calling about now." George answered, "So where are you two now?"
Roger smiled as he replied,"We're about an hour or so out from Phoenix and should be landing soon after arrival, depending on the traffic at the airport with this big air show, coming up this week end."
Roger heard George chuckle and remark, "If the road leading to our house was smoother, you could land near the house...Oh well, maybe next year?"
"Tom Sanders over at the flight museum is picking up the tab for our fuel costs this weekend, we're kinda committed to Phoenix, where he wants us."
"Woah! That's pretty generous, what's the catch?"
Roger smiled and replied,"Yes, there is a catch. He wants our plane on display next to the one they've restored using many of the items we traded for the engines and other upgrades.
"They're bringing in quite the display and will be selling rides to the kiddies, old and young."
"Sounds like quite the party! Let me get off of here and I'll meet you guys at the airport in about an hour or two."
"See ya then!"
Roger ended the call and said, "George is gonna meet us at the airport when we get there."
They vectored into the flight path and followed a beautifully restored Grumman Avenger onto the long runway and slowed rapidly to a near halt before following an escort vehicle to their designated parking place between the museum's restored Martin Mariner and a Catalina PBY.
Easing between the other two seaplanes, Freya parked the heavy seaplane and shut the engines off.
Tom Sanders was there and he flashed a big grin and a thumbs up at her while she waved back at him.
When the engines had ceased their rumbling, the relative silence was almost deafening after listening to the roar of two eighteen cylinder R-3350 engines for several hours.
Tom was there grinning hugely as they exited the big airplane with their luggage in tow.
Roger handed him their keys and said, "The engine cool down system is engaged, so you might want to place a couple of warning cones so no one gets spooked when the props suddenly rotate a little bit."
Tom laughed and said, "Well, it's good to see you too!"
A moment later, a warning buzzer sounded and the props rotated a couple of times on the restored Martin Mariner next to theirs.
The idea had worked so well that many of the museum's larger aircraft now had the system in place to extend the intervals between overhauls on the complex engines.
Tom and Roger shook hands and he grinned at Freya who stood even taller than he remembered from the last time he'd seen her.
"Damn girl! We'd better get you up in one of our planes before you outgrow all of them!"
He shook hands with the pretty Jotun maiden and she replied cheerfully, "Ah'd loch 'at verra much!"
Tom looked over at Roger and asked, "Got time for her to get a quick flight in while you're waiting for your ride?"
He pointed at a brightly painted P- 47D Thunderbolt training model with an extra seat, "That's our hot rod and she's all ready to go!"
He grinned, "Just say yes, trust me she'll love it!"
Freya looked expectantly at Roger, every inch of her seven and a half foot tall frame screaming "I wanna ride it!"
Roger laughed and said cheerfully, "Go for it, George's running late, let him wait while you're out playing."
Freya squealed and impulsively hugged Roger before she sprinted over to the waiting P-47D and shook hands with its pilot who gaped at her height and grinned at her flying helmet and aviator's Raybans...She was ready!
Minutes later, Roger heard a car horn toot and he turned to see George's boxy van.
He waved at his old friend and walked up to his window to shake hands.
While he was heaving their luggage in the back of the van, George asked, "Where's Freya?"
Roger's reply was interrupted by the deep throated roar of a Pratt and Whitney R-2800 18 cylinder engine driving the burly P-47D into the air over Phoenix, Arizona.
Roger grinned at his old friend and said, "Freya would be up there right now!" as he pointed at the rapidly diminishing P-47D heading towards the sky.
George laughed and pulled his boxy van out of the way to park it.
He exited the van and joined his old friend to watch the burly P-47D being put through its paces high in the sky over Phoenix, Arizona.
George remarked, "I'll bet she's having a blast right about now." as his eyes followed the traces of the P-47D as it completed a loop and was bearing down on the runway to make a low pass.
Roger chuckled and said, "She'll be talking about this for weeks, she loves flying and being in a high performance aircraft? She's probably over the moon right now."
George laughed and said, "Yeah that'd be one way to put it. I wonder how she'd like a ride in a fighter jet?"
Roger muttered glumly, "She'd love it of course, only she won't fit in one, she's way too tall."
"Bummer!"
"Yes, it is." replied Roger "In another year or two, she'll be near full growth and few airplanes will be big enough for her."
Tom Sanders had joined them and they watched as the burly aircraft roared past at full song with a grinning Freya waving at them.
The plane went into an eight point roll over before soaring straight up into the sky in a slow roll then leveling out and streaking off into the distance.
Tom chuckled and commented,"That girl's gettin' quite an introduction to high performance aircraft, ah told the pilot to give her a thrill ride...I'd say that one qualifies!"
Roger chuckled and remarked drily, "You do realize she is going to be talking about this for weeks, don't you?"
Tom grinned and replied,"That's the whole idea my friend. That girl'll be too tall to fit inside a plane like a P- 47D in another year or so. Ah wanted her t'have that experience while she still could."
When the burly P-47D touched down again, they watched as it came to a stop and shut off.
When the propeller ceased whirling, the bubble canopy slid back and the pilot climbed out first, then he assisted Freya out of the cramped for her, back seat.
When she was standing on the hard deck again, she impulsively hugged the pilot in her exhilaration.
Tom whistled softly and muttered, "Ah'll bet he won't be forgettin' that hug for a long time!"
Roger chuckled and remarked, "Her hugs do have a way of sticking to your ribs."
George merely smiled.
In his mind, his wife Mia's hugs were always incredible with the sensation of her long, pythonesque tail coiling around him, and her shapely arms snuggling him closer, no one else could compare.
Taking off her flying helmet, Freya trotted up to them, her face radiant in her happiness.
Stopping to hug Tom who squawked and exclaimed, "Suddenly Ah'm a l'il kid again, bein' hugged by my aunt Martha!"
Freya said happily, "Ah dornt know onie other way ay expressin' me gratitude, thenk ye verra much! Ah'll treasure thes moment always!"
When the pilot joined them, he said with a grin, "Freya laughed the whole time. I could hear her whoopin' and a hollerin' th' whole time we were up there, just havin' herself a blast!"
Freya grinned and said cheerfully, "Ah cannae dae 'at sort ay thing in me own plane, it's too big an' heavy fer sich antics."
The pilot smiled at her and remarked,"Most any plane can be flown like that, some are just better suited for it than others."
He pointed at the gleaming white Martin Mariner and said, "When they'd finished refurbishing and modifying that bird, I had to take it to be recertified for airworthyness. In short, I had to give it a pretty good thrashing, everything I did in that P-47? I had to do in the Martin Mariner to be sure it could handle it."
He grinned infectiously, "You ain't done a barrel roll until you've done one in a B-36 Peacemaker!"
Tom laughed at his comment and declared,"My heart was in my mouth the whole time he was doin' it too!"
Freya asked innocently,"Waur ye in th' plane too?"
Tom roared in laughter and cried, "Hell yeah! I was right beside him in the co-pilots seat, shittin' myself th' whole time. There was no way Ah wasn't going to ride in that big bird after all the work we'd put into just gettin' it flyable again!"
Freya glanced at Roger and he commented, "Don't get any ideas about trying anything crazy in Moby Dick while I'm in it!"
"Moby Dick?" asked a puzzled looking Freya.
"Moby Dick was the title of a novel written by Herman Melville about a whaling ship that gets attacked by a huge white whale called Moby Dick by the half crazed ship's captain.
"It's based on something that really happened way back in 1820 and only a handful of the crew survived to tell the tale."
Roger suddenly looked thoughtful and muttered, "I think I just christened the plane by accident!"
Tom grinned and slyly commented, "Don't blame me if a bored sign painter gets busy on 'Moby Dick' this week end!"
Roger could only roll his eyes and mutter, "Just don't get too crazy!"
George glanced at his watch and said,"I hate to break up this little soiree, but I've gotta stop and grab some ice cream before heading home. I thought I would grab these two while in town, while I'm at it."
Hands were shaken all around but not before Tom grinned at Freya and said, "Why don't you come down to Texas for some real flyin' lessons?"
At Freya's excited look, Tom remarked, "Just don't take too long or you'll out grow our planes, little lady."
Freya glanced at Roger and he said, "Spring break, provided your grades are good."
Freya beamed and said, "Ah'll be thaur!"
Tom grinned and replied, "I'll save a place for y'all!"
Minutes after leaving the airport, George pulled off the main drag and headed into a supermarket to get some ice cream.
Freya upon entering the market, paused a moment as she took in the aromas of a market that catered primarily to the Hispanic populace, she grinned, the smells were delicious!
George grinned at her and said, "I come here all the time, the ladies like the food offerings and the prices are great."
Ignoring the gawkers who had never seen such a tall young woman as her, Freya admired the selection while George selected several tubs of ice cream for the ranch house.
She followed Roger over to the food counter where she ordered some freshly made tamales still dripping from the steaming tamale bucket and Roger got an order of his favorite, steak soft tacos with rice and frijoles.
They rejoined George and noshed on their food while he was making his purchase. George grinned and said,"I hope you're aware that Mia is likely making a nice welcoming dinner for you two?"
Roger grinned back and replied, "You have no idea how hungry we were, our last real meal was early this morning at breakfast and the sandwiches we had during the flight, just didn't hang with me at least and Freya can eat with the best of them!"
George laughed while he filled the large cooler with the frozen dairy products then they drove off again.
Next stop, the ranch house.
Once out of town, George took a secondary road going straight out into the desert. Freya remarked quietly, "Ah remember thes road, aw the plants ur covered wi' dust frae th' gravel trucks comin' oot ay th' quarry."
George grinned and replied, "The quarry is usually pretty busy during the day and closes about 3 P.M. Most days."
He turned left at a side road and followed that to the first of three gates before stopping.
Roger hopped out and held the gate open while George pulled the van through, he closed the gate and they resumed their trek.
Two gates later and George said, "We are now on the ranch itself so the road's gonna get a bit rougher the rest of the way."
"What about near the house?" asked Roger.
"Near the house, Phillip can use his truck to pull a scraper blade to smooth the road. If making a landing strip is what you're thinking about."
"That had crossed my mind." remarked Roger.
Freya smiled and commented,"Ah woods loch tae spend maur than a lang week end doon haur. Ah'd gae hikin' wi' me friends e'eryday."
George grinned and said cheerfully, "You are welcome to come down here anytime, you do know that, don't you?"
Freya grinned,"An' Ah'd loove tae cam doon haur, oanly bringin' uir own plane is verra costly. Moby Dick costs abit 600 dollars an hour tae fly an' it took us abit six hours tae fly haur."
Roger rolled his eyes at Freya's use of the nickname he had inadvertently given the bulky Martin Mariner PBM 5A..
Moby Dick it would be called from now on, apparently.
They crested the last rise before crossing the broad, shallow valley and circling around the shoulder where the house sat overlooking the ranch beyond.
Behind the house was the slope that rose above the house some 200 feet before flattening out and stretching towards a low hill where the mine shaft that Zenobia's family perished in, had been dug.
Roger noted with interest how smooth and straight the road was as it traversed the valley, no large shrubs or bushes to clear, no gulleys or washouts to fill.
He'd talk to Phillip about using his massive truck for a little road grading and improving.
George brought the van to a halt outside the sprawling ranch house that sat dozing in the warm early afternoon sun.
The half ball court sat empty, not even the resident Gila monster lay sprawled on his rock.
Summer afternoons in the Arizona desert were mostly for napping, as it was too hot for much of anything else.
Even the heat loving lamias were inside where it was cool.
Hence the ice cream George had bought.
Parking next to Phillip's massive truck, George shut off the van and said, "Welp, we're here...It gets livelier once the sun sets."
Freya exited the van and seemed to wilt as the afternoon heat washed over her.
Coming from the northlands this was new to her, the dry heat was not at all like she'd experienced the last time she was here or the heat she had encountered down in tropical Brazil.
This heat wicked the moisture right out of a body and left only dried sweat stains on clothing and salt deposits on the skin.
George smiled at her and said, "Now you know why it's so quiet around here, everyone's inside where it's much cooler.
Reaching into the van's window, George tooted the horn a couple of times and moments later, the doors opened and several lamias slithered outside.
Mia led the serpentine charge with a big smile on her beautiful face and her arms wide open to embrace her husband.
"Welcome home!" she cried as she glomped onto George as best she could with her prominent baby bump getting in the way.
Two smaller versions of herself were also clamoring for their father's attention while the older, more mature lamia was gladly embracing Roger, her dusky face radiant in her genuine pleasure at seeing the man who had helped get her family out of Algeria and safe from harm.
Freya was glomped by the young lamia named Natalie, Mia's youngest sister and her friend.
Natalie grinned at her towering friend and said brightly, "You're so tall now!"
Freya laughed and replied, "Ah'm nae th' oanly one who's grown!" as she playfully squeezed one of Natalie's prominent breasts.
Natalie laughed and gleefully retaliated in kind, causing Freya to blush quite freely.
Roger separated from Ayesha, Mia's mother and smiled as he shook hands with Phillip, her father.
The two men grinned at each other, they had shared an adventure together and that bond forged out of adversity, had grown..
Lamias rarely hugged any man other than their husbands and Roger was one of the few men fortunate enough to receive a hug from Ayesha.
Roger glanced at Phillip's heavy truck and said teasingly, "Are you sure you want Freya driving that thing? She's pretty much taken over the Martin Mariner we fly." Phillip smiled and replied, "It'll be fine, besides she can't be in two places at once, unless she has a twin sister I haven't heard about!"
"No twin sister, only four brothers and all of them big, like their father."
Ayesha smiled and asked coyly, "Are any of them still single and still virginal?"
"Three of them are married and have children of their own, while her youngest older brother is so far as I know, still a virgin.
"The Jotuns are not real strict about that sort of thing. Freya's aunt Barbara has had a few lovers and is now involved with a real nice guy, a widower from another part of Canada.
"As a matter of fact, he kept her from grabbing me up like a toy and smooching me."
Roger muttered, "The only time I ever see Freya get riled up is when Barbara does that. I know she's only playing, but she doesn't realize just how strong she is, she's kinda overwhelming!"
Ayesha smiled warmly, her dark amber eyes twinkling with merriment as her lips curved into a knowing smile.
She purred in her contralto voice, "Freya really does love you, even if neither of you will admit it, it is still there, that subtle bond of love between you two. She has nothing to worry about, when it is time, you will both be ready."
Roger felt his sun darkened face flushing at the accuracy of Ayesha's remarks and he muttered, "Thank God Henri isn't here, I'd never hear the end of his teasing."
Ayesha smiled and slipped a shapely arm through his before pressing his arm against her marvelous bosom., "I don't mean to upset you Roger dearest, Henri does tease you I'll admit, but he wants to see you happy just like I do. We see you and Freya together and in spite of so many differences, you two have become almost inseparable."
Roger found himself nodding in agreement with her assessment, he had become quite fond of Freya and could no longer imagine himself living alone in a monastic manner.
Chuckling to himself, he remarked, "Truth be told, I have more than just Freya in my life now, there is also Dena and her giant wolf companion, Sasha."
At their mystified looks he elaborated, "Dena is woodwife, an elf. She stands about two feet tall and is quite adorable. Her people and their giant wolf companions came across the sea with the jotuns when they left the old world to flee what they call the Scandis.
"I met Dena and Sasha after Induna, Freya's grandmother died. Several months later, she and her giant wolf companion turned up in Portland, Oregon, hiding in the basement of the mansion we were converting into a library for Induna's books and scrolls."
He smiled and said, "I coulda killed the both of them, they were very weak, half starved and very filthy. They took a terrible risk to come down from Canada and I still marvel that they weren't seen."
Glancing at Ayesha he remarked candidly,"My bed gets pretty crowded at times, especially when both of them want to sleep with me."
At Ayesha's questioning look, Roger said defensively,"Freya's still a virgin and Dena's way too small, she's like a living doll in size."
Ayesha grinned at him as he strolled alongside her sinuating form and murmured,"This 'Dena' sounds quite interesting...You say she's an elf?"
"Yes, she is a woodwife and she is at least a couple of centuries older than me although she looks no older than about 25."