Redwood Bend

unusually quiet for a moment and Dylan didn’t really notice anything; he was used to turbulence. It was usually especially bad over the Montana mountains. But then he heard that telltale sound from his passenger. “Whoa,” she said. Then, “Ew.”
He glanced over at Katie. She was white as a sheet. He didn’t waste a second. “Katie! Bag!” He pointed to the side pocket. “Bag, bag, bag!”
She turned to look at him, glassy-eyed, confused. He reached across her and pointed closer to the side pocket. “There’s a bag in there if you don’t feel right!”
Weakly, she slipped her hand into the side pocket and pulled out a sick sack. She just held it, like that was the last thing she wanted to think about. And Dylan turned back toward the airport.
He didn’t make it far before she was holding the bag up to her face, retching.
“That a girl,” he said approvingly. “You’ll be fine when we’re on the ground. Ten minutes, tops.”
And she retched again.
Poor kid, he thought. She liked speed and tight turns, but apparently her inner ear wasn’t crazy about turbulence. Now that he considered it, that probably was a little more than she’d have been used to. Certainly not the first candidate for Dramamine....
“Ew,” she said again. “Oh, God.” Then she reached into her purse with a trembling hand for a tissue. While she wiped her mouth, he was on final approach.
He landed smoothly, taxied in and checked his passenger frequently, noting that her color was slowly coming back. He parked the little plane, jumped out and went around to her side to help her.
She held on to that sack protectively, embarrassed. Her head was down, her hair falling in a canopy, hiding her face.
“It’ll be okay, babe,” he said gently. “Happens sometimes. Even to big tough guys.”
Finally she looked up at him, her eyes watering, her face pale. “Now that, ” she said, “was a date.”
After a little time in the restroom, splashing her face, braiding her hair and generally putting herself back together, Katie made a miraculous recovery. When she walked outside, she found Dylan leaning against his bike.
“You look a lot better,” he said with a smile.
“It seems to have left me as fast as it arrived. Whew, that was perfectly awful. I’m so sorry. Probably not what you were expecting, huh?”
“It happens,” he said. “Jump on.”
And away they went. He took a side trip through Arcata and stopped first at a drugstore. He left her on the bike and promised to return quickly. When he came back he handed her a small bag. Inside was a toothbrush, paste, mouthwash, disposable wipes and antiseptic hand wash. “I couldn’t think of another thing you might need,” he said. “I’m taking you to a restaurant—we’ll get you some tea and something mild, like mac and cheese.”
“You act like a man who has had a lot of experience with this,” she said.
“You’re my first,” he said. “Not the first passenger or student to get sick, but the first time a girl I was trying to impress… Well, I wanted it to be memorable.”
“It was,” she said. “A lot like morning sickness. One minute you’re going to die, then it’s over and you feel like you could eat a side of beef.”
“Tea and noodles,” he said. “And if it was morning sickness, it had nothing to do with me.”
“Oh, stop complaining.”
He looked over his shoulder at her. “At least you pronounced it a date.”
Dylan took her to a quaint bar; they had to walk up a flight of stairs to the second floor and, given it was still afternoon, they were among just a few diners. The view was of the marshy headlands; the birds were flying low over the tall grasses, the Pacific shining beyond. It was beautiful and so serene. “It looks so harmless out there, doesn’t it?” Katie said. “Some of us know it can really pack a punch. What got you into flying?”
“My grandmother moved us to Montana, where I had no friends or connections and, long story short, out of boredom I was hanging out at the nearest small airport. I started driving my little truck out there and did my homework while watching planes take off and land. Pretty soon I got the courage to wander into the building and asked them how much a ride would cost and they said, ‘Ride in what?’ I wanted to go up in their Lear, but I could afford thirty minutes in a little Cherokee.” He gave a shrug. “I fell in love.”
“I guess you didn’t get sick…”
He shook his head. “Never. I love