December Daily Writing Project: December 7

December 7-
“Let’s go, sugarbeet,” he said to her as he snapped on the light.  He was carrying two duffel bags, one very light, the other very heavy.

“Let’s go, sugarbeet,” he said to her as he snapped on the light.  He was carrying two duffel bags, one very light, the other very heavy.  She was startled but quickly focused her attention.

            “What’s in that bag?” she asked, waking up more with each second.

            “You know what this is.  Today’s the day.  Shake your tailfeathers.”  A smile crept across her face.  First she found her sunglasses.  Then she found some clothes to put on.  Then they were out the door.

            At the top of the settlement, they reached the woods.  She hadn’t said a word the entire trek up, but now erupted with questions and exclamations.

            “Is it finished for real, pastelito?  Do you think it will work?  I can’t believe it!  And it works, you’ve tried it?  Oh, this is marvelous!” she exalted, now finally within the cover of the trees.  She followed him over a small ridge and around another one, and stopped in front of a pile of boulders.  There, he dropped the bags, looked back at her just long enough for a wink, and then disappeared into the pile through a gap in the boulders.  For a second she stood there still.  And then pounced on the very heavy duffel bag.

            “Come on now, crocodile,” he said, already back outside.  “Don’t turn a baby bird into an omelet, you know what I mean?”  He was holding a dilapidated metal fan so large, he could barely be seen behind it.  She screamed, and immediately covered her mouth.

            “Ohh, I don’t know, Howzey Whose.  Have you tried it?  That thing just doesn’t look that lofty!”

            “It’s Howard Hughes.  And just you wait, swiss cheese.”  He braced himself under the weight of the fan and began climbing up the boulders.  She followed behind, holding the two duffel bags.  Above the pile they came to a clearing, and then to the base of a long cliff.  He put down the metal fan, and she put down the duffel bags.  With the flip of a quick smile, he watched her tear into the heavy duffel bag.  Inside was a massive sheet; a hundred-piece patchwork of old tshirts, plastic bags, duct tape, pizza boxes, and paper torn from novels.  Thread, tape, glue, Velcro, and origami all held the giant sheet together, and she pulled the whole thing out of the bag and onto the ground.

            “Oh, facey face, I don’t think so, mi amor.  This can’t fly,” she said to him as her eyes filled with tears.  He looked hard at her there, kneeling in front of his beloved wing. 

            “Don’t go burying your feet in cement just yet there, chicken little.  You haven’t even heard her sing.”  Out of the smaller duffel bag, he pulled bunches of strings and straps, and began fastening them to the sheet, the fan, and finally, himself.  He hoisted the fan on his back and tightened a series of straps around his shoulders.  She had been quietly holding the second duffel bag while he worked on all of the connections, and now that he appeared finished, he whistled and snapped at the bag in her hands.  She pulled out a pair of sunglasses.  Again, he whistled and snapped.  She threw him the sunglasses and he caught them with ease.

            “Amelia- I love you,” he called as he smiled and put on the sunglasses.  He yanked a cord that suddenly started the engine of the fan with a loud explosion followed by a beautiful whir of the blades.  Both of their ears quivered with excited recognition of the sound.  He took a few small steps forward and the parachute began lifting off the ground behind him.  Her eyebrows raised above her glasses and her jaw went slack.  With a few more steps, the parachute hovered directly overhead, the fan’s motor sounding strong and consistent.

            “Rockstardom, baby!  It’s beautiful!”  She could not believe how well he had built their dream.

            “So you gonna hitch a ride or what, kitty cat?”
            “YES!” and she ran over to him.  He spun her around and pulled her close to his chest, drawing another series of straps around her waist and shoulders.  When she was secure, he reached around and kissed her cheek.

            “To the end of the earth with you/contigo hasta el fin del mundo,” they said, looking out over the edge of the cliff.