The Boxcar Blues (37 page)

This prompted more thoughts of Rosemary.
He’d been thinking about her a lot lately. Now, he had a strong
urge to see her, even if she was married to another man. He
wondered if he could possibly find her. There was only one way to
find out and this might be a good time to take a break because he
wasn’t sure if he wanted to be around to see the repercussions from
the CAA.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

On the flight back to Midland, Catwalk said,
“I think I’m going to take some time off to see my family. In a
week Steve Drake will be ready to step into my slot on the schedule
board.”

“
That’s fine, Cat. I’ll
take care of any repercussions from the CAA and I promise I’ll be
tactful.”

Cat gave his partner a sideways glance to
see if he was grinning at that statement.

Curly saw this and affirmed, “Honest, you
don’t have to worry. I won’t resort to anymore strong-arm
tactics.”

“
OK. Knowing that will
make my trip a little more relaxing.”

“
You know, one day I
should go back with you so I can meet your family.”

“
They know all about
you.”

Curly chuckled, “I can imagine what you told
them.”

Catwalk dead-panned, “I told them the truth
— that you’re a lousy pilot who can’t hold a heading to save your
life, but a good guy to be in business with because you always come
out on top.”

Curly laughed, a long hearty belly
laugh.

Catwalk spent a few days with his family,
then told his Mom he was going to Tuskegee to see some of his old
squadron mates. He didn’t really lie to her because there was
always a chance that he’d run into someone he’d served with.
Actually, what bothered him more, as he made the drive, was that he
was doing something very impulsive. Also, Catwalk realized that
with Rosemary’s discontent and his intense desire to see her, there
was fertile ground for the two of them doing something that would
prove to be a mistake in days to come. Still, he continued toward
Tuskegee.

The first day he sat through four movies and
spent hours walking the main street—but didn’t see Rosemary. He
checked the drug store pay phone, but there was no phone directory.
Didn’t matter, he wasn’t sure if he had the guts to call her. The
next day he again walked up and down main street for a few hours,
then spent some time in the park. After a light lunch Catwalk asked
at a hardware store if anyone knew her. They didn’t. He went to the
soda fountain to get a cold drink. He’d just paid for it when he
saw her walking toward the movie theater. He didn’t see anyone with
her.

He ran out the door and dashed into the
street. Horns blared as he narrowly missed being hit by a green
sedan and then a taxi cab. She looked. He waved, then shouted,
“Rosemary!”

She stopped and looked at him like he was
crazy. Then she smiled, a warm, sincere smile that said she was
truly pleased to see him. She called out, “Hi. What are you doing
here?”

Catwalk looked into those blue eyes that
looked so familiar and inviting after all these years. “I came
looking for you. I had to see you.”

“
Oh?” Clearly, she was
taken aback and rendered speechless by his straightforward reply.
After an awkward moment, she opened up, “It’s been so long since
I’ve seen you…but I’ve thought about you every single day, Catwalk.
To be truthful I was always hoping you’d come back.”

He pulled her close and kissed her. She
kissed him back with all the passion that had been dormant for so
long. He held her and buried his face in her long dark hair. “Oh,
Rosemary, I wanted to see you so much.”

She looked around, then said, “We can’t stay
here. Go to the theater. I’ll be right there.”

As he walked, Catwalk made up his mind — if
she wasn’t happy here, he was going to do whatever was necessary to
persuade Rosemary to come to New Mexico. Granted this might prove
to be the mistake that he thought about on the drive over, but at
this point it felt like the right thing to do.

When she sat down beside him, he took her
hand and said, “How have you been?”

She squeezed his hand and said, “Not good.
Living there is so miserable; his drinking is getting to be
terrible. I want to leave so bad, but I have nowhere to go, Cat.
There’s no one I can turn to.”

He said, “Turn to me, Rosemary. You can
leave and get away from him forever. I want you to come to New
Mexico to live with me. You tell me when and I’ll come by to get
your things. We’ll drive west and start a new life, a life that
will be full of happiness.”

“
You make it sound easy,
Cat, but I’m scared.”

“
If you don’t get out now,
you never will.”

Rosemary said nothing while she thought
about leaving, as she had many times. Now she had the opportunity
and without hesitation decided to seize the moment. “He works
tonight. Can you come by and get me about ten?”

“
Just give me your
address.”

At ten o’clock that night, Catwalk pulled up
in front of Rosemary’s house. He walked up the gravel driveway
feeling nervous, but eager to get her out of this place. She met
him at the door and handed him two suitcases. He took them to the
car and returned to the house. Rosemary asked him to get some boxes
out of the bedroom.

From the bedroom he saw lights of a car wash
through the room. Someone had pulled in the driveway behind his
car.

Catwalk took the boxes to the front room and
met Rosemary who was frantic. “It’s Joe! He must have forgotten
something. Quick, hide in the bathroom.”

Catwalk set the boxes near the front door,
then ducked into the bathroom and closed the door. He heard the
husband’s voice, “Rose, I forgot my lunch box. Whose car is
that?”

“
A man had car trouble. He
asked if it was O.K. to park there and I let him.”

Catwalk heard the fright in Rosemary’s
voice; he was sure the husband did too. Then he heard, “What are
those boxes doing out here? What the hell is going on here?”

Rosemary screamed, “No!”

The sound of breaking glass followed and
Catwalk dashed into the front room. He saw a shattered front window
and Rosemary hiding behind a chair. With a fist raised, her husband
was poised to attack her.

Catwalk yelled, “Don’t you dare hit
her!”

The man turned and said, “Who the hell are
you?”

Catwalk didn’t answer. He’d forgotten how
big the guy was, and he was on the verge of hysteria.

Rosemary said, “I’m leaving you, Joe. He’s
taking me away from this hellish place. You’ve hit me for the last
time.”

Radiating hatred Joe walked toward Catwalk
and said, “You’re not taking her anywhere, you son of a bitch. In
fact, you ain’t leaving this house alive.”

Catwalk backed off, saying nothing. There
were no words that would stop the man. He needed a weapon. While
watching the irate husband, he backed into the kitchen.

He grabbed an umbrella and tried to keep him
at bay until he found a way to subdue him.

His attacker kept coming and yelled,
“Com’ere you bastard.”

Catwalk grabbed a sack of flour off the
counter and threw it. The bag hit Joe in the face and burst open in
a cloud of white. The big man stopped and while he was wiping his
eyes, Catwalk clubbed him with a rolling pin, knocking him
unconscious.

To Rosemary he said, “I need something to
tie him up with.”

She found a length of clothes line and the
two of them bound him, after which they quickly loaded the car and
drove off.

On the drive to Meridian, Catwalk and
Rosemary talked about their future together. They couldn’t get
married until she got a divorce, but at least they were together.
Regardless of all things wrong with this scenario, Catwalk felt
like he’d done the right thing by getting her out of an situation
that had tormented her. And, he felt strongly that she belonged by
his side. He said, “It feels good to have you with me. It’s like
you should have been here all along.”

Rosemary said, “First, Mr. Jackson. You’ve
got to accept something right now. I know you loved my sister, and
I know that your love for her is what brought you to me, but I’m
not her. If you fall in love, just make sure you’re falling for the
right person.”

“
I don’t think that will
be a problem.”

It was four A.M. when Catwalk turned the
lights off and pulled in the drive to his Momma’s house. They slept
in the car for two hours until his brother woke them.

“
Hi Cecil. Is Momma up
yet?”

“
She’s out back, canning
tomatoes.”

Catwalk took Rosemary’s hand and walked to
the back of the house. When his Momma saw her she covered her mouth
with both hands, “Oh, my God in heaven. She’s alive.”

“
Momma, this is Sam’s twin
sister, Rosemary.”

“
I declare, if I didn’t
know better….”

Rosemary smiled. “We were identical twins.
How do you do, Mrs. Jackson.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Luke, you said you
were going to see your friends in your old squadron.”

“
We met while I was
stationed there.” Catwalk didn’t know what else to say. He couldn’t
admit that she was going back to New Mexico because his Momma
wouldn’t tolerate him living in sin, and if she found out Rosemary
was still married, she might disown him.

He tried, “I wanted to bring her over here
to meet you.”

Dee said, “Well, I’m glad you did. How long
are you staying?”

“
Just today. We’ve got to
leave tomorrow morning.”

“
Oh, well, have you had
breakfast?”

“
No, we’re both
starved.”

While they ate, Catwalk thought about his
dilemma of keeping their plans from his Momma. They were talking
over coffee when his nosy little brother brought his quandary out
in the open. “Hey, Luke, what’s all that stuff in your car?”

Without looking at his Momma, Catwalk said,
“Just some boxes and stuff from work.”

“
You sure got a lot of
suitcases.”

“
I’ve got a lot of
clothes.”

He should have known better than to try and
fool his Momma. She crossed her arms and gave him a knowing look,
then said, “Luke, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

He said, “Rosemary is moving out to New
Mexico to live with me.”

“
When are you planning on
getting married?”

“
Just as soon as her
divorce is final.”

His Momma didn’t say anything, so Catwalk
said, “I know you don’t approve of me running off with a married
woman to live in sin, but she’s the only woman who will make me
happy. We’re going through with this and if you don’t approve, I’m
sorry.”

With tears in her eyes, Dee said, “Luke,
you’ve made me very proud. I love you both and hope you’re both
very happy. And, I want some grandchildren.”

He looked at Rosemary who also had tears in
her eyes. At that moment all the injustice, prejudice and
unfairness had been forgotten. He was a happy man.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Catwalk and Rosemary arrived in Albuquerque
mid-afternoon three days later. He called Curly as soon as he’d
unpacked the car and his partner, hearing that Rosemary had come
west to live, insisted that they have dinner at his house. Billy
Sue and David were visiting and this would give the women a chance
to get to know each other.

Looking forward to a home
cooked meal Catwalk accepted. When they arrived Curly congratulated
them with all the gusto of a man who was truly happy for his long
time friend. Although Curly had heard a lot about Rosemary, his
first impression was shock. “My gosh, I can’t believe the
resemblance. This is like that
déjà
vu
stuff.”

Rosemary blushed and followed Billy Sue into
the more familiar confines of the kitchen where they became instant
friends.

Curly took Cat outside to show him his new
cooking contraption. “It’s called a barbecue grill, but you can
cook just about anything on it just as long as you have some wood
or charcoal. All I’ve cooked on it so far are hamburgers, but I’m
getting to be pretty good so I shouldn’t spoil your meal.”

As Curly grilled he brought his partner up
to date on the airline. “There haven’t been any more inspections,
so I think that’s behind us. I made plans for some new freight
forwarding facilities at Denver and Phoenix, and I told the people
at Douglas that we’d be ordering two more DC-3s very soon.”

Catwalk said, “Good. We can use the threes,
but I think it’s time for us to start looking for a DC-4.”

Curly realized there was only one reason why
Catwalk would want to purchase the big four engine Douglas plane.
He said, “Do you think it’s time to apply to the CAA for a
passenger route?”

“
I think the time is
right, if we can get a route approved.”

“
Where’d you have in
mind?”

“
Albuquerque to
Denver.”

“
Damn, wouldn’t that bring
back memories.” Curly lit a cigarette, then read his partner’s
mind, “Cat, you aim to put Rocky Mountain out of business, don’t
you?”

“
Passengers know when an
airline is having reliability problems. We can open that route at
six cents a seat mile for the first few months. By then the
passengers will know we provide more reliable service than Rocky
Mountain. Picking up their passengers will be the easiest thing
we’ve ever done.”

“
Well, it’ll take at least
four months for the route to be approved. That’ll give us enough
time to find someone to run the cargo operation.”