“Laura told me that you’re flying to Phoenix on Sunday,” he said.
“That’s right,” Jake said. “I’m going to go check out a plane.”
“Check out a plane?” Obie asked.
“I’m looking to upgrade my Chancellor,” Jake said. “Laura wants a plane that has a bathroom in it. She really doesn’t like having to hold her pee on the longer flights; and she likes having to use the urinal even less.”
“You’re going to get a whole new plane just because of that?” Obie asked.
Jake smiled. “When your wife suggests that maybe you should upgrade your plane, you upgrade your plane. You don’t ask questions.”
“I suppose that’s a fair point,” Obie had to admit. “Why do you have to go to Phoenix though? Ain’t there enough airplanes to look at in LA?”
“Not the airplane I’m interested in,” Jake said. “Or at least not the one I have a connection to.”
“What kind of plane is it?” Greg asked.
“It’s an Avanti 180,” Jake said.
“Never heard of it,” Obie said.
“Neither had I until I started talking to the pilots that fly the charter plane for G and the band. I told them I was looking to upgrade my plane to something with a bathroom in it and the copilot told me that basically the only plane that has a bathroom and can be flown by only one pilot is the Avanti. It’s built by an Italian company.”
“Italian, huh?” Obie said. “I hope they build their planes better than those fucking Fiats.”
“Yeah,” Jake agreed. “That is a good point and something to consider. Anyway, Jeff, he’s the copilot, knows a guy that flies an Avanti out of a muni field in Phoenix. He’s the pilot for the CEO of that new pet store chain, PetShop.”
“Oh yeah,” Obie said. “They’re the motherfuckers that are putting all the independent pet shops out of business.”
“They are,” Jake said with a shrug. “In any case, this pilot—his name is Austin—is an Intemperance fan as it turns out. Jeff gave him a call and told him I was interested in checking out the plane. It just so happens that Austin is flying the plane empty to Denver on Monday for a major maintenance check. He invited me to come along with him for the ride.”
“Phoenix to Denver on a little plane?” asked Obie. “How long will that take?”
“Not as long as you think,” Jake said. “The Avanti is a twin-engine turboprop, like my Chancellor, but its speed and range is comparable to a Citation or a Lear jet. Jeff tells me it cruises at over three hundred knots and can fly as high as forty-one thousand feet. And it has a bathroom.”
Obie nodded approvingly. “Not bad,” he said. “What would something like that cost?”
“I’m not sure,” Jake said. “I would guess I could get a used one for around half a million or so, depending on the avionics it has.”
“That’s almost reasonable, I suppose,” Obie said.
“This all sounds rather intriguing,” Greg said. “Listen, Jake ... uh ... I wonder if I could possibly impose upon you.”
“For what?” Jake asked. “Your wine glass is still full.”
“No, not that,” Greg said. “Would you consider taking me along with you on your adventure to Phoenix and Denver?”
This request caught Jake completely out of left field. Greg wanted to go to Phoenix with him? And then fly with him to Denver on a small aircraft? What the hell was this about? “You ... want to go with me?” he asked.
“If it’s not too much of an imposition,” Greg said. “I mean ... I understand I was not invited on the maintenance flight, but if there is any way I could go along, I would like to.”
“Why?” Jake asked. He was not opposed to the idea of Greg accompanying him on the trip, but the request itself was very out of character.
Greg gave a shrug. “I feel like I need to get out of LA for a few days,” he said. “And this trip of yours sounds like fun.”
“You understand that I’ll be flying my Chancellor to Phoenix, not a commercial flight?” Jake asked him.
“Yes,” Greg said. “Laura told me that. Is that a problem?”
Jake raised his brows a bit. “You’ve always told me that you wouldn’t fly in an aircraft as cramped as mine with an amateur at the controls.”
“That was in the past,” Greg said, “before I worked on Others. I’ve gotten used to small aircraft and have even learned to enjoy them. And besides, I flew with you from Catalina back to Santa Monica after we did that promo flight with Helen, remember?”
“You did,” Jake agreed. “And you didn’t even scream once, if I recall correctly.”
“You see?” Greg said. “So ... what do you say?”
Jake simply shrugged. “I’ll give Austin a call tomorrow and see if he’s okay with it. If he is, you’re welcome to come along.”
“Thank you,” Greg said, obviously pleased.
“Have you talked to Celia about this?” Obie asked the actor.
“Not yet,” he said dismissively. “I’m sure she’ll have no problem with it though.”
Jake’s smoked turkey turned out quite well and the guests demolished it (as well as a good percentage of Mary’s oven-cooked turkey). After dinner was cleaned up (Jake instituted Rule 1 for his guests) they had homemade pumpkin pie and cherry cream cheese pie with snifters of aged Courvoisier. After this, they played some music, Jake, Obie and Celia strumming guitars and singing some of the classics (Obie’s rendition of Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain brought tears to a few eyes). Jake’s father joined in, playing and singing some of the classics from his heyday as well (everyone was particularly impressed when he sang Hanky Panky). Jake had purchased a used Steinway piano from a shop in Santa Maria not long before, and both Cindy and Nerdly took turns playing on it as well. They ended the impromptu concert with a rendition of Hey Jude, with Cindy on the piano, Jake and Celia trading off the verses, and everyone joining in for the lengthy string of “na na na, na na na na’s” at the end.
After the singing, Greg mentioned to his wife that he wanted to go along with Jake on his aircraft inspection trip. She was not upset or objectional to the plan, but she was confused by it.
“That sounds like a good time to you?” she asked, her wifely gaze upon him.
“It does,” he assured her.
She shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat, I guess,” she said.
Everyone was in bed by eleven o’clock. The next morning, Jake and Mary prepared a large breakfast for everyone. After consumption and clean up, Jake dialed the number for Austin Grover, the Avanti pilot in Phoenix. Austin had no problem with Jake bringing a passenger along for the ride, especially when he was told that the passenger in question was Greg Oldfellow.
“I can’t wait to meet him,” Austin said. “I loved what he did in So Others May Live. That was one of the most realistic flying movies ever made.”
“Be sure to tell him that when you meet him,” Jake said. “Only, don’t say ‘movie’. It’s a ‘film’ or a ‘project’.”
“If you say so,” Austin said. “I’ll see you at Deer Valley at nine o’clock Monday. Be ready to turn and burn.”
“I’m always ready for that,” Jake assured him.
“Great!” Greg said enthusiastically when told the news. “Where are we staying?”
“I booked a suite at the Hyatt downtown,” Jake said. “It’s big enough for both of us, but I assume you’ll want your own room?”
“Of course,” Greg said. “I’ll have my people book me a suite as well.”
“I have the number right here on my desk,” Jake said. “You could call them right now.”
Greg wrinkled his brow. It was obvious that the idea of booking his own room was about as foreign to him as changing the oil in his car or repairing his own toilet. “I’ll have my people handle it,” he said.