Duxford Airfield (the band) Pt. 03

I sat for several more minutes just looking out the large fronted windows, oblivious to everyone else around me.

...Now within my peripheral vision, I noticed another young lady coming up the coffee shop stairwell as she carried a wooden sign which was approximately two feet tall and painted white, a blue triangle with a circle in its center was painted upon the sign's face along with the words "Serenity Group - downstairs." The sign looked similar in build to one of the yellow plastic warning signs that custodians set out to warn patrons of wet floors in a Mcdonald's restaurant. Reaching the stairwell's top, the girl set up the sign by the head of the stairs, she then turned and proceeded to descend the stairwell once more.

I recognized the significance of this sign from having seen ones similar to it years before when accompanying my mother on a few occasions. Glancing at my phone and noting the time, I slowly rose from the table now and ventured down the flight of stairs, with coffee, doughnut, and my bright orange bag firmly in hand. I was somewhat uncertain of what I would encounter with this venture but my gut seemed to be prodding me along in this direction in a gentle sort of way so I decided to just go with my instinct.

"Hi, I'm Teresa!," the girl said enthusiastically once I reached the bottom of the stairs and entered a large brightly lit room filled with chairs that were all facing forward.

"Hi, I'm Tim" I responded with a smile.

"Looks like you went shopping today," Teresa said as she began stacking some books and papers which were on the table at the front of the room.

"I was just about out of clothes" I replied smiling as I held up the orange bag.

"Well that's a very nice suit, it looks good on you too. You didn't buy that at the second-hand store did you?" Teresa asked doubtfully.

"No, I wore this when we flew down here, my wife and I are from Arizona" I answered as I finished my doughnut and threw the paper napkin into a plastic trash barrel close by me.

"Oh, I see, Tim. No wonder I've never seen you before, are you new to Al-Anon?" she asked, still standing behind the table.

"Not exactly, but I've been to a few Al-Anon meetings before with my mother" I answered.

"Oh good, well we always enjoy having out-of-town folks visit us," Teresa said.

"It's good to be here, Teresa!" I said.

"Are you and your wife here on business or pleasure?" Teresa asked casually.

"Unfortunately we had to attend a funeral here," I said.

"...Were you friends of Danny's by any chance?" Teresa asked, looking at me quizzically.

"My wife knew him quite well but I'd never met the man. From what I gather he was a really good guy" I answered.

"He was a good guy," Teresa said, closing her eyes and nodding her head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to reopen any wounds," I said noticing the expression on Teresa's face.

"... It's alright, Tim, Danny lived a good long life and he's in a better place now. All of us will miss having him as a neighbor" Teresa replied hesitantly.

"Danny was an L.A. native, I take it?" I asked, trying to shift gears away from the topic of loss.

"No Danny was originally from Texas, our hometowns are only about seventy miles from one another but I've only known him, since being here in L.A." she replied.

"Oh, I see" I answered.

"You and your wife were standing with Helen, at the funeral weren't you?" Teresa suddenly asked.

"Yes, we were, Teresa" I nodded.

I took out my phone and showed Teresa a photo of Andrea.

"Very pretty, yes, I remember you and Helen standing with her now," Teresa said, looking at my phone.

Presently more voices could be heard as other people began descending the staircase. Teresa and I continued our conversation for another minute or so but the room was soon filled with boisterous voices accompanied by sporadic peels of laughter with heartfelt hugs all around. Teresa introduced me to several of these people now in attendance, most of whom were women, except for three gentlemen vastly ranging in age.

The Al-Anon meeting had lasted an hour and afterward, I soon left.

...I wasn't sure what I had gotten, in terms of any clarity, from the Al-Anon meeting but I had gotten something, and it was a positive something I now pondered as I walked along the sidewalk en route back to Helen's house. Although I hadn't understood much of the Al-Anon lingo that I'd been hearing for the last hour, I had believed in the sincerity of the people in attendance. The men and women in the meeting had welcomed me cordially and encouraged me to "Keep coming back!"

The Al-Anon program was designed to help people who had been affected by someone else's drinking or drug use and I certainly qualified on that account... The Old Man had been a horrible drunk.

...One lady within the meeting which I had just attended, had only recently lost her twenty-two-year-old son to drugs and alcohol. Her words and tears during the meeting had put my entire life's problems within their true perspective - I really didn't have any problems. There had also been genuine laughter and heartfelt comradery among the group's members as well, I had observed.

The Al-Anon meeting also brought home strong recollections of my mother to the forefront of my mind with phrases like "Keep an open mind" and also "Progress not perfection." Mom had been an Al-Anon member for years and I had heard her use these exact phrases as well as various others many times.

Mom had loved Al-Anon.

I didn't think Al-Anon was for me but I did believe it was a very good program for the people whom I had just met, I liked them. ...Apparently, Danny Wickersham had been an actual member of that very group for many years, Teresa had informed me.

I walked through the gate of Helen's yard and went to her front door, the ladies were already home.

"Look at the buttons on my shirt. No-no, follow my buttons with your eyes but keep your head still while I move around the room ...tilt your head down slightly. Now look over your reading glasses and hold the frames with your thumb and index finger - try to look like you'd been typing and I've just interrupted you, Helen. ...Look more serious - NO, now you look pissed off! Relax your face and keep your right hand on the keyboard - remember, the idea is to make it appear that you were working and I've just interrupted you, Helen." Andrea instructed as she slowly moved around in a half-circle with the camera pointed at Helen and clicking rapidly.

"OK, I get it, let's just get this over with please!" Helen snarled in jest.

"I should be charging you four hundred dollars an hour for this professional service, Helen" Andrea retorted.

"Put it on my tab, dearie" Helen replied sarcastically.

Helen, dressed in a dark blue dress with her hair in a tight bun, was sitting at her computer desk and obviously trying to appear older in the photo than she actually was. From what I could tell, she was also attempting to look stern with the addition of the reading glasses, or "Little ol' lady glasses" as I'd once heard them referred to. Undoubtedly the ladies were taking some snapshots of Helen in hopes of selecting one of the stills for the back cover of Danny Wickersham's autobiography I assumed. It was interesting and also a bit comical to watch the two ladies interacting with one another now.

Kitty and Horse Feathers were currently curled up on the sofa and appeared as if they'd witnessed this very same procedure with their mom on more than a few occasions.

Andrea continued coaching Helen.

"That's it, Helen, turn your head slightly left, ...give me some attitude now, not too much. Keep your eyes on my buttons, yes! Chin down slightly, perfect, oh yes, ...you look mahvelous dahling. Beautiful, chin down, good, let'em eat their hearts out now, Miss Kathryn Dalloway! A little less serious, ...give me a little sass now, perfect!" Andrea chanted as she continued to slowly move around Helen with the rapid clicking sound of the camera continuing.

"You're an inspiration to us all, Andrea Millhouse" I interjected sarcastically.

"Damn it, Tim, don't make her laugh!" Andrea shot back without looking at me or even losing stride.

I became quiet and just continued to observe the ladies as Andrea's coaching and the incessant clicking of the camera continued for several more minutes.

"That's about two hundred and twenty photos, we should be able to find a few in there that you like," Andrea said handing the camera back to Helen.

"OK, hon' thanks" Helen replied, setting the camera down on the computer desk and removing the rubber band from her hair and also the reading glasses.

"Tim, could you leave your suit and tie on for a little while longer, please? Helen and I want to buy you a late lunch and we still have one more stop to make" Andrea said, glancing at my bright orange bag from the second-hand store now.

"Sure, I'd love to" I replied.

Ten minutes later I led the ladies out the front door with me slightly ahead of them. As Helen stopped to lock the front door, I slipped on my sunglasses and glanced up at the sky, what a glorious afternoon, I thought. Suddenly, as if on cue, Andrea and Helen each took one of my arms as we began walking down the city sidewalk, three abreast. My God, I was dressed in my best and had a beautiful woman on each arm. Obviously, the ladies had planned this little display of affection earlier in the day.

Walking along the sidewalk now I noticed that people would stop whatever it was that they'd been doing and simply gape at the spectacle of all three of us walking along, arm in arm. Some people were even stepping toward the curb in admiration to let us pass and young men were looking at me in total envy. The ladies both looked completely stunning and my ego was soaring.

...Glancing at each lady I now asked myself, what would it be like to fly TWO Supermarine Spitfires, switching from one to the other and back again?

With this thought, I seemed to hear my mother's voice within my mind warning me "DON'T GO THERE, Andrea's more than you can handle as it is, son!"

Yes, Andrea alone was more than I could handle. I relaxed a bit and stopped taking myself so seriously. I was in love with my wife and the ladies had simply wanted to have some fun with me and boost my ego a bit, I believed. This show of affection was probably as much for Helen's benefit as it was mine and it also showed the degree of friendship between Andrea and Helen as much as Andrea's trust in me.

"Where are we going, ladies?" I asked.

"There's a nice restaurant a few blocks away but we have to make one more stop first - a clip joint" Helen replied.

...Just like a woman, I thought. Right in the middle of the whole damn show, they have to go to the beauty parlor first, no wonder Andrea and Helen were buttering me up. We'd probably only be at the beauty parlor for two hours...

"Sure, where's that?" I asked, forcing a smile.

"We're already here," Andrea said, leading Helen and me toward a set of glass entryway doors.

I had passed along this way earlier today in my search for coffee but hadn't paid much attention to this particular place. Strange name for a beauty parlor, I thought, noticing the sign outside for the first time which read YESTERDAY'S NEWS. The ladies and I went in.

This place was no beauty parlor, I quickly realized.

"Kelly, Diane, it's so good to see both of you ladies! This is my best friend, Andrea, and her husband, Tim, they're visiting from Arizona" Helen said as she hugged both ladies.

Kelly and Diane were probably both around seventy years of age, I assumed, and they seemed genuinely happy to see all of us. The atmosphere within the little shop possessed an aura of tranquility similar to the living room of a favorite elder or grandparent. I was almost a little surprised when we weren't immediately offered a comfy sofa to sit in along with chocolate cake and coffee.

With great fanfare by Andrea and Helen, I was introduced to Kelly and Diane, the two elder ladies quickly making a fuss over me and my "hansome attire" which was quite flattering, to be honest. All four of the ladies continued to make cordial small talk for several minutes before the business at hand took place with Helen laying out around four thousand dollars in cash on one of the desks.

The mood within the room suddenly became serious and I began watching the front doors very carefully. There was a big pile of money being counted out and I was on full alert as I watched the front doors and windows. I wish I would have known Helen was carrying all that damn money...

"Better put this in the safe, Kelly" Diane said with a nod to her friend, handing her the bills. All of us were now seated.

There was now a very obvious silence within the room and I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched Kelly drop the envelope of money down the safe's slot.

Looking all around me now, I suddenly noticed faded Newspaper clippings of famous people, as well as world-changing events hanging on the office's walls in seemingly every nook and cranny of space. Some of these headlines I remembered seeing, years ago. Taking further note of the office, I saw rows of dusty grey filing cabinets lining the south and west walls, these grey cabinets were scratched and dinged from decades of apparent daily use.

The filing cabinets were also topped neatly with old yellowing and faded Newsprint of various types. It now dawned on me that this was a place where research of historical Newspaper articles was conducted in search of specific information at a client's request - "A clip joint" as Helen had called it. I also noted that there were well-kept antiquated Micro-Fisch monitors standing right next to modern computers on the two desks along with some photographs of young kids, most likely grandchildren, I guessed.

"You're doing Danny?" Diane now asked bluntly with a serious expression aimed at Helen.

"Yes, if you need more money just let me know" Helen nodded quietly.

Diane dismissed Helen's reply with a wave of her hand and answered "What you gave us should be more than enough, since it's you, Helen. All of us loved Danny."

Helen let go of a few tears at this reply but remained calm. Andrea rubbed Helen's back reassuringly.

"I'm glad it's you that's going to write Danny's story and not some bimbo hack," Diane said in earnest.

"Have you talked with Herb yet?" Kelly asked Helen.

"We spoke on Thursday and he put me in touch with Danny's own attorney in Texas, I've never met him. Andrea and Tim are going with me, we're getting on the plane in a few hours." Helen replied, wiping her eyes.

"Good, honey, this isn't a good time for you to be alone," Diane said soothingly.

"I know" Helen replied quietly.

"I don't know how much we can help you, Helen, Danny was so secretive about his past but we'll do some digging and we'll give you everything we do find, the whole enchilada, dirt, and all. I'm sure Danny had some secrets in his past, somewhere, but who doesn't?" Kelly said, shrugging.

"When Danny approached me with this project, six months ago, I told him that I was going to be straightforward with this book and that I wasn't going to hide the truth. I'm also not going to be biased, I loved Danny but he understood the obligation I have to my readers as well as the publisher. Danny was a professional and he fully accepted this about me" Helen said firmly.

"So do we and you're a professional as well, Helen" Diane replied with a nod.

...

We spent about forty-five minutes with Kelly and Diane before Andrea, Helen, and I said goodbye and proceeded out the door. Helen was noticeably drained now, Andrea and I each put an arm around the girl. With Helen between Andrea and myself now, we started down the street again en route to the restaurant. It was already after three o'clock.

"Damn it!" Helen said as she flicked a single tear away and shut her eyes.

"You OK, baby?" Andrea asked Helen.

"I will be" Helen sighed, pulling Andrea and me closer.

"Don't fight it, Helen, just go with it. Let it out, girl" Andrea said gently.

All of us walked for a few minutes in silence, completely oblivious to the traffic noise and people all around us.

"Danny Wickersham!!!" Helen suddenly blurted out angrily as if the man were now walking down the street among us.

Andrea and I remained silent at Helen's abrupt show of emotion.

"We were supposed to work on this fucking project together, this was supposed to be Danny's own personal account of life in the band but now it's all on MY back and I have to do everything myself, alone. Showing any sign of personal responsibility to the commitment of writing his own goddamn book was apparently beyond Danny, like, - Who gives a shit? let Helen do it, she can write the whole fucking book by herself now!" Helen griped bitterly with her one-sided litany.

"I know, Helen" Andrea nodded.

"...Why'd he have to fuckin' die? " Helen's voice cracked with the realization of what she'd just said a second earlier.

We suddenly stopped walking as the ladies turned and held each other.

"Helen, it's gonna hurt for a while, babe, and it's going to be a rollercoaster of emotion for all of us but we still have each other. Tim and I are going to help you write the book and so are Kelly and Diane." Andrea soothed.

"It probably would have proven to be too much WORK for asshole Danny to have even sat down with me for two hours a day, anyway" Helen spat through the tears that were now flowing freely.

"He loved you, Helen," Andrea said quietly.

"Why did he die then?" Helen demanded, crying."

Andrea said nothing, she just pulled Helen closer to her. Andrea's eyes were moist now too. I rubbed Helen's back but remained silent. After a few minutes, Helen slowly broke away from Andrea and turned back toward the clip-joint.

"I don't want to go to the restaurant now, you two can go but I'm going home," Helen said tiredly.

"We'll go home too then, Helen, we can all eat something there. Maybe you'd like to take a nice bubble bath or catch some sleep since we're heading out on the redeye tonight" I said gently.

"OK," Helen sighed as she put her arms around Andrea and me again as we started in the direction of home.

"You're not alone, Helen, you have us" Andrea reaffirmed now.

"And for better or worse, you're stuck with me now, Andrea Millhouse" Helen replied, using my own moniker for Andrea with a sudden flash of humor.

"My name isn't Andrea Millhouse, dearie" Andrea retorted.

"Damn it, Andrea! you made Helen laugh." I said, pulling Helen closer to me reassuringly.

Helen's tears began again now but the tears were out of love for her life-long friend Andrea Millhouse. Helen was laughing and crying all at the same time now as she held on to us, but she was smiling.

The three of us continued walking in silence for a few minutes. Helen then abruptly stopped and turned toward my wife.

"Do you still have the key?" Helen asked Andrea.

"In my pocket, girlfriend" Andrea said reassuringly.

" -No, I mean the key Wendy gave us? Danny's big key" Helen said seriously.

"It's in my purse, on the kitchen table, why?" Andrea asked.

"Put it in your check-in luggage tonight, Andrea, I don't think we could get through T.S.A. security with that key, and bring the poker chips too," Helen said as we began walking again.

"What are you thinking, Helen?" Andrea asked.

"(Sigh) I'm not sure yet but we're dealing with the heart and mind of Danny Wickersham, Andrea, so we'd better start thinking like Danny Wickersham from now on if we're ever going to get anything accomplished with this project," Helen said bluntly.

"Elaborate, please," Andrea said a little hesitantly.

"Andrea, Danny made no bones about how he felt about you and me - he was in love with us both, literally, to his dying day. Something in my gut tells me that we're about to embark on some kind of a sentimental wild goose chase back into our distant past, once we board that plane tonight. Danny's key and those poker chips may have something to do with all of this." Helen said deep in thought now, her tears suddenly forgotten.