It was too hard for him to get to her. And they both felt like mischievous children as they whispered in his bed every night.
“I'll be back in a few days. I'll call you. Don't pick up any soldiers while I'm gone, please.”"
"“Then don't stay gone too long,” she warned, and he wagged a finger at her. She still couldn't believe how lucky she was, how lucky they both were. He had been wonderful to her. Even her mother had finally relented. Despite the fact that he loved flying, he was a good man, and a responsible person, and it was obvious to everyone how much he loved her.
Her parents were expecting them to get engaged any day.
She hadn't heard from Andy again since she'd told him Joe was back. She knew he was in New York by then, working for his father. And all she could hope was that he was feeling better, and he'd forgive her someday. She missed his presence in her life. It felt like losing her best friend. But she still wasn't convinced that his warm friendship would have been enough to make her love him as a husband.
Things had obviously worked out the way they should.
She waved as Joe hobbled off toward the train. He was getting around surprisingly well, and was very independent. She drove off to work, thinking about him, and for the rest of the day, her mind was occupied with the men she was helping there.
She had hoped he would call her that night, but he didn't. He called her instead early the next morning.
“How's it going?” she asked him.
“Very interesting,” he said cryptically, “I'll tell you about it when I get back.
” He was rushing off to a meeting, and she had to go to work. “I'll call you tonight. I promise.” And this time, he called her. He'd been in meetings all day with the men that Charles Lindbergh had introduced him to. And much to Kate's delight, Joe made it back to Boston by the weekend. And she was more than a little bowled over by what he had to say.
The men Charles had introduced him to wanted to start a company with him, to design and build the most advanced airplanes.
They had been buying land since the beginning of the war, had remodeled an old factory, and they even had their own airstrip. They were setting up the entire operation in New Jersey, and they not only wanted Joe to run it, but to design and test the planes. He was going to wear a lot of hats at first, but eventually when things settled down, he would run the whole operation. They wanted to put up the money. He would be the brains.
