The girl's friendly smile was genuine, and so was her handshake. "I'm Gail Eaton. I see you're sewing the torn wings. Good thing, or I might crash one of these."
"You know how to fly a plane?" Barbara was impressed.
"Well, let's just say I'm trying to learn how. I've flown a few hours, but not enough to solo yet. Do you fly?"
"I'm working here, part-time, to get lessons."
Barbara already liked Gail, sensing instinctively that she was okay; that she was not conceited or anyone she had to play games with. She hoped she could be herself with her.
"What's it like, to fly a plane?"
Gale became excited. "Oh, I love it! You will, too. It's hard to explain, but you feel so free up in the sky. My father flew a plane, back in the war. Now he flies his own plane, just for the fun of it. The first time he took me up in one, when I was just a little girl, I knew where I wanted most to be. Up in the sky, flying my own plane."
They bonded almost instantly and became friends even at school, though Barbara thought it best not to let it be known in the sorority house that they were friends. She would not intrude on Gail's life there, for fear of embarrassing her or jeopardizing her in her upper-class peer group.
But Gail would have none of that. The very next morning when Barbara brought a pitcher of milk to the table Gail shared with three of her closest sorority sisters, one of them did not look when she turned from talking to a girl next to her at the table and nudged Barbara's hand. The pitcher tilted and some milk spilled onto the floor, though none of it got on the table or any of the girls.
"Hey, watch what you're doing!" the girl snapped at Barbara, recoiling as if some milk had spilled on her. Then she addressed the others at the table. "Did you see that? She nearly spilled the whole pitcher of milk on me! You'd think they could hire someone less clumsy to wait on us!"
"You didn't get any milk on you," Gail told the girl. "And besides, she spilled the milk because you bumped her arm."
The other girls at the table were aghast at Gail for defending their waitress.
With a look and a nod, Barbara tried to show Gail that she should not take her part, but Gail smiled at her kindly.