Penny Lambert and the Black Obelisk

Chapter Two

Beginning an Adventure

Henry had come to see her off at the train station just as he had promised, though he had appeared uncharacteristically preoccupied with something Penny thought. That, and he had tried, though not with very great effort, to convince Penny to forget her plans and remain home. To wait for him to finish his military service and marry him. Even so, they had parted on a high note, with Henry abruptly stealing a kiss from Penny just before she boarded her waiting carriage. It was with a great deal of embarrassment that she watched her young man vanish slowly as the train moved away. Embarrassment, and more than a little delight. It was only their third kiss, and it had been so much more energetic than the previous two. Stolen as they had been in Penny’s garden while Carla wasn’t quite looking. Her father had laughed, her mother tsk tsking public disapproval though with bright eyes herself. For both her parents were delighted with the paring.

An short hour had now passed since her departure, for it was a good days travel and more to her destination in Ohio. There she would be met by a Miss Thompson then taken to the flying school where she would be given a room to share with another young woman. Who this would be Penny herself did not as yet know. Perhaps it would be a New Yorker, she so hoped so. She had visited New York once several years ago with her family, there had been so many bright lights, so many people. Why it had been an adventure simply traveling from the train station to their waiting hotel. Let it be a New Yorker she whispered as she glanced again at the two women sitting across from her.

Both were much older than Penny, most likely in their forties. Prim and proper both were silently reading books as they traveled. Neither had spoken much other than a simple greeting to Penny as one passenger would another upon entering her carriage room, both seemingly to be very old hands at such travel. Their books made Penny wish that she had brought something other than her bible to read. An interesting book, but one that she had over-read many years ago. Yet it would not be proper for her to travel without one her mother had warned as someone might then take her for a Jewess. Not that it much bothered Penny, she was very comfortable with her relationship with God. She obeyed his laws and he looked after her soul, for her all was just as it should be.

So she found herself looking out the trains huge window, watching as towns, farms and other things passed by before her. This was her first trip away from home alone, and as she watched a long ribbon of river pass under the train Penny realized just how large her native country was. Why, it would take nineteen hours even by aircraft to travel from New York to San Angeles she had read. By train the trip was still measured in days. Why, soon travel by train would simply be a fond memory she decided.

When her train finally reached her destination of Jackson, in the Southern portion of Ohio, the two women left before Penny could more than gather her own things, barely saying goodbye as they left together. How odd she thought, that the two should take the same trip from Montgomery that she had. It would surprise her years later to discover that the two had been paid by her father to accompany Penny on her trip. Without appearing to be doing so. Fathers would worry about their daughters after all.

Reinhardt Aviation School was based at the Southern end of Jackson Ohio’s little airport. Though it was not by far the best aviation school that Penny had applied to, it was the closest one that had accepted her. Obviously not very many considered women worth teaching formally. Not in Aviation and certainly not as a mechanic. There were other places that had agreed, but the closest was in Texas and Penny had heard nothing good about that wild state in her school classes. She was soon to discover that it was not a large school, consisting of two buildings. One for classes, the other for male students to sleep in and work. There was a single hanger containing four vintage Great War Jenny’s and a single Spad S.XIII. She went directly to the administrative office, to be met by a greying man who looked like he had been run over by a grease truck.

“Howard. Howard Laslock” the man said in greeting, not bothering to shake her outstretched hand. “Mechanic. Too greasy” he explained, holding up both hands. “You want Egbert, he’s inside. Welcome tah school young lady. Good luck to yah.”

That his eyes were on her as she followed his instructions would not have surprised Penny. After all, she was well aware that she was attractive. Even her brother had admitted that, with the warning not to let men take advantage of her for it. Or for her to try and use her looks to her advantage, too often.

Egbert Reinhardt was a completely different animal. Standing nearly six feet he wore a mustache that would have been at home during the Great War. He also was missing his left arm. “Penny Lambert yes?” he asked with a slight English accent. “Your our third female student to arrive. Linda Roman and Sandra Carter are already settled in with my wife. They arrived yesterday afternoon so please. Please sit down.”

Placing her suitcase against a wall Penny followed instructions, settling down in a hard maple chair that forced her to sit upright. Reaching into her purse she withdrew the application papers Reinhardt had mailed her two months before. “My application papers, signed by my father” she announced as she placed them on his desk. “A copy of my birth certificate, and a bank draft for the full classes.”

“Full classes? Ah, then you’ll be staying tha full year for the advanced mechanics course.” Taking her papers in hand the man who would become her father, instructor and in times private hell carefully opened each one with his single hand. “Your mother” he asked gently, noting that there was no signature in that place.

“My mother does not agree with my choice sir. She wishes for me to remain home, wait for my fiancee to complete his Naval training then marry and quickly present her with grandchildren. We have agreed to disagree on this one point. She accepts it, but other than allowing me this choice will not support me. My brother of course is in the Navy learning aviation from a pilots viewpoint. “

“I see. Well then you will be staying at my house. My wife will be in care of you and the other three young ladies as your Chaperone. Anything you need that is female specific, please see my wife. At the moment I am afraid that I have no separate building for young ladies, still four are all I have room for in my home so looks like I better start building, if you four are any indication of the future. You will be sharing a room, I think with Karen Mitchell who has yet to arrive. She is from Indiana.”

“Oh” Penny answered with a little disappointment in her voice. “I had so hoped that my roommate would be from New York” she admitted.

“Oh? And why is that” Mr. Reinhardt asked.

Penny blushed slightly. “Nothing important sir. It is just, my family visited New York when I was much younger. I had so hoped that I would be able to learn more about that city. You see sir, Hohenwald may be the county seat sir, but it is not that large of a town and I was much enthralled by the people and traffic of New York.”

“Then you must speak with my wife sometime” the older man decided. “She lived in New York during the great war, in fact that is how we met. I was doing a good will tour for England and she was one of the hostess’s at a gala.” He chuckled. “I fear that we fell in love over a single nights company, by the time that the last dance was called, I had asked he to marry me and she had said yes, even with a missing arm.”

“Then she must love you a great deal sir” Penny decided. “I guess then that I had best make my way to our home sir, to find your wife that I may assume whatever duties she may have for me. Until we meet again sir.” Penny curtsied, picked up her suitcase and left the office.