SECRETS OF THE PAST
Chapter Six
"Welcome to Chase Manhattan
Bank. How may I help you?" The beautiful blonde behind the counter smiled
at Frank.
"I would like to cash this
check, please." Frank took the check out of his suit pocket.
"Do you have your ID, Mr.
Williams?" The bank teller looked at the check, then back at him.
"Yeah." He handed the
teller his ID.
"All right. How would you
like this?" The teller stamped the check and opened her cash drawer.
"Hundreds, please."
Frank smiled at her.
"Okay." She smiled back
at him. The lady started counting. "Five hundred, six hundred, seven
hundred, eight hundred, nine hundred, one thousand, one thousand fifty. Will
that be all, Mr. Williams?" She looked up at him.
"No, I would like to put
half of it into another account." Frank took out his account book.
"All right. What is the
account's name and number?" The lady checked her register.
"Account #094301245. Account
name under Jack Dawson." He gave the book to her.
"All right." She took
it.
He handed the lady five hundred
bucks.
The lady made the receipt for the
deposit.
"Can I get a balance of that
account?" He wondered how much it had now.
"Sure." She wrote
$223,500.65.
"Thank you, miss." He
took the paper and put it in his pocket.
He checked the balance and was surprised
that his scheme was working again.
Frank walked down the street,
carrying his briefcase again. It was like old times. He remembered that he had
spent time in a federal prison for four years, and after he got out he still
played his scam. He had no money, and that was his only way to survive. It
wasn't really a game. It was more to survive than to make money.
Frank was happy, and he loved
knowing that he could pull a lot of money from anyone at any time. But it
wasn't his style. He was surprised that no one had noticed at all.
*****
Angelina saw Jack pass by her
room.
"Jack?" she called.
"Yeah, Mom?" Jack went
to see what she wanted.
"Have you seen your
father?" she asked him.
"Yeah, Mom. He went out.
Hey, Mom?" Jack went inside the room.
"Yeah, Jack?" She
looked up at him, putting her book down.
"Rose and I are gonna go
out. I might not come back home, so I just wanted to let you know." He
figured he should ask, just in case he and Rose decided to stay out.
"All right. Take care,
Jack." She trusted him. He had been responsible.
"Okay, Mom," he
replied.
Jack walked out of the house and
got the bag he had left on the couch. It had been one week since he had
graduated. Jack worked full time at the stationery store, and he liked his
father's business. With the money that he made, he spent time with Rose and
they went places. His father had given him money, even though he didn't need
it. He made more money at his father's business than anywhere else.
*****
Rose told her mother she was
going out.
"Mom, I am leaving."
Rose was dressed nicely for her last night with Jack.
"All right, Rose. Have a
good time." Ruth was lying in bed with her new fiancé.
Rose intended to have a good
time. This was her last night with Jack. Rose had enrolled at Harvard, and she
was leaving tomorrow.
*****
"Hey, Harvard Girl."
Jack flicked on his sunglasses.
"Hey, Jack." She put
her suitcase in the back of the car. "So, when are you gonna go to
college?" Rose asked Jack.
"I am. I've just been
getting my affairs in order. You know college costs a lot." He looked at
her with a need to be closer to her.
"That's why I made good
grades in high school, Jack. To get scholarships. I am not rich like you
are." She mocked him.
"Rose, I am not rich. In
fact, my dad has a college fund for me, but I don't want to use it. I want to
make it on my own." He truly did.
"You always loved to prove
your point, and you are a hard worker." She looked at him, with one of her
eyebrows hinting that he was a smart ass.
"Yes, Rose. I work hard, but
for you. I want us to own a home and be married." He looked at her legs.
Rose was not surprised that he
wanted to marry her. They had been together forever.
"Rose, when you leave
tomorrow, I don't know what I am gonna do." He had a certain look in his eyes
that he almost frowned.
"You will be all right,
Jack," Rose assured him.
"I hope so." Jack would
miss her very much.
*****
When Rose had left, Jack got
bored. He didn't have anything to do. He went through his father's closet and
saw a uniform.
The Pan Am logo glistened in the
light, calling to him.
He tried on the suit. He looked
at himself in the mirror.
I look just like a pilot. He wondered what people would do if he
went out and paraded in the uniform.
His father wasn't home, so he
took his car and headed off.
He stopped by a local café,
wearing his pilot uniform and sunglasses.
When he walked in, everyone
admired him.
"How may I help you,
sir?" The waitress looked at him like she would do anything to please him.
"Um…I would like the
special." He took off his glasses.
"Anything else?" She
winked at him.
"No, that will be all."
He smiled back.
He started to take out his
wallet.
"No charge for airline
pilots." She smiled and tapped him on the hand.
"Really?" Jack asked.
"Yeah." She caressed
his fingers. "You really fly for Pan Am?" She moved closer to him.
"Sure do." He smiled
back.
Jack figured that his father
wouldn't miss the suit. So, he kept it for a while, playing the Pan Am pilot.
He got a lot of respect, and he got free lunches.
*****
He got more into being a pilot
from then on. He flew to Cambridge, Massachusetts to visit Rose. The cashier
asked if he would like the jump seat.
"The jump seat?" He was
unaware of what that was.
"Yeah. You're pulling my
leg. The jump seat you ride for free." The airline cashier gave him a pink
slip. He filled it out. He copied the numbers from the fake ID he had copied
from his father's.
"All right. You're free to
go." She passed him the duplicate slip.
Jack got aboard the plane and was
gonna sit in a seat when the pilot came in.
"Hey, you." Luke Shea
passed him by, and noticed he was a young pilot.
"Yes?" Jack looked up.
"Jump seat. Come on."
Luke Shea greeted a few people before they got to the cockpit.
He followed the man to the cockpit
and sat on the small seat behind them.
"Luke Shea, pilot, and this
is Michael Anderson, first officer," he said, pointing to the rest of the
crew.
"Hey, guys." He shook
their hands.
"Ah…I see you are a first
officer as well," Michael said.
"Yeah." Jack had no
idea what he was talking about.
*****
When he reached Harvard, Rose was
overjoyed.
"Jack, what are you doing
here, and why are you wearing that uniform?" she asked.
"I'm a pilot, Rose." He
hugged her so tightly that Rose almost couldn't breath.
"Really?" She liked
Jack in a uniform. He looked very handsome.
"Yeah," he lied to her.
This was the first time he had ever done that. They had always told each other
the truth.
She hugged him tightly, as well.
"Hey, Rose. Gonna introduce
this handsome stud?" Susan, her roommate, popped in.
"Oh, Jack. This is
Susan." Rose looked at Susan eyeing her man.
"Nice to meet you,
Susan." Jack shook her hand.
"Does he have a brother,
Rose?" Susan hinted.
"Yeah, he does. He's going
to Princeton, though." Rose turned her attention back to Jack.
"Oh. Okay." Susan got a
book and headed out the door again.
Jack walked around with Rose.
Every girl was staring at Jack. He kissed her beneath a tree.
"Jack, how have you
been?" Rose sat in his lap.
"Not so good, but I found a
way I can meet you here. I am gonna stay for a while." He felt good to
have her in his arms.
"Do your parents know you’re
here?" Rose was curious.
"Not really. I never told
them I was going. Guess I should call them, huh?" Jack didn't even care to
phone his parents, but he guessed Rose was right.
"Yeah," Rose agreed.
"All right." They got
up and went to look for a phone.
He went to the pay phone and
punched in his phone number.
"Hello. Abagnale
residence," Frank answered.
"Dad?" Jack answered.
"Jack, where are you, and
where is my suit?" Frank was in serious danger if Jack used the suit.
"I am here with Rose. Don't
worry. Your suit is in perfect condition. All right, Dad? Bye." He hung up
quickly.
Luckily, Rose was sitting on a
bench away from the conversation, or she would have found out that he was lying
to her. He didn't even want to hear the mess he was already in. He didn't give
his father the chance to yell at him. He had to leave, and soon, before his dad
caught up with him.
"Rose, do you have class
tomorrow?" Jack wondered.
"No, Jack, why?" She
was glad she didn't.
"Because I was thinking
maybe we can get away from here." Jack wanted to leave, and fast.
"Sure." Rose went back
to her room and got a few things before they left.
He took her to a fancy hotel.
"Frank Williams, how may I
help you?" the hotel receptionist asked.
"I need a room for
two." Jack had his arm around Rose.
"All right. Pan Am is paying
the tab, right? Just fill out this form." She didn't even bother to ask
for his ID.
He filled out the form.
"All right. Room 54."
She handed him the key.
They got into the room and made
love all through the night. Rose loved Jack in a uniform.
*****
The next morning, Jack left Rose
and went back to the airport. He needed money, so he went to the bank. He had
found some checks his dad had in a drawer, and decided to use them.
He wrote one for one thousand
dollars.
"I would like to cash
this." Jack presented the check.
"All right, sir. ID?"
he asked.
He gave him the ID.
The man handed him the money, and
Jack left. After that, he started writing checks for everything.
Jack was living the good life as
a Pan Am pilot.
He called home again.
Frank answered.
"Jack?" Almost
instantly, he knew it was him.
"Dad?" Jack questioned
his father.
"Jack, we need to discuss
something. It's very important. Can you meet me at the Waldorf Astoria?"
Frank had gotten a room there while he was on business.
"Sure, Dad. I will be there
tomorrow." Jack hung up the phone and got the next plane to New York.
"All right." Frank
trusted him to meet him.
*****
Frank waited for Jack at the
Waldorf the next morning, waiting for him to come and meet him.
Jack knocked on the door.
"Hey, Dad." He walked
in, still in the suit.
"Frank, we need to discuss
this." He referred to the uniform Jack was wearing.
"I am sorry I took the suit,
Dad. I never knew you were a pilot." Jack handed him the pilot ID.
"I wasn't, Jack," Frank
confessed.
He was confused.
"When I was sixteen, I
played the pilot, just as you have. I didn't know how to fly planes. I was many
other people, too," Frank confessed to Jack. "I know you like the
uniform, but I have to have it back, Jack." His son made a face. "I
know, son, but if you don't, you will go to prison, just as I have." Frank
looked at him.
Frank and Jack discussed
everything he had done and all that he was still doing. Jack liked the idea,
but he knew that he couldn't do this. He wanted to lead a straight life, and if
he truly became a pilot, then he wouldn't have to pretend. Jack called Pan Am.
"Excuse me, I am a high
school student doing a thesis on airline pilots. Can I have some information,
please?" Jack didn't use his name at all.
"Sure. I am sure one of our
pilots would love to help you." The operator put him on hold.
"Hello," a man
answered.
"Hello. My name is Frank,
and I am doing research on airline pilots. Can you tell me where you go to
school at?" Jack wasn't sure if he should use his real name.
"Embry Riddle is the school
for pilots," the man answered.
"How long does it take for a
person to become a pilot?" Jack asked the man the next question he had on
his mind.
"About five years," the
man said.
"Wow. All right. Thanks for
the info, sir," Jack said professionally.
"Glad I could be of
help." The man hung up.
Jack called Embry Riddle and
enrolled.
*****
Frank woke up.
"Dad, I listened to what you
said, and you were right. I am gonna be an airline pilot for real," he
said.
"Good, son. It's better to
earn than con people." He hugged him.
Jack knew that in the long run
his father was right.
Info on Harvard, Embry Riddle, Princeton