Decker's Dilemma by Jack Ambraw

get my appetite.”
    â€œYou sure? I feel bad that I can’t give you anything for your trouble.” She peered over Decker’s shoulder to the kitchen. “Andrea? Why don’t you go down to the Millers. I think the house looks fine now.” The maid politely thanked her and walked through the back door without saying another word.
    Piper turned to Decker. “Andrea is friends with the Miller’s maid. They like to get together when they can, and I don’t mind. She’s a nice girl and a hard worker, but her English isn’t great, so there’s not much conversation between us. I hate having someone here every hour, every day; but I also hate doing housework. So, I’ve learned to live with it. Andrea’s been with us a year now. It only costs us thirty dollars a month, and I tell Bob it’s another perk of living in a place like this. Do you know how bored I get? God, there are days when I could just scream. Not to mention the heat of this place.”
    Decker didn’t know how to respond. The thought of having a young maid around all day didn’t seem like a problem to him. He changed the subject. “How long have you been married?”
    â€œSeven years,” said Piper. “Bob was stationed in Nevada. I was living with my sister in Reno at the time and met him there. We got married a year later.”
    â€œHe’s a nice boss,” Decker said.
    Piper smiled. “He’s a nice man. Hey, let me get us some drinks. What do you want? Beer? Iced tea? We probably have something stronger, too.”
    â€œTea if you have it made.”
    â€œI made it yesterday,” Piper said as she walked to the kitchen.
    Decker stood in the quiet of the living room peering out the window, wondering what he was doing there. What if Commander Doerr comes home? How am I going to explain this? Panic suddenly hit him.
    â€œSugar?” Piper yelled.
    Decker jumped. “No, I like it plain.”
    â€œMe, too,” Piper said, entering the living room with two glasses of tea. “Don’t worry, silly. Bob won’t be home for several more hours. He called from the ship an hour ago.”
    â€œHow did you know what I was thinking?” asked Decker.
    â€œ Just a lucky guess. And, by the way you were fidgeting.” Piper handed him the glass. “Here’s to the Harvey .” They clinked glasses .
    Decker relaxed. “Where was this taken?” he asked, pointing to a picture on the wall.
    â€œNevada,” Piper said. “Fallon Naval Air Station. It was a couple weeks after we first met. Bob showed me around base, and I wanted a picture next to a plane.”
    â€œI don’t know much about aircraft,” said Decker. “But that’s a sweet lookin’ Tomcat. I’m talking about the F-15,” he quickly added.
    Piper laughed. “I get it from my dad. He was a pilot. Still is, but not in the military. It’s one of his hobbies. That’s where I got my name.”
    â€œI like the name Piper,” Decker said. “It’s unique and much better than Beechcraft.”
    â€œI thought you didn’t know much about planes?”
    â€œI know a little,” Decker said. “Were you living in Nevada?”
    Piper shook her head. “No, my sister and I were spending the summer at our parents’ vacation home at Lake Tahoe. We’d go to Reno all the time. I met Bob at the Sands.” She touched his arm. “That seems like a lifetime ago, but it’s only been eight years.”
    â€œI was a freshman in high school eight years ago.”
    â€œYou’re making me feel old.”
    â€œI didn’t mean it like that.”
    â€œI know,” Piper sighed. “I turned thirty-one two weeks ago. I spent most of my 20s being a navy wife. But, hey, age is only a number, right?”
    Decker nodded. “My mom says that fifty is the new forty. I told her I’d take her word for it.