When I return to work, I fly an A-4 with "Candy" as my wingman. He's been with our squadron for two years, and we've flown together for nine months total. We quickly became good friends. Last week, he decided to become a RIO so he would be more safely returned to his wife and son.
His callsign is Candy because no matter where we are, he always seems to have candy on him somewhere. Whether in his flight suit, his locker, our plane, the hangar—it's everywhere. He absolutely dotes on Leo's and my kids. Since the addition of our four kids, we have upgraded our house. Mav and Ang still live with us for convenience. Plus, we're just so used to it at this point. A knock on the door interrupts my cooking, and I open it to see Candy, Rose, and Chris.
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"Hey, guys! Come in, come in!"
"Hi, Rage!"
"Rose, good to see you."
"I brought wine and apple pie."
"It's beautiful! Ro, you really didn't have to."
"Nonsense. I wanted to."
"Ang! Mav! Goose! Get down here! Penny, Eddie, you too!"
Everyone quickly comes to the table, and Goose helps me bring out the food. Candy prays, and we all begin to eat.
"So, Ro, how is the hospital?"
"We finally got the last of the funds we needed so renos should start soon."
"That's amazing," Leo says. "Hey, Candy, where is it tonight?"
"I didn't bring any actually."
"Oh, come on! You've gotta be joking," Mav declares.
"He's not, actually," I report. "He already has stashes here, and I refill them periodically so he never has to bring any."
They all groan before Goose shouts "Pay up!"
Mav, Ang, Rose, and the twins hand Goose five bucks. Jay just laughs, but I am in shock.
"Why wasn't I included in this bet, but Ro was—and lost?"
"Because you weren't there, and Ro was drunk."
"Goose, you're terrible!"
"Yeah, but I'm twenty-five bucks richer."
"Not anymore, you're not. You still owe me from two months ago. Jay, let's go. Since you four are more like children than us, Candy and I are going for a drink. Bye!"
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I run out the door with Candy hot on my heels. We get in my green 1982 Ford F-100 pickup RWD and go to the Birch. We each have one drink before going back home.
