Friday Funday

  We drove down to Aqaba Thursday night to finish something we started months ago, my jump certification. I was so excited I only got a few hours of shut eye. We jumped with a few of his Air Force buddies. They were up late reliving their glory days. I was drowning in testosterone, sexy hot muscled pilot/aircrew stew... Yum!

  Two of them are now national police. I feel sorry for them, they all have the same social media photo. A body in a uniform and something obstructing their faces. They are proud of their job but it exacts a toll. Most of the ones I have met are heavy smokers. They were polite but also stand offish with me. After I went to bed, I think Zahir told them my story and why I liked police officers. They were almost brotherly at breakfast.

  Someone emailed asking if I was heavy enough to jump... Not yet, I have to wear a weight belt. I took my last three student jumps in that damned orange training jumpsuit! It was like wearing a tent.

  It does serve a purpose, it is called a tracking suit. They are normally used for BASE jumping. Yousef uses them to give a student a little more control in the air, and the color insures they are seen in case of trouble. I asked if we could try BASE jumping next. Zahir replied loud and emphatically, NO!

  There was only one dark cloud, a Canadian tourist. Yousef had promised a friend to honor his booking of a couple for a tandem jump. The guy was bitching non-stop about having to be strapped to a dude like an effing codpiece. His girlfriend asked him how often would they have this opportunity in Havelock. The only reason I remembered the name of their town was that wished I had a lock for his mouth.

  He was quiet for a moment, then he noticed me. "Why the fuck does the kid get to jump alone." I could not compete with the wind and engine noise to fire back a reply, I just looked up at Zahir with sadness.

  That is when I discovered one of Z's police friends is a bit of a smart ass, "The boy is windsock. We use him to test the wind-speed for safe descent. We are on our second today, YOU wish to take place?"

  At 10:45AM I earned my skydiving certification!!!

  Yousef pulled a bag out of the plane and gave it to Zahir. Zahir then handed the bag to me he said it was a gift.

  He had a custom free fly suit like his made for me. Mine has grey panels like the one on the left. His is dark charcoal and black. I quickly put it on in the support van for our last jump. I pointed out how it drew attention to my bottom.

  He told me, "A thing of beauty should be framed."

  We are headed north to the dead sea. He booked time at the spa to get me all smooth and us relaxed to start the work week. I love this man.