Sabrina
Copyright© 2026 by The Outsider
Chapter 25: Top o’ the World
24 May 2019 – The United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Sabrina stared at the round solitaire-cut diamond Tommy held out to her. The facets sparkled as they reflected the moonlight and the glow from nearby stained glass. An occasional strobe-like flash flickered.
Sabrina had to remember to blink. And to breathe.
Tommy looked up at Sabrina, expectant, hopeful. His pulse – already racing – accelerated as the seconds ticked past without an answer from her. After three terrifying, agonizing seconds, Tommy saw Sabrina smile as a tear coursed down her cheek.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Oh, Tommy, yes!”
Tommy rose off the stone pavers and swept Sabrina into his arms in one motion. He twirled her around, lost in his joy and relief. As they kissed, he felt her happy tears on his face.
“Did you get it?” he asked when the kiss broke. Sabrina looked at him in confusion.
“Yeah,” came a sniffling reply off to her side.
Sabrina turned to see her roommates, past and present, wiping away tears. They stood next to two male classmates – their escorts for the Ring Dance. The four witnesses to the engagement walked up to add their congratulations. Tommy’s text tone chimed two or three times on the ride back to their hotel. Sabrina snagged his phone, and her eyes narrowed.
“Why do you have my friends in your contacts?”
“Uh, jealous much?” he laughed in reply. “Did you look at what they sent?”
Sabrina’s angry façade evaporated as she scrolled through the pictures.
“You planned this!”
Tommy stole a glance.
“Of course I did! What percentage of people get to have the moment of their engagement captured on film? You can send those pictures to your folks, Alex and Anna, your aunts and uncles ... We’ll tell our folks first, though.”
“Do your parents put their phones on ‘Do Not Disturb’ at night? Mine do. We can text them the photos before we go to bed tonight and see how early they call in the morning.”
“My guess is about six our time. Mom’s not going to care what time it is once she sees the pictures, and she usually wakes up around eight. She might call your mom first, but I don’t think the odds are in favor of that happening.”
Sabrina smiled and interlaced her fingers with his.
“I love you, Tommy Jones.”
“And I love you to pieces, Rocket Girl.”
“Dragon Lady,” she giggled. “My callsign is ‘Dragon Lady... ‘“
“That’s their name for you.”
Tommy’s prediction wasn’t too far off the mark. His phone rang at six-thirty the next morning. He and Sabrina hadn’t gotten much sleep, given when they stopped ‘celebrating’ their engagement.
“Hi, Mom...” he mumbled. “Thank you. I’m pretty happy myself ... Yeah, she’s right here. Hang on.” He held his phone out to Sabrina. “Mom would like to talk to you, Sabrina.”
“Hi, Anne.”
“Oh, Sabrina, I am so happy for you and Tommy! And I get another daughter to balance the numbers!”
Sabrina laughed before asking, “You know, I’ve been thinking about this whole ‘Mrs. Jones vs. Anne’ thing, and I’m wondering why I haven’t ever called you ‘Mom’ at all? It’s not like I didn’t grow up at your house, too.”
“Sabrina,” Anne replied as she started sniffling, “I would love it if you called me ‘Mom!’ Your mom and I will have plenty to talk about at breakfast this morning.”
“Did you call my folks before calling us? Tommy said we shouldn’t count on you being that patient.”
“My Tommy takes after his father too much. No, I didn’t, but it was a near thing, though. I had his number half-entered in my phone before I remembered the time difference. Then I decided I didn’t care! ‘Sorry, not sorry,’ as you kids say!”
“Well, we have to get over to Helen and Joe’s for breakfast, so we’d have been up soon anyway.”
“Sabrina, honey, welcome to the family. We’ll talk again soon.”
“Well, that means your folks are probably awake, too, Babe.”
“Right.” Sabrina pressed the contact listing for her mother’s phone.
“Sabrina, why pray tell are you calling us so early on a Saturday morning?”
“Mom, you’ve been hanging around Dad too long. Your Sarcasmatron is stuck in overdrive!”
Sabrina heard her mother’s smile in her next sentence.
“Sabrina, your father and I wish you and Thomas every happiness.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“What are your plans for today?”
Sabrina could hear the uncharacteristic smirk in her mother’s voice now.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Mom!”
Tommy and Sabrina stood together – hand-in-hand – on the Gallardos’ front porch less than three hours later.
“Hi, guys!” Mia chirped when she opened the door. The next second, she launched herself at Sabrina.
“Yay! Lemmie see! Lemmie see!”
Mia pried the couple’s hands apart to have easier access to Sabrina’s left hand. Mia hugged Tommy next.
“It’s beautiful, Tommy!”
“Thanks, Mia. Your big sister kinda outshines the ring, though, don’t you think?”
“Smooth talker...” Sabrina laughed. “Come on, Mia. Let’s head inside. Tommy and I are hungry this morning.”
“Yeah,” Mia snorted, “wonder why...”
“MIA!”
“What am I, six, Sabrina? I’m sure you two ‘celebrated’ your engagement all night.”
“You are trouble personified.”
“While you’re not wrong, Sabrina,” Joe commented as the trio entered the living room, “is there any particular reason you’re bringing it up this morning?”
Mia looked silently at Sabrina.
“Oh, fine.”
Sabrina held up her left hand. Helen sprang off the couch to hug the young couple.
“So you took my advice?”
“I’ve taken lots of your advice, Helen. But, yes, in this case, most definitely – I want both.”
“And no reason you can’t have both, Sabrina,” Helen answered as the rest of her family hugged Sabrina.
Tommy raised an eyebrow.
“Tell you later,” his fiancée said.
Tommy and Sabrina spent the day with the Gallardos. Tommy pitched in to help Joe with the yard work while Sabrina helped Helen and the girls prepare meals. It was delightfully normal.
“Sabrina, any word on how Ryan’s ankle surgery went?” Helen asked while preparing dinner. Sabrina grimaced.
“Mom and Dad will rarely mention Ryan to me, Helen, but in this case, I asked about him last week. The surgery itself went fine, though he’ll be wearing a cast or be on crutches for the next few months, at a minimum.”
She sighed, as she often did when talking about that brother.
“He’s lucky Mom and Dad always pushed education. He’ll graduate without any issues, but his baseball career is over.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ryan wanted to declare for the draft last year, right after he got done playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League last summer, but Mom and Dad convinced him to stay in school and get his degree.”
The Cape League is one of the premier, wooden-bat summer baseball leagues for undrafted college players.
“And his ankle?”
“It was actually the very end of his left leg, just above the ankle.” She pointed to the area of Ryan’s injury. “The surgeons say he’ll be able to walk, maybe even jog a little, but he’ll never run well enough to play high-level baseball again. The ligament and tendon damage from his fracture will take the longest to heal and will be the limiting factors.”
Helen checked to make sure Felicity and Mia weren’t in the kitchen.
“You’re still angry at him, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. It comes and goes. I can’t forget how he treated the rest of the family after he hit puberty, and me in particular.”
The extended family sat in the family room downstairs, watching a movie after dinner. Sabrina’s phone rang halfway through the film.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Princess, are you near a TV tonight?”
“Yeah, Tommy and I are hanging with Helen, Joe, and the girls. We’re here for the weekend. Why? What’s up?”
“Ask them if you can watch a show starting in a few minutes.”
Her father named the show. Sabrina asked if they could change the channel for a bit.
“We’ve seen this movie like five times, Sabrina,” Joe said as he raised the TV remote. “It’ll be a welcome change.” He gave the device a voice command, and the channel switched.
“Is this that obstacle-running show, Dad? Why did you want us to watch this?”
“You’ll see when the promo comes on...”
The show started with a preview of that night’s episode.
“HEY!” Joe exclaimed, pointing at a familiar figure on the screen.
Sabrina’s father launched himself at a rope that hung over some sort of water obstacle. The tank top he wore showed off the familiar tattoos on his right arm as he swung across. He cleared the hazard and ran past the camera, the word ‘WARRIOR’ emblazoned across the front of his shirt. On the back were the familiar shapes of Army Combat Infantryman and Combat Medic badges. The promo cut to another contestant.
“Remember that ‘secret project’ I said I was working on?”
“That’s why you were working on your grip strength, isn’t it? So, how did you do in the competition?”
“You’re gonna have to watch and find out, Sabrina. That was one of the conditions of being selected: a gag order. I can’t say anything about my experience until I’m either knocked out or win the whole thing.”
“Does Mom know?” Jeff laughed.
“Nice try, Princess. She watched me compete, but she’s under the same restriction.”
“Hmph! See if I call you two my favorite parents anymore ... Can you tell me how far into this episode your obstacle-running debut will be at least?”
“Sure. It’s not right at the beginning, and you won’t have to wait until the end.”
“You’re having entirely too much fun with this!”
“Absolutely!”
“May I talk to Mom, please?”
“Before you go, Princess, congratulations again.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Hello, daughter.”
“Are you enjoying this as much as Dad is, Mom?”
“Certainly. I am also certainly looking forward to helping plan your wedding, Sabrina, if that is something you want.”
“I do, but I’m not sure how crazy I want to go with it, either. I think I want to have it out here, Mom. Maybe right after graduation next year?”
“If that is what you wish, Sabrina. It is your wedding. In that case, I shall enlist Helen’s help since I know so little of the area there.”
“As I said, Mom, don’t go crazy yet. Tommy and I haven’t even really talked about the date, anyway.”
The crowd at the Gallardos’ fell silent as the show started in earnest. Most of the early contestants, particularly the rookies, looked hesitant on the course. That changed when Jeff had his chance to compete.
“Your dad is flying, Sabrina!” Mia gasped.
Mia was right. The experienced contestants cheered wildly at his performance, which was the best of the night so far. In contrast to the others before him, Jeff looked like a seasoned veteran. He also looked to be in far better shape than most.
“That’s Dad,” Sabrina replied when Helen pointed that out. “He’s looked like that my whole life.”
Joe looked down at his ‘dad bod’ and sighed.
“Did you know Dad was doing the show, Alex?” Sabrina asked.
“No, Bina. It was as much of a shock to us as it was to you guys.”
“So, you’re now a graduate of the University of Chicago. What’s next?”
“I’m hanging here for a couple of years to get my master’s while Anna finishes her undergrad. After that, we’ll see. I’d still like to get my doctorate, but I’m not sure where we’ll wind up for that.”
“Do you have an idea of what you’ll be shooting for, topic-wise, with your PhD?”
“It’ll still be propulsion. These new electric-ion engines are really intriguing, and I can see a few other possibilities.”
“My brain hurts just thinking about it.”
“Says the girl who wants to make life-and-death decisions at Mach Two...”
“Spacecraft need to go faster than that to escape Earth’s gravity, you know?”
“I’ve heard that, yes. What’s next for you, Air Force career-wise?”
“I’ll be in charge of the Academy’s soaring program through the end of the calendar year. After that, it’s anyone’s guess.”
“Are you and Tom getting married after graduation?”
“That’s the plan. We considered having the ceremony at the Academy chapel for half a second, but it’ll be closed for renovations before next summer. Half of every graduating class usually wants to book the place for their weddings, too, so holding it there wouldn’t have made much sense, anyway. We just want a very simple ceremony out here, followed by a small reception. Nothing major.”
“That’s fitting since you’ll only be a lieutenant when you graduate, not a major.”
Sabrina groaned.
“I hope you don’t drop stinkers like that one around your fiancée!”
’These new shoulder boards seem heavier,’ Sabrina mused as she checked her reflection.
Her light blue, Class-B uniform shirt looked sharp with her wings, ribbons, and Superintendent’s List pin. She still couldn’t quite believe she wore flight commander rank boards on her shoulders.
Three years ago, she was a basic cadet, the lowest form of life at the Academy and not yet even deserving of the simple title ‘cadet.’ Now, she wore the rank of cadet captain, commanding a flight element. Not the top of the heap by any means, but no longer the bottom, either.
The Class of 2023 would begin its long journey tomorrow. Sounds from the rude awakening known as Induction Day – I-Day – would fill the Terrazzo as the Basic Cadet Training cadre shared their I-Day experiences from two years earlier with the newcomers. Shared them in a loud and unfriendly manner.
Sabrina would miss most of it. She wasn’t BCT cadre, and the first session of Airmanship 250 began tomorrow at the Academy airfield, far from the Cadet Area. The summer flight sessions for the new three-degs were popular, well attended, and well staffed with instructors.
Sabrina’s soaring time would be limited as the overall program commander, but she still managed to schedule herself as an instructor for a handful of sorties.
“Looking sharp, Captain!” Dina laughed from the other side of the vanity.
“Thank you, Captain!” Sabrina replied with a laugh of her own. “That beret and sunglasses still give me the chills, though.”
“Wait until I start throwing knife-hands!”
“Ugh. No thanks! When’s your planning meeting?”
“In fifteen minutes. Yours?”
“Same. I have to hustle if I’m gonna make it over to Vandy on time.”
There wasn’t much ‘planning’ at the meeting. If they were still planning at this point, they were well behind the curve. Instead, the meeting ensured everyone understood their roles and the schedule for tomorrow. BCT cadre and basic cadets lived in Vandy, while soaring and jump school cadets and staff bunkered in Sijan Hall. Summer Airmanship cadets lined up for Lunch Formation and ate at Mitchell Hall when BCT did, but they separated themselves from the younger cadets and their overseers. Sabrina helped Dina move across the T-zo to Vandenberg Hall for the summer.
“Lucky you,” Dina griped. “You get a single for the summer!”
“Oh, yeah, lucky me,” Sabrina grumbled. “I gotta keep the whole place clean by myself...”
“Quitcherbitchin...”
Sabrina lined up for Breakfast Formation with the other Airmanship cadets the following morning. This time, she stood in front of the other cadets in the commander’s position. Summer sessions at the Academy were a time when cadets didn’t necessarily all wear the same uniforms. The uniform of the day for Airmanship cadets was flight suits. Shuttles would take them to the airfield immediately following breakfast. BCT cadre wore their Class-B uniforms in preparation for I-Day today.
’Today’s a good day for flight operations,’ Sabrina thought as she stood on the apron of the airfield.
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