by Cassie Beebe
“Okay. Cool.”
His heartrate was sky high by the time they pulled into the parking lot at Bellevue and he shut off the engine of the car.
“You ready?” he asked with a nervous smile.
She mirrored his expression for a moment before turning her eyes to the building in front of them. With a concealed, steadying breath she answered, “Let’s do it.”
AS THEY MADE THEIR way through the many levels of high security, Jenna’s nerves seemed to rise as swiftly as Jacob’s subsided. Stepping into the open room full of chairs, sofas, games, outdated TV sets, and wandering patients, a small grin spread across Jacob’s face. This was the closest thing he had to a home, and there was an air of comfort in the cold, white walls, the hum of people muttering conversations, both with themselves and others.
Jenna took another deep breath as she stepped through the security door which buzzed loudly as it shut behind her. Her nervous fidgeting stopped when Jacob hesitantly took her hand, intertwining their fingers.
He guided them through the room with ease, glancing at the faces around them, some familiar, others new, until he found what he was looking for. He approached the table from behind, pulling Jenna along with him. The men seated were too focused on their card game to notice their approach. Jacob glanced at the cards in Mikey’s hands and let out a whistle.
“Four of a kind,” he said, earning the attention of the men around the table. He met the gaze of Mikey’s opponent with an apologetic grimace. “Doesn’t look too good for you, man.”
Surprise spread across the faces of Jacob’s friends as they set down their cards and rose from their seats to give him a proper greeting, exchanging brief hugs and pleasantries. The men all smiled widely in pleasant surprise, with the exception of Mikey, who remained sitting at the table, sulking at his cards.
“Dude, what the hell,” he whined. “I had that hand in the bag!”
Jacob laughed. “Relax, man, I’ll buy you a pudding cup.”
“Three,” Mikey replied with severity, standing up to emphasize his point with direct eye-contact. “I was up by three.”
Jacob chuckled again as Mikey’s eyes quickly strayed from his to Jenna’s. “Well, hello there,” he greeted with an outstretched hand and his best charming smile. “I’m Mikey.”
“Jenna,” she replied, hesitantly meeting his handshake with a polite smile.
Mikey gripped her fingers lightly and raised her hand to his lips, keeping their eyes locked as he gave it a soft kiss. Jenna blushed and let out an erratic chuckle.
“Uh, okay,” Jacob interjected quickly, taking Jenna’s hand from Mikey’s and keeping it in his own. “That’s enough of that,” he said casually, shooting Mikey a warning look that went unseen, as he was still staring at Jenna.
“Guys, this is Jenna,” Jacob gestured to his side. “My… girlfriend,” he finished awkwardly, still adjusting to the false title.
That word caught Mikey’s interest, along with the rest of the group. The men exchanged disbelieving glances between Jacob, Jenna, and each other, and an uncomfortably long silence commenced.
To everyone’s surprise, Ace was the one to break it. “But, like…,” he stuttered, glancing between Jacob and Jenna once more, “how?”
Jenna tried, unsuccessfully, to mask her chuckle. Max laughed as well, and Mikey gave Jenna a wink, unthreatened by Jacob’s claim on her.
“Hey,” Jacob grumbled, insulted. “For your information, I’ve been told that I’m a catch.”
This response only made the men laugh harder.
Jacob rolled his eyes. “Okay, whatever. Screw you guys,” he said, chuckling along with them. “Seriously, though, what’s been going on?” he asked, letting go of Jenna’s hand to pull up a couple chairs for the two of them.
The men returned to the table, still laughing. Jacob held a chair out for Jenna, and Mikey appraised the gesture with a bitter eyeroll, turning his attention to gathering up the playing cards that were spread across the table.
“Not much,” Ace answered Jacob’s question. “Sessions. Food,” he shrugged.
“We wanna hear about you,” Max interjected. “What’s life like on the other side?”
“It’s really good, man,” Jacob answered genuinely. “Nothing fancy. Just work, school, couple friends,” he smiled at Jenna. “Therapy, of course,” he added.
“Oh yeah, I heard your new shrink is a chick,” Max said with a smirk. “How’s that workin’ out?”
Jacob chuckled. “She’s been great. Really easy to talk to.”
“She hot?” Mikey interjected, shuffling the organized deck of cards.
“Uh…,” Jacob trailed off, glancing at Jenna from the side of his gaze.
Mikey snickered. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes,’” he said, dealing the cards around the table. “You in?” he asked when he came to Jacob.
“Sure,” he said. “You know how to play Texas Hold Em’?” he asked Jenna.
“Of course,” she replied with a scoff. “But I’ll sit this one out. I could actually use a bathroom, so…,” she trailed off, glancing around the room.
“Oh yeah, of course. It’s down that hall, on the right,” he directed, pointing toward the east hallway. “I can show you, if you want,” he offered, rising from his seat.
“No, that’s okay,” she said, pushing his shoulder back down to his seat. “I’m a big girl. I think I can find it.”
“Okay,” Jacob replied with a smile. He watched her for a minute as she walked away, until she disappeared down the hallway. When he turned his gaze back to the table of men, he realized he wasn’t the only one watching her leave.
Mikey’s hands had paused, mid-deal, and the other men were equally distracted. Jacob pointedly cleared his throat, reclaiming their attention. The men returned to their cards, and Mikey finished dealing.
“Okay, dude,” Mikey started, taking a quick look at his own hand. “You have got to give me some details!”
“What do you mean?” Jacob asked, appraising the cards in his hand and placing his bet.
“I mean, I’m dying in here,” he groaned unhelpfully. Jacob met his gaze with confusion, quickly taking note of Mikey’s classic tell, thumb drumming anxiously against the table. Glancing back at the other men, Max staring at Jacob, awaiting an answer, while Ace was still gazing toward the empty hallway where Jenna had been previously.
“Oh,” Jacob replied, understanding. “Dude, I’m not gonna talk to you about that,” he shook his head.
“Oh, come on,” Mikey pleaded, leaning forward on the table. “The only good thing about you busting out of this place was that I could live vicariously through you.”
“‘The only good thing’?” Jacob questioned with a smirk.
Mikey rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“Well, first of all,” Jacob said with firm authority, “you’re not supposed to be talking about sex.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Mikey dismissed, turning his attention back to the game as he flipped over three cards, face up, and leaned back in his chair.
“And secondly,” Jacob continued, “there’s nothing to tell.”
Mikey made a face. “Seriously? Still haven’t lost that V-card?”
Jacob let out an uncomfortable sigh, silently praying for a subject change.
“Don’t listen to him, Jay,” Max interjected. “You’ve got a lot to deal with. Sex makes everything more complicated, and you’ve got enough on your plate right now. Nothing wrong with taking things slow.”
Jacob just blushed, and Mikey rolled his eyes.
“Alright, is everyone in or what?” Mikey asked, turning their attention back to the game as Jenna re-joined their table.
“So, did you kick everyone’s ass while I was gone?” she joked to Jacob as she took her seat.
He gave her a small chuckle. “Eh, I’m holding my own.”
Mikey scoffed. “No, he’s not. He’s bluffing. I can always tell.”
Jacob groaned and tossed hi
s cards on the table. “I forgot how much I hate playing with you,” he whined.
Mikey laughed. “Oh, don’t be a sore loser,” he grinned. “Does the lady want in next round?” he asked, turning his grin to Jenna as everyone placed their final bets.
She smiled back. “Sure.”
Max won that round, and Mikey dealt another. Everyone took a peek at their hand.
“What are we betting with?” Jenna asked.
“Secrets,” Mikey waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“Pudding cups,” Jacob corrected firmly, giving him a glare. He passed a few scraps of paper to Jenna. “Each of these represents one.”
“Gotcha,” she replied, taking another look at her cards.
“So, Jenna, is it?” Mikey said, sitting up straighter in his chair. “Please, dear lady, enlighten us about something, will you?”
“Why are you talking like that?” Max pitched in, earning him a dirty look from Mikey.
“What would you like to know, good sir?” Jenna played along.
Mikey turned back to her as he placed his bet and flipped over the first three cards. “Well, I think we can all plainly see what our little Jay-bird sees in you,” he began. “But what, pray tell, do you see in him?”
Ace snorted at “pray tell,” but Mikey ignored him.
Jenna hesitated, taken aback by the question. “Um… well….”
She bit her lip and looked at Jacob, but he pretended to be focused on his cards.
“He’s really sweet,” she began. “And thoughtful and funny. A real gentleman,” she smiled.
Mikey widened his eyes. “Wow. Sounds hot,” he joked.
“It is hot!” Jenna defended quickly.
Jacob looked at her, sporting a smirk. “Oh?”
“Well, I mean… you know what I mean,” she shoved his shoulder gently, turning back to her cards with a blush. “Those are attractive qualities for a person to have.”
He was still sporting a smug grin, so she reached out and smooshed his cheeks together with her fingers.
“Plus, look at that face! Mmm!” she teased with a wink. “Mama like.”
Everyone laughed, including Jacob, which was difficult to do with her fingers pushing his cheeks together.
Once she let go, he said, “Alright, Mama, place your bet.”
She did so, and the rest of them followed suit and laid down their cards. Ace swept them all away that round, followed by Mikey for the next two.
It was already getting late and visiting hours were ending, so he said his goodbyes to the boys. Max informed him that on that coming Saturday, the cafeteria would be open for family and friends to have breakfast with their incarcerated loved ones, in celebration of the Christmas season. Jacob and Jenna promised they would stop by before they headed home, then walked out the front doors, hand in hand.
“That was fun,” she smiled as they walked.
“Yeah?” he asked, appraising her grin.
“Yeah. I like your friends.”
He beamed at the notion.
They parted ways at the car, Jacob taking the driver’s seat again.
The hotel was easy enough to find, and much nicer than Jacob had anticipated. He used an online travel service that was made to get you the cheapest deal for the most quality, and he was pleased with the selection the algorithm had chosen for them.
They checked into their room and hauled their luggage up two flights of stairs, as the one elevator was down for maintenance. The room made up for the inconvenience, though, with its fluffy, white linens, a flat-screen TV, and more than enough space in the dresser and closet for all of their belongings.
Jenna grabbed a pair of pajamas from her suitcase and headed for the bathroom, complaining about the travesty of being trapped in a bra for 16 hours. Jacob slipped on a pair of sweat pants while she was in the privacy of the bathroom and started to unpack his suitcase into the dresser drawers, for easier access. It was late enough that they were likely about to fall into bed, so he decided it would be a good time to brush his teeth and take his pills.
The second his fingers grasped the zipper of the small, front pouch of his suitcase where he had planned on packing his pills, he remembered where they were actually located.
“Shit.”
“What’s shit?” Jenna asked, stepping out of the bathroom.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I just remembered that I left my pills on the desk in my dorm room,” he said, recalling her interrupting him in the middle of separating them out. He never got around to finishing later that night, and the morning was such a rush to get on the road that he completely forgot.
“Oh… damn.” She stood there, staring at him with a ball of her dirty clothes in her hands. “Is that, like… really bad? I mean, what would happen if you didn’t take them all week?”
He thought about that. Although the idea was already drumming up his anxiety, he realized that one week without his medication probably wouldn’t be too big of a deal. He might be a bit moodier than usual, but aside from that, he should be fine. Besides, if all went well, maybe he could report back to Doctor Summers that he was ready to go off of his sleeping aids after all.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “Probably nothing. I guess we’ll see.”
Jenna chuckled, tossing her ball of clothes on the armchair in the corner of the room. “I guess that’s our only option,” she agreed. “Do you have a bed preference?” she asked, gesturing to the two queen beds.
“Nope. Whatever you want is fine,” he said.
He finished his nightly routine – with the exception of taking his pills – and they both climbed into their beds.
“Do you need a light on or anything?” Jacob asked, his hand hovering over the switch for the lamp on the nightstand.
“Nope, I’m good,” she said, fluffing up her pillow.
“Okay.” He flipped the switch. “Goodnight.”
“Night.”
“SO, WHAT DO YOU wanna do today?” Jacob asked, ripping into a piece of limp bacon.
The hotel’s complimentary breakfast wasn’t exactly a 5-star experience, but it came with the price of the room, so they decided to take advantage of the free food. After the long drive the previous day, Jacob found himself tired enough to sleep well on his own, without the necessity of medication, and he was grateful to be alert and awake, ready to conquer their first day in New York.
“I have to decide?” Jenna’s eyes widened. “I don’t even know where we are. What’s close?”
He chuckled. “It’s New York City. Everything’s pretty close,” he shrugged. “Just give me an idea of what kind of stuff you’re wanting to do while we’re here, and we can make a game plan.”
“Hm,” she muttered around a mouthful of watery scrambled eggs, pondering her options. “Well, I guess I’d like to see all the basic touristy stuff. Is there anything cool to do that’s only here at Christmastime?”
“Good question,” he said, racking his brain. He quickly realized that he had never really visited many tourist stops or partook in the holiday festivities when he lived in New York, so he held out a hand. “Let me see your phone.”
She wiped her greasy fingers on a napkin and slipped her phone from her pocket, handing it over.
A brief search lead him to an article about visiting New York at Christmastime, and he took a few mental notes, trying to recall what was closest to them.
“I think we should start with Union Square, since it’s closest,” he said, passing her phone back. “Apparently there’s a sort of outdoor market thing where people sell handmade stuff for the holidays. Does that sound fun?”
“Yeah, totally,” she nodded.
“And I assume you want to see the Statue of Liberty?” he asked, unfolding the map he had gotten from the front desk to refresh his memory of the area.
“Of course,” she mumbled, her mouth full of bagel.
“Okay, well, that one’s gonna be a bit of a drive, and it’s not open at night
, so maybe we should head there after the market?” he suggested.
“Sure,” she said. “That sounds good.”
They mapped out the rest of their day, creating a loose structure that still left time to stop and smell the roses. After Liberty Island, they planned to explore Central Park until they were ready to head back to the hotel for the evening, since the park was open late and held some free options for entertainment.
The marketplace was crowded, with dozens of booths filled with a variety of hand-crafted items. The walkways were packed with people rushing to pick up some last-minute gifts for their families.
It certainly wasn’t a part of the city into which Jacob would have ventured on his own, but Jenna “ooo’ed” and “aww’ed” over each booth’s items. When they came upon a rack of clothes, she informed him she might be a while, and sent him away with cash in hand to fetch them each a cup of coffee from one of the vendors they saw earlier, selling homemade drinks and treats.
When he returned with their drinks, she was exchanging cash for a large paper bag of clothes wrapped carefully in tissue paper.
“What’d you get?” he asked, handing her one of the coffee cups.
“I’ll show you later,” she said, taking a sip of the steaming brew.
The bus from Union Square to Battery Park, where they would catch their ferry to Liberty Island, would have been a bit cheaper and faster than the subway, but Jenna insisted on doing everything “New York Style.” Her excitement over every little detail of the city he had grown so accustomed to was contagious, and he found himself seeing things with new perspective.
For instance, the pungent, raggedy man pounding on bongos at the subway station was no longer a source of annoyance, but a “charming example of the cultural melting pot that was NYC.” As was the elderly Hispanic woman selling tamales from a woven basket, the white men in expensive suits with their eyes glued to their phones, and, apparently, even the cluster of pant-sagging young men in the back corner of the train, trying to hide the joint they were passing between each other. He wasn’t quite sure if he saw the same beauty in the last example as Jenna did, but he appreciated her enthusiasm nonetheless.