I was glad she didn’t want to talk long because we was at the hotel now and everybody would’ve been able to hear our conversation. Shelly had to get the suite because she had a Visa card. By the look on the front desk clerk face, you would think he didn’t want to give us the room. That’s how it was out in the boonies/suburbs. When a lot of black people come, they either get scared or prejudiced on you. We got the room on the fifth floor, one that had a Jacuzzi in the room and two king-size beds. The pool was on the bottom level by the gym and rec room. We got settled in the room and dressed for the pool. Down in the pool it was empty, so we had it all to ourselves, but we had to be respectful; we couldn’t get too loud or do any crazy stuff. We swam a little bit and just chilled out, talking and playing truth or dare. Some of the dares was to kiss somebody or show some nakedness, and some of the truth was to tell something about the craziest or freakiest shit you did. This was a great icebreaker for everybody to lead up to what would take place upstairs—especially for Erica, since most had never met her. Speaking of which, she did some freaky shit, like fucking two dudes at the same time.
It was getting late, so we had to head up to the room, cause the pool area was about the be off-limits. We got up to the room and raided the bar and fridge to cure our appetite that always come after you get done swimming. Now it was time for the showdown to take place, hopefully. Silencer asked the question, “Y’all going to freak each other while we watch?”
Tracy was down, but the others didn’t want to participate. After trying to persuade them to get it on with each other, it was still a no-go, so we turned out the lights and did our individual thing.
4
A week had passed since the night I stayed out with the crew, and Jackie hadn’t said anything about it, which I didn’t really understand, but was glad. Had that been Marcy, I would have been on the couch. It was a cold, sunny Sunday morning. Jackie decided she wanted to go to church this morning to get some soul-cleansing. I thought it was a good idea too, since I couldn’t remember the last time I stepped foot in a church. It’s not because I don’t believe in God or religion, but the preachers always made it last too long. They stand in the front of the pulpit, talk a little about the Scriptures from the Bible, and then spend a lot more time talking about what sins the congregation are committing, not including themselves. After it goes on for a hour or two, they ask for your money. I just don’t get it.
We took our shower together and got in a quick round of fucking before we got dressed and headed out the door. Jackie was Catholic, so we went to her Catholic church. The church was older, with early Roman architectural designs on the outside. The inside was beautifully shaped, with high arched ceilings, cherry oak trimmings around the walls, and different depictions of the Virgin Mary. Being Methodist, I had never been to a Catholic church. This was all new to me. I remember going to church as a youngster. Service would last a long time. I hope this didn’t. Everyone made their way to the altar to pray with their rosaries before taking seats in the pews. The priest rose out of his seat, as everyone was now seated. He preached a sermon about demons and angels taking souls daily, saying a couple of hymns, took the collection, gave out Communion, and then the service was over.
Heading out the cathedral, Jackie spoke to many members I’m guessing she hadn’t seen for sometime, because the time she spent chatting was longer than the sermon. I guess that is a woman thing. Finally we were leaving. I was all too glad. Not that I don’t like to give praise or being around churchfolk, but I didn’t want anyone to see me that might,remember, mentioning it at an inopportune moment like if I was with the crew. If that happened, man, I would for sure be a goner. They would for sure think I’m weak. Worse, my cover could be blown. In the car, Jackie asked me how I liked the service. Now, I didn’t want to tell her I didn’t like it, because that would probably hurt her feelings, but if I lied, she would for sure ask me to go again. I decided to tell a half-truth with a lie on top of it. I said it was nice but I just couldn’t understand the message. I’d better get the whole Catholic thing if I were raised in it. Jackie nodded her head, saying, “All right, baby. I’m just glad you came. I won’t pressure to keep coming.” I replied back with a promise that I would come again, just might be a minute.
We were riding along listening to some gospel music station in between short talks, and it dawned on me that I really didn’t know much about her job, so I asked the name of the company she worked for. She replied, “Power Broker, Inc.”
“What type of company is that?”
“It’s an investment firm.”
She was responsible for the Eastern District’s holdings of the company, which spanned from Kentucky to Rhode Island. Her work consisted of keeping records of the earnings and losses of the satellite sites spanning those states. She also looked at financial records of possible merger companies. We next talked about what to do now, since it was just after eleven in the morning. It was a cold day out. Old Man Winter was finally settling in. That eliminated going to the park for a walk. She came up with the idea to go to the zoo. It was a good idea. I hadn’t been to the zoo since the kids were in second grade. Always willing to see something new. We drove to the zoo, taking the scenic route. Jackie lived in a nice house in a nice neighborhood, but the route we took was spectacular. The houses were huge, with nicely kept lawns and trees. Some even had waterfall decorative in the front. The road stretched for blocks—at least two miles—before descending into a more modest looking neighborhood.
After a few turns and stoplights, we were at the zoo. After parking, as we walked up to the pay gate, Jackie mentioned how she would love to have a house like that one day after she got married. She said it would be good to raise a family and throw nice, sophisticated parties. I agreed with her as we stood in the long line to enter. Looks like more people had the same idea. It was mostly white people in line. Family-event type shit, it looked like. It didn’t take long to get to the entrance to get our admission ticket. It was $18.50 for the both of us.
Inside was nice. There were different sections with various attractions. We started with the aquariums. The building with the aquariums was in had at least fifty different tanks, each with different species. There was freshwater tanks and saltwater tanks, both filled with imitation coral reefs and savvy swimmers. The saltwater tanks had the more colorful of the two. There were yellow with black stripes, orange with white stripes, even purple. Looking at these was a true testament to God’s creation. You had the same creatures yet completely different, I guess because they came from different parts of the world, kind of like humans.
We finished looking at the fish and made our way to the reptiles. Jackie wasn’t as into the reptiles as she was the fish; by the way she was squirming, you could tell they gave her the creeps. I, on the other hand, liked the different amphibians. There were the big-eyed frogs, the dinosaur-like iguanas, and slivery snakes and lizards. It was great. They were kept in tanks like the fish, but these were heated tanks. The heat lamps that were at the top of them kept the tanks warm. This was next to the monkeys and other mammals. There were gorillas, chimps, pandas, and of course monkeys. The enclosure they were in was arranged to resemble their own natural environment. Each enclosure had trees and grass. Some of the mammals were up close to the glass. Others were sitting up high in the trees or hiding afar.
We now made our way out to the outside animals—first stop: polar bears. There were two polar bears sharing one cold watery manmade pond, alongside a manmade cave. The polar bears were swimming away in the water, not paying attention to onlookers, who were snapping pictures, looking on in amazement. Making our rounds, we wound up at the seals. They were busy feeding on fish, except for a baby, which was more focused on the small crowd surrounding the lining of the fence that separated them.
It was now the end of our tour. With nowhere to go, we got in the car and decided to have lunch. It wasn’t nowhere fancy, just a quick lunch at IHOP. Yep, we wa
nted some good ol’ fashioned pancakes, eggs, and sausage, topped off with a nice glass of orange juice. During lunch, Jackie stated she hadn’t taken a trip in quite some time and had to use her vacation time before the end of the year or she would lose it. I asked her if she took a vacation where she would go. Her response was Brazil or Puerto Rico. She then said something I didn’t expect: “Let’s book a cruise tonight so we can go.” I was so shocked. I said yes, being caught off guard. I couldn’t say anything else. It made her all too happy. We paid for our food and headed to the house. Once there, Jackie immediately got on the computer, searching for the best deals for cruises to our destination. I was busy watching the Bears beat up on the Green Bay Packers, one of the longest rivalries in football. The score was 14 to 7, with the Bears in scoring position on the Green Bay 15-yard line. It was an exciting game. The fans were really into it. The announcers were dramatic, as if it were a playoff game. It was third and two. The bears rushed to get set back two inches back—a bad attempt going up against the Packers big offensive line. As the players were lining up to go for the field goal, they decided to go for the touchdown. It was a fake end around. The running back made it to the four-yard line to get tackled and stopped in his tracks.
Now Jackie was calling me to her, I guess to look at some of the deals to get my opinion on which ones would be better for us. When I saw the prices, I considered how I was going to contribute. I only had $3,500 in the account the bureau set up for me, but that was not to be touched for personal use, only to help with the case. I didn’t have any of my personal bank account information or even any of my real identification, so I couldn’t withdraw any money from that account. I did have some of the money Silencer was paying me for working the spot, though. I could use that if needed to, although I was trying to save that as well to use later.
I’ll wait to see if she asks me. For now, I’ll just look along with her, giving my opinion.
We looked at some that were cheap to really expensive. I guessed that the rates were based on which airline and cruise ship you chose, along with the nights and days you wanted to stay. The best deal we came up with was a seven-night, six-day cruise, which departed from Miami going to Saint Lucia in the Bahamas. We would have to catch a flight from Milwaukee to Miami aboard Delta Airlines. The total package, for the both of us, was $2,700. The dates we were to be going were January 16 through January 24. After booking the vacation, I asked Jackie if she’d be able to get vacation time on such short notice. She replied, “I got clout like that.”
We finished the rest of the night packing and relaxing, watching television. We cuddled in the bed before falling asleep midway through the Good Times marathon.
The next morning, Jackie woke up earlier than usual—I guess to make sure everything was going to be taken care of. She had to go to her mother’s house to make sure she would check on the house and water her plants. She also had to get her hair done. Before we could leave, she had to make a stop at her office to give a rundown on the numbers for her boss. Finally, she had to get a couple of bathing suits and outfits for the island.
I was showered and ready to go by noon. I was glad I had a fake passport given to me by the bureau. She was to be back at two. I was excited to go. I had never been to the Bahamas, or anywhere else outside the States. Jackie didn’t ask me to pay for anything, which I was glad for, but I did want to help pay for something, so after I was dressed, I went to get a little of the money I had at the apartment. That way, I could at least pay for some of the things on the ship and island, like flowers and souvenirs. I took $700 of the $3,900 I had stashed under the carpet in the closet to help show her half a good time. I made it back to her house with a little time to kill. It was just 1:16, so I sat listening to some music. I had one of my favorite CDs playing: Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction, on the stereo. I got through the whole CD and halfway through another CD that Jackie had in the player before she made it back a little after three. She arrived with our tickets, her outfits, some outfits for me, and beads that were to go around our neck like a necklace. We didn’t have much time because our flight was to leave at 5:30. We hurriedly got together our things, locked up the house, and headed for the airport. We had to hurry because the freeway was going to be crowded. It was rush hour, which meant all the people were leaving downtown and heading home from work. We made it to the airport with forty-five minutes to park the car, check in our luggage, and get to the gate. We devised a plan that I was to check in the luggage while she went to park the car so we could meet at the gate. The plan worked to perfection. We made it to the gate with little time to kill, as Jackie was running up just as the plane was boarding. The flight to Miami from Milwaukee was two hours and thirty minutes, nonstop.
The flight went smoothly, except for some minor turbulence flying over Atlanta. We touched down at the Miami airport with 80-degree temperature awaiting us. The moon was shining brightly in the sky, with no clouds. We had to find a hotel to stay at for the night because the ship wasn’t set to depart until the following day. We stayed at the Excel Inn, which was located ten minutes from the departure site. After checking in, we decided to go out and see some of Miami, since neither one of us had been there. We took the tourist attraction and nightlife magazine that was already in the room as a helpful tool in figuring out what to do. The hotel was located in what appeared to be a decent area, but you really couldn’t tell what was around the corners, as I learned in Milwaukee. After walking the area and eating at one of the Cuban restaurants, we made our way back to the hotel to get some sleep.
The next morning, while boarding the ship, we ran into one of Jackie’s childhood friends, Wendy, along with her husband. She and Jackie talked for a while before both of them introduced us men into the picture. Jackie introduced me as her boyfriend. Then Wendy introduced William. After the small talk and introductions, we parted ways, with the girls saying they’d hook up later to catch up on old times. Our cabin was on the middle deck near the center of the ship, which was quiet, as it was far from the engines. Boarding took almost two hours, as there were nearly two hundred people aboard. We finally left the port a little past noon, set for the Bahamas. There was a lot of entertainment on the ship, something for everyone—or at least almost everyone. You always have those that are never satisfied. There was gambling, a live band, swimming, movies, dancing, even exercise. We wanted to make the best of the vacation by doing as much as possible. After securing everything in the cabin, we went up to the deck to check out the scenery from the open ocean. The Miami skyline was great, including all the beachfront houses that lined the shore. We walked to the bar to get something refreshing to drink. It was still early, so we didn’t want to get anything too heavy that would get us drunk, so we ordered two raspberry margaritas. The bartender made them to perfection—just the right amount of alcohol and the perfect blend of fruits. Sitting at the bar, we started talking about how we had met and what went through our minds the moment we saw each other. I said when I first seen her walking up to the line, I thought she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. I also told her how I thought about what it would be like fucking her. It was funny, because excluding the part about me being the most beautiful man she had ever seen, she thought the same thing. She said, “I thought about what I was going to do when we fucked, because I knew I was going to fuck you when you said hi.”
“How you knew that?”
“It’s just a woman’s instinct, baby, or at least mine anyway. I mean, it is not too often that I do it, but when I do run across somebody that look good and I get that vibe from them, I’ll make it happen. Now that I got you, I don’t have to worry about that no more. Besides, I know that was dangerous even though we did use protection.”
She gave me a kiss. Finishing our drink, we ordered another to enhance the conversation, as it was getting good talking now about the ladies she was there with that night. She began telling me about how one of them had been one of her f
riends since childhood. They had met at gym class while in middle school and been friends ever since. One of the other ladies worked in the office with her. They go out together occasionally because her husband be tripping. Plus, she got four kids. The last lady was somebody they met at the hair shop. She didn’t really like her because she be phony, always bragging on what she got, how she could have any man she want, shit like that. You know, high school stuff. I agreed with her on that shit. We moved on to check out what was going on at the gambling scene, as we wanted some excitement. Neither of us was into gambling, but from what you see on TV, when people be gambling, winning or losing, they be screaming either way. We stopped at the craps table, checking out how it worked. We seen the roller who rolled the dice and the side betters who placed bets on what the roller would roll. It all seemed risky to me, but I guess it was either luck or statistical strategy on winning. As I was watching, I counted how many times different pairs and numbers appeared on each roll. I figured the best bet was to put money on a six or eight, since they came up the most. Jackie got into it, so we lined up to roll. Even though it was risky, betting the minimum $10 each roll, she did it. While she rolled, I was placing bets on six or eight. The first roll came out a ten. People then placed their bets. She rolled four more rolls before rolling another ten. She didn’t believe it when she won, doubling her money. She didn’t stop. She kept on rolling some twenty more rolls, winning all of them. Our total winnings, with her rolling and my betting, was $650. That was a lot of excitement. She said she wanted to do everything, so we continued the excitement. We passed the blackjack table. Looked like it was too complicated and boring, so we moved on to the roulette table. I had seen this played before but didn’t understand how people could bet their money on a little ball spinning around a wheel, waiting to stop on a colored number. We didn’t play this game either. Jackie decided to keep the winnings and head to the cabin.
Incognito Page 6