Jet noticed the light sheen of tears in Fadiyah’s eyes as she prepared her tea, using the cardamom and a small amount of cream.
“We can get some fresh cardamom later today when we go shopping,” Jet said, smiling. “I know the dried stuff isn’t as good.”
“It is wonderful, thank you,” Fadiyah said her eyes downcast.
Jet looked back at Fadiyah for a long minute; she knew that Fadiyah was trying desperately to adjust to everything around her. She wanted to help in any way that she could, but her life was non-stop most of the time and it worried her that Fadiyah would get trampled in the process. Blowing her breath out in a sigh, Jet looked at her watch. She needed to get moving.
“Hate to do this,” Jet said. “But we need to go.”
Fadiyah nodded quickly.
“I can put this in a cup to go if you want,” Jet said, reaching for a travel mug.
“Okay,” Fadiyah said simply.
Jet put the tea into a cup, handing it to Fadiyah with her right hand, another tradition, and then picked up her gear bag, keys and her own coffee mug.
“Ready?” she asked.
Fadiyah nodded, following Jet out to the garage. When they walked out Fadiyah stood stock still, looking stunned at the vehicles in the garage. Jet noticed that Fadiyah didn’t move. She grinned as she hit the button to open the garage, then walked around Fadiyah to put her bag in the trunk of the Maserati.
She held out her hand to Fadiyah as she unlocked the Maserati. Fadiyah walked over to her, and Jet opened the passenger door, holding it open until Fadiyah had gotten into the car. She closed it gently and then got into the car, starting it.
Fadiyah’s eyes widened with the low rumble of the engine, she looked over at Jet who looked back at her grinning.
“Is this the one that cost one hundred and eighty thousand dollars or is it that one?” Fadiyah asked, pointing to the Fastback next to the Maserati.
Jet grinned. “I guess you heard that, huh?”
Fadiyah nodded, as Jet put the car into gear and backed out of the garage
“This one,” Jet said. “The Stang is a classic, but she’s not worth quite that much. She’s more of a sentimental thing for me.”
Fadiyah looked around the Maserati, noting the expensive looking and feeling leather seats and the trim of the vehicle and all of the gauges. Her eyes were wide, her mouth hanging somewhat open. She had never been inside a vehicle like this one.
Jet grinned as she hit the button to close the garage door. She turned on the stereo, quickly turning the volume down before it blasted them with sound.
The song that came on was in Spanish and Jet sang with it absently as she drove. Fadiyah watched her.
“What language is that?” Fadiyah asked.
“Spanish,” Jet said, as she turned her head to look for cars as she pulled out into the intersection.
“You speak Spanish?” Fadiyah asked.
“I speak Spanish, French, German, some Arabic and some Farsi,” Jet said, grinning, remembering having a similar conversation with Ashley.
“You speak all of those?” Fadiyah asked sounding surprised.
“Yeah,” Jet said, nodding. “It’s easier to get someone to work with you in a foreign country if you speak their language. That’s why I’m good at what I do.”
“I would think you are,” Fadiyah said, once again surprised by Jet.
They were both silent for a while and Jet continued to sing with the songs on the stereo.
“What is that song that you were singing at the hotel?” Fadiyah asked after a few minutes.
“Which?” Jet asked.
“The one that talked about Neverland,” Fadiyah said.
“Oh,” Jet said, and picked up her iPhone. Still watching the road, she scrolled through her phone and found the song Fadiyah was asking about. “This one?” she asked as she hit play.
The first piano chords of the song filled the car.
“Yes!” Fadiyah said, nodding.
They listened to the song, and as Fadiyah had hoped, Jet sang the words. When the song ended, Fadiyah sighed.
“I very much like that song,” she said. “Especially when you sing it.”
Jet curled her lips in a wry grin. “If you say so,” she said, her tone cynical.
“I say so.”
“Ma’am, yes ma’am,” Jet muttered and got a narrowed look from Fadiyah in response, to which she simply chuckled.
A few minutes later Jet’s phone rang, she glanced at the display and saw her parents’ picture.
“Oh, lovely,” she said, then hit the hands free button. “This is Jet,” she answered, as she always answered calls.
Fadiyah looked at the display on the phone and it said T&R Mathews.
“What kind of a way is that to answer a phone?” came a woman’s voice.
“The kind where I answer instead of hitting ignore,” Jet said, her tone wry.
“Don’t be rude, Jet.” The woman’s tone was chiding.
“What’s up, Mom?” Jet asked, her tone impatient.
“Am I interrupting something?” the woman asked, her tone offended.
“Just my life,” Jet said, a sarcastic smile on her face.
“That’s precisely what we’re calling about,” the woman said, and Jet grimaced, knowing she’d stepped in it now.
“So what now?” Jet asked.
“We understand you went back to Iraq,” the woman said, her tone reproaching.
“It’s Iraq, Mom, like your ear, Iraq, not like I-rack,” Jet snapped, her tone annoyed.
Jet glanced over at Fadiyah and saw that she was watching her looking shocked. Jet knew that Fadiyah was probably completely appalled by the way she talked to her parents. In Iraq you didn’t ever speak to your parents the way that Jet was doing, so Jet knew that it was quite outrageous to Fadiyah.
Jet’s mother made an impatient sound at the other end of the phone. “Whatever Jet, just tell me why you would go back to that country when you are no longer in the Army.”
Jet chewed on the gum she’d put into her mouth minutes before, her look irritated and her eyes flashing in annoyance.
“Jet?” the woman queried.
“Yeah, I’m here.” Jet said.
“Are you going to answer my question?”
“Sure, right after you tell me why you need to know,” Jet said, her tone cooler now.
“You are our daughter, Jet, we worry about you,” the woman said, her tone upbraiding.
Jet gave a short bark of laughter. “Oh, wait, you were serious about that?” she said then, her lips curled in a sneer.
“Jet, I can’t deal with you when you’re like this,” the woman said, her tone exasperated.
“Sorry, this is the only this I got.”
“Are you completely off the Ritalin now?” the woman asked then.
“I was never on Ritalin, Mom, its Adderall,” Jet said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
“Well, maybe Ritalin would work better.”
“Yeah, it’s still not going to make me the kid you’re looking for, Mom, so get over it already,” Jet said, her tone cutting.
“I can’t do this…” the woman said, sounding like she was talking to someone else. There was a rustling noise and a muted conversation.
Jet rocked back and forth slightly in her seat, her look impatient, her finger tapping on the steering wheel in agitation.
“Hello? Can we move this happy family experience along please?” Jet asked, losing her patience finally.
“Jet,” a man’s voice said then, his tone authoritative.
“Oh gee, hi Dad,” Jet said, shaking her head and looking up.
“Why are you giving your mother a hard time? We’re just trying to check on you. When we called the house your girlfriend told us you were in Iraq. We were just asking why you felt the need to go back there after the last time you were there.”
Jet listened to her father’s tirade, a calm, nonplussed look on her face.
“So you’re letting random strangers stay in our house now?” her father said.
“I don’t have to be fucking them to let them stay in the house, do I, Dad?” Jet asked.
Fadiyah gasped at the cuss word Jet had used. Jet shook her head, trying not to laugh at the situation.
“Don’t be crass, Jet!” her father’s voice boomed through the speakers of the car.
Again, Jet looked completely unaffected by her father’s words or his volume.
“Why did you go to Iraq?” her father asked when Jet didn’t respond to his order.
“Oh, I dunno, somethin’ to do…” Jet said, her tone sarcastic.
“Sarcasm isn’t attractive Jet,” her father said, his tone caustic.
“Yeah, but it’s all I got, so…”
“We’re worried about you.”
“Uh-huh,” Jet muttered, looking unconvinced. “I’m fine.”
The man sighed then. “I don’t understand why you always have to make things so difficult, Jet…”
“I know,” Jet said, her tone not giving an inch.
“Well, we were calling to tell you that we’re going to be in LA in two weeks.”
“Oh yay,” Jet said, without any enthusiasm.
“Stop it, young lady,” her father gritted out.
Jet gave a smug smile, she loved that she was getting to her father.
“Are you planning on staying at the house? Should I move out?” Jet asked.
Her father sighed loudly again. “We’ll be staying at a hotel, Jet, don’t be a smart ass.”
“It’s the only ass I have, Dad,” Jet replied.
“I thought the Army was supposed to teach you respect,” her father said then.
“It did,” Jet replied. “It also taught me twenty ways to kill a man, so… I’m thinking I probably shouldn’t use everything I learned while I was in.”
“How about giving the respect thing a shot?” her father asked.
“It’s not as fun,” Jet replied.
“We’ll see you in two weeks, Jet. Try to have a better attitude then.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” Jet replied, before disconnecting the line.
She looked over at Fadiyah then and saw that she was watching her with something akin to horror on her face.
“What?” Jet asked, her tone falsely innocent.
“You speak to your parents that way?” Fadiyah asked.
“All the damned time,” Jet replied, her light green eyes sparkling with barely veiled malice.
“Why?” Fadiyah asked, aghast.
Jet looked back at her for a long moment, then shrugged as she looked away. “They never bought me a pony,” she said, her tone sarcastic.
“What?” Fadiyah asked, confused by the answer.
Jet shook her head. “Nothing, I’m sorry, I just really don’t like talking about them.”
“But they are your parents…” Fadiyah said.
“Yeah, well you don’t get to pick who gives birth to you, so…” Jet said, her voice trailing off as she reached over to turn the radio up.
Fadiyah realized that she was doing that to avoid talking. It was the first time Jet had shut her out and it stung. A rock song played and Jet sang the words with relish.
The words in the chorus made Fadiyah think that Jet was thinking about her relationship with her parents. It talked about how a person could let things get the way that they were. And how she wasn’t going to take any more of this person’s denial.
Then there was a bridge to the song that made Fadiyah truly wonder how bad Jet’s relationship with them was. Talking about pushing her to the point of an actual fight. Fadiyah wondered if Jet truly meant to fight her parents.
A few minutes later, as they sat in traffic on the freeway, Jet’s phone rang again. Glancing at the display Jet narrowed her eyes. Fadiyah saw that it was Ashley.
“This is Jet,” Jet answered.
“Hi,” came Ashley’s voice over the cars speakers.
“Hi…” Jet replied, her tone choleric.
“Uh-oh…” Ashley muttered. “What happened?”
“Did you forget to tell me something?” Jet asked, still irritated.
“Uh…” Ashley stammered.
“Something about my parents?” Jet asked, her finger tapping the steering wheel in agitation.
“Oh, shit, Jet… I’m sorry, I totally forgot in all this Seattle craziness…” Ashley said, clearly cringing.
“Uh-huh,” Jet said, her eyes flashing in anger.
“I’m sorry, babe…” Ashley said. “They called right before I left.”
“Okay,” Jet said. “But why did you tell them I was in Iraq?”
There was silence for a long few moments. “Uh… was I not supposed to tell them that?”
“I don’t tell them anything about what I do, Ash,” Jet said. “Hell, I didn’t even tell them I was in Iraq the first damned time.”
“You didn’t?” Ashley asked. “But they knew, because when I said you were in Iraq your mom said ‘again?’.”
Jet chewed at her gum. “That’s only because the Army fucked up and told them I was KIA in Iraq.”
“KIA?” Ashley queried.
“Killed in action, Ash,” Jet said, her tone still sharp.
“Oh,” Ashley said. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t know all of that…”
Jet sighed, shaking her head. “No, it’s my fault I didn’t tell you not to tell them anything if they called. I really didn’t expect them to call the house. They probably couldn’t get through on my cell during the thirty hour flight, so they called the house…”
“I am sorry though,” Ashley said.
Jet blew her breath out. “It’s okay. So how’s it going there?”
“Okay, I should be home the day after tomorrow,” Ashley said, sounding relieved that Jet was no longer mad at her.
“Okay,” Jet said, nodding. “Do you need a ride from the airport?”
“No, I’m okay, my car is there.”
“Okay.”
“Hey, are you in the car?” Ashley asked then.
“Yeah,” Jet said.
“This early in the morning?”
Jet’s lips curled into a grin. “Yeah, I’m on my way in to work.”
“Work? Jet, you just got home,” Ashley said, her tone rising.
“I know, but my Izadi case is going today,” Jet said.
“Oh… damn, that sucks. You be careful please,” Ashley said, her tone softening on the last part.
“I will,” Jet said. “So you have dinner with Greg yet?” she asked then, grinning mischievously.
“No, that’s tonight.” Ashley said.
“Oh… I see, well, look out, he might try to knock your socks off.”
“Like that’s ever gonna happen,” Ashley said, her tone cynical.
“It might,” Jet said, grinning. “Maybe he’ll surprise ya.”
“Shut up, Jet,” Ashley said, smiling at her end.
“Uh-huh,” Jet replied, grinning still. “Just don’t let him in your pants,” she said then, her tone wicked.
“Jet! Oh my God, you are so bad!” Ashley said, laughing.
Jet chuckled. “You have met me, right?”
“Yes, yes I have…” Ashley said then, her voice dropping an octave becoming sultry.
“Easy now…” Jet said, grinning.
“I will see you day after tomorrow, brat,” Ashley said then.
“Okay,” Jet said.
They hung up a moment later.
“Your parents didn’t know you were in the Army?” Fadiyah asked.
Jet glanced over at her. “They knew I was in the Army, hell they bitched about it long enough, but I never told them where I was stationed.”
“How is that possible?” Fadiyah asked.
“Well, honey, I’ve lived on my own since I was seventeen, and I haven’t need
ed their permission to do anything for longer than that, so…”
“But they are your parents…” Fadiyah said, unable to fathom her father not knowing where she was in her lifetime.
Jet gave Fadiyah a sidelong glance. “Do you really want to get back into this?” she asked, her tone starting to ice over.
Fadiyah looked back at her for a long moment, seeing her light green eyes almost literally frost over. She shook her head.
They were both silent for a bit, then Fadiyah looked over at her.
“Greg?” she queried.
Jet grinned. “Ashley’s soon-to-be ex-husband.”
“She is getting a divorce?” Fadiyah asked, surprised.
“Yeah,” Jet said.
“Why?”
Jet shrugged. “She claims I ruined her for him.”
“Ruined her?” Fadiyah asked.
“Well, her perception of her husband,” Jet said.
“How?” Fadiyah asked.
“By being me,” Jet said her tone completely devoid of ego.
“What does that mean?” Fadiyah asked.
“Well, that’s the butch thing.”
“And what is the butch thing?” Fadiyah asked.
“Well,” Jet said, feeling like she’d had this conversation before too. “In the lesbian community there are women like me who are considered butch, we are the more masculine ones of the group.”
Fadiyah nodded. “And your friend Skyler is ‘butch’ as well?”
“Yeah,” Jet said, nodding.
“That is why you both stood when I came out to the balcony, and when I left it as well?”
“Well, yeah,” Jet said. “We tend to group ourselves with the more gallant men in cases like that.”
“Gallant,” Fadiyah repeated the word, nodding. “That is you.”
Jet grinned. “Not all the time, honey, trust me.”
Jet Blue (WeHo Book 5) Page 18