by Ben Ryder
“Well, that part is ludicrous.” “Is it? My goal in life is to have property and enough money in the bank to be comfortable, while his is to go without and put his life on the line to ensure that his family has a decent future. He’s made me feel so selfish and shallow.”
“Darling, from what I can see, you have clearly made an impact on him. Dare I say, even brought him a little bit of happiness in the dark days before heading to war? I, for one, find that invaluable to someone who clearly needs it.”
IT WAS late afternoon when Jackie accompanied me to the hotel salon, and she was relishing the idea of what was to come.
“Are you kidding? I simply must witness this!” Jackie said in delight.
“I’m not doing this for fun, Jacks.”
“I know, but I also know how particular you are about your locks.” “If I could get away with not working tonight, I wouldn’t even consider it. But I have to be there when the distributor turns up. I can’t imagine Mr. Mamook being too pleased with dealing with just you.”
“Well, it would be his loss. I am charming!”
“Yes, but I have a penis.”
I took one last look at myself and nodded to the girl in the mirror. Judging by the age of the clippers and the frightened look the young girl gave me, it was clear that it had been a while since she’d cut a man’s hair.
She slowly edged the clippers a couple of inches from the nape of my neck, stopping and going over the same area again and again. I put my hand up to stop her, giving her a chance to smile with relief. I took the clippers from her hand and held them against the top of my forehead and dragged it in a straight line over the top of my head, stripping every hair.
“It’s okay, this is what I want,” I said with an encouraging smile. I handed the clippers back to her and felt the buzz continue across the back of my head. The odd and unfamiliar sensation of a cold breeze ran through the strip on my scalp from the air conditioning, causing me to shiver.
I looked into the mirror again at Jackie, who I could tell was desperately trying to hold her tongue. “It’s quicker than growing a beard, Jacks, and I would look ridiculous dyeing my hair.”
“You are an absolute master of disguise!” Jackie mocked. “Jay? Jay?” she continued, looking around the room into the empty corners. “Well, how odd! He was here a moment ago.”
“Do you have a better idea?” Jackie dipped her head to one side to look at the finished result. “Well,if you didn’t look like a criminal before, you certainly do now!”
It was true. It was the first time in my life I had ever shaved my head, and I looked like a thuggish convict. But at least I didn’t look like the man who assaulted a police officer the night before.
I STOPPED by reception three times before I finally got ready to head to dinner with Jackie and Peter. I was hoping for a note, a sign that he was okay, or at least something that would let me know whether the plan had worked. Each time I was disappointed. There was no message on my phone in the hotel room either, so I was unsure whether Damon had received the warning about Peter in time.
When Peter arrived he was in good spirits, which put me at ease, as I was sure that any kind of bad news would have been announced immediately. Jackie, looking immaculate as always in a beige pencil skirt and black blouse, tottered over to him.
“Nice haircut, young man,” he said with a nod of approval in my direction. I rubbed my scalp but stayed silent.
“Now, I have a very anxious young lady upstairs, Petey,” Jackie said. “What’s the word on the young man?” “It’s all been taken care of. I put him straight on escort duty, as one of the commanders is visiting at the moment. I assigned him a double shift, so he should be out of the way all day and night.”
“Was there much of a ruckus over the incident?” I asked. “Well, from what I know, the Bahraini police were in full manhunt mode. It’s lucky I knew about this before. If they had picked up Damon on the street, I think he would have been in a world of trouble. From what you told me of what happened, they’ve blown it all out of proportion.”
“You are now officially my hero!” Jackie gushed. Peter seemed to like her response, so he carried on with the story. “I was there when a Bahraini prosecutor’s office representative and two police guards came to the front gate of the base. Their English wasn’t too good, so the specifics were a bit all over the place, but from what I understood, they wanted to file a case of immorality, assault, and evading arrest.”
“So what happened?” I asked tentatively. “They probably would have gotten what they wanted if they had just asked for the boys to come down for a simple lineup at the station. But they went into full-on mode and started demanding access to the barracks so they could search them and conduct a full lineup of the men on base.” Peter chuckled at the thought. “Then they demanded photographic IDs to be displayed of all personnel if they didn’t find the culprit! As if we would evergive them that!”
“Oh Jesus.” “Don’t worry about it. The prosecutor was young and clearly out of his depth. The moment they began to ‘demand’ was the moment they got our backs up. They wanted full access to an American military base over something like that? No, NCIS pretty much refused to accommodate any investigation and all but told them to fuck off.”
“So Damon is in the clear?” “NCIS can either be the most helpful people in the world, or as stubborn as damn mules. At the moment, the Bahraini police would be lucky to have a phone call returned.”
I expressed my relief with a loud laugh that bordered on a cackle, causing Peter to look at me oddly since his words weren’t all that funny.
IT WAS all I could do to not excuse myself from dinner, while I sat as the proverbial third wheel, watching Jackie and Peter make eyes at each other over the food. I wondered where Damon was and whether he was okay.
In between smiles and agreeing nods to Jackie and Peter’s conversation, I caught reflections of myself in the window of the restaurant. I wondered if Damon would approve of my new haircut, whether its military look would make me more attractive to him, or whether I would just join a line of cropped-haired fuck buddies. I hoped I was as different for him as he was for me, that what had happened the night before was more than just two people getting carried away and overly emotional, knowing it would all end in a couple of days.
Of course, we didn’t know we wouldn’t even have that. JACKIE and I returned to our rooms to get ready for our team’s final performance. Peter headed back to base but promised to join us later at Ahmed’s bar. I wasn’t in the mood for it, but since Ahmed had been so hospitable all week and was our link to the distributor, I knew I had to rally and put on a happy face.
I walked into my room and checked the carpet in front of the door, hoping that a note had been pushed under my door. But I found nothing.
In the still darkness of the room, however, I caught the blinking light on the telephone. I raced over and punched the button to retrieve voice mail, hoping to hear Damon’s voice on the message. Instead, I heard Emma asking what to wear for the evening, despite the fact that it was outlined in the information we gave her on the first night.
I couldn’t help myself from going to reception before we left and asking whether any messages had been left for me. But my minute hopes were dashed as the receptionist checked her lists and informed me that she had nothing to give me.
AHMED greeted us with sheer joy on his face. “Ah, my friend! Your last night here, we make it special, yes?”
“Sure, Ahmed,” I said, taking his hand and offering a slight bow. “Thank you for everything you have done for us this week.”
I walked out into the bar to find the place heaving with bodies. Ahmed had obviously gone way over capacity in an attempt to cram as many people into the place as possible. I understood his desire to have his bar known as the most popular in the city, but it made it practically impossible to work.
Not wanting a repeat of last time, I instructed the girls to change into their cheerleading outfits and rem
ain behind the bar to hand out the beer until it was gone. I made sure to tell them to pay particular attention to the distributor, who had arrived and was happily watching the girls’ every move.
I went with Natasha, Nikki, and Emma to the bar at the far end of the room and plugged in the stereo system and the microphone, while Jackie remained behind the main bar with Lei, Siobhan, and Tara. There was no room to move, so with Ahmed’s permission I climbed up and stood on the bar, facing the crowd. I looked over at Jackie, who politely leaned to one side while Ahmed spoke into her ear.
“Good evening, gentlemen!” I began. “Thank you for attending our last night here in Bahrain.” There was a general groan.
“But let’s make it a good night. We will have free Side Line beer for you here all night and the girls will be—” I froze as I watched four tan uniforms snake their way through the crowd of men. I recognized the larger policeman immediately. As he walked, he turned his head back and looked into the faces in the crowd, occasionally shaking his head to his thin partner, who was doing the same.
“The girls will be here to entertain you tonight,” I continued, hoping to God that my newly shaved head and stubble would disguise me. I looked over to Jackie for some kind of help, but Jackie was distracted.
Jackie faced away from me, toward the door that led to the back rooms of the club. Just then, I noticed a hulking figure dressed in a camouflage uniform step into the doorway. Jackie turned and pointed me out to Damon, who took off his hat and gave me the most beautiful smile I have ever seen. He rubbed his knuckles against his head to show his approval of my new look.
“Now, who wants a free beer delivered by one of these lovely ladies? Come on, hands up!” I knew the raised arms would block the view of the bar as I saw the larger policeman start walking in its direction. Jackie and Damon were behind and oblivious to their presence.
“ You!” I shouted into the microphone. Everyone followed my outstretched finger aimed directly at the policeman, who seemed confused by their stares. “You! Mr. Policeman!”
He turned and looked up at me. We stared at each other and for a moment I thought he recognized me, but then he pointed to himself as if to ask if I was addressing him.
“Yes! You and your boys look like you could do with a beer! Give them some encouragement, girls!” I said, turning to Emma, Siobhan, and Nikki with a look of manic pleading on my face.
The girls began to jump up and down, which only excited the crowd, who joined in with the cheers. “Come on, sir! You know you want to!” I goaded him. “I’m sure you’re allowed at least one beer on duty.”
The attention began to fluster him. The other policemen stood beside him, unsure whether it was okay to laugh. He waved his hand in front of his face dismissively and turned his back on me and walked toward the bar again.
“Come on lads, give him some encouragement!” I yelled. The crowd’s arms went up and they began to clap in his direction, most of them clearly amused that it was making the policemen flustered.
I turned my head and saw that Damon had disappeared from the doorway. “Ah, he must be shy! Okay, lads, enjoy tonight and remember Side Line thanks you again for all the courage you show every day to keep us safe.”
I jumped off the bar and desperately tried to get over to Jackie. “He’s out back. He refused to leave without seeing you. I’ll hold off the police as long as I can, but for goodness sake, get him out of here before you’re both caught and jailed.”
Jackie flipped the bar entrance up to let me through and slammed it back down after me. I turned just in time to see her gather three of the girls in front of it. On cue, they began jumping up and down, causing a swell of men to block any chance of the police getting through.
“Damon?” I called timidly as I walked through the back of the bar.
He stepped cautiously out of the doorway to the storeroom. “Damon, you have to get out of here, now.”
“I know. But I couldn’t leave without saying good-bye.”
He rushed over and threw his arms around me. I returned his embrace for a moment before I pushed him back. “Damon, you have to get out of here, seriously.”
He pulled a box out of his pocket and handed it to me. “I managed to get away from the Commander for an hour today.”
“Damon, you have better things to spend your money on than—” I heard Jackie’s voice growing louder. “Ahmed, is there a beverage we can get these policemen? They don’t seem to be thrilled with the idea of a beer.”
Damon took the back of my head into his hand and ran his finger up the bristle behind my ear before leaning in until our foreheads met. “It suits you.”
“Please, Damon….”
I felt the skin on his head rub mine as he nodded.
I bolted for the door and opened it to see Peter sitting in a car waiting for him. His head was down as he looked over a clipboard of paper.
“He thinks I’m here to see Emma,” Damon said sadly. “It’s okay. I understand. But please, Damon, get out of here.”
He turned to face me in the doorway and whispered, his voice breaking, “Thank you, Jay.” My eyes began to sting with hot tears.
“Please, look after yourself out there,” I said.
Jackie’s voice echoed through the hallway. “Jay!” I tried to burn an impression of him into my eyes. He looked so handsome standing there upright in his uniform. He replaced his hat and, with his back to Peter, gave me a swift salute. The sad smile on his beautiful face vanished out of view as I closed the door on him.
“They’re not leaving, Jay,” Jackie said, running in from the bar.
“It’s okay, he’s gone.”
She stroked my arm. “Are you okay?” I fell onto her shoulder and a small sob escaped. She stroked my arm a little harder. “Did the big boy break your heart?”
I nodded into her shoulder.
“What’s in the box?” She picked up the rectangular box Damon had handed to me. I opened it to find a silver-strapped watch. I took it delicately from its casing and let it fall around my fingers. It was as handsome a watch as I had ever seen.
“It’s a beautiful-looking timepiece,” she said sympathetically as I turned it over in my hands. My fingers gripped around it after I read the words engraved on the back. “Our time together.”
Epilogue
JACKIE and I stood in the late afternoon sun at our second promotional event of the year at Daytona Beach. The race was still underway, but most of the distributors we were entertaining in our rented box had ventured outside and down to the track, full of barbeque and free beer.
It had been two years since we went to Bahrain, even though it had become the most profitable area in the Middle East for the company. We had been to Florida three times the year before and held events in Tampa and Orlando at some of the more popular theme parks. I had hated every second of it.
The phone number Damon gave me had been disconnected just a week after we left, and up until then it switched immediately to a recorded message explaining it wasn’t possible to connect the call. Each event afterward became harder and harder as news reports filled the Internet, television, and radio of more bombings or attacks on American forces in Tehran, often never naming the people who had died. A cold chill ran down my spine as I occasionally typed “Damon O’Conner” into a Google search, hoping I wouldn’t discover a news report of his death.
Despite my attempts, I was never able to locate him. On the chance he had a profile, I sifted through nine hundred “Damon O’Conners” and eleven hundred “Damon O’Connors” on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and every other social networking site I could think of. I had come up with nothing. I had no idea whether he was still in Tehran or whether he had been deployed somewhere else. I had even sent Ahmed a letter with my contact details and a copy of the photograph we had taken in the bar in the hopes that, if Damon returned to Bahrain, Ahmed might recognize him and pass my number along.
I tried over and over to remember whether I had eve
r told him my surname but came to the conclusion I hadn’t. In fact, I was sure I hadn’t even told him that my name, Jay, was short for my Christian name, Jayson.
I looked over at the bar and saw Jackie trying to get away from a particularly large distributor from Miami who had seemed to take a shine to her. I could have rescued her, but I almost relished watching her squirm. After all, she was the one who convinced me to do this Daytona show.
WEEKS earlier, we were sitting in the office. I was desperately trying to avoid Simon. He had applied for and been chosen as the head of Worldwide Sales, but only on the condition that he could find someone who could replace him to ensure sales wouldn’t suffer. He had badgered me for the last week to take the job, but I simply wasn’t interested in the responsibility and the politics. Three heads of sales had been fired the year before, as the company once again attempted to streamline the business, and I had no intention of putting my neck on any future chopping block.
“Perhaps you should consider taking the job,” Jackie
said from behind her computer, where she was entering sales figures and deciding what events we might attend next. “No chance.”
“But Jay, my love, you would make an exceptional manager, and I could become your PA!” “Then you could join me in my chair as the Sword of Damocles hangs over my head. We’re happy as we are, aren’t we?”
Jackie’s head bobbed around the computer. “What did you say?” “We’re happy as we are, aren’t we?”
“No, before that.”
“What? You can join me under the Sword of Damocles?”
Jackie returned to her computer without answering me. A few minutes passed, and I began to worry that perhaps Jackie wasn’t happy where she was. Neither of us had taken a vacation in the past year, as we were working hard on the promotion of another line of beer the company was about to release. The idea of losing Jackie as part of the team, whether from exhaustion or boredom, would spell the end of my time with the company. I simply couldn’t do my job without her.