by Jake Devlin
“Cool. But now I'd better head down to my cabin and get back to that paperwork.”
“That trust fund for Cam's son?”
“Nah, that's all set up,” he said, suddenly somber. “She was a good operative; we'll all miss her. I've also got to deal with that guy she and Becky rescued; something hinky with him.”
“I thought Greg and Julie have him somewhere.”
“They do, but they want some guidance on what to do with him before we turn him back over to the client. So I've got some research to check out.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“Naw, thanks. I've got Phil and Nadia digging up everything they can get.”
“Okay. But don't work too hard, okay?”
“Promise.”
He rolled over and kissed her, then started to stand up.
“Don't forget your shorts, hon.”
“Oh, right. Thanks.”
- 44 -
November 18, 2012
1:38 p.m. local time
Bonita Beach, Florida
Gordy was awakened from a light nap by a shrill, piercing voice, and he looked up to see a hawklike nose, a wrinkled face and a huge wide-brimmed floppy black hat with a band of plastic and fabric flowers and one eight-inch plastic flamingo standing one-legged in them. He also saw an index finger shaking no more than two inches from his face. Instantly awake and alert, he started to reach for the finger, but then held back as the voice continued.
“Gordon, I've got another bone to pick with you.”
“Wha- – wha- -- what now, Alice?” he said, pulling himself up to a sitting position, almost eye to eye with her.
“You should be ashamed of yourself, putting all that sex in your book. Disgusting.”
“Why would you say that, Alice?”
“Because … because people are deeply offended by that kind of filth.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. This is a good Christian community, and that sort of garbage offends our sensibilities.”
“Well, Alice, I've heard from a lot of folks that I didn't put enough sex in there.”
“Impossible. It's disgusting.”
“In fact, Alice, I just heard from somebody that I shouldn't have toned it down as much as I did.”
“Toned it down? Pfft. It was disgusting.”
“Well, one woman told me I should have done the shower scene with something like 'She looked deeply into his eyes and saw his intense desire. Then, glancing down, she gently but firmly grasped his swollen, throbbing member and” –
Alice gasped.
– “guided it into her quivering, quavering moistness, thrilling to the electric ecstasy that convulsed her entire body.”
“Stop, stop!”
“Pulling him deeper and deeper into the very depths of her being, she'” --
Alice covered her ears and shrieked, “Enough, enough! Gordon, you are one offensive and disgusting person. I'm just glad I didn't buy the book.”
“But you read it, right?”
“I, uh, I borrowed it from a friend.”
“Did you read the online alternate epilogue?”
“The what? No. No, I did not!”
“Well, Alice, here's a piece of advice. You definitely should not read that OR the sequel.”
“Well, I never!” she huffed and stalked away, back to the rest of the Hat Squad, where Gordy could see her gesticulating angrily in his direction.
He chuckled, made a few notes in his notebook, lay back down and closed his eyes.
- 45 -
November 18, 2012
1:47 p.m. local time
Aboard Defiance
In the Gulf of Aden
Jake picked up the satphone in his cabin.
“Hi, Amber. What's up? Really? Where? Who's the client? Ah, heard of him. And he wants what? Sure, we can do that; double the fee, of course. No, no need; she's just finished that job in Malaysia and needs some time off. Tell you what. I'll do that one myself, and I'll bring Pam along. We're both getting a little antsy here, and I haven't been down there in a few years. What's the name of the city? Two L's, one R? Got it. We can leave tomorrow. You'll set up transport, right? Great. Okay; thanks. Talk with you in the morning.”
He finished the paperwork he'd been working on and headed up to the deck above the bridge, where Pam was still sunbathing, a notebook and pen lying by her side.
“Hey, Pam. Life intrudes again. I've got another job, and if you want, I'd like it if you'd join me on it.”
“Mmm, happy to. I love joining with you; I was just daydreaming about that. C'mere.”
“Okay; we've got time.”
- 46 -
November 18, 2012
3:23 p.m. local time
Bonita Beach, Florida
Gordy was again awakened, this time from a deeper sleep, but by Rosemary, who gently ran her fingertips along the top of one of his feet and softly said, “Are you awake, Gordy?”
Eyes still closed and feet twitching, he said, “Mmm. Not yet, not quite.” Then he smiled. “Hi, Ro.” Then he slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them and adjusting his sunglasses. “Mmm. That's a nice way to be woken up.”
“I'm learning.”
“You sure are, and in more ways than one.”
Rosemary blushed, looked around the crowded beach, then put a finger to her lips. “Shhhh.”
Lowering his voice, Gordy whispered, “Well, you are, and I'm liking it.”
Smiling, she whispered back, “Me, too; it's been a nice week.”
“Mm-hmm.” He sighed and stretched.
“More awake now?”
“Getting there. But I'm proving the truth of that old song.”
“What? Which one?”
“'Waking up Is Hard to Do.'”
Rosemary chuckled.
“Okay; you're back. And you asked me to remind you about your 3:30.”
“Right; Steve and Bruce.” He chuckled, and Rosemary joined in, then blushed again.
“Oh, remember that writer we met, Dallas?”
“Yeah.”
“She was here this morning, showed me some of her work, and she's gonna help me with the three-way scene. No charge.”
“That's nice. She's sure pretty … ah … open-minded.”
“F'sure. And you've been loosening up some since then, too.”
“Like I said, I'm learning.”
“By the way, for Thursday, how about if I pick up a couple of to-go turkey dinners, save you the trouble of cooking? Would that be okay?”
“Oh, Gordy, I was thinking the same thing, but I was gonna pick 'em up at the supermarket. Gotta be sure they're gluten-free for me.”
“Oh, right; I'd QH'd that. And no string beans for me.”
“Right.”
“How about this? We'll go over there later today or tomorrow, pre-order what we want, and I'll pick 'em up Thursday.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Great. So” –
“Hi, Gordy!”
“Oh, sorry, Ro; life intrudes.”
“No problem. I'll get outa the way.”
“No, no, no; let me introduce you.
“Hi, Steve, Bruce – and who's this with you?”
“Gordy, this is Virginia Plaistokovitchofski, chairwoman of the business department. She asked if she could come along.”
“Nice to meet you, Virginia; welcome.”
“And you, Gordon.”
“Oh, call me Gordy, okay?”
“And you can call me Ginny.”
Suppressing a chuckle, Gordy said, “And this is Rosemary, my – a good friend of mine. Rosemary, Steve and Bruce and Ginny.”
“Nice to meet you all.”
They shook hands all around, then Steve added, “And our sociology chairwoman is on her way.”
“Her name isn't May, is it?” Gordy asked, glancing at Rosemary as both of them stifled their chuckles.
“No, it's Pamela.”
At that, Gordy
and Rosemary could no longer stifle their laughter.
“What's so – oh, I – no, I don't get it,” Bruce said.
“I'm so sorry, folks,” Gordy said, regaining control. “Kind of an inside joke.
“But I see you're not really dressed for the beach. How about if we go over there and use one of the gazebos?”
“Thank you. I'm very sun-sensitive,” Ginny said.
“Okay if Rosemary joins us?”
“Oh, no, Gordy, you don't need me.”
“No, but I'd like it if you would. Please. Anybody mind?”
“No, that's fine,” Steve said.
“Ro?”
“Okay, okay.”
Gordy picked up his beach bag and a bottle of water from his cooler, Rosemary got her bag, and all of them headed to the gazebos.
“Ah, here comes Pamela,” Steve said, waving to her. She waved back and joined them; after another round of introductions and pleasantries, they all settled around the picnic table in an empty gazebo.
Half an hour later, Gordy looked around the table and said, “Well, I guess we're all agreed.”
Everybody concurred, smiling.
“And, Bruce, I'll be sure to add your idea on the China sanctions.”
“Thanks,” Bruce replied.
“I think it's great. Not something I thought of.”
Steve asked, “So you're sure you can have it all done by the end of the year?”
“Absolutely; no problem. Maybe even sooner; it's mostly just cut and paste, probably wind up at less than a hundred pages. And I'll get you all some preview copies, probably well before Christmas.”
“Great,” Steve said, and the others all nodded.
They shook hands all around and left the gazebo, the professors walking out to the parking lot, Gordy and Ro heading back to their spot on the beach.
“That went well,” Rosemary said.
“Yeah; they're all nice people … and VERY bright,” Gordy replied. “Just my target audi- – oh, shit.”
“What?”
“Ron and Jenny are here.”
“So?”
“He's probably gonna want to blab away at me again, and I really don't want to deal with him.”
“Well, it's past four, time to head home anyhow.”
“Right. I'll just pack up and go.”
“Want to come over to my condo for a while?”
“Sure; I'd like that.”
“But we can't leave together.”
“I know. You go on ahead and I'll drive over in a few minutes.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
When they got back to their stuff, Rosemary folded up her chair, said, “See you tomorrow, maybe,” and headed across the street to her condo.
Gordy flipped his lounge over and packed his cooler and all his other stuff on top, but before he could start wheeling it out to the parking lot, he saw Ron striding toward him.
“Hey, schlub” –
“Sorry, Ron; no time. I've got an appointment.”
“But” –
“Didn't you hear me? I've got no time for you.”
“But” –
“Dammit, Ron, no buts. I've gotta go.” He picked up the front of his lounge and headed for the parking lot, leaving Ron where he stood, fists clenched. Gordy noticed Jenny sitting in her chair and nodded to her as he left; she nodded back, smiling and chuckling, but not so Ron could see.
Ten minutes later, Gordy joined Rosemary in her condo. Ten minutes after that, he joined her in her condo.
Two hours later, he left a smiling Rosemary and headed home to start on the cut-and-paste job.
- 47 -
November 22, 2012
11:27 a.m. local time
A private airfield near Prien am Chiemsee, Bavaria, Germany
“And you are?”
“Tori; I'm subbing for Arturo today and I'll be taking you on this jump. Your first, right?”
“Yeah.”
“On your bucket list, right?
“Yeah.”
“You've seen the tape, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So you know what to expect, right?”
“Yeah. We go up in the plane, you buckle in behind me and we jump out and fall for a minute and then you pull the ripcord and we float down until we land. I watched the tape.”
“Good. Now I need to ask you a few questions. First, how much do you weigh?”
“230.”
“Pounds?”
“'Course.”
“Okay, okay; just asking. Let's see; a little over 100 kilos. I'll have to get a larger chute.
“Height?”
“Five foot seven.”
“Hmm; one point seven meters.
“Age?”
“47.”
“So in metric years, that'd be” –
“Metric years?”
“Just kidding; lighten up.
“Nationality?”
“American.”
“Me, too. What state?”
“New Jersey.”
“I thought I heard the accent. Eh, fuggeddabouddit, huh?”
“C'mon; next question.”
“You nervous or something?”
“Nah.”
“Okay, okay. Occupation?”
“Uh, import-export.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“What's that got to do with the jump?”
“Nothing; just curious.”
“Mostly furniture and some electronics, okay?”
“Okay; thanks.”
“Next of kin?”
“That should be on the papers I filled out.”
“Oh, the release? Yeah, it's on there, I'm sure, but I haven't seen that yet.”
“Well, quit wasting my time.”
“Just filling it; we've got a few minutes before we can load up. Tell you what, you wait right here and I'll go swap chutes. Now, don't let your nerves bug you. We'll be fine.”
“I told ya, I ain't nervous.”
“Okay, okay. I'll be right back, and then you'll get the ride of your life.”
Fifteen minutes later, as the plane reached altitude at 4200 meters (about 13,800 feet), Tori clipped onto her client's harness, and when the jumpmaster signaled them, they walked out the door and began their freefall.
- 48 -
November 22, 2012
2:38 p.m. local time
Bonita Beach, Florida
“That was delicious, Gordy. Thank you.”
“Yeah, they do a good job there.”
“I'm gonna save most of this. Are you done with yours?”
“Yup; I'm gonna save the rest of it, too.”
“Got a little room for some pie? Homemade pumpkin.”
“Maybe in an hour or so; I'm feeling a little full.”
“Me, too; and an hour sounds right.”
“Let me get that, Ro.”
“No, I've got it; just gonna stick it back in the boxes and in the fridge. You just relax, okay?”
“Okay.”
A few minutes later, Rosemary cuddled up to Gordy on her couch and sighed. “This is the best Thanksgiving I've ever had.”
“Me, too.”
“Don't get me wrong. I love Kevin and his wife and their daughter, but whenever we all got together, there was always some tension, and it usually got worse on Thanksgiving.”
“I'm sorry – and I mean that empathetically, not apologetically.”
“Do you have any family?”
“Just one sister and her husband, but we only talk maybe twice a year, and some emails now and then, and that's enough for both of us.”
“Were you ever married?”
“Once, but I filed after six months.”
“Six months? That doesn't even count.”
“I'm a quick learner.”
“Do you keep in touch with her?”
“Nope; no idea where she is or what she's doing.”
“Wow. Really?”
“Really.”
Rosemary snuggled even closer to Gordy and whispered, “So what are you grateful for?”
Gordy returned the snuggle and said, “Well, first of all, I'm glad that you're in my life.”
“Me, too.”
“You're glad” –
“I mean, I'm glad you're in my life, too. No gotcha there, kid.”
“Hey, we're only three years apart. No kidding.”
“No – kidding?”
“Right.”
“How about if I call you 'sonny'?”
“Nope; too close.”
“So what else?”
“What else what?”
“What else are you grateful for?”
“Well, I'm grateful that I can live here in Bonita.”
“Even though it's pouring out there today?”
“Yup; I didn't move here for the weather.”
“No?”
“Nope; moved here for the climate.”
“Ah-ha.” She chuckled and snuggled closer.
“How about you? What else are you grateful for?”
“Mmmm; let's see. I'm grateful that my baby is still acting on that TV show. Seven years now, and she's happy, gonna have a great future.”
“Your baby?”
“My granddaughter.”
“And you call her your baby?”
“I do.”
“Oh, that one's way too easy, Rosemary.”
“What is?”
“Oh, come on, Rosemary. Rosemary?”
“Wha- – oh, oh – oh! Got it.” She started to chuckle, then a laugh, then a full guffaw.
“Never heard that before?”
“No, never,” she was able to get out before succumbing to more laughter, now with some snorting on the inhale.
“Wow.” Gordy joined in the laughter, and even made a few snorts himself.
Rosemary buried her face in Gordy's shoulder and finally managed to control her laughter. Gordy rubbed her back as he got his laughter under control, too.
“Oh, Gordy, that feels good.”
“I'm glad.”
“So let's get more comfortable.”
“Time for some life-extension?”
“Yes, yes.”
A few minutes later, as they snuggled on the king bed, Gordy said, “Good for you?”
“So far. Now take out your teeth and let's get naked.”