41
That night, Jessica multitasked. On the couch, while holding her laptop on her lap, she ate a PowerBar with her right hand, petted Ricky with her left, and carried on a conversation with Marisol on her cell’s headphone.
“So Esmeralda hasn’t found any more money for the site?”
“Yeah. She’s going to e-mail you about it when we get rid of our computer’s virus. She can’t pay you for any more work until we get another grant. But she does love what you did so far, and so does everybody else, so they’re going to try really hard to find the money.”
“And in the meantime, don’t quit my day job, right?” said Jessica. “Mari, I have seriously got to get the hell out of that place.”
“I’m sorry. Hey, I’ll ask around. Maybe someone here knows about an opening.”
“Thanks.” Jessica had just finished another long, eye-searing job search, and she wasn’t really in the mood to talk about it anymore. Marisol probably heard it in her voice, because she promptly changed the subject.
“Hey, so how’re things going between your parents?”
Jessica frowned. “I don’t know yet. I talked to Sabrina earlier, and she said they had lunch today. But then Mami went back to Sabrina’s after work, and she wouldn’t say anything about it.”
“Do you think they’re going to work it out?”
“I don’t know. Honestly, Marisol? I’m trying really hard not to think about it at all.” Jessica crumpled up her PowerBar wrapper and set it on the table.
Her friend clucked sympathetically, then changed the subject again. “Hey, so what are you going to do about the painting? Did Guillermo sell it?”
“I don’t think so. But he never said he was going to give it to me, either. Not that I’d take it now, now that I know he just slapped it together real fast so I wouldn’t be mad.”
“Did it look like he slapped it together, though? I thought you said it looked really good.”
Jessica sighed. “It did. It was beautiful.”
“Well, maybe he didn’t mean it as bad as it came out. I’m sure he worked hard on it, even if it was last minute.”
Ricky rubbed his little face against her hand, and Jessica stroked him thoughtfully. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve finally learned my lesson. You know why he painted that picture of me, really? Because he realized how much he needs me. He just needs someone to help him organize his life now that he’s finally making money. But that someone’s not going to be me. He had his chance to prove himself to me, and he blew it. I’ve moved on.”
“Yeah, speaking of . . . ,” said Marisol. “What’s up with you and Jonathan? Are you going out this weekend?”
“Yep. Tomorrow night.”
“What is this, the fourth date now? Have you let him get to third base yet?”
Marisol’s voice was teasing. But at the same time, it made Jessica not want to say anything about the last date and her thwarted attempt to consummate their relationship. She didn’t think that Marisol would understand. Maybe she would say that Jessica had moved too quickly. And Jessica didn’t want to hear that. She already felt embarrassed enough about the whole thing as it was. She shifted the focus of the conversation.
“Actually, he said he had a big surprise for me tomorrow night. I’m trying to figure out what it could be.”
“Maybe he’ll take you for a picnic in the park, and then he’ll tell you to look up, and there’ll be one of those skywriter planes asking you to marry him.” Marisol laughed at her own joke, and Jessica had to join her.
“Yeah, sure.”
Marisol dropped her teasing tone for a moment. “So you really like this guy, huh?”
“Yeah, I have to admit that he’s growing on me.”
“Like a fungus?” said Marisol, cracking herself up again.
“Exactly.”
After they got off the phone, Jessica went back to her task, furiously searching through all the job sites, corporate web pages, and online classifieds she could find. She’d already sent e-mails to all her noninsurance friends, discreetly asking for leads.
Maybe, she thought, she could ask Jonathan for help. He could probably get her a job at Halronburco just by snapping his fingers. But that would be a last resort. Ever since all the mess she’d gone through with Robert at the Centro, she’d made it a rule not to date co-workers. If she did get a job at Halronburco, she’d have to work in a department far from Jonathan’s.
Thinking about this tickled something in the back of her mind. She felt she was forgetting something.
She ran through a mental list: job search, the Centro, Halronburco, and then Sabrina. Sabrina had worked at Halronburco, too, before she’d married David and decided to cash in on a life of leisure. Jessica smiled as she realized that her sister probably still had contacts there. She would have to ask. In fact, she’d ask David himself for help.
For the third or fourth time since her job search had started, she thought of Guillermo and his booming art career. It was too bad she wasn’t planning to see him anymore. Now that it was over between them, the opportunity she’d been fantasizing about all along had finally presented itself. She could have been Guillermo’s manager, handling all his exhibits and sales, for a small percentage of the profits, which would undoubtedly get bigger and bigger.
But that really would be dating a co-worker, wouldn’t it? Not that it’d been quite the same thing back when she’d first thought of the idea. Back when they were still together, she would’ve been perfectly willing to do it for free. As Xavier had said — she would have been Guillermo’s consultant for payment in rice and beans.
42
Friday, Jessica woke up with the sun in her eyes and then realized that she’d never set her alarm. It was eleven a.m. She called Rochelle to say that she’d be in late. Then, right before Rochelle answered, Jessica decided she might as well just say she was sick and stay home. Fortunately, Rochelle said everything was under control and she’d see Jessica on Monday.
Jessica hung up the phone with a relieved sigh. Obviously, she realized, she’d needed the rest. She’d been through so much stress over the past couple of weeks. Now that she’d called in sick, she had nothing to worry about. Only something to look forward to — her date tonight with Jonathan. She stretched languorously. Ricky woke up and did the same beside her. Then she popped out of bed. After her shower, she decided, she’d go shopping and find something awesome to wear tonight.
She got up and lifted Ricky from her bed. He mewed as she kissed him and gave him a good-morning hug. Tonight, Jessica decided, she wasn’t going to worry about anything at all. She would let things happen the way they were meant to happen, and she’d sit back and enjoy it.
“Wow!” said Jonathan as she opened her apartment door to him several hours later. “You look even better than the last time I saw you. I didn’t think that’d be possible.”
Jessica laughed, then stood on tiptoes to kiss him. She knew the little Japanese floral print dress was perfect the moment she’d seen it in the window. And the pink brocade wedges she’d found went with it perfectly.
Jonathan drove her to a tiny Italian restaurant that Jessica had never noticed before, even though it was downtown and just a couple of blocks from her work. It was one of those places where all the tables were for two, and all were decorated with candles and flowers. It was very romantic.
“The salmon here is really good,” he said. “But order whatever you want. It’s all good.”
She ordered the tortellini, and he ordered the salmon, plus calamari, plus a bottle of Shiraz. “It’s still my turn to pick up the tab,” she reminded him. “You keep tricking me out of it.”
“Since I picked the restaurant, this is my treat. Next time you pick,” he replied mischievously.
They made small talk about his upcoming business trips and his neighborhood renovation efforts. He kept asking about her work, but it wasn’t until after her first glass of wine that Jessica relaxed enough to tell him all the drama. She
went over it as briefly as she could, feeling embarrassed that she hadn’t been able to snatch up the broker job as easily as he’d said she would.
“Wow. That’s pretty rough.” He passed her the calamari as though it were a consolation prize.
She shrugged. “I’ve started looking for a new job. It’s not worth wasting my time there anymore.”
“What are you looking for? Web design?”
She sighed and dipped a squid ring into the horseradish sauce, then described her job-hunting woes. When she was done, Jonathan poured each of them more wine. “Well, let me look around Halronburco and see if there’s anything you might be interested in.”
“I was thinking of asking you that, actually. But then I went ahead and checked out their job site. The only listings are for price analysts and IP analysts, and I don’t even know what those are.”
His smile widened. “Let me ask around. I might be able to find something that’s not on the job site yet.”
She caught his eye and finally realized what he meant. He was an important person at Halronburco. He could probably just invent a job for her. She bit into tiny, spicy tentacles and took another sip of Shiraz. That hadn’t been her plan — to hint that he should make his company hire her. But screw it. She reasoned that if he could do it easily, and it made him happy to do it — and it did seem as though it would — then why not let him.
“That was seriously the best Italian food I’ve ever had.”
It was no exaggeration. Jessica didn’t play around when it came to food. She and Jonathan walked slowly down the street to his car. Behind them, the skyscrapers shone sunset gold.
“I’m glad you liked it. We’ll have to go back again.”
She nodded. They would go back again, probably. She could imagine it clearly. It would be one of their favorite places as a couple. “So, where to now?”
“It’s a surprise, remember?” he said.
“Give me a hint.” It had been in the back of her mind all week, but she’d been completely unable to guess.
“I can’t. But I promise you’ll love it.”
They got into his car and rode a couple of miles to the warehouses on the edge of downtown.
“Are we going to a rave?” Jessica asked.
“No.”
“An art opening?”
“Nope.”
They stopped next to one of the warehouses right on the edge of everything, where it got dark fast. There were only a few other cars there, and no one was on the sidewalk. Jessica couldn’t decide whether to be excited or apprehensive.
“What is this place?”
“Don’t worry. It’s totally safe.” He pointed to the corner, where a security guard stood scanning the street. Then he pointed to the shadiest corner of the parking lot, where another guard sat on a stool watching them.
Jonathan opened her door and helped her onto the crumbling curb, then said, “Just a second. I forgot something.”
Jessica stood on the sidewalk and watched him run back to the car to take something out of the trunk. As he ran back to her, she saw him tuck a small gift-wrapped box under his arm. Since he was obviously trying to keep it hidden, she pretended she hadn’t noticed. But inside she was dying to find out what it was.
The box was too large for a ring, so she wasn’t worried about him pulling a surprise proposal, as Marisol had joked. It was about the right size for a necklace, though. Jessica wasn’t sure what to think about this. No guy had ever bought her a necklace before. Unless she counted Tony Garcia, who’d given her an Avon unicorn pendant in the fifth grade. And even then, that had been after she’d made out with him behind the monkey bars.
Jessica had to wonder, then, why Jonathan was getting so serious already. They hadn’t even done it yet.
They stood at the wide, black metal door. Instead of knocking, Jonathan checked his watch. By then, it was around nine. A man in a white shirt and thin black tie opened the door just a crack, recognized Jonathan, then opened it all the way.
“Hey, man,” he said. They gave each other a handshake with mutual arm slapping.
“Jessica, this is my buddy Dean. And this is his place.”
Dean led them over the threshold into the warehouse, which was only dimly lit. But once Jessica stepped into the huge room and saw everything in it, she knew exactly what it was.
“Oh, my God,” she shrieked quietly. “This is so, so awesome!”
It was a roller rink.
It was the coolest roller rink she’d ever seen — like something straight out of her childhood, but completely redone to look shiny and new. On one side of the warehouse, old-school arcade games took up a whole wall. Opposite that was a snack bar, with chrome-accented tables, bar stools upholstered in glittery vinyl, and neon-framed pictures of hot dogs and fountain drinks. In the middle, taking up most of the warehouse, was the rink itself, impossibly huge. It called out to her with its glossy wooden surface that reflected the disco lights.
“Surprise.” Colored circles flashed across Jonathan’s smile.
She smiled back at him, probably like a crazy person, too ecstatically shocked to say anything.
“Okay, man,” said Dean. “I’ll be back at eleven. The games should all be up and running, except Ms. Pac-Man. We’re still working on that one. Oh, and there’s no food in the snack bar yet, except some ice cream in the freezer. And the water’s on, so you can use the sinks and the restrooms and whatever. You guys have fun. Try everything out and let me know what you think.” He slapped Jonathan on the arm again. “Nice meeting you,” he added to Jessica. Then he was gone, and they had the whole place to themselves.
Jessica was still in a daze and couldn’t do anything but stare all around at the pretty colors.
“I hope you know how to skate,” said Jonathan. “Otherwise, we’ll have to play Asteroids for two hours.”
“I know how to skate. At least, I hope I still can. It’s been a while.” She looked over and noticed that the counter they were standing against hid a bank of in-line and old-fashioned roller skates in all sizes. “Oh, but . . .” She looked down at her sandals. She wasn’t even wearing hose. Disappointment settled over her like a smoggy cloud. There was no way she could skate in bare feet. Not only was it gross and unsanitary — it would give her blisters. She knew that from experience.
“I brought you a gift.”
Jonathan pulled the little present from behind his back. Jessica forgot about her feet and tried to compose her face in the right kind of expression — not too nervous, but not too expectant, either. He grinned like a maniac while she slowly untied the string and pulled the paper off the black velvet box. She held her breath as she pulled open the lid.
It was a pair of socks.
Jessica laughed. Now, all the tension she’d been working herself into was gone. “Thank you,” she said, reaching to hug him. He hugged her back, and they shared a quick kiss. She could tell he wanted to do more, but instead he pulled back and led her to the skates.
The place was complete magic. It brought back every happy memory Jessica had of going skating with Marisol and Toby back in middle school. The first time she ever skated, the first time she kissed a high school boy. The first time she wore eyeliner and the last time she wore leg warmers.
Not only was the jukebox stocked with every single good song from the eighties, but when they loaded it up and pressed play, it activated a giant videoscreen on the wall above the rink. Jessica squealed in delight as Duran Duran lit up the floor, all hungry like the wolf.
“So your friend Dean owns this place? He’s going to make a fortune.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear you think so. He’s one of the owners, and also the manager. He’s been doing most of it himself — all the design and renovations. I think tonight’s the first time in weeks he’s left the place for more than an hour.”
“It’s so nice of him to let us use it. He must have owed you a big favor.”
Jonathan shrugged. “Not really. We’re doing him
the favor. We are helping out by testing everything.”
Jessica raised her eyebrow, sensing there was more to it than that.
“And I’ve been meaning to come check it out anyway, since I’m part owner, too.”
She laughed and shook her head at his modesty. He was full of surprises.
“Come on. Let’s get our skates on.”
At first, as they hobbled across the carpet to the rink, Jessica worried that she really had forgotten how to skate. But once they touched the shiny floor, she remembered, just like that. Just like riding a bike. Except that she was ten years older and ten or more pounds heavier. She glided across the floor, all the way to the end, then tried to take a sharp turn and nearly ate it at the carpeted rail.
“Are you all right?” Jonathan skated over to make sure.
“I’m fine. Oh, look!”
Cyndi Lauper had just come on the videoscreen, dancing around in her combat boots and multicolored waffle-iron hair.
“I used to love this video,” Jessica said. “I wanted to do my hair just like that, but my mom wouldn’t let me.”
“Really? I got my hair cut and bleached like the lead singer of Scritti Politti. My dad almost had a heart attack.”
They skated around, watching the videos and reminiscing. And it was nice to have the whole place to themselves. They could talk and laugh across the entire rink. Whenever a new song came on, one of them would play the part of the rink announcer and call out instructions.
“Reverse skate! Please turn around and skate in the other direction now!” Jessica called. They laughed and continued looping in all directions.
“All skaters line up for the race!” Jonathan called. Jessica let him catch up to her, then called go and peeled out before he was ready, cheating him out of the head start. He laughed and sped up, overtaking her and winning. She slowed to a halt and booed him as he pretended to accept accolades from the crowd.
“Hokey Pokey! All skaters line up to dance the Hokey Pokey!” she cried.
But he shook his head. “Couples skate! Ladies’ choice!”
Houston, We Have a Problema Page 24