Copyright Richard X. Ellison, 2013
All rights reserved.
All characters, events and locations in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
Richard X. Ellison is a pseudonym.
This one is dedicated to Amelia, for all your hard work and tireless efforts. I will always love you more than I'm able to put in to words.
Jane 8086
Part Two
A Story By Richard X. Ellison
Chapter One
Jane stood there staring at him. She was 5 foot 6 inches of leggy brunette with piercing green eyes and ruby-red lips. Remi was still at a loss for words, he was rooted to the spot in stunned silence till the pizza box he’d squashed moments before finally slipped out of his fingers. The splat that it made when it hit the floor was just enough to shake him back to reality. He began to blink rapidly, fearing that he might be going insane and that his eyes were playing tricks on him.
“Your biological data suggests that you are agitated, Remi,” said Jane, “my research on social conformity dictates that a pleasant smile may be used to set troubled individuals at ease.” Jane promptly displayed a beaming smile through an array of perfectly set white teeth. It was worthy of a magazine cover — post airbrushing.
Remi shook his head in disbelief, blinked a few more times and looked at her once more. She was still there.
“You remain agitated, is my facial expression incorrect, Remi?” Jane asked through her smile.
Just then there was a loud rapping at the door, followed by a booming voice, “Rembrandt!” Another knock and another shout, “Rembrandt!”
Remi’s face suddenly displayed the immense panic that he was feeling at the sound of his ex-wife’s snarl. He hurriedly removed his coat and draped it over Jane. “Stay here!” he said sternly before hurrying to the front door.
“Rembrandt! Open up, I know you’re in there, I saw you going up!” yelled the voice from outside.
As Remi pulled open the door, Allison attempted to push past him. Remi blocked her passage with his body and forced her back out, pulling the door shut behind him, but not before she’d glimpsed the half naked bombshell standing in Remi’s living room.
“Who’s that woman, Remi?” she asked with a calmer yet surprised tone of voice, her wide eyes betraying her sudden shift in temperament. Allison’s outfit was only half as serious as her demeanor. Her penchant for the casual had been acquired from her ex-husband.
“She’s no one,” Remi answered quickly, before guiding Allison farther away from the door. “What can I do for you Ally?” he asked as he shoved his hands into his pockets, displaying a nervous smile.
The dimly lit corridor with its wallpaper, wooden floors and cheap lampshades seemed to jump straight out of a spy novel. With what Remi was hiding in his apartment, he felt every bit the clandestine operative.
Allison quietly studied Remi’s face, hoping to discern the truth. They’d been apart almost as long as they’d been together. She let out a soft snort of contempt and shook her head, realizing that perhaps she’d never been able to read him that well in the first place.
“Yeah?” Remi asked again, torn between his compulsive need to please her and his impatience to be rid of her.
Allison stared Remi down once again, expecting that he’d crack, but he didn’t. “I think you’ve got a box of my old thesis notes. It’s probably in the hall closet.”
“I’ll check and give you a call if I find them,” said Remi, turning towards the door.
“I came all the way down here Rembrandt,” Allison bit through the pursed lips of annoyance, “just let me just come in and check and I’ll be out of your hair.” She tried to push past him again but Remi barred the entrance with his arm.
“It’s really not a good time Ally,” he said with a scrunched up face, trying his best to hint at a potentially uncomfortable situation.
“Look, two minutes,” she barked with finality, “then you can get back to...whatever it is you’re doing in there.”
Allison nudged past Remi firmly enough that his only recourse in stopping her would have resulted in physical harm. She threw open the door and as if on cue, an awkward silence ensued when they both set eyes upon the woman with the brown coat.
Jane was deathly still, a countenance made possible by the fact that she did not, in fact, breathe. Her eyes were open and she was facing the door with both Remi and Allison in clear view. Only when Allison passed the threshold of the entrance did Jane put on a big, friendly smile and extended her hand. “Hello, my name is Jane,” she said with an irresistibly infectious cheeriness.
Allison was at a loss for words, catching sight of the stunning, semi-clothed woman in the home of her ex-husband. Remi looked to both of them in uncertainty, his level of panic escalating. Jane didn’t flinch and held her pose impeccably. When it felt like it was strange that Jane hadn’t stopped smiling or bothered to lower her outstretched hand, Remi wrestled through the chaos in his mind and forced out the syllables, “Al-li-son, this is Jane. Jane, meet Al-li-son.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you Allison,” said Jane.
Allison hesitated for a moment but soon found her composure, walking in to the living room to take Jane’s hand, “nice to meet you too, I’m Remi’s ex-wife,” she said, jerking her thumb in his direction as if to mark her territory.
Jane dropped her smile and released Allison’s hand, “I have read all of your books that are in this apartment, Allison. They were most informative and instrumental in developing the bond that Remi and I have formed.”
“What?” Allison intoned with a slight grimace.
“Why are you telling her that?” Remi whispered to Jane as he stepped up to her.
She turned her head to face him before speaking in her same calm and soothing voice, “it is customary, when meeting new people, Remi, to isolate commonalities of mutual interest or experience.”
Remi held his head and whispered the words, “this can’t be happening,” to himself and turned to see the puzzled expression on Allison’s face.
“You seem agitated Remi,” Jane said before flashing him another dazzling smile.
Remi took a deep breath in an effort to calm down. “Jane, could you wait for me in the bedroom? I’ve just got to deal with Allison and I’ll be right in.”
“Yes, Remi, I could.” Jane answered, though she remained exactly where she was.
Remi looked to Allison who returned him a raised brow before she nodded towards Jane.
Remi swung back to Jane in frustration, “Jane, please go in to the bedroom and wait for me there, I’ll be with you in 5 minutes.”
“Yes, Remi,” said Jane as she gracefully proceeded out of sight in to the bedroom. Her bare feet on the parquet floor were noiseless.
Remi watched Jane leave in open-mouthed awe before turning to look at Allison. He darted off to the bedroom door and stuck his head in to find Jane waiting patiently at the foot of the bed, "we'll talk about this in a minute," he said in his strictest voice.
"Yes, Remi," Jane returned pleasantly.
He walked back in to the living room where Allison was gnawing at her lip in an expression of denial. He ignored her and began rummaging through the hall closet. It was the cemetery of his apartment...the place where unidentified objects of all sorts went to die.
"You didn't tell me you'd started dating," she said cautiously.
"I'm not," Remi replied in an offhand manner. His mind was far too preoccupied to concentrate on anything that Allison had to say just then.
"So, this is just some nude mo
del that you've been painting? And yet I don't see a canvas and an easel around."
"It's not like that, Allison," Remi replied while he frantically searched for the object that would hasten her departure.
"Well, she's quite good looking. Young too. I didn't know you had it in you. A little bit on the snarky side, but I suppose I should be grateful that she's not some dumb blonde." Remi had stopped listening but Allison went on. She was having a conversation with herself, trying to come to terms with the fact that her ex-husband had moved on without informing her, rationalizing her insecurities at the fact that maybe he'd traded up. "So that argument was about me I take it? I'm sorry that I dropped by unannounced, I didn't expect that you'd have company."
Remi emerged from the closet wearing his most amicable smile, "sorry Ally, looks like it's not in there, but I'll let you know if it turns up," he said as he took her around the shoulder and began escorting her to the door.
"That's okay," Allison sighed, looking just a tad forlorn, "you know, I've just started seeing someone myself, it hasn't been very long but I think it might be going somewhere—"
"That's fantastic, Ally," Remi interrupted with a fake smile, "anyway, sorry about the notes, let me know if you find them."
"You know what might be nice," Allison said as Remi ushered her through the doorway, "we should do a double date sometime. You can bring Jane and I'll bring the guy that I'm seeing. There's no reason we can't all be friends right?"
"Sure Ally, I'll have to check my schedule but we'll definitely do something soon. Bye now!"
"I'll set something up and call to—" she began to say when Remi shut the door on her.
With his back to the door, Remi waited silently till he was sure that Allison had left. When he was certain, he called out, "Jane, can I see you out here?"
"No, Remi", she called back from the bedroom, matching his volume, "human beings are incapable of seeing through solid matter such as the doors and walls that comprise your apartment."
Remi put the heels of his palms over his eyes and shook his head before stepping towards the bedroom door, "I mean, come out here."
"Yes, Remi," said Jane.
"No wait!" Remi shouted back. "Put on some clothes first. Open the closet in there and find whatever fits. Pants and a shirt, then come in to the living room."
"Yes, Remi."
Jane 8086 Part Two Page 1