Chapter 24

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Jake knocked on the door of the Broadman’s motel room. Emily opened the door and let Jake in. He couldn’t believe the condition of the room. He saw stains on the towels and the bedspread. It smelled bad. He stuck his head in the bathroom and was revolted.

“I won’t have this,” he growled. “I won’t let my friends live in conditions like this. I wouldn’t let my enemies live like this.”

“Jake, we’re on a budget,” Lizzie said. “We had to stay in an inexpensive place. We’ve been in this chain before and it was always okay. But we don’t have a choice this time.”

“You may not have had choices before, but today you do. Staying here is not one of them. Pack your bags. I’m going to check you out.”

“Listen to me, Jake. I can’t afford another place.”

“Lizzie, don’t worry about the money. The only thing you should be worrying about is whether I’m really as headstrong as I seem to be. I promise the money will be okay. On the other hand, I may be about to get arrested for going ballistic at the front desk. Give me your room key.”

“Pack the bags,” Lizzie said to Emily, “and wait here for me. I’m going to go with Jake and make sure nothing bad happens.”

Jake stalked off down the hall to the front desk. Lizzie followed behind. A customer was talking to the desk clerk and another waiting in line.

“You people should think twice about checking in here,” he announced. “Our room is disgusting. It’s filthy, and it stinks, and I won’t stay here for another minute.”

The customer waiting in line bolted immediately.

“Is it really that bad?” the customer at the counter asked.

“It’s every bit as bad as I say. Worse actually. Come with me and I’ll show you.”

“No, I’ll take your word for it.”

The customer put his wallet back in his pants and walked out of the office.

Jake stomped to the counter. “Do you work here or are you the owner?” Jake said demandingly.

“This is my place, and you just ran off two of my customers.”

“You should be ashamed of the condition of that room. These are good people and they don’t deserve this kind of treatment. My friends are checking out now, and you aren’t going to charge for tonight.”

“They already spent part of the evening here.”

“Now they’ve got someone to make sure that they aren’t being taken advantage of. We’ll pay you for yesterday, cash. But you better not charge her card or I’m going to talk to the corporate offices about the conditions here, and I’ll be back to talk to you myself. And I won’t be friendly about it.” Jake radiated his anger at the owner. “Or maybe you’d like me to camp out here and tell your potential customers what that room is like.”

“No, just get the hell out of here. The bill for the first night is seventy-two dollars even.”

Jake slapped down a hundred dollar bill and snatched his change. Lizzie dropped the key on the counter.

“Let’s go get Emily and your bags and take you to a decent place,” Jake said, glaring at the owner.

“Come on, Jake, let’s go,” Lizzie said, grabbing his hand and pulling him down the hall toward the room. Jake allowed himself to be led.

Back at the room, Jake picked up their bags and led Lizzie and Emily to his car. He put the bags in the trunk and called his hotel.

“This is Jake Fielding. We’re in 301, 303, 305, and 307. We’re going to need another room, a double or a single with a king, close to our other rooms, please ... Can we book it through — just a second.” Jake turned to Lizzie. “How long were you planning to stay?”

“Until Saturday afternoon.”

“Can we book the room through Saturday? ... That would be great. We’ll be right over to pick up the key.”

Jake hung up and opened the passenger side doors for them.

“No, wait. You’ve got your own car, don’t you?”

Lizzie nodded.

“Follow me. We’ll go straight to the hotel.” Jake glanced at Emily. “Can Emily ride with me?”

“I thought you were 14, Jake.”

“I am.”

“What are you doing driving?”

“They have a liberal idea of who is entitled to drive where I come from. I’ve been a fully-licensed driver for three weeks.”

“I’ll be right behind you and Emily if you promise not to fly off the handle and do something crazy.”

“My craziness is all done for the night. Now I get to be my usual happy self.”

“I’ll follow you and Emily over if that’s what Emily wants.”

Emily smiled widely and nodded. Jake let her in the passenger door and then got in on his side.

“So did you blow up at the guy at the desk?” Emily asked once they were moving.

“It was ugly. I’ve got a bad problem with anger. I killed a man once.”

“Nuh-huh.”

“Okay, I didn’t, but I wanted to.”

“Who?”

“My father. He hurt some people really bad.”

“I’m mad at my father, too. He hasn’t been very nice to us lately.”

“What did your father do?”

“He tried to get custody of me in the divorce. Mom says the lawyer’s bill was huge. And now he won’t pay child support. We have to live in this cheap apartment back home and stay in cheap motels when we travel.”

“I’m sorry, Emily. At least the place we’re going to is nice.”

“But how can we afford it?”

“That’s the best part. It won’t cost you anymore. Hold on a second.”

Jake pulled out his phone and called Ellen.

“Jake, where are you? The reservation is in ten minutes.”

“There was a problem with their room. We had to move them to a new hotel. We’re running about ten minutes behind. I’ll get them checked in at their new place and meet you all at the restaurant.”

“Okay. I guess we can fit all eight of us in the van.”

“Sorry. We’ll get there as quickly as we can.”

Jake pulled up to the lobby after another minute. He grabbed their bags before a bellhop could get there and went to the counter. He was just finishing up when Lizzie came hurrying in.

“Jake, we’ve got to talk about the money.”

“Come on, Lizzie, Emily. We’ve got to hurry to get to the restaurant.”

They followed him to the elevator.

“Please, Jake, listen to me,” Lizzie said as the doors closed.

“I gave my word I would take care of it,” Jake said. “In my mind that settles it.”

“I can’t let you pay my motel bill.”

“Let me let you in on a little secret. I come from a rich family. No one’s going to think a thing about it.” The elevator door opened. Jake led them down the hall. “The truth is you’re doing me a favor.”

“How is that?”

“I’ve got so much money it just weighs me down. It’s a relief to be free of it.”

Emily giggled. Jake pulled out the key, opened the door to room 309, and carried the bags in.

“Will you need some time to get ready?”

“No, we’re ready now.”

“Great. I meant to mention before that you both look wonderful. I’m proud to be the guy who gets to escort you into the restaurant.”

They did look good, each in her own way. Lizzie was wearing a nice dress with a low cut neckline that showed some cleavage and Emily was wearing a short skirt and a t-shirt that was tight across her barely pubescent chest.

Jake walked them out to his car, opened the doors, and handed both Lizzie and Emily into their seats.

“Jake, do you make it a habit of doing things like that?” Lizzie asked as they drove through the congested Branson streets.

“I should probably apologize for meddling,” Jake said. “It’s just that you and Emily are such decent people. The idea of you being taken advantage of like that was maddening.”

“I should probably do a better job of standing up for myself.”

Jake looked over at her and smiled. “In that case, I won’t feel bad about interfering. I’ve got enough assertiveness for both of us. If I manage to make your vacation a little better than I’m happy. It makes me feel good when I can be of help.”

“Are you sure you’re fourteen?”

Jake just smiled.

Ellen greeted them warmly when they arrived at the restaurant.

“I was worried that Jake had absconded with you.”

“I was a bit concerned about that myself,” Lizzie said.

“Jake almost killed a man,” Emily said.

That got everyone’s attention, especially Boris’s.

“What was that?” he said.

Lizzie narrated what happened with Emily jumping in occasionally to expand and embellish the story.

Boris was looking at Jake with concern when it was done.

“May I remind you that we are trying to not call attention to ourselves, Jake?” he said.

“It really wasn’t anything like that. I kept my temper the whole time. There were a few theatrics, but that was just to help the guy do the right thing.”

Boris just shook his head.

You did good, master. It’s good for a woman to see that she’s worth fighting for.

So what do you think of her?

I think she’s sweet. I also think she deserves to relax and have some fun. You’re not helping with your knight-in-shining-armor routine. She can’t figure out how she should feel about you.

“What did he mean when he said you are trying to not call attention to yourselves?” Emily asked.

“We broke Leanne out of the county jail yesterday,” Jake said. “We’re on the lam. Please, don’t call the police on us.”

“Jake!” Leanne said sharply, but then she subsided. “There’s nothing we can do about him, is there.”

“Of course there is, Leanne,” Jake said. “I am always your obedient servant. Just name it. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Leanne smiled at him fondly. “Yes, I suppose you would.”

Lizzie looked with confusion between Jake and Leanne.

Is there something going on between them? Lizzie whispered to Ellen.

Yes, Jake has a big crush on Leanne, Ellen whispered back. He’s very devoted to her.

Kara hid her smile by looking down into her lap. Leanne just shook her head.

The bottle of wine they ordered went a long way toward relaxing Lizzie, Leanne, Nina, and Ellen. The second and third bottles more than completed the job. Boris drank very little.

When dinner was finished, Ellen ordered two more bottles to take with them. Jake settled the bill and the tip and took Leanne’s arm to help her to the car. Kara put her arm around Ellen’s waist and helped her to walk straight.

Boris, you are now responsible for Lizzie, Jake sent. Please help her to the van.

Boris went over to Lizzie.

“Why don’t you let me help you to the car,” he said and offered his arm.

Lizzie beamed up at him. Jake smiled. It didn’t take a mind reader to see that she had taken a fancy to his tall, dark looks and quiet, watchful manner. She was also relieved to find a man she didn’t have to feel guilty about being attracted to. She put her arm in his and put her other hand on his bicep.

Jake helped Leanne to his rental car. Julie and Emily got into the back seat. When Jake got in, Leanne leaned up against him, letting her head drop onto his shoulder.

She really likes Jake, doesn’t she, Emily whispered to Julie, too quietly for anyone else to hear.

“Everybody likes Jake,” Leanne said. “You like him, too.”

“I guess he’s okay,” Emily said, wondering how she had been overheard.

“Hush, love,” Jake said to Leanne. “You’re going to embarrass her. A girl should be allowed some secrets.”

“Secrets are overrated,” she said.

As he pulled the car onto the street, he put his arm around Leanne and held her close to him.

“If you’re good, Leanne, when we get to the hotel, I’ll tell you some things that I’ve never told you before.”

“You don’t have any secrets. I already know everything about you.”

You’re not that good yet, my love. And if you aren’t a little more careful with what you say, we won’t have any secrets from Lizzie and Emily, either.

“Whatever,” she said and snuggled down against him.

It only took a few minutes to get back to the hotel. Ellen invited Lizzie up to her room, which she chose as 303 for the purpose of appearances. It had two queen-sized beds and a sofa. Jake and Brian brought in chairs from neighboring rooms. Ellen uncorked one of the bottles and poured the wine into water glasses from the bathroom. Boris finally allowed himself a full glass.

Sometime this evening I expect you to present yourself for another session of juicing up your nerves, Jake sent to Ellen after listening to several minutes of adult talk.

Jake stood, made his excuses to all those present, and went to his room.

Five minutes later Leanne appeared, still a bit tipsy. She snuggled under his arm.

“I’m sorry I disappointed you at the pool.”

“Love, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I doubt you’re capable of disappointing me. I just don’t see how I can be so taken by your beauty and your poise and your sexiness and you think you have to defer to those shallow, arrogant, teen-aged twits?”

“I did buy a bikini today. I just chickened out when it came time to put it on.”

“You did? Can I see it?”

“It really is too young for me.”

“You are the last person in a position to decide that. Please, for me. I want to see if you are the knock out I think you are.”

“You won’t laugh at me?”

“Not unless the bikini has a chicken leg theme or something.”

Leanne slapped his arm. “Of course not.”

“Go. Let me see.”

Leanne left and returned a few minutes later wearing a robe.

“You promised you wouldn’t laugh at me.”

“I promise.”

Leanne reluctantly let the robe drop. Her bikini was white. It offered a sharp contrast to her naturally dark skin tone. Even her shyness didn’t diminish her poise.

Jake stood and walked in a circle around her. Her age showed only in the small effect that nursing had had on her breasts. In her bikini, even that slight blemish was concealed.

“Jake, say something,” Leanne finally whined.

“Only Ellen and Kara would have been in your league if you had worn this suit at the pool today. And neither of them would have looked better than you.”

“Look at my tummy pooch out.”

“Look at what? If I had a T-square I might be able to detect some barely visible deviation from perfection, but I doubt it.”

Jake stood behind Leanne and put his arms around her.

“You are my idea of female perfection. I can’t help it. I want to see this every day. Maybe it’s better that you don’t appreciate it. This way I get it all to myself. The perfect female form and I’m the only guy who gets to see it.”

Leanne turned around and faced him, tears in her eyes.

“I want to believe you. I want to believe that my form is pleasing to you, Jake. I want to be special to you.”

Jake sensed Kara approaching. Jake reached over and opened the door. She was wearing a yellow bikini. She hadn’t bothered with anything to cover her.

“How may I serve you, father of my future children?”

Jake dragged her to stand at an open space in the middle of the floor and returned to Leanne.

“Face us. Stand with your hands to your sides. Don’t say anything.” Jake turned to Leanne. “Now, my beloved, we are going to critique your daughter’s body. We are going to systematically, objectively examine her every inch and judge her every flaw. We won’t hesitate to pronounce judgment — harsh or favorable, momentous or trivial. Her feelings are like the dirt beneath our feet, completely irrelevant to our critique.”