Chapter 7

After five years of literally hiding out from his father, and a couple more before that of walking very carefully around him, it seemed unbelievable to Jon that he could be having a pleasant dinner in his father's apartment. After a while, to Jon's amazement, Pete cleared the dishes from the table, rinsed them off and put them in the dishwasher -- something he'd never been known to do back when Jon had been living at home. They settled in the small living room, and for the most part talked some more about what the family had been doing in Arizona. Both Jon and Tanisha were careful to not let the discussion steer to the secret of Crystal's parentage, but there were plenty of other stories to tell.

The stories eventually drifted to Lambdatron, and here both Jon and Tanisha had to speak a little more carefully since there were official secrets to be avoided -- but that didn't mean their talk couldn't stray to talking about Jennlynn. "I was watching TV last Sunday when it happened," Pete reported. "I knew that Jennlynn was a pilot, of course, but I just thought it was the case of someone with the same name, at least till that news conference. She really has a temper, doesn't she?"

"Oh, yes," Tanisha smiled. "Fortunately we've never been on the receiving end of it. For a long time, especially in the early years, she was about the only friend we had out there."

"I have to ask," he replied, "Are the stories going around about her working at that place in Nevada the truth?"

"I don't know the stories going around about it," Jon told him. "We haven't been watching much TV. But there is a kernel of truth to them. To make things simple, it's how she controls a strong sex drive without the danger of letting it get personal, and she keeps it strictly in that one place in Nevada. Jennlynn is a very private person, she always has been as long as we've known her, and the one thing we know for sure is that there is still a lot that we don't know about her."

"Quite a woman in any case, and I think I'm even more impressed with her than I was before," Pete shook his head. "More than ever, I'd like to see her and thank her again."

Jon exchanged a long glance with Tanisha. There were no words spoken, but there were times that they didn't need words. This was one of them. "Well, if you want," Tanisha said finally. "This still is a huge secret and has to stay that way, but she's in town, staying with a friend of hers and trying to avoid reporters and TV cameras. She wants to do at least a little of this show, and tomorrow is the day."

"We don't know how long it'll last," Jon added. "Because we're pretty damn sure that as soon as word gets out the place will be six deep in the worst kind of sensationalist trash pickers. We're hoping the show security will keep them out, but there's no way of telling what will happen."

"Darn," Pete shook his head. "I really would like to see her, but there's no way I can get free of the shop until along in the afternoon. I suppose I could swing by and see."

"Just don't tell anyone," Tanisha emphasized. "We think there's a good chance it'll blow over in a few days; it's just that we have to get through those few days first."

It was later than they expected when they headed back to the hotel, after an unexpected but thoroughly pleasant evening. "There's no way that could have gone any better," Jon said as he wheeled the rental car down the expressway. "I mean, no way at all."

"My God," Tanisha said, "When I realized he was your father, back at the show this afternoon, I just ... well, Jon, I didn't know what to do."

"I didn't know what to do when I saw you with him," Jon agreed. "I think for the most part everything worked out. What was the deal you had with Doris? You seemed pretty nervous around her."

"Jon, she looks so much like my mother it's not funny," Tanisha sighed. "It was all I could do to keep from calling her 'Mom' a couple times. She doesn't really act much like my mother; she's much more outgoing and friendly, where my mother was rather submissive and reserved."

She was silent for a moment, and Jon heard a sniff in the darkness of the car. "Tanisha?" he asked.

"I don't know how to say this," Tanisha said. "Doris is almost like what I wished my mother had been like. Warm and friendly, not a cold fish like Mom, who always felt she had to stand in my father's shadow. I mean ... well, damn."

"I think there was a little of that going both ways," Jon observed. "I think she could see a touch of her daughter in you, although I have no idea what that's all about."

"I got that, too," Tanisha agreed. "Other than the fact she's sad about losing her daughter, but she didn't actually say that. It was one of those things I just understood. I suspect it's something she doesn't want to talk about."

"We could have asked Dad, I suppose," Jon shrugged. "He probably knows. But when you get down to it, it's none of our business. We'll find out if she wants to tell us, I guess."

"It's probably nothing that matters to us, anyway," Tanisha agreed. "It's just, well, Jon, there's a little bit of my mind taking me where I don't want it to go. How things could have been, maybe should have been."

"You're seeing this big hole in my life -- hell, our lives -- getting filled in, and it makes you wish some, right?"

"That's a pretty good way of saying it," Tanisha agreed. She thought for a moment, then added, "On the other hand, it's wishing for what never was, too, so there's no point in making a big deal about it."

"Your family?" Jon said softly.

"Well, yeah," Tanisha said. "Except that my mother and father are both dead, and my brother probably doesn't have a brain tumor unless you call his whole brain a tumor. I don't think there's any fixing that."

"Maybe we'd better not go down that road," Jon suggested, "At least, not tonight."

"Not a bad idea," she replied. "I feel crappy enough as it is."

"Same thing?"

"Pretty much," she said. "I've tried not to admit to it since I know how big a deal tonight has been for you, but I'm still achy in the joints and that pork chop came close to making me barf. If this damn bra fit it would help some, but this is worse than ever. My breasts are both sore from it, and no, don't you dare offer to massage them to make them feel better."

"I don't know," Jon shook his head. "Whatever it is, it's beyond me. If you don't get to feeling better by the first of the week, maybe you ought to see a doctor."

"I'm all right, Jon," she replied. "I'll be fine; I just need to shake this bug. A doctor probably won't do much good."

"Tanisha," he said firmly, "I learned something important today and I hope you did too. Dad knew for years that something was wrong, but he decided to just tough it out. You see what happened with him. Like I said, if you're not feeling better the first of the week you're seeing a doctor even if I have to drag you. I am not going through that horseshit again."

Things started out well the next day, the first for Jennlynn at the Lambdatron booth. She made a point of not wearing a name tag, but that was about all she did to stay anonymous. She was her usual well-turned-out self, and her hair was back to normal, which meant on the inside edge of flamboyant.

Still, she was prepared for the day to go badly, as were Will, Jon, and Tanisha. It being the last day of the show anyway, they'd packed their bags early that morning, loaded them in the rental car, and checked out of the hotel rooms, ready to leave at a moment's notice if they had to.

There were people there who knew her from previous shows, and she didn't ask them to stay quiet about her presence; perhaps a few recognized her from the press conference of almost a week before, or from photos that had been printed. But other than people offering thanks and congratulations, things were surprisingly low key for much of the day. Pete showed up late in the afternoon, and had a nice discussion with her -- Jon and Tanisha had told Jennlynn about the revelation the night before, of course; she was surprised as anyone else, since she'd heard Jon and Tanisha's story long ago. Jennlynn now told Pete that in fact she hadn't had much to do with the controller project, that it had been mostly Jon and Tanisha's work; she'd merely been acting as a contact for Lambdatron.

They were still having a good discussion about the possibilities of additional future work when one of the security people came to the booth and said, "Miss Swift? There are some reporters without convention credentials out in the lobby who would like to talk to you."

"What if I don't want to talk to them?" she shook her head. "Do me a favor and don't let them onto the floor."

"I couldn't let them onto the floor anyway," the man said. "This is supposed to be a closed show. But it's starting to cause a problem out front, and I would appreciate it if you could do something to help out."

"I'll think about it," she replied. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything until I've made up my mind, though."

"How about if I stick around for a few minutes while you think about it?"

"Suit yourself," Jennlynn shook her head. She turned and motioned Will -- who had been near the booth all day with a Lambdatron floor pass -- Jon, Tanisha, and Angela around her, along with Pete. "Well, this is it, folks. What do you think? Fight or flight?"

"I'm supposed to be the expert here," Will shook his head. "And I don't know what to tell you, other than if you feed them puppies they're going to keep begging for more. Don't feed them and sooner or later they'll go somewhere else to look for a hand to feed out of."

"That's how I see it," she sighed. "How about if I go out there and restrict myself to talking about the convention and refuse to talk about anything else?"

"Probably won't work, unless you want a reputation as a real cold bitch," he smiled. "If you feel you have to do it, then that's about the only thing you can do."

"I can do that," she smiled. "In fact, I'm pretty good at it." She turned to the security man. "All right," she said, "If I call a halt and head back onto the show floor, can you have enough security present to keep them from following me?"

"Not outside the front doors," he said. "We're having trouble keeping them back now. There's a conference room off the main floor where we could lock the door to the ballroom if we have to."

"I guess that'll have to do," she sighed. "Will, I can think of a couple good reasons for you to not go with me."

"Probably the same reasons I can," he nodded. "I agree, no one has noticed me yet and it might be just as well if I can stay anonymous. But somebody needs to go in and get things organized, and it needs to be someone who's capable of not taking any shit."