How Times Change

Chapter 3

Mercifully, catching her flight out of JFK was about as eventful as the gray down rain that accompanied her to the airport. Her father had driven her down, neither of them really saying anything. Tony was good like that, intuitive enough not to ask why she was rain watching.  The goodbyes were quick.

He let her go out by the front entrance. “JJ, get back more often than once every half decade will you?” His big warm hands on her shoulders were proof of the chill.

“I will Daddy. Maybe. If you can order up less of this.” She held her hand out to the drizzle and wrinkled her caramel nose. “Maybe I’ll come back out for Christmas.”

Tony just boomed a laugh out at that, momentarily disrupting the local pigeons as well as the rest of the folks hoping to get through security sometime before nightfall. One lady in particular, older with gray blue hair shot him a look that would melt stone. Tony just returned it with a smile, and she flounced off, her roll-away jouncing over the tile cracks on its hard plastic wheels. When he turned back it was with that same rueful smirk he always had.

“Sure JJ, we’ll shoot for Christmas.” It was a running joke- between his cancels and hers, a two Brawley Christmas hadn’t happened for six years running. “I’ll light the candles.”

They shared a sigh and then Jade noticed the thickening crowds. “Time for me to get moving Daddy.” She stretched up, way up, to meet his cheek hovering nearly a foot over her head, and gave it a quick kiss. “I will call you when I get in.”

And then ten hours happened.

 O’Hare had been a train wreck, something about a flight line workers strike and a broken down jet that blocked number 17, which apparently was the only runway capable of letting planes fly west. Add in winter come early over the Rockies and by the time Jade had her rental – Why does every damn four door sedan look exactly the same? – She was getting out of L.A, chasing the sunset.

This was the favorite part of her trip home, every time. Everyone took the 101, but for Jade there was only Route 1 and all that gorgeous seaside country up through Lompoc. Four hours of time to herself, on roads that weren’t clogged up with your typical highway crazy Californios. It was a lot like the area back by Danbury, and it always helped to keep her grounded.

Not that time alone was helping at the moment. Even after the touch down and all the delays that meant she was back in Cali, she was still back-of-minding, and Lucas was sitting there in his own quiet way. The only saving grace was that with a whole continent between them she had some time to sort that out for the moment of weakness that it was.

Just at that moment the massively over equipped stereo system she was Blue toothed to informed her she had a call coming, cutting the steel blues in the middle of a lament. She was annoyed. She wanted to let it ring. Instead, though, like always, she punched the answer key on the big touch screen, knowing she’d regret it.

“Hello?”

She almost missed a turn in the big Taurus as she heard Lucas’s speaking.

“JJ! I wasn’t sure if I’d catch you home!” The rich voice she’d had so much trouble getting used to the evening before still threw her, even over the phone.

“You didn’t Lucas.” She cleared the last stop light, leaving Lompoc, just hitting the home stretch. “Almost, but not quite.” A thought occurred to her. “How did you get this number?”

“It’s not that hard, when you post it on your bio card at the institute.” His cheery voice was grating on her just a little. That and making her glad he’d called. What is wrong with me?

“So you’re saying you cyber stalked me?”

There wasn’t even a hesitation. “Yep.”  One hand on the wheel, Jade covered her mouth with the other one, stifling the laugh she didn’t want to let go just yet. Before she could say anything, Lucas continued.

“So listen JJ, I wasn’t planning this, but something’s coming up business wise and I had to catch a red eye, so I was wondering if…”

“Wait, wait, red eye? What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I’ve got a room at the Madonna and I’m wondering if you could show me the…”

“The Madonna? As in the Madonna Inn? In San Luis Obispo?” For reasons she couldn’t explain, a cold sweat had broken out on her forehead. Rounding the next corner, she brought her big rental to a stop, gravel crunching as the tires dug in. Silence hung for a moment. Long enough so she could give Lucas time to start laughing at the prank he’d just pulled, Gnat style.

Only he didn’t. Instead, he spoke again in that multi-layered dessert of a voice. “JJ?”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”  A million small impulses were running through her mind. The first was to go off on Lucas like her mama wouldn’t approve of for jumping across the country in the first place. The second though, won out. “I don’t know if I believe any of this- I don’t know what to believe, but I do want to know what you’re doing out here!”

She also wanted to know why his voice was misbehaving when it met her ears, and why it bothered her so much. After Genetti’s she’d chalked it up to the New England sea coast and the wine- again, Lucas broke in, jumbling her thoughts. 

“You meet me and I’ll explain everything, promise.” There was some of the ‘c’mon JJ, you know you want to’ in that, but too much of his mellow baritone spicing it for her taste. Except now she was curious…on top of bothered.

“Fine. I’ll meet you at the M. I’ve got to check on Tiger first though…it’ll be late.”

“Not a problem bambina.” He flourished, in his best imitation of Armand.  I’ll see you when you get here!”

“Yes. you will. And don’t call me Bambina. Bye for now Lucas…” She punched the key to disconnect and listened to Stevie Ray Vaughn flood back into the spacious cabin. Pulling out on the road, she accelerated, chasing the purple of the Pacific sunset as it worked to finish off the day. As the road flew by, she let it take her thoughts too, except for one.

It’s going to be an interesting evening.

*****

The Madonna was a central coast landmark. After the first humble motel burned on the location in the Sixties, the owners had decided to make sure no one would forget the replacement. More than a hundred rooms dotted the sprawling Inn site, every one of them themed for something different, and most of them featuring pink and plush galore. For the weekenders, it was paradise, a symbol of kooky California culture. As for the locals, they would shake their head with a smile and spend time not worrying about all the tourist dollars coming in.

It was late by the time that Jade left home. Tiger had left his customary travel protest next to the litter box, something Jade had come to expect. What she hadn’t counted on was flipping up the screen on her work laptop and finding a thousand screaming messages about the upcoming Trexgora trials being moved up by two weeks- Two weeks!- which meant her next three days were going to be hell.

The biggest, boldest messages were all from Krista, her partner and second head of the department.

All five of them were subjected with “Where the hell are you??”

Throw in a complete lack of anything worth wearing to the upscale end of town and mix in two good shots of jet lag and the Jade Brawley that made it to the front lobby at Madonna’s by nine thirty was in no mood for joking around, let alone the special brand of humor that Lucas seemed to always have in his back pocket.

The girl at the desk – She couldn’t be older than eighteen- flashed Jade a bubble gum smile. “Ooooh, someone’s hitting the town tonight!”

At first it didn’t register, but as Jade looked down, she realized what she’d thrown on. The short black sheath was snug to her skin, sleeveless, but she’d grabbed the black and white cotton throw over on the way out. If you factored in the platform heels, beige on her caramel skin and the native style, almost feather earrings…Nothing about her outfit said, “Go sass an old friend for flying coast to coast and throwing off her game”.  Everything about it said- “Night on the town with healthy dose of maybe-she will-after.”