How Times Change

She smoothed the black and white fabric down over the black slink, pulling it closer. Giving the young blonde lady what she hoped was a friendly smile, she leaned on the desk. “Well, no…actually.” Mostly to herself she added, “I’m not sure what I’m here for.” The girl just stared, the same pleasant grin on her face. Jade needed to do something. “Do you have a Lucas Peters in?”

“Oh, I’m sorry; we don’t give out the names of the guests-!” The young girls blue eyes went wide and she stifled a giggle as she looked past Jade’s shoulder.

Jade leaned in closer, whispering. “He’s standing right behind me, isn’t he?” Her answer was a nod. Taking a deep breath and very conscious of the cleavage her dress didn’t cover, she spun on her heel.

And there he was. She’d turned fast enough to catch him lowering the shushing finger he’d been giving the counter girl. He replaced it with a look that Jade didn’t like at all as he took in her outfit. His was- button up shirt, black, open at the neck, white tee underneath. Khakis finished the ensemble. And those everyman round glasses-and those green, green eyes…

Thankfully, he broke in. “Oh wow JJ, you look amazing- I am sooo underdressed!”

Self-conscious she pulled the wrap even tighter over her dress. “You didn’t tell me what we’d be doing…”

“I didn’t did I? “ He air smacked his forehead. When his hand fell there was a rush of words behind it. “I just knew you’d be out here and after last night…” His voice stopped.

Silence fell for a moment and the counter girl coughed.

Jade prompted him. “Is there somewhere else…?” She gestured at the lobby.

“Oh, right, come up with me and I’ll grab some clothes. I’m in…” He turned to the counter girl. “Mandy, what room? “

“Wilhelm Tell, Mr. Peters.”

“Right, Wilhelm Tell.” He turned to Jade. “Shoot the apple off and all that fun…c’mon I’ll show you the room!”

He wants to come up to his room. Dry mouth hit all of a sudden. Thankfully, if Lucas noticed anything in her silence ,he didn’t let on.

“It’s a pretty wild room, JJ. Bows and arrows and a bed the size of a Cadillac…”

Jade wanted to be angry, but instead she couldn’t help but to be swept along in Lucas’s enthusiasm. She sighed, shaking her head. “Fine, lead on, Robin Hood.”

“That’s a completely different story..” He stopped at her raised eyebrow. Putting on his best butler voice he gave her an arm, “This way ma’am.”

*****

Like most of the locals, Jade had never even set foot in one of the Madonna’s rooms. Starting with the Wilhelm Tell room was an epiphany; there was something to be said for having too much time and too much money.

This brought her to Lucas.

Staring around at flagstone walls and all that scarlet German red had her tabulating. She did well at the lab, but this was a ‘don’t touch the mini-bar without a mortgage signed’ type of place. Frankly, she was afraid to sit. She did though, perching on the edge of the high back chair that was part of a bookend set by the sofa. Looking around, the question was right in front of her. How exactly had Lucas swung a room like this in a place like this on such short notice? Jade was about to ask him when he chimed up first.

“Not bad, right?” He landed on the low couch with the high arms and sprawled, arms behind his head. “I don’t know about the crazy stained glass over there.” He nodded towards the dramatically done picture of Wilhelm about to pull off his crazy trick shot with a very suspect looking crossbow, “But on the whole this a pretty nifty room!”

Jade stared at the California king bed that occupied the room like a Kaiser. When she turned back to Lucas she asked the question, she’d been holding on to… “Lucas.” She waited till he was at full attention. “How are you doing this?”

At first he launched into the standard deflection. “Well, first you call the front desk. Then you- “

“Lucas.”

He stopped, sitting up on the couch edge, elbows to his knees. For a moment he let his head hang but when he brought it up his glasses were gone, swinging from his hand, and in their place were the emeralds that Jade had been avoiding looking into since she’d gotten there.

“It goes like this Jade. I spent four years at WPT. That degree got me literally nothing but an IT job plugging network holes and wiping hard drives. So I started something. Well, two somethings.” Here he shrugged.

Wondering where this was heading, Jade cocked an eyebrow. “Go on….”

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck, pulling his best aw shucks face. “I got tired of how the internet made money go so I changed it.” He stopped as if that made perfect sense. “Do you use TonPay?”

TonPay. Everyone used TonPay. Jade had actually paid for the shoes she was wearing through it. There were so many ways it made transactions easier without all of the heavy handed rules that other financial services offered. It just made sense. She’d used it for the last three years and-

Oh, now wait a minute- “Are you telling me you made TonPay?” She couldn’t help it, her mouth gaped. “You?”

“Ouch JJ, that stings.” He leaned back into the seat letting his hands fall to his lap. “-But the short answer is yes. BizPun too.”

Jade tried to wrap her mind around that. The Lucas she’d know in Danbury was a techno geek to be sure, but she’d always pictured him teaching it, or ending up as that guy in the back of the Radio Shack who makes floppy drive jokes. Never had she seen him in her mind like this- Lucas was a mogul!

He could obviously tell the whole thing was hard to swallow. He raised his eyebrows and spread his hands. “I know, I don’t believe it myself sometimes, but there it is. Gnat Peters is the second coming of Bill Gates…” At her flat stare he recanted. “Ok, no. But I am doing well.”

     If Lucas was the creator of TonPay that was true. As in, several hundred million dollars true, maybe more. Jade wasn’t sure what to make of that, or how to reconcile it to the feeling she was having just listening to him talk. They were different worlds…

Lucas sat up straight, as lightning quick as ever, but less the extra knees and elbow he’d always seemed to have when they were younger. “Gosh JJ, I forgot about supper- I think it’s too late…”

At that her stomach reminded her that she’d had literally nothing to eat since Mr. Peanut had treated her to his driest selections on the flight west. She was starved. Her mind went through a quick list- Where are we in town- Oh, I know!

“I want to hear more about all this Luc, but first you’re going to have to feed this gal.” She grabbed her phone and punched up a number, and then handed the phone to Lucas. “It’s ringing, just say hello- it’s what? 9: 27? I bet a bazzillionaire can get us some food…”

Lucas beamed and started talking to someone on the other end. “Hi Lucas Peters down at the Madonna- can I still get…” The conversation faded into the back of Jade’s mind. While Lucas negotiated a hefty up price to get ciopinot delivered, she listened to the man behind the voice.

He wasn’t Gnat. Except he was, in the goof ball humor and the quick walk. He was Lucas, full grown, full chested and full of dark trouble in his hair and fire in his green eyes. There were two years between them; back in Danbury when he’d been raiding her room that seemed like a life time. Now though with twenty seven looming that difference seemed so tiny…and so lost in the sound of Luc’s quick wit and warm voice. She suddenly realized he’d said something.

“Earth to JJ.” He waved his hand at her and she started. “ Ten minutes survivable?”

“Oh- yes!” She smiled, quick to get back to focus.

Luc smiled in return, and went back to the phone call. “Gracias Edgar , por su amabilidad.”

Jade just shook her head. Spanish, of course. Why not?