The next few hours were painful for Jayden. Even though dealership staff provided a detailed explanation of the required body work, she was in a conundrum about payment. If she filed a police report and pretended to be unaware of the culprit, they would then question her superintendent and discover it was her mom who laid a beating on the Jeep. Insurance would be obligated to pay for the repairs but... what would happen to her mom? Yeah but if I don’t tell, how can I pay for the repairs? I don’t have $4,500.
Seated in the glassed-in waiting area of the dealership, Jayden swirled the drinking water in her small paper cup, formulating her next move. Customers sat around her, most of them staring vacantly at the closed-caption TV on the wall. She heard footsteps in the hall and everyone glanced over as Mr. Mortimer appeared behind the glass partition. He nodded to the customers and then motioned toward Jayden, pointing to his office. Slinging her purse over a shoulder, Jayden stood and followed him.
“My son, Junior, will be here shortly and will escort you back home.” He was holding an open file folder containing the repair estimate and he closed it slowly. “I know this is a lot to absorb in one morning and there’s no need to make up your mind today,” he said, “so you can let me know tomorrow what you want me to do.”
There was a knock on the door and Junior popped his head in. “Jayden!” The surprise was evident in his voice and he looked enquiringly at his father.
Mr. Mortimer moved from behind his desk and strode toward Junior, placing a hand on his forearm and preventing him from entering the room. “Would you excuse us for a moment, Miss Nanjee?” he asked. She nodded without speaking and they left the room.
“I’m confused,” Junior said in the hallway as he closed the door to his father’s office. “What happened to her Jeep?”
“Listen very carefully,” Mr. Mortimer said in a hushed tone, his face darkening with annoyance. “We have an opportunity here. You have an opportunity. I think Jayden knows who damaged her vehicle and for some reason, she’s reluctant to say.”
“And what is my opportunity here?”
“You need to find out who did this so we can report it, anonymously. That way, insurance will cover the restoration, the full restoration, if you know what I mean, and Jayden won’t have to pay from her own pocket.” He waved the file folder at his son. “We know from previous experience that customers cheap-out on a lot of repairs when they have to pay for it themselves. Remember – we have a business to run. I don’t want her taking the Jeep somewhere else.”
Maintaining a neutral expression, Junior stared ahead while his mind absorbed what his father was implying.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Junior finally replied.
“No, you won’t ‘see what I can do,’” Mr. Mortimer hissed. “You’ll do as I say.” He slapped the file folder against Junior’s chest. Opening the office door, he contorted his features back into a benevolent beam and then stepped inside.
“Miss Nanjee,” he purred, concern wrapping his face. “Please know you can count on my son to assist you in any way, isn’t that right, Junior?”
“Of course, Father.” Junior extended an arm toward Jayden but the smile on his face failed to reach the amber brown of his eyes. “At Maximum Drive, we’re always happy to help a valued customer.” Jayden accepted his outstretched hand but glanced quizzically at Mr. Mortimer before returning her gaze to Junior. She recognized the appeasement in Junior’s tone – it was the same tactic she used to mollify her mother. Something just happened between the two of them and, whatever it was, it angered Junior.
She and Junior walked to the dealership’s courtesy car in silence. Still the gentleman, though now a reserved one, Junior opened the passenger door and Jayden slid in, murmuring her thanks. After getting in and starting the car, he typed Jayden’s address into the GPS unit. As they were driving out of the lot, Junior’s phone rang. It was Max.
“Hey, Junior,” Max’s voice echoed over the speaker phone. “Have you seen Jayden at the dealership?”
Before Junior could respond, Jayden piped in. “I’m with your brother now, and he’s driving me home.”
“Well, dang, Jayden! I’ve been texting you all afternoon and you haven’t answered.”
“Yeah, I turned my phone off,” she said slowly. “I’ve got a few things on my mind.”
“Wait a minute,” interrupted Junior. “Max, why do you have Jayden’s cell number?”
The silence was thick with the unanswered question-of-the-moment. Jayden held her breath, not knowing what to say and hoping Max would think of a credible response.
“Um, th-th-that’s a great question,” replied Max. “Come pick me up at home and I’ll go with you to Jayden’s place. I’m assuming you’re driving her home now?”
Junior furrowed his brow. “You haven’t answered my question.”
“Yeah yeah, we’ll talk about it when you pick me up. Don’t you have some footballs to throw around?”
Junior rolled his eyes and glanced at Jayden. “He’s such a nerd when he tries to be funny. Ha ha ha.”
“What’s your ETA, big brother?”
“I’ll be there in five minutes. And you’re lucky it’s on the way to Jayden’s place ’cuz I would have said no, otherwise.”
“Really?” pressed Max. “And not find out why I have Jayden’s number?”
Junior tapped the steering wheel. “I’ll be there in five.”
Jayden fiddled with the strap of her purse as he disconnected the call. She kept her head down, praying he wouldn’t pose the same question to her. The seconds ticked by and Jayden was about to begin a new conversation when Junior cleared his throat. “Perhaps you’d like to tell me why my little brother has your cell number?”
Jayden smiled weakly. “Not really.”
“I thought not,” he replied. “Then how about telling me who demo’d your Jeep? My dad seems to think you know who did the dirty deed.”
Jayden gasped. “Why would he think that?”
“My dad’s been a salesman his whole life. He thinks he knows what people are thinking before they even know what they’re thinking.”
“Oh.” Jayden turned her body toward the window and they drove in awkward silence until they reached Junior’s home.
Max bolted out of the house the moment the car entered the driveway. He hurled himself into the back seat and then patted his brother on the shoulder, grinning cheekily. “Onward my chauffeur – to Jayden’s castle.”
Junior glared at him through the rear view mirror. “You best be careful little brother. I know where you stash your General Jaxxon shirt.”
Max sat back deflated, an embarrassed flush heating his face. He sputtered a few words in an attempt at a witty comeback, but drew a blank. Sitting forward, he turned his attention instead to Jayden.
“Hey, Jayden, how are you?”
“I’ve been better,” she replied. “And if you know where I might find a pot of gold with forty-five-hundred dollars in it, I’d feel a lot better.”
It was Max’s turn to gasp. “Your Jeep? Ouch.”
Jayden pivoted in her seat, facing Max. “Yeah, I have to figure that one out.” She glanced casually at Junior and added, “By the way, Max, I think General Jaxxon is super-cool.” Max grinned while Junior clamped down on the steering wheel in a white-knuckle grip. It was his turn to blush.
They drove for 30 minutes in silence until they reached Jayden’s apartment complex. As soon as the car was in park mode, Max hopped out and opened Jayden’s door. “I’ll walk her home,” he announced to Junior. “N-n-no need for you to get out.”
Junior gave Max an exasperated salute and then turned to Jayden. “I’ll call you tomorrow and we can talk about the Jeep repairs.”
“Thank you,” Jayden acknowledged. “I really appreciate the ride.” She and Max walked slowly toward the apartment’s main entrance, stopping in front of the glass doors.
“This dream we share,” Max began, “do you think it’s real? A real world?”
“How can it be real? It’s a dream.”
“But Richard Hatemore is real. He’s alive, sort of I guess, if you count lying in a coma and creeping in the dream world as ‘alive.’ But you’re real.” He pinched her arm. “Just like me.”
Jayden chewed on her lip. “So you think Connor is real too? And because we’re here and they’re all real somewhere, you think the dream world is actually ‘real?’” She shook her head. “Sounds like a fantasy book to me.”
“Think about it for a minute,” Max insisted. “How else can you explain it?”
“I don’t know how, but I do know this is a crazy scenario,” Jayden replied. She sighed in frustration. “So, Master Genius, what do we do next?”
Max crossed his arms and gazed into the afternoon sky, a far-away expression lining his face. “We found each other in the real world,” he said slowly. “Maybe we’re supposed to find Connor too.”
* * *
Jayden’s mom pulled her jean jacket tight and smoothed back her blond hair. She knew she was still intoxicated from the night before. The puffy eyes and smudged mascara across her cheeks told an ugly story – but not as ugly as the real life story she hammered out on Jayden’s Jeep.
Straightening her shoulders, she strode to the counter.
“Yes, Ma’am, how can I help you?”
She peered at the man sitting behind the bullet-proof glass. “Officer, I’d like to report an assault.”
He stood up, concerned. “Were you assaulted?” he asked.
“No, I assaulted someone. Well… something,” she said. “I want to say this only once, so please write it down.”
The officer moved his head a fraction closer to the glass. “What’s that? Please repeat what you just said.”
“I said I only want to say this once!” She put both hands to her forehead. An alcohol-induced migraine was skirting the edges of her brain and about to crash down in a powerful strike. She began to cry.
“I need help.”
* * *
The apartment was empty when Jayden let herself in the front door. There were no lingering odours from her mom’s cigarettes and the kitchen was in the same condition as she left it. No sign of Ma.
Popping a frozen dinner into the microwave oven, she leaned over the sink, watching the timer on the microwave countdown the cooking time. She still hadn’t decided what to do about the Jeep – if she should call her dad, or if she should call the police and report her mom’s actions. There were so many ‘what-ifs’ surrounding each option. In frustration, Jayden punched the countertop with the side of her hand. If only life were as simple as counting, I’d know what comes next.