It had been some time since Jeanette had spent such a lovely evening. Instead of drinking to avoid, she was drinking to enjoy.
Still drinking too much though. Maybe it was time to look at it again. A hard and long conversation with herself about why she kept doing this to herself.
When the room service came, she was afraid the five dollar bill would be an insulting tip. She’d never even walked through the lobby of a hotel as nice as the Green Reef.
The girl in her smart uniform accepted it with what looked like genuine gratitude. Opened the first bottle of wine before leaving. “I hope you have a pleasant evening,” she said. Nodded as she closed the door behind her.
Jeanette wondered if she was a lesbian. Wondered what it would be like … and then thought about Haggis. She rolled her eyes at herself. Life would have been easier if she had liked women that way.
At least, that was easy for her to say since she didn’t know what it was like to be publicly persecuted for her sexual habits. Still, she often thought about how men were the cause of all the world’s ills. Irrationally and unfairly, but she still thought it. But whenever it was time for a little sexual gratification, that’s where she turned.
To the men.
She convinced herself that this one was different. He wasn’t like all men. And if he didn’t ruin the relationship by being what she expected, she’d ruin it by expecting it.
She was doing it to Haggis too. Arguing with herself about what was under the fuzzy exterior that she found so irresistible. Was she overlooking the flaws because he fit her physical mold?
Weird thoughts out of the blue. Like was the hair on his chest the same deep red? And why Haggis? Was it because he was Scottish? Didn’t they have red hair a lot? Could he handle a lady that wanted to take charge? Would he be sensitive when she needed it? Forceful when she asked for it? Would she have to ask? Was all this a little premature?
She sighed as she poured another glass of wine. She’d gone for a steak. Ribeye that came with five garlic shrimp. Lobster mac and cheese. Included a piece of cheesecake, but there was no way she could eat it after the meal followed by a bottle of wine.
It had totaled almost eighty dollars. When she saw the receipt, she had broken down into helpless laughter.
With the wine warming on the nightstand, she lay back on the bed and closed her eyes, dozing before her first sigh escaped her lips.
Flashes of memories that kept her from falling all the way asleep. Looked at the clock each time. Five- and ten-minute spurts.
She remembered the sound of a mother crying out for the baby she was afraid she had lost. It sounded a lot like Jeanette had when she found out Mark was leaving her and taking Jeanie with her.
Then she saw the face of a homeless woman asking for her to look for her son. She said aliens had taken him up into the light. Jeanette had known better. When they found him dead of an overdose under a bridge, the woman had dropped to her knees with a wail so familiar, Jeanette needed to look away.
She sat up with a frustrated sigh. Why was her mind doing this? Every time she thought she might have gotten to a point in her life where she could let her enjoy something, every terrible thing she could think of exploded in her imagination.
All the reasons why she didn’t deserve to be happy.
She threw back the wine. Looked at the clock again. She could call him. Tell him to stay away. Go home. Follow Stan. Anything to keep from having to see him become disappointed in her.
She decided on a bath. Nice and hot. Soak with the other bottle next to her. That would feel good and knock out an hour. As she passed the food cart, she grabbed the cheesecake.
Decadent. Luxuriant. Well past being buzzed. Relaxing in the heat. The memories receded into the back of her mind, and she was able to close her eyes without seeing blood.
The water was still warm when she woke up, but the bubbles were all gone. Her body was distorted through the water. A slight green hue. Stubble standing out on her legs.
She growled to herself as she stood. Pulled the plug as she turned on the water. Screamed when it came out cold. Sloshed to the end to get out from under the spray until it had warmed up.
Took a shower. Washed her hair even though she knew it was so thick it would take an hour to dry with a blower. It would still be damp by morning if she just left it.
Did a passable job shaving her legs. Got a little burn under her arms. The ritual women did to satisfy men … only she knew if she let it go too long, she would gag every time she lifted her arms.
She used the hotel’s moisturizer. It smelled like cedar and oranges.
The fluffy white robe was as soft as kitten hair. The towel she wrapped around her head seemed to weigh as much as her wet hair.
She didn’t bother with makeup. She wore so little anyway, it really didn’t matter. Then she sat on the edge of the bed. Tapped her feet with impatience as she watched the door.
When she realized she left the last of her wine in the bathroom, she jumped up with a curse. Yelped in surprise when somebody knocked on the door.
She looked at the clock. 12:56. Her heart pounded as she went to the door. The timing was right. He was finally here, and all she had to do was decide to open the door.
She took a deep breath and turned the latch. When she opened the door, her grin faded.
Two men filled her doorway.
She stumbled back in confusion as one of them followed. The other stood half in, letting the door close against him as he directed his gaze into the hallway.
Before she could turn to get her gun out of the holster hanging from the back of the chair, the guy swung in with a right hook that caught her over her left eye. Right on the point of the bone.
The room became a burning light as she felt her knees buckle then bend. A roar in her ears that sounded like the echo of wind at the end of a tunnel.
Her vision resolved into a view of the carpet. Her left eye stinging as blood poured in a dripping patter in a jagged trail that followed along with her as she shook her head in denial.
She saw a darkening shadow close in on her from the right, then agony exploded in her side as his kick sent her over to choke on her back. Eyelid batting the burning red away as she tried to get a breath.
The shadow bent over her. Grabbed her by the throat. Got another handful of her robe, and he jerked her from the floor. Threw her on the bed.
She turned her head away, but then blood was in both eyes. She finally got a full breath, but then the shadow grabbed both of her hands. Forced them down on either side of her head. She realized her robe was open when she felt his knees on the skin of her belly, and he pushed his weight down on her until the breath she had just gotten was forced out, and she couldn’t draw in a fresh one against the pressure and pain.
The shadow leaned down until he was just a blob of color in front of her. “I’m going to ask you some questions about Stan Manning and his associates. And unless you wanna drown in the hotel bathroom, I suggest you answer them.”
She did her best to nod. Finally managed to get the blood blinked away so she could see. The man’s face was too close for detail, but she could see past him to the other man standing in the door.
The pressure eased off of her belly , and she took a breath past the pain in her throat where he had gripped her neck.
He pulled her up by her wrists. Whipped her back into the headboard, and her head cracked off the wall above it. She slumped forward, not sure what to do with her hands. Close her robe or rub the pain from her head. Or catch the blood dripping into her pubic hair.
“Where are they going?”
She looked up at her attacker. Surprised, his gaze was so intent on her face instead of her bare breasts. Maybe she wasn’t his type. She couldn’t keep the manic smile from blooming. Covered her mouth with both hands as she shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You think this is a fucking joke?”
She pressed her palm to her bleeding eyebrow. Winced with a hiss of pain. “No, I don’t. Just gimme a minute. I think you just about knocked the sixth grade out of me.”
He slapped her hand away. Reached under his jacket. Pulled out a comically large pistol. She bit her lip to keep from laughing at the ludicrous size of it. Then the laughter choked off when he jammed it into her belly. Right above where his knee had been.
He turned his head to the door. “Get in here for Christ’s sake.”
She watched the other guy nod as he pushed the door away from him and stepped inside. Maybe Haggis wasn’t coming.
The first guy cocked the pistol. She never understood that. Was it really a bigger threat than it had been?
“He was here. Now he’s not. Where did he go?”
She watched the rectangle of the hall shrink as the door neared the jamb. She shrugged. “Maybe he went to Sloppy’s.”
He pushed the gun into her side. Grinding the barrel in a burning circle.
Just before the door closed, a hand popped through. Red hair curling out of a flannel cuff.
It looked like Haggis had made it after all.