When Damita got off the bus, she could see there was a hotel close by. She retrieved her luggage and walked in the direction of the hotel. Suddenly, someone drove by honking the car horn. She turned to look and it was Lester Jones.
He rolled down the car window. “If you’re heading to that hotel, it’s a lot farther away than it appears.”
“To pursue or approach stealthily,” Damita repeated.
“You’re a real funny girl. I like funny girls.”
“Goodnight, Lester Jones. It’s been nice knowing you.”
“I could help you with that list of yours.”
Damita’s face changed from amused to angry. “You snooped through my notebook?”
“Technically, it’s not snooping if the information is on the first page. I picked it up and there it was. One look at that list and I knew you were a woman on the run.”
Damita’s face wrinkled into a frown. “And you chose to capitalize on that fact, I assume?”
“That’s not what I want to do at all. In fact, I can help you. I believe you had a notation about establishing an identity? I know what you need and who you need to see.”
“What are you going to want from me if you help me with my little dilemma?”
“There’s nothing in it for me at all. Well, practically nothing. I may get a little finder’s fee from the guy I bring you to, but other than that, there’s nothing in it for me. The guy I’m going to take you too helped someone very close to me once.”
“Who says I need whatever help it is this guy offers?”
“Halle, I didn’t fall off the turnip truck. I can recognize a woman in trouble when I see one. You’re most definitely a woman in trouble.”
“I suppose you’re here to take all my troubles away, huh?”
“No one can do that. I’m here to lighten the load, but only if you let me. Come on, Halle. If you’re going to stay here, you’re going to have to trust somebody first. It might as well be me. Believe me. I’m one of the good guys.”
“That’s what they all say.”
“I’m guessing it would be easier if it was a woman you were trusting, so I tell you what, I’ll make it happen.”
“So, what are you going to do now, morph into a woman?”
“Even better, I’m going to go get that person who is close to me, who needed the same assistance.”
“Are you always so cloak and dagger?” Damita asked.
“Sometimes in life we have to be. And, Halle, whatever or whoever it is you’re hiding from, you’re going to have to learn to adapt to some of those cloak and dagger ways as well.”
“I suppose you want me to come with you?”
“No, because you won’t do that. I’ll take you to the hotel. That is where you were going, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it was.”
“It’s a short drive and there is enough traffic between here and there that you’ll feel relatively safe in my car.”
“What do you mean by relatively safe?”
“Yes, relatively safe. You and I both know that in life there are no guarantees.”
“You got that right,” Damita agreed.
When they got to the hotel, Damita once again began to worry about checking in.
“Do you want to check in or wait until I come back?” Lester asked.
“I’m really tired. I would like to check in, but I can wait here.”
“Are you afraid you won’t be able to check in without identification?”
“That is, assuming I don’t have identification.”
“Okay, Halle, you can wait here until I come back.”
“Why did you ask?” Damita asked.
“I could use my identification to check you in.”
“Then it would technically be your hotel room. It’s okay. I’ll wait until you come back.”
Damita sat down in the lobby of the hotel. She endured looks from hotel personnel and one even asked her if she needed assistance.
“I’m waiting for my other party. I lost my identification on the way here and I’m assuming I won’t be able to check in without identification,” she lied.
“Oh, well, feel free to wait. If your other party doesn’t show up, you can leave a larger deposit and check in without waiting for them to get here.”
“Do you accept cash?” Damita asked.
“Yes, we do, with a deposit.”
“Great. I lost my credit cards along with my identification.”
“Come over to the desk whenever you’re ready and we’ll get you checked in.”
Even though she was told said she would be fine checking in, she couldn’t truly relax until she had a key in hand and was safely in her room.
By the time she walked away from the desk, she had extracted over $1,000 to pay for the room. Most of it was in security deposits, because she didn’t have identification or credit cards, but she didn’t care. She at least had someplace to lay her head for the night, until she could figure out what her next move would be.
Damita quickly scrawled a note on a piece of paper and left it at the hotel desk.
“This is for a man named Lester Jones. If he stops by, please give him the note.”
“We’ll be sure to give Mr. Jones the note. Goodnight, Ms. Berry.”
Once in her room, Damita chuckled at her use of the name Halle Berry. She had always admired the beauty and talent of the actress.
She thought she would be exhausted and ready for sleep by the time she got to her hotel room. She wasn’t sure if it was so much sleeping in strange places or worrying about how she would take care of herself, but she was wired beyond belief. She turned on the television. Damita flipped channels and thought about the fact that she felt like she had watched more television in the last week than she had in an entire year. Before everything happened, she seldom watched television. She was always too busy with work and when she wasn’t working she was using her available time to spend it with family and friends. By the time Neal came along, she barely had enough time to breathe. There was always a new client, or a promotion. Downtime was something that Damita Whitmore did not have much of. She hoped that now that she was in Seattle she wouldn’t have more downtime than she could handle. She would have to find work and a place to live. She couldn’t afford to live in a hotel forever. The money she had was dwindling with each day and she was uncomfortable knowing that besides the money in her pocket, she had no other source of income.
The phone in the hotel room rang and Damita practically jumped out of her skin. Her first thought was who could possibly know that she was here. Then, she wondered if the hotel had changed their mind about allowing her to use the room without identification or a credit card. She picked up the phone and Lester was on the phone.
“I see you were able to get yourself a room without my help.”
“Barely,” Damita said.
“Come on downstairs. The person I told you about is down here. We’ll meet you at the hotel restaurant. It’s open twenty-four hours.”
“I’ll be right down.”
Once downstairs, Damita was happy to see that Lester was not alone and that he might actually be telling her the truth. The woman he was with looked a lot like him. She was very tall for a woman and was very close to Lester’s height. He looked to be about six feet two inches tall and the woman with him appeared to be at least five feet eleven inches. They both had an athletic build and deep mahogany skin and though they both appeared to be no older than their mid-thirties, they both already had scattered gray hairs. Damita figured they were probably related. Somehow, she assumed when he said someone close to him that he was talking about a woman he dated or was married to.
Damita walked toward Lester and the woman.
“Halle, this is Constance. Constance, this is Halle.”
Damita looked at Constance meekly. “My name isn’t really Halle,” she admitted.
“Well, surprise, surprise,” Lester offered.
Constance rapped Lester on the top of his head. “Shut up, Lester. You’re going to scare the poor woman off. We’re waiting for a table, Halle. As soon as they seat us we can talk about your little problem.”
Despite the emptiness of the restaurant it seemed to take forever to get seated. Finally, they had a table and could sit down and discuss things. Damita only ordered coffee.
Constance frowned. “Won’t that keep you awake?” Constance asked.
Damita shook her head. “No, when I’m sleepy I’ll go to sleep. Coffee doesn’t keep me up.”
“So, my brother here was telling me about your problem and it’s an experience I’m well acquainted with. We’d like to help. I know you’re afraid. I was when I had to relocate, but believe me, it can work. I’m living proof.”