HOMELESS–Part 4

Part 4—the rest of our NYC trip; two great new friends.


CHAPTER 11

It was almost 3:00 a.m. by the time the police and hospital were finished with us. I suggested that Charlie and Toni stay over at the Plaza as my guests. I thought it was the least I could do after all they had done to support Jennie and me. I knew my $3,000 suit, straight from a Hong Kong tailor, was ruined, but I almost cried when I saw the blood on Jennie’s jacket and dress. Once she had removed it I phoned for a bellman and asked if there was anything that could be done. My arm was bandaged and in a sling that I thought was unnecessary. Jennie insisted that I wear it.

I had been worried about Lady. She had simply done what she had been trained to do—protect Jennie and me. She was completely under control when the police arrived. One of the officers had wanted to take her to the animal shelter for rabies testing, but was overridden by a sergeant who was apparently a dog lover. Instead, we took Lady to a veterinarian the following morning. He withdrew blood, assuring us that he had done this in cooperation with the police probably dozens of times. He said the testing would be done in two days, but he could tell just by looking at Lady that she wasn’t rabid. Hell—I knew that. Trainer John had given us the record of her shots when we bought her.

We agreed with Charlie and Toni that we would meet for lunch in the Plaza’s lobby at eleven. I had thought originally that we’d all get enough sleep that way, but it didn’t work out that well for me. My arm ached and I had to be careful when I moved. It was the only night since our first together that Jennie and I didn’t make love. Jennie cried every time she thought that she had almost lost me and that was often that night so we were both all the worse for wear when we finally showed up around 11:20 from the vet’s office. I suggested we walk around the block to Quality Meats. We beat the lunch crowd so we had no trouble getting a table. This was a place where high ranking executives took clients they wanted to impress. It wasn’t a place where one would normally go for lunch unless one wanted to blow a hundred bucks for a relatively simple meal.

Our guests were appalled by the prices, but Jennie and I just laughed. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Doug is buying and he can afford it, can’t you, darling?”

“Yes, I can so just enjoy and order whatever you like.” There was no more discussion of the prices as we ordered. We all had appetizers, salad, and steak. Toni and Jennie had the 10-ounce filet. Charlie and I had the 24-ounce rib steak. We agreed to split two orders of parmesan waffle fries. The meal was great and the service even better. We had a wonderful time, even when we talked about last night’s adventure. Toni, like Jennie, was startled by the man’s actions. Charlie said his daughters were amazed that they had been involved in some kind of crime. They were also curious about Jennie and me and how their parents were staying at one of New York’s premier hotels.

“Wait until they hear about our lunch,” Toni exclaimed. “I’m taking pictures of everything so they can look at them when we finally get home.” We said good-bye to them in front of the Plaza as I paid for their cab to Penn Station. We had exchanged email and phone numbers and promised to stay in touch. Jennie insisted that I go in and rest once they were gone. I didn’t argue, but on the way I stopped at reception to ask if we could extend our stay. At $5,000 a night the answer was a definitive yes.

Jennie walked me into the bedroom and began to undress me. I reached out for her, but—to my shock—she stopped me. “I’m putting you to bed. I know you had a difficult and miserable night. You desperately need a nap. C’mon…into the bed. We can make love later, but I’ll be doing all the doing. You’ll be lying as still as possible with your arm out to the side where it won’t be injured.”

I couldn’t stifle a chuckle. “You’ll be doing the doing? I think I should have that framed.”

“Be quiet and sleep a bit. I’m taking your phone, too.” She retreated to the window and drew the drapes, darkening the room, and kissed me briefly before closing the door.

I fell into a restless sleep because of the pain in my arm. Even the pain pills—Percocet–I’d received failed to knock me out. I was half in and half out when I heard my phone ring once. I guessed that Jennie had answered it or turned it off. She walked cautiously into the room a few minutes later with Lady. She saw my eyes were open so she sat on the bed—the left side away from my outstretched arm before leaning down to hold me.

It was several seconds before I realized that Jennie was crying. “Jennie, what’s wrong?”

“I saw all that blood and I was afraid I was going to lose you. After all the years I suffered I finally found you and then….”

I cradled her head with my hand and kissed her cheek. “He cut through my sleeve and nicked an artery. Arteries always spurt blood. The doctor told me I would have been in trouble if I’d bled for an hour, but the EMT’s were there in ten minutes and the cops put a heavy bandage on my arm as soon as they got that asshole under control. He was bleeding much worse than I was. I released Jennie’s head so I could use my hand to pet Lady. She had her head on the bed showing her concern for me in her own way.

“Who was on the phone?”

“That was Andrea…Charlie and Toni’s daughter. She wanted to thank us for being so nice to her mom and dad. Of course, I told her it was our pleasure.”

“It was. I really like them.”

“So do I and they stayed with us…with me the entire time you were in with the ER doctor. They didn’t have to do that. They could have gone home. I know they were concerned about their girls. Anyway, I invited them to come down and visit us after their school breaks in June. You don’t mind, do you?”

“No…I don’t mind at all. I think that’s a great idea.”

“I thought we could put the girls in the bonus room over the garage. We could buy some air beds. They’re kids so they wouldn’t have any problem getting in and out and they’d have more privacy up there, too.”

“That’s a good idea, especially since we’ll be changing one of the bedrooms for our baby.”

“Doug, we still have almost seven months to do that.”

“I know, but you know how I am. I’m a nerd. I plan ahead.”

She moved up to kiss me. It was like heaven on earth. I could always lose myself in her kisses. She spoke again when she broke it. “I wish I could phone Amber, my friend at home, and give her all the wonderful news.”

“Why can’t you?”

“In the past I would only call when I was due to travel the next morning. I don’t want my stepfather to find me. You don’t know him. He’d make up some phony charges—things he could prove like drugs in my room or even some burglary with a ‘witness’ who saw me do it. I can’t take the chance.”

I leaned up on my arm to look straight in her eyes. “Jennie, what do all communications rely on?”

“I don’t know.” I raised my eyebrows and tilted my head until she got it. “Oh…computers?”

“And do you know anyone who’s an expert with computers?”

“You, of course.”

“The only question is—where do you want the call to originate from? California? Texas? How about Hawaii? You can make the call on my computer, but first I’ll rout it through a server somewhere else.”

“Can we do it before we go out for dinner? Please!” I pulled her down to me, holding the one I loved
more than anything. Jennie helped me up from the bed a minute later. My injured arm was throbbing and almost useless. Once we were in the suite’s living room I pulled my laptop from the safe and connected it to the internet using the Ethernet cable and connection. The hotel had wi-fi, but as everyone knows Ethernet is both faster and more secure.

“I’ve done a lot of consulting work in addition to writing all those ‘Idiot’ programs and I still do. Because of that I have access to servers all over the world. For this, though, I think we should stay within our borders.” I pulled up a database and scrolled through several locations before stopping at Alamogordo National Laboratory. My first message was a text to my contact there that I needed to use the server for a personal text and phone call. I had an affirmative response less than a minute later.

“What’s Amber’s phone number? Is it a cell or a land line?” It was a cell and Jennie gave it to me a second later. I typed out a brief text—“Amber, you will receive a phone call from Doug in a few minutes. It is really from me. Using his computer for call. Jessie”—then I pushed “SEND.”

I was pleased when my laptop pinged in response to an incoming message—“K.”

“Okay Jennie, sit here and speak normally. The microphone is in the base and it will pick up everything you say.”

“I never knew you could use a computer as a phone.”

“You can if you have the proper software installed. Ready for your call?” She nodded and I typed in the number, pressing “SEND,” when I was done. We could hear the phone ring. It was answered on the second tone.

(Hello?)

“Amber, I can’t believe it. How are you? It’s me Jennie, I mean Jessie.”

(I see you’re in New Mexico. How’s the weather there?)

“Actually, I’m thousands of miles away. My husband is a computer whiz. That’s one of the things I wanted to tell you. I’m married to the most wonderful man.”

(Damn, Jess—that’s incredible. I have news for you, too.)

“Amber, I’ve changed my name in order to keep my whereabouts from you-know-who.”

(That’s my news, Jess. I don’t think you’ll have to run any more. Shithead’s been arrested. The State Police ran a big sting on him. Some of his deputies were involved in setting it up. They caught a man who was really an undercover state cop posing as a drug dealer. He offered the Sheriff $50,000 to screw up something about the evidence and let him go free. He turned that down, but did accept $100,000. One of the deputies was wearing a wire and they got the whole thing on tape. He was arrested the next day by the State Police and was forced to resign. They have him on a bunch of other stuff, too.)

“Like what, Amber?”

(He had a bunch of deputies working on his reelection campaign while they were on duty and he required all of them to donate $200 each to his campaign. Both of them are felonies involving election law. The story has been all over the news for the past week. He’s out on $500,000 bail and word is he’s hoping for a plea bargain.)

“Any idea when? I’d love to be there when he goes down.”

(Hold on…let me check the paper.)

Jennie asked me if we could go, knowing that I couldn’t deny her. A few seconds later her friend Amber was back on the phone.

(Okay, Jess I knew I saw it earlier today. He’s scheduled to appear before Judge Pepper on June 13th.)

“That’s great, Amber—Pepper hates that bastard. I have other news. I’m pregnant. Doug and I are going to have a baby! Doug says we can go to Iowa so I’ll be there when he goes down. I just hope he goes to prison. It would serve him right after everything he’s done.”

(The paper says he’s looking at ten years, minimum. Isn’t that great?”)

“It is. I can’t wait to see the expression on his face when I show up. I guess I can tell you where I am now…New York City in a beautiful suite at the Plaza Hotel. Doug brought me here on a charter flight to buy me engagement and wedding rings and a whole new wardrobe.”

(Wow!)

“’Wow’ is right! Doug is thirty-four and—catch this—he’s retired. He gave me two million dollars for pocket money—two million! Can you believe that? He’s the most wonderful man alive, but he’s sitting right here so I have to be careful so he doesn’t get a swelled head.” All of a sudden Jennie shrieked.

(What the hell was that, Jess?)

“That was my husband squeezing my tit. It’s a good thing his arm is injured or he would have gotten both of them. Doesn’t matter, though—he’ll get them both tonight.” She was still talking when I left the room to take a leak. I was struggling to dress when Jennie walked up to me and gave me the sweetest kiss. “I love you so much, Doug. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ll be so happy to see Amber again. She’s been such a good friend—the only one I’ve had for the past five years.”

“Let’s get ready to go out for dinner. Can you help me? My arm is really bothering me.” Jennie was a big help—pulling my shirt up my arm without touching the bandage and tying my shoes. I took Lady across to the park and we grabbed a cab south to Chinatown.

I loved Chinese food, but it was the only kind of restaurant lacking in our area at home. There were any number of Chinese restaurants, but most of them were just terrible. I couldn’t come to New York without splurging on a good Chinese meal.

Our cab stopped in front of Oriental Garden, my favorite place in Chinatown. To keep things simple for Jennie I ordered only three dishes—General Chow’s Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, and Roast Pork Fried Rice. Knowing that we’d had a huge lunch I skipped another favorite—their barbequed spare ribs. Instead, I asked for crispy noodles and several sauces—spicy mustard, sweet and sour, and soy. We nibbled on them and drank our Cokes—no Tsingtao beer for Jennie–until our entrée’s arrived. I picked up each noodle with chop sticks. Jennie tried three times before laughing and giving up, using her fingers instead.

We loved the food. It was delicious, so much so that we both had seconds and Jennie even had thirds of the pork. Oriental Garden will never be recognized for its décor or for its service, but the food makes up for the negatives. It was also, by far, the cheapest meal we’d had in the city so far.

Our cab dropped us off around 11:30 and I was more than ready to turn in. Jennie insisted on washing me, my arm straight up in the air above the shower head so it would remain dry. Once dry and in bed she reminded me of her earlier proclamation—“I’ll be doing the doing; you’re going to lie still.” I followed her orders to a degree. I couldn’t help but drive into her as she rode me like a woman possessed. Her earlier prediction came true. I did get both of her tits—one with my left hand and the other with my mouth. I fell asleep shortly after, making it through to the morning without once waking even though my arm ached the entire time.

“What’s on tap for today, my wonderful husband?”

“I’d like to visit my mother, but I’ll have to call first because I refuse to have anything to do with her husband.