Ch. 13 – Jax
J ax had to admit she just might be in love. As they set off for the San Diego Zoo, her interview subject had surprised her with his humor, charm, and adroit wit.
“Top ten best traits. Right off the top of your head, go,” she challenged him.
“For Rico? I have to come up with ten?” Chuck, her new most favorite person in the whole wide world, looked pained. In the driver’s seat of the news van, the grizzled cameraman scratched at his unshaven jaw with a leathery hand.
“No, no, not all at once,” groused Rico from the back seat of the van. He’d been sulky ever since that rad lady had marched into his office and sentenced him to reporterly death by giraffe.
Jax glanced out the passenger side window and watched Highway 15 whip by.
“Well, he does smell nice,” Chuck finally offered.
“Really, Chuck?” Rico stuck his head between the two front seats. “How long have we been working together?”
“Honestly, sometimes it feels like a century,” Chuck answered morosely .
“Three years,” Rico proclaimed. “Three years as a dynamic journalistic duo, changing the world one story at a time . . . and the best you can do is that I smell nice?”
Chuck turned to Jax. “He doesn’t spit into the microphone. I worked with this reporter once, and her microphones were practically dripping when she was done with her stories.”
Jax laughed. She absolutely loved everything about Chuck, from the faded tattoos patterning his arms to the Led Zeppelin song playing softly over the van’s speakers and his zero-shits-given attitude.
Rico’s head jutted next to her shoulder again. “You could at least tell her about some of the amazing stories we’ve done together. How about the time I confronted that biker gang that was bringing fentanyl over the border?”
Chuck’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. “You mean that time you started shouting accusations in a biker bar with no backup and almost got us both killed?”
“I go where the facts lead me,” Rico replied.
“The facts led him to a 6’5, 300-pound biker named Tiny Tim who sincerely wanted to jam a snapped-off pool cue through his liver,” Chuck explained. Jax could’ve sworn she heard a hint of protectiveness in the old man’s voice.
“But it was a good story,” Rico insisted. “The police indicted twelve people based on my reporting.”
“Yeah, I would have made sure to put that in your obituary,” Chuck grumbled as he took the off-ramp.
Jax turned and started. Rico’s face was inches from hers. Damn. Chuck wasn’t a liar. Rico did smell good. She inhaled, enjoying a replay of the woodsy pine scent she remembered from their first meeting .
Rico dropped back into his seat and crossed his arms. She liked him like this, a little flummoxed, clearly uncomfortable. It was worlds better than the pompous, clearly posing doofus she’d found in his office this morning.
She twisted around in her seat to face him. “What do you have against giraffes anyway?”
“Nothing. Giraffes are fine.” He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “It’s the story. It’s pointless.”
“I don’t know.” Jax tapped a finger against her lip. “The news is so depressing most of the time. Positive stories can help balance out the bad. Like those Girl Scouts giving that quilt to the firefighters. That was nice. It reminds us that the world isn’t just a hell pit of constant misery.”
Rico opened his eyes, a half smirk arching his lips. “You saw my Girl Scout story?”
“It was research for this article,” she said quickly. And of course that was true. What other reason did she have for spending hours last night digging up his old stories on YouTube? Research. A reporter had to know her subject.
As discomfort squirmed in her belly, Jax turned back to the cameraman. “Now, Chuck, what would you say are Rico’s worst features?”
He chuckled as he slowed the van for a red light. “Lord, where to even start.”
“Nope, no way,” Rico insisted from the back of the van. “I do not approve of—"
“He’s arrogant,” Chuck started.
“Stop.”
“Pompous.”
“Really, Chuck?”
“Self-absorbed. ”
“You’re just saying synonyms,” Rico groused.
“Incredibly pretentious.”
“Another synonym.”
“So conceited.”
“SYNONYM!”
“And his clothes are too fancy.”
“What? I’m an amazing dresser.”
“Oh, egotistical. Have I used that one yet?”
“Nope. Let me get that.” Jax struggled to keep up, her thumbs flying as she typed notes into her phone.
“Do NOT write any of this down,” Rico demanded. “This is slander.”
“How many do I have left?” Chuck asked.
Jax reviewed her list. “Three.”
“Hmmmm.” Chuck glanced in the review mirror as he took a right turn. “Smug. Vain. And his tagline is dumb.”
“How dare you,” Rico gasped. The man looked wounded. “My tagline is amazing.”
“Annnnd, here we are,” Chuck said as he swung the van into Balboa Park. The massive park, located in the heart of San Diego, contained vast swaths of green space, an entire boulevard of museums, a Japanese garden, an outdoor amphitheater, and, of course, one of the city’s crown jewels, the San Diego Zoo.
To Jax, the sight of the zoo’s entrance brought up memories of ice cream cones melting over her fingers on school field trips and her entire third-grade class watching entranced as mountains of dung plummeted from an elephant’s hindquarters.
Chuck pulled the van into the massive zoo parking lot and found a spot. “Yellow lion,” he said, nodding to the animal silhouette attached to a light pole. “Remember that, crew. ”
“Let’s get this over with,” Rico grumbled. If possible, he seemed even sulkier than when they’d left. He pulled open the sliding door and hopped out.
“Can I have an eleventh?” Chuck asked.
“Huh?” Jax undid her seat belt and pushed open her door.
“An eleventh worst character trait for Rico?” the cameraman clarified.
Jax smiled as she jumped out of the passenger seat and pulled her messenger bag onto her shoulder. “For you, Chuck, you can always have an eleventh.”
The silver-haired man watched Rico trudge across the parking lot to the zoo entrance. “He never carries any of the equipment.”
*
“Wow, these two are absolutely adorable,” Rico proclaimed into his microphone. Inside the enclosure behind him, two spindly giraffes huddled next to their mother.
“They sure are,” panted Susan as she stared lovingly at Rico. The plump, curly-haired zookeeper had gone straight into heat the moment Rico had rolled up with his charming smile firmly affixed.
Fangirl Sue at the zoo, Jax typed into her phone as she stood a few feet from the action. The zoo’s PR person, a small man who seemed to vibrate with energy, rocked on his heels next to her.
“So why are these two so special?” Rico asked.
Susan stared at him for a long moment as if she were dreaming of dragging him to the koala den and getting animalistic.
“Susan?” Rico asked.
She seemed to snap into reality. “Oh, uh. Well, it’s incredibly rare for giraffes to produce twins,” she said into Rico’s microphone. “These two are a little underweight but otherwise healthy. Their mother has accepted both of them and is feeding them well. ”
“And just how big are these bundles of joy?” Rico asked.
Jax had to admit that Rico’s professionalism impressed her. He’d greeted Sue and the over-caffeinated PR guy warmly and had gently walked them both through the story and the shots he was hoping to get. Jax would have never guessed from his generous smile and relaxed posture that he was hating every second of this.
“Baby giraffes can be up to six feet tall and 180 pounds at birth,” Sue said.
“No kidding. Wow. Good genes, I guess,” Rico replied.
Sue laughed too long and too hard. After a few more minutes of softball questions, Rico wrapped up the report.
He turned and smiled brightly for the camera. “You heard it here, kids. With your parent’s permission, head to the zoo’s website, where you can suggest names for these giraffe twins. Sue and her colleagues are going to pick their favorite ten and voting will begin in two weeks. And if you want to keep an eye on these two, check out the zoo’s giraffe cam.” He turned to Susan. “I know the zoo hosts live cams in many animal enclosures, but beating the views for these two will be a taaaaaall order.”
He chuckled. Sue giggled. Jax groaned.
“Back to you, Miles and Rachel,” Rico said. He paused until Chuck gave him a thumbs-up.
“How did I do?” asked fangirl Sue from the zoo.
“Wonderful,” Rico assured her with a warm smile Jax could swear was sincere. “Extremely informative. Of course, these two stole the show.” He jacked a thumb at the two giraffes. “So, just to reiterate, your team will send us some of the earlier footage just after they were born?”
“Of course.” Sue giggled again and raked a hand through her blond curls. “I’m sure you get this all the time, but I’m a big fan.” Her cheeks brightened with a blush. “I always watch the seven o’clock show. Sometimes just for you.”
Rico’s smile brightened. “Thanks, Sue, that means a lot.” He glanced over the woman’s shoulder at Jax as if to say, See all my adoring fans?
Jax gave him a sarcastic little wave. He’d been almost, allllmost impressing her just a minute ago. But the old Rico was back. How had Chuck described him? Oh, that’s right, vain, arrogant, pompous, etc.
“Would you mind signing this?” Sue held out a commemorative giraffe plate to Rico. Jesus, where had the woman pulled that from?
“Of course,” Rico replied as if signing commemorative giraffe plates was all part of the job. He handed it back and Jax held her breath, wondering if Sue would rip open her khaki short-sleeve shirt and ask him to sign her boobs next.
Luckily for all involved, Sue kept herself in check. Mostly. As Rico had a short convo with the PR guy, Sue mooned over him like a tween at a BTS concert. Rico shook the PR guy’s hand just as Chuck finished packing up the equipment. The crew started toward the news van, and Jax jogged to join Rico.
“I think you made Sue squee a little in her khakis,” she noted.
“Yeah.” Rico grinned. “It’s so nice to have one’s work appreciated.”
Jax glanced over her shoulder and saw exactly where Sue was zeroing her gaze. It wasn’t Rico’s work she was appreciating.
“Does it ever get old having women drooling all over you?” she asked.
“Now, now.” He held up a finger. “It’s not just women. I’m big in gay circles, too. Stay open-minded, Jacklyn.”
Yeah, open-minded. Tell that to the kids in elementary school who had mercilessly taunted her for having two moms.
“Seriously, though,” she pushed him. “Do you get tired of it? ”
Rico frowned in thought. “No,” he finally said.
“But don’t you want people to like you for more than your looks?”
“Why can’t I have both?” His tone was teasing, but she wondered if he just might be serious. Jax wanted to dig deeper into Rico, see if she could find something of substance beneath his layers of charisma and charm. It wasn’t just because of the interview. She’d seen flashes of honesty and integrity in Rico, but they disappeared so quickly, like colorful shells pulled back into the ocean.
Jax wanted more of those flashes. She wanted to discover if the real Rico was as intriguing, as captivating as she suspected.
“Shoe’s untied,” he said.
Dammit . She dropped down and tied her left boot. When she stood, she found that Rico had continued without her. Of course he had. Chuck caught up with her. She held out a hand, and he dropped a spool of wires into her arms.
“One good thing,” she said. The words were unplanned. They seemed to arise from some vulnerable spot deep inside of her. “What’s one actual good thing about him?”
Chuck appraised her. “Why do you want to know?”
“For the story,” Jax insisted. “Why else?”
Chuck didn’t believe her for one second, but he was enough of a gentleman not to call her on it. Instead, he slowed his steps, allowing Rico to get farther ahead of them. Families and couples ambled past them down the pathways clustered with snack stands and signs pointing to different areas of the zoo. The breeze kicked up, bringing a tangle of scents—hints of manure and wet hay mixed with barbecue chicken and cinnamon churros. It was the unforgettable smell of the zoo.
“Rico cares,” Chuck said, startling her. Jax had been sure he wasn’t going to answer her question. Now she looked at his leathery face .
“You respect him, don’t you?” she pushed.
“Don’t you dare tell him that,” Chuck said, the admonishment undermined by his crooked smile. “I put up with a lot of bullshit from that kid, but he really does care about the job. The mission.”
“The mission?”
“Telling people the truth,” Chuck clarified. “And putting the high and mighty in their place.”
The rest of the way back to the parking lot, Jax’s thoughts twisted themselves into knots. When she took her seat in the van, she pulled up the notes app on her phone and skimmed her bullet points, which included such gems as:
Smells good. (Aftershave or cologne?)
11 th – Never carries equipment
Fangirl Sue at the Zoo
Commemorative plate
She tapped a key to start a new bullet point.
“You’re going to massacre me in this profile, aren’t you?” Rico’s voice was morose from the back of the van. Outside, Chuck packed in the last of the equipment.
“Should I?” she asked.
He looked down at his hands and shrugged. “Probably.”
She turned back in her seat and typed, Rico Torres, a good guy???