Chapter 5.2
“It is so nice of you to help me with this,” Maureen told Tom.
“It didn’t sound like you had any other help,” Tom replied, as he continued to mud the drywall in her apartment.
When she’d finally been able to go home, she’d been happy to find that her apartment building was still standing. Her apartment, however, had a few minor cracks and a couple of pipes leaking. After a few chance encounters, which Maureen was hoping had nothing to do with chance, Tom had asked for her phone number and she happily gave it to him.
He called just as she was discovering the water leaks under her kitchen sink. He’d walked her through turning off the water to the sink, and offered to come by to check things for her. Naturally, she had offered to make him dinner. When he’d seen the cracks in her drywall, he offered to help her fix everything that needed fixing.
Today was his third time at her apartment. They’d been taking things very slowly. He hadn’t even made an honest pass at her yet. Maureen appreciated that he was a gentleman. Pushy men always made her nervous.
“My family is back east,” Maureen told him, gesturing to the picture of her parents and brother on the wall near where he was working.
“Where abouts?” he asked.
“New York.”
“Way over there?” Tom marveled. “What brought you here?”
“Well, certainly not the earthquakes,” Maureen teased. “I wanted an adventure.”
“This is definitely an adventure,” Tom quipped.
“My mother never ventured past the borders of Lewiston, I wanted more than that,” Maureen said, her gaze melancholic. “What about you? Do you have family here?”
“My family is in the mid-west, in Kansas. I left there to join the Navy.”
“And ended up here?”
“This was my last port. I liked it, so I stayed.” He shrugged.
“And started saving damsels in distress?” Maureen smiled.
“Yes, ma’am.” Tom inclined his head.
Over dinner later that evening, they talked about her job and what he did when he wasn’t rescuing people after an earthquake. “I work in construction,” he told her.
“It sounds like you’re going to be busy here soon.”
He grinned. “I definitely am.”
It was a nice evening, he even built her a fire in her small fireplace, after assuring himself that the chimney was in good shape. They sat on her small couch and chatted long into the evening.
“This is nice,” Tom mused, his eyes sparkling in the firelight.
Maureen smiled. “I was just thinking the same thing.” Glancing up at him, she canted her head. “I’m not usually this comfortable with men.”
“Why?”
Maureen sighed softly. “I just never have been, I’ve had some bad experiences before.”
Tom looked back at her; concern written all over his face. Slowly he put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her gently. “Stick with me, you won’t have any more of those,” he told her confidently.
Looking up into his blue eyes, Maureen believed him completely.
Morgan woke with a sigh once again.
“Man, this Tom guy must be amazing!” Charlotte said enthusiastically.
“He is, he really is.” Morgan smiled, remembering the feeling of his strong arm around Maureen’s shoulders. “He was helping her repair her apartment after the quake.”
“Helpful and macho, I love it,” Charlotte marveled.
***
“She used the term macho?” Jessie pulled a face. “How old is this woman?”
“She’s not old!” Morgan laughed, taking a bite of her pasta. “Oh this is good…”
“Gimme a bite,” Jessie insisted, using her fork to take a taste of Morgan’s pasta Primavera. “Maybe that’s what you need…”
“More pasta?” Morgan replied wryly.
“No, a macho man,” Jessie raised her eyebrows in quick succession.
Morgan rolled her eyes. “Uh, no, thank you. No man, no how, right now, thank you.”
“Gonna switch sides again?” Jessie asked, her eyes sparkling with humor.
Morgan gave her friend a narrow-eyed look. “I just don’t think I need any more distractions right now.”
“Morgan, you’re a romance writer!” Jessie exclaimed.
“Right, and those romances are the ones I need to concentrate on right now,” Morgan insisted emphatically.
Jessie sighed, then put her elbow on the table, and rested her chin on her hand. “Maybe that’s your problem right now.”
“My what?” Morgan practically snapped.
“Your problem,” Jessie repeated unapologetically. “The reason you’re blocked. No romance.”
Morgan made a sour face, pressing her lips together. “Let’s just have our lunch, okay? I’ll get my head shrunk some other time.”
Jessie chuckled. “Fine, fine.” She raised her hands and surrendered.
Regardless of her blasé response to Jessie’s suggestions, Morgan thought about what Jessie had said on her drive home. She’d meant it when she said she didn’t want any relationship at this point. Trying to write was her main focus; it was, after all, her job. She did wonder, though, if Jessie had a point about life basically imitating art. She couldn’t write romance, because she had no romance. It was something that would sit like a kernel in her heart for days to come.
***
“You look nice…” Zion commented to Jane that evening at the bar. “Fancier than usual.”
“Do I usually look like some kind of slouch?” Jane asked acerbically.
“No,” Zion assured with a smile, “but your hair all done up, and all the jewels, kinda makes you look more extravagant.”
“Well, I had a thing tonight, that’s why,” Jane told her, waving her hand dismissively.
“What kind of thing?” Zion asked. Jane never seemed to share much about her life.
“Nothing.” Jane shrugged. “Just business a thing, you wouldn’t understand.”
Zion looked back at Jane, wanting to point out that she ran a fairly successful business, so she must understand something about business. But knowing it would just start a fight, she kept silent.
“Speaking of business,” Jane continued, not paying any attention to the annoyed look on Zion’s face. “Did the contractor get back to you about the expansion plans?”
“I have a meeting with him next week.”
“Well, that’s not going to work,” Jane snapped. “I’m on my trip next week.”
Zion had to bite her tongue to keep from replying with equal fervor. Taking a deep breath, she blew it out slowly, before she answered. “I am fully capable of meeting with a contractor on my own.”
Jane rolled her eyes. “Don’t be silly, just reschedule it.”
With a great deal of control, Zion shook her head. “I will handle it.”
“Good. Try for the fifth, that’s a good day for me.”
“I meant I will handle the meeting,” Zion told her.
“This is my money too,” Jane commented. “I should have input on the project.”
Zion blew her breath out in a rush. “Yes, and you said you were going to be a silent partner, but that doesn’t seem to be happening now, does it?”
Jane’s jaw dropped in shock, and Zion could see the fiery reply forming in her head, but then suddenly, the blistering look turned to tears as Jane’s pursed lips started to tremble.
“You don’t consider me a partner?” she mumbled, moving to stand. “I think I’m going to just go.”
Zion felt guilt flood her instantly. “I’m sorry!” She reached her hand out to stop Jane from leaving. “Please don’t go.”
Jane shook her head. “I don’t understand why you don’t just trust that I only want the best for you.” Turning, she left the bar quickly.
Zion stared after her dumbfounded, trying to process what had just happened between them.
“She’s a vampire, dude!” Steel commented later as Zion lamented and retold the incident.
Dax grimaced at the term, but didn’t disagree with Steel’s estimation. “Z, how did it go from you doing this, to the two of you doing this?”
Zion sighed. “She wanted to help with the money, she didn’t want me to sell properties that are income, to pay for the expansion.”
“Why does she give a shit about your income? You two getting married or something?” Steel snapped. She had never liked Jane; she’d always seen her as a user. High-maintenance femmes had never been her thing, so Jane’s glamour didn’t impress her at all.
Shrugging, Zion shook her head. “I don’t know, but she got really mad when I said I could handle it.”
Dax and Steel exchanged a knowing look. They both felt that Jane was looking to control Zion, and having a ‘business partnership’ with her would certainly accomplish that goal.
“Why don’t you tell her that you don’t want to put this kind of stress on the relationship? Tell her that you just want to keep things with you two on the intimate level,” Dax offered, hoping that Zion would be able to extricate herself from Jane’s financial clutches at the very least. Zion contemplated what Dax was suggesting, nodding, thinking it might be a good tack to take.
Boy was she wrong. Jane had come to the bar the following night just before closing. Zion had taken her upstairs to have a conversation. Saying what Dax had suggested. Jane’s reaction was instant and truculent.
“You wanted my help!” Jane screeched, making Zion wince at the sheer volume of her voice.
“I told you I was able to handle it myself…” Zion interjected.
“But you’d lose income, and you couldn’t afford that. I offered to help you and now you want to push me out?” The accusation was sharp.
“It’s just causing problems; I would rather we just remain—”
“I know! You want to fuck me, but you don’t want me in your life otherwise,” Jane accused.
“I never said that,” Zion uttered quietly, refusing to raise her voice.
“You didn’t have to,” Jane sneered, “I can see what’s going on.”
Zion exhaled sharply, shaking her head sadly. “Nothing is going on.”
“I’m just a toy to you, something to play with!”
“That’s not true,” Zion insisted, walking over to where Jane stood by the windows that looked out all the way down to the water. “I love you,” she told her, touching her cheek gently.
Jane looked back at Zion, her eyes widening with surprise. “You do?” she breathed, eyes widening with wonder.
“Yes,” Zion repeated, knowing in the back of her mind that she wasn’t completely sure, but she was willing to do anything to stop the fight at this point. Jane gave a small cry, and then wrapped her arms around Zion, kissing her passionately. They melted into a passionate embrace, and made love for hours.
Later, as they lay together naked, their bodies still entwined, Jane’s body over Zion’s, Jane levered herself up, looking down at her partner.
“So, when is our meeting with the contractor?” she asked, her eyes triumphant. Zion felt defeated. After a few moments, she shrugged. “Whenever you want.”
Zion crumpled up the letter from Jane’s ‘associate’ reiterating her desire to be part of the current expansion project. Zion had already lined up the money for the project, and was moving ahead. The purchase of the bookstore was already in escrow, and the contractor was finishing up the blueprints for the expansion. The last thing Zion wanted was to deal with Jane and her need to control things.
“Not this time, sister,” Zion commented as she tossed the letter into her waste basket.
In the bar, everyone was having a good time. Zion was a bartender short, so Jaims stepped in until Zion could call someone in to help, so the crew was testing Jaims’ drink knowledge.
“I need an Alabama Slamma,” Steel ordered.
“A what!” Jaims laughed. “Do you even know what’s in that?” she asked as she looked down at the bartender’s guide.
“Sure!” Steel laughed.
“Didn’t you almost die once when you overdid it on Southern Comfort?” Jaims queried, raising an eyebrow.
Steel made a gagging face at the mention of the memory. “Yeah.”
“So, I’ll add extra Southern Comfort to your Alabama Slammer, huh?” Jaims smirked.
“Uh, no, never mind.” Steel shook her head, holding up her hands as if to ward off that particular alcohol.
“How about a White Russian?” Jayden suggested.
“Easy!” Jaims laughed, as she mixed vodka, Kahlua, and cream, and handed the drink over to Jayden.
“This is pretty good!” Jayden exclaimed, after one sip.
“Let me try.” Shayne nudged.
“How about a slow comfortable screw against a wall?” Flynn asked with a wicked grin.
Jaims sighed, shaking her head. “With friends like you, I really don’t need any enemies.”
“Aw, but we love ya!” Raquel said, as she slipped behind the bar. “Can I help?”
“Sure!” Jaims readily agreed, stepping aside.
Raquel winked as she mixed Flynn’s drink. “I learned a lot of random skills in the Army.”
The crew all ooh’d and aww’d at Raquel’s flare, as she poured the various ingredients in the drink, drizzling the sloe gin on the surface and even making easy work of floating the Galliano L’Auntentico on top. She handed it to Flynn with another wink.
The crew and even a few bystanders clapped in appreciation.
“What’s goin’ on here?” Zion asked with a smile, as she approached them all.
“Rock is demonstrating her mad skills.” Shayne laughed.
“I see.” Zion nodded. “Well, I’ll need all the help I can get tonight, Zip can’t make it in, and Sherry is starting to feel sick now too.”
“Dayum…” Jaims murmured. “You know we got you, Z,” she said, looking around the crew and receiving affirming nods.
The crew took turns tending to the bar as best they could.
“Hey handsome.” Sarah, one of the regular patrons, winked at Shayne. “Will you put my purse behind the bar?”
“You got it, babe.” Shayne smiled.
“Always on the make,” Raquel commented to Jaims, as they watched the exchange.
“Disgusting,” Jaims replied, grinning.
By 2 o’clock in the morning everyone had taken their turn behind the bar. They were all tired, but they’d made it through.
“I really appreciate all of you pitching in, it helped me out a lot,” Zion told them as she wiped down the bar.
“No problem,” Jaims said.
“It was fun,” Flynn added.
Shayne grinned unrepentantly. “I got numbers.”
“Of course you did!” Steel rolled her eyes.
“Glad I could help.” Zion winked at Shayne.
The group laughed.
The next morning Zion was surprised to get a message from four different regular patrons saying that there was money missing from their purses. She contacted the crew, asking if they’d seen anyone behind the bar that wasn’t supposed to be there. Everyone messaged back that they had not seen anyone.
Jaims messaged Zion separately and asked if the till had been missing any money. Zion told her it hadn’t been counted out at that point.
“Why?” Zion messaged.
Jaims grimaced. She had seen Raquel around the area where the purses were set behind the bar. She’d even seen her squatting down in that area. When she’d asked Raquel what she was looking for, Raquel had said something like napkins. Jaims hadn’t wanted to believe that it had been anything but what Raquel stated.
Jaims called Zion and told her about her suspicions.
“I don’t want to be that friend, you know? That suspects her friend of doing shit like this, but…” Jaims’ voice trailed off, as she contemplated what they’d do about Raquel.
Zion blew her breath out at the other end of the line. “This blows.”
“I know, Z, I’m sorry.” Jaims winced.
“It’s not your fault, J,” Zion assured her. “I just don’t know what we can do about this.”
“Still…I saw her, and I just hoped she wasn’t doing anything she shouldn’t be.
“Saw what?” Raquel asked from Jaims’ doorway.
Jaims looked over at her roommate and saw that she looked irritated. “I gotta go,” Jaims said into the phone. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Jaims hung up, looking over at Raquel. “What’s up?” she asked, hoping to avoid the question Raquel had asked.
“You were talking about me,” Raquel questioned.
Jaims had no idea how to get out of the conversation, she figured she better just deny, deny, deny.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Jaims said, as she stood up from her bed and pocketed her phone. “I’m hungry, did you eat yet?” she asked, moving toward her doorway, which Raquel stood inside.
“What the fuck were you saying about me?” Raquel snapped, adopting an aggressive stance.
“Dude, why are you so paranoid?” Jaims asked, refusing to lie, but not willing to get into an argument with her ever so-volatile roommate either.
Without warning, Raquel shoved her shoulder into Jaims’ chest, pushing her back, then using her hands to shove Jaims to the floor. She then proceeded to kick Jaims over and over while Jaims did everything she could to cover herself. Raquel finally stepped back, and Jaims used every ounce of energy and rage she had left to get up off the floor. With a banshee yell of anger, Jaims shoved Raquel out of her room and slammed the door, locking it.
“Get the fuck out!” Jaims screamed through the door. “Get out and don’t fucking come back, until you get your fucking ass dried completely out! Get out now, or I’m calling SF PD and you can kiss your fucking career goodbye when I’m done!”
The last threat seemed to get through to Raquel. Jaims heard her slam out of the apartment moments later. Jaims moved to the window in her bedroom, and saw Raquel get into her Jeep and drive off. She slowly made her way to her bathroom. Lifting up her shirt in front of the mirror, she could see bruises already starting to form on her ribs. Her head was aching wildly—one of Raquel’s kicks had caught her in the head. When she reached out to turn on the water, she noticed her hands were shaking badly; the adrenaline was beginning to wear off. Splashing water on her face, she felt tears start to sting the corner of her eyes.
She felt undecided in what to do, should she call someone? What would she say? Jaims just couldn’t face it at the moment. She lay down on her bed, sighing, tears coming released now, which only made her head hurt more.
Raquel drove aimlessly, her mind reeling between anger that Jaims was ratting her out to Zion, and shame when she remembered what she’d done in retaliation. All she’d been able to think about was the betrayal and the fact that it was Zion that Jaims had confided in. Zion! Why was it always Zion these days? Getting on a freeway on ramp, Raquel pushed the gas pedal down as she did her best to escape the demons inside her head.
Yeah, she’d stolen some money from the purses behind the back bar. It had been easy, since hardly anyone frequented the area. She’d been able to score some pills from the chick that dealt behind the bar. They helped her sleep for a little while. But then she’d been in the kitchen trying to make coffee, when she heard Jaims on the phone.
Wincing, Raquel shook her head, refusing to think about what she’d done. Jaims shouldn’t have betrayed her like that. They were best friends…they were like family, damn it!
“They’re dead,” were the first words out of Garrett’s mouth when Raquel answered her phone.
“Who? What are you talking about?” Raquel asked, glancing over at Jaims who had paused the movie they’d been watching.
“Mom and Dad, they’re dead,” Garrett explained, his voice shaking as he said the words.
“Oh my gawd…what happened?” Raquel paled as she understood what Garrett was saying.
Jaims moved to sit next to where Raquel stood. She extended her hand, and took Raquel’s free hand, seeing that something was definitely wrong. Raquel held Jaims’ hand, squeezing it as she listened to her brother.
“They were out getting last minute things for their cruise, there was a pile up on the 405. The cops just came to tell us. They’re gone.”
Raquel nodded her head, as her mind raced. “Okay, okay, I’m coming down, okay? I’ll be on the next flight.”
“Okay…” Garrett said, his voice trailing off as the doorbell rang. “I gotta get the door.”
“I’ll be there Garrett, I promise. I’ll be there as fast as I can,” Raquel assured her little brother.
Garrett hung up without another word. Raquel stood staring off into space for a long moment.
“What happened?” Jaims asked, pulling Raquel down onto the couch, afraid she’d pass out. She looked so pale.
“My parents are dead,” Raquel replied, her voice flat.
“Holy shit, okay,” Jaims exclaimed, pulling out her phone.
Raquel sat like a statue, still staring into space, blinking every so often, but it was obvious that she was reeling, her mind whirling with the news.
“Okay, there’s a flight to LA in two hours, I got us on that,” Jaims said.
“Us?” Raquel echoed softly.
“Hell, yes, you don’t think I’m going to let you go deal with this alone, do you?”
Raquel blinked a couple times, then looked at Jaims. “I…I don’t know what to do.”
Jaims nodded, putting her hands on Raquel’s shoulders. “That’s why I’m going, I’ll help you, okay? We will get through this.”
Two hours later they were on a flight to Los Angeles. And another two and a half hours later they were pulling up in front of Raquel’s childhood home.
The next two weeks passed in a blur for Raquel. Jaims worked with Raquel’s Aunt Rosa to arrange the funeral. She also stayed in contact with Zion and the rest of the crew. During that time, Raquel had only asserted herself one time, it was regarding where her brothers would live.
“They’re coming back to San Francisco with me,” she’d told her aunt, who’d been talking about foster care, since she had three children of her own.
“I do not think that is wise,” Rosa dismissed.
Raquel’s face had hardened into stone at the thought. “I don’t fucking care what you think.”
Her aunt had exploded into a barrage of Spanish, most of which Jaims didn’t understand, but it was obvious from Rosa’s expressions, and Raquel’s defiant look, that they weren’t nice words.
“They are my family,” Raquel countered, “and they are going to live with me. That’s all there is to it….”
The next evening, Raquel and Jaims sat at the kitchen table. Jaims made Raquel sit down and eat a sandwich, since she hadn’t eaten all day.
“How am I going to do this?” Raquel blurted out loud.
“With help.”
Raquel shook her head, looking lost. “I’ll never get a chance to make up with them now.”
Jaims frowned. “No, but you can honor them by taking care of your brothers.”
Raquel nodded, taking a bite of the sandwich and chewing it, looking like she was trying to reconcile what Jaims was saying. Setting down the sandwich, Raquel scrubbed her face with her hands. “I don’t even know where we’ll live…”
Jaims’ phone pinged, disrupting the moment, and she looked at the message, grinning as she did.
“I do,” Jaims told her. “Z and the rest of our friends have just finished moving all of our stuff into a three-bedroom apartment.”
“What?” Raquel asked. “How?”
Jaims shrugged. “When you told your aunt you wanted the boys with you, I messaged Zion. She has a three-bedroom place that we are now moved into. The boys will have to share a room, but it’s the master, so it’ll have room for two beds.” Jaims looked at her phone again as another message popped up. “Which Dax and Steel just put together and put into the room.”
“Wow.” Raquel looked amazed. “I…I don’t even know what to say.”
“You can thank them when we get back.” Jaims smiled. “We’re family, dude, that’s what we do.”
Raquel shook her head, unable to believe the generosity of the crew.
Two days after the funeral, Jaims, Raquel, Garrett, and Jackson lugged suitcases and a couple of boxes to the airport and flew back to San Francisco. Raquel had petitioned the family court to request custody of her brothers. According to the court officer, the petition had every chance of being approved, since Raquel was a responsible adult and had proven means and ability to care for the two teenage boys.
Upon arrival in San Francisco, they rented a van to drive the four of them and the boys’ possessions to the new apartment. Zion, Dax, Steel, Case, Shayne, Flynn, and their newest member Jayden were there to greet them. They ordered pizza as the boys set themselves up in their new room.
“I’ll never been able to thank you guys enough,” Raquel told the crew.
“You don’t have to thank us,” Zion told her. “This is what we do for our family. Jackson and Garrett are ours now too.”
Raquel reached out and hugged Zion in a rare show of affection. The rest of the crew piled into the hug, making everyone laugh. The action relieved the emotional moment and bonded the crew closer.
Remembering that moment, Raquel found herself crying as she drove down the freeway; she wasn’t entirely sure where she was going. Reaching into her pocket, she clutched the small bag of pills she had left. Making a quick decision, she pulled off on the next exit and found a motel. Checking herself in, she went up to the room that smelled like stale pizza and mildew. She sat on the bed and took the pills out of her pocket. She pulled them out of the bag, and started swallowing them one by one.
Maybe I’ll just die and I won’t have to deal with this shit anymore… was her last thought before everything went black.