“Okay, okay,” I say, putting my hands up. “Enjoy breakfast with your brother, and I’ll see you when we head to the airport.”
After the door closes, I use the bathroom before finding a shirt, putting on shoes, and crossing the hall to check on Jackson. I want to say goodbye before we take off, and I might not have a chance later since he’s spending the morning with Cici.
Two whole minutes and several knocks later, a disheveledJackson finally opens the door, smelling like a bottle of booze and looking like hell.
“Holy shit, dude. I was gonna ask how you’re feeling, but I guess I don’t need to.” He groans as I walk past him into the room.
“Fuck, I feel like death, although I probably deserve it after that display. Holy shit, man, why didn’t you stop me?” He slumps down on the bed and hunches over with his head in his hands.
“I did. Evidently, not soon enough.” Grabbing a water from the minibar, I unscrew the cap and hand it to him along with the pain pills I grabbed from my room.
“Thanks,” he says, taking them and gulping down the whole water while I sit on the sofa. “I didn’t mean to get that out of hand. It’s been too long since I’ve let loose, and apparently, I’ve forgotten how to control myself. It was a nice distraction.”
“I’m sure you needed it.”
“Yeah, just not to that extent. I’m glad you got me to my room. The last thing I remember is making it to the elevator. Shit, I shouldn’t have let Cici see me like that.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it. You were fine. Just slurring and a bit unsteady on your feet. Nothing major. Cici felt bad more than anything.”Until I took her mind off it.
“How’s she doing anyway? You’ve been keeping an eye on her?”
I school my features as best I can before answering. She’d annihilate me if he found out about last night. “I’ve been trying to. She doesn’t like being checked up on, that’s for sure. Anyway, she’s too excited about the wedding next week to dwell on anything else. Are you going to break the news to her that you’re not coming?” Jackson and I talk frequently, so I’ve known for a while now that he wasn’t planning on attending. I don’t blame him. Seeing two people pledge their love is the last thing he needs while he’s distraught, trying to get his girl back.
“Yeah, we’re having breakfast. Shit, what time is it?” He grabshis phone and sighs in relief. “Thank God I didn’t miss it. I’ve still got thirty minutes. Anyway, yeah. I’ll tell her this morning. She won’t be happy, but it is what it is.”
“Are you any closer to finding this guy? You’ve been gone almost four months now. What’s your plan? Has Cici said she’s okay to stay longer?” Jackson’s my friend, and I wanted to check on him and say goodbye, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have an ulterior motive.
“I was planning to check in with her again at breakfast, but she said she’ll stay as long as I need. She’d like answers as well, but I don’t have any. All I can do is keep looking and following the scent. And let me tell you, it’s faint. Right when I think I’m onto something, the trail dead-ends. The plan is to keep going until he turns up. Could be next week. Could be next month. Could be several. I’ve got nothing.”
I stand and walk over to him as he rises. “I’m sorry, man. I wish I could do more to help.”
He puts his hand on my shoulder. “Eli, I wouldn’t even bethisfar if it weren’t for your poker connections. I appreciate everything you’ve done. Don’t worry, I’m not giving up hope. I’ll find him sooner or later.”
“You will. It’s great to see you, but I don’t want to be the reason you’re late, so I’ll let you be. You look like shit, dude.” I lean in to hug him goodbye. “You smell like shit too.”
He pushes me, telling me to leave so he can shower.
“Gladly. See you later,” I say before walking back to my room.
Well, that answers that. Seems like I’ll have Cici for a lot longer by the sound of it.
8
RAIN CHECK
Cici
“Good morning, Cindy. That was a clever move you made,” I say as I pause at her desk on my way by this morning. She conveniently left thirty minutes early yesterday after asking my parents to stop by the office at five to sign something for the accountant. The sneaky woman has been trying for months to help mend the relationship between us, playing therapist by bringing the problem up while trying to convince me to talk to them. I’m sure they’ve experienced the same.
“It was, wasn’t it? How did it go?” she asks curiously.
“Better than I would have thought. They were as surprised as I was, but with no one here as a buffer, we had to acknowledge one another.”
“Exactly what I was going for. So what happened?”
“We’re having dinner this weekend,” I say with a smile.
What actually happened is that when I saw them, I realized I’ve really missed them, and I think they felt the same in return. Afterthe initial shock, my mom came up and hugged me with tears in her eyes, which then caused me to get weepy. My dad was next, and with a lot of I miss yous and regrets, we agreed to have dinner to “get to know one another again.” I thought that was fitting since we’re both at different places in our lives now. They made sure to tell me there would be no lecturing and they’re just genuinely interested in hearing about me. I’m looking forward to it but am keeping my expectations in check from experience.
