Charming Memory

by E L Bossert

  Jamie also needed to talk to her agent about transitioning from acting to more behind the camera work. Jamie’s primary goal was to find work she had a passion for, but would keep her out of the direct spotlight. She wanted to spend more time with Max as he grew up, and, possibly, include another child in their family. And, hopefully, add a romantic partner.

  As her career progressed, Jamie spent more time on set learning about directing and production. Her most recent directors were happy to explain their scene decisions and talk at length about how to create a guiding vision for a film. Being able to see a whole project, not just her part, was a skill Jamie needed to learn if she wanted to try her hand at directing even a small film. Directing was hard work, but it would be a fresh challenge.

  BOO AND MAX’S VISIT to the children’s museum was a welcome change in routine. A couple of times during the day, Boo sought refuge from the shrillness of excited children’s screams, but she never let Max out of her sight. On Max’s part, whenever he noticed Boo was not by his side, he searched until he found her. Then, taking her hand, he would lead her back into the raucous fray.

  Lessa and Philip successfully negotiated with two bicycle shops to support their Bikes-for-Kids project before retrieving Boo and Max from the museum. On the drive home, Lessa glanced in her rearview mirror at the two sleeping figures in the back seat. Lessa and Philip were growing fonder of Boo as they spent time together and watched her interact with Max and Jamie. They wanted Boo to be happy and hoped to keep her in their lives. This was especially important to them given Jamie’s obvious feelings.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  “THERE’S STILL A CHANCE this is the María we’re looking for.” On the way to her parent’s house for dinner, Jamie had phoned Gabriela, looking for solace. “It’s just harder and harder to wait for answers,” Jamie’s frustration surfaced as she talked to her dear friend.

  “Well, if this is the right María, then the good news is she’s either a polygamist so she will not care if you and Boo hook up, or Boo forgot they are divorced so you two can hook up.”

  “I hear a theme in those thoughts, but that’s not my priority right now. If Boo forgot they’re divorced, given what she said to you in the hospital, she’s probably still in love with María.” Jamie struggled with her conflicted feelings of wanting Boo to be happy and wanting Boo to be happy with her.

  “What do you want, Jamie? You want to help Boo find her family, but that’s not all that’s going on here.” Gabriela was incisive, cutting to the chase.

  “I want to know if...if Boo is available...I want to ask her out on a date, or something, not just friends.”

  “You’re already living together, don’t you think a date would be kinda post-mature?” Gabriella lightened the mood by teasing her friend. “Anyway, when was the last time you asked someone on a date?”

  “It has been a while. I guess I’ll have to ask you for some tips on modern dating protocol,” Jamie responded to her friend who was far more active on the dating scene.

  “What you really want to find out is if you can kiss her and hook up.”

  “Yes. I want to kiss her, but only if she is not married and doesn’t have a partner.”

  “Just do it. If you find out she’s married, she leaves and it was a momentary indiscretion. If she’s not married, then, well, you’ll have a head start.”

  “There have been a couple of times when I thought we were about to kiss, but Boo always backs away. She has integrity. Plus, I really don’t want to interfere in someone’s marriage or relationship. Who knew integrity could be such a buzzkill.” Jamie plaintive tone lead to a resigned sigh. “I’m pulling into Mom and Dad’s. I’ll update you when we find out something new. Chao.”

  Max ran to greet his mother as she walked through the front door.

  “Mom, we saw a dinosaur today. We went into a cave. And there was a space ship. I flew it. And a real train,” Max talked until he was breathless. Having exhausted his report, he pulled her into the kitchen where the rest of the family was making dinner.

  “How did it go today?” Jamie inquired as she greeted her father will a kiss on the cheek.

  “It went well,” Philip reported. “Two bike shops will donate their time to perform the more complicated restoration of the bikes. They’ll teach us to do the rest and come provide lessons on basic bicycle maintenance.”

  “I would call that a success. Please, let me know how I can help.” Jamie walked around the kitchen bar to where Boo was making a salad and kissed her on the cheek, too. “You survived.”

  “We had fun,” Boo’s eyes twinkled. “Can I go back soon? Please, mom, please?”

  Max looked up from his dinosaur coloring book to see what his mother’s answer would be.

  “If you’re good,” Jamie winked at Boo in a matching playful spirit.

  “Me, too?” Max chimed in.

  “You too, Max. Now, put your coloring book away and go wash up for dinner.” Jamie turned back to Boo. “Did everything really go okay?”

  “I saved three children from a flying Pterodactyl, found two lost kids in the mineral cave, and stopped a runaway locomotive with my bare hands. All in a day’s work,” Boo deadpanned her heroics. “It was loud, but Max and I took a nap on the drive home thanks to our wonderful chauffeurs.”

  “Honey,” Lessa interrupted Boo and Jamie’s debriefing, “Chief will be joining us for dinner. Would you please text her that we are about to sit down?”

  Chief arrived a few minutes later and everyone took a seat, passing bowls and plates of food. Max ate and told Chief about his day at the same time until his mother asked him to refrain from spitting food everywhere in his excitement. The conversation took on a quieter tone.

  “I’m sorry our lead doesn’t seem to have worked out. We’ll keep looking.” Chief sensed Boo’s disappointment and wanted to bring an end to this mystery.

  “Thanks for everything you’ve done. I admit I was really bummed last night, but I feel better today. We’ll find María, I’m sure of it. In the meantime, it felt really good to have something to do today. How long will it take for me to legally acquire a new name and whatever else I need for a driver’s license? I want to hunt for a job?”

  “The process could take quite a while. If we had your old name, it would be easier to file a motion for a name change,” Lessa explained, “but without having your old name, it will require several motions and court orders for a name, apply for a social security number, and other things to establish a new identity. Basically, the court is interested in finding out if you have any old debts, if you are committing fraud, or trying to avoid something like criminal charges or civil liability. And without your old name, it’s harder to establish those conditions.”

  “What might help is establishing a schedule and finding something meaningful, a purpose for each day.” Philip reached for Boo’s hand across the table. “If you would like to help me with some volunteer work, I’d love to have you.”

  “I would really like to volunteer, but I also need a job. I keep borrowing money and have no idea how or when I will pay it back.”

  “Unfortunately, it will be nearly impossible to find a job without identity documents. With no official identity, an employer cannot pay you except in cash, which quickly becomes a legal gray area,” Lessa explained the law, unfair as it could be. “I will help you with the paperwork to start the process. The first task is to choose your new name. Any thoughts?”

  The dinner party spent several minutes coming up with suggestions for names. Boo Charming was the obvious. Clearly an appropriate nickname, but the group decided it was too glib as a professional or permanent name. Max contributed a couple of suggestions, including Yeti Jorge Jordan, after two characters from his favorite books.

  “That’s a great name. We’ll search it and see if it’s already taken.” Boo was touched Max assumed she would share his last name.

  As dinner ended, Max asked if he could stay with his grandparents for the n
ight. Lessa and Philip agreed, always prepared to spend time with their grandson. Chief headed back to the office to check on the evening shift officers. Boo and Jamie lingered a short time before departing for home.

  MARÍA HAD ARRIVED IN Crestwood late afternoon. Her first stop was the diner on the edge of town. Taking a seat at the counter, she struck up a polite conversation with the middle-aged woman serving her. María was handsome, yet unassumingly so. She was slightly taller than average and inhabited her muscled body with ease. Her straight jet black hair was pulled back, leaving her piercing brown eyes in full view. Her voice was melodic in a way that sounded almost poetic when she spoke, inevitably disarming even the most distrusting with her rapport.

  “Where you headed, honey?” the server asked María.

  “I have arrived at my destination,” María glanced at the woman’s name tag, “Juanita. I’m trying to find a friend who’s staying in town. She likes good food, so maybe you’ve seen her.” María showed Juanita a picture of Jirafa.

  “Someone else was in here looking for your friend. One of the Sheriff’s deputies, a couple of weeks ago. I’ll tell you what I told him. She ordered breakfast, said she just got to town, then asked me how far the library was. Haven’t seen her since, but I think her picture was in the local paper, with Jamie Jordan. Did you see that?”

  “Yes, I did. That’s what brought me to town. Thought I might catch up with her. Any idea where I should look?”

  “Rumor has it she’s staying with Jamie. Guess they’re friends. What did you say your friend’s name is?”

  María was not sure how much to divulge, although Jirafa seemed to be hiding in plain sight. “Her friends call her Jirafa—it’s a nickname from college.”

  “Well, she is that. Hope you find her,” Juanita said as she moved on to her next customer.

  María left a large tip and continued her drive into Crestwood. Downtown was a bucolic place late on a Saturday afternoon in the summer. Several adults with their children were seated on a patio outside the ice cream shop. City Hall was quiet and the library looked nearly empty. Since this was Jirafa’s last known destination, María parked and entered the building.

  María took advantage of a free library computer to search county property records. She easily turned up an address for Jamie’s parents’ house in town. Not finding a property under Jamie’s name, she located several addresses deeded to limited liability corporations and trusts with ambiguous names. She made a list to drive by and check them out. She could have asked someone where Jamie lived, but she didn’t want to look like a celebrity stalker or call too much attention to her presence in town. Asking would be the last resort.

  María drove to the edge of downtown, easily finding the house registered to Alessandra and Philip Jordan. The old wood-frame farmhouse with a wide wrap-around porch had a large picture window on the front. There were two cars parked in the garage and a large SUV in the driveway.

  María parked her car along the street to call Isabella. With Isabella’s assistance, María planned a route to drive-by the properties on her list. Isabella looked at a satellite map as they talked and helped María prioritize the order of most to least likely.

  While making notes, María noticed a young white man sitting in a car parked a couple of vehicles behind her. Distracted by house numbers while she drove along the street, she had not seen him until now. He was directly across from the Jordan house. The tinted windows on the car were closed, concealing his presence from three sides. But looking back through his front windshield, she saw him clearly. He was watching the Jordan house.

  The man lifted a camera and pointed it toward the Jordan house. He rolled down the window just enough for a clear shot. María swiveled her head to the left and saw the SUV from the Jordan driveway backing into the street. She could not see who was in the SUV through its tinted windows, but the man in the car was taking pictures of the occupants.

  “What the—?” María tried to decide if this was police surveillance or paparazzi. If it was the police, she did not want to give herself up by confronting the man in the car. If it was paparazzi, she wanted to stop him from taking Jirafa’s picture until she could find out more about what was going on.

  María did not have long to make up her mind. As soon as the SUV took off in the other direction, the man pulled out and drove past María’s car. She followed the car, which had out-of-state, not government plates. More likely than not, this was a paparazzi.

  Following the car in the light weekend traffic was easy. The man soon pulled into a local hotel on the highway at the edge of town. María was not planning to stay there, but maybe her plans had just changed.

  Parking at the opposite end of the lot, María walked back toward the main office along the sidewalk in front of the room doors. The man from the car she had followed walked toward her from the opposite directing, carrying a camera bag in one hand. As he approached, she spotted the hotel linen room and reached for the door handle. The door opened, revealing a housekeeper seated at a small table, eating her dinner and watching a small TV. María stood in the open doorway as the man passed behind her.

  “Bring me a couple of towels. Room one-fifteen,” the man ordered without looking at her.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this.” María grabbed towels from a shelf next to the door, winking at the housekeeper.

  The house keeper nodded without comment.

  “Housekeeping,” María announced at room 115.

  “It’s open,” the man called out.

  María let herself in. The man was seated at the desk, looking at pictures on the back of his camera.

  “Just leave the towels on the bed,” he ordered, again without looking up.

  María stood behind him, looking over his shoulder.

  “Hey, get out.” The man started to stand, but María put her hands on his shoulders and shoved him back down into the chair.

  “What you got there?” María took possession of the camera with her right hand while simultaneously grabbing his left arm and pinning it behind him. She used her body to push the chair under the desk, trapping him.

  “What the—who are you? I’m calling the cops. Fuck—” the man sputtered.

  María peered at the picture on the screen. Jirafa was in the front seat of the SUV next to Jamie Jordan. Finding the trash icon on the camera menu, María instructed the camera to delete all of the stored photographs. Then she ejected the memory disk into her hand.

  “It’s illegal to take pictures of people on private property without their consent?” María sounded official even though she had no clue if what she said was true.

  “Fuck. I heard about you. You’re the Sheriff who busted Pops. I’m reporting you.”

  “Yea, and you know what happened to Pops.” María did not have a clue what this guy was talking about, but she went with it. “Is that what you want?”

  “Fuck you. Somebody will get the picture, sooner or later. You can’t be everywhere.”

  “Well, I’m here now. And I suggest that you not be here anymore. Get out of town before I...” María decided it was best to let the implied threat hang. She took a step back, walked two short steps to the bathroom, flicked the disk in the toilet, and flushed it.

  As the man pushed the chair back from the desk to stand up, María shoved him down again. This time she grabbed his cell phone. “Don’t get up. I’ll let myself out.”

  María exited the hotel room, tossing the phone in the nearest garbage dumpster. As she drove away, she saw the man muttering to himself, clearly debating whether to dive in to find his phone.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  ON THE DRIVE HOME AFTER dinner, Boo regaled Jamie with stories of her day. She spared no detail when talking about Max’s curiosity and delight in discovery. Boo’s mood was considerably brighter and it was clear she had taken immense pleasure in her task of accompanying Max to the museum.

  “Thank you. I really appreciate you taking Max. As much as I hate to mi
ss sharing these experiences, I love that you were there with him.” It was becoming increasingly difficult for Jamie to imagine her life, or Max’s, without Boo in it.

  “I appreciate your trust.” This time it was Boo who reached for Jamie’s hand.

  A quick phone call with Shon established they had turned up no new promising leads on María.

  “Would you like to watch a movie or something?” Jamie asked as she created room in the fridge for leftover pieces of blueberry pie her mother had insisted she take home for later.

  “I think I need something quiet.”

  “Of course,” Jamie said. “Sit on the patio and watch the sunset?”

  “Sounds wonderful. Anything I can help you with in here?”

  “No, go ahead, I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

  Boo took a seat on the patio, with Fred laid out on the cool flagstones. When Jamie appeared, she had changed into sweatpants and pulled on a long-sleeved shirt against the cool evening breeze. Boo appreciated the casual beauty of the woman lounging next to her.

  “Do you think there’s someone out there right now taking pictures?” Boo stared at the edge of the woods. “This is a freaky feeling.”

  “Yea, I don’t like it either, but I’m past caring.” Jamie grinned at Boo with a hint of mischief. “I don’t want to disrespect your relationship, but I think it’s time we grab María’s attention. I just hope she’s not the violently jealous type.”

  “Should we...do something else...for publicity?” Boo cringed. “I can’t believe I just said that. I’m sorry.”

  “No, don’t be. I’m thinking it too. How would you feel about doing something with Mom and Dad’s Bikes-for-Kids program? We could both volunteer, provide publicity for the program, and put a few more pictures out there?”

  “I think it’s a great idea. I really admire your parents and their commitment to the community.” Boo stared intently at the edge of the wood again before continuing. “Jamie, thank you...for last night. I...” All Boo could think was I really want to kiss you right now.