by Mia Perry
“Excellent,” Jack says. He’s eyes are now fixed to the big boobs like little needles pulled to huge magnets.
“Jack!” I almost yell. Then I realize right away I’m not his girl or anyone close enough to say anything.
“What?” Jack looks at me, pretending not knowing why I was pissed.
“Um,…” I try to cover my embarrassment. “Are you sure you like fried rice?”
“Oh, I love it,” Jack’s voice exaggerates so much, even the waitress could tell. She smiles. “Maybe you can order a small dish to try first?” she suggests.
“What do you think, Emilie?” Jack asks.
“I’m okay,” I try to sound as natural as possible.
“Deal,” Jack turns to the girl and says, “Let’s go with the Couple Meal.” Then he steals a look at those boobs right away.
I cut my thumb nail into Jack’s hand. Jack tries to pull his hand back slightly and then stops.
“You like it?” I smile at him right after the girl left.
“This is nothing, Emilie,” Jack smiles. “When a couple fights, they kick and bite.”
“We are not a couple,” I let his hand go.
“Ouch! Ouch!” Jack begins to howl.
I rub his hand, “Watch out where your eyes stick next time.”
“Okay, okay,” Jack quickly responds. “How about sticking like this,” He stares at my breasts.
I push his hand up and bite down.
He doesn’t move. I bite really hard and see his facial expressions change a zillion times in just seconds.
I let his hand go. My teeth cut really deep.
“Ouch, ouch…” he moans and looks at me with puppy eyes.
“Am I strong?” I smile and ask.
“Yes,” he answers quickly. Then he mumbles, “Maybe a little bit too strong.”
I grind my teeth.
“Okay, okay,” Jack says quickly. “Perfectly strong.”
“Watch out,” The girl come out with a big bowl of soup. It’s steamy hot.
She put two more small bowls in front of us. “Enjoy!”
“What’s this?” Jack’s eyes turn round.
“What do you mean ‘what’s this’? It’s soup,” I feel so funny.
“What am I going to do with it?”
I stand up and pick up the big spoon. I use the spoon to get the soup and put it into the small bowls. “Enjoy!” I say.
Jack takes a sip. “Wow, this is good.” Soon, he finishes three bowls.
Then the big plate of food comes. It smells so good. It tastes really good, too.
I’m not a big fan of rice. But I did enjoy Asian food before, like Chinese, Japanese, and Thai foods. So I know how to use chopsticks.
Jack is amazed to see how I eat with chopsticks. “Let me try it.” He tries a few times but almost sticks a chopstick into his nose. He tries again but gives up soon, “Oh, man, I’m starving.” He picks up the knife and fork.
He’s not chewing at all. He simply swallows. I try to refill his dish as fast as I can. Meanwhile, I try to get a few bites whenever I get a chance. This is an odd feeling. It’s like… a couple, I guess? Maybe the one in the old times—long ago when the wife had to serve her husband for the meal.
But soon Jack stops eating. “It’s your turn,” he smiles.
“Thanks!” I smile and sit down.
Jack stands up to put meal onto my plate. But he gives me too much meat.
“Jack,” I smile. “Please don’t feed me like a pig.”
“Okay, veggie,” he says, trying to get all the vegetables from the big plate.
Once again, the dessert comes as a “couple size” too. It’s bigger than two of us can finish. Jack keeps eating and eating.
“Jack, you don’t have to finish it.”
“I have to. It’s a crime to waste food.”
“You are going to fall asleep if you eat it all.”
Jack takes one more bite and then stops. “Wow, such a good meal.”
We get back into the car.
“Jack, how about I drive for a while and you take a rest?” I ask.
“Oh, no. Look at what you did to your car.”
“I didn’t do a thing. It broke down by itself.”
“I’ll let you know when I get really tired, okay?”
“Jack, I don’t want to get into an accident.”
“This is nothing,” he says. “I drove ten, fifteen hours a day all the time.”
I really want to know what that means. “Smuggling things?” Oops. I actually said that. I steal a peek at Jack.
He is not angry at all. “Where did you get this old fashioned idea? Smuggling won’t make you good money.”
“Are you serious?” I can’t believe what he said. If that doesn’t make money, why do the drug smugglers risk their lives?
“Did you know computer chips value more than gold by weight?” he asks.
“What?” I never knew that. Is Jack in the computer “business”? “So…, you mean, smuggling computer chips?”
“Oh, my, my, my,” Jack shakes his head, “someone has too much imagination.” He sounds so sad.
The car is running about 70 mph. “Jack, you are speeding.”
“By five miles? Nah,” he snorts. But he slows down the car a bit.
We stop talking. Jack is focusing on the road. My mind is drifting away with little things, mostly girl stuff.
Suddenly, Jack says, “Emilie, we need to talk.”
“Sure. About what?” I’m puzzled.
“Anything.”
“Anything?”
“Yeah. Before I fall asleep.”
“Should we take a break?”
“Nah. Let’s talk.”
“Okay, what do you want to talk about? I hope it’s not your business,” I try to make a little joke.
“Oh, no, not that shit again. Let’s talk about you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You are a mystery.”
I really don’t like that comment.
Chapter Eleven
Am I a mystery to Jack? Well, so far, he knows quite a bit about me already. At least, he knows I’m a college student. My parents have money but I don’t. And I’m running away for some reason.
Do I want Jack to know more about me? Probably not.
“So tell me something about yourself,” Jack says.
“Come on, Jack, we are not in a job interview.”
“Okay, let’s say…” He thinks for a while. “What do you learn?”
“You mean, my major?”
“Whatever.”
“Okay, I study psychology.”
“Interesting,” Jack says. “Tell me what’s on my mind now.”
“Jack, I’m not psychic, okay?”
“So… what do you do?”
“We study people.”
“Oh, I know that.”
“You know?” I don’t think he really knows.
“I watched a talk show and see a bunch of weirdoes.”
“Weirdoes? What do you mean?”
“Some big, superstar psychics.”
“Psychologists.”
“Psychologists. Fine. Okay, they interview people with those questions. Like how often do you make phone calls, who do you talk to, and how long do you talk for each call.”
“These are good questions. Aren’t they?”
“Sure, they are. But then the psychics, sorry, the psychologists, relate the answers to the sexual behaviors of those people. Don’t you think this is weird? How often people have sex and with whom? This is so gross to make the connection between phone calls and sex.”
“That’s entertainment, Jack.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Emilie. I’m not saying every psychologist is that bad.”
“What else do you know about psychologists?” I’m really curious now.
“Oh, they make good money. They talk to people and charge a lot. Are you going to be a psychologist?”
“I’m not sure yet. The way it g
oes, I’m going to be a professional waitress,” I’m actually teasing myself.
“Well, you never know what’s going to happen. The life is full of surprises.”
My iPhone beeps. I smile at Jack. See, the life is full of surprise.
It’s a text message from Kate, my bestie since high school. She is in the same college but studies law. She wants to become a lawyer “because you make money, judge people, and are respected.” Smart girl.
“Your mother again?” asks Jack.
“No, it’s Kate, my bestie.”
“Is she studying psychology, too?”
“No. She wants to be a lawyer.”
“Wow, that’s hot. But that shit is hard.”
“Sure it is. She’s doing pretty well.”
“What did she say?”
I show Jack the text message: “Where IS the girl?”
“Tell her you are with a hot guy,” Jack teases.
I grind my teeth. Jack shuts up. I text back, “I’m around.”
“Sure?” a new message comes right away.
“Positive.”
“Join us for the party tonight?”
“Sorry, I can’t.”
“Let me know when you are back.”
“Sure.”
“Look, kid, you are going to get in trouble soon.”
“Why?”
“Because all your friends are going to look for you. Then the college. And then someone else.”
“Who’s the ‘someone’?”
“Your mother, for example.”
He is right. But I can’t do anything now. I need to get to Miami first. Then I have to find a job quickly. The small amount of cash I have may last for three days or four. If I stay outside for the night, it may last two or three more days. Then what? I didn’t really think about it.
When we get close to North Carolina, Jack becomes really tired. He breathes heavily, twists his arms, and shakes his head.
“Jack, should we take a break?”
“I’m okay.” But he looks really frustrated.
“How about I drive for a while?”
“You? Heck no.”
This really hurts. I close my eyes. Whatever.
“Hey, kid, talk to me,” Jack says after a short while.
“I’m not a kid. And I don’t want to talk now.”
“Please, Emilie. Young lady, okay?”
“What do you want to talk about? Your stubbornness?”
“Come on, Emilie. Let’s be nice to each other.”
“Someone is not nice.”
“I apologize, okay?”
“Too late.” I’m still angry.
“Come on, Emilie. Please,” He gives me a huge smile. “Talk.”
Okay, you asked for it, Jack. “Were you a spoiled child?” I ask.
“Me? No way. Why?”
“Because you always want your way.”
“You are talking about the good food, fine clothing, and doing whatever you want, right? My parents fought all the time; swearing, pushing, and kicking. My dad passed away when I was five, then my mom when I was eight. I had to find ways to survive by that time. I had shit but nothing else. Man, that was tough.”
“I’m sorry, Jack. I didn’t know you suffered so much.”
“But, hey, look at me now. I get what I want. All the shit can drag you down. But it can push you up, too.”
“Jack, you are wonderful.”
“I guess I’m lucky. How about you, young lady? Don’t tell me you are not a spoiled child.”
“Well, my parents gave me money, for sure. But they didn’t give me love.”
“They didn’t?” Jack shakes his head. “What kind of parents.”
“They are always busy with something.”
“Really? I thought they had many people working for them.”
“They do. But they are still busy. Always busy,” I really don’t want to get into the embarrassing details.
“So, that’s why you want to prove you can survive on your own, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you like kids?” Jack switches the topic.
“Me? I like to play with them… Yes, I do.”
“Do you like to have kids when you get married?” he asks again.
My face flushes. I never thought that far yet. “Well, I don’t know. But I will treat my kids well, for sure. How about you, Jack?”
“I want to have many kids. I want to be the best Dad.”
“How many?”
“Hmmm,” Jack thought for a while. “Twenty,” Then he adds quickly, “I will buy a big van.”
“That’s only good for six kids.”
“A school bus.”
We laugh really loud.
I look at him. I feel really good. Is this affection? I don’t know.
He looks at me, too.
“Jack, why do you look at me like that?” my cheeks turn red.
“Hey, why do you look at me like that?” His eye balls almost pop out.
He turns back to focus on the road with full energy.
Chapter Eleven
10:30. Florence, South Carolina.
We exit the highway and hit the Lucas Street. We see a sign that says The Country Inn.
“Let’s check it out,” Jack says. He pulls the car to the parking lot. “Wait here.” He rushes into the lobby.
I really hope he can find two rooms for us. I definitely need a hot shower and a good sleep. But I worry how much a room in this fancy hotel would cost me. Probably over a hundred bucks? I’ve been in many fine hotels and know the price range for sure.
Jack walks out quickly. “Let’s go. I got a room.”
“Alright,” I say, getting out of the car. Then I sit down again. “Jack, did you say one room?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t you think we should get two rooms?”
“Sure, if you want to pay a hundred and seventeen bucks,” he says. “Plus tax,” he adds quickly.
“But,” I’m trying to explain.
“Don’t worry. They have two beds.”
“I know that. But we barely know each other.”
“So you think I may hurt you, huh?” He continues before I can explain, “You can lock me in the closet.”
“Jack, this is not a joke. Can you please promise not to do anything to me and you fully respect my privacy?”
“I promise. Come on, let’s go.”
I grab my duffle bag and get out of the car.
“They gave me a family discount,” Jack grins like he won the lottery.
“But we are not a family.”
“Shhh,” he put his finger at his lips.
We take the elevator to the third floor. Jack gives me a card. I push the card into the door slot. A green light shows. Jack pushes the door. It opens.
The room is dark. Jack searches for the switches on the wall. Soon, the lights are on.
The room is pretty neat. At the door, there is a desk and a sofa. Two queen-size beds occupy most of the room.
Jack grabs the TV remote and sits on the bed near the window. Then, he begins to switch channels real quick.
“Jack, I need to take a shower.”
“Take your time.”
I walk to the bathroom and see the coffee machine. Good. “Jack, mind making a coffee?”
“No problem,” he jumps up.
I walk into the shower and lock the door. Soon, I smell the coffee brewing.
I take off all my clothes. Freedom! I have been wearing the same clothing for two days. They don’t feel good. Nor they smell good.
I wash my hair carefully. They are long and are all mingled together.
