Around the Bend

by Britney King

  “Then, I guess you know how it feels.”

  She still didn’t follow. “How what feels?”

  “Nothing. Anyhow, I’m not saying for sure or anything, but this could be a problem. The friend thing. You might want to take a look at your friend to employee ratio.”

  “You’re an asshole. You know that?”

  “I do. So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about? Other than my inability to keep up with your lifestyle.”

  “I didn’t mean that—”

  He leaned back and waited. She let it go.

  “Do you have a passport?”

  He nodded slowly.

  Jessica grinned. “Good. Because we’re going to Africa. To solve my husband-to-money problem.”

  Myles sighed. “Of course, we are.”

  A week later, the two of them sat side by side in first class awaiting takeoff on the first leg of their journey to Kenya. Myles reached over, fastened her seat belt, and then his own. She eyed him suspiciously. “Did you just buckle me?”

  He shrugged. “It’s just what you do.”

  Jess cocked her head. “Have you ever traveled before?”

  “A time or two.”

  She seemed surprised. “Where to?”

  He stared over her shoulder and out the window. “Here and there.”

  She frowned and pulled the window shade shut. “You’re such a great conversationalist. This trip is going to be thrilling, I can already tell.”

  He leaned over her and pushed it back up again. “It wasn’t my idea.”

  She perked up at this sentiment. “Yeah, about that…, you know, I don’t understand how I didn’t see it all along! Sure, he had to force my hand, but I finally got it. It’s so obvious that this is what he wanted. Me to chase him, I mean. Really, for me to fight for him. Spencer always did champion being a fighter. I just can’t wait to see his face when he sees me! It’s going to be so good.”

  Myles smiled. And then she said that.

  Chapter Ten

  Jess woke on the second leg of their flight to find the seat next to her empty. She waited a few minutes for her fellow traveler to return before deciding that a bathroom break wouldn’t be a bad idea and that it would probably do her some good to stretch her legs and wash her face. She found that the restrooms near first class were occupied so she made her way to the rear of the plane only to discover that the bathrooms there were in service as well. She leaned on the door of one of them and waited before she gave up and moved onto another set across the way where she was hopeful she would have better luck. Jess silently prayed and shifted from foot to foot realizing either she’d slept longer than she’d thought or that she had vastly underestimated her need to utilize the facilities.

  She knocked once and waited. When there was no response, she moved onto the next set and tried knocking there. Still nothing. On the last set, she pounded a little harder. After what felt like a tiny bit of eternity, she heard a latch release and thanked the heavens when the door finally opened. She breathed a sigh of relief, and made her way over but realized her mistake and stepped back to allow for the occupant to step out. An attractive woman quickly brushed past her, but her eyes didn’t meet Jessica’s eyes. Please don’t let it smell. Jess reached for the door only to feel it push back against her, catching her off guard. Myles stepped out leaving them both caught off guard. Instantly, his expression changed to one she couldn’t quite read.

  He exited the small space, held the door for her, and stepped aside. Jess glared and waited for him to say something, to give any explanation as to why he and that woman felt the need to share a restroom, but when nothing came, she closed the door behind her. Jessica stayed put in that bathroom longer than entirely necessary if for no other reason than so she didn’t have to go back to her seat and face him. What in the hell was he thinking? Did he even know that woman? And, worse, why did she even care?

  When Jess eventually did return to first class, Myles was asleep and she wasn’t sure whether to be angry or relieved. Nonetheless, she took it upon herself to order a screwdriver and then another and another until the flight attendant politely refused her request for ‘just one more.’

  Jessica stared at Myles. This was ridiculous. She watched his oversized body as he slept. She watched the rise and fall of his massive chest as he breathed in and out. She noticed the way his large hands rested upon his flat stomach and wondered if she’d ever noticed any of these things before. She noted the way his bangs fell into his eyes and how she had to force herself not to brush them aside. Surely, she’d considered his appearance prior, but there was something about seeing him with that woman that made her feel different. Protective. The thought of his face as he’d exited that bathroom infuriated her. Jess huffed and puffed and shifted this way and that way in her seat hoping to wake him. Possibly simply because she was agitated, but more so because she was drunk and didn’t care. Finally, unable to take it any longer she poked his shoulder hard. He shot straight up and eyed her suspiciously. “What the hell?” He looked around clearly startled.

  “The plane is going down.”

  He stared blankly, looked around the cabin and apparently satisfied with what he saw, settled back into his seat. “Not funny.”

  “Listen, I need you to order a vodka and OJ. They won’t let me have another. But if it’s for you…”

  “I don’t drink.”

  She raised her voice louder. “Damn it, Myles. You know what I mean… don’t fuck with me.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not in the mood.”

  He studied her, then allowed his displeasure to play across his face. “Good grief, how many have you already had?”

  “How many have you had?” She slurred her words.

  He placed his hand on her forearm. A warning.

  She sat up straighter and glared at him. “Well, how many?”

  “Jessica, stop. Now.”

  “You stop. Who are you to tell me anything?” she hissed.

  Myles shifted and faced her. He took her chin between his hands forcefully and stared directly into her eyes. “Listen to me. If you don’t stop this right now, I will drop your ass the moment we get off this plane. Do you understand me? And I’m guessing, of all the foreign countries, this isn’t one a woman like you wants to be dropped in, alone.”

  Jessica understood his limits, even if she wasn’t willing to verbalize it. She pulled back and rubbed her chin. “That hurt.”

  Myles frowned. “Come here.” He pulled her in his direction so that her head rested on his shoulder. She didn’t move to pull away as they’d both expected. “Do not say another word,” he whispered harshly. “Sleep it off.”

  They sat there quietly like that for some time, stiff—but unwilling to move. And then he felt her silent tears fall though she tried her best to conceal them.

  “I know you’re scared.” He shushed her quietly. And though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why he’d said it, he added. “We all are.”

  The two of them flew into Nairobi, the capital and largest city in Kenya, where a car met them at the airport and drove them to their hotel nearby. Once checked in, they went their separate ways. Myles freshened up in his room as Jessica sobered up in hers. In an hour, their driver was scheduled to arrive and take them to the camp where Jessica’s husband was staying.

  Myles showered and scrubbed the woman’s scent off him. He hadn’t even liked this one. It was rough and was exactly what he’d needed, but it had left him unsatisfied still, and to make matters worse, his boss had busted him. He checked his phone. Finally, he’d been given a lead that just might pan out when he was called away to Africa to deal with someone else’s problems. No new news. Frustrated, he dressed and made his way to Jess’s room. He was ready to let her have it, but when she opened the door, she appeared to be in better spirits. Not to mention the fact that she made him lose all train of thought. Myles had seen many women in his time, but Jessica Clemens was in another league. She was naturally beautiful. It w
asn’t so much in the way that she dressed, though that was a nice touch, or the way she expensively adorned herself, but it was simply her presence. The way she carried herself. Not his usual type, if there were such a thing these days. She was a category all her own. Regal, yet broken. She was the kind of woman who made a man feel like a man.

  He cleared his throat and hoped his head would follow. He knew thinking like this was dangerous territory. He was playing with fire. “So what’s the plan?”

  She eyed his reflection in the mirror as she fastened her diamond earring. It had to be the biggest he’d ever seen. In person, anyway. “Plan? I’m here to get my husband back.”

  Myles looked away. “And your plan to do this is what exactly?”

  “Spencer would never expect me to come all the way to Africa. You know, I said it before, but my gut tells me this really is what he wanted all along.” She checked herself once more in the mirror, this time from the back, and grinned, apparently satisfied with her appearance. “Also, I mean… look at me.”

  He deadpanned and met her eye even though he knew she hadn’t meant it literally. “I am.”

  She smiled playfully, but upon likely seeing the intensity he held within his gaze, he quickly watched her smile fade and give way to confusion.

  He stood and walked to her. She stiffened, clearly unsure what his next move would be. Myles surprised her by reaching for her zipper. She gasped and then held her breath as he yanked it up the few inches she’d missed, or more likely, couldn’t reach. His hand brushed the back of her neck as he caught the end and her eyes met his. He spoke slowly not taking his eyes off hers. “I just think you should be prepared, that’s all. You should know what you’re going to say… know what you came here for.”

  She glared at his reflection in the mirror and swallowed hard. “I do,” she said as she moved away.

  Myles walked to the door and held it open. He had to get out of that room.

  “Then, I guess we’d better get to it…”

  The drive from the hotel to the camp near Serengeti National Park, where Spencer was said to be studying large animals, was to take nearly ten hours. Myles had suggested they charter a flight, but Jess informed him that the only thing she liked less than small airplanes were small planes in third world countries. Myles hadn’t been pleased with this decision so he made a suggestion that he fly while she could drive, a suggestion that did not go over well and in turn led to an intense argument. Needless to say, the ten hours they spent in the car were ten hours in which neither of them spoke to the other. Jess read or pretended to read. He had seen her turn few pages. Myles either stared out the window or studied Jessica—the same way many travelers arrived in Africa to study exotic creatures. While he had a hard time figuring her out, he noted the way the golden tint of her brown hair lit up in the sun, the way she fidgeted with the hem of her dress, and the nervous way she chewed on her bottom lip. He wondered why a woman like her would fly halfway across the world to chase a man. Thankfully, for the both of them, he was a little too smart and a little too polite to pose this question. He predicted the conversation would also not have gone well. And ten hours in a small car where the tension ran high was a little more than he’d bargained for.

  Jessica sighed loudly as she looked up from her book and over at him. She shot him a look as though to ask what he was staring at so he turned slightly and refocused his attention out his window.

  As he watched the landscape change from farmland to drier desert-looking plains and back again, and he wondered how much further they had yet to go. He checked his watch and considered that it shouldn’t be long now. He needed to get out of this car, but more importantly, he needed to get back home and follow up on his lead. This was it he’d assured himself. He had a feeling about this one. It both pissed him off and broke his heart that he was here, instead of where he should be, dealing with his own skeletons.

  The car pulled off the road into a camp, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The camp was lined with a dozen or so massive tents along two rows, and a metal building had been erected at the center. The car slowed to a stop and Jessica finally spoke. “I can’t believe this is somewhere that Spencer, my Spencer, would ever want to stay.”

  Myles glanced in her direction and then quietly opened the passenger side door. Jess took his extended hand, stepped out in her expensive cocktail dress and pumps. He smiled to himself at how she’d so clearly missed the memo that they were in the middle of the desert in one of the poorest countries on the planet. He leaned back against the car and watched her, half amused, half concerned about how she would fare in those shoes.

  She cocked her head to the side and studied his face. “You’re not coming?”

  He shook his head. “Nah. I’ll wait here. Go to the main building and ask for him. I can see you from here.”

  She started to say something then stopped. Myles watched her start toward the building, unable to walk properly in the heels, no doubt in part due to the terrain, but most likely due to her injuries. He opened the car door and reached into his bag before calling for her. “Hey, Clemens.”

  She turned. He jogged to catch up and to close the small amount of distance between them. “Here.” He held out a pair of women’s flip-flops. “We’re in Africa. No one cares about fashion here.”

  Her face gave way to a wide smile as she took them from his hands. As she moved to kick off her heels and Myles took hold of her elbow to steady her. He held up a finger. “Here, let me,” he said taking the shoes from her hands and bending down to slip them on her feet. She raised her brow. “You’re like a regular ol’ boy scout. All prepared and everything. ”

  Myles glanced up and saw the way she was looking at him, a surprised expression upon her face. “Something like that.”

  He stood and smoothed her dress a little. “But, honey, you’re no Cinderella.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

  She regained her balance and her face softened even further. “Hey, Myles?”

  He waited.

  “I think I need you to come with me. Please. It would really mean a lot.”

  Myles swallowed, pressed his hand to the small of her back, and let her believe she was leading the way.

  Jessica sat in the center of the tent at a table where one of the attendants had placed her. She meticulously studied her hands. It was a surprisingly ritzy setup, once inside the tents. Certainly not what one would expect to find in the middle of the Serengeti.

  Myles stood at the edge of the tent and unsure what to do with himself, pulled a chair out and powered on his cell phone. He checked his email. Still nothing.

  He and Jess held an on and off, unofficial staring contest until finally, sometime later, a man who Myles guessed to be Spencer Clemens simply by photos he’d seen around the estate, appeared and cautiously yet urgently, made his way over to Jessica.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, alarm written across his face.

  He kissed both her cheeks, embraced her, pulled back, and waited.

  “We need to talk.” She motioned for him to sit down.

  Spencer stared at the table then sat down opposite his wife. He glanced at Myles, who stared at his phone.

  “You came all this way to talk… Who is he?”

  Jess looked at Myles, who met her eye and then back at her husband. “He’s from the agency. Addison hired him.”

  Spencer looked his way once more and then back at his wife. “I bet she did.”

  “Why did you cancel my credit cards?” she started.

  “I…I…well, because, darling… anyone can see that you’ve not been yourself lately.”

  She furrowed her brow. “And?”

  “And because I felt it was for the best.”

  She leaned back in her chair and furrowed her brow. “You’re here,” she motioned into thin air around her, “so how would you know what’s best?”

  Spencer sighed. “I just want you to let me ha
ndle things, OK? Just as I’ve always done. Trust me. You’re not homeless, I’ve made sure you and the children are cared for and that you have what you need, haven’t I?”

  She waited a long time to respond. Myles considered that maybe she wasn’t going to when she finally spoke. “Actually, no. You haven’t. We need you home. This isn’t right, you being here. I want you to come home with me, Spence.”

  He shuffled in his seat then rubbed the length of his jaw with one hand. “I… I can’t.”

  She cocked her head. Myles registered surprise in her expression. “Why not?’

  “I don’t want that life anymore, Jessica.”

  She swallowed hard. Her palm flew to her chest and she took a deep breath. Shock. “What are you saying?”

  “I want a divorce. Maybe not right now. But someday—”

  Tears had begun falling from her cheeks by this point, but she still managed to cut him off. “I don’t understand. Why? Was our marriage… our family really that bad? Is it me? The accident? I know I’m not the same person I once was… but I love you, Spencer. And I promise I can be that person again. I can be her again. If you just come home…”

  Don’t beg, Myles wanted to tell her.

  Spencer took a deep breath and held it before letting it out. “I don’t know what to say… I just didn’t want it anymore. That’s why I left. To see if I might change my mind. But I haven’t…”

  Jessica used her thumbs to wipe the mascara that had begun to smear beneath the tips of her eyelids. She sat up a little straighter. “Is there someone else?”

  Spencer looked away. “It’s not like that.”

  “Then tell me. What is it like? Because I just don’t understand… I don’t understand how you can waltz right out of our lives and halfway across the world without a valid explanation. I mean… remember how mad we were when the Greyers split? You said, Spence… you said that you could never imagine bailing on your children… on your family, for a job. And you don’t even have that. So, tell me, please… what reason do you have?”