by JJ Aughe
Exactly the kind of situation they were searching for!
Bailey sat beside the young man and struck up a conversation while Jessie stepped away to use her smart phone to do some research with the information they had received from the director. Finding little info on the internet, she made a fast call to a friend in Olympia. That friend made a few quick calls and minutes later Jessie had all the info she would need.
She took the chair next to the young man so he was between her and Bailey. Her eyes revealing her concern for the young man’s situation she asked him to tell her about his family. At first the young man refused to talk about himself, but Jessie was determined to get him to open up and tell his story. She finally wore him down and he began to talk about his situation.
The young man told her that he was an only child and his mother had passed away a few years back. Then he said just what Jessie had hoped he would. Because his mother had divorced when he was a baby, until she died, he hadn’t known anything about his father. On her deathbed his mother had confessed that Roger’s last name wasn’t Holmstat as she had taught him, it was Avery and his father’s name was Roger D’Lorenzo Avery, the same first and middle name as his, and he had been in the Marines when she divorced him.
Jessie immediately called Veteran’s Hospital, got the info she needed, made some arrangements, then stepped away to make another call. When she returned she told Roger to sit tight. Help was on the way.
Twenty minutes later, the door opened and a Marine Officer walked in, took one look around, spotted Roger and almost ran to him. The Officer’s nametag read; Major R. D. Avery.
The long and short of that story was that Roger Sr. had been overseas on a mission for the U.S. State Department when his wife had filed for divorce. Because of the sensitive nature of Avery’s mission, his commanding officer, the ranking General at the time, had ordered him to grant her wish for divorce. Hoping he could reconcile with his wife when he returned to the States, Roger Sr. had obeyed. Three months later when he returned home he sadly discovered that his wife had disappeared with their young son. He had searched and had investigators still searching, but, until Jessie’s call, there had been no trace of his son or his wife.
Major Avery immediately took charge. By the time Jessie and Bailey had returned to the Seattle pier area, Roger Jr. was being treated at Veterans Hospital.
Jessie suggested they walk along Alaskan Way to see if any cruise ships had docked. Bailey, wanting her to have free reign, was up for that. Leading the way Jessie headed north, lingering in one place only if there was something interesting to see. They leisurely walked until they came to Waterfront Park. Jessie glanced around the park. Not noticing anything worth staying to see, Bailey beside her, she turned south.
When they again reached Coleman Dock, where they had started, Jessie turned to Bailey, “You’ve been awfully quiet. Aren’t you enjoying yourself?”
“Jessie,” he returned with that sexy smile of his beaming. “You can’t know how much I’ve enjoyed being here with you, just watching you enjoy yourself.”
“Your interactions with everyone we have passed or seen at the different places we stopped just tickled me no end. Do you realize that you must have waved, said hello or hi to more than three hundred people tonight? And that little girl’s mother will never forget your kindness to her daughter and her. Most people would have ignored the woman’s predicament, but not you. When you saw her digging in her purse for enough money to buy her daughter a hot dog, you didn’t hesitate. You stepped up to the counter and not only bought the daughter a hot dog, but the mother too. Then you paid for whatever everyone else in line wanted besides. That kind of philanthropy is seldom heard of or seen anymore. Yeah. That mother will be telling that story for years to come. And that little girl, Jessie? She will remember that kindness too. And you know what? I would bet that she will be changed for the good by it too. So the answer to your question is an emphatic, yes! I have never enjoyed myself more!”
Jessie was a taken aback by Bailey’s praise. She had never even thought about what she did on these excursions of hers. Or, thought how her actions affected the people she met. Wow, she thought. Bailey is right. I do this all the time and have never given it much thought. No matter where I am, like tonight, what I do on impulse has an effect on people. Bailey called it philanthropy. I always thought philanthropy was like what I do with the Castleman Fund, not something as simple as helping people on the street who are in need. Now that he has mentioned it, I guess he is right about that too.
Jessie’s silence wasn’t why Bailey was glancing speculatively at her. Not that he didn’t care that she hadn’t responded to what he had said. He did. It was something about that far off look in her eyes. That worried him a lot. Had she seen someone or something that had her thinking about her loss? Had he done something to trigger it? He didn’t know and he didn’t know what to do about it except to get her to the car and out of the city as fast as he could. Yet, he couldn’t rush her either. To rush her might upset her, and he sure didn’t want that. Rushing her might also cause her to think he was tired of traipsing around the city, which he wasn’t. Not by far. No matter where she wanted to go next, he was willing to stay out all night just to be with her, to see her being her very intriguing, giving and beautiful self.
His immediate impression of Jessie at the bank, not as she lay sprawled on the floor, but once she had snapped the heel from her other shoe and was back on her feet, had been that she was probably someone’s very desirable, intelligent, caring wife. Discovering she wore no rings on either hand, his mind went in an altogether different direction. He had to put a firm damper on those thoughts though because he knew he was not the type of man women, especially beautiful women, were attracted to. Then she had surprised him by accepting his offer of lunch. As he followed her to the restaurant, he had been impressed by her stopping at intersections to allow pedestrians to cross even though there were no stop sign or red light. It was another sign of her being caring of other people’s comfort and safety. A very strong sign she was a woman he could love. Though he knew in his own mind it could never be, and not that he wanted her for his very own, he sternly reminded himself, this woman was a jewel he hoped to impress. He didn’t want to give her any negative feelings toward him.
Bailey’s musings were suddenly interrupted by the hand he still held suddenly squeezing his. He glanced at her, hoping his thoughts weren’t written on his face. Her lips and her eyes were mischievously smiling up at him.
“You were out there somewhere far away, Bailey. Am I that boring to be around?”
He had to scramble for a logical, truthful reply, one that would not upset her or scare her off. “Never,” he truthfully replied. “I was only trying to guess where you would take me next. And anticipating it, I might add.” Taking a look around to place where they now were, he discovered they were next to Pioneer Square, meaning the car was only a block away. “I suspect you have already seen everything here, but would you like to walk through Pioneer Square?”
Jessie’s giggle as he spoke had his eyes flying to hers. “What?”
“Bailey, you are so easy to read!” Shaking her head, she again giggled. “You were also worried that my silence meant I was sad again, weren’t you?” She giggled again, then, “I wasn’t. I was just thinking about what you said about me being a philanthropist.”
“I’ve come here to the waterfront and gone other places in Puget Sound and done the same thing as today for many years. I had never really thought about it as even a form of philanthropy. Thanks to you mentioning it, I was forced to give it some deep thought. It made me realize that it matters to give people hope. I guess it’s a form of paying it forward, you know. And the literal meaning of philanthropy is; loving and caring about the circumstances of the people around you.”
Bailey was thankful traffic was light because she suddenly stopped in the middle of the crosswalk, threw her arms up, screamed, “I want everybody to know that this man with
me is the very best!” As nearby pedestrians turned to see what was going on Jessie grabbed his arm and literally pulled him the rest of the way across the street.
Once on the sidewalk she released him, but only for the time it took to take him by the shoulders with both hands. Her voice no more than a whisper, she asked, “Bailey, what would your answer be if I asked you on a date? Well, not just any old date,” she was quick to amend. “There is this black tie dinner and dance benefit at the golf club Saturday evening and I want you to be my escort. Would you?”
The sweetness of her whispered words had elation and anticipation sending waves of desire to kiss her throughout his body. Before he could answer though, she began to search her clutch, came up with a small pad and pen, jotted something on it and handed it to him.
With a serious expression replacing her former joy she qualified the note as he read the words she had written, ‘Do you want to go, Bailey?’, followed by a square box, the word, ‘YES’ in capitals, then another box with the word, ‘NO’ also in capitals, then the words, ‘Check YES or NO!' “I listen to a lot of different music while I work out in my gym and have a lot of favorite songs. The one song that contains similar lyrics to those words has always been close to my heart. I think, though I have modified them a tiny bit, they are appropriate now. Don’t you?”
Bailey looked up from the note, the lyric’s tune running wild through his mind. He knew that song alright! In fact it was a favorite of his too and it had been going through his head as they had walked along Alaskan Way. “Jessie. Oh, Jessie! You are somethin’ else again, woman!”
He shook his head in wonder. “I think you must have been inside my head tonight. You are a beautiful, wealthy, desirable lady of high society. Yet, you want me, a common, very undesirable and almost broke, stranger, to escort you to a function that you should, by rights, be being escorted to by some bachelor, someone prominent like maybe George Witherspoon, the son and only heir to the Witherspoon fortune. And, as if you were no better than anyone else, you ask by handing me a note with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs! It is a song that has been bouncing around my head all afternoon.”
“Not that there is anything wrong with the way you asked, Jessie,” he finished. Emotion had his words catching in his throat. “F-far from it! What you have done, dear Jessie, is bless me beyond anything that I could possibly imagine with the most fantastic of requests.” Taking the pen from her, he made a check in the ‘Yes’ box and handed the note back.
“So,” he proclaimed so loud he could be heard half a block away. “Yes, Miss Jessie Melano, The words in your version of that song are very appropriate! I would be most honored to escort you to Saturday evening’s dinner, dance, or to any other function, anytime, anywhere in the world!”
Jessie started to rebuke him for the way he put himself down, decided it might ruin the mood and would address that subject later. Instead, she demurely said her thanks as she glanced at her watch. Since the time was nearing twelve she told Bailey there was one more place she wanted to stop.
Twenty minutes later, after another ATM stop, she deposited a bulging, anonymous manila envelope in the mail slot at a non-profit poets and writers help house on Capitol Hill. When she returned to the car Bailey began the drive back to Bellevue so she could retrieve her car.
Jessie was silent for so long during the drive that Bailey again worried she had started remembering her loss. Halfway across the Five-twenty Bridge he glanced at her silent profile and finally broke the silence. “They say silence is golden, Jessie. Right now your silence has me a bit worried. Have I said something? Or are you having second thoughts about the lake and cavern?”
Jessie jumped at the caring she heard in his voice. She smiled at him and returned, “Nothing like that, Bailey. I was just thinking about what you said earlier. You know, the part about philanthropy? That has put me to thinking. Though I will continue to do things like we have tonight, I know now that I can do more than just randomly help people. I was just thinking that once the project we are going to be working on is going good, I want to do something for battered women and children. Maybe set up a secure place for them to go for help, or something along that order.”
Bailey had to smile at her. “I don’t want you to think I’m just flattering you with what I am going to say, Jessie. Because what I am going to say is the truth as I see it.”
“You amaze me, Jessie. You are a one in a million jewel when it comes to compassion and thoughtfulness. I say that because here you are the owner of a multi-million dollar business, or I should say businesses, and I know you have multiple important things that are demanding your time and expertise and you still think of other people’s comfort and safety. You are what some people might call ‘the Mother Teresa of Puget Sound.”
As Bailey turned into the parking lot at Reggie’s office building Jessie turned half in the seat so she could see him clearly. “I hear what you are saying, Bailey. But I don’t know about the ‘Mother Teresa’ part. You see, though I do believe there is a God and Jesus is his son and go to church once in a while, I don’t really have a church family. You know what I’m saying?”
“Yeah, I know and, because I am the same way, I understand. I went to church and Sunday school as a kid but I haven’t been in a church since I came back from Afghanistan. Oh, I didn’t lose my faith. I still believe in God all right. I just sort of tabled that part of my life until I could get a handle on the atrocities I saw and experienced over there. I do plan to start going to church again. But before I do I need to know I can walk into a church’s sanctuary and kneel at the altar before God and not see women and children lying in the streets mangled and torn to pieces by IED’s or tortured and murdered by their own people. In other words, I need to know that what I was doing over there was the right thing.”
Bailey gave her a serious smile before finishing. “I know that is something that every soldier has to deal with. In time, I know I will. For now all I can say is that I am trying to cope with all I saw and experienced over there.”
Then he abruptly changed the subject. “For right now, though, and I say this with all due respect and honesty, Jessie. Before I do or say something that would be completely improper, I believe it is time to say goodnight so you can be on your way home.” So saying he got out and quickly walked around to her side, opened her door and walked her to her car.
After admonishing him to call her when he returned from his last charter flight the next afternoon so she could let him know when Reggie would be able to see them on Friday, Jessie started her car and drove away. She had hoped Bailey would kiss her or at least hold her before he opened her car door. But he hadn’t and she was certain that was a good thing because she didn’t know if she could have held her own desires at bay. The man had a way about him that made her completely forget what had happened the night before and she wanted more. Oh yeah. She wanted more! Much more!
Bailey reluctantly watched her tail lights disappear in the distance. He stood there for a space before getting into his car, his thoughts on what could have been. Standing next to her car he had wanted to pull her to him and thoroughly kiss her sweet lips. It wouldn’t have been right though and he knew it. In fact he believed it would have been the worst thing he could have done. Getting into his car he drove home.
Bailey met Jessie at the lawyer’s office the following Friday afternoon to go over the Private Investigator’s report on Liam MacTunble and the company that was interested in the property. The P. I. had been able to determine that the company’s name was Minetsiac and was comprised of a newly formed group of Arizona businessmen. There were unconfirmed rumors that the company was formed for the sole purpose of buying land in various areas of the United States to build exclusive resorts but he had not been able to confirm any of those rumors.
As Bailey already knew, Liam MacTunble presently lived in Morton, a small town west of Mt. Rainier. The investigation also revealed some things that Bailey did not know about Mr. MacTunble.
For one, MacTunble’s financial situation and credit rating were excellent. Another item of interest, especially to Jessie’s attorney was that Liam MacTunble was a member of Mensa. Intrigued, the investigator had traveled to Morton to talk to people there. Everyone he talked to spoke highly of MacTunble. He reported that MacTunble’s neighbors say he would rather give someone something than sell it to him. The man had always been active in the community and over the years has been a mentor to scores of the town’s children and many of those children have gone on to become leading citizens of the area. The P.I. also discovered that MacTunble had openly declared that most of the proceeds from the sale of this particular property would go into a fund providing scholarships to further the education of the youngsters of his and neighboring communities. The remainder would be used to help the residents of those communities who were in need.
Bailey was vaguely disappointed by the lack of information concerning the Minetsiac Company, the other party interested in the property. Yet, Reggie’s saying it was good they were not going to the lake for a week because the delay in going would give the investigator more time to dig a little deeper, gave him hope that all the information about who the group really were would be discovered by then. Partially mollified, Bailey and Jessie left the lawyer’s office.
When they reached Jessie’s car she turned to Bailey and gave him a beguiling smile. “Bailey,” she said. “I took it upon myself to tell Maureen to expect you for dinner tonight. Maureen very enthusiastically made it plain that she would welcome the opportunity to get to know you and, though she wouldn’t tell me what it was, she said she would prepare a meal you would surely enjoy. So, if only to keep me from looking bad, would you come?”
