Chapter 13
AS THE GENERAL turned to face the cracked mirror over the bar, enjoying his beer, Jake averted his gaze to Cooper, who was already nodding. He’d seen the General too, and it registered that they needed to exit the place, but not do so as to attract attention.
He was hoping the cue ball look threw the General off in his recollection, but something in the man’s eyes bore a twinkle of recognition. Despite the mineral water he was sucking on, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and he had difficulty swallowing. He felt his palms sweat.
The lady bartender was keeping the military men happy, which meant the food T.J. had ordered wasn’t going to come soon, which also meant that they should just finish up and leave. He couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
Someone shouted in the street, which was followed by a high-pitched whistle and some cat calls as a group of young boys rolled up the narrow street, smoking cigarettes and chattering with a couple of local girls. The youths checked out the inside of the bar and as soon as they saw the uniforms were quickly silenced and gone from sight.
That was what Jake wanted to do. He wished he had the “disappear” gene so all he had to do was click his fingers and, like a genie, he’d be gone too.
A young girl brought a tray of hot beans, rice and corn tortillas, as well as pieces of chicken and pork, vegetables and a mound of shredded Mexican cheese. T.J. motioned for everyone to help themselves. Jake rolled the tortilla with a generous mixture of steamed vegetables, adding the beans and rice, but didn’t trust the cheese. It tasted divine.
The Cortez removed himself from the bar stool, stretched and then proceeded to walk toward the rest rooms at the rear of the diner.
“I’m thinkin’ it wouldn’t be a good idea to take a piss right now,” said T.J.
“I’m thinkin’ it might be a good idea to shop for some sunscreen for tomorrow’s little boat ride,” added Danny.
“Too obvious. We don’t run away,” whispered Coop. “Just be cool. All will be well.”
Jake clinked bottles with him and he grabbed a jalapeno pepper and bit into it boldly. It didn’t take long before his cheeks were lined in tears, but he refused to say a word.
“Fearless, that’s you, bro’” laughed T.J.
“I think you fixed your plumbing problem, Jake. No more babies for you,” Danny scoffed.
“Forget the sunscreen. Go for the Pepto, maybe some Prep H.” Coop was grinning straight at him. “You know you love this. The fate of your life hanging in the balance, like jumping out of thirteen thousand feet.”
“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” It was all Jake could say. He wiped his eyes with the napkin, and then started to blow his nose when the General sauntered into the room. He took a detour and approached their table.
“We have some Gringos here, I see.” He gently bowed to Coop. Jake kept the napkin over his nose as if he was going to blow once the General was gone, out of respect for his officialdom.
“Calvin Cooper, sir,” Coop said in exaggerated Southern accent. “This here’s Jack.” He pointed to Jake and he raised one hand, keeping the other on his nose. “We got T.J. and Danny.”
Danny eagerly shook the General’s hand while T.J. waved casually.
“Any of you guys military?” Cortez asked.
“Former,” Coop said pointing to his chest, “Former,” he said pointing to Danny. “Nope and nope,” he said as he pointed to Jake and T.J.
Jake sneezed and blew snot all over the table and the food, which earned him some moans as one by one his buds wadded up their napkins and added them to the table. The General took a brisk step backward and scowled.
“That’s just wrong, Jack, you asshole!” Coop barked.
Jake continued to wipe his nose and then quickly took a drink of water. His eyes were still running and his nose felt bright red. He hoped it added to the disguise. He blew one more time, and this time the General had tolerated all he could. Staring back at Jake like he was a leper, he sneered and returned to the bar.
“We done here?” asked T.J.
“I need a fuckin’ shower,” Danny pouted and pretended to brush remnants of Jake’s sneeze off the front of his shirt.
Cooper left extra money for the cook and waitress and they all stood and smooth as silk, exited the cantina. Jake didn’t start to breathe normally until they got nearly a block away. Normally, they would have browsed in some of the little shops and haggled with the street vendors again, but today, their gait was rather brisk. At the first available alleyway, they turned and got off the main road.
“Holy shit that was close,” Jake whispered.
“Only time I’ve been happy to be sneezed on. Was that all real?” Cooper was shaking his head.
“One hundred percent real,” Jake answered.
“Timing’s good, at least. Jake, you okay?” T.J. put a hand on his shoulder and examined his face.
“Now for my next trick, I’m about to have a bowel movement.” Jake followed it up with a goofy grin.
“I thought to myself why on earth Kyle let you come,” Coop said. “Then I remembered. You’re the comic relief, right?”
They continued through the alleyway and cut across another wider street, but kept to the alleyway all the way back to the outskirts of town, headed toward the rental house. Instead of walking along the dusty roadway with no sidewalk, they moved onto the beach and walked in the clean white sand close to the surf.
Jake realized how clean and invigorating the ocean was. His nose stopped throbbing from the hit his sinuses had taken with the pepper, and he began to swallow again. He reached down and held a palmful of seawater to his lips and nose and rinsed his face off.
The heat had been somewhat oppressive in town, but here by the ocean, a gentle breeze swirled around all of them. The sound of the pounding surf was so strong it was impossible to talk, so each of them went to their private places as they leisurely strolled down the beach.
At the house, they turned up toward the rear sliders, which were locked. Coop went around to the front and unlocked the sliders after he let himself in.
“I’m hitting the bed for a few. Wake me if we’re doing anything?” Jake said.
Cooper was texting and nodded. “Um. Hum.”
“I’m headed for the shower,” said Danny.
“Coop? You want to go for a swim in the ocean?” asked T.J.
“Sure.”
“I’ll join,” added Danny.
“I’m still headed for the bed. Have fun, mermaids.”
From the upstairs bedroom, Jake watched his three Team buds dive into the surf and take turns swimming lanes back and forth at the outer edges of the waves. This would have been a great vacation to take Ginger and the girls to. They would have loved the shopping, and had their picture taken with the little boy who had his pet iguana on his shoulder. They’d pay too much for trinkets and stare at the little girls their own age.
He hoped they’d be able to find the Navy asshole they were looking for.
He splashed water on his face again in the bathroom, careful not to drink any of the water. He opened another bottled water they’d brought and stared out at the window one more time.
A line of four military uniformed men was marching down the beach. He was relieved to note that none of them had medals.
Miss you, Ginger. Hope to come home soon. Kiss the girls for me.