For the first time in my life, I understood what people meant when they said you could hear a pin drop. Well, I was pretty sure that I could hear a fly fart.
“Mary, what are you doing here?” Jack repeated.
“My appointment was canceled, and I’ve been here long enough to know that keeping that woman at our house another minute will cost you way more than a marriage.” She was rubbing her belly. Her lips were sealed straight, like a flatlined heartbeat, and her nose scrunched upward. She was doing that thing with her nostrils, the one raging bulls did before they ran through town in August.
“I’ll leave.” I finally located my sandals by the elevator. I rushed to grab them, and stepped into the elevator before Jack had a chance to stop the ever-so-slowly closing door. But I did it. I got away. I pressed the lobby button again, to make sure that’s where I’d end up. Given this was my first time – or maybe second, since Jack somehow got me into his apartment last night – I acted on instinct. I hurried to put my sandals on my feet. Their distressed leather gently scratched against my soles. The closer I descended to the ground floor, the more I concentrated on the gap that would open, sliding the metal plates apart. And when they did, I charged out, like one of the freed bulls, only to bump into a hard chest.
Shit!
The man grabbed my wrist and held it tight in his hand.
“Come on, kid. Before you get yourself into more trouble.”
Jack’s voice was commanding but not upset. I stopped thrashing as soon as I realized that it was him. I didn’t know what it was about him that made me trust him so much.
“How did you get down?”
“I took the stairs.”
That fast?
“This elevator is unusually slow,” he explained at my confused look.
The first drops of sweat beaded down his forehead. I could see his heart hammering under that hard chest. If he was out of breath, then he was doing a darn good job keeping that to himself.
“It’s only five floors,” he added.
“Where are we going? Please don’t take me to prison. But I can’t stay here either. Mary’s gonna kill me.”
“You leave Mary to me, and let me help you.”
“I knew she would freak out.”
He stopped for a moment and took a look at me, breathing harder. Was his patience thinning? “Why can’t you see that I want to help you?”
“Because no one ever has. Well, not no one.” I rubbed my belly again.
“Did you leave him to protect the child you’re carrying?” he asked.
I nodded. That was partially true. Staying in Pace wasn’t even an option. If Ben ever found out that I was carrying John’s child, he’d take that one away from me as well, right after he tortured me to tell him where I hid the money.
“What do you say if I get you settled in about a hundred feet away from Mary?” He winked. “Will you stay then?”
I didn’t understand what he meant by that until I was standing on the penthouse floor in the building across the street from Jack’s. We crossed the street through an underground tunnel. There were a few stores there and little boutiques selling magazines, cigarettes, and gum.
“There’s a subway connection here,” Jack explained when we crossed.
Moments later, I stared across the street to where Mary was pacing back and forth, almost like a caged raging bull. Thank God bulls couldn’t fly because I was afraid she’d fly over here and break through the window.
I turned around just as Jack came out of the bathroom. He pulled up his zipper and caught my gaze following the movement of his fingers over his crotch. I felt my cheeks flush with heat.
“You didn’t run away,” he said.
“Nah, I think Mary’s growing on me a little.”
He chuckled.
“This is Xavier’s place?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“He leaves you his keys, just like that?”
“You mean, like’s he’s my best friend, almost like a brother, and he trusts me?”
“Yeah, that. You’re sure he won’t mind? What about the clearing of your business stuff?”
“I doubt you’ll be looking to share any kind of information with anyone else for a while. After all, you’re on the run, aren’t you, kid?”
When I didn’t reply, he added, “Besides, I believe we’ve already established trust.”
We had, but I wouldn’t say it out loud. That felt like giving in. Instead, I gave him a polite smile, nodding toward the penthouse across the street.
“She won’t jump, will she?”
“If you can’t get on Mary’s good side, you’ll never survive it here, kid. That would be my first piece of advice.”
“Then why are you trying to help me?”
“Because everyone needs help, and one day when I do, I hope that help will be there for me as well.”
“I will be,” I replied as if I were his only hope. I probably wasn’t. Someone like Jack must know plenty of people. Still, I added, “I don’t know how I can help you, but I will, I promise. What would be your second piece of advice?”
“Don’t trust anyone.”
Did he include himself in that anyone category? Because I had a feeling it was too late. I already trusted Jack. It might have been a mistake to do so, but it might also have been the best decision of my life.
“Have a look around. I need to call Mary before she grows a pair of wings.”
This time it was me who chuckled. Jack left and closed a door behind him. I heard him turn on the faucet, which covered his conversation, so I paced to the black and white kitchen. The cabinets were glossy and reflected everything in the pristine, open room. I’d never seen anything like it, but maybe that was because I’d lived in Arizona for my entire life. The penthouse had a different layout than the one at Jack’s, but it was just as elegant and warm, despite all the cool tones. The only additional splash of color in the room was a vase full of beautiful sunflowers.
“Does it feel like a prison?” Jack came from behind me.
“No.”
“Good. You will stay here at least until Xavier comes back, and I’ll have a chance to check if anyone in the area is asking about you. You’d like to know if whoever is looking for you is close, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes,” I nodded. “Thank you. Did you call Mary? I thought you went to the washroom.”
The only other phone I saw was in Xavier’s kitchen, but it didn’t have a dial. It had a keypad.
“I did call her.” He showed me a square box with a keypad similar to Xavier’s phone.
“It’s called a cellular phone,” he explained.
“Oh?” I gave him a puzzled look.
“It works just like a phone and runs on a battery.”
It seemed very futuristic to me. “What did Mary say?”
“Well, there’s good news and there’s bad news.”
“Give me the bad news first.”
“Mary’s coming up here in twenty minutes.”
“Well, I’m glad that you at least gave me a twenty-minute head start, then. What’s the good news?”
“She knows you’re pregnant.”
“Those are both bad. You’re a cheater! You promised not to tell anyone!”
“I never promised, and believe me, I did you a favor. You don’t know Mary the way I do, and the Mary that I know adores kids. You wanna know what she adores even more?”
“I’m a little afraid to ask.”
“Pregnant women. And I apologize in advance.”
“What are you apologizing for?”
“You’ll see when you call me in the middle of the night asking me to fill Mary’s day with someone else other than you.”
Shit!
“But she’s also very smart and diligent. You’ll see, kid.”
I sighed. It could have been worse, right? She could have been batting her monstrous wings outside the penthouse windows, day and night, night and day. Fearing future nightmares, I shook the image away.
“Why do you keep calling me ‘kid’?”
“Because you look like a kid.”
“You can’t be much older than me. You have your first baby on the way.”
“That’s a little bit rude, especially coming from a kid.” He winked.
“And you admitting that you’re older than me would be like admitting that you have no stamina and your little swimmers had a tough time making it up the stream. Because a guy like you should definitely reproduce.” I looked across the street again. Mary was gone from the rooftop. In my mind, she was probably sharpening her butcher knife, but I trusted Jack, and if he said that Mary was good, then I had to believe him.
But Judas was good in the beginning as well.
“And why should I reproduce?” Jack interrupted my thoughts, and I continued pacing the room, pulling my fingers over the backrest of the plush white sofa, suddenly feeling a little bit out of place in my ragged clothes.
“You live in one of the most expensive penthouses in the city, I presume, have everything you ever wanted, a good job – and I don’t judge on legalities, a beautiful wife… why not kids? Why not all three point two of them, to be part of that definition of an American family? Hence, my conclusion.”
“You’re implying I should have four kids, I get that; but I’m not quite following the rest of your logic there. But then again, not everyone makes sense. Especially in this city. The more eccentric, the better. Hmm… maybe you could survive New York after all. Use that wit to get on Mary’s good side, Anna. Believe me, it’s the only way to survive New York. Mary knows everyone, but only those who are supposed to know who she really is actually do. And I’m thirty-three.”
I wanted to make a whipping sound, the kind a lasso makes when it strikes a horse’s hind, but there was something to Jack’s words. He wasn’t whipped; he just knew which fights to accept and which ones to avoid. He was like John, able to lose a game when the stakes were low, but never giving up when they were high. And Mary sounded like a gem — a very unique gem, that is.
“Thanks for the advice. Jack, where would I go to send a postcard?”
“I can get one for you if you’d like.”
“But I’d like to send it from out of state. Some people may be worried about me.”
“That could be arranged as well.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Oh, honey, come here!”
I turned in slow motion toward the front door. A happy Mary looked even scarier than an unhappy one. She dropped the bags she was carrying and made her way toward me with open arms. Before I knew it, I was being squeezed, tightly enough to feel the strength of her embrace, but still not too tight, as if she were being careful around me.
In my peripheral vision I saw Jack retreat into the elevator like a coward, waving as I slowly began to uncoil from Mary’s hug.
“Hi, Mary. I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that little misunderstanding. We’re both hormonal, so it’s only to be expected. Now tell me everything there is to know about that little baby in there.” She took my hand and gently pulled me down to the couch. Mary appeared as comfortable here as in her own home.
“I’m not far along. About three months now, I think.”
“You haven’t been to a doctor? Oh, my goodness, child!” she said to me as if again, I were an actual child. “We can’t have that. I’m going to call a doctor first thing in the morning.”
“I don’t have any documents. None.”
“It doesn’t matter. Our doctors don’t ask questions when they get paid.”
“Oh… I don’t have money either.”
“I wasn’t asking if you did, was I? Now I understand that this should be your decision, as a woman, and I respect that. But if you had the means to see a doctor, would you?”
“Well, yes.”
“Good, then it’s settled. Doctor Morrison is always on call for me at noon. He’ll be here tomorrow. In the meantime, I think it’s time you remembered what it feels like to take a shower, don’t you?”
What? How did that happen? I was beginning to see what Jack meant. Mary was definitely a woman who had a mind of her own. She was blunt, but in a nice way — maybe a better way to describe her would be to say that she was brutally honest.
“I’m not a bad mother.” I gently touched my stomach and lowered my gaze. “I had pre-natal pills, but I ran out.”
“You’re a fierce mother because only a strong woman would suffer the way you did to keep her baby safe. You don’t have to worry about your safety anymore. Jack and Xavier are the best. No one will find you. And don’t worry about pills. I brought extra. We’re going to take care of you. We’re going to take care of both of you.” Mary’s voice was soft and reassuring. It kind of surprised me. She was beginning to remind me of a good friend, not a raging bull. I was beginning to like her.
“I also brought a few pairs of clothes. They’re a little older, but you’re smaller than me and I haven’t fit in them in months. I wasn’t able to carry a lot, but tomorrow I’ll have someone send over a few other things I think you may need.”
This couldn’t be true. Yesterday I’d been ready to give up on life in a dark alley, and today I was being offered… everything.
“How long are you planning on helping me?”
“For as long as it takes to ensure that you and the baby are safe. Whomever you’re running away from must be a bad person. I’m on your side, honey, and as long as I’m on your side, no one’s going to touch you.”
I believed her. Actually, I believed her even more than I believed Jack or Xavier.
She didn’t ask me any further questions about my past or about the baby I was carrying. One could naturally assume that I was carrying a bastard child, but I wasn’t. I just hadn’t had the courage to tell the father, whom I loved as much as I loved our baby, that I was pregnant. When I ran away, all I could think about was her safety. I would never let Ben take away another baby of mine.
“Thank you, Mary. I didn’t think I’d meet someone who cared so much.”
“Of course we care. Now, it’s time you made yourself feel at home. Xavier usually keeps his fridge stuffed to bursting, so you should be good, but if you need anything in the meantime, this is our phone number.”
“Ahm, Mary?”
“Yes?”
“How do you use one of those?” I pointed to the square box on Xavier’s kitchen wall.
“Where did you come from?”
For a moment, as she shook her head, I thought she was asking seriously, then realized that it was rhetorical.
Once Mary showed me how to use the phone, it wasn’t as difficult as I’d imagined. I might have seen it done once, in a movie on the town’s first television set at the Bistro, before the Cortez family arrived, but I wasn’t paying close attention when the beer that was being served to the drunken men had a fifty-fifty chance of being knocked over my head. That was the moment I promised myself that if I ever had children, I’d do anything in my life to protect them, and for the first time since I’d found out I was pregnant, I felt like I was on the right track. It was either that or I had walked into a perfectly set trap. I hoped it was the former.