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James drove me home in the truck, grabbed his toothbrush and a change of clothes, and went back to see Lindsey. I grabbed a beer and walked out back, sprawling on the plastic lounge chair and listening to the night birds harmonize. There were no lights on in the apartment behind us, just the ever-present playpen.
I sat there for maybe half an hour, working things through my feeble mind. Maybe the lady on the phone was part of the scheme. Maybe she played along, telling everyone that Krueger was CIA, when in fact he was something else. “Born in the USA” blared from my pocket, and I remembered I hadn’t set the phone to vibrate yet. You’d think it would be the first thing I would have done.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Skip.”
“We’re talking again?”
“We’re talking. I’m not happy with the way I’ve been. Usually I can control my emotions a little better.”
“Hormones and all that.”
“I suppose.”
“And you’re seeing the doctor when?”
“Tomorrow. I can’t put it off any longer. I keep thinking if I don’t get medical confirmation, then it isn’t real.”
“But, of course, it is.”
“Of course.”
“And your other option?”
“I can’t do that. You know me better than that.”
“I thought I did. I guess I do.”
“You do.”
“Here’s a stupid question. Really stupid. With all that’s going on, this is going to sound really dumb.”
“Shoot.”
“Have you thought of a name?”
She laughed. And it sounded so good. “As a matter of fact, I have. If it’s a boy, Eugene is not on the list.”
“Thank God.”
“I like Troy and Aaron. For a girl I always thought I’d pick Alison.”
“One L?”
“One L.”
I took a long swallow of cheap beer and smiled. In spite of everything, Em was talking to me and, better yet, we were talking about the baby. Our baby. It meant that not everything in the world was fucked up.
“Tell me what you and your crazy roommate are cooking up.”
I told her about our conversation with Angel and my call to Krueger.
“You could always just assume that everything is going to be all right.”
“But it’s not. Vic may be in trouble, these Cubans have threatened our lives, and now we’ve been warned by the CIA. And it appears the CIA shouldn’t even be involved. Your friend Jackie is getting threatening phone calls, and we know something we’re not supposed to know. We know there’s a plot to invade Cuba. If we can prove any of this, we can go to the authorities.”
“And if we can’t prove any of it?”
“They may try to make sure we never do. Look, Em, there’s a much bigger risk now.”
“You mean because of me.”
“Yeah. I never had anything that I really cared about. Ever. I never took us-you and me-that seriously. I just never thought we’d end up together. I mean, I wanted to, I think, but now it’s different.”
“I’m not sure we’re going to end up together. Obviously the connection is a lot stronger, but, Skip, I’m not making any promises.”
“I’m not asking for any promises. But I do believe it’s worth fighting for. If I let this Cuban thing take over I’m putting everyone at risk.”
I could hear her breathing softly on the other end. “Don’t be a hero on my account, Skip. You have no idea what you’re getting into.”
“No. I don’t. I also have no idea where we are right now. I’ve got to take some initiative here. I’ve got to get some control of my life and quit letting other people make decisions that affect my life. Your life.”
“So, what do you propose?”
“I think we have to check out the warehouse one more time. We’ve got to find Victor. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“And you could get killed looking for him. Really. You could be killed.”
“And I could get killed if I don’t.”
“Skip? There’s more to this, isn’t there?”
I wasn’t sure what to say.
“Skip?”
“There is.”
“Want to tell me what it is?”
“Not everything. Just this. Vic Maitlin saved my life eleven years ago.”
Now it was her turn not to know what to say. Finally, “He saved your life? Vic? My God, Skip, how?”
“That’s it for now.”
“Pretty heavy stuff.”
“Yeah. And he risked his life to save mine. It’s just something I have to do, Em.”
“So there’s something else you care about.”
“Yeah, I guess. All of a sudden I have some things in my life that really matter.”
There was nothing left to say.
Justin Cramer and Mike Stowe got busted our sophomore year in high school. They got caught selling drugs to an undercover cop and were expelled a week later. The cop posed as a student and she not only caught the goon squad but two other students, a student’s parent, and a wrestling coach.
It seemed like the perfect time to tell my story, but I didn’t. After Vic pulled me out, the sinkhole incident was on my mind every day and I saw the players every day, but in my sophomore year, three years after it happened, I often thought maybe I’d dreamed the entire occurrence. Now, after Rick Fuentes threatened me with my obligation to his son, I felt I could finally let it out. But it wouldn’t come out. It had been buried too deep and too long.