WEDNESDAY
JAKE
Once again, it was time for work at the club. The only things he remembered about the previous days were drinking beer and painting. At least his creativity was soaring. Tuesday had been a really busy day at the gallery. Franky mentioned something about a friend with another gallery and several restaurants. This time, they weren't in New York City, but he was going to get back to him with the details.
Already dragging when he entered the club, the only motivating force was the prospect of getting out of the city for a while and an extension of his art network. It was only 11:00 p.m., but the club was already packed, many patrons simply seeking relief from the humid summer night.
“Look who's back.” Ben snorted, pointing at Jonny during a momentary lull in customers at the bar.
“Yeah, two assholes down, one takes their place.” Jake muttered, sneering.
Ben laughed. “I thought you were cool with him?”
Jake shrugged, walking away to take care of a couple of women.
“Hey, who's that chick with him?” Ben called out to him.
“What the fuck!” Jake’s eyes blasted open wide at the sight of Jenny latched onto Jonny’s arm. They moved closer to the bar.
“Hey Jake! What's going on?” Jonny's smug tone had an immediate, irritating effect on Jake, and he blatantly expressed it with a dirty look. Jonny ignored it, raising his voice even higher. “You remember Jenny? She's gonna be helping out here again. I thought now that Ray's gone, what the hell.”
Ben scrutinized Jake as he stiffened, whirled around and stormed to the register. Jenny's fingers fluttered through her short black hair, then trailed down to tug her plunging neckline lower.
“Hey Ben, come meet Jenny,” Jonny shouted as Jenny bent over the bar to greet him. Ben's eyebrows scrunched, his eyes zeroing in on her exposed cleavage.
“She's starting tomorrow. We have some final details to work out first.”
Ben flinched back to reality, drawing his eyes from Jenny’s breasts to Jake who stood staring at all of them with obvious disgust. Picking up on Ben’s discomfort, Jonny followed his line of vision and yanked Jenny to him with one rough jerk.
“Hey, Jake, how about a couple of beers?” Narrowing his eyes, Jonny impatiently tapped the countertop.
Jake banged the bottles down in front of them, turning away.
“Oh, you know, I'd rather have a whisky sour, sweetie,” Jenny purred, smiling with pleasure when Jake’s aggravation became more apparent.
Holding his breath, Jake removed the beer bottle and returned to the mixer. Ben looked away.
“Thank you, sweetie.” Jenny extended her hand to take the drink. Jake jerked his arm back, slammed the glass on the counter and turned on his heels, ready to make a fast get away.
“Hey, Jake, did I tell you I was in Miami last week?”
Jake froze, his face so hard it felt like it would crack. “So what?”
Jonny glared up. Jake towered over him, his eyes venomous.
“Just saying. Beautiful beaches, gorgeous weather. Steaming hot women.” There was a brief, uncomfortable pause during which Jonny sized Jake up. Jake squeezed the countertop harder, the muscles in his forearms bulging under the pressure. Motivated by the distress he was causing, Jonny’s face lit up and his head bounced up and down in agreement. “You should check it out sometime. You know... take a break from this shithole.”
Jake didn’t move. Taking his pent-up frustration out on the countertop, his knuckles whitened under the pressure. Jenny giggled, snuggling up to Jonny. Energized by the encounter, he finished off his beer and yanked her away from the bar into the club.
“What was that about?” Ben asked.
“He's trying to set me off about my ex-girlfriend. He must've run into her. She's in Miami.” Jake smirked, his eyes filled with hate as they trailed after them. “I'd just love to rip him apart!”
“Stay cool! It's not worth it.’ Ben smiled, walking back to his station.
I wish it was that easy. Jake cracked his knuckles, turning his attention back to the customers lined up in front of him.
CHAPTER 8
FRIDAY, WEEK 9
KRISTEN
The time was rapidly approaching and Kristen was growing more apprehensive with each passing day. Her stomach was gigantic, her energy level sinking to a record-breaking low. Logan tried to conceal it, but she could tell he was fed up with the frequent doctor visits and her clinginess. It was getting harder for her to accept, but she sensed he was suffocating. Yet, even though there was a temporary solution to the problem, she was too distressed to do anything about it.
“It's time to look for a nanny,” Logan announced as he dressed for another alleged meeting with Nick.
Kristen hated to admit it, but he was right. The huge condo had become a burden she couldn't keep up with. “Maybe a housekeeper. You wanna ask around? I'm scared to use Craigslist. Where are you going?”
Why do I feel sick every time he leaves the house? She raised her eyes from the laptop to inspect him. He was dressed casually, but nice. She could smell his cologne. Her heart sank.
“Meeting Nick.” He studied his image in the mirror, fixing his hair. For a minute he cast his sight on her, aware she was watching him with skepticism. “I have to get back to work sometime. We have mortgages to pay.”
“I know. It's just I'm so lonely here, and I feel so useless.” Her eyes clouded with gloom.
Logan sat next to her, pulling her to his chest. “It'll be over soon. Then you can get back to normal.”
“Not really. I'll be smaller, but we'll have a baby to take care of. That's a whole new ballgame, and a lot of responsibility, Logan. I don't understand why you think I'll be running around like before.” All of a sudden he was really getting on her nerves. Taking care of her baby was the one thing in her life that she had to do right.
“Sorry. It's new to me too. I'll have to get used to it I guess.” He shrugged.
“You better start now then. He’s not going away.” Her eyes shone with dogged determination.
At a point where it was too intense for him, the fidgeting worsened, he pulled his fingers through his hair and jumped to his feet. “Don't worry about it now. Let's find that nanny first. I gotta go, sweetie.” Before she could utter an objection, he flew out the door.
Tossing the laptop to the side, she stared blankly at the empty room, then moved to the balcony, gazing out at the ocean.
Why does this have to be so difficult? If I was with Jake, he would know what to do to calm me down. This is just getting worse and worse. What am I going to do?
Pouting, she sank onto the lounge chair, contemplating her next move. She couldn't continue to live isolated like this. It was driving her mad. Without thinking twice, she dialed Marty. As soon as Marty answered she could tell something was different.
“Are you too busy to talk?” Kristen asked, subconsciously hoping she'd cut it short.
“No, I'm just finishing up a depo summary. We can talk. How's the baby?”
“Four more weeks! But it could be sooner. It's hard to say. I just wanna get it over with.” Kristen speeded up, not giving Marty a chance to respond before she continued, “Have you seen Jake around? He called me the other day.”