THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE
CHAPTER THREE
Thursday, August 26, 1993
11:00 a.m.
They arrived in Albuquerque late-morning and Al drove straight to the Hilton and obtained a room for them. Two beds. They headed up and dropped off their luggage. Afterwards Sam paid up the bet and bought them lunch. They came back to the hotel to unpack.
As Al finished hanging up his slacks he stated, "I'm going for a swim, Sam. How about you?"
Sam was putting his clothes into the dresser. "I didn't bring any trunks."
Al shrugged. "So get some in the gift shop."
"They're too expensive there."
Al rolled his eyes and shook his head. He put his shirt back on and headed out the door.
"Al, where are you going?"
"You'll see."
Ten minutes later, Al came back in the door, carrying a bag. He pulled out a pair of blue swim trunks in Sam's size. "Here."
"Where did you get it?"
"Down at the gift shop." He held his hand up when Sam started to voice his disapproval. "It's okay, Sam. Those were on sale. Now put them on. I really would like to go to the pool and relax and I don't want to go down alone. If we're going to be banned from the project for awhile, then I'm taking advantage of it."
Sam nodded and took the trunks into the bathroom with him. He emerged a couple of minutes later. They put on the robes from the room, slipped on sandals and sunglasses, and headed down to the pool. Al snagged a couple of chaise lounges and the two put their possessions by it. Al wasn't ready to go into the water yet, but Sam jumped in and swam a few laps. He got out and toweled off, stating, "That felt good." Al smiled but said nothing. Sam couldn't see Al's eyes through his sunglasses but he guessed they were closed.
Laying the towel down, Sam dropped onto the chaise lounge. The heat of the day in addition to the lousy sleep he'd had the night before were conspired to lull him to that in-between state, not quite sleeping but not quite awake either. He could still hear what was going on around him. It stayed like that for about an hour. Suddenly, he heard Al take in a sharp breath. He opened his eyes to see what was going on.
An incredibly gorgeous blond woman wearing a small bikini with stars and blue on the right breast and red & white stripes on the left had started exiting the pool in front of their view. Sam stopped thinking of anything else as his eyes were drawn to her. As she continued exit the water he noticed the bottom of the bikini was blue with stars, just like her right breast. She turned to walk towards the bar area. As she walked by he noted that the back end of the suit was a thong. She had incredibly nice buns. He felt himself responding to the view.
Al stood at attention and saluted, whispering under his voice, "Three cheers for the red, white and blue."
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sam's voice hinted at his annoyance.
"It's every red-blooded American man's duty to appreciate the flag in all its beauty."
"That wasn't the flag, Al. That was a woman wearing a patriotic bikini."
"It looked like Old Glory to me." He paused a beat before continuing, "You mean to tell me that didn't make proud to be an American… and a man."
Sam nodded, realizing that it might be a good idea to put on the robe. As he did so, he agreed. "She was stunning."
"I'm glad you're not blind… or neutered."
Sam's eyes narrowed and he presented a sarcastic grin. "Funny, Al. Real funny."
"Thanks, I thought it was rather amusing myself."
Sam glared at Al. "I'm going back to the room."
"Party pooper."
"Unlike you, I have my priorities in the right place. I'm going back to work on my new programming for Ziggy. I still can't believe he did an end run around us." Sam collected his things and walked back toward the hotel.
Thursday, August 26, 1993
3:45 p.m.
After leaving the pool area, Sam headed back to the room. He hadn't been kidding when he'd voiced his opinion of the woman. She was stunning and he certainly had appreciated the view as much as Al, although he thought his friend had called more attention to himself than necessary.
Sam considered the reality of his life since Donna had left him at the altar six years before. He had kept himself locked up in the New Mexican desert since then. At first, they had to wait for the funding and then they had the building stage. Much later there were women on the project, but somehow, it wasn't the same. After all, he was the head of the company and today was the first time he'd really been somewhere where he didn't have the project to occupy his mind 24/7.
When he saw the woman, he definitely hadn't been 'blind or neutered' as Al had so cleverly stated. No. He had definitely had a normal male reaction to a beautiful member of the opposite sex. He'd been somewhat embarrassed and hadn't wanted Al to notice. He knew that Al would say something and he just didn't want to deal with that right now.
He headed back into the bath area and removed his swim trunks, rinsing out the chlorine. Unbidden the vision of the woman as she walked away came to mind and his body responded again. Definitely time for a cold shower.
Sam turned on the water, turning the dial to cold and got in. The shock to his system was enough to take care of his quite natural reaction. He set the water a little warmer and quickly washed off. Getting out, he pulled a towel off the rack and dried himself. Having showered, he felt more in control of himself. At least, in enough control to focus on what was important, namely finding a way to get Ziggy to allow them back into the complex.
Going to the desk, he turned on the computer and let it boot as he quickly dressed in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, leaving his feet bare. He wasn't planning on going anywhere and the necessity of getting into Ziggy's programming was calling him.
He sat down at the computer again, working on the coding and trying to determine the best way to fix his out of control brainchild. Al returned to the room about an hour later.
"Sam…you should have stayed! After you left the blonde in the bikini…her name is Gloria, imagine that…and another beautiful woman, a redhead named Mary Lou, came over to talk. They asked me to help them put lotion on their backs. Being the helpful guy I am, I agreed. They're stewardesses, Sam, honest to God stewardesses on a layover!"
Sam looked up from the computer. "You need to have a warning label attached to you," he stated dryly.
Al glared at him. "Funny, Sam."
Sam's countenance suddenly took on an annoyed look. "Is that all you think about, Al? 'Cause that's all I hear you talk about so that must be all you think about."
Al was indignant. "I think about other things."
"Name two."
"Cigars and food."
"What about something more substantial like science?"
He knew he'd be baiting Sam, but he had to do it. The Kid just provided too many openings. "Why would I waste my talents on something as dull as that?"
Sam's face took on a quizzical look, "Why did we become partners again?"
"'Cause I can get the money you need for that inspired project of yours."
"Oh ,yeah… I knew there had to be some logical reason." He started turning back to the computer screen.
Al bounced on his feet slightly as if he had something to tell Sam. "And speaking of money, I need to go get a little now."
Sam glanced at him from the side of his eye. "How you are you going to do that? Planning on turning into a gigolo?"
"Not a bad idea… but it's faster to use the ATM."
"You're incorrigible," the younger man said shaking his head.
"Yeah, you ought to try it sometime," Al quipped back. He paused for a moment and then added, "Now… Sam… you want one of these?"
Sam looked up. "What?"
Al flashed two key cards. "I know for a fact that Mary Lou grew up on a farm and she has the nicest pair of …"
Sam's face scrunched, "Al!!!!!!!"
Sam recognized the innocent look that Calavicci used from time to time. When he did, the man looked like one of those Italian Angels found on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. "What? I was just going to say…ummm…" His countenance dropped and he shrugged. "…well…okay, Sam, you caught me this time. I can't think of anything that would be nice on a farm, much less a pair of them, except for Mary Lou's…"
Sam put his hand up, indicating he didn't want to hear anymore. "Al!!!!! Just stop it. Now! I don't want one of the key cards and shame on you for taking them from those girls. You don't even know them. It would be wrong."
"Like in that song you keep playing ad nauseum at the project…'To right the unrightable wrong…To love pure and chaste from a farm….'"
"That's afar…not a farm!" Sam stated with a sarcastic half grin, crows feet evident.
"Afar, a farm... Beckett, for you it's all the same," Al stated, his hand waving the statement off. "I just thought you'd like to hold onto something other than a lamp! Now if you'll excuse me, Mary Lou is waiting for one of us in her hayloft."
"Al, this is the Albuquerque Hilton. There are no haylofts around here."
"You call them what you want. I'll just use my own fertile imagination." He smiled and left the room.
As Al sauntered out of the room, Sam said under his breath, "More like an imagination of natural fertilizer!"
Thursday, August 26, 1993
6:00 p.m.
Al stepped out of the hotel room and started towards the ATM to fill his wallet. He didn't lie to Sam when he said he was going to be seeing both of the stewardesses and that Mary Lou was interested in the farm boy from Indiana. He had just hoped that somewhere inside that Boy Scout there was still some interest in the opposite sex. "Apparently not," Al murmured as he put the money in his wallet and headed back to the room.
Not for the first time he thought with anger about the woman who had broken Sam's heart. Al knew that Sam wasn't the type to give his adoration easily. He was somewhat shy around women although Al knew he was a babe magnet. Women seem to be drawn easily to the young scientist. Sam could likely write up the specifications of a perfect woman, and it would be a piece of cake to find one that fit. Not that Sam would ever do that.
However, the woman he'd been willing to give his soul to had too many demons of her own. On the day that was supposed to be Sam's happiest, she'd taken that joy and ground it into the sandy soil of Taos. Sam had at first been sure that Donna's car had broken down or that some other silly thing had occurred. But as the minutes rolled by, he came to the realization that she wasn't coming to join him at the altar.
Al had watched his friend's eyes as that knowledge slowly seeped into their depths. Sam had smiled briefly at the small gathering of friends and family that had come to wish the soon to be new couple their best. With a simple "I'm sorry, but I guess there won't be a wedding today," he'd turned and walked out the small side door. Al had followed him out and watched him standing next to the side of the adobe church, his body language indicating a deep, internal struggle.
Al had wanted to take away the pain he knew filled the younger man as he fought to maintain his dignity. He walked up and put his hand on his shoulder and Sam had turned to him, silent tears tracking down his face.
"Oh, Sammy!"
"Why, Al? What did I do or was it something I didn't do?" The anguish on the man's face had been deep.
"It wasn't you, Sam," Al had tried to tell him. The physicist didn't believe him that day nor for any of the other times when circumstances would turn his thoughts towards that day. Al knew that Sam had pushed that part of himself deep and instead had turned to his project, giving his all towards completing the dream he now gave his soul to instead.
When Al returned to the room, Sam was still working. He went in and cleaned up, dressing for nice evening out.
"You sure you don't want to come, Sam? The girls will be disappointed."
Sam tossed over his shoulder, "No, Al. You have a good time. I'm going to keep working."
Al nodded. He'd tried. He headed to the next floor up where the girl's rooms were located.
Going to the first door, he looked at the card key in his hand and decided that a key wasn't an invitation to just go walking into someone's hotel room. Knocking on the door, he waited patiently for the response.
Gloria came to the door. "Hi, Al. Where's your friend, Sam?"
"Um. Well, he had a bit of a headache." Al figured that this was somewhat true. Ziggy was certainly giving Sam a headache. "I'm afraid he won't able to make it," Al continued smoothly, reaching to take her hand. "But I don't think it's fair that you ladies should have your evening ruined by an unfortunate happenstance."
"What do you mean?"
"How about you, Mary Lou and I go down to the restaurant and have a lovely dinner. Just the three of us."
"Okay... let me give her a call." The blonde bombshell walked over to the phone and dialed her friend's room.
Mary Lou agreed, although she was disappointed to hear about Sam's headache. She'd really been hoping to meet him.
Al waited patiently while Mary Lou and Gloria got themselves ready for their evening with their newest friend. The three headed down to the restaurant.
With a finesse that fit the Admiral's experience, Al was able to procure a table at a prime location, just close enough to the dance floor to enjoy it but far away enough to be able to hear each other without the musician's playing to interfere with their conversation.
Over the next three hours the three thoroughly enjoying their meal. Al was on top of his game, regaling the two beauties with his tales of his vast experiences in the Navy. Al took one and then the other up to the dance floor and both were thrilled with his grace and style. They both commented on the fact that Al definitely knew how to show a lady a good time.
Afterwards, Gloria and Al walked Marylou back to her room. Al gave her a kiss on the cheek and again apologized for Sam's absence. Mary Lou indicated she'd had a wonderful time and thanked Al. Gloria and he headed to her room. He was about to say his goodnight to her as well when she told him their evening wasn't over yet.
"It isn't?" Al questioned with a slight smile.
She shook her head coyly and grabbed his tie, pulling him into her room. "If you were that good on the dance floor, I want to see how you are in other pursuits. I was very impressed by the salute."
"You saw me, huh?" Al questioned with a grin, letting himself be led into the room.
"I saw you in the mirror they had up to help people see around the corners at the pool. That was so cute. No one has ever done that before."
"That's a shame," he told her, kicking the door closed. "I always thought that a fine woman deserves the respect and attention due to her."
Gloria smiled and sidled up to Al, her lips making no mistake as to what she wanted.
"Oh, boy!" Al commented, putting his arms around Gloria to give her a kiss he knew she'd never forget. "Time to fly the friendly skies!"
Gloria smiled, "And if you're a good boy I'll give you a set of wings!"
"Oh, I'm a very good boy," Al told her, kissing her and then slowly undressing her.
They spent the next few hours exploring each other's airspace, finally falling asleep after midnight. Gloria and Mary Lou had an early flight so Gloria left him at five a.m. telling him to take his time.
It was 8 am when he finally headed back to his and Sam's room. He walked into the room to find Sam at the desk. It looked as if Sam hadn't bothered to change into anything else after Al had left the night before. Al figured he'd been up all night.
"Typical," he murmured with disappointment.
Going over to the computer, he covered the screen with his hand. "Did you sleep?"
"Um... What? What time is it?" Sam suddenly realized that his lower back was hurting and his neck felt like there were kinks in it everywhere. He rubbed at his neck.
"Eight in the morning," Al told him. "And if you have to ask, you obviously didn't sleep a wink. Go to bed."
Sam stretched and even Al could hear the cracking in his neck and shoulders.
"Ummm...I'm not tired. Where were you anyways?"
"And I'm the Sheik of Arabia. And I told you where I was. I was entertaining a couple of lovelies who wanted to know where you were.
"Why would they want to know that?" Sam knew of course what Al was referring to but he wasn't going to give him the pleasure of knowing it. He just looked at Al with what he knew was his own 'innocent' look. It often had worked with his father, but never with his mother.
Al ignored the jab. "Personally, having Gloria was glorious and Mary Lou gave me a reason to want to become a farmer. Yumola! Let me tell you, steak sauce never looked or tasted so good!"
"Yeah, Al. I'm sure you had fun." He reached around again and rubbed at his lower back, a yawn working its way to his mouth.
Al grabbed his arm and forcibly raised him to his feet. "Bedtime. Now. Off with the sweats and into your pajamas."
Another yawn exited Sam mouth. "Yeah... I guess I must be a little tired. A nap might be good to get. But I'm already dressed for bed," he said referring to the sweats and MIT T-shirt that had seen its better days. He crawled into bed. Closing his eyes, he fell to sleep quickly.
Al gave a little smirk at the physicist before finding a shower and a change of clothing for himself before heading down to breakfast. Before leaving the room, he looked at Sam and was glad to see him peacefully sleeping. He figured he would probably sleep until noon.
Friday, August 27, 1993
9:00 a.m.
Going down to the breakfast buffet, Al surveyed the choices and decided on a small waffle and a cup of juice. He'd had plenty of coffee the other day and the night with Gloria and Mary Lou had been relaxing enough that he didn't feet the need to have any more caffeine to get him going.
Finding a seat, he was halfway through his waffle when a figure stood over him. Turning his head, he raised an eyebrow at the man who seemed intent on speaking to him.
"Can I help you with something?"
"You're Al Calavicci, aren't you?"
"Depends on whether or not you're a lawyer," Al told him with a glint in his eye.
The man looked at him strangely, "Uh... no. I used to work in Houston at NASA. I was working in mission control during your Apollo Mission."
Al raised his eyebrows. "Really? I thought you might be one of my ex-wives lawyers." He gestured to the empty seat on the other side of the table. "Have a seat. What was your name again?"
"Michael Kiray."
Al smiled slightly. "You're kidding! Little Mikey?"
The man blushed. "You knew me right after I'd gotten out of college. Things have changed a bit since then. I go by Mike now."
Al huffed a slight laugh. "Small world. What are you doing in New Mexico?" Al was really happy to see Mike. He pushed the remains of his waffle away but accepted the offer of more juice when the waitress came by.
"I'm working at the Very Large Array now, but I'm in Albuquerque to meet with the Science Club at University of New Mexico. I'm the first speaker for the school year."
Al leaned slightly to the side, listening intensely to his former colleagues words. "What are you lecturing on?"
"I'm explaining the use of radio astronomy to look into the new star nurseries, learn more about how stars are born."
"Sounds very similar to a project I'd been on a while back," Al commented. "But that's the past. I don't explore the stars anymore. At least, not professionally."
"So what are you doing now?"
Al gave him a little smile. "Oh, retired. On a little side vacation right now," he lied easily. He couldn't exactly tell Mike that he was now part of a top secret project whose computer just kicked his creators out after an argument.
"You interested in getting back to work? I know we're looking into some new projects and we could certainly use someone of your caliber."
Al hesitated for a moment. "Thanks but I have something already lined up out at Holloman Air Force Base." He took a sip of his juice. "So, married? Kids?"
"Yes. I've been married ten years now. We have a boy and a girl. David and Kim. They are six and four."
Al's smile widened at the news of his ex-colleague's children. If there was one thing Al had a soft spot for, it was children. "I bet their regular little lovable terrors."
"Oh, yeah. They keep me and their mother very busy. Janet decided to be a stay at home mom. We have a house in Socorro."
"Nice town," Al commented. "Thinking of buying either in Socorro or in Taos."
"Both of them are a little far from HAFB."
"Yeah, well, it's always nice to have a home away from home," Al said with ease.
"I guess you can do that when you're retired. One mortgage is all we can handle right now."
"Hey, you have to worry about your kids' futures so I don't blame you one bit."
Mike nodded. "Well, I need to be going. Have to be to the school by 10 am and its 9:30 now."
Al stood and extended his hand. "It's great to see you again, Mike. You take care of your family."
Mike took his hand and shook it. "Thanks. I hope your work at HAFB goes well." Mike reached into his pocket. "But just in case, here's my card."
Al accepted the card and looked at it. For a split second, he was tempted to accept the job offer, a little spiteful voice reminding him of how uncooperative his current partner was when it came to the basics. Ignoring that voice, he tucked the card into his inside jacket pocket. "Thanks. I'll keep it in mind."
Mike nodded and walked out of the restaurant.
Mikey wasn't a new wet behind the ears engineer anymore, just as Al wasn't an astronaut. Still the chance to work in that field again was sorely tempting. Not that he questioned whether Sam would achieve his dream. But the dream was now looking a little tarnished with the growing rift between them. Maybe someday he'd decide that he didn't want to be part of the dream anymore. Or perhaps Mike wouldn't want to work at the VLA anymore. Either way, he was going to hang onto the card... just in case.
Al sat back down and thought seriously about the conversation he'd just had and about the years in NASA with "Little Mikey". He remembered Mike as being a guy who had a strong head on his shoulders. He'd been given the nickname mostly due to his youthful attitude. Some had even compared his eagerness to that of a little brother trying to gain favor from his older brother.
Al had seen that same type of eagerness in Sam, especially back when he'd first joined StarBright. He knew that StarBright was the first real job that Sam had had outside of school. He suddenly wondered now if Sam really didn't understand that the schedule could not be used to create requisitions. It would be hard to believe that a man with Sam's intelligence wouldn't understand that, but Al knew from experience that it was often the case that Sam took for granted that things would be available for him without much input.
Still, these were special cables. Sam had designed them himself and had changed the specifications at least half a dozen times since he'd first indicated that he would need them. Al had asked Sam what the final specifications would be and his friend had told him not to worry about it; he'd get that information to Al. Al had taken this as an assurance that Sam would get back to him in enough time. Obviously he was wrong and, with the product requiring a special build, there was no way to get the cables any faster. It wasn't as if he could go pick these cables up at the local hardware store. As it was, he'd used up some of the slack time that had been built into the schedule to address any unexpected delays. Sam couldn't make a habit of this behavior or at some point, push would come to shove and Al wasn't sure how Sam would handle that type of pressure from the committee.
Al considered the situation further. Sam was forty years old now. He'd just had his birthday three weeks before. One would think a man would have learned something this basic by that point in his life, especially having been on a previous government project.
He got up and headed toward the elevators. As he passed the hotel lounge, he heard the sounds of a game on the bars TV. He noticed that it was a San Diego Padres baseball game and decided to watch it. After all, Sam was likely to still sleep at least another two hours.
Friday, August 27, 1993
11:30 a.m.
Sam's eyes fluttered open and he noticed the digital clock on the nightstand indicated 11:30 a.m. As least he figured it was a.m. since the room was bathed in light. He stretched and got up, heading to the shower.
Afterwards, he was toweling off, and walked over to the dresser to obtain his clothing for the day. There were two sheets of paper on the dresser. One was from Gloria and the other from Mary Lou. Both had their respective phone numbers and the sentiment on both expressed their enjoyment of the previous night's activities. He wondered if he'd be hearing from Al the play by play later. He certainly hoped not. The last thing he needed was to hear Al kiss and whatever and tell about him spending the night with two women.
Sam opened the drawer, pulling out a clean pair of boxers which he slipped on before pulling on a pair of blue jeans. He took a light blue button down shirt out and put it on, followed by his belt, socks, and boots. He headed out the door, deciding that he could really go for a sandwich at the hotel restaurant. While the room service the night before had been good, it was nice to get out of the room.
Sam exited the elevator and noted the ATM in the lobby. He went over and obtained some cash to replenish the money that had been stolen during the mugging. He was counting the money as he started towards the restaurant. As he passed the lounge, he heard the sound of cheering coming from the TV set. He looked in and saw Al perched on a barstool, a drink in front of him. "You just couldn't stay away from it," Sam growled under his voice. He marched into the bar and up to Al, snatching the drink away from Al as the latter was reaching for it. He sniffed the contents of the crystal rock glass. Immediately his face flushed with embarrassment. The contents smelled oddly like ginger ale.
Al's face was livid. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Beckett?"
Sam was obviously uncomfortable, his eyes contrite. "I… umm…"
Al got off the bar stool and took a threatening step towards Sam. "You don't trust me? I've been sober for eleven years."
Sam saw the look on Al's face, knowing he deserved the anger being aimed at him. He put his hands up, finger splayed. "I know…I don't understand why I thought…"
Suddenly, Al pulled back and threw a punch at Sam, connecting hard with the younger man's eye. Sam fell back, grabbing for a stool to keep his balance. It didn't work and the stools landed on top of him. The last thing Sam saw was Al giving him a glare before turning and heading out of the bar.
Friday, August 27, 1993
12:15 p.m.
Al marched back to the elevator, pushing the button for the floor their room was on. Reaching his destination, Al entered the room and pulled down his suitcase. He was in full tantrum when Sam entered the room three minutes later, slamming drawers and cursing in loud Italian.
Sam was shocked by what he was seeing. He thought he'd seen Al at his worst when he'd stopped him from destroying the vending machine. This was much worse. Talking loud enough to get Al's attention, Sam started apologizing. "Al, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did. I know you've been sober since the cabin."
Al continued to pack, throwing things into his suitcase, not willing to even give Sam a glance. "Like hell you're sorry." His voice was venomous.
Sam was at a loss. He knew he was in the wrong and didn't know how to set things right. "Really, Al, I am. I don't know what I can say to make you believe me. That was about the stupidest thing I've ever done."
Al's voice got hotter and louder. "You're right, Sam. That was stupid. And cruel. And completely uncalled for."
Sam hung his head. "I know. You're right. I'm sorry, Al. I'm really sorry."
With his voice almost at full blast, Al answered, "You can say it forever, but it still doesn't change what you did. I've had it. I had it with having to lead you by the hand through this project when you are quite capable of doing it on your own, only to have my professionalism called into question among other things."
A knock on the door surprised both of them. Sam went to the door and found the hotel manager and the head of security standing on the other side.
"We've had several complaints about your actions of the last half hour. We're going to have to ask you to leave."
Al piped up, "Not a problem, I was leaving anyway." He quickly snapped his suitcase closed and pushed through the hotel staff. Sam looked in Al's direction and back into the room seeing there was no way to pack up his belongings if he was going to go after Al.
He pulled out his wallet and took out his business card and a credit card. "I'm really sorry, sirs. You got to believe me when I say this isn't our typical behavior." He handed the manager the two items he'd pulled from the wallet. "I'll pay whatever it takes to have my belongings shipped back to this address. Please don't use the credit card on file. Use this one for the shipping and for the room. You can send the credit card back to the same place. Again, I apologize for this fiasco." He grabbed the computer bag and one other that was still basically packed, rushing out the door to follow Al to the surprise of the hotel staff. He noted that the elevators were slow in arriving, and headed down the stairs instead.
Friday, August 27, 1993
12:30 p.m.
Sam rushed out the door breathing heavily from his sprint down the stairs, noticing that the bellman was hailing a cab for Al.
"Al, please. Let's just talk. I promise if you still want to leave afterwards, I'll take you anywhere you want to go. Please."
Al refused to look at Sam. He knew what he'd see if he gave in. His curiosity got the better of him, however, and he confirmed what he feared. Sam's countenance had taken on that puppy-dog look that the man could pull off better than any living soul he knew. He knew at that moment he would give in to Sam's request.
"Ah, Dammit! Fine!"
Sam indicated to the valet parking attendant the name their car was under. The attendant brought the car quickly. Both men threw their luggage into the backseat. Sam got behind the wheel and Al reluctantly took the passenger seat beside him.
Sam headed to a little coffee shop he knew close to the University of New Mexico. He figured that would be a good place to try to fix the mess he knew he had created. The drive over was loudly silent.
Entering the establishment, Sam asked for a table where they could talk. The waitress showed them to a table close to the back with no other patrons around them. At the table, Sam ordered two ice teas. The waitress nodded and headed away to get their drinks.
After the waitress left, Sam opened and closed his mouth several times, no words coming out. Al decided that he wasn't going to wait around for Sam to say something. "This was a waste of my time." He started to get up and walk away.
Sam reached out and grabbed Al by the arm. His eyes begged as he pleaded "Wait. I just don't want to say the wrong thing. I've already hurt you too much today. Not exactly my finest hour."
"You can say that again," Al berated, looking down at Sam's restraining hand.
"If I thought it would help, I say it 1000 times."
Al sighed and then turned back to the table, taking the seat across from Sam again. "I'm listening."
"I know that I've been difficult the last few days…"
Al blew out a breath, "Days, hell, you've been difficult for years."
"Okay," Sam acquiesced.
"Is that all you're going to say?" Al's statement would have caused water to freeze.
Sam's voice took on a pleading quality. "What can I say, Al? I know that what I did wasn't right. You deserve better from me."
The waitress came back at that moment, teas in hand. She asked if she could get either of them anything else and Sam shook his head. She nodded and left, leaving the men to continue their discussion.
During this interchange, Al didn't say anything, simply glaring at Sam.
Sam broke the uncomfortable silence. "Would it help if I let you hit me again?"
Al looked at Sam, and noticed the slowly darkening eye that was turning into quite a shiner. With the scratches from the road also still clear on Sam's face, the idea of hitting him again was almost comical. He figured that Sam's being mugged and punched in less then 24 hours in addition to having his computer go south on him might just be punishment enough. He realized suddenly that Sam had only come out of the hotel with two pieces of luggage, one of which he recognized as the computer bag and the other wasn't his clothes. He wondered what the hotel staff thought of the younger man running after him following such a fight. He started laughing.
Sam was confused. "What's so funny?"
"You, Sam. The hotel staff probably thinks you're gay now."
Sam was shocked, his eyes got big. "Oh, God, you're probably right."
"If it's any consolation, they probably think I'm gay too. It's all probably been written of as a lover's spat." Suddenly Al's face dropped. "Wait a second… that means they think I'M gay! They think I'm GAY! Dammit, Beckett. How could you do this to me? I have a reputation to maintain, and it has nothing to do with guys."
Sam was speechless. Then he asked, calmly, "So you sure you don't want to hit me?"
Al considered for a moment but then broke into a bout of laughter. Catching his breath, "No, Sam. I don't want to hit you. But if you ever pull something like that again, don't be surprised if I leave and don't come back."
Sam nodded. He took a sip from his tea. He still felt he was treading over unstable ground. "So now that we can't go back to the hotel, what do you want to do?"
Al shrugged. "I have no idea."
"How about Taos? I don't think I want to stay in Albuquerque after what happened today"
"Me either."
"I know a nice place there, the El Pueblo Lodge. It's an older place but its close enough to walk to the Plaza and the rooms are very large. I think you'd like it."
"Okay, Sam. But from now on, we're getting separate rooms. I don't even want an accidental repeat of today."
"Agreed."
Al looked to Sam, "Okay, so who's driving?"