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Chapter 5 – Situation
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As they sat around the table in the room set aside for breakfast, Joan's cell phone suddenly rang.
Joan and Adam looked at each other and simultaneously said, "Grace."
Joan got out the phone and looked at the caller ID. Instead of it being Grace's home number or her cell as they had guessed, it was the Giradi home number.
"Hello?" she answered as she opened the phone and held it to her ear.
"Joan?" the voice on the other end said.
"Dad?"
"Yes Joan. Good morning. I take it all is well there, you all made it alright and everything?"
"Sure dad. What's up there?"
"I need to talk to you mother, can you put her on?"
"Oh sure.....Mom, it's dad, he wants to talk to you," Joan said as she handed the cell phone to her mother.
"Will?....Yes, fine. Is......Oh no. How quickly?.......Of course I'm coming home to be with him.....I'll be on the road within 30 minutes......Yes, before noon......And Will, tell him I love him.....I will."
As Joan and Adam had sat listening to Helen's side of the conversation they grew worried. It sounded as if something was wrong at home in the Giradi house.
Adam had the added fear that whatever this was, it was serious enough to cause Jane to leave him here at the exhibit to travel home with her mom. Adam had hoped that Jane would be able to convince her mom that she should stay with Adam and his dad until Monday, as she had told Grace the other night on the phone. He had wanted to be able to spend as much time with Jane as he could, then maybe he'd come up with the right things to say to her to explain, really explain how he felt. Helen closing the phone snapped Adam out of his thoughts and back to the present.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Joan asked.
"Honey, I've got to leave for home right away. It seems the flu that Luke had last week has developed into tonsillitis and he is in the hospital. They are going to operate later today."
"Is he going to be alright?"
"Yes, your father has talked to the doctor and he doesn't feel there should be any problems, though as you know, usually people have their tonsils removed as a young child, the closer you are to adulthood, the more significant the operation."
"Are you going home?"
"Yes, your father is concerned he might get pulled away from the hospital on this case he has been investigating and then we won't be there if Luke needs us. I'm going up now to get my bag."
"Mom is it serious enough for me to have to go too, or can I stay here with Adam and come home with him and his dad?"
"Honey, there isn't anything you could do if you were at home with us, and besides, Adam doesn't deserve to be stuck here on his own. You can stay at least until Mr. Rove arrives. If he doesn't want you staying the remainder of the weekend with him and Adam, perhaps he'll allow you to drive his car home this evening."
"Mrs. G, my dad won't have a problem with it I'm sure. He always has thought a lot of Joan. Are you sure though you don't want her to make the trip with you?"
"No Adam, I'll be fine. With that all settled, let me go and get my luggage and head out. Then you two can get over to the exhibit hall."
Within a few minutes, Helen had collected her things and was out in the parking lot, loading them into the car. Adam had said his goodbyes to her upstairs and in agreement with Joan had taken on the task of calling Grace to tell her that Luke was sick and in the hospital.
"Honey, will you be alright?"
"Sure mom, I'll be fine. I have Adam here and I'm pretty sure we can get through any minor crisis that might arise. I'm worried about you driving home alone though, are you sure you will be okay?"
"Yes, of course. Here, let me give you some money for food or whatever. The room is on my credit card so they will simply charge that after you check out on Monday. Be sure when you go back in to go to the front desk and tell them you are extending your stay," Helen said as she got into the car.
"Okay mom, I will."
"Tell Adam that I wish him the best."
"I'll do that to mom, but I'm sure he knows that."
"Okay Joan, well I'm off. Take care. I'll give you a call and let you know how the surgery goes."
"Thanks mom, and tell geek boy there that I love him."
As Helen closed the door, started the car and drove off, Joan stood there watching her drive away. A cold wind blew through the parking lot, making Joan wish she'd worn her coat out to see her mom off. As she turned to reenter the hotel, she glanced up at the sky and noticed that the clouds were dark to the west. Hopefully, that didn't mean more snow, it was March after all and spring was supposed to be here.
Joan approached the front desk of the hotel and waited a moment until the clerk there finished his phone conversation.
"Yes miss, how can I be of assistance?"
"Good morning, my mother has asked me to come down and speak to you; we are interested in extending our stay another two days so that we would leave on Monday rather than later today. The room number is 4532, the name is Giradi."
"4532, yes Miss Giradi, I see the reservation here, but I am sorry, we can not extend your stay. You see we have other reservations for guests that will be checking in later today and the hotel is full. I'm sorry, but you will need to vacate the room by the 12 noon check-out time. We will be happy to assist your mother in locating another hotel in the area where you might relocate, or perhaps we can arrange for a roll away and you could move into the other room on the reservation, I see here it is reserved through Monday."
"Very well, thank you. I'll tell her."
Joan left the front desk and headed upstairs to find Adam. As she rode up in the elevator she tried to figure out how all this was going to work. However it did, she was here until at least this evening when Mr. Rove arrived.
When she arrived on her floor she went first to her room and gathered her things. After making sure she had packed everything, she grabbed her bag, her coat and the keys and headed next door to Adam's room.
At the sound of the knock on his door Adam opened it at the same time he asked, "Jane, are you ready to go over..." The sight of Joan standing there is his doorway duffle in hand caused him to stop mid-sentence.
"Jane, are you going home with your mom?" he continued.
"What? Oh, this. No Adam, my mom just left, I was coming over to ask if you were interested in a roommate, or at least a temporary one."
"What?"
"Well it seems that my room is booked for tonight by someone else. So at least for now, I need to leave my stuff either here or go out and put it in your truck."
"Here's fine Jane. We kinda have to get going anyway, I need to be over at the exhibit hall by 9, it 8:40 now."
"I know, we can go. Maybe your dad can help figure this all out when he arrives."
Adam took Joan's duffle, set it inside the door and the two headed out into the hall, the room door closing behind them. They started off toward the elevators and then on over to the exhibit hall. Before leaving the hotel, Joan dropped the keys in the express check out book near the front desk.
"Jane?"
"Yeah Adam?"
"I'm glad you stayed. I know you want to be there for Luke."
"Oh I'm sure geek boy will be alright, though I would've enjoyed him not being able to talk for a day or so. You know though, this is better..."
"Why?"
"Well if I'd gone home, I'd have missed you wearing the whole khakis, button shirt and tie thing there. Grace will be jealous."
"I'm only doing it cause your mom said I should. And about telling Grace, I should swear you to secrecy. Ya have to know I'd much rather be wearing jeans and a hoodie."
"I know I'm just picking on you. About telling Grace, did you get a hold of her?"
"Yeah, she wasn't pleased that I woke her up, but she got over it when I told her why I was calling."
"She wouldn't admit it ya know, but I think she has it bad for my brother."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well maybe I'm wrong but mostly it's due to the way she acts and the things she says. You've known her way longer than me. What do you think?"
"That she has it bad for your brother." Adam enjoyed hearing Joan's laugh in response to his comment. He wished he had time to bring up the situation between the two of them. All he had to go on to determine how Joan really felt about him was some really mixed behavior signs and her comment that she didn't 'just' like him from the other night. Somehow today he had to figure out a way to tell her about Iris and to figure out if there was anything possible between him and Jane.
As they approached the exhibit hall, the wind seemed to be swirling around the entrance doors and Joan noticed again that the clouds to the west looked dark.
"I'm glad I brought my coat with me this weekend. I thought it was suppose to be March, what's with the cold and the dark looking clouds."
"Dunno."
"I hope my mom makes it home okay."
"I'm sure she'll be fine."
As they reached the hall entry door and Adam opened it for Joan to enter ahead of him, Joan glanced once more at the clouds and then turned her attention back to the issue at hand.
"Ready?" she asked Adam as she paused before moving on inside.
"As ready as I'll ever be I guess, that is as long as you're here with me."
His comment made her pause for just a second before she resorted to the easy answer...at least for now... "Unchallenged."
Chapter 5 – Situation
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As they sat around the table in the room set aside for breakfast, Joan's cell phone suddenly rang.
Joan and Adam looked at each other and simultaneously said, "Grace."
Joan got out the phone and looked at the caller ID. Instead of it being Grace's home number or her cell as they had guessed, it was the Giradi home number.
"Hello?" she answered as she opened the phone and held it to her ear.
"Joan?" the voice on the other end said.
"Dad?"
"Yes Joan. Good morning. I take it all is well there, you all made it alright and everything?"
"Sure dad. What's up there?"
"I need to talk to you mother, can you put her on?"
"Oh sure.....Mom, it's dad, he wants to talk to you," Joan said as she handed the cell phone to her mother.
"Will?....Yes, fine. Is......Oh no. How quickly?.......Of course I'm coming home to be with him.....I'll be on the road within 30 minutes......Yes, before noon......And Will, tell him I love him.....I will."
As Joan and Adam had sat listening to Helen's side of the conversation they grew worried. It sounded as if something was wrong at home in the Giradi house.
Adam had the added fear that whatever this was, it was serious enough to cause Jane to leave him here at the exhibit to travel home with her mom. Adam had hoped that Jane would be able to convince her mom that she should stay with Adam and his dad until Monday, as she had told Grace the other night on the phone. He had wanted to be able to spend as much time with Jane as he could, then maybe he'd come up with the right things to say to her to explain, really explain how he felt. Helen closing the phone snapped Adam out of his thoughts and back to the present.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Joan asked.
"Honey, I've got to leave for home right away. It seems the flu that Luke had last week has developed into tonsillitis and he is in the hospital. They are going to operate later today."
"Is he going to be alright?"
"Yes, your father has talked to the doctor and he doesn't feel there should be any problems, though as you know, usually people have their tonsils removed as a young child, the closer you are to adulthood, the more significant the operation."
"Are you going home?"
"Yes, your father is concerned he might get pulled away from the hospital on this case he has been investigating and then we won't be there if Luke needs us. I'm going up now to get my bag."
"Mom is it serious enough for me to have to go too, or can I stay here with Adam and come home with him and his dad?"
"Honey, there isn't anything you could do if you were at home with us, and besides, Adam doesn't deserve to be stuck here on his own. You can stay at least until Mr. Rove arrives. If he doesn't want you staying the remainder of the weekend with him and Adam, perhaps he'll allow you to drive his car home this evening."
"Mrs. G, my dad won't have a problem with it I'm sure. He always has thought a lot of Joan. Are you sure though you don't want her to make the trip with you?"
"No Adam, I'll be fine. With that all settled, let me go and get my luggage and head out. Then you two can get over to the exhibit hall."
Within a few minutes, Helen had collected her things and was out in the parking lot, loading them into the car. Adam had said his goodbyes to her upstairs and in agreement with Joan had taken on the task of calling Grace to tell her that Luke was sick and in the hospital.
"Honey, will you be alright?"
"Sure mom, I'll be fine. I have Adam here and I'm pretty sure we can get through any minor crisis that might arise. I'm worried about you driving home alone though, are you sure you will be okay?"
"Yes, of course. Here, let me give you some money for food or whatever. The room is on my credit card so they will simply charge that after you check out on Monday. Be sure when you go back in to go to the front desk and tell them you are extending your stay," Helen said as she got into the car.
"Okay mom, I will."
"Tell Adam that I wish him the best."
"I'll do that to mom, but I'm sure he knows that."
"Okay Joan, well I'm off. Take care. I'll give you a call and let you know how the surgery goes."
"Thanks mom, and tell geek boy there that I love him."
As Helen closed the door, started the car and drove off, Joan stood there watching her drive away. A cold wind blew through the parking lot, making Joan wish she'd worn her coat out to see her mom off. As she turned to reenter the hotel, she glanced up at the sky and noticed that the clouds were dark to the west. Hopefully, that didn't mean more snow, it was March after all and spring was supposed to be here.
Joan approached the front desk of the hotel and waited a moment until the clerk there finished his phone conversation.
"Yes miss, how can I be of assistance?"
"Good morning, my mother has asked me to come down and speak to you; we are interested in extending our stay another two days so that we would leave on Monday rather than later today. The room number is 4532, the name is Giradi."
"4532, yes Miss Giradi, I see the reservation here, but I am sorry, we can not extend your stay. You see we have other reservations for guests that will be checking in later today and the hotel is full. I'm sorry, but you will need to vacate the room by the 12 noon check-out time. We will be happy to assist your mother in locating another hotel in the area where you might relocate, or perhaps we can arrange for a roll away and you could move into the other room on the reservation, I see here it is reserved through Monday."
"Very well, thank you. I'll tell her."
Joan left the front desk and headed upstairs to find Adam. As she rode up in the elevator she tried to figure out how all this was going to work. However it did, she was here until at least this evening when Mr. Rove arrived.
When she arrived on her floor she went first to her room and gathered her things. After making sure she had packed everything, she grabbed her bag, her coat and the keys and headed next door to Adam's room.
At the sound of the knock on his door Adam opened it at the same time he asked, "Jane, are you ready to go over..." The sight of Joan standing there is his doorway duffle in hand caused him to stop mid-sentence.
"Jane, are you going home with your mom?" he continued.
"What? Oh, this. No Adam, my mom just left, I was coming over to ask if you were interested in a roommate, or at least a temporary one."
"What?"
"Well it seems that my room is booked for tonight by someone else. So at least for now, I need to leave my stuff either here or go out and put it in your truck."
"Here's fine Jane. We kinda have to get going anyway, I need to be over at the exhibit hall by 9, it 8:40 now."
"I know, we can go. Maybe your dad can help figure this all out when he arrives."
Adam took Joan's duffle, set it inside the door and the two headed out into the hall, the room door closing behind them. They started off toward the elevators and then on over to the exhibit hall. Before leaving the hotel, Joan dropped the keys in the express check out book near the front desk.
"Jane?"
"Yeah Adam?"
"I'm glad you stayed. I know you want to be there for Luke."
"Oh I'm sure geek boy will be alright, though I would've enjoyed him not being able to talk for a day or so. You know though, this is better..."
"Why?"
"Well if I'd gone home, I'd have missed you wearing the whole khakis, button shirt and tie thing there. Grace will be jealous."
"I'm only doing it cause your mom said I should. And about telling Grace, I should swear you to secrecy. Ya have to know I'd much rather be wearing jeans and a hoodie."
"I know I'm just picking on you. About telling Grace, did you get a hold of her?"
"Yeah, she wasn't pleased that I woke her up, but she got over it when I told her why I was calling."
"She wouldn't admit it ya know, but I think she has it bad for my brother."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well maybe I'm wrong but mostly it's due to the way she acts and the things she says. You've known her way longer than me. What do you think?"
"That she has it bad for your brother." Adam enjoyed hearing Joan's laugh in response to his comment. He wished he had time to bring up the situation between the two of them. All he had to go on to determine how Joan really felt about him was some really mixed behavior signs and her comment that she didn't 'just' like him from the other night. Somehow today he had to figure out a way to tell her about Iris and to figure out if there was anything possible between him and Jane.
As they approached the exhibit hall, the wind seemed to be swirling around the entrance doors and Joan noticed again that the clouds to the west looked dark.
"I'm glad I brought my coat with me this weekend. I thought it was suppose to be March, what's with the cold and the dark looking clouds."
"Dunno."
"I hope my mom makes it home okay."
"I'm sure she'll be fine."
As they reached the hall entry door and Adam opened it for Joan to enter ahead of him, Joan glanced once more at the clouds and then turned her attention back to the issue at hand.
"Ready?" she asked Adam as she paused before moving on inside.
"As ready as I'll ever be I guess, that is as long as you're here with me."
His comment made her pause for just a second before she resorted to the easy answer...at least for now... "Unchallenged."
