Chapter Three

New York City

Jacky stood there and endured. His mom was gushing over him right there in the terminal. He hunkered down a bit as passersby stared. Mom was being just a tad excessive with her kisses and hugs and reminders and anything else she could think of to drop on him in that moment. No, he didn't think she was trying to embarrass him, but she was doing a bang-up job of doing just that. He tried to hide his face, but she just grabbed his wrists and kissed him right on the nose. Thankfully he wasn't blushing. Was he blushing? Am I blushing?!

"Mom," Jacky said when she had grabbed his face, planting kisses all over his face. Dad was just standing there as if interrupting was something bad. "Mom...mom..." He grabbed her arms gently and pushed her away. She still had a hold of his face and their arms were both stretched out to each other. "Mom."

"Don't forget to brush your teeth," she said for probably the hundredth time. Did she not realize what she was doing? Sure, they had never been apart like this before, but did it really need all of this? There were probably a lot of people walking by staring at them that would be on his flight. What then? Was she trying to embarrass him?

"Would you...could you...couldja please release the face?" Jacky asked, trying to be patient with her. He wasn't really excited about leaving and going off on his own, but another part was excited about where he was going. He rubbed his jaw when she finally let go. "Thank you."

"Don't forget to call."

"I won't."

"You won't call?" She sounded frantic.

"I won't forget."

"Oh." Immense relief in her voice. "Don't forget-"

"I got it all in my head," Jacky said, seeing that she wasn't very assured by that. He kissed her on the cheek. "Everything's going to be fine and I'll be back before you know it." He gave her a hug and she held on for a tad longer before letting go. He smiled at her then gave his dad a hug. They said a few more goodbyes then Jacky went to board the plane.

He stood in line at the security check, watching as his bag went on ahead of him. He inched forward bit by bit behind everyone, watching as they stepped inside some sort of machine and were scanned. He gulped rather loudly then pulled off his rings and his watch then his shoes, setting them in a pan that followed after his carryon bag. And then it was his turn to step inside the machine.

The security guard gestured him to enter. Jacky stepped forward then found himself easing back a few steps without thinking about it. He looked at the security guard, who looked impatient and waved him forward. "I'm nervous," he murmured, stepping forward once again. "It's my first flight." When he looked at the security guard again, he started backing up once more. He could see the security guard getting suspicious now. If he didn't get in that machine now, he knew he'd be frisked quite thoroughly. And the thought of people's hands on him...

He practically jumped into the machine then stood as directed, arms straight out to the sides, legs slightly parted. Without moving. He stood there for what seemed like forever before they were done. He stepped out and over to his things, fumbling with his rings and watch. He ended up putting his shoes on the wrong feet. He didn't bother with changing it. He grabbed his carry-on bag and ran toward the gate he was supposed to be at.

When it was finally time to board the plane, Jacky had his ticket ready as he walked on. He found his seat on the plane, storing his bag in the over head compartment then sat down in the window seat and looked out.

He was finally on his way.

Wyoming

Jacky had fallen asleep on the plane then woke up when they landed in Wyoming. He had a difficult time renting a car, but they finally let him have one. He "forgot" to thank them as he headed out on the road. He didn't know what to do when the GPS couldn't find Lightning Flat so, he just took a road and started down it, not knowing where he was going. But he was being confident about it.

After about an hour or so of driving, he pulled into the town of Riverton. He parked at a gas station to fill up then headed inside to ask for directions. No one at the gas station knew, but they told him that he could find a map at the store. He wasn't even going to ask why the gas station didn't have a map. He just left. He left the car parked at the gas station then headed across the street to the store.

Jacky looked around the store, grabbing a few snacks before he finally found a map. Arms full of junk food, he headed for the registers and stood in line behind a guy who was buying enough food to last a month or two. "You must be packin' some dough!" he said then clamped a hand over his mouth when he realized he had just said that out loud. The guy turned and Jacky looked down to avoid eye contact and saw that he had lost half of his items. He lowered both arms then stopped when he realized what he had just done. Everything but the map was in the floor.

"They have shopping carts for a reason," the man said then turned back to the cashier and picked back up on whatever idle chat they had been having.

Jacky mouthed the man's words in a mocking manner then picked up his items and set them on the belt. He opened the map as he stood there waiting then looked over it after a few minutes when he realized that they weren't moving forward at all.

The man was flirting with the cashier. And she didn't mind and didn't care about anything else.

Jacky folded the map up and set it down then cleared his throat. He was going to point out that there were more people waiting, but no one was standing in line behind him. He placed his hands on his hips and kicked at the floor, looking around. He crossed his arms and looked at the two, who were practically batting their eyes at each other. It made him sick.

"Excuse me," Jacky said, taking on a prim and proper voice. As expected, that got their attention. "I'm on a rather tight schedule. So, if you could please..." He gestured to the man's items. He smiled and said "Thank you" when she got back to work. He looked at the guy, who was staring at him with his arms crossed. The smile left his face and he looked away, avoiding eye contact.

"You're not gonna apologize?"

"Me?" Jacky asked then looked back at the guy. "What for? I wasn't the one holding things up. I'm just tryin' to get on my merry little way. That a crime here?"

"Should be," the guy said. "You were rude."

"Me rude?" Jacky raised his eyebrows, appalled. "Says the guy who was purposefully holdin' things up just 'cause a pretty girl noticed him." He took on a fake tough guy act. "Listen, buddy," He pointed at the guy's head. "if you don't start thinkin' with your brain instead of your-" He stopped as his hand started moving down. He continued with the movement, swinging his arm around behind him, laughing nervously. He turned away, coughing.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Jack Twist II," Jacky said, turning back. Thankfully, the cashier was almost done. Soon this guy would be gone and Jacky's embarrassment would be over. He could never learn to keep his mouth shut. "What's yours?"

"Steve."

"No last name?"

"Del Mar," Steve said as he turned back to the cashier, giving her a dazzling smile. She blushed, but continued working. "You ain't from around here, are ya?" He looked back at Jacky, who shook his head. "Where ya from?"

"New York."

"What're you doin' way out here?"

"My great-grandfather lived around here," Jacky said, the embarrassment he had suffered momentarily forgotten. "In Lightning Flat. Ever heard of it?"

Steve nodded. "Lightning Flat's a ghost town," he said. "Ain't no one been there in years."

"Oh," Jacky said, disappointed. "I was tryin' to find out more about him. I was named after him, y'see. Hardly anyone in the family liked him. I thought coming out here would provide some answers, but I guess not. Turns out it was a wasted trip." He sighed.

"Maybe not," Steve said, pulling out his wallet to pay the girl. "What'd your great-granddad do?"

"He was a salesman," Jacky said. "And before that he was a rodeo cowboy. Other than that, I don't know. Which is why I came all the way out here."

Steve paid her then put his wallet away and turned to Jacky. "There used to be a lot of rodeos out around here back in the day," he said. "You can go by the library and pull up some old newspapers. I'm sure they'll have somethin' in there."

"Uh, thanks," Jacky said, grateful. "That would help out a lot." He smiled.

"Don't mention it," Steve said. He said goodbye to the cashier then pushed his cart full of items out of the store.

to be continued