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Chapter 12
I cannot believe I told her about my daughter. Outside of family, nobody knows about Julie. Marco does, of course; Rangeman Miami monitors the security for the Martine home. And Lester does. But then, Lester and Marco are family. I have always been paranoid that nobody is told about her. I have made enemies. In Miami, in the Rangers, with all the contract work and high bond work, I have made a lot of enemies. Enemies that would not hesitate to take advantage of my attachment to Julie. So I told nobody.
Well, only one other person.
The only other person who knows is one of the men from my Ranger team, Kelsey. He was with me when I received the package of forms to sign over custody, relinquishing my rights. He was with me as I got raging drunk and tried to drive out to try find a woman to fuck my memories away. He was with me as I took a swing at him when he stopped me from driving drunk and probably ruining my life, or someone else's. And he was with me when I broke down and sobbed at the heartbreaking decision and loss I felt. He is the only one in the entire world who knows how much that decision affected me. And he'll never tell anyone. Kelsey is more like my brother than my actual brother, Mateo.
So yeah, it's way out of character that I told her. I would wonder why I did, but I know why. I glanced over at her and saw her mood had changed dramatically after our second kiss. She looked like she did when I stepped onto this elevator; lost, sad, despairing. And it didn't take me long to realise What had happened. The dark tunnel my thoughts had gone down about my history with Rachel and Julie was clearly reflected in my mood. And I didn't want to hurt her like that. I didn't want her to hurt like that. So, I told her why my mood had spiralled, why I thought my life didn't lend itself to relationships.
And then I asked her on a date. Not smoothly. Not like Ranger. Not like Carlos Manoso. Not like Ranger Captain Manoso. Not like CEO Manoso, co-owner of a successful security company. But like a fourteen-year-old, bumbling, inexperienced nerd.
And then she froze. I was sure she was either going to refuse or laugh at me, and I slammed down my blank face. I had been taught all too well how to mask my emotions. I had been through every kind of SERE training* available. She caught my expression and hurried out an acceptance of my date that was almost as fumbling as my offer. And then she smiles, a beaming smile that lifts my heart.
The noise that interrupted the moment is almost welcome. This situation is intense, extreme, and we may be in danger of allowing it to overwhelm us. The voice is coming from above but is faint through the walls and doors. I am guessing that it isn't Fire Rescue, they would have opened the outer doors; would have the equipment to jack them open. So probably building maintenance. Ok. That's ok. We just have to get him to call 911.
Apparently though, he can't hear us any better than we can hear him. So, we have to open these dammed doors again. I still don't understand why they are so difficult to open, it must be related to the overall malfunction. I brace myself to open the doors and Steph moves smoothly into place to call out. We work together like a well-functioning team already, and she quickly explains how we cannot hold the doors open for long, and why we cannot climb out. I call out that he should pass through something to wedge the doors open, and Steph echoes my call, but he either doesn't hear the suggestion, or more likely, doesn't have anything to do it.
My arms start to tremble with the strain. This is the fourth time in two hours I have held these doors apart and my muscles are protesting. I can see Steph notices and quickly yells that we cannot hold the doors and to call 911. I hope to God he does. I am forced to let go, and I stumble backward, away from the slamming doors. I have the presence of mind to grab Steph as I stumble back, not wanting any part of her to be caught in the slamming doors.
We rest against the side of the elevator, as I catch my breath and Steph tries to reassure us both with positive thinking. I agree automatically. I move us back to the doors and we resume our seats. The mood between has been like a roller coaster over the last half-hour; zooming ups and spiralling downs. I can't help thinking again that the intensity of this situation is exaggerating our reactions a little.
I reassure her that the Fire Department will be better equipped to help us. But I can't help thinking that we're not really out of the woods yet. There's no way, in our current position, that even Steph could squeeze through the outer doors at the top or the bottom. Let alone me, with my bulk. With no roof access to the elevator, I am not sure how they are going to get us out. They may have to try and move the elevator car if they can disengage the emergency brake. But that's a huge risk for us. If the car starts to fall again, the brakes probably won't re-engage, And I'm almost certain this building has a basement car park. So that's at least two more floors to fall, and the previous fall demonstrated that two floors is far enough to build up significant velocity. I'm not sure how we are going to get out of this. I just hope that someone has a way.
And then she asks me where I am taking her on our date. It was probably the last thing I expected her to say, and it catches me completely off-guard. I cannot help it, I burst out laughing. Her cheeks pink at that but I reach over again and hug her to me.
"You're priceless," I tell her. I try and calm down and take a deep breath. "Where would you like to go?" I ask her. "What kind of restaurants do you like?"
She takes a deep breath of her own, "Well, I like Italian, of course. It's probably my favourite food. But honestly, I don't think I've ever met a food I didn't like." I smirk at that. If she can eat that crappy packaged cake, her stomach can probably handle anything.
Steph continues, "Well, maybe that's not true… I've never tried snails or monkey brains or anything. And I'm not a huge fan of liver. But other than that, I mean. I've never met a style of food I didn't like."
She just keeps making me smile and laugh. She's like a breath of fresh air. Monkey brains? Where does she get this shit? "Monkey brains, Babe?" I enquire.
"You know, like in Indiana Jones. They try and feed that singer girl monkey brains, so she faints." I shake my head.
"I've only seen the first one, not the sequels," I tell her.
"Oh, you should!" She exclaims. "It's actually a prequel, I think. The second one I mean; you know, set before the first one. I wouldn't say it's as good as the first one, but it's pretty good. And the third one is great. It really is a sequel, and it has Sean Connery in it as his dad. It's excellent."
I smile at her. "Do you watch a lot of movies?"
"Yeah, I guess I do. Ghostbusters is my absolute favourite movie of all time. I must have seen it at least a hundred times. So, do you like Ghostbusters?" She asks me, eyeing me sideways.
I can tell it's an important question to her. In truth, I never really liked the movie all that much, although I didn't dislike it. It was funny and clever the first time, but a hundred times? I hope she didn't expect me to watch it over and over. "I've only seen it once or twice, Babe. But I enjoyed it. The ghosts are well done, and Bill Murray is funny."
She seems content with that. "Yeah. I also like the Lethal Weapon movies, and Indiana Jones, of course. I like exciting movies that are funny and fun. Not a fan of like horror or sad movies or anything. Why get scared or depressed by someone else's life? Mine has enough problems!"
I chuckle at that. "So, we could go to a restaurant and a funny movie for our date," I suggest. I cannot believe I'm planning a date like that. Since I joined the Army, my version of dates has been meeting a girl, usually in a bar or club, chatting her up, dancing with her, taking her to her home or a hotel, having sex, and leaving. I haven't been to a movie theatre in a decade or more.
Still, I want to do more with Steph. I like her wit and her smile. I want to see her smile and laugh, not just moan underneath me for a couple of hours. Although, that would be pretty good too… I shift slightly to adjust my sudden reaction to that thought.
She nods. "Yeah, that sounds good. I really am happy to try any food you like. I've never had a lot of different foods. I mean, my mom cooks Italian and Hungarian. And basic American stuff like pot roast and meatloaf and pineapple upside down cake. She's a really good cook, the cake is spectacular! But she kinda sticks to what she knows, you know? And I've eaten, like, Chinese and Mexican and Thai and stuff, and even French food a couple of times. But there's a pretty limited variety around where I grew up."
She really does seem to be a bit fixated on food. Why can't she be thinking about the sex, too? "What about Cuban, Babe? Have you ever tried Cuban food?"
"No… I don't think I have. Not something mom would cook, ya know? And I don't know if there are any restaurants in Trenton. I haven't been to one. Do you know a good restaurant?"
I smile, "My uncle owns the best Cuban restaurant in New Jersey, right here in Newark. My brother works for him; he trained as chef to take over. My uncle Tito only had girls, and none of them were interested. Or rather, none of their husbands were interested. Uncle Tito is a bit old-fashioned; I doubt he would ever have allowed one of his daughters to take over the family business. But the food's excellent. My brother is a superb chef, and the atmosphere is great, traditional Cuban."
She hesitates, "But… Won't that be a bit weird? I mean, introducing me to your family on our first date?" She blushes, although I'm not sure if it's at meeting my family, or the implication that there could be more than one date. But she pulls me up. She's right. If I take Steph to Tito Cubano, they'll insist on meeting her. Knowing my family, they'll probably be booking a wedding venue the minute my brother calls my mother to tell her we are there.
So, I agree, "You're right, Babe. Too much for a first date. How about Japanese food? It's really good, and there's an excellent restaurant here in Newark as well."
"You mean like sushi? Raw fish?" She sounds hesitant.
"They serve that, sure. But there are lots of types of Japanese food," I coax. "Tempura is food cooked in a very light batter. Yakitori is grilled on skewers. And if you like Chinese food, they have some similar spices and herbs. I like the Teppanyaki, where they cook your food right at the table in front of you. It's pretty spectacular and delicious." Not to mention it's generally pretty healthy food, lots of vegetables, light sauces, and not drowned in fat. But I won't mention that.
"We'll, that does sound pretty good. I'd like to try the Tempura maybe, or the Tempanaki?" I should have known she would fixate on the fried food, if her snacking preferences were anything to go by.
"Teppanyaki," I correct lightly. "You'll enjoy it, Babe. Like I said, it's like food and entertainment together. And it's very tasty."
She nods in agreement. I add, "You'll have to pick the movie, Babe. I haven't been to a theatre in a while, I don't know what's around."
She smiles at me. "Sounds like a plan, Soldier." It's a nice call-back to earlier.
"That it does, Babe."
Then we hear a mechanical grinding sound above our heads, getting louder. And a voice shouts, "Hello in the elevator! I'm Officer Rodriguez from Newark Fire Department. Can you hear me?"
*SERE training is Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape. Basically, what to do in enemy territory, and how to survive if you are captured and tortured. Sounds brutal to me.
Just a small reminder that this is set in the nineties. This reflects technology, popular culture, etc. Trying not to make mistakes with the timelines! :)