CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Jack Davenport and Jana Hastings walked across the lighted parking lot of the truck stop. Jana’s Mercedes was parked right beside the large motor home in which they had left their two Labs.
“I’ll let you pay the babysitter,” Jack joked as he unlocked the door to the RV.
“Gladly, sir,” she said. “Thank you so much for the dinner, Jack. It was great fun.”
Jack opened the door. Looking inside, he stopped, still. “Uh-oh,” he said. “Boys…?”
“What is it?” Jana asked.
Jack stepped inside the motor home, followed closely by Jana. There was a shredded bag that had held Lay’s potato chips, with not a crumb to be found on the floor; the trash can had been overturned with paper trash strewn about the kitchen and sitting area. A trail of toilet paper led back to the bathroom and there was a velour blanket, once draped across the couch, now torn and lying across the floor.
“Oh, noooo,” said Jana as she surveyed the scene.
Jack looked back at her with an impish grin and said, “And they told me they would be good.”
She snickered at his joke, then said, “Let me clean this up, Jack. Oh, my gosh.”
“No way,” he said. “It wasn’t Beau… not by himself. It’s really nothing. They just got playful. There’s nothing really messy. Don’t worry about it… It’s all just paper.”
“Yeah, but, geez… what a mess?” she said.
“It’s nothing,” he insisted. “Tell you what, let’s let them go out and take care of business. If you’ll keep an eye on them in the field over there, I’ll get this straightened up.”
“Well, yeah. But… I’ll help,” she said.
“Just make sure they stay close by. This won’t take any time,” he said.
Jack held the door open and the two Labs scampered out. They made a bee line for the open field just steps away where they had met earlier. Jana followed them.
“Just leave it,” she said over her shoulder. “I’ll help you when I get back… please,” she said.
“Nonsense,” he replied and began picking up the debris that the pooches had left.
In a short time, Jana returned and tapped on the door. Jack opened it wide and said, “Come on in. See… all done.”
The two dogs slipped in beside Jana and stood smiling and wagging their tails, looking up at Jack.
“I wish you had let me help,” she said.
“All done, I said. But, I’ll tell you what I will let you help with…”
“Of course. What?” she asked.
“I’ve got a really good bottle of a Merlot. How about helping me with that?” he grinned.
It seemed the most natural and easiest answer she’d ever given. “I’d love to, Jack.”
“Good. Let me have your vest and you have a seat right over there,” he said motioning toward a large easy chair that backed up to the passenger’s seat behind the windshield. She nodded a ‘yes’ and moved to the chair. The dogs both lay on the wood floor at Jack’s feet while he took a corkscrew from a kitchen drawer and pulled the cork from the bottle of Sonoma Valley Merlot that he had taken from a pantry on the left side of the sink. He selected two stems from the cabinet next to the refrigerator and poured the wine.
He crossed to where she was sitting and offered her a glass. When she took it, he held his glass out to her and said, “To new friends…”
Looking up, she smiled and touched her glass to his. “You’ve been so kind to me tonight,” she said.
“You are an easy person to be kind to, Jana. This has been nice.”
He backed away a step and sat on the couch, at the end closest to her chair. They each took a sip of the wine, then just sat quietly for a moment. Jack looked over at the two dogs lying peacefully on the kitchen floor. “Look at those two partners in crime,” he said.
“Yes. Their good looks fool you, don’t they?” she asked.
“They sure do,” he answered. A moment went by.
“Hmm,” he said, getting up. “It’s too quiet in here.” He stepped over to a speaker on the kitchen counter. He plugged an iPod into a cable leading to the speaker and selected some music. He adjusted the volume down as The Eagles played ‘Take It Easy.’ “This okay with you?” he asked.
“Fine,” she said. “Who doesn’t like the Eagles?” She watched him return to the couch. She looked at him and heard herself saying, “Why is it, Jack?” She paused. “I feel like I’ve known you all my life.”
He looked back at her with a quizzical grin. She had a strange smile on her face and had felt completely at ease with what she had said.
“Well, I don’t know, Jana,” he replied. “But I’m glad you do. You seem to make friends easily. Perhaps it’s your Army background.”
She looked back at him in silence, thinking. There followed a pause that seemed to linger.
Her eyes searched about the room as if trying to make a decision. “May I tell you something?” she asked.
“Why, yes. Of course.”
“The reason I am traveling to Washington is that I am leaving my husband.” She had been looking at the floor, at nothing, when she made the statement. She raised her eyes to search his. Had she made a mistake? Why would he care about that?
He looked back and shook his head slightly. “I’m very sorry to hear that, Jana. You’ve been married a long time, haven’t you?
“Yes. Over thirty years,” she answered.
“That is a long time,” he said. He thought for a moment. “But… people change. I’m sure you have your reasons.”
“Yeah. Well, that is the reason, Jack. It’s that he didn’t change,” she said.
“I don’t understand.”
“I suspected Jack of cheating on our marriage many years ago. I chose to ignore it. I guess I figured that if I didn’t confront it, it really didn’t happen. But, it never got any better. I never raised the issue.” Jana looked back down at the floor. “I don’t know if it would have helped if I had.”
Jack looked at her, seeing the hurt in her eyes.
“You have been so nice to me this evening… a complete stranger,” she said. “I don’t mean to burden you with this.”
“No. It’s okay. My daughters tell me I’m a good listener,” he said. “Why have you made this decision now? …if you don’t mind my asking.”
“I’ll tell you but you may not believe it,” she said, “But no one could make up a story like this. Last Friday night Jack and I were supposed to meet at the Prairie Plaza Hotel in Oklahoma City. We were going to stay the weekend, just as a quick getaway. I checked in early and when he got there, he just dropped off his bag and said he had to run an errand. We were to meet in the hotel’s dining room a bit later. He never showed up.” She paused a moment remembering the night. “I got a call later from the Police. He’d been arrested for the murder of a young woman. He later said that he had gone to her apartment to return her key and pick up his computer. He claims that he had nothing to do with her murder. I believe that part… he’s not a killer. But he did admit to having an affair with her. He finally had to admit to it because the Police had proof that he’d been in the apartment.”
“Oh, Jana…,” Jack said. “What you must have gone through.” He noticed that her glass was empty and rose to refill both of their glasses. She accepted the wine with thanks.
“It was an awful night,” she admitted. “He was released from custody early Saturday morning and was going to stay in the hotel. I went back to the ranch.”
“He has a good lawyer, I assume?” Jack asked.
“I think so,” she answered. “But he was arraigned yesterday afternoon and the prosecutor insisted that he go back to jail. So, there he sits, a former major general in the Army sitting in a jail cell like a common criminal.”
“But you said you believe he’s innocent,” Jack reminded her.
“He may be innocent of killing that woman. But he’s certainly guilty of carrying on an affair with her. He humiliated m
e. I’m not proud that I was willing to put up with his philandering as long as it was discreet. But that’s where I drew the line.”
The wine seemed to be just what Jana needed. She had felt relaxed with this man all evening but the wine seemed to allow her the release of pent up feelings that she had lived with all weekend, alone at the ranch. Things that she didn’t want to discuss with Sam, her own brother, came easy with this man. She drained her glass.
She looked at Jack and gave him an embarrassed smile. “Do you have a bathroom in this home on wheels?” she asked.
He grinned back. “Of course.” He motioned toward the back of the RV. “It’s just down the hall.”
She got up and walked back to the restroom. Jack thought another bottle of wine might be in order. He had it opened when Jana returned. He refilled her glass and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” she said. She was silent a moment. She looked over at him and said, “It sounds like you had a great marriage.”
“I did,” he admitted.
“Well, I’m happy for you. You are a nice man. I should have been so lucky.”
The music had stopped. Jack got up and played with the iPod a moment. Soon, the music of Paul Simon came from the speakers and Jack returned to the sofa.
The time passed quickly. Their conversation turned to other things and Jana’s mood seemed to improve. They talked of the music that was playing and some of the other artists they both enjoyed. He discovered that she had similar political leanings as he. They discussed books that they had read, and movies that they had seen. And, they drank more wine.
It was close to midnight. Without reason, Jana moved from her chair over to the sofa, next to Jack. She leaned against him and he placed his arm around her.
“I want to thank you for this night,” she said. “Thank you for listening.”
“It’s been good getting to know you,” he said. “I’m sorry that you’ve been mistreated.”
She leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. “I have to go now,” she said.
He looked at her tenderly and said, “You are welcome to stay here with me. You know that, don’t you?”
“I know,” she said. She got up hesitantly and put on her vest. Beau sensed that they were leaving and stood beside her. Jack stood. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, still watching her. She came close to him again, and hugged him. He encircled her with his arms, returning the caress. She lifted her eyes to meet his and rose up on her toes. He leaned down to her. She held him a moment, then slowly backed away and moved to the door.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
Her eyes were moist when she looked back at him, “You will believe me when I tell you that I want to stay?”
He nodded.
“But if I did, I would be no better than him.”
Jack and Tank stood outside the RV and watched Jana Hastings and Beau get into her car and slowly cross over to their hotel. Jack watched to ensure that she got inside safely. Then he and Tank turned and went back into their home.