Page 34 of Loving Jake

“I can’t believe it. Down by one, and he misses the free throw!” Zane shouted in the background. “Sorry about that, Jake. The Warriors are playing Chicago tonight. Anyway, why would Carly get a message to Kimberly for me, or worse, foryou? In case you never noticed, the Urbane girls and I never really ran in the same circles. Far too studious for my tastes. Not that studious is bad, especially when they’re women who are six-feet tall with legs that never end, like this lady anthropologist I met in Egypt. Now there was a woman who didn’t know the meaning of?—"

“Zane. For God’s sake.” Jake groaned into the phone. “Look, can you please call Carly and have her get a message to Kimberly? I’d call myself, but my cell’s dead, and I have to be downstairs to meet my team for the wrap-up of our last segment. Please tell her I will call her in approximately 3 hours and to have her phone charged.” Although the more he thought about it, the more he believed his calls were intentionally being sent to voicemail. He had left a message on her voicemail three days ago, and now every time he called, it didn’t even ring, it just went directly to voicemail. There didn’t seem to be any other reason, except that Kimberly didn’t want to speak to him.

“Aw, Jake. It’s the fourth quarter with four minutes to go. I have big money going on this game. If the Warriors win, they’re going to the playoffs. Why don’t you call Carly yourself?”

“Zane, I already explained. Why is it that you have time to tell me about your numerous sexual exploits in every God forsaken country in the world, but you don’t have time to make a phone call for me?”

“Jesus, Jake. Don’t get all bent out of shape. I’ll call her. Give me your hotel number, and I’ll call you back in ten minutes,” Zane shot back.

“Fine.” He gave Zane the number and added, “call me back.” The dial tone hummed in Jake’s ear before he had the chance to say goodbye.

Jake walked into the bathroom and turned on the light. He was in desperate need of a shower… three days of dirt and grime lay on top of his skin. He could be in and out before Zane called back. Several minutes passed while he stood under the showerhead. The lukewarm water was running over his weary body when he remembered another shower over six months ago. All too quickly, images of Kimberly rubbing soapy hands over his naked chest was more than he could handle. He turned the water to cool. When that didn’t work, he turned the water off and stepped out of the shower.

He glanced at his watch lying on top of the bathroom sink. Another five minutes passed, and Zane had yet to call him back.

“She forwarded her phone to voicemail. I know she did.” He reached into his duffle bag and pulled out a fresh pair of jeans. “Or maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe her cell broke. Mine has, so it was entirely possible that she could also—" Jake stopped himself short.

He stood in front of the mirror, the comb he held in his hand suspended in mid-air. He stared at his reflection. He looked older. The lines that crept out from the corners of his eyes were deeper than he remembered them. He was thinner too. His cheek bones protruded to sharp angles from underneath his tanned skin. The last six months had taken a toll on him. He admitted it. Regardless of how much he had tried, Kimberly was the dream at night he never could quite sleep through, the gnawing emptiness in his stomach no amount of food could ever assuage. He needed her like he had never needed anything, or anyone, in his life. For the last six months, he had been merely existing, never really living.

He stared into the mirror with a renewed sense of being. He was ready to live, ready to fulfill his dreams, and ready to get rid of the pain eating at his gut. He sat down on the edge of his bed and reached for his wallet. He pulled out a battered picture he kept buried deep behind his credit card and driver’s license. The photograph’s edges were frayed and bent due to his daily need to reassure himself it was still there, tucked away for safekeeping. His lips curved in a bittersweet smile. He held on tightly to the picture of Kimberly and Daisy, posed graciously for him on the front steps of her house.

He sighed. By ignoring his calls, perhaps Kimberly was showing him how deeply affected she was by his absence. Maybe she felt the same aching loneliness during the night that he did, the need to feel him next to her overwhelming her as it did him.

Maybe, and most likely, she was so mad at him that she refused to speak to him. Or, he didn’t want to think about it. It might be that she wasn’t affected at all.

Six months, almost seven, was a long time, long enough to move on with your life. He visibly shuddered at the thought of Kimberly involved with another man.

Rattled by the idea of Kimberly moving on without him, he walked over to the hotel telephone, no longer willing to wait for Zane to return his call. He dialed his brother’s phone number and simultaneously took a deep, calming breath. A million thoughts ran through his head. What if Kimberly was involved with someone else? What if she had told her boyfriend about his call, and the boyfriend had then demanded that she not speak to Jake?

“Zane?”

“Jake! You nearly gave me a heart attack. Could you try not to shout in my ear next time?”

“Sorry,” Jake mumbled. “Did you find out anything?”

“I spoke to Carly,” Zane answered evasively.

“And—"

“And she says Kimberly doesn’t want to speak to you. Carly wouldn’t forward her a message from you, either.”

“Damn.”

“Jake,” Zane stated slyly. “What exactly happened between you and Kimberly? I know the two of you lived under the sameroof for several weeks. Two single, healthy adults, things are bound to happen. But what went wrong? And why is it that six months after you’ve moved out of her place that you’re suddenly so hot to get in touch with her?”

“Zane, let’s just say I don’t have your finesse when it comes to relationships.”Not even close.“Anyway, you have more important things to worry about right now.”

“I do?”

“You do. Starting with the purchase of some furniture and a good mattress set for the spare bedroom in that bachelor pad of yours. Because, little brother, I’m taking the next flight out of this South American jungle and coming home.” He didn’t plan on staying with his brother for long, but he definitely felt less confident that Kimberly would take him back with open arms than he did an hour ago, and it worried him that it might be an extended stay if he couldn’t convince her to forgive him.

Zane whistled into the phone. “Who would have thought my big brother would race home to play ‘me Tarzan, you Jane’ with an unsuspecting female? I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I don’t know that I do, Zane. But I do know it’s something I should have done a long time ago,” he said more to himself than to his brother. “I’ll see you sometime tomorrow night.” Jake stared at the telephone for several minutes after he placed it on its receiver.

It was time to go home.

Home.

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