Jeff finds himself in Silicon Valley where he is asked to investigate claims by a gregarious Frenchman that his neural network electronic technology actually works. He meets up again with the enchanting Nancy, the FBI agent he had worked with in Atlanta where they fell in love while he was still married, and again in Washington DC Kathy puts romance back into Jeff’s life as he finds himself hounded by financially-desperate Europeans so determined to push their questionable technology―men so desperate that they will stop at nothing, even Jeff’s murder. The excitement will make the reader gasp, tragedy will make the reader cry, romance will make the reader sigh.
Chapter 32 of Silicon Gulch … Nancy
Friday 1:28 PM: Parting
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- Chris Lamela
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Author contact: chris@chrislamela.com, 707-566-8790 PST---------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday
1:28 PM: Parting
"Uncle Mondo? You have an
Uncle Mondo?"
"Sure do. He's what, eight four, eighty five, something like that."
Jeff smiled that he heard there was another Mondo Apocolopsa they found, the bad hit man!
Mondo smiled affectionately, "He brought me into the business. He's
the one that got me my first big job."
"You mean Jimmy Hoffa?"
"Shhhh, not so loud!" Uncle Mondo leaned into Jeff, "Yeah."
Jeff smiled that he actually met the man who carries Jimmy Hoffa's driver's
license in his wallet!
"Of course, sometimes people make better teachers than doers. He
wasn't very good at it himself, served two stints. But a little family money
made sure they were short stints. Poor guy, always had hits going wrong on him."
He smiled with a distant look of warm affection.
Mondo shook himself, "Anyway,
so, okay, listen, I should go," they shook hands both standing.
"Wait, I need to ask you something." Jeff paused, "Those
guys, I mean…the other day you said…I forgot your words…that they would be
called something else. It sounded like you were going to kill those guys. But
you didn't"
"Remember judge of character?" Jeff nodded. "I knew how
this would turn out. I knew how desperate they both were and I also knew that I
didn't need to spend bullet money on those two. I mean money's tight for
everyone, no point in wasting it on those two idiots."
"You knew? I mean you knew that they would kill each other?"
"Hey, you also knew, right? Didn't you plan it like that? I mean
don't get me wrong, what you did in there was pretty smart," Jeff shaking
his head not feeling very proud of himself.
"And you should be proud of yourself! I mean what you set up in
there was very smart." Jeff
nodded again. "Listen, I know this has been quite a week for you and I want
you to promise me that you'll put this behind you, to go find the one good act
that will help you to do that. You will be amazed how that will help you to let
go. And promise that you will choose the one woman that's important to you.
Promise me. Kathy, right?"
Jeff nodded, "Yes, she's the one. And yes, I promise you."
Uncle Mondo turned to the door, took a few steps, turning back to Jeff, "And
Jeff, one more thing." Jeff looked to him. "Promise me that you won't
forget me."
"Trust me, Uncle Mondo, I will never
forget you!"
Uncle Mondo smiled turning back, walking toward the hotel's front door,
Jeff noticing Uncle Mondo's white polyester bell-bottom pants clearly showing
the outlines of pistols strapped to each ankle in the sunshine backlight
through the door. A second later Uncle Mondo was gone from sight.
Jeff stood watching the door for a minute, shaking his head turning
toward the couches he had sat in just a few minutes before, sitting down.
He sat looking at the large white envelope in his hands. On impulse Jeff
pulled his cell phone from his inner coat pocket pushing a couple buttons,
putting the phone up to his ear.
"Arnie, where are you. Did you go to Pleasanton
"No, I got called over here, the ops center. I'm planning on
leaving by two."
Jeff thought for one more second, "Listen, I want to go with you."
"I don't know Jeff. I'm not sure that's such a good idea."
"I was with him when he told me about Mary and Diane. I was with
him when he was killed. I want to go. I need
to go."
There was a long pause, "I guess. Actually, I think I'd like it. I
have been dreading this since Nancy
Jeff smiled that Nancy
"Great, well listen, I have to check out. I'll put my stuff in the car.
What time can you come get me?"
"I'll be there at two. Meet me in the lobby."
Jeff hung up heading for the elevators. He was soon in his room with his
suitcase spread on the bed, pulling clothes down from the closet stacking them
into the luggage, into the bathroom gathering everything from the counter stuffing
his shaving kit, he heard two knocks on the door.
He stepped to the luggage stuffing his shaving kit into a side-pocket
turning to the door opening it.
"What, no four knocks?" She smiled bashfully, "I thought
we said we wouldn't talk with a bed around us?" they both laughed. "Actually,
it's okay," he stood aside, she walked in.
"Packing?"
"Yeah. I'm gonna check out and take the ride with Arnie to Pleasanton
She looked puzzled.
"I know it sounds crazy, but there's something I need to do. I just
spent a half hour with Uncle Mondo. My god he is smart man. He is helping me to
simplify my life, to focus on the important things, to make sure something good
comes out of all this craziness this week."
She smiled, "You're taking life advice from a hit man? What do you
mean, important things?"
Jeff pointed to the corner stuffed chair, "Look, sit down. I need
to say something."
She sat down tentatively, face worried.
Jeff sat on the corner of the bed,
reaching out taking her hands.
"God, I can't believe I am really going to say this." He
looked to the window, back to her. "It's just the words you said…so many
things you said…I've just come to realize that we are from totally different
worlds."
He saw the golden eyes with the tiny black flecks turning misty.
"I fell in love with you. I mean at least I thought I was in love with you. That night in Atlanta
Tears welled in her eyes. He suddenly wished he could just fly away,
that the ceiling would just open up sucking him up into the heavens so that he
wouldn't have to say the words that still needed to come.
"And you know that I do love you. You know that I will always love
you." He picked up her hands, waggled them looking into that beautiful
face, tears coursing down her cheeks from those golden eyes. His voice
softened, "And you know that we can never be together."
They sat silently for minutes, tears drying on her face, the brightness
in her eyes fighting to return.
She sniffed. "Thank you. Thank you Jeff for saying these words."
She sniffed again. "I have been dreading this all week. That I would have
to say them. But you are right."
"I couldn't have said these words even yesterday." He laughed,
"Maybe it's like Uncle Mondo says, that I am on the short-bus of life."
They both laughed lightly.
"Jeff." She said his name so matter-of-fact that he looked to
her surprised. "I need to see those notes. The four notes."
He reached into his coat pocket pulling them out, looked down to them,
handing them to her reluctantly, his eyes following their path into her hands.
She opened the first mystery note with the little blue heart, reading it.
"Do you know who this is from?" He shook his head. "It's from
Paula." She instantly tore the note into tiny pieces.
"What are you doing! I haven't even read that!"
"And you never will."
She flipped through the notes finding the second note with the little
blue heart, opening it reading. "Not-sex?"
"Don't ask, you don't want to know."
Frowning she tore it into tiny shreds, "You're right, I don't want
to know." She paused with a playful frown, "And did you have not-sex
with Lin?"
"Like I said, you don't want to know."
Laughing lightly, "Oh Jeff Jeff Jeff. You are amazing. Why do we
come running to you? What is it about you that makes us come to you like we do?"
He smiled to himself shaking his head with only the words not scary-handsome coming to mind.
She opened the note she had written, reading it.
"Oh please don't tear that up," he begged hands up imploring.
"It needs to be torn up. It has caused you nothing but grief."
She set it down in her lap opening the note from Kathy ,
reading with a gentle expression, handing it back to Jeff. "This is the
note you need to keep. This is the note from the person that is important to
you."
"How did you know?"
She smiled, "I could tell by it's fragrance. It has the same
fragrance that I have smelled on you all week!" She grinned, "Plus I
talked to her."
He laughed remembering her words earlier, wondering, "You called it
a smell."
"When I look at your aura there mister Jeff I can tell you it is a fragrance."
He reached for Kathy's note reading the words, wondering how it was that
this could become the most important piece of paper he's held in his hand since
his son's birth certificate.
"You said you talked to her."
"Look Jeff. I may never have picket
fences. I may never even be married. But those are my choices. You come from mini-vans and kids. You have a future
with someone who has gone to great lengths, shown incredible courage, to find a
life with you. You will be amazed at what she has done for you." Jeff
looked to her questioningly. "You'll find out. But Jeff, she is special. She
is the one. You need to go after he like your life depends on it, because it
does. Or someday you will wake up and it will be too late!"
Jeff looked back to Nancy
"Yes I talked to her. And yes Jeff, she is the one. Not me. Not
Paula. Not Donna." Smiling to him, "Her."
She held her note up, slowly tore it in half, tore it again, again, once
more until it was in tiny squares in her lap. Jeff looked dismayed watching
this precious artifact reduce its existence with each tear. "You don't
need this any more. This was your past." She pointed to Kathy's note, "She
is your future."
His eyes began to well, they looked deeply into each other's eyes
knowing this would be the very last time they would be alone together. He
reached, holding her hands tightly knowing that he was being called to another
path.
A different path.
Away from this amazing, beautiful woman with the enchanting golden eyes
with the tiny flecks floating in their glow, hair with the deep blush of cherry
wood.
She reached for the garbage can next to her, flipping the paper scraps
from her lap into the can. Jeff watched with a blank face realizing she was
right.
"What you are doing, going with Arnie like you said? That is so
courageous. But I am not surprised. You are a courageous man." She reached
for his hands looking into his eyes, "I love you Jeff. I always will. I
will always remember you."
"And I will never forget you," he held her hands to his mouth
kissing them, tears trickling slowly down his cheeks.
He stood, paused vacantly, turning to the window.
"Hey are you okay?"
"Yeah, it just seems like so much is over." She cocked her head in wonder, he glanced back to her. "It's
like there are so many endings." A tear trickled down his face. "And
so many new beginnings."
She stood, standing behind him, her arms around his chest her chin on
his shoulder. "Yes, and it's time for those new beginnings. For both of
us," a catch in her voice, "we do need to put this behind us. Not
just this week. Everything."
He turned around to her, both standing looking deeply into each other's
eyes, hazel meeting gold. She reached her face forward, nose touching nose. "I
can't bear this Jeffery, but I know I need to let you go. You need to let me
go."
He reached down to his right outside coat pocket, pulling out the little
Colt Cobra, taking a half step back. "And
I guess it's time to let this go." He looked down at the gun in his hand,
how it represented everything that has happened to him since Atlanta
She smiled taking the gun from him, leaning to drop it into her purse. "And
now you need to take a drive with Arnie, come on, I'll walk down with you."
Soon they were in the lobby, Jeff walking away from the front desk
holding his large envelope and an empty large manila envelope and hotel receipt
looking down to it smiling at zero charges, seeing Arnie coming through the
front door waving to him.
"Come on," Nancy
Arnie turned going back out the hotel's front door, Jeff walking along
side Nancy pulling his luggage until they reached his rental mini-van. She
leaned over with a light kiss on the lips.
"Take care of yourself mister Jeff. I know you are in good hands."
She smiled at the mini-van, "Go have a good life."
NOW READ THE NEXT EXCITING CHAPTER OF
SILICON GULCH!
http://chrislamela.blogspot.com/2012/10/silicon-gulch-chapter-33.html
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