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 34 of Silicon Gulch … Kathy is moving to Seattle
Friday 4:53 PM: Going Home
Arnie and the congresswoman are getting married and they want Jeff as their best man! Jeff gets on the plane back to
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- Chris Lamela
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Author contact: chris@chrislamela.com, 707-566-8790 PST---------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday
4:53 PM: Going Home
They drove, Arnie reached to the
radio turning it on, fidgeted with radio stations until Hotel California filled the car. Jeff listened to Arnie humming to
the music.
Jeff opened the envelope in his lap sliding out the Bearer Bonds,
counting all ten. Arnie glanced down smiling at the treasure Jeff was holding,
sliding them back into the envelope. Jeff laid his head back on the headrest
listening to the music.
Suddenly he popped his head up, "Damn, I forgot, I need to make a
call!" He wanted to be upset that he promised to call Kathy after two and he'd forgotten, but he forgave
himself for his busy day. The dash
clock said almost three-fifteen. He pulled his cell phone from his coat pocket
pushing buttons until he found her phone number, calling with his phone pressed
tightly to his ear, he reached over to turn the volume down on the radio.
The ringing phone switched to her voicemail, "Hi, this is Kathy , please leave a message!"
"Hi Kathy , it's Jeff.
Sorry for calling later than planned. I'm uh, heading to the airport and would
sure like to talk to you when you get a minute! You have my number. I look forward
to hearing from you," he pushed a button to hang up.
You call that a message? He
suddenly realized that he desperately should have definitely and sure as hell
should have at least practiced in my
head!
They drove on for another twenty minutes never speaking a word between
them, beginning to get close to the Merdian.
Arnie's cell phone rang, he reached into
his coat pocket to retrieve it, "Yes, Arnie here…yes…should be," he
glanced at the clock on the dash, "maybe ten more minutes…okay…sure, I'll
bring him in." He pushed a button on the phone to end the call putting the
phone back in his inside coat pocket.
"Well Jeff, I am glad you came along. As usual you knew exactly
what to say. I have to tell you," he glanced at Jeff, back to the road, "it
has been a pleasure to work with you."
"Thanks, you too Arnie."
Arnie paused a second, "But just so you know, I don't ever want to
work with you again," they both burst into laughter.
"Not half as much as I don't ever want to work with you again!" Jeff answered, they
laughed again. "Believe me, Arnie, as much as I like you and Nancy and the
crew, I want you guys as far away from me as possible. I intend to live to a
ripe old age but I just don't see how that's going to be possible if I keep
running into you guys!"
They both howled with laughter, tears flowing from four eyes and two
nodding heads.
A few minutes later they were pulling into the Merdian hotel parking lot.
Arnie turned to Jeff, "Listen, you still have a few minutes, there's somebody
who wants to say goodbye. It will only take a few minutes, I promise."
Jeff turned to Arnie with a
shrug, the car pulled into a parking place.
They both got out, turned the corner rounding the hotel entrance, a
minute later they were walking up to the couches Jeff had spent too many
interesting minutes on already.
They walked up, Lin the congresswoman
jumped up giving Jeff a huge hug, "Jeff! Jeff, it's so great to see you
again!" She motioned to the couches. Jeff sat on one couch. Arnie sat next
to Lin. "I heard about last night and about today, I was so worried! Are
you okay?"
"I'm fine, Lin. Good to see you." He looked at the two sitting
next to each other, he smiled. "So Arnie said you wanted to see me before
I go."
"Yes. Yes I did." She glanced affectionately to Arnie. "We
wanted to tell you something, we wanted you to be the first to know."
"What?"
"Well, you remember the other day, when you were at my house."
He nodded glancing at Arnie uncertain where this was going. "We talked
about so much, you remember me telling you how our talk…well, our talk…well how
it gave me courage?"
Jeff tried to recall their conversation, remembered laying in bed with
her naked, everything they talked about.
"And so, well, Arnie and me…" her voice trailed off nervously.
"I've asked Lin to marry me." Arnie said matter-of-fact with a
big smile looking toward Lin.
"Wow, this is big news!"
Jeff reached his hand across to Arnie who shook enthusiastically. "So when
is the event planned?"
"We don't know yet, this has happened so suddenly." Arnie
looked to Lin with an expression asking permission, she gave a small nod. "But
there is one thing we know for sure, who we want to be our best man."
"Really," Jeff said looking at them cluelessly, "who is
that?"
"You!" Lin squeaked in excitement.
"Me? Your best man? At your wedding?"
Arnie nodded his head, Lin answered, "Yes, you are the one who
brought us together, we thought that you should be the one to give us away."
"Me?" Jeff couldn't figure how
he brought them together.
"Yes, you!"
Jeff sat back for a second, "I'd be honored. Am I the first one you've
told this to?"
"Yes," Arnie replied firmly, "we didn't want you to hear
it from somebody else. We wanted you to hear it from us."
"Why thank you. Yes. Thank you. I'd be honored to be your best man."
Jeff looked down at his vacant
wrist, "Look, I don't know what time it is, but I probably need to get to
the airport."
"Yes, of course," Arnie answered, they all stood up.
Lin leaned forward kissing Jeff on the cheek
whispered into his ear, "Thank you for not having sex with me. I love you
Jeff. Thank you."
Jeff pulled back, his head spinning slightly at these words thank you for not having sex with me.
"Listen, I've got to go."
"Hey, let me walk you out," Arnie motioned toward the door.
A few seconds later they were standing in front of Jeff's rental
mini-van. Arnie reached out giving Jeff a huge hug, pointing to the envelope, "Now
make good use of that, okay? I want to hear about your kids going to Harvard!
And do us all a favor, okay Jeff?" Jeff looked to Arnie, "Get a
grown-up car when you get back okay? No more mini-vans!"
"Right. Well when they come up with a grown-up car that will fit
six kids and ten soccer balls then I will definitely be getting a grown-up car,"
they both laughed.
Arnie stood with his hands to his sides, a sad expression wiping the
laughter away.
"And hey there, mister Jeff. Go have a good life."
"You too, Arnie."
They stood for a second smiling sadly at each other. With quick little man nods they turned, an instant later
Jeff was in the mini-van.
Jeff reached into the car pulling out his computer case, unzipping it he
slid the large white envelope inside the case's large inside pocket. He started
the car reaching into his coat pocket pulling out his phone dialing Kathy again.
Her voicemail came again, but this time he was more prepared, "Hi, Kathy . Jeff here. Listen, I am about to got the
airport. I wanted to tell you I love you when we talked, so I guess I will say
it to your recording. I love you. Call me." He pushed the button to hang
up.
He sighed.
Putting the car into reverse, he backed the car out, was soon going back
down highway one-oh-one heading to the San
Jose
Twenty minutes later he was situated in seat 14F with his computer case
stuffed under the seat in front of him safely at his feet, two rows from the
first-class curtain in front of him. Knowing they were getting ready to close
the plane's door he was happy to have the two seats to his left empty. He
reached for his seatbelt pulling it over his lap clicking it together.
"Excuse me ladies and gentlemen," a cute flight attendant was
standing in front of the first class curtain just five feet in front of Jeff, "we
have found a watch. Could you please look at your personal belongings to see if
you may have misplaced your watch?"
Jeff leaned to look at the watch dangling in her fingers thinking that
it looked a lot like his that he had left on the nightstand last night at Kathy's,
looking down at his bare wrist. He looked out the window, felt a tap on his
shoulder. He looked up to the flight attendant standing in the isle over him, "Excuse
me sir, but I believe this is yours."
He looked at her insistent face, confused. "It is yours sir."
"It can't be mine, I left it―"
"You left it on my nightstand," came a voice.
Jeff looked at the flight attendant dumbfounded.
Kathy stepped from behind her.
"Kathy !" Jeff tried
to jump up but his seatbelt kept him down. Reaching down with frustrated hands
he fumbled until he managed to unclick it jumping up hitting his head on the
overhead, "Ouch!"
"Ooooh!" Kathy and the
flight attendant oooohed, he cringed holding his head.
Rubbing his head looking up with an expression of wonder where that
overhead bin came from he stepped to the aisle, the flight attendant stepped
aside as he and Kathy were swept
into each other's arms. They started to kiss when Jeff realized they had seventy
sets of eyes on them, he nodded around the plane sitting back in his seat pulling
Kathy into the center seat.
"What are you doing here! I tried to call you! I wanted to say
goodbye! What―"
She put her fingers to his lips, the flight attendant starting the
safety briefing.
"But what―"
"Shhhhh," she turned to him, "in a minute. Wait!"
A minute later the plane was quiet, they could feel it being backed out
of the gate.
"So," she turned to his vacant expression, "you didn't
let me finish last night. You just asked me what I am doing here. Will you let
me finish this time?"
He nodded.
"So first. You said that you wanted to put me in your suitcase.
That you had a fantasy that we could be together. Is that still true?"
"Yes," he replied
anxiously, "yes, it's still true!"
"Good. So I had a surprise for you. Well actually two. I can tell
you the first one now if you want to know."
"Yes!" he smiled like a kid at Christmas. "Yes, tell me!"
"I went in Seattle
"Seattle Seattle
"Yes, wait, let me finish! My law firm has agreed to let me open an
office in Seattle
"Wow, that's great! You really did that?"
She nodded. "So this is okay with you?"
"Yes!" he replied excited, "Oh, god yes! This is
like…like…like a dream come true!"
"But I don't have a place to stay. I suppose I could get a hotel room."
"No! We talked about this." He looked down, back up to her. "At
least I think we did. Didn't I say that I wanted you to live with me?"
"Yes you did. But I think we were both naked at the time, I was
afraid it was just naked talk."
"Naked, hell, naked shnaked, yes I want you to live with me! You
mean you actually want to live with
me?"
"Yes I do. If you want me. And remember I'm a package deal, right?"
"Oh god yes. Hannah. I love Hannah. Of course. But will she want to
live with me…I mean with us?"
The captain came on the PA to say that they were at ten thousand feet
heading to their cruising altitude of thirty-three thousand feet, so sit back
and enjoy the flight.
"The school year ends in two weeks for her, so it is a perfect
time. I mean, I need to go back on Sunday, but we'll both be up when school's
over. Do you have enough room?"
"My condo. Well it's not really a condo. Three bedrooms,
twenty-five hundred square feet. There's plenty of room. Well…well we'll just
see what the three of us want. If you want to go out to the suburbs I will do
whatever you guys want!"
She smiled leaning to kiss him. "Let's just see. Let's get through
the weekend, in two weeks we'll see what's next."
"The weekend?"
"Let's just see how it goes."
"How it goes?"
"In Seattle
"Seattle
She leaned kissing him again sitting back in her seat.
He leaned back as they held hands. She pulled up the arm rest pushing it
upright between the seats, leaning to him, laying her head on his shoulder.
"So here we are together," she smiled.
"Yes we are. Here we are the two of us…the three of us."
He leaned back smiling, "Yes."
"Going home."
NOW READ THE NEXT EXCITING CHAPTER OF
SILICON GULCH!
http://chrislamela.blogspot.com/2012/10/silicon-gulch-chapter-35.html
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