Chapter 13 Chapter Twelve

Max couldn't help feeling a genuine excitement.He couldn't wait to see her, but Jackie opened the door, looked at him, and just said, "Oh." He felt his heart go cold. Naturally, she was surprised that there was no question about it.He said, "What are you waiting for?" She said, "No..." sounding uncertain.She said again: "Well, whether I am waiting for someone or not, come in with me." At this point, there is still hope.She looks great. "How are you?" "Good, really." But she closed the door and said, "You want your gun, don't you?" She walked to the bedroom in a baggy T-shirt and tight jeans and said, "I'll get it." The good feeling goes down the drain, down to rock bottom.

It was like giving change to a newsboy. For this matter, she neither meant to apologize nor acted awkwardly, and wanted to explain.Don't you—you want your gun?Then take it.He's here to take it easy. "Did you get a chance to use that stolen gun on someone?" Just said with a straight face.Well, now there is no need for jokes and circles.She was acting like she was sending him off, and so fucking casually.Ask her if she'd like to go back to the jail, since Ordell hasn't paid bail yet.Let's see how nonchalant she can be then. Jackie came out of the bedroom with his gun in hand, and she said with that wry smile on her face, "Max, I'm sorry." He felt his emotions spiraling up again, hope fueling him. "I was afraid you'd say no if I offered to borrow it. You've got every right to do that. Would you like some coffee?"

That's it, going in circles again. "I don't mind," he said, following Jackie to the kitchen. "Have you used it?" She smiled wryly again. "I feel so much safer with it. I hope you don't have to add milk. The milk went sour when I was in prison." "I don't need milk, just coffee." He watched her set the airweight pistol on the kitchen table, which was empty of anything but an ashtray, and headed for the stove.She looked even skinnier in jeans than she did last night.Not skinny, exactly, but just right. "Would you like to keep the gun a little longer? It's not legal, but you'd feel better if you had a gun, you know..."

"Thanks," she said, pouring coffee, "I have mine now." She walked toward the table with two plain white clay cups. "Do you add sugar?" Max said, "No, thanks. Went out this morning and bought a gun?" It was possible if she drove to Martin County; Cool down time. "Assuming I got a gun," Jackie said, "I don't want you to think about it. Okay?" "Someone lent it to you." "Yes." Jackie said and left the kitchen. Max pulled a chair from under the table and sat down.He wondered what kind of gun it was, and if she knew how to use it.When Jackie came in with the cigarette and the brown lighter and sat across from him, he wanted to ask.

"Last night I couldn't wait to go to bed, didn't shower, didn't wash my hair," she said. He also forgot to mention the gun. "That's fine." "I called and said I was sick. It's just that if the airline knows, they can find me anytime." "yes?" "I don't know yet. This afternoon, I'm going to see Tyler, and I think Nicolai, I'll ask them." She paused to light a stick of incense. "What do you suggest. Help and see what happens." "I mean," Max said, "find you a lawyer to negotiate with. If you can't find one, I have a good friend who is semi-retired. It's okay for me to ask him for a little help. He charges The fee will not be more expensive than other lawyers."

She stared at him over the coffee cup, bringing back memories of last night. "Probably not," she said. "I'll talk to them first, about the Ordell money." "It will interest them, but only up to a point." "All the money in Freeport. I mean a lot. There's probably half a million in the safe, and more coming in." "How did you find out?" "He told me last night." "Did Ordell call you?" "He was already waiting here when I got home." Max said, "God!" and put the coffee mug on the table. "Did he break in?"

"He picked the lock." "Did you call the police?" "We talked," Jackie said. "At first he was a little skeptical. But he's always trusted me and he wants to keep trusting me. Do you know why? Because he needs me. Because without me, he's all The money is sitting in Freeport. There may be other ways to get the money out, but I'm the only one he's ever used, and everyone else he's dealing with is a liar. Think about it another way." Max stared at her. "How did you get the money out?" "The old way. But first they have to get me back to work."

"You're helping him get back on his feet." "Unless they let me out, there's nothing to talk about." "Do you understand the danger involved?" "I'm not going to jail again, and I'm not going to do anything that requires probation." He watched her fiddle with the cigarette, carefully turning the end in the ashtray. "Well, you said there might be options you haven't thought of yet." Jackie concentrated on the cigarette, pinching the ash into a small pile.She said, "Do you know how many miles I've flown?" She looked up at him.

Max shook his head. "How many?" "About seven million, flying here and there. I've been serving people, almost twenty years. Do you know how much I've saved now? Sixteen thousand, from scratch, plus a nice pension , you just rest comfortably at home. What does it feel like to grow old?" "You're not old—you look really good." "I'm asking how you feel. Does it bother you?" "It's not what I think. I look in the mirror and I'm the same person I was thirty years ago. I've seen a picture of me—and it's different. But who cares what I look like?"

"Men are different. Women age early," she said. "I think they worry more about age," he said. "There are some women, that's the only way they look, and when they get old...but there's more to you than looks." "Have I? What is it?" "You want to argue about getting old? What's the point?" "I always feel like I'm starting from scratch," Jackie said. "Until I know something new to do, I don't have a choice. Whatever I can do, I will always do it to the end." She said: "Didn't I tell you last night that I've been married twice? Actually I've had three husbands, but two of them felt like one person to me. The first two were at twenty, literally A copy, even their names are the same. So I say I've been married twice. I married the first guy when I was nineteen, he went to school in Miami - University of Miami. He rode an old motorcycle How can a car climb a slope when the car is participating in the race?"

"You were young enough to get married then." "I didn't want to think about anything but living with him. That was the idea at the time." "Times have changed," Max said, "but this kind of social ethos has always been there." "We were married for five months...he died in a race and the drawbridge went up and he tried to ride over the ditch. Just like in the movie. Only he was drunk and didn't cross it." Max remained silent. "My second husband got arrested for dealing drugs, he started that business to make money for his hobby and ended up in jail. He was in Vietnam as a fighter pilot before he got the airline job .Do you want a picture? The last one was fifteen years older than me, about your age. I thought, oh, this one must be more mature. Didn't expect him to be a copy of that scruffy biker." Max said, "I'm only twelve years older than you." She seemed to smile—for what reason he could not guess—and then became serious again. "He's always worried and thinks he's getting old, or getting older, so he keeps on running, I don't know how many miles he puts in every day. He swims in the ocean, far away alone, until you Can't see him. He drives fast and gets drunk every night... He's funny and smart, but he still drinks. One night we were sitting out on the balcony and he jumped On the cement fence, started walking on it, he stretched out his arms, and walked forward with one foot and one foot. ... We lived on the sixteenth floor. I said: 'You don't have to prove anything to me .' I remember saying, 'I'm not looking at you again, so you can come down.' I turned my head away, I can't look anymore." Jackie paused for a moment. "When I looked up again, he was gone. I don't know if he jumped or if he missed the foot. He didn't make a sound." It was very quiet in the kitchen. "That's my experience," she said. "I've flown seven million miles, married two alcoholics and a drug addict." Max cleared his throat. "You haven't named any of them yet." "Mike, David and Michael." Jackie said, "Does it matter?" But then she said, "They're nice guys, really, most of the time, and I'm not surprised.  … You know What do I mean? I was wrong, and I put myself in a situation where I knew I was in trouble, and then had to figure out my way out." She paused, pressing out her cigarette in the red ash. "But you know what I'm most tired of?" "Tell me about it," Max said. "Smile. Pretend to be happy." "You're talking about your job." "'Have a nice stay in the Bahamas, and thank you for flying with Archipelago Air.' Or thank you for flying with Delta Air Lines, or TWA.' Sir, Would you like another TWA coffee?'” Max grinned at her, seeing her from last night again. "'Do you like TWA's tea?'" "But you like the job, don't you? Flying?" "There is no better job." "Are there many people chasing you?" "Enough." "What about when you were a lady?" Max said. "Aren't boys being rude to you?" She looked at him through the coffee cup, a friendly look in her eyes. "How do you know?"