S.W. Tanpepper's GAMELAND: Season Two Omnibus (Episodes 9-11) (62 page)

“Would you just relax?” Ramon told her. He reached over and took her hand. She nodded numbly and turned back to the window.

The ground was soft. It broke his fall.

That had to be the explanation. Sodden with rain and rotting leaves. It would've been like falling onto a mattress.

She sighed and closed her eyes.

On the radio, the reporter was talking about a woman who'd gone on a killing spree down near Mastic.

Maybe it was a good thing they were heading into the City instead. Mastic Beach was where they usually went camping.

* * *

They reached the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel just shy of ten-thirty and descended down into the passage. The weak lights gave the walls a dingy yellow look. Although considerably cooler than outside, the air in the tunnel was much more humid. A heavy mixture of seawater stink and diesel fuel and motor oil washed through the car, bathing their faces. But nobody bothered to close the vents or turn off the air.

For the first time in a while, Cassie lifted her head and turned to look out at the stark, stained walls flashing past. A wavering line of dark brown ran along each wall, looking like a bathtub ring. In fact, that's essentially what it was, a ring marking the level of the flood which followed a massive ice shelf break sixteen years before. There were old stains discoloring the cracks in the walls from the black mold which had grown there until the state reconditioned the tunnels a few years back.

The echoes of the engines and horns were loud about them, but not so much that they completely drowned out the grind of the sump pumps. Behind the scenes, massive amounts of water were being flushed back into the East River.

The radio abruptly lost signal. Lyssa reached over and turned it off, glancing obliquely at Ramon. But he didn't seem to notice. He was concentrating on the narrow, crowded lanes, alternating between the brakes and the gas to maintain a constant distance between himself and the car ahead. Every so often there would be a screech of tires, the sound distant and hollow and impossible to localize.

A few minutes later, the quality of light changed, and they began to head up and out. They emerged from beneath the river at the foot of Manhattan's manmade mountains.

“Hotel's a few blocks ahead,” Ramon told them. He exhaled a long, deep breath. “I'm hoping they'll let us check in early. Then maybe we'll head on over to the zoo. Or Central Park. Whatever you guys want to do.”

Lyssa checked the time on her phone. It was still too early for lunch. She nodded and typed in a message for Drew.

<<
 
CALL ME AFTER YOU GO IN.
 
>>

She half expected him to reply immediately, to tell her that she just needed to enjoy her days off, but he never did.

 

It was the next morning, Sunday, and Lyssa was furious with Ramon. She knew she should really be mad at the money people on the new project, the ones who had called while she was in the shower and demanded to meet with Ramon right away. But she found it easier to be angry with him than at some faceless, nameless people. Besides, she doubted Ramon had even asked if it could wait till Monday.

He and Cassie had still been asleep when she rose, but when she came out a half hour later draped in one of the plush cotton hotel robes, her hair dripping and her skin still tingling from the heat of the water (not to mention memories of last night's sex), she found him on the phone and Cassie planted in front of the television.

She had fantasized in the shower about slipping out of her robe and climbing naked into bed with him, making love to him in the way that they used to before Cassie was born, slow and tentative, fingers and tongues exploring every inch of each other's bodies until they became one big, noisy tangle of skin and hair and ecstatic moans. Not like the urgent, mute way they had done it last night, more aware of Cassie asleep in the adjoining bed, than of each other. Not that last night was bad, far from it. It just wasn't like it had once been.

That was what she was thinking when she stepped out. But seeing him on the phone and Cassie glassy-eyed completely erased any good feelings.

“Who's that?” she asked after a few seconds of listening to the faint gibberish coming through his phone. She rubbed the thick hotel towel over her hair as she tried not to show her irritation.

He raised a hand at her, his attention clearly focused on the call. “Uh huh. Sure. When? Yeah, I can be there.”

Lyssa rolled her eyes and went back into the bathroom.

“I know how it looks,” he told her after he'd hung up. But she doubted that.

The Ames investors had supposedly called to ensure that everything was in place for the next day's start. But then he'd let slip that he was spending the day in Manhattan, and when he told them where, they remarked that the hotel was less than two blocks away from the high rise which held their offices. They wanted him to come up and meet some more of the high up muckity mucks.

“It was just a coincidence. I didn't plan this!”

“I believe you,” Lyssa had snapped in response.

“Jesus, honey. This is our big break. I really don't want to blow it. Just let me go over and shake a few hands, do the politic thing. It shouldn't take more than an hour. It's the least I can do for the amount of money they're giving us.”

“They're not exactly
giving
it to us, are they?”

“You know what I mean, honey.”

It bothered her even more that he hadn't offered to bring her along. He'd just assumed that she would be the one to watch Cassie.

So she and Cassie stayed in the room and watched reality shows and cartoons. Lyssa drifted off at some point, still wrapped only in the robe and her hair dried stiff.

It was the sound of her phone on the table which woke her— not the tone signaling a call but the obnoxious alert announcing a text message.

“Cassie?” she called, smacking her dry lips. “Bring me my phone.” She felt too sorry for herself to bother getting up.

The room was hot. Broiling hot. They'd run the air conditioner all night, but she'd turned it off after Ramon left. A chill had settled over her.

Now she was covered in sweat.

“Cassie?” Louder this time. She lifted her head. “Honey?”

The television was still on, the sound a dull drone interrupted by intermittent squeaks and chirps of some unfamiliar animated kid's show. She looked to the other bed, but it was empty.

“Cassie?”

Heart racing, she pushed herself to a sitting position, her head still swimming from the stupor of her sleep.

“Cassie!”

“What?”

“Jesus Christ, honey. Why didn't you answer me before? You gave me a scare!”

“I was going to the bathroom. It hurts to—”

The phone made that sound again.

Lyssa scrambled for the device, pulling it up to her face to read the message—
two
messages, actually. They were both from Ramon. The first apologized for taking so long.

The second was to inform her that he wasn't going to make it back for lunch.

She jabbed the button to call him back, livid to the point of not caring anymore. He answered immediately.

“What is it, honey? I'm in a meeting.”

She opened her mouth but her throat closed off. She was too angry to speak. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was past noon, but it didn't seem right. How could she have slept all this time?

“Lyssa?”

“Cassie's starving,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, that's why I texted,” he told her in a low voice. “You two go and do something fun together. Get a manicure or something. It's looking like I won't be able to get out of here for another couple hours.”

She ended up packing their bags and leaving.
Let Ramon find his own way home
, she thought bitterly. It's only forty miles. He can take the bus, for all I care.

Of course, once they were back on Long Island, back across the East River and out of the shadows of the monolithic skyscrapers, she couldn't help but have second thoughts about abandoning him like that. She knew running away was no way to deal with their problems. On the other hand, it wasn't running away if there was nothing to run away from.

“Is Daddy moving out again?” Cassie asked, her voice quivering.

Lyssa looked up into the mirror. “I don't— No, I mean. Don't worry.”

“Then why isn't he coming home with us?”

“He has work to do.”

She turned back toward the road, the phone on the seat beside her catching her attention. Still nothing from Drew. She was getting worried. She expected him to at least call and let her know how yesterday had gone. This was so unlike him.

“You know, hon,” she said. “Why don't we take our own little trip? It'll be fun.”

 

“Are we going to the beach?”

“Not today, honey. I was thinking we'd go out to Laroda Island, to where Daddy and Mommy work. You like it there, don't you?”

“Can I see the rabbits?”

“Maybe. It depends on if we have any in back. And we're not bringing anymore animals home. We already have too many pets.”

“Just Ben Nicholas,” she pouted.

“And Shinji.”

“Shinji came from the pound. And he's your dog, not mine. Daddy said so.”

Lyssa clenched her jaw. As if a dog could possibly take the place of a baby. As if an animal could help her forget what she'd lost.

“Are we going to come back and get Daddy?”

“No, honey.”

“Then how is he going to get home?”

Lyssa slowly let out a deep breath and focused on being calm. They passed a sign,
NOW LEAVING CROWN HEIGHTS
, which meant they were almost halfway home. She could turn around and be back at the hotel in a half hour.

But the impulse to submit to her guilt over leaving Ramon passed.

He's smart enough to figure out why I left.

He was smart enough then to figure out how to get himself home.

“Daddy'll ride the bus home later tonight,” she said. “He's done it before, back before you were born. We only had the one car then.”

Of course he'd be angry with her, but that was the point, right? What else did he expect after breaking his promise to them about the weekend?

They passed the exit which would take them north to LaGuardia. She continued on the
495
heading east. Just twenty short minutes later they were home. Much to Lyssa's surprise, there hadn't been any slowdowns, none of the work crews. Even for a Sunday afternoon, traffic had been remarkably light.

They stopped in the house just long enough for Cassie to check on her rabbit. Lyssa tried Drew's home phone one last time, but he didn't answer.

A thick, gray storm of worry was building inside of her. It was so unlike Drew not to touch base with her, especially after she'd asked him to.

“Hurry up, Cassie!”

She was considering stopping by his place, but then was forced to reconsider the plan when she remembered she didn't know his exact street address. It was filed away inside the cabinet in her office. If there was no note or message for her there, she'd stop on the way back home.

“Can I bring Ben Nicholas?”

“I don't think—”

“
Pleeease, Mama?”

“You can bring Shinji, okay? But only if he stays in the car while we're inside the building. That's the deal, since we're not supposed to have animals inside.”

“But you have animals inside.”

“That's different. And no arguing. And I've told you not to carry your rabbit around like that. You're choking him. He'll scratch or bite you.”

“They don't hurt.”

“What doesn't hurt?”

“His bites. He bit my finger and I didn't even cry.” She held up her thumb and showed Lyssa the tiny white mark.

“Oh, Cassie. You need to be more careful around animals. They carry germs. I won't always be around to make sure you're safe.”

“But I like petting their fur.”

“Just put him away.”

Cassie headed out the back door, sulking. The rabbit jounced in her arms, looking altogether too uncomfortable for his own good, yet he made no attempt to get away.

“I promise you'll be able to spend time with him when we get home later,” Lyssa called out the door to her. “Get Shinji and let's go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll get back again.”

The house phone rang just as Lyssa was locking the front door. Cassie was already belted in her seat in the car, Shinji on the seat beside her.

It's Drew.

She quickly unlocked the door and flung it open. The hallway cradle for the telephone handset was empty. Lyssa cursed under her breath and tried to remember where she'd put it.

It rang a third time. After the fourth, it would go straight to the answering machine.

“Where the hell—”

On the coffee table!

She raced down the hall and answered just as the fourth ring began.

“Drew?” she said, panting.

“Lyssa? There you are!”

It was Ramon. She clenched her jaw.

“When you didn't answer your cell phone, I got worried.” He paused, perhaps hoping for her to acknowledge leaving him stranded in the city wasn't such a good idea. Finally, he said, “Listen, honey, I'm sorry. I know this was supposed to be our weekend and I screwed up.”

“I have to go.”

“Look, if it's any consolation, lunch was terrible and the meetings were boring as hell. Those money guys are a bunch of stuffy pricks. But they're more on board—”

“I have to go,” Lyssa repeated. She could feel her face getting hot, her skin prickling. “Cassie's in the car.”

This time he heard her. “Where are you going? No, wait. Never mind. Listen, I'll catch the next bus home. Will you be there when—?”