Unlikely

TWENTY TWO

I toss back my water glass of 151 rum and slouch on the scrap metal bar top, waiting for my nerves to untangle. Gavin wrinkles his nose at me by way of greeting and goes back to his beer.

"Really?"

"Go see Jade already." He says as he squints at me through his bushy eyebrows.

I signal for another rum and gulp it down, hoping to get two in me before the bots break it down. Gavin can be a little direct but I have to concede he has a point. I'd rinsed off at the apartment I'd been haunting this last week but there hadn't been any soap or shampoo. I am starting to turn.

"Fine. I'll see Jade." We sit in companionable silence and I can feel the tension leaving me. This had been a long week for me. Hunting Mr.Friendly is proving to be the most challenging search so far. The mystery surrounding him has expanded exponentially and my brain is fried from sorting through all the possible scenarios. Also, I'd spent more time than usual by myself, alone, which had led to a different kind of stress, stewing in my own juices.

"Gavin..." I pause, wondering if I want to go there. "Why aren't you afraid of me?" I finally manage. Immediately I want to take the words back. I hate that I struggle with identity issues. I think there is some part of me that believes I'll be able to accept myself as a monster if I know I have Gavin's acceptance. We've never really spoken of the incident or our strange arrangement/relationship now. I hear a huge sigh, as though all breath has left his body in one great exodus.

"Ah, lass..." He says softly.

There is an essence to Gavin that reminds me of the old west when cowboys roamed with their herds of cattle and had skin like old shoe leather. He'd have a whip on his belt and a wide-brimmed hat over his shaggy mane, probably a mustache too. I saw him as a sort of manly man, swooping in to save the damsel from whatever god awful mess she'd gotten herself into. There was a code of honor hardwired into him and he was the truest friend I had ever known. With me as a company owner and him a night janitor, we would never have met if not for the fateful night of the fire and his heroics.

"I've seen you at your worst, Mir. I think, when a person hits bottom, all their pretense is stripped away. All their safeguards, all their protective walls are reduced to dust and the essence of them is left bare. I know you would never turn on me just as you know I would never shoot you at your rest." He winks at me for good measure. "Now go see Jade!"

Buoyed by his confidence in me I head out. The wind is brisk and I can smell snow, perfect weather for a steam bath. Jade is a friend of Gavin's and owns The Falu Lotus, an out of the way bathhouse that caters to those who enjoy anonymity and for some, the pleasure of a companion.

"Miri!" Jade claps her hands and grins. Her long hair is done up in the latest fashion and though short in stature, she is able to look me in the eyes due to outrageously tall stiletto heels. Jade has a heart of gold and the cool head of a serious business person. She could survive anywhere and make it look effortless.

"Jade, looking fantastic!" I allow her to take my gloved hand and lead me through to the back rooms.

"Too long Miri!"

"I know, sorry."

"No.....too long!" She grins and waves a delicate hand under her nose. I snort at her joke. She has been a good friend to me and I know she hasn't a mean bone in her. "You'll not get a man smelling of old fish, no way!"

We pass through a narrow greenhouse lined in orchids of all colors and enter a circular room with three doors and another hallway to the right. It is a long hall lit by small gas lamps and lined with old fashioned photos in sepia tones. Combined with the burgundy velvet wallpaper I was getting the feeling of having entered an old west bordello.