Ravens. Part 4

Romeo got up and stumbled into the bathroom.

Said Shaw, without turning, "You up?"

"Uh-uh."

Romeo was still stuffed with his dreams. He elected to sit while peeing.

Shaw said, "It scares me how much you sleep."

On the frosted shower gla.s.s was the biggest c.o.c.kroach Romeo had ever seen. It didn't even try to run. It just crouched there, twirling its mustaches.

Romeo came back into the room and said, "It's a furnace in here. You mind if I turn on the air-conditioning?"

"Too much racket. Wait till I'm done."

"Done with what?"

"Changing our lives."

Romeo put on his jeans and sneakers. He went out to the Tercel and opened the trunk and dug in his duffel for a T-s.h.i.+rt. He put it on there in the parking lot, in the stunning heat. There was some kind of death smell hanging in the air. He hoped they would soon get the h.e.l.l out of there.

He went looking for the soda machine, which he found under a concrete stairwell. He was shoving in quarters when a girl showed up, looking for ice. She had a big bony brow, and a T-s.h.i.+rt with Jesus on the cross. She gave him a quick smile and filled her bucket. He was surprised to find he wasn't afraid of her.

He said, "Hey, you smell that?"

She sniffed. "Uh-huh. It's what they call Confederate jasmine."

"No, I mean the other smell. It's like, I don't know, like something rotting?"

"Oh." She sniffed again. "Maybe the pulp mill?"

"I thought there was like a ma.s.s grave or something."

She said, "I don't really smell it. I guess I've been here too long."

"How long you been here?"

"Four months."

"What's that say under your cross?"

"The Church of Jesus Triumphant."

"That's your church? You go there?"

"It's not like a church you go to. It's a missionary church. From Missouri. I'm a missionary."

"You should mission to me."

"You mean, witness witness to you?" to you?"

"Yeah, but good luck."

She didn't try, though. They talked, but not about Jesus. They talked about the heat. Romeo said how could it be so hot when it was still May? The girl said it got hot early down here. Romeo asked her if it got this hot in Missouri. She said sometimes, and then she told him how boring Missouri was. He told her how boring Piqua, Ohio, was. She told him Brunswick was boring too, but not so so boring because there were beaches nearby, although she didn't go to them much. boring because there were beaches nearby, although she didn't go to them much.

She was leaning up against the ice machine and chewing a piece of ice, which he thought s.e.xy. Her name was Tess. She invited him up to her room to meet her roommate.

He took her up on it. He met her roommate Megan and the three of them hung out and watched a Gilmore Girls Gilmore Girls rerun. rerun.

The girls had a boxful of leaflets telling how the world was on its last legs. He took one and tried to read it, but it was instantly, stingingly depressing, and he was afraid it might get them started. So he put it in his pocket, to read later. Then he said, "I guess you girls don't drink, do you?"

Said Tess, "We can when we're not witnessing."

"Well, let's witness me some other time then," said Romeo, and the girls laughed. He asked them if they had boyfriends. They looked at each other and laughed some more.

Megan said, "Tess had a boyfriend. But he was a total a.s.shole."

Tess asked him, "You know Arroyo?"

He shrugged. "You mean like from around here? I don't know anybody."

"Oh, right."

Megan said, "You know what he does? He does body suspensions. He's got that old auto-paint shop up on 17, and there's like this crane thing behind it, where he puts hooks in you and hangs you up in the air."

"He puts hooks in you?"

"Yeah."

"In your flesh?"

"Yeah."

"People let let him do that?" him do that?"

Megan shrugged. "Don't ask me why."

But then Tess spoke up, with a flicker of pride: "I let him do it." let him do it."

"Really?" said Romeo. "What was it like?"

"It's hard to explain," said Tess. She had a faraway look.

Romeo asked, "Did it make you feel close to G.o.d?"

"No, it made me feel like I was was G.o.d. When He was on the Cross. And then after it was over? G.o.d. When He was on the Cross. And then after it was over? Oh Oh. Like so good. Like nothing nothing sucks." sucks."

"Yeah, but then he dumped you," Megan reminded her. "Because he's a total a.s.shole."

Romeo liked listening to them. He'd never met missionaries before. He invited them down to his room for Jack-and-c.o.kes, and on the way, he walked behind them, trying to decide which girl was prettier, so he could offer that one to Shaw. But there was no prettier one. Tess had the disturbing forehead and Megan was squat like a traffic cone, and they were equally unappealing, unless you were in a generous mood. Shaw was in a weird mood. He was still flying around on the web when they got to the room, still working on that mysterious project. He seemed unhinged. He nodded when Romeo made introductions but didn't speak and didn't shake hands, and the look he cast Romeo was on the order of What's with the b.i.t.c.hes? What's with the b.i.t.c.hes?

This hurt Romeo because he had brought these girls as gifts. "They're missionaries," he said. "From Missouri."

Shaw said, "Missionaries to what?"

Tess said, "We go door to door."

"Here?"

"Uh-huh."

Shaw stared at them. "You're on a mission to Brunswick, Georgia?"

"Uh-huh."

"You're evangelizing the Bible Belt Bible Belt?"

He smiled and the girls smiled too. Whenever Shaw got one of his insights into the true heart of things, his lips would curl up on one side and he could be charming and off-kilter and really funny if he didn't go overboard.

Romeo fixed drinks for everyone. Liberal measures of Jack. It was turning into a party; he was excited. But then Shaw turned away without a word and went back to his laptop, clickety-click clickety-click. It got kind of awkward, just listening to that, so after a minute Romeo and the girls decided go back upstairs.

However, as they were all leaving, Shaw said, "Wait. Romeo, hang around a second. I want to ask you something."

Romeo told the girls to go on ahead.

It was clear that something was coming. He had a feeling. The best course would be to say no right away, even before Shaw launched. Not even wait to hear Shaw's proposal. Just clear out, go get trashed with the girls. But he didn't do that. He sat on one of the motel beds while Shaw sat on the other, facing him, and when Shaw said, "OK, listen, I need you," Romeo nodded meekly.

"For what?"

"Something I couldn't trust anyone else in the world with. I mean you and me, we're the only ones alive who can do this. Because we've got this trust between us. But it's going to be scary as h.e.l.l and at any moment we could get ourselves killed and if you're not up for it you just say so right away and I'll understand. OK? You go back home and do tech support. But I'm going to do this. And if you want to do this with me, I mean if you want to live live, well I mean, we will will change the world." change the world."

Romeo said, "What do you need?" Because he was terrified, it came out as a croak - but he said it.

"I don't mean just change our lives," said Shaw. "I mean change the whole f.u.c.king world."

"What do you need, Shaw?"

"I need you to play kind of a role. Like what you'd call angel of vengeance angel of vengeance. You ready for that?"

Tara found the whole thing amusing. The way Dad had to work so hard to maintain his air of righteous outrage. The way Jase had to pretend he was really chastened: tucking into infancy, burrowing his head between Mom's shoulder and the couch. "Caleb found the whole thing amusing. The way Dad had to work so hard to maintain his air of righteous outrage. The way Jase had to pretend he was really chastened: tucking into infancy, burrowing his head between Mom's shoulder and the couch. "Caleb swore swore he wouldn't tell. I made him he wouldn't tell. I made him swear swear, Dad."

Said Dad, "But you promised us, Jase. You gave us your word you'd keep your trap shut. Remember? You weren't gonna tell anyone about the jackpot. Anyone."

"So I'm sorry sorry."

Serene in his brattiness because he knew he was in the clear. He wouldn't be punished tonight tonight. Dad's lecture came out sounding formal and half-hearted. "Well now I'm sure it's all over town. I hope you learned something. This is a tough world, and it's going to get a lot tougher. Get this into your head now - trust your family and your faith and nothing else. You hear me?"

"I said I was sorry sorry."

"You better pray no reporter gets hold of this."

"Dad?"

"What."

"If we buy a mansion on the beach? Can I get a Jet Ski?"

Tara had to smile. Poor Dad, compelled to wind himself up again: "ARE YOU HEARING A WORD I'M SAYING?"

Naturally Jase started snuffling again - but Mom smoothed his head and murmured, "Oh, of course you can have a Jet Ski."

"What are you telling telling him?" him?"

"For G.o.d's sake, Mitch. We're gonna be trillionaires. It won't kill him to have a Jet Ski."

Tara laughed. "Then can I I get a Jet Ski? Can I get a Jet Ski made of pure gold?" get a Jet Ski? Can I get a Jet Ski made of pure gold?"

"Just stop it," said Dad.

Jase said, "I don't care if mine's made of gold or not. I just want a fast one."

Tara said, "Yeah, I also want fast. But I mostly want gold. And amphibious. I think it's only fair -"

Jase took the bait. "If she she gets an amphibious Jet Ski, I should get -" gets an amphibious Jet Ski, I should get -"

"n.o.bODY'S GETTING A JET SKI!" Dad thundered.

Then he shook his head slowly and sighed. "Or, I don't know. What the heck. Let's all all get Jet Skis." get Jet Skis."

It was an astonis.h.i.+ng thing for Tara, to see her whole family laughing at once. She couldn't remember the last time this had happened. More of this jackpot magic - more of these waves of bliss and wide-open freedom.

Mom went into the kitchen to make herself a little drink, and Dad started telling them about this financial guy he'd met today - some big muckety from Sea Island, and also some big lawyer from Atlanta; and the jackpot ticket was in the safety deposit box so that was taken care of; and tomorrow he'd arrange with some security firm about bodyguards because they'd probably need them, at least for the first few weeks - The doorbell rang.

Dad said, "Oh Lord. Already? If that's a reporter. I swear, Jase, if that's a reporter already already -" -"

Tara answered the door. A young man: late twenties, kind of pallid, ungainly, and his corduroy jacket didn't fit him well. But he had a nice smile. And he knew her name. "h.e.l.lo, Tara."

"Who are you?"

"Bill Rooney," he said. He flashed his ID. "Georgia Lottery Commission. Your folks around?"

Dad was already at her shoulder. "What can I do for you?"

"My name's Bill Rooney." The ID said, William B. Rooney. Agent. Georgia State Lottery Commission. William B. Rooney. Agent. Georgia State Lottery Commission. "May I come in for a moment?" "May I come in for a moment?"

Dad was nervous. "I thought we were supposed to come to you. Anyway how do you - why would you think we're we're the winners -" the winners -"

Rooney laughed. "None of my business, Mr. Boatwright. I'm just here to share a little advice in case you should should win something. OK? Could we talk a moment?" win something. OK? Could we talk a moment?"