Dancing Hours (34 page)

Andrea, I hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend.  I been thinking about you quite a lot, I know school is very important to you, but can we get together tonight please?  I know you need some time to yourself to think, but I’d really like to see you.

I cringed when he mentioned
“
tonight
”
.  The last thing I needed was him showing up somewhere while I was with my Nan.  I loved her very much, but I doubted there was anything she could do to dissuade X.  I would have to call him back or he would just keep calling.  Hesitantly, I dialed his number thinking
please don’t pick up, let it go to voicemail.  C’mon, one more
ring
.
  Ah! No such luck.  He answered.  I explained that my grandmother was in town and I would be spending some time with her tonight.  X sounded angry.  He insisted on meeting Nan, but I said that was out of the question.  When the doorbell rang, a flash of panic flew through me.  Could he possibly be standing outside my door right now? 
Thank goodness for peep holes, it was the driver coming to pick me up.

I smiled at him and held up a finger
silently
while I picked up my purse.  I said to X for a final time that I was not going to be seeing him tonight as I locked the door to my apartment.  Hanging up on him felt pretty
good
.  I turned and apologized to the driver for my rudeness and he took me to see Nan.

When I got to her hotel room, she was in her pajamas and a robe. 

“Are we getting room service?” I asked, confused.

“I’m sorry, sweet pea. 
It’s
three hours later for me and that flight took quite a bit out of me.  I’ve realized that I need to rest tonight.  David’s going to take you to dinner.”

“Uh, okay.”

“I think you two have a lot of catching up to do, but I’m afraid that in light of the circumstances with this Mr. X, it would be better if Mr. Wright came along with you. I’ve already called him and he’s prepared to meet you wherever you choose to go.  Do you have any good ideas?”

David knocked and
Nan let him
in.  He got filled in on the news and didn’t seem too
disappointed;
although he seemed a little offended that Nan thought we needed a chaperone. 

Nan handed him an envelope.  “There’s a thousand dollars in there, David. I expect you to spend every penny of it tonight treating Andy and Mr. Wright to a good time.”  David looked at it like someone had just put a bomb in his hands and suggested that it would blow up if he didn’t comply. 

“Ms. Nessa, I do not even know how to spend a thousand dollars in one night.”

I brightened immediately.  “I know just the place!  And I’m going to tip the bathroom attendant $20.”

Nan laughed.  She had no idea what I was talking about, but she looked pleased.  I gave her the name of the restaurant and she promised to call Ed after we’d left.  Sunday night was not very busy at Spellbinders, but it was a much better crowd than you’d see back home at any restaurant on a Sunday night. 

We sat in the bar area and David ordered a beer
,  I
had a soda.

“You’re still not 21 yet?” he teased.

“Ha. Ha.
Old man.
  I am 20 now.”

“You are?  Did I miss your birthday?  I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay.  We haven’t really talked much this last year.”

“No, I guess not.  It’s really good to see you; even considering the circumstances.  How did you get hooked up with a drug dealer?”

I rubbed my temples.  “It’s more complicated than that.  He’s not just a drug dealer.  I just, I don’t know.  How about – it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“And to think I was worried about you falling for my brother.”

“Yeah, I think you were right about him.”

“Of course I am.  But what was I right about?”

“He’s trouble.  I don’t think he means to be, but he’s only looking out for himself.  I don’t think I wanted to believe it, but he’s got some problems.”

“I wanted to talk to you about that…”

I saw Ed Wright come into the restaurant and waved him over.  It was only after I’d stood that I realized I might have interrupted David at some important moment, but it was too late.  We all approached the host and were seated at a table.  I explained to Ed that Nan had given David a thousand dollars to spend tonight so he should eat as much as he possibly could.  He started by ordering a gin and tonic.

We were all talking and laughing in no time.  I didn’t appreciate David telling the story of my
hurlotechnics
, but in retrospect it was kind of funny.  I excused myself to the restroom and was happy at my luck to find Sharon there.  I gladly tipped her $20 and chatted for a few minutes.

I walked out feeling quite full and happy, but was surprisingly accosted in the hallway. 
X
grabbed my arm and pushed me up against the wall
into a little cubby area where there were pay phones
hard enough that my head hit the wall
.

“Which one of those gentlemen would be your
grandmother
?” he hissed
.

“Stop it.  You’re hurting me.” I
complained
.  He didn’t let go.  “If you don’t let go of me right now, I am going to scream bloody murder.” I threatened.

He stepped back and pulled his arms up to
his hair flattening it against his head
.  “Why are you doing this to me?” he asked in agony.  He looked completely crazed.
  “I don’t want to hurt
you,
I don’t ever want to hurt you.”

I held out my hands in front of me in
what I hoped was
a soothing gesture.  “My grandmother was feeling tired.  The man on the left is an old family friend and the man on the right is a friend from back home.  Why don’t we go and talk to them?”

“You’re lying.  You’re lying.”  He was saying it to me and to himself at the same time.  He started to rock a little bit standing there and I looked outside the hall to see if anyone could even see us if he tried to drag me out of here right now.  I’d seen an Oprah episode
once where she said you should never let someone take you to a second location, because that’s where you ended up dead.  I most definitely did not want to end up dead right now.

“No, really.
  I’m glad that you’re here. 
Just calm down.”
  I touched his arm and asked gently “How did you know where to find me?”

“There’s a GPS tracker in your phone!” he spat
, grabbing one of my hands again painfully
.

Dam
n
it.  I hadn’t realized that I’d put that phone in my purse when I left the apartment.  This guy really was a psycho stalker.  I had to think.  It was hard to think right now.  I’d been gone for a few minutes, but guys don’t usually notice that sort of thing when there are other people to talk to.  Would they come looking for me? 
Probably not.
  What could I possibly say to X to get us out of this hallway and into a room full of people?
  The music was really loud in here, some melancholy song I’d never heard before.

“I just wanted to meet your family and you do this to me… what are you doing?  You love me.  You
love
me.”  His tone was urgent and I could tell that his thinking was becoming more and more disjointed.  I tried to remember what I could about
hostage situations
, but my brain had gone into a serious holding pattern.

“Why don’t we just go sit down and talk about it?” I asked, wondering if there was anything inside my purse I could use as a weapon if necessary.

“I don’t want to sit down.  I should never have let you out of my sight.”

Just then Sharon came out of the ladies room like an angel.  I imagined she had probably seen and heard it all, but I hoped against hope that she wouldn’t walk right past us and ignore me. 

As she walked through the door and turned into the hallway, she smiled at me and I looked back at her panicked. 
She
seemed to understand immediately.

“Excuse me,” she interrupted stepping
next to
us and facing me “Could you possibly help me with my zipper.  I’m afraid it’s stuck.”

X released my hand and
I looked at her, not completely
understanding what was going on.  S
he looked very purposely back toward the restroom.  That’s when I got it. 
“Absolutely!”
I chirped.  “You don’t mind, do you Michael?  I promise I’ll be right back.” 
  His expression was unreadable, but I imagined nothing good was going on in his head right now.

Sharon and I
walked toward the bathroom and I hoped he would not stop us.  Inside, she took me straight to the last stall.  “Go in there and lock the door and call whoever you need to call.  If he comes in here I’ll stall him.”

“Okay, thank you.” I agreed gratefully.  I didn’t have Ed’s number, so I called David and explained that X was in the hall and gone completely off his rocker.  I heard him relay the information to Ed who told him to stay there.  He started protesting and then it sounded like he put the phone against his chest, I could only hear muffled discussion after that.  Then David got back on the line.  “Mr. Wright is going to have a word with him right now. “

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?  Maybe we should call the police.”

“I think Ed has this covered.  Why don’t you stay on the line with me until I let you know it’s clear to come
out.
”

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“That’
s the attitude.”

“Hold on.” I opened the stall door and looked at Sharon “Thank you so much.  That was really nice of you.”  She nodded silently. Speaking back into the phone I asked “What’s going on out there?”

“Ed’s talking to him.”

“I don’t want Ed to get hurt
.  Maybe I should
go out there.”

Sharon shook her head
silently
in disagreement.

“Give him a minute.  I’m sure those guys talk the same language and you don’t need to go out there and make that guy crazy any more than he already is.”

“I know, this is my fault.”

“Hey, it’s nobody’s fault.  How were you supposed to know that you were going to attract a maniac and make him fall in love with you?”

“Ugh.  Can I come out of the bathroom now?”