Drowning in the East River (15 page)

She sniffled, reaching for her bag, which was sitting next to her on the bench. She pulled out a handkerchief, and quickly dabbed at the corners of her eyes.

"I know how you think, baby." David said. He wrapped his arm around her, and she leaned into him with a soft sigh. He thought for a moment before speaking again. He had never gone into his reasons with her, but she was smart enough to put it together. The look in her eyes told him that she knew. "And yes- there is a reason why I wan- why I need to do this.”

"Dave... You don’t..."

David continued, cutting her off gently, "I need one thing from you, Jess.”

“David..."

He ran his fingers through her hair, which she had curled the night before. He gently tugged on one of the ringlets which hung out of her up-do, framing her face. "The only thing I need, is for you to wait for me.”

Jessica looked over at him, studying his face. She spoke slowly at first, a soft smile crossing her face, breaking the tension. "You know I will.”

"It feels better hearing it," David said, shifting his glance out to the river. A horn sounded as a trash barge slowly chugged by. He dug in his pocket for a cigarette.

"Is your father home?" Jessica whispered into his ear, leaning into his body. The sensation of her breath on his ear sent a shiver through his muscles.

David pulled out his pocket watch, checking the time. "He should be well into his third or fourth whiskey by now," David replied. He pushed himself up to his feet, and held his hand out for hers. "We should have plenty of time.”

"Good," Jessica said, smiling at him.

He and Jessica had spent that last night together. They both seemed to want to take things the rest of the way on his last night, but it didn't progress. They had spent the whole night wound around each other in bed, talking about a little of everything.

Looking up and down the street, David blew out a centering breath and tightened his grip on the ratty suitcase in his hand. He set his eyes on his destination across the street, silently hoping that he was strong enough to go against the nervous knot of doubt weighing him down.

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Go on in," Alexander said, holding open the hotel room door for David. As they stepped inside, they were overwhelmed by the earthy odor of cigarette smoke mixed with marijuana which hung heavily in the air. A slow smile crossed Alexander's face. "Welcome to the most exciting place in the Caribbean, my friend.”

The ship had docked in Havana early that morning, and it had taken them only a few hours to get the lay of the land once they could escape the claustrophobic constraints of the ship.

David exhaled deeply. His muscles tingled with relaxation and uneasy relief at finally being away from New York and everything it stood for.

Havana felt bright and open compared to the increasingly crowded and dank Manhattan streets. The ocean breeze kept pleasant, fresh air circulating over the city. The cool, salty air was a welcomed change from the stagnant, fishy stench blowing off the river.

They had found their way over to the Plaza en la Playa. It was probably a bit too kind of a name for the strip of rickety motel rooms built on top of a less than picturesque section of the beach. It had probably been ritzy and luxurious fifty years ago, but the glossy exterior had faded long ago.

As David stepped further inside the cramped room, he surveyed the dingy space. The double room swelled with people enjoying what appeared to be a raucous party. The smell of alcohol and reefer slowly mingled with the musky odor of humanity, giving the crowded room an even tighter, claustrophobic feel.

"Drink?" Alexander asked, shooting David a playful glance as they maneuvered deeper into the hotel room. Alexander's eyes shot around the room as they moved towards a less crowded corner.

Somewhere a gramophone was playing a jaunty jazz record. David stepped around a tipsy couple trying to Charleston as Alexander continued, "I'm sure they keep the good stuff here somewhere."

David inhaled deeply, holding the smell of reefer deeply in his lungs. He popped the top button on his jacket and leaned against the corner.

"Drink," Alexander said. He materialized in front of him, holding out a glass of heavy brown liquor. David gripped the drink tightly in his shaky fingers as he slowly swirled the brandy. Alexander took a sip of his own drink before he continued, a wince crossing his face. "I would drink that slow. It's pretty strong stuff."

David took a long sip of the drink; the whisky burned his throat the whole way down. The sudden influx of the alcohol into his system flushed his cheeks with relaxation almost instantly. "I'm twenty-five," David said, looking around the room. He could feel Alexander's eyes on him. David chuckled at the abruptness of his statement. He ran his fingers through his hair as he took another sip. "I'm twenty fucking five. Why can I not pull myself out of this?"

David's eyes were drawn across the room to where two girls were sitting. Their limbs were intertwined as they alternated sips from a brandy glass, fully engrossed in each other's company.

"You need to relax," Alexander said as he took another big sip of the thick drink in his hand. He stepped into David's body, running his hand down David's bicep. They exchanged an intimate glance in the crowded room. Alexander continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "You're here to have fun."

"Thank you for everything," David said, resting his head on Alexander's shoulder. "I appreciate everything you've done for me. It feels good to have a friend."

Alexander looked around the room, suddenly distracted. "Here." He walked over to the bookshelf and quickly returned, holding a small syrette between his fingers. A mischievous smile spread across his lips as he continued. "Why don't we try some of this."

"Morphine..." David asked, recognizing the familiar looking print on the small tube. He had seen plenty of them while he was in the hospital.

"Roll up your sleeve," Alexander said.

David rolled his sleeve up to the elbow, and held his forearm out to Alexander. In his time in the hospital, David had been given a lot of morphine. The nurses said it was to get him through the pain.

David closed his eyes as the hollow needle plunged into his vein. The fuzzy feeling of relaxation was virtually immediate as the pain killer pumped into his system, propelling any anxiety he still felt into the foggy haze.

David looked around. He was in the apartment again. Jessica's shoes were set up neatly near the door. The stack of photographs was still strewn across the table. It was like he'd never left.

He glanced across the room to the closed bedroom door which seemed to be taunting him.

Taking a centering breath, he walked over to the bedroom door. The knob felt warm and sticky under his palm. The door was locked.

"What are you doing here?"

Turning around, David barely repressed a stunned gasp as he saw Jessica standing in the doorway, staring at him. "J-J-What are you doing here?"

"I live here," she said, walking over to him. She cracked a small smile as she looked him up and down. He knew that look. She was in a grabby mood. She looked up into his eyes. She continued, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

His thoughts were jumbled and convoluted, as he struggled to keep what was proving to be a tentative grasp on reality.

David blinked back the fog clouding his vision as Jessica slinked around him. He could feel her soft hand rest on his bicep.

"You're dead..." David said, his tongue tripping over the words. "You died."

Her laugh was lyrical, "Don't be silly. How am I here then?"

He tried to swallow back the cotton he could feel building in his throat, "I don't know."

"If I were dead, how could I do this?" Jessica's leaned into his body, her voice thick and husky with desire. To his confusion, David could feel his pants tightening as her usual lavender perfume washed over him.

She leaned in, kissing him fully on the lips as her hands looped around his neck.

It felt so familiar as she parted her lips enough for him to slide his tongue inside of her mouth.

"Fuck!" David cried out, pulling abruptly back from Jessica. Her lively tongue had suddenly turned ice cold in his mouth.

As he looked her up and down, his mind clumsy with confusion, he could see a thick crimson colored mass spreading over her cream colored skirts.

David looked up at the ceiling of the hotel room. He was soaked in sweat. It may have been from the tropical humidity, or the nerves left over from his dream, he wasn't sure. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, David glanced around the crowded hotel room and took some deep breaths. His pulse was racing out of control. He blinked his eyes several times, trying to repress the shivers still throbbing through his muscles.

Sitting up, David glanced at the ground. Alexander snored soundly on the floor below him. There were probably 10 or 12 other people scattered around the room, passed out in various stages of undress. An exhausted stillness hung in the air.

David stood up, and grabbed his clothes from where they laid on the floor. He held his breath as he stepped over Alexander to an open square of floor. Every crack of the floorboards seem to rattle the room, threatening to wake everyone up.

His fingers felt clumsy as they tripped through the normally simple task of buttoning his shirt.

As David moved towards the front door, he stepped over the two lesbians, who were asleep on the living room floor, still entwined in each others arms, looks of relaxed pleasure on their sleeping faces. One of the women's blouse was unbuttoned, her large breasts spilling out from under her slip.

His dressing job could only be described as sloppy as he stepped out into the darkness. He took a moment to tuck the rest of his shirt tails into his pants. A soft glow slowly built on the horizon, but sunrise was still a few hours away.

CHAPTER NINE

David walked into the well lit entrance way, pulling the massive, redwood front door closed behind him.

Carlito's was a dive bar just off the main tourist strip in Havana. From the outside, it was an unassuming windowless facade, easily missed unless you'd been there before.

The soft thud of David’s footsteps on the ceramic, tile floor echoed in the cavernous ceilings. Looking around, the ivory wallpaper in the hallway had started to yellow with age.

Moving into the quiet, air cooled entrance way, David looked around. He was alone in the dimly lit hallway. He could just make out the quiet sound of activity echoing from somewhere deep within the cavernous series of rooms.

"Buenos noches, señor." A girl emerged from one of the rooms, her black hair piled on top of her head. The setting sun streaming though the small windows on the front wall brought out subtle violet highlights in her thick waves of hair.

The girl sized him up quietly, showing signs she liked what she saw. Her make-up had been quickly applied to her cheeks, a deep red lipstick was spread over her lips. She had wide, innocent black eyes, highlighted with deep green eyeshadow and thick, black eyeliner. She was tiny, barely coming up to his collar bone, and was rail thin. She had the hurried, overdone look of a young girl trying to look older than she was. Looking at her, she couldn't have been older than fifteen or sixteen years old.

"Hola," David said. He took his hat off and rested it on a hat rack near the door. He looked around the quiet room, looking for somewhere to take a cue from.