On the Other Side (25 page)

She frowned. “Is that mine?” Damita asked agitatedly.

“Yes, it is. I'm sorry. You dropped it while you were sleeping and I considered putting it on your lap or in your bag, but I didn't want to take any chances that you would either drop it again, or that
you would wake up just in time to see my hand going toward your lap, and scratch my eyes out.”

“Thank you,” she said apprehensively.

He smiled. “Are you always so guarded?” he asked.

“Wow! Do you always make assumptions about people you don't know?” she countered.

“Only when I'm clearly stating the obvious,” he responded.

He returned to his book and Damita returned to her notepad without further conversation.

The bus driver announced a stop and both Damita and many of the passengers got off the bus, including Damita and the man sitting next to her.

There was a fast-food restaurant and she went in and got a burger and fries.

“That stuff will kill you,” he said.

Damita shook her head. “Are you still watching me? Isn't there anyone else here you'd like to play close attention to besides me?” Damita asked.

“Not that I'm admitting to watching you, but I will say that there is no one else here worth watching more than you.”

“That has got to be the cheesiest line I've ever heard,” Damita said, laughing.

“It may have been cheesy, but at least it made you smile. Not only did you smile but you actually laughed. I didn't think you were capable of such a feat.”

“Yes, I do laugh on occasion; especially when I don't feel like I'm being stalked.”

He smirked. “Someone's a little full of herself.”

“Well, isn't what you were doing the definition of stalking;
to pursue or approach stealthily?”

“Not bad, Halle. I like them pretty
and
smart.”

“Excuse me? What did you call me?”

“Well, I called you pretty and smart.”

“That's not what I'm talking about. Why did you call me Halle?”

“I'd think that would be obvious. You remind me of her, you know?”

“Are you really going to offer me yet another cheesy line?”

“What cheesy line? You really do remind me of Halle Berry.”

“You know what, that line is right up there with,
excuse me, are you a model?”

“That was going to be my next question.”

Damita scrunched up her face in mock disgust and once again laughed.

“Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” he asked.

She laughed again. “Please, no, stop it. What do you have, a book full of these things? The title must be something like the top twenty-five things to say to get a girl talking.”

“I actually don't have a book like that, but if I did, I would say it was worth every penny.”

“It would be at that.”

They walked together back to the bus and Damita remembered her notepad and one entry in particular in which she reminded herself not to get too friendly with anyone; especially men. Over the last several months she had already proven that her instincts about men were terrible and given her present condition, she couldn't afford to put her life in jeopardy.

After two days, they were finally in Seattle. She looked around and realized she had done it. She had left New York without being stopped, arrested, or approached in any way by anyone connected with her old life. As soon as she got there she remembered she
had no place to stay. She hadn't wanted to book a hotel in Seattle with her own credit card and figured it would make more sense to find a hotel once she arrived in Seattle. Once she was there she could pay in cash.

She wondered how difficult it would be to check into a hotel in Seattle without using any identification. Even the low-budget motel on Staten Island, in New York, had wanted to see some identification. She was able to get around it by paying a large enough
additional deposit
so that the desk clerk in New York didn't bother her any further. She wasn't sure if it would be quite so easy in another city.

“Well, so-long, Halle,” the guy sitting next to her said.

“So-long, cheesy lines guy.”

He stuck out his hand to shake hers. “My name is Lester Jones, by the way.”

“Hello and goodbye, Lester Jones.”

“You know, usually when someone introduces himself, the other person offers their name as well. It's one of those societal give-and-take things we've all grown so accustomed to.”

“Just call me Halle,” Damita said.

“Happy trails, Halle,” Lester said, as Damita exited the bus.

W
hen Damita got off the bus, she could see there was a hotel close by. She retrieved her luggage and walked in the direction of the hotel. Suddenly, someone drove by honking the car horn. She turned to look and it was Lester Jones.

He rolled down the car window. “If you're heading to that hotel, it's a lot farther away than it appears.”

“To pursue or approach stealthily,”
Damita repeated.

“You're a real funny girl. I like funny girls.”

“Goodnight, Lester Jones. It's been nice knowing you.”

“I could help you with that list of yours.”

Damita's face changed from amused to angry. “You snooped through my notebook?”

“Technically, it's not snooping if the information is on the first page. I picked it up and there it was. One look at that list and I knew you were a woman on the run.”

Damita's face wrinkled into a frown. “And you chose to capitalize on that fact, I assume?”

“That's not what I want to do at all. In fact, I can help you. I believe you had a notation about establishing an identity? I know what you need and who you need to see.”

“What are you going to want from me if you help me with my little dilemma?”

“There's nothing in it for me at all. Well, practically nothing. I may get a little finder's fee from the guy I bring you to, but other than that, there's nothing in it for me. The guy I'm going to take you too helped someone very close to me once.”

“Who says I need whatever help it is this guy offers?”

“Halle,
I didn't fall off the turnip truck. I can recognize a woman in trouble when I see one. You're most definitely a woman in trouble.”

“I suppose you're here to take all my troubles away, huh?”

“No one can do that. I'm here to lighten the load, but only if you let me. Come on, Halle. If you're going to stay here, you're going to have to trust somebody first. It might as well be me. Believe me. I'm one of the good guys.”

“That's what they all say.”

“I'm guessing it would be easier if it was a woman you were trusting, so I tell you what, I'll make it happen.”

“So, what are you going to do now, morph into a woman?”

“Even better, I'm going to go get that person who is close to me, who needed the same assistance.”

“Are you always so cloak and dagger?” Damita asked.

“Sometimes in life we have to be. And, Halle, whatever or whoever it is you're hiding from, you're going to have to learn to adapt to some of those cloak and dagger ways as well.”

“I suppose you want me to come with you?”

“No, because you won't do that. I'll take you to the hotel. That is where you were going, isn't it?”

“Yes, it was.”

“It's a short drive and there is enough traffic between here and there that you'll feel relatively safe in my car.”

“What do you mean by relatively safe?”

“Yes, relatively safe. You and I both know that in life there are no guarantees.”

“You got that right,” Damita agreed.

When they got to the hotel, Damita once again began to worry about checking in.

“Do you want to check in or wait until I come back?” Lester asked.

“I'm really tired. I would like to check in, but I can wait here.”

“Are you afraid you won't be able to check in without identification?”

“That is, assuming I don't have identification.”

“Okay, Halle, you can wait here until I come back.”

“Why did you ask?” Damita asked.

“I could use my identification to check you in.”

“Then it would technically be your hotel room. It's okay. I'll wait until you come back.”

Damita sat down in the lobby of the hotel. She endured looks from hotel personnel and one even asked her if she needed assistance.

“I'm waiting for my other party. I lost my identification on the way here and I'm assuming I won't be able to check in without identification,” she lied.

“Oh, well, feel free to wait. If your other party doesn't show up, you can leave a larger deposit and check in without waiting for them to get here.”

“Do you accept cash?” Damita asked.

“Yes, we do, with a deposit.”

“Great. I lost my credit cards along with my identification.”

“Come over to the desk whenever you're ready and we'll get you checked in.”

Even though she was told said she would be fine checking in, she couldn't truly relax until she had a key in hand and was safely in her room.

By the time she walked away from the desk, she had extracted over $1,000 to pay for the room. Most of it was in security deposits, because she didn't have identification or credit cards, but she didn't care. She at least had someplace to lay her head for the night, until she could figure out what her next move would be.

Damita quickly scrawled a note on a piece of paper and left it at the hotel desk.

“This is for a man named Lester Jones. If he stops by, please give him the note.”

“We'll be sure to give Mr. Jones the note. Goodnight, Ms. Berry.”

Once in her room, Damita chuckled at her use of the name Halle Berry. She had always admired the beauty and talent of the actress.

She thought she would be exhausted and ready for sleep by the time she got to her hotel room. She wasn't sure if it was so much sleeping in strange places or worrying about how she would take care of herself, but she was wired beyond belief. She turned on the television. Damita flipped channels and thought about the fact that she felt like she had watched more television in the last week than she had in an entire year. Before everything happened, she seldom watched television. She was always too busy with work and when she wasn't working she was using her available time to spend it with family and friends. By the time Neal came along, she barely had enough time to breathe. There was always a new client, or a promotion. Downtime was something that Damita Whitmore did not have much of. She hoped that now that she was in Seattle she wouldn't have more downtime than she could handle. She would have to find work and a place to live. She couldn't afford to live in a hotel forever. The money she had was dwindling with each day and she was uncomfortable knowing that besides the money in her pocket, she had no other source of income.

The phone in the hotel room rang and Damita practically jumped out of her skin. Her first thought was who could possibly know that she was here. Then, she wondered if the hotel had changed their mind about allowing her to use the room without identification or a credit card. She picked up the phone and Lester was on the phone.

“I see you were able to get yourself a room without my help.”

“Barely,” Damita said.

“Come on downstairs. The person I told you about is down here. We'll meet you at the hotel restaurant. It's open twenty-four hours.”

“I'll be right down.”

Once downstairs, Damita was happy to see that Lester was not alone and that he might actually be telling her the truth. The woman he was with looked a lot like him. She was very tall for a woman and was very close to Lester's height. He looked to be about six feet two inches tall and the woman with him appeared to be at least five feet eleven inches. They both had an athletic build and deep mahogany skin and though they both appeared to be no older than their mid-thirties, they both already had scattered gray hairs. Damita figured they were probably related. Somehow, she assumed when he said someone close to him that he was talking about a woman he dated or was married to.

Damita walked toward Lester and the woman.

“Halle, this is Constance. Constance, this is Halle.”

Damita looked at Constance meekly. “My name isn't really Halle,” she admitted.

“Well, surprise, surprise,” Lester offered.

Constance rapped Lester on the top of his head. “Shut up, Lester. You're going to scare the poor woman off. We're waiting for a table, Halle. As soon as they seat us we can talk about your little
problem.”

Despite the emptiness of the restaurant it seemed to take forever to get seated. Finally, they had a table and could sit down and discuss things. Damita only ordered coffee.

Constance frowned. “Won't that keep you awake?” Constance asked.

Damita shook her head. “No, when I'm sleepy I'll go to sleep. Coffee doesn't keep me up.”

“So, my brother here was telling me about your problem and it's an experience I'm well acquainted with. We'd like to help. I know you're afraid. I was when I had to relocate, but believe me, it can work. I'm living proof.”

“I
got married when I was very young. I was only nineteen years old. The man I married was significantly older than me and he wanted a daughter more than he wanted a wife. By the time I figured out I had made a mistake it was almost too late. He was possessive, jealous and violent and he basically wanted to keep me a prisoner in my own home, which was easy because I had no tangible skills and no education beyond high school. When I told him I wanted to go to college, he became even angrier. After about three years of my life being threatened, both physically and verbally, I decided the only thing I could do was run. He made sure I was completely isolated from whatever family or friends I had and when I needed someone, I felt all alone.”