Family Pieces (35 page)

The sky was dark as Karsen exited JFK. She struggled with her bag, which seemed to grow heavier by the minute, and felt a growing uneasiness from being alone in an unknown city.

“Hi,” Karsen said to the driver nervously as she climbed into a cab. A strong stench of vanilla air freshener poorly masked the smell of cigarette smoke. She handed him a paper showing the address for
Urbane
. The driver nodded and waited for her to shut her door before pulling away.

She looked at her watch. Eight thirty-five.
Please let her be working late
, Karsen thought, knowing it was a long shot. She did own the company, so at least it might be a possibility.

“This your first time in New York?” the driver asked. His accent sounded nasal. She noticed his arms were covered in tattoos.

“Yes.” Karsen tried to sound confident, as if to let him know she knew what she was doing. A picture of him driving the cab down a dark alley popped into her mind.

“Here on business?

“Visiting family,” she replied, hoping to give him the impression people were expecting her. She didn’t know how far the airport was from her destination, but couldn’t help wishing they were there already.

“Ah…very good,” he nodded. They drove silently as Karsen watched the meter continue to click higher and higher. Much more and she would not have enough cash to pay him.

He pulled to the curb. “Here you go.”

Karsen stared up at the building towering fifty floors above her. It looked dark, almost deserted. The fear inside her escalated and she sat paralyzed in her seat.

“You getting out or not?” the cabbie asked, impatiently looking at his watch.

“Yes. Thank you,” she said handing him a wad of cash. She pulled her bag out behind her and watched him pull away, leaving her alone on the street. She’d envisioned the sidewalks filled with people, with traffic bustling, the streets a yellow sea of cabs as she had seen on so many commercials. At night, it seemed there were few around. The street was eerily quiet. She shivered. She turned and entered the revolving door of the building. On the other side, security lights dimly lit the foyer. She froze again. How impulsive she’d been. She filled with panic. Alone at night in a city where she had no contacts and hardly any money. What was she thinking?

“Hey!” A man’s voice echoed through the entrance. She jumped. The beam from his flashlight blinded her eyes. “You can’t be here,” he continued.

“I’m sorry.” She sounded like a little girl. How she wished she had listened to Brad. Her eyes scanned the empty foyer. She could run back through the door, but where would she go?

“That door should have been locked,” he said approaching her. He was an older man, tall with broad shoulders. His dark blue security uniform made her feel slightly more secure. Realizing she was probably harmless, he lowered his flashlight. “You looking for someone?”

“Addison Reynolds.” She clenched the strap of her bag thinking if she needed to, she could swing it into his head and buy herself some time to escape.

“Sometimes she’s here late, but not tonight. She expecting you, Miss?” He could sense her anxiety.

“Not exactly. I thought…I would surprise her.”

“You got a place to stay?” he asked, noticing her bag. She didn’t want to tell him no. She bit her bottom lip and stared back without replying. His demeanor softened.

“Well, there’s a Starbucks in the hotel two blocks down. Open 24 hours. It’s usually filled with people even late at night. Ms. Reynolds usually gets in early.”

Karsen thanked him and mustered a weary smile. Clutching her bag, she walked back through the door and out onto the street. Glancing back, she saw the security guard wave and nod at her as he locked the door.

She walked briskly, trying not to slip on the unfamiliar sidewalk hardly visible in the dark. A homeless man rested against the wall for the night. She walked closer along the curb to avoid him. The cold was excruciating to her thinned Arizona blood. Her light sweatshirt provided little warmth, but she hesitated to stop and pull a thicker one from her bag until she reached the coffee shop.

As she entered the hotel lobby, the familiar green Starbucks sign gave her comfort. The recognizable décor made her feel out of harm’s way. The security guard had been right. There were at least ten people sipping lattes at tables in the café. A small group socialized, laughing together around a small oval coffee table. A younger guy sat alone, his eyes fixated on the screen of his laptop.

She stepped up to the barista behind the counter.

“I’ll take a non-fat, one pump peppermint mocha misto, please. Grande. No better make that a venti.” For a moment she hesitated about the caffeine, but figured one time wouldn’t hurt. To pull an all-nighter, she’d need all the help she could get. She rummaged through her pocket to find three dollar bills.

The computer guy raised his head and laughed. She glanced toward him curiously.

“You sound like my boss,” he said.

“Oh?” she said uncomfortably.

“You staying at the hotel?” he asked, noticing her bag.

“Not exactly.” She noticed his tie was loose and his shirt was unbuttoned around his neck. “You?”

“No. I work close by. I like to come here if I need to work late. The office gets, well, creepy when no one else is around.”

She smiled at the fact a guy would fess up to feeling uneasy in a dark, deserted office building. She certainly knew the feeling.

“Three thirty-five,” the barista said.

She handed the barista her last three dollars and dug the change from her pocket.

“You want to sit down?” the guy asked.

Was he flirting with her
, she questioned inwardly as she contemplated his offer? He had an honest look about him, but then again so did some serial killers.

“Okay,” she said. At least she’d have company for a while. “I’m not going to keep you from your work, am I?”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. Some people say if you’re working over forty hours a week, you’re doing something wrong. You know, wasting time – too many meetings, water cooler breaks and what not. Those people have never worked in publishing.” He busted out a broad smile. Karsen giggled.

As she grabbed her drink off the pick-up counter, he rose and pulled out the chair across from him.

“Thanks,” she said, as they both settled into their seats. “So, where do you work?” she asked, noticing he had the most amazing green eyes.

“
Urbane
magazine.”

Karsen gasped. She swore she felt her heart stop.

“All the girls think I’m cool because I can get them the latest scoop before it hits the shelves,” he continued, misinterpreting Karsen’s reaction. “Don’t get too impressed, I’m the bottom feeder of the company. You know, errand boy.”

“And by boss, you mean…? Karsen paused for him to fill in the blank.

“Addison Reynolds.”

Her face went blank and she spilt her coffee over her hand.

“You okay?” He handed her a napkin.

“Shit!” she exclaimed, shaking her hand.

“Let me help you.” He dabbed liquid off her hand before wiping the spots off the back of his laptop.

“Sorry,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Really, I’m sorry. Spilling coffee seems to be my trademark way of meeting men,” she joked.

“Oh really? So, you do this often?” The dimple in his cheek deepened as he smiled.

“Actually, no, just once. Twice now, I suppose.”

“Boyfriend?” he asked. She thought she saw a twinge of disappointment cross his face.

“Ex. But, I’m not exactly in the market right now. Sorry.”
Who would be interested in a girl who’s already knocked up?

“Yeah…the pretty ones never are,” he shrugged. “So, what are you doing here?”

Karsen mulled over whether to disclose her purpose. She chose not to, even though the urge to find out more about Addison built within her. She couldn’t risk Addison finding out she was here. Thankfully, her phone rang, relieving her of coming up with a less than believable explanation.

“Excuse me, uh, …?” Standing to excuse herself, she realized she didn’t even know his name.

“Jacob,” he replied in a soft voice. She smiled and walked out of the coffee shop and into the hotel lobby, leaving her bag under his watch.

“Karsen, where the hell are you? You said you’d call when you landed. That was two hours ago!” Brad screamed. She held the phone away from her ear.

“I’m sorry. I lost track of time.”

“You’re alone in New York City and you lost track of time? How the hell does that happen? We’re worried sick.”

Karsen hoped “we’re” meant only Hanna and him.

“You didn’t tell Dad, did you?”

“What? That his daughter has flown over the cuckoo’s nest? Are you crazy? No. He’d be driving there now.”

Karsen sighed in relief.

“K, where are you? Do you have a place to stay?” Brad’s tone mimicked a father’s, expressing both irritation and concern.

“Kind of.”

“Kind of yes or kind of no? It’s past ten o’clock. Did you even book a hotel room?”

“Not exactly.”

“Shit, Karsen! Have you totally lost your mind?”

“It’s okay, Brad. Calm down, I’m fine. I’ve been talking to a really nice guy.”

“A guy? You’ve been there for two hours and you’ve already taken up with a guy? You are fucking crazy!”

“Brad, it’s not like that.” He continued yelling at her through the phone. “Listen!” She raised her voice to interrupt. She cringed seeing the front desk attendant staring at her. Fearing he’d ask her to leave, she lowered her voice. “Listen…I found a twenty-four hour Starbucks in a hotel two blocks from her office. It’s just one night. I’ll be fine.”

“Karsen, I’m just worried about you. This is craziness.” “I’m sorry you think so.”

“Promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I promise.” Reluctantly, she agreed to call him in the morning.

As he hung up, he pulled Hanna close to him and held her, resting his chin on the top of her head. They stood quietly, both understanding the other’s concern. Karsen had a knack for needing help. Brad had a knack for needing to save her. Hanna felt caught somewhere between ‘the moon and New York City.’

“Pack some clothes,” he said kissing the top of her head. “We’re going to New York.”

25

J
acob stayed and chatted with Karsen until midnight. She didn’t share details of her past relationship, or the fact that she was pregnant. Rather, they talked about her classes and his career aspirations. She shared her uncertainty about her own career. With a degree in communications, she anticipated a less than glamorous future. In reality, she had never pictured herself pursuing much of one. Most of her dreams about the future included living in the suburbs and driving kids to soccer practice.

Without Jacob’s company, Karsen wrestled with exhaustion. Her eyes grew heavy and she yawned at least once every two minutes. Afraid to fall asleep, she charged another coffee to her credit card. The night barista attempted to make small talk, but she wasn’t interested. Her nerves tortured her. Sitting alone left her nothing to do but think about tomorrow. No matter how hard she tried to envision a positive outcome, negative thoughts festered in her head.