Time Out Chapter 11

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1989


CHAPTER 11


After the fast food restaurant, Kate had taken the guys back to the school to pick up their cars, go home, and get some rest. She returned to the crime scene and helped Walter bag and tag the evidence. It was almost two in the morning when she got back to her lookout position outside of Jon’s house. His Ford Thunderbird was in the driveway, so he had made it home from school.
The temperature had dropped significantly throughout the week. It had been chilly several of the other nights, but this night had a genuine snap in the air. Kate had on a ski parka and the heat in the car was turned on full blast. She left it running for about fifteen minutes every hour to make sure she didn’t freeze to death, but it was definitely not good sleeping weather.
After watching a darkened house for an hour and a half, Kate was tired of hearing nothing but her teeth chatter. She needed to talk to someone. She whipped out her car phone and hit her speed dial.
It took seven rings, but Jon eventually picked up. “Yo,” was all he could muster.
“Hey,” Kate felt guilty about waking him up.
“Hey, you.” Kate could hear Jon sit up in bed and turn on the light. “When you join the Agency do they ever let you sleep through the night?”
Kate chuckled. “I keep doing this to you, don’t I?”
“You do, but it’s okay. What’s on your mind?”
“It was ugly tonight, wasn’t it?”
“The murders or my piano playing?”
“What do you think, genius?” They shared a laugh. “Yeah. It wasn’t a pretty picture. I was just wondering how you were handling it.”
“I came home and went right to sleep. I don’t know if that means that it wiped me out or if I just had my second huge day in a row.”
“From my experience, a little bit of both, more than likely.”
“I’m doing okay, Kate. Tired, but okay.” There was a pause. “I’ve woken up in a cold sweat twice already tonight. Nightmares, but I couldn’t tell you exactly what I dreamed anymore. I’ll admit, I’ve probably seen things the last couple of days that no teenager should see.”
“Or adult for that matter.”
“Or adult,” Jon agreed.
“That’s why you’re doing this, you know. So that the fewest people possible will see the horrors that are out there.”
Jon paused and didn’t say anything. When he spoke again, it was a new subject entirely. “My body is stiff, so I’m probably not in the best shape of my life to start playing on a basketball team tomorrow, but I’m relatively decent. Besides, Tylenol taken with Ibuprofen will do wonders.”
“Jon?”
“What?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Since you called at this hour of the morning, I would hope you’d feel comfortable in doing so.”
Jon could hear her breathing on the other end. He didn’t rush her.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” she asked.
Jon thought. “An actor. I want to be able to help people see the human existence from another perspective.” He paused. “This is going to sound corny as hell, but I actually just want to make the world a better place by my acting.”
Kate said nothing.
“Are you still there, Kate? You haven’t fallen asleep on me, have you? My answer wasn’t long and boring, was it?”
“Nope. No such luck.” She sniffed and Jon couldn’t tell if it was from crying or if she had a cold. “I’m still here, Jon.” He could hear a few deep breaths in the background. She had been crying, Jon surmised. “That’s a good goal. Everyone should have a purpose.”
Jon let her thoughts roam a second or two more. “Kate, again, I apologize, but I really need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be yet another huge day for me.”
Kate laughed. “I’ve heard. A date with Aleisha, huh? Pretty big stuff!”
Jon smiled at the none too subtle mockery. “Sleep well, Kate.”
“You too, Jon.” Kate hung up the phone and turned off the engine of the car again this hour.
Jon listened to the dial tone for a few seconds before he tried to hang up the receiver. He missed a few times in the dark, but eventually found the cradle.
“You’re okay, Kate. Everything will be okay.” Jon was asleep almost by the time he said the last word.


The phone rang again.
With his head under his pillows, Jon couldn’t see the phone, so his hand went venturing onto his nightstand in a blind search. Finally, after way too many rings for Jon’s liking, he found it and brought the receiver under the pillows. “What time is it?” he asked groggily.
“It’s time for you to get up, Jon,” came the female voice on the other end.
“It’s been a long week, can’t you call Stan first and make sure he’s up and ready?”
“Why would I call him first? You’re the one I care about.”
“I know, but I’ve had a very long week so far, can you give me, like, another ten minutes, please, Kate?”
“Kate?”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Jon was immediately confused.
“Kate? Who’s Kate? You just called me Kate.”
“You’re not Kate?” The synapses in Jon’s brain immediately started firing.
“No, Jon. This is your mother!”
Jon sat bolt upright in bed. “Mom! Hi! How the hel-ck are you?”
“We’re fine! Your father & I were just calling to check up on you. Long week, huh? Kate? A girlfriend, Jon? A little partying going on?” Carol’s voice was slightly mocking her only son.
“It has been a long week already. With school, and the talent show, and Stan and Greg, my friends, and I have seen several films, and ordered pizza, and stayed up late, and- yes. A very long week.”
“I know Stan and Greg, Jon. How was the talent show?”
“Amazing, Mom! The piece I did blew everybody away, and I think I won!”
“You think? What do you mean, you think?”
“I didn’t stay for the awards. I was tired and just needed sleep.”
“Right.” Jon could tell that his mother was not quite sure whether to believe him or not.
“Stan and Greg and I stayed up all night watching movies on Monday.”
“Nothing with too much sex or nudity, I hope?”
“Not too much. Just watched Fast Times at Ridgemont High 3 times in a row.” Jon grinned.
“As long as Kate wasn’t there.”
Jon was snapped back into dealing with the Kate situation. “Huh?”
“Who’s this Kate girl?”
“No one, actually. I just haven’t been sleeping too well the last few days and last night I finally just crashed and you must have woken me up and I was dreaming and in a deep sleep.” Jon was making up lies as he went along. He knew he was using the word ‘and’ too many times, but he couldn’t help himself.
“You always were one to have weird dreams and act them out for a little while after you woke up. Remember that spider dream?”
“How could I forget, Mom? Everyone is always reminding me of it at every family function we have gone to since then!” Jon was turning red just thinking about it. “Anyway, how are you guys doing?”
“Things are going great! We stopped off in Farmington, New Mexico on Monday night and got a good night’s rest. Then, yesterday, we just made it the rest of the way to Dallas. We met Gary for a late night pizza at a place by his house, and then we came to the motel and we just got up.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“Other than having to listen to your father’s talk radio shows all day.” Jon could hear the sparkle in his mother’s voice as she tried to rise out of her husband.
“Don’t be going on about TalkNet! You listened quite intently yourself!” Jon heard his father retort from the background.
Carol laughed. “Today, the wedding is at 2 and then there’s a reception for family and friends tonight. Tomorrow is the big family tour around Dallas, Friday we meet your cousin Cassandra in San Antonio for a day and then we’ll just take our time coming home. We should be there by late Sunday afternoon. Can you stay out of trouble that long?”
Jon rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah. I think I can do that.”
“How are my plants doing?”
Jon stopped all motion. “They’re great, mom! All of them have been watered and are looking very healthy!”
“Just make sure they don’t die, please.”
“I’m on it.”
“I knew you would be. I love you so much, honey.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”
“Your dad wants to speak at you for a bit if you have time. Since you already slept in, you may as well miss your first class since it is just choir and show up at nine for your second class.”
Jon looked at the clock. It was 7:30. He still had an hour and a half before he had to meet Stan at the gym. And, if his mom was giving him permission to sluff, he was going to take it for sure and let her know. “I got plenty of time. Hour and a half until Family living, right?”
“Hour and a half,” Carol repeated. “but no more. I’ll let you miss one class while we’re gone.” There was an awkward pause. “I love you, Jon, and we’ll see you on Sunday.”
“You know you will. I love you too, Mom. May I speak to Dad, please?”
“You sure can.”
There were the inevitable sounds of the phone changing hands as Carol handed the phone off. Then, came Jon’s dad’s famously gruff, yet very loving voice. “Missing choir today, huh?””
Again, the sparkle was in the voice. Jon’s parents loved him a lot and had taught him right from wrong many years ago. Now, there was a lot of joking around, but the love always shone through.
“Hey, Dad, lot of miles, huh?”
“Just a few. But, plenty of time to listen to those AM talk radio shows!” Bob’s last four words were obviously spoken more to his wife than to Jon.
“So, what’s up, dad?”
“Hang on a minute, son.” Bob covered the receiver with his large hand. “Carol? Can you do me a favor and get some more ice from the ice machine?” Jon heard his mom agree and he heard the heavy motel room door shut and lock. “Okay, sorry about that. I just wanted to remind you that I don’t give a shit about your mother’s plants. I know you’re more like me. If they don’t happen to get watered, your mother can do it when she gets back. It’s only a week. The important ones can make it.”
Jon smiled. “It’s okay, Dad. I haven’t done it yet, but I will. I’ll make sure they’re taken of.”
“Whatever you decide is fine with me, just remember that I could do with less greenery around the house.”
“I know.”
“Also, there is another hundred dollars in my sock drawer. I stashed it there for you. Your mother doesn’t know I won a thousand dollars last time I went to Wendover. Take the hundred and have fun.”
“Thanks, Dad. I will. We can always use more pizza and Coke.”
“I know. That’s why I left it there for you. Are you really doing okay, Jon?”
Jon nodded. “Yes, I am, Dad. I’m doing great. Pretty sure that I won the talent show and I have a date for tonight.”
“With this Kate girl I heard your mom talking about?”
“Actually, Mom woke me up and I was still talking about this girl in the dream, I guess, named Kate. I don’t know.”
“Is Kate related to the spider at all?”
“Ha ha, very funny. No, dad. The date is with Aleisha Madsen, actually.”
“Nice work, son! Finally got over the fear, huh?”
“Kind’ve. It’s a long story, dad. I don’t want to keep you on the phone too long. I’ll tell you on Sunday.”
“Fair enough. Have a great rest of the week, Jon. Your mom and I love you. You know that.”
“I know, dad.”
“And I will be very upset if you use that money in my sock drawer for anything important. It should all be fun money!”
“Got it.”
“See you Sunday, Jon.”
Jon heard what sounded like two motel room doors opening behind his dad. “See you Sunday. I love you guys. Be safe.”
“We will.”
“Don’t try to put too many miles away each day. Pull over and rest if you need to. You have until Monday morning at 7 to get home if you need it.”
“Now who’s being the parent?” Bob asked.
Jon heard a voice from the stairway. “Jon?”
Jon almost froze up. “I am.”
“Someone there, Jon?’”
“I think so.”
Kate stuck her head around Jon’s bedroom corner. “Hey there, sleepyhead! Time to go!”
“Who is that?”
“No one. It’s cool. Don’t worry about me.”
“You’re barely waking up?” Kate asked. “Come on, Jon!”
Jon turned his mouth slightly away from the receiver. “Kate!” he hissed. “Can you hang on for a second?” Realizing that his father had just heard this exchange, Jon went back to his father. “Love ya. Gotta go. Bye.” Without waiting to hear his father’s last words of the conversation, Jon slammed the phone down. Jon closed his eyes and took a few deep, cleansing breaths.
“Who was that?” Kate asked.
Jon looked up. “My parents!”
“Too bad. I would’ve liked to at least say hi to them. You could say that I was a new neighbor who stopped by to borrow a cup of sugar or something.”
“At 7:30 in the morning?”
Kate shrugged. “Eggs, then.”
Jon buried his face deep in his hands. “Kate, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“I’ve seen them from a distance and they seem like great people. One of these days, I’ll just have to find some way just to say hi to them.”
“I thought this was a secret thing!”
“It is, but I still want to meet your parents. I won’t tell them who I am, but I would like to meet your infamous parents.”
Jon looked incredulously at Kate. “Yup. Damn shame I hung up. Well, there’s always next time-“”
“Come on! You’ve got to get moving!”
“What? Do I have another assignment before I meet Stan & Greg?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, you do.”
Jon groaned. “Are you shitting me?”
“Nope, Jon. I’m not. This is very important.”
“Another training mission that I can get killed at?”
“No more training for you, Jon. You’re on. Actually, it’s much more important.”
Jon was now concerned. “What’s up, Kate?”
“You’ve got to take me to breakfast! You haven’t even showered yet!” Kate changed the subject and opened up Jon’s bureau drawers. “Would you get your butt in there and get ready? I am starving!” She tossed a pair of underwear, socks, pants, and as shirt to Jon, which he caught very adroitly.
“You’re insane, sometimes. Do you know that?” Jon asked her.
“And you’re dirty!” Kate got behind him and started prodding him into the bathroom.
Jon shut the door behind him. Kate heard him drop the clothes on the ground and start the water. The bathroom door opened back up.
“How did you get in?” Jon asked.
“Huh?”
“How did you get in?” he repeated.
“Through the front door.”
“It was locked.”
“I picked the lock,” Kate said matter-of-factly.
“Oh.”
“You should tell your parents to get a deadbolt. Much harder to pick than just a normal lock.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Jon shut the bathroom door.
After a few moments, Kate heard the shower curtain slide open and closed again. Then, seconds later, it was opened once more, the bathroom door clicked into locked mode and the shower curtain slid closed one more time.