Chromosome 6. Chapter 18, 19
CHAPTER 18
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MARCH 7, 1997
6:15 A.M.
NEW YORK CITY
JACK’S lids blinked open, and he was instantly awake. He sat up and
rubbed his gritty eyes. He was still tired from the poor night’s sleep
the night before last and from having stayed up later than he planned
the previous evening, but he was too keyed up to fall back asleep.
Getting up off the couch, Jack wrapped himself in his blanket against
the morning chill and went to the bedroom door. He listened for a
moment. Convinced that Laurie was still sound asleep, he cracked the
door. As he’d expected, Laurie was on her side under a mound of covers,
breathing deeply.
As quietly as possible, Jack tiptoed across the bedroom and entered the
bathroom. Once the door was closed, he quickly shaved and showered. When
he reappeared, he was pleased to see that Laurie had not budged.
Getting fresh clothes from his closet and bureau, Jack carried them out
into the living room and got dressed. A few minutes later, he emerged
from his building into the predawn light. It was raw and cold with a few
snowflakes dancing in the gusts of wind.
Across the street was a squad car with two uniformed policemen drinking
coffee and reading the morning papers with the help of the interior
light. They recognized Jack and waved. Jack waved back. Lou had kept his
word.
Jack jogged down the street to the local deli on Columbus Avenue. One of
the policemen dutifully followed. Jack thought about buying him a donut
but decided against it; he didn’t want the cop to take it the wrong way.
With an armload of juice, coffee, fruit, and fresh bagels, he returned
to the apartment. Laurie was up and was in the shower. Jack knocked on
the door to announce that breakfast was served whenever she was ready.
Laurie appeared a few minutes later clad in Jack’s robe. Her hair was
still wet. The sequelae from the previous night’s run-in with Angelo did
not look bad. All that was apparent was a mild black eye.
‘Now that you’ve had a night’s sleep to think about this trip, do you
still feel the same?’ Laurie asked.
‘Absolutely,’ Jack said. ‘I’m psyched.’
‘Are you really going to pay for everyone’s ticket?’ she asked. ‘This
could get expensive.’
‘What else do I have to spend my money on?’ Jack said. He glanced around
his apartment. ‘Certainly not my lifestyle, and the bike is all paid
for.’
‘Seriously,’ Laurie said. ‘I can understand Esteban to some extent, but
Warren and Natalie?’
The previous night when the proposal had been presented to Teodora, she
had reminded her husband that one of them had to stay in the city to
mind the market and be there for their teenage son. The decision that
Esteban would go instead of Teodora had been decided by the flip of a
coin.
‘I was serious about making it fun,’ Jack said. ‘Even if we don’t learn
anything, which is a possibility, it will at least be a great trip. I
could see in Warren’s eyes his interest to visit that part of Africa.
And on the way back, we’ll spend a night or two in Paris.’
‘You don’t have to convince me,’ Laurie said. ‘I was against your going
at first, but now I’m excited myself.’
‘Now all we have to do is convince Bingham,’ Jack said.
‘I don’t think that will be a problem,’ Laurie said. ‘Neither of us has
taken the vacation time they’ve wanted us to. And Lou said he’d put in
his two cents about the threats. He’d like to get us out of town.’
‘I never trust bureaucracy,’ Jack said. ‘But I’ll be optimistic. And
assuming we’re going, let’s divvy up the errands. I’ll go ahead and get
the tickets while you, Warren, and Natalie take care of the visa
situation. Also, we’ve got to arrange for some shots and start malaria
prophylaxis. We really should have more time for immunizations, but
we’ll do the best we can, and we’ll take a lot of insect repellant.’
‘Sounds good,’ Laurie said.
Because of Laurie, Jack left his beloved mountain bike in his apartment.