Surviving Valencia

“Adrian, wait! It’s not too late for us to find a way to fix all of this.”

“I know, that’s what I’m doing.”

“What does that mean? Are you really going to drive there? It’s twenty hours away! And what if he’s not there? I told you, I think he was at the p

sychic’s house right here in Savannah! If he could be here, he could be anywhere.”

“Enough about that stupid psychic,” said Adrian, shaking his head in exasperation.

“And what are you going to do when you get there? How are you going to find him? And what if this John Spade guy isn’t even the right guy?”

“Don’t worry. I have it all worked out, and anything I didn’t figure out, I can sort out while I’m driving.”

“Wait,” I said. “What if we hired someone to do this?”

“That’s how we got into this situation.”

“Is it?” I asked.

Adrian inhaled and looked at me, his eyes cool and dull. Then he blinked and smooshed out his cigarette on the dinner plate he was using as an ashtray. “I need you to trust me,” he said, kissing me on the top of my head. He turned away and yelled, “Frisky, come on boy!”

I did not know what else to do, so I started packing.

Thirty minutes later, Adrian was back. He threw a couple things in a backpack and handed me a piece of paper. It said sexxylady9348 and shoesalesmendoitbest3. “You’re Shoe Salesman Do It Best Three, okay?” he said. “And I’m Sexxy Lady.”

“What?”

“Listen, Baby, I realized we really do need a way to be in touch, so once you get there, go to some coffee shop and set up a hotmail account with this ID. There’s no way these names are already being used. Well… On second thought, add the number five to the beginning of each, just to be safe.”

I watched as he penciled a number five in front of each name. I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Now remember,” he continued, “mine won’t be set up until probably a whole day from now. But this way we can be in contact. Don’t write anything incriminating! We’ll have to talk in code! And the first email should ask about something really benign, like a question about how to get over the flu, so we know for sure we’re really talking to each other.”

“What?”

“What part are you needing me to explain?”

“Nothing. Never mind.” I stuffed the sheet of paper in my pocket.

“So you understand the plan?”

“Yes Adrian. God! Are you enjoying this?”

“No. Not at all. We need to go,” he said. “Are you packed?”

I pointed to two small pieces of luggage on the bed.

He picked them up and handed me another piece of paper. “Here’s the name and the address of the hotel. I got you a room right by one of the side doors; it’s reserved in both our names. It’s downtown. It’s really old so hopefully they don’t have many cameras. We’re just going to have to hope. Maybe we can stay there for real sometime. Don’t lose that piece of paper with the email addresses on it. Memorize them if you can. Swallow it if you have to. Okay… I think I thought of everything.”

He put the bags in the car and hugged me. “I’ll see you in a few days. Don’t speed! Don’t get pulled over. Did you pack your vitamins?”

“Yes,” I lied. Who could think of vitamins at a time like this?

We kissed goodbye. Then he got in my car and I got in his and we both pulled out, heading toward the freeway.

Chapter 50

To my surprise, my dad wanted to help me shop for my first car. I had not expected my parents to allow me to have a car, but they actually seemed enthusiastic about it. I told them I had four hundred dollars saved, instead of four thousand, and this was to be the down payment. I just couldn’t own up to having all that money; they could be so unpredictable. I would have to get a job during the school year to pay for insurance and my monthly payment. After three or four long hot Saturdays of shopping, we found a 1986 Toyota Camry. It was black with a tan interior. I loved it. There was even a tape deck in it.