I made it to Jake’s shack/workshop/studio in record time. As sore as my legs and feet were, it was nothing compared to the discomfort of being confused, of not understanding what was going on between us.
In the minutes it took me to walk to the workshop, I managed to fill my head with more doubt and anxiety.
Maybe he really did go off to North Dakota on some urgent business. Maybe I’ll never see him again. Maybe he just wanted to get rid of me because we haven’t split the money from last night’s show and he’s short-sighted enough that he wants to blow me off so he can keep it all for himself.
By the time I arrived at his door, I’d worked myself into quite a state—part humiliation for allowing myself to be so naive and part anger for how deceitful Jake had been. I knocked on the door.
When I heard movement coming from within, that only fueled my anger. So, you had urgent business in North Dakota, huh Jake?
“Who is it?” Jake asked from behind the closed door.
“Open up, Jake.”
He opened and flashed me a wide smile. “Greta!”
Don’t ‘Greta’ me.
“You must have read my mind.” He winked, opened the door wide, and motioned for me to enter.
His wink and smile were disarming. I felt my anger at him vanish instantly, which only made me angrier at myself. Greta, how can you let a cute guy play you so easily?
“I wasn’t sure I’d find you here,” I said casually as I entered.
“Where else would I be?”
“I don’t know. North Dakota?” I glanced at him suspiciously over my shoulder.
His smile was replaced with a look of confusion. “North Dakota? Why would I go to North Dakota?”
There was more than confusion on his face, though. I saw in his expression an unmistakable tinge of guilt.
I’ve caught you in a lie, haven’t I, Jake? Try smiling your way out of this one.
13
Jake
Impossible to concentrate on silly solo projects—lifting weights in ripped boxers and a Zorro mask; taking handfuls of cake off a makeshift gingerbread wall and covering my body in its crumbs.
I couldn’t scour the deep web looking for more ungratifying work, not after the show Greta and I had put on last night. Working as a team, the payout was four or five times greater than working alone, but it wasn’t all about the money. I knew that, despite my attempts to convince myself of the contrary.
I spent the afternoon going through the offers for couples. Lots of weird stuff; lots of weird stuff I couldn’t wait to try.
I splashed cold water on my face, put on a wig, and went out for a walk. I managed to get my mind off of sex for a few hours, went to the market for some fresh vegetables then back to the cabin with the intention of making Betty a decent meal. I found her sitting in a worn-out easy chair, a crossword puzzle on her lap, a scowl on her face.
I lifted the bag of produce I was carrying. “Look what I’ve brought you. Hope you’re hungry.”
“No appetite,” she mumbled.
I set the bag on the kitchen counter and called out, “What are you up to?”
“Doing a crossword.”
I went to the threshold of the living room. “How about a mushroom omelet?”
No reply.
“Chickpea soup?”
She picked up her crossword puzzle then looked at me. “I need a four-letter word for traitor.”
I thought it over. “Judas?”
“That’s five letters.” She furrowed her brow and pursed her lips. “But the word I’m looking for does begin with a J.”
“A four-letter word for traitor. Begins with a J.” I drummed my fingers on my chin. “All I can think of is ‘snake’, but that’s five letters. And it doesn’t begin with a J.”
“The last letters are right, though,” she mumbled.
“The last letters—ake—begins with a J.” I stopped drumming and looked at her. “Hey! What are you trying to say? I'm not a traitor.”
She stood from her chair and slammed the crossword puzzle down. “No? You were with that… that girl again, weren’t you?”
I walked over to her. “Betty, what’s gotten into you?”
She turned to me with a hostile expression on her face. “I thought you were trying to stay out of trouble?”
“Greta’s not...”
“Girls like her can’t keep a secret,” she said.
“Girls like her?”
“Coming here from the big city with models and cameras and who knows what!”
“Betty,” I put a hand on her shoulder, “take it easy.”
“Take it easy! Seems like you don’t care about getting found out, do you? You’re happy to go off to jail and leave me all alone. And I trusted you!” With that, she huffed and stormed out of the cabin.
What the fu...
Betty’s outburst had caught me by surprise. But the more I thought about it, I had to admit she’d been acting strange these last few days - strange, even for Betty.