SECRETS OF THE PAST
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rose got to Turkey at night. She
got off the plane, got her luggage, and took a cab to the Almer Hotel. She got a
room, paid cash for it, and used a fake name. She also inquired about the
Abagnales. She found out that their rooms were right above her. She was on the
second floor. She dialed the number to Jack’s room. Someone picked up.
"Hello. Frank Abagnale
speaking." Jack listened to the anonymous caller.
"Hello, Jack," Rose
said softly.
"Rose, how did you get this
number?" Jack was stunned. How on earth had she gotten the number?
"Never mind that. I sent you
a surprise. I asked a lady over there to send you a note. It should arrive
shortly. Good-bye." She hung up, not saying anything more.
Someone knocked on the door after
Rose hung up. Jack opened it.
"Sir, I have a message here
from someone named RB." The lady handed over the message.
"I'll take it." He
signed for it and closed the door.
He read the letter to himself.
Hello, Jack. Downstairs is a
lady in a red dress. Go to her and she will give you a box. I love you,
darling. RB
He didn't think much of it, but
he wondered how this package was going to cheer him up. He needed Rose now more
than ever.
*****
Rose closed the door to her room
and went to the lobby in her red dress. She had dyed her hair a darker red and
put makeup on. She looked totally different. She waited for Jack to show up as
she sat at the bar.
When he walked into the elevator,
he was still puzzled. The only thing he could think of was that Franklin's
letters had finally reached home and inside he had put their address, which was
a bad move.
Rose saw Jack coming out of the
elevator. She put her head down so he wouldn't recognize her right away. He saw
her and came towards her.
"Miss, I got a note saying
there was a package for me." Jack tapped her on the shoulder.
Rose looked up. "Yes, there
is."
Jack was in shock. "Rose?
How did you…? You shouldn't have come."
"Well, thanks for the
welcome." She smiled up at him.
"Rose, you shouldn't be
here." He was mad and happy at the same time.
"I know, but I don't care. I
needed you. I love you." She put her arms around him.
"I love you, too." He
hugged her tightly, then grabbed her arm.
He stepped into the elevator with
her and looked at her. She was hot. He kept taking double takes and imagining
her in his arms. Without a fight, he pushed her against the elevator door and
pulled her up next to him as he kissed her. She moaned at his kisses.
"Oh, Jack. I've missed this
so much." She got his tie and began to remove it.
"So have I." He kissed
her neck.
When the elevator came to a stop,
he stepped out, with Rose still attached to him. He looked for his keys and put
the key into the lock. He pulled Rose with him into his bedroom and closed the
door. His sexual frustration had taken a toll on him so badly, he didn't think
he could ever make it without her.
*****
Franklin opened the door to the suite.
He had seen this father with a redhead and wondered what was going on. So he
decided to follow him. When he entered the suite, he could hearing moaning
coming out of his father's room.
He tried to open the door quietly
so he could yell at his father, but it was locked. He found a bobby pin and
picked the lock. What he saw astonished him.
"Jack, what the hell are you
doing?" Franklin asked, still in character, wondering who the mysterious
lady was.
Rose quickly got off of Jack and
pulled the blanket over herself, hiding her face. Jack rose up and saw Franklin
in the doorway. He thought he had locked the door so they wouldn't be
disturbed. "Frank, can you get out? Can't you see I am busy?"
"You're married,"
Franklin reminded him.
"I know," Jack said, almost
on the verge of getting up and closing the door.
"Fuck, Dad. What's going
on?" Franklin was angry that his father was cheating on his mother.
"Franklin, you watch that
mouth," Rose said from under the covers, and pulled them down. She saw
Frank in shock.
"Mom?" He ran to her.
"Hey, Frankie." She
smiled and hugged her boy.
"Mom, how did you get
here?" He didn't want to bother them, but he had to know.
"Leah told me about your
letter. I found the address on the Internet and then got the first plane out here
to surprise your father," Rose explained.
"Sorry for disturbing you
two. I'll leave so you can get back to what you were doing." He smiled and
went out the door, closing it behind him.
"Okay. See you later,
Frank!" Rose yelled.
"Bye, Dad, Mom!" he
called back softly.
Franklin picked up a basketball
and headed to the street. He had wanted to play basketball for quite some time,
and now he could. He thought of his mother and father. "Ew…old folks
sex." Then his mind traveled to Leah. Wonderful, beautiful Leah.
A few men looked at him. He had
worn expensive attire. They thought he was perfect for what they were dealing.
So they decided to walk up to him.
"Excuse me." A man with
a wrinkled face came up to Frank.
"Yeah?" Frank looked
up.
"How would you like to make
some money?" The man smiled at him.
"Don't need to. I got my own
company," Frank said with a business-like attitude.
"Oh, really? What is your
industry?" the man asked.
"Banking mostly."
Franklin had to remember to be mysterious and yet stay in character.
"Ah…maybe we can talk some
business." The man knew he was right for what he was proposing.
"Maybe, but I don't discuss
business on the court. I'll tell you what--why don't you contact me?" He
went to where his jacket was laid out, pulled out a business card, and gave it
to them.
The man read it. "You are
Frank Abagnale?"
"Yes, sir," Franklin
said proudly.
"Ah…we have read all about
you. Maybe there is some way you can help us after all. We are in the banking
business as well." Their underground operation was one that Frank would be
good for. Very good.
"Ah…really?" Franklin
smiled.
"Yeah. I will contact you.
Thanks for the card." The man started to walk away.
"You're welcome."
Franklin smiled. They were probably the men they had been searching for. Franklin
was happy that at last they had found them. Maybe now he could get home sooner
so he could be with Leah.
*****
Leah picked up a pregnancy test
at the drugstore. She anticipated opening the box and taking the test as it
laid there on the bathroom sink. She took out the stick-looking thing and did
what it told her to do. It would take a minute or so for the results. She
continue to read the box--one line not pregnant, two lines pregnant.
She looked at the stick as
everything slowly began to come into focus. The night she had slept with
Franklin she had been supposed to start her period two weeks later, but it had
never come. She knew that it was a possibility that she was pregnant. So she
wasn't surprised when the two lines appeared. She was happy, but inside she
needed Franklin a whole lot more than she ever had before. Her mind then
traveled to Erica. What if she was pregnant? Then Franklin would be the father
of not one but two babies. Was this too much for him to handle? Possibly. But
he was strong. She knew that. He could take the news. After all, he had said he
wanted her to get pregnant, and that was what had happened. She took the test
and put it into an envelope along with the letter she was going to send him.
She would have liked to have gone in person and told him, but how in the hell
would she get a ticket to Turkey? She had a few plans, but she figured she
would sleep on it. She was tired.
*****
Erica started to yawn. She
stretched, wondering what Frank was doing. For quite some time, she had felt
absolutely great. She hadn't had her period, either. She wasn't worried. She
always missed when she was stressed. She drifted off to sleep, thinking of a
baby. Franklin's baby.