The Return- Part Three
Thanks to you who replied about part two. Let me know if you want this to go past part three.
Backbayguy@juno.com
Chapter One:
Jonathan nervously walked back and forth on the tarmac. As he made his fifth turnaround, one of the security agents approached him.
"Is there something we can do for you Mr. Lexington?" he asked. "Maybe you would be more comfortable on the jet".
Jonathan looked over his shoulder at the jet behind him. One of the things he had arranged was the purchase of one of the private jets from the company for his own use. He knew that in his new "persona" as Michael Lexington he couldn't afford the scrutiny of his character by using the company jet for private use. Not in this day and age. Fortunately the five billion that Ryan had transferred into the account he could access went a long way.
While it was not Renaissance and a 747, the Boeing Business jet was more than enough jet for him; especially with the 6 months of retrofitting and modifications. Even as he thought about it Renaissance brought a smile to his face. He wondered if Ryan had gotten laid on the jet. Silly thoughts he thought to himself.
"Yeah maybe you are right" said Jonathan. "Do you have an ETA on Sam?"
"One moment sir" came the reply. There was a short wait.
While he waited Jonathan reminisced about the old security team. Despite being a pain in the butt, Jonathan did miss his old crew and the "gilded cage" he was in. He wasn't worth what he used to be but he still mandated security. He made a mental note to talk to Danny. During his "absence" over the past two years, Danny had been promoted again and now was in charge of the whole security company. The Immortals had decided that the security company was the best unit for handling their security needs. It took some interesting discussions and some very special hand selections of staff members, but it all worked out in the end. Jonathan had managed to engineer that the top security agents in the company were still overlooking Ryan. He also noted with some amusement that Danny's hair was going grey in a hurry.
"I'm sorry sir" said the agent, pulling Jonathan from his thoughts. "The car was stuck in traffic in the Sumner Tunnel. They are just arriving at the security check point at the airport. They have an ETA of about 4 minutes."
"Thank you" said Jonathan.
After fidgeting around for a few more minutes, the town car arrived at the base of the 737. The security agent came over and opened the door for Sam.
There was a genuine smile on his face as he walked across the tarmac towards Jonathan. The two exchanged hugs. Sam took off his sunglasses and looked at the jet.
"Wow, pretty fancy" said Sam.
"Yeah, it's not too shabby." Jonathan replied. "You ready to fly?"
"Ready and able and willing" said Sam. "You haven't told me where we are headed though"
"You brought your passport right?"
"Just like the American Express commercial" said Sam. "Never leave home without it"
"That's cute... come'on. Let's fly." Said Jonathan
Together they headed towards the plane.
CHAPTER TWO:
"You know you never did tell me where we are headed" said Sam as the seat belt sign went off. It had been a quick taxi over to the runway for departure. Jonathan had planned their departure for a quiet time at Logan.
"Yeah and the fun part about that is unlike a commercial flight no one is going to tell you" said Jonathan.
"That's not really fair" said Sam in mock protest.
"Would it help if I said it was sunny?" Jonathan asked.
"It's a start" said Sam. "How about telling me how long it will take to get there?"
"About 6 hours"
"That really cuts it down" said Sam. "Let's see, sunny, 6 hours from Boston and I need a passport. That narrows it down to most of the Caribbean."
"I never said you needed a passport Sam" said Jonathan, relaxing with his wine. "I just asked if you had it with you"
"So come on.. tell me" said Sam. "It's not nice to keep secrets"
Jonathan was reminded of another moment in another life. He smiled.
"OK" he said after a moment, "We're headed to California and Napa Valley. I bought a large inn out there last year. It was where I was staying for a while after everything was done. It was a great place to relax, be myself and no one knew or cared who I was."
"Damn" said Sam. "That's an awesome place. My parents go there once a year. About 3 years ago, I was able to take the time to go with them."
"The weather should be just about perfect right now" said Jonathan.
"Where exactly in Napa are we going? Asked Sam.
"The town is called Yountville." Said Jonathan. "It is pretty much the culinary and cultural center of Napa"
"Sounds great" said Sam.
"I hope it will be" said Jonathan.
"So tell me, what is the story with you and hotels?" asked Sam. "You seem to buy a lot of them."
"I'm not sure why I do" said Jonathan. "Maybe it is just the service. Besides, this is an inn not a hotel"
"How big is this inn?" asked Sam.
"It is bigger than the usual B&B" said Jonathan sipping his wine. He paused to look out the window as they approached their cruising altitude. "It has 60 rooms and 4 buildings"
"Uh huh" said Sam. "Are we having lunch on board or waiting until we get there?"
"That's up to you" said Jonathan. "The plane is set up for full food service if you are hungry."
"That would be good" said Sam, finishing his wine. "I was in such a rush this morning with everything I didn't get a chance to eat. I figure I'd better get some food with this wine, or I'll fall off the plane when we land."
Jonathan nodded at one of the stewards on board who promptly came over.
"What can we get for you Mr. Lexington?" he asked.
"Do we have any soups on board today?" Jonathan asked.
"Yes sir" said the steward. "The chef was working on a Swiss cheese and potato soup earlier and I believe we have an awesome Mushroom Chowder"
I'll go with the chowder and a turkey club" Said Jonathan. He turned to Sam. "Do you want wine?"
"I'm good with bottled water" said Sam.
"Two bottles of Avian then" said Jonathan.
"Thank you sir" he turned to Sam. "And for your pleasure sir?"
"Can you do a chef's salad?" Sam inquired.
Of course sir" came the reply. "What kind of dressing?"
"What would you suggest?" asked Sam, not knowing what was on board.
"We have a wonderful homemade Honey Poppy seed"
"Let's try that"
As they waited for lunch, the two made easy conversation, steering away from any sort of conversation about a relationship. Both knew that they needed to have a long talk about things, but the flight out was not the time.
"This is a huge jet for just a couple of people" said Sam. "I would have thought you would have gotten something like a G-V again"
"I thought about it but wanted something a bit larger" said Jonathan. "I knew that a 747 would have been out of hand, especially in this life. It also would have raised a few questions. It would have been strange for two different people to have 747 custom jets flying in and out of Logan. Someone might have gotten curious and put two and two together and we can't have that."
"How hard was it to make a new life, so to speak?" asked Sam.
"Paperwork wise it was easy" said Jonathan. "Remembering little details, changes, names and such, was a little more difficult".
"How many times do you expect to do something like this?" asked Sam.
"It will depend" said Jonathan.
The conversation was halted as the galley steward approached and served lunch.
"No one really knows how long `immortality' actually is" said Jonathan after they had been served. "I've met immortals who are 900 years old, some 2000 years old, some who have been immortal for only 50 years. The biggest problem is that I was 33 when I became immortal. I can't grow older than 33. Sooner or later, I presume my body will give out, but until that time who knows. So, to answer your question, every 15 or 20 years I guess I need to change who I am or move or alter circumstances"
"I see" said Sam quietly.
The two ate lunch in silence. Jonathan could see that Sam was mentally struggling to wrap his thoughts around the immortality thing. Once more Jonathan had reservations about a possible relationship.
During dessert, their conversation returned to its' easy banter. They both chatted about past experiences, travel, and the like. Sam slipped into an easy nap after lunch. Jonathan let him sleep and went to the office to do some work that was needed to be done prior to their landing.
About 3 hours later, the plane was on approach to the Napa Valley Airport as Jonathan shook Sam on the shoulder.
"Hey sleepy head time to wake up" he said
Sam looked over his shoulder and sat up. "Wow, I guess that wine went to my head, where are we?"
"On approach to Napa" said Jonathan sitting down. "We should be on the ground in about 10 minutes."
As the two sat and watched out the windows, Sam looked over. "Hey, how many other people have you told that you are alive?"
"Not a lot of people." said Jonathan. "I told my oldest and best friend who just about freaked on me in the middle of the street, Ryan of course knows as does the inner circle."
"What about those people you told me about in Switzerland who own that hotel you always went to?" asked Sam
"You mean the Eberles?" he said. "I haven't yet. I am planning on a trip over to Lucerne in a couple of months. It will be in an interesting conversation"
"They sound like fun people" said Sam. "I'd love to meet them"
"I'll see what I can do" said Jonathan. Yes, that was going to be an interesting conversation all right he said to himself.
The pitch of the engines changed and they looked out the windows, to see the runway underneath them. Just then the wheels thumped down and the rollout began. As they finally came to a stop a few minutes later, the lone security agent on board undogged the door and walked down. As Jonathan and Sam went forward and out the door, they noted the two Lincoln Navigators waiting for them.
It is still strange thought Jonathan, not seeing the Hummers.
CHAPTER THREE
After about a 10 minute drive they arrived at the Inn. The General Manager was out front waiting for them as were two other security agents. It was a brief conversation and then they were exploring around the Inn and its' property.
During the afternoon, the two took the opportunity to go into town and prowl around. Shopping and snacking as they went, the two could be seen as a couple. With only 2 security agents with them, they could come and go as they pleased. This very much pleased Jonathan. He noted that Sam was comfortable with that current arrangement. He wondered what would have happened with the 11 or 12 agents he used to go around with. Jonathan noted that slowly he was becoming comfortable having someone around again and he could sense that Sam was feeling the same about Jonathan.
After dinner, the two returned to the living room. A bottle of wine had been delivered to the main living room by the house staff. Jonathan poured out two glasses of the excellent wine. The conversation had been easy over dinner, now turned more serious.
"You know, you didn't tell me that the inn came with a vineyard and a pretty damn big one at that. Is this wine from there?" said Sam.
"I wish I knew more about it the wine making that goes on here" said Jonathan. "I saw the B&B a few years ago and didn't even make the connection then that the vineyard was with the house. When I had the opportunity to buy the bed and breakfast last year, it was a bit of a surprise, but it worked out. I stayed here for about two months last year. It has a great feeling to it. Yes, the wine also comes from here. They bottle about 500 bottles a year. It is sold mostly here at the B&B"
"So, where do we go from here?" asked Sam after letting the conversation pause for a moment.
"That pretty much depends on us I guess" Said Jonathan. "I like you a lot. It has been a long time since I've said that to someone; anyone really. That is even before I resurrected."
"I like you too" said Sam, getting up from his chair and sitting down next to him on the couch. "I do have to be honest and say I have to ask a few questions"
"I'd be surprised if you didn't'" said Jonathan smiling.
"I know a good deal about your old life" he started. "There are a few things that I don't know, and probably don't need to know. On the other hand there are a few things that I do need to know"
"Go ahead" said Jonathan. "If we are going to make a go of this, you need to know more I'm sure. I'm an open book for the most part."
"Somehow I don't think you were ever an open book" said Sam as he laughed. "Be that as it may, I have to ask, do you miss your old life?"
Jonathan paused to consider the question. He stared at the fire through his wine glass. "You know, I don't think I'd like to take one of your final exams. You start off with tough questions."
"Isn't that kind of what this is?" asked Sam. "Like you said, I need to know things about you if this is to work. You are a very complex person"
Jonathan laughed. "Complex is not necessarily the word I would use, but it is close."
He paused before continuing. "I'd be a fool to say I didn't miss my old life. Anyone would. That life was very special. During that time I met the most incredible person, had it all, lived, died, came back, lived more; did what I wanted to. I had it all"
"Sounds like a Jimmy Buffett song. But you also left off the part that you died again" said Sam. "That's something else we need to talk about. Can you tell me what happened during those two years you were gone?"
"Not really" said Jonathan. "It's not because I don't want to tell you, I want you to know all about me, but there are some things that just can't be said."
"Did it have to do with you dying and your immortality?" he asked.
"Yes" said Jonathan. "I had to do some things that I'm not overly proud of, nor do I want to talk about, but they had to be done. Those things were done by me and other immortals. We did what was required of us"
"I won't press" said Sam, sipping his wine.
"Thank you" said Jonathan.
For the moment, they two of them seemed content just sitting side by side staring into the fire. Slowly Jonathan's hand reached over and took Sam's into his own. Nothing more needed to be said for the moment.