Chapter 323: Tangers XXIX—And The Mess Begins….
…really innocently when you think about it. I mean when a pretty girl is approaching you surrounded by like four or five camera men with a smile on her face and her pretty brown eyes lit up, and she’s wearing the cutest glasses you’ve ever seen, would you suspect that something really insane is about to happen? Didn’t think so. But being who we are at that time in that place, things just fell into place.
I don’t think Patty or Joey really noticed the figure skaters when we went into the bar. Danny and Drury and Parker did and so did some of the other guys, they just made some comment about it but otherwise we didn’t take much care to it. In fact, having a drink and getting to bed seemed like the best idea for the night. Because of Parker’s amazingly effective back rub, I felt bath bubble loosened. I mean really, Parker could get a job as a masseuse on a high class cruise ship, privy to the knotted shoulders of the rich and shameless.
I yawned. Just the thought of my beautiful wonderful clean hotel bed and it’s soft blanket and the yummy breakfast in the morning, just made me mad at having to associate with the guys and interrupt my sleep wishes.
“Hey isn’t that those figure skaters over there?” Joe had asked earlier, “Those kids that got the gold.”
I looked to where Joe had gestured and there indeed I recognized the bright, scrubbed faces of the great Canadian figure skating team of Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. My heart filled with pride. They were a national treasure!
“Heh, not in my book,” Patty muttered as he drank his beer.
“Patty!” I
exclaimed. “
“I don’t want to get into it,” Patty replied. “But they’re attractive, certainly.”
“Hey and not in a good mood either,” Joe noted as David Pelletier briskly left the bar. “Lover’s spat?”
“Are they married?” I asked.
“Hell if I know,” Joe mumbled.
I didn’t comment on it but I could tell that Joe wasn’t in a particularly pleasant mood. Not a bad mood, such as one was, but you know, one of those moods where he would be somewhat quiet and brooding, kind of quiet. But you know Joe always had a lot of things on his mind.
I turned my
attention back to Jamie and I noticed her talking to the cameras. So were they
filming one of those reality documentaries? Those were quite popular nowadays.
I wonder how popular that would be, the life of the figure skating lovebirds.
After a few minutes, the
lonely Miss Sale, with camera crew at her beck and call, looked at our
direction and she sauntered to where we sat. The glasses sliding down her
button nose, her teeny tiny little frame, her big brown eyes, all so adorable
and innocent, she actually looked shy. Now what would a nice gold medal winning
girl want with a bunch of brutes like us? I looked at Joe and Patty, well with
a brute like Patty, hehe.
“Ah hell,” Joe muttered, “She got a pen from the camera men I’m not in the mood to be bright and sunny at this very moment. Can we just split? I don’t want to be on camera for some stupid documentary I hate being on camera!”
Patrick grinned. “I could probably get rid of her my captain, would you like me to?”
“You know that would be great,” Joe said.
“Consider it done, she will be gone within the minute,” Patty grinned.
I felt the corners of my mouth pull down. “Oo don’t be mean to her, Patty. She’s sweet little Jamie!”
“Eh I won’t be mean to her.”
“Hi guys,” Jamie said perkily. She smoothed her hand over her hair. “Hi sorry to be a bother to ya but I don’t know if you know who I am… oh it doesn’t matter, I know who you guys are and it would be really great if you could…”
“Oui, oui, I think we all know who you are.” Patrick cut in with a bright smile.
I gulped and glanced at one of the camera’s being manned by a guy with a chest length blond beard. “Um, nice beard,” I said.
“Thanks man,” the cameraman said in a gruff voice.
“Oh you do?” Jamie said with a perfect white smile. “Neat.”
“Of course,” Patrick replied. “How could anyone forget that lovely smile, those beautiful liquid eyes, that gorgeous figure…”
Jamie’s eyes widened and she crossed her arms around herself. I felt my tummy turn nervously cause that moment told me it would be a quirky night. Ooo and that meant the good relaxing massage from Parker would be ruined on me!
“You are in a word, unforgettable,” Patty grinned.
“Oh…” Jamie blushed and pressed her hands on her cheeks. “Gosh thanks… I mean… wow….. ”
Patrick winked.
Hmm, I thought, now how was this getting rid of her?
“Well…. Wow that’s great, ha ha, I mean you’re a fan then?” She cocked her head to one side and put a hand on her hip. “That’s really great for David because….”
“David?” Patrick asked with a convincingly innocent blink. “Who is this David?”
I gnawed on my bottom lip. Now I knew, especially from that affair of the gift baskets that Patty was really adept at following instructions and improvising impossible solutions to problems.
“Is that thing filming?” Joe asked in a grumpy monotone to another cameraman who replied in the affirmative.
“Um,” Jamie said and she caught a portion of her bottom lip in her teeth. “David… you know, my partner?”
“Partner?” Patty asked. Another innocent blink.
Jamie
nodded slowly, now she looked completely helpless and unsure. I felt bad for
her because I knew she didn’t need to feel that way because she was world
famous and loved! I mean I’m not by any means an avid figure skating fan, I
never really watch it but as a Canadian, I took complete interest in the story
of
“Oh yea!” Jamie exclaimed. “Yeah, if it isn’t a problem….”
I took her pen and signed my name on a napkin with flourish and then passed it down to Patty. There, now my idea of getting rid of her was better. Just sign and let her be on her way and happy, sheesh!
“Sooo…” Jamie asked slowly… “You do…you do know my partner David? I mean if you know who I am you haveta know who he is?”
Patty grimaced. He blushed, quite convincingly. “Well, perhaps I do know him?”
Jamie frowned. “You’re not sure?”
Joe handed her the napkin with his signature added to it. Jamie absentmindedly took it from him but her gaze remained on Patrick. Hoo boy, I thought, why wasn’t she just gonna drop this subject. She had her autographs please oh please just be happy with that and go, oh please!
“I guess I’m not?” Patrick replied scratching the back of his head like a little boy.
I really wanted to drop my face into my hands.
Jamie crossed her arms and her cheeks brightened. “David, he’s my partner I mean… I mean….”
Patrick squinted. “Is he like your photographer?”
Jamie’s eyes widened. “Photographer? What?”
Patrick held up his hands. “Oh then was he in one of your movies….”
“Movies?”
Patrick grinned. “Or am I wrong?”
“I’m… not an actress…” Jamie said slowly.
“Well no…” Patrick said and then he leaned forward and squinted at Jamie’s… even I blushed. Jamie of course discerned the source of Patrick’s gaze and she gasped and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Oh I’m sorry I had you confused with someone else…..”
“Who would you have me confused with?” Jamie exclaimed, obviously flustered. “I’m a figure skater.”
Patrick raised his eyebrows, “Oooo I thought you were… well you couldn’t be her… you’re much prettier…. Are you sure you’re not her? From the July issue?”
Jamie wrinkled her nose. “July issue of what…” she murmured and then her eyes widened. Without missing a beat she leaned forward and grabbed Patty’s beer and threw it in his face. “YOU PIG!”
With that she stormed away from our table. The camera crew all stumbled over each other as they followed her.
I felt offended and sorry for poor Jamie but to my surprise Joe laughed. I looked at him. “Joe?”
Joe pinched the bridge of his nose and laughed harder. Patty grinned and mopped at his face with the napkin. “Well you wanted me to get rid of her yes? She is gone.”
“Yeah!” Joe choked, “She sure is.” He laughed harder.
“Hey what you say to her?”
That accent unmistakably Russian, I frowned and looked at the delicately featured young man who came to our table with his finger pointed to us. Two other young man, just as delicately faced, except for one boy with a comically large birdlike nose, flanked him.
“Aw hell the other skaters,” Joe muttered, “At least the cameras are gone.”
“Eh get lost,” Patrick snipped without a trace of remorse.
“What you say to her?” the Russian insisted. “You don’t talk to Jamie like that.”
“Is that her name,” Patrick yawned and he grinned. “I didn’t catch it.”
I clutched onto my seat. I could sense it beginning.
“Come on,” one of the other men said in a clearly American accent. “What did you say to her? You can’t be treating girls like that.”
Patrick laughed and I looked at him. His eyes deepened with a blue fire that scared me. He had gametime fire in his gaze. I glanced at Joey who had a weird smirk on his face and he burped.
“And I don’t take orders from smoothed skinned little boys,” Patrick replied. “It’s past your bedtime yes? Go to bed.”
The mouths fell open on all three of the skaters and they looked at each other incredulously. For a moment I thought that it would end there and they’d walk away, or maybe that was just my wishful thinking.
“There he is!”
All of us looked to the source of the yell. Jamie had returned and in one hand she held onto David and she pointed at Patrick. Now that was the face of a maiden prepared for battle. David frowned. “Who? Patrick Roy?”
“Yeah!” Jamie cried. “He called me a porn star! He insulted me!”
Patrick held out his hands, “I don’t know what the big….”
Before the words left his lips David charged forward and swung a punch…..