Relations

It had been nearly two weeks. No one from Lee's school had heard from her or knew when she was coming back. Jack even found himself driving past the little cottage at the beach to see if Gigi's lights were on. The dark windows always gave him an uneasy feeling. She didn't want to go in the first place. That was crystal clear, but what was he going to do? Forbid her to see her parents? Physically restrain her? He didn't like it when she shut him out at her club, wouldn't talk to him. Jack should have forced the issue. Turning things over in his head day after day was just ridiculous, but Gigi looked scared and that bothered Jack more than he wanted to admit.

All this time, then abruptly, she appeared. Like a wraith from the shadows, there she was.

Gigi bounded out of her silver Mustang, duffel bag in hand. She was in such a distracted rush that she failed to notice the tall man approaching from behind.

"Gigi," Jack bellowed. She had begun to trot toward the gym. When she stopped and whipped around, her long black braid roped loosely over her shoulder.

She smiled at Jack despite her exhaustion. The flight from New York just landed two hours ago. Gigi was already late for class, but she didn't mind slowing down for the chief. He was actually smiling back at her. Wow! Jack was a totally different man when he opened up that way. The wide grin accentuated his handsome features. And he was wearing the itsy bitsy teeny weenie instructor shorts. In light of what she learned in the women's room from Lynelle, there was no doubt that Gigi had laid eyes on the outline of his package the first time they met. He wasn't obscenely obvious, but if one was gazing in that general direction of his physique...well then the master chief's...good fortune was evident. As a blush stole over her honey-hued complexion, her eyes snapped back to his face.

"Hi, Jack."

"Hi, Gigi." His voice was soft. Gently he lifted the braid, held it for a moment before setting it along her back. "What happened to you? Get lost on the way home," he teased.

This was the most personal she had ever felt with him. Jack smiled, used her nickname, touched her hair and seemed genuinely concerned about her absence. This encounter was more personal than his defense of her in the bar. Feeling warmth from this big guy was very nice...enrapturing actually. What would Jack be like as a lover?

"Gigi," he noticed a far away look in her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," she laughed at herself. He already had a girlfriend. Cheating slut, although she may be.

Jack nodded, sure that she was lying. He pushed his original query. "What took so long to get back? You seemed like you were going to make quick work of your trip."

She sighed, scratched the tip of her nose, glanced at her sneakers. Somehow Jack knew something wasn't right about her life. He was an insightful, attentive person; read people well. The urge to confess everything to him was so unflappable, Gigi almost fully explained about something he already knew. She detested her father. With him having a daughter of his own, that must make a man like Jack wonder what the hell was going on. And he just stood patiently, watching Gigi until she was ready to talk.

"My father and I... we don't see eye to eye...on anything. But for my mother, I've tried." She gave a bitter laugh. "I'm the only one who's tried. You get tired of putting yourself out like that, you know?"

He nodded, kept silent willing her to go on.

Gigi shrugged, glanced toward the barracks. "When I go home, I...let myself get sucked into my father's game of domination." She looked up at him with an ironic grin. "Like it or not, I've made myself his puppet. He doesn't like it when I cut the strings. No one does that to Giuseppe Giancarlo."

"So your father is controlling and you're more of a free spirit. Is that the gist of the rift?"

Again Gigi turned her gaze elsewhere, away from Jack's penetrating, blue-green contemplation. "Yeah, that's the gist."

It was the gist, but there was far more in the shadows of that father-daughter breach . More than Gigi cared to expose. Jack let it go...for now, but couldn't help promising himself that he would keep an eye on her. Gigi was young, surprisingly intelligent and clear-headed. She had endless potential. If her own father fucked that up...

"Oh, I found something in New York I thought you might like." Quickly, she dug in her duffel and extracted a bag from a bookstore Jack had never heard of. She handed it to a stunned chief and just grinned at his expression.

Jack was floored! Gigi bought him books? No woman had ever been that bold. His taste in reading usually intimidated or baffled females and they had no clue how to appease him literally. He removed three hardbacks from the purple plastic bag and carefully read each title. 'I Must Go Down to the Seas Again: An Anthology of Nautical Poetry and Illustrations'. 'White Teeth,' by Zadie Smith. 'Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac,' by William J. Higginson.

He stared at her anxious face, speechless.

"Please don't tell me you've read any of them." Her hands clasped imploringly.

Jack's chest tightened and he was so moved that even if he had read any of the titles Gigi had just given him, he would never admit it. He would rather cut off his right arm than disappoint her. "No. I haven't read any of them, but I look forward to it." Another smile lit his face, his gratitude clear in the pronounced drawl. "Thank you, Gigi...very much. I know I'll enjoy these."

"Good." She breathed a sigh of relief, but could see that he was wondering why she had gotten him the books. "You've got interesting taste in literature." Gigi shrugged. "I saw something you might enjoy, so I picked them up. And...I wanted to thank you for giving a damn. Before I left for New York, you saw that I wasn't all there and you questioned me. Although I brushed you off, I appreciated your asking. Most people just kind of leave me alone and figure I can handle anything myself. Your daughter must be a big help to you when it comes to reading people."

Jack had to chuckle at that. "Yes, Erin's an adolescent and she's got this thing where, if I can't figure out on my own what's wrong with her, then I'm just too stupid to live."

Gigi found that funny and endearing. This man knew who his daughter was. Erin Urgayle. Pretty name. It fit the girl in the picture on his desk. "Not too stupid to live...just a man," she quipped playfully. When Jack rolled his eyes, she patted his arm. "Just messing with you, chief. Hey, I bet you've never been to a poetry slam."

His eyebrows rose quizzically. "A poetry slam?"

"Obviously not. It's similar to poetry readings except the audience has more input and judges the poets in rounds. The winner comes back the next week to defend. There's usually music and a DJ. The next slam is this Sunday at Studio Z, in San Francisco." Gigi realized she sounded like she was going to ask him on a date. Jack was going to think Gigi was getting all moony on him...especially with the books she had just given him. She just couldn't help herself when she came across the titles. Probably best to diffuse any suspicions he may be forming. Damn! "You and your lady might like to go. Starts at 8."

Jack frowned slightly, surprised by his disappointment. He and his lady might like to go? Gigi wasn't asking him to go with her? Yeah right! He was some old guy with an ex-wife, a daughter and a girlfriend. Too many women already. Not likely Lynelle would want to go to a poetry anything. She always regarded his books of prose with distaste. Thought poetry wasn't straightforward enough. But Jack was intrigued. Sounded like something he would enjoy. It was definitely something different.

"Maybe I can make it." He cleared his throat of the knot lodged there. "Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem. I've got to get to class before Lee kicks my butt. I told him last night to expect me in today." She hefted the duffel bag onto her shoulder. "I'll see you around, Jack."

He watched her retreat, knowing that he should continue onto the barracks, as he meant to do before she arrived, but he just had to ask, had to know. "Gigi? Will you be at the next poetry slam?" Jack called out.

She turned briefly to answer. "Yes. If you make it, bring your girlfriend over and say hi."

A polite smile froze on Jack's face. Another kick in the teeth that felt like a steel-toe in the balls. He put his new books back in the bag and continued with the business of his real life...not the dream life that plagued him that one fitful night.