“Which way?”
“Counterclockwise.” After Griffen turned, Ben said, “Good. Okay. Now, what you’re supposed to do forcefully, you’re going to do gently, okay? I got dirt on you. Don’t take advantage of my good nature.”
“Fuck you!”
But he said it in a conversational tone of voice.
Ben said, “I’m gonna move my leg. And when I do, take your right hand, cross over your body, and push your hand in back of my right knee. If you press it hard enough, my leg will buckle. Don’t do it hard or I’ll take your head down with me.”
“Okay.”
Ben held his breath and Griffen placed his hand behind his knee. Ben said, “Press it gently . . . see how you’re pushing into my leg. If you did it fast and hard, I’d go under immediately. Now, while you’re pressing the back of my knee, take your left arm or hand and bring it across my throat.” Ben helped him place it across his throat. “Okay, now you’re perfect. You press under my knee with your right hand and hit my Adam’s apple with your left hand and twist.”
He did it gently. Ben said, “Bring your left hand back a little more . . . stretch . . . okay . . . twist . . .” The kid popped out of the hold. “There you go.”
Griffen didn’t say anything. Ben said, “You put me in a headlock and I’ll show you what it feels like to do it quickly.” Griff did, and within a moment, Ben was free.
“That was cool,” Griff said. “Can I try again?”
“Sure. The key is to relax to get a better extension. The more relaxed you are, the more strength you have.”
He did it again. Ben was impressed. “You’re a natural.”
Griff lowered his head and smiled.
“I’m still pissed at you,” Ben said. “But I’m giving you a pass this time. Don’t you dare do it again.” A pause. “Why, Griff?”
Griffen shrugged.
Ben blew out air. “Like I said before, I’m taking Haley and Lilly out for dinner tonight. I want you to come. It’s your chance to redeem yourself. Don’t disappoint me.”
“You gotta ask Haley about that. I’m not her favorite person right now.”
“Then she’s being stupid. We’re all going and that’s that.” Ben rolled his shoulders. “There’s a chance that I’m going snowboarding tomorrow if I can find a good spot. Weather has been up and down, which breeds avalanches, but even if the backcountry bowls aren’t suitable, the ski basin is still making snow. If you want to come with me, be at my house by seven. Be on time. I’m not going to wait around. Got it?”
Griffen nodded.
Ben walked out of his room.
Ro was gone. But he noticed the door to her room was ajar. He knocked on the frame.
“It’s open.” Ro was in her bathroom. She had changed from sweats to a sweater and a skirt. She was staring in the mirror and putting on eye makeup.
His Valentine’s Day gift dangled from her wrist. He wondered if she put it on just for him. But then he remembered she was wearing it when she answered the door. “Sorry if I scared you.”
She continued to look in the mirror. She started to talk, but flapped her hands instead and tried to brush away tears without smearing her makeup. She steadied her voice. “What happened?”
Ben looked down and then up again. “Ask Griffen.”
“He doesn’t talk to me,” Ro muttered. “He hates me.”
“He doesn’t hate you—”
“Oh yes, he really does. But . . .” She put on some mascara. “I suppose he won’t hate me forever.” She examined her eyes and moved on to her blush. Then she turned to him. “Would you like some water or coffee?”
“No, thank you.” He licked his lips. “I’m taking the kids out for dinner.”
“That’s really nice. I know Griff will really appreciate it. He’s been alone since . . . for a while. Thanks for doing it.”
Ben tapped his toe. “I’d invite you along, but it looks like you’ve already got some plans.”
Her eyes got wet. “Damn.” She blotted away the moisture. “I got a job, Vicks. I’m going to work.”
“You got a job?”
“Yes, I did indeed.”
“Doing what?”
“Not important. Thanks for the invitation. Maybe some other time?”
Ben didn’t answer. Seeing her so upset . . . it was difficult to hold on to his anger. “I’m taking him snowboarding . . . Griff . . . tomorrow . . . if he wants to come.”
“I’m sure he’d love it.” She turned to face him. “When was the last time you snowboarded?”
“Over three years ago.” He rubbed his head. “I suspect it’s like driving a car. A little rusty at first, but I’m sure I’ll do okay enough to teach him something. At one time I was pretty good.”
“I ski, but I’ve never tried snowboarding.”
“You can come.”
“I’d love to, but I’m working tomorrow as well.”
“I repeat: Doing what?”
“It varies.”
“Can you get more specific?”
“Like I said, it doesn’t matter.” She pulled out a lipstick and examined the color. “Too dark.” She looked at him. “Are you coming to school on Monday?”
“Probably.” Ben sighed. “Good luck with whatever you’re doing.” He gave her a dismissive wave, the kind she used to give him when they first met. He made sure when he left that he didn’t slam the door.
Chapter 14
The policy was thus: during the day and evening up until ten, there were always two people so Ro wasn’t needed and she couldn’t sneak around. The graveyard shift from ten to six had been manned by Gary the Ghoul forever. It seemed he didn’t take time off because he didn’t want to. He loved the dead of night and he loved being by himself.
Opportunity knocked on a perfect pre-spring day in early March. The sun was out in full force, the big New Mexican sky was colored that unreal blue, and temperatures hovered in the sixties. It was a day when no one wanted to be indoors, let alone working. Pearl had decided to call in “sick”—something Ro would have done—but Tomas was a good soul, steady and dedicated. Ro was thinking of ways to sabotage his industriousness.
She wangled another tutorial on the computer. The basics weren’t that complicated, but to do what she wanted, she needed diligence and enough facility that Tomas would trust her alone at the front desk. She squinted at the monitor. “So if we’ve got a returning client and he wants the same room, I press insert here . . .”
“Right.”
“And then I type in the name.”
“Right.”
“And type in repeat.”
“Right.”
“And that will give me a list of all the dates that the client has stayed with us.”
“Yes.”
“How do I get a log of the previous rooms?”
“Type in repeat, the client’s name, the date you want. Then, in the request box, type in the room number.”
“Okay.” She followed his instructions and sure enough, there was a complete client history. “What does this little star after the room number mean?”
“That means a corporate discount.”