“Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler, welcome to the Apartotel El Sesteo. I’m Christopher McTeer, general manager of the hotel. The government representative we spoke to told us about your boating accident and advised us they would be taking care of all charges.”

 

As they stood at the front desk, Alan and Ellie exchanged glances, amused that the government had come up with the same story they had. The Costa Ricans obviously wanted to keep the true nature of the accident a secret.

 

“I understand you and Dr. Sattler have two children with you,” McTeer said. “As we have apartment style suites, I thought a two bedroom unit would be appropriate for your group.”

 

“That’ll be fine,” Alan said, as he filled out the registration.

 

Better than fine, Ellie thought. It would be perfect, and with a little luck, it would have some kind of a kitchen for meal preparation.

 

“Do you have any luggage?”

 

Alan shook his head. “We lost everything. After we get checked in, Dr. Sattler and the children will be on their way to get us some new clothes.”

 

“You certainly look like you’ve been through an ordeal.”

 

“We’re alive, that’s all that counts,” he said.

 

“Absolutely…We have a Mini-Mart onsite, which should have any personal items you might need.”

 

“That’s great,” Alan said.

 

Ellie looked at her watch. “Alan, it's five fifteen now; why don’t you go ahead and get what you need. It’s going to take us a while to shop, so we’ll stop by the store when we get back.”

 

“Okay…” Alan said.

 

“The store is closing in a few minutes, but when you return, let Tomas know,” McTeer said, referring to the front desk clerk who stood next to him. “Under these extenuating circumstances, I’ll be glad to open it up for you again.”

 

“Thanks, I appreciate that,” she said.

 

“Weekdays we have complimentary breakfast from six to nine-thirty, and on weekends from seven to ten. We also have room service until ten in the evening.”

 

Alan guessed everyone would be hungry later. “We might take advantage of that tonight.”

“Excellent. If you need anything at all don’t hesitate to ask, the staff all speak English.”

 

“Okay, thanks,” Alan said.

 

“Have a good evening,” McTeer said, then turned and walked into an office behind the reception desk.

 

Tomas handed him two room keys and pointed to his left. “Dr. Grant, you will be in suite five. It is straight down that hall.”

 

“Thanks.” He noted that the Mini-Mart, as McTeer had called it, was next to the front desk.

 

“My pleasure, Dr. Grant, have a good evening.”

 

Alan nodded at Tomas, and then handed the other key to Ellie. “Here you go.”

 

“Think you can make it to the room, or do you need an escort?” Ellie asked mischievously, hoping to cheer him up.

 

“I think I can make it, thank you very much,” he said as he began to smile.

 

Alan’s smile was what she wanted to see. He had seemed dejected on the way to the hotel.

 

“You sure you want to pay for the clothes? I can give you one of my credit cards,” he said.

 

Ellie nodded. “I’ll take care of it.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “We’ll be back in a while. Get some rest, okay?”

 

“I will… Oh yeah, I’ll get the aspirin.”

 

“Good. See you later.” Ellie said as she walked out of the hotel. She realized Tim might not be old enough to take adult aspirin. She would have to ask him when she got back to the van.

 

Alan entered the Mini-Mart and selected the products he normally used: soap, deodorant, shampoo, shaving cream, disposable shavers, toothpaste, and a toothbrush, as well as a medium sized bottle of aspirin. Some were not his usual brands but they would do. There was a small grocery store as well; he figured he and Ellie would check that out tomorrow. He paid the bill by credit card and, toting that sack as well as the one from the hospital, he went in search of their suite.

 

Following the directions the front desk clerk had given him, Alan located the suite and unlocked the door. As he entered the room, he felt for and clicked the light switch by the door. He let out a low whistle, as he found he was standing in a good-sized living area, with a sofa, two easy chairs, and a television. Out of habit, he reached to take off his hat and remembered with a pang that it was gone. Damn, he missed that hat; he would have to replace it when he got back to Denver.

Beyond the living area, he saw a well-equipped kitchen and dining room set. That would please Ellie, he thought.

 

First things first, he thought. He placed the sacks on the table and pulled out the bottle of aspirin. He twisted the cap off and dug out the cotton ball; then took two pills out of the bottle.

 

Leaving the medical supplies and aspirin on the table for the others to find, he continued with his impromptu tour and entered the first bedroom, which had two twin beds, armoire, nightstands, and large closet as well as a full bath. Not bad, he thought.

 

He walked into the other bedroom, identically furnished, but with a queen bed; it also had a full bath. Alan decided to claim this room, and he entered the bathroom where he placed the items he had bought in the cabinet. He was tempted to take a hot bath right then, but he would have had to put his dirty clothes back on. He decided to brush his teeth at least. After he finished his teeth, he filled a glass with water, and took the two aspirin. He finished off that glass, and then on impulse drank another. Dehydration, he thought. With a wistful look back at the bathtub, he went back into the bedroom.

 

He wondered what the bed was like; he sat down carefully, mindful of his back. That went well and he gently lay down. The bed felt like sheer heaven, and he decided to rest his eyes for a few minutes…

 

 

 

Reiling held the door, as Ellie and the others, laden with shopping bags entered the suite. She quickly looked around and as she had hoped, there was a kitchen and dining area. They could cook and eat their meals here rather than having to eat out all the time.

 

There was no sign of Alan, but he had obviously been there; the package from the hospital was on the table, as well as a bottle of aspirin. She sat her newly purchased backpack beside the medical supplies. Ellie suspected he would be in one of the bedrooms, and she peeked into one, which she noted had two twin beds. Tim and Lex looked into the other. “Ellie,” Lex whispered, “he’s in here.”

 

Ellie walked over to the other bedroom and looked in. The lamp was on by the bed and he lay on his back, shoes still on, sound asleep.

 

“Are you going to wake him up?” Tim asked.

 

Alan looked so peaceful that she hated to disturb him. “I don’t want to, but there are some phone calls he needs to make.” She did not want to keep Joe any longer, so she went back to were he waited.

 

“What do we do with our clothes?” Lex asked.

 

They would have to figure out the sleeping arrangements before they could put their clothes away. “Well, right now put everything on the table,” Ellie said.

 

“Alan’s crashed,” Ellie said to Reiling. She wished she could have joined him, but there were things to do.

 

Reiling had helped them carry their bags and he had placed them on the table with the others. “I’m not surprised… Before I forget, let me give you the address to send the wire. It’s a little different from the main Embassy address.” He took out a pen and small notebook and began to write, then handed the paper to Ellie. “Here you go. On the other end, they’ll just send it like a normal Western Union wire.”

 

“Okay, good.”

 

“Well, I’ll be on my way.”

 

Ellie nodded. “Joe, I want to thank you for helping us out. You have been a real life saver.”

 

“No problem… If you need anything just let me know.” He took out a business card, and wrote his home number on it. “Tell Alan to give me a call tomorrow when he’s ready to come down to the Embassy.”

 

“I will. I don’t think it’s going to be too terribly early.”

 

“I can’t imagine why it would be, you guys need to rest. Well Ellie, I’ll talk to you later.” He glanced at the children. “Goodnight guys.”

 

“Night, Mr. Reiling,” Lex said.

 

“Bye,” Tim added.

 

Ellie walked with Reiling to the door. “Goodnight Joe.” She shut and locked the door behind him. She saw the two children began to investigate the suite, opening doors and cabinets.

 

Her contacts were killing her; it was a miracle she had been able to keep them in. I have to get these things out right now, she thought. Fortunately, the doctor had included a plastic lens holder, cleaner solution, and moisturizing drops. She had applied some of the moisturizing drops on the way to the hotel. “Guys, I’m going to get these contacts out then I’m going to wake Alan,” she said to Lex and Tim.

 

“Okay,” Tim said.

 

She took her supplies out of the bag and went into the second bathroom. She poured some solution into each eyepiece, then removed her contacts, and placed them into the lens holder. With a sigh of relief, she applied a few more drops into each eye. Afterwards, she went into the bedroom where Alan lay, and sat down on the side of the bed. “Alan, wake up,” she said softly, caressing his chest.

 

“Hmmm,” Alan said, and fell into silence.

 

She brushed the hair off his forehead. “Hey, time to wake up and take a look at your new clothes.”

 

Drowsily, Alan opened his eyes, and smiled into her beautiful face. “Hey,” he said.

 

“Hey yourself…. Have a good nap?”

 

He cautiously stretched his arms and yawned. “Uh huh... What time is it?”

 

“Six forty five. We stopped in that little grocery store and picked up some supplies.”

 

“I’m all set up, too. So did you buy out the clothes store?”

 

Ellie laughed. “I got everybody enough clothes for three days; plus some extra odds and ends.”

 

“Okay, good.” Yawning, he sat up, and ran his hand through his hair. As an experiment, he moved back and forth, checking out his back.

 

“How’s your back?” she asked.

 

“It feels pretty good, actually.” Maybe all he needed was to get off his feet for a while; at least he hoped so. Tomorrow would tell the story. Alan shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. “I can’t believe I went to sleep, I was just going to test out the bed, and the next thing I knew you were there.” He reached over and took her in his arms. “Hey, come here.”

 

She leaned into the embrace and sighed with pleasure as he caressed her back. For a few moments, safe in each other’s embrace, she could forget where and why they were here. She could pretend they were back in Montana or Denver, the horrible events never having taken place. She knew they should go call Lex and Tim’s mother, but she relished this private time they were having; the first they’d had in two days. She reached out and stroked his cheek, the stubble scratchy under her fingers. “You need a shave.”

 

“You think so? I was thinking about doing a Miami Vice thing. You know, the Don Johnson three day stubble look.”

 

Ellie laughed. “Oh please, you hate that show.” The show was one of her guilty pleasures she had to admit. It was mindless brain candy, but she was sad to hear it had gone off the air that summer. Sometimes it was nice not to have to think.

 

“I know, but some women think it’s sexy,” he said, running his hand over his chin. He knew that would get a rise out of her.

 

“Some women?” she said with narrowed eyes.

 

Bingo, he thought. “Uh huh…”

 

“Well, this woman thinks its goofy looking, and it scratches, too.”

 

“Hmm… Since your opinion means more to me than any other, I guess I’ll just have to shave then.”

 

Ellie laughed and hugged him again. “My opinion had better matter.”

 

He drew back and looked intently into her eyes. “It does, Ellie, more than you could know.”

 

Ellie found herself blushing under his steady gaze. With one look, he did things to her inside that no other man could. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply; she felt his willing response.

 

After a few moments, they slowly ended the kiss, aware they were not alone in the suite.

 

“We’ll continue that later,” Alan said huskily.

 

“Definitely. Let me turn on the light, so you can take a look at your new duds,” she said as she rose and clicked the light switch.

 

“Okay…” Alan said.

 

“We’re going to have to buy a suitcase before we go home,” she said as she sat down again

 

“That’s what it looks like,” he said with a laugh, as he began to pull clothes out of the sacks.

 

She had bought him a pair of khakis, two pairs of Levi’s jeans, two t-shirts, assorted underwear, and socks. She had not found any of the flannel shirts he liked so much to wear, but she had bought him two denim work shirts. She had also bought him a navy blue oxford shirt to wear if they went out somewhere nice, a pair of sweatpants to wear around the suite, and a pair of pajama bottoms.

 

“How’d I do?” she asked.

 

“Pretty good…Pretty good.” He held up the last item, a pair of swim trunks. He liked them; they were black and gold with white piping. “Hey, good thinking.”

 

She shrugged. “You like to swim, and I thought this place would have a pool. And with luck they’ll have a Jacuzzi, like the doctor suggested.”

“You got one, didn’t you?” he asked hopefully.

 

“Uh huh… I’ll have to model it later.”

 

Alan smiled broadly. “I can’t wait for that.”

 

Alan saw her expression turn serious. “Hey, what’s the matter?”

 

“I don’t think this will be enough clothes. If we don’t get more, we’ll be looking for a laundry quick or having to buy more clothes.”

 

Alan nodded. “I think you’re right.” He exhaled slowly. “Let’s have Ben and Sue ship us some of our clothes.”

 

Ellie attempted to shake off her mood. “Joe said for you to call him in the morning when you’re ready to go and fill out the paperwork,” she said. “I’ve got the address to send the wire to.”

 

“Good.”

 

Ellie dug into her pocket and pulled out her billfold. “He also loaned us some Costa Rican money until we get set up. He gave me a rundown on what the different denominations mean. According to Joe, one dollar equals about 480 Colons.” She handed him some of the bills.

 

Alan looked the bills over. “Oh, okay.”

 

“Did you see the kitchen?” she asked.

 

Alan nodded. “It looks like it’s got just about everything.”

 

“It does. I’m going to go grocery shopping, tomorrow.”

 

She started to hand him more of the money, but he stopped her. “Keep it for the groceries.”

 

“Okay.” She remembered what Lex had told her earlier. “Oh yeah, one other thing I found out—”

 

“You’re just full of information aren’t you?” he said, with a grin.

 

“Well, somebody has to find this stuff out, since you decided to…ahem, test out the bed.”

 

Alan chuckled. “What’s the big news?”

 

“Lex is a vegetarian.”

 

Alan’s eyebrows rose. “A vegetarian? Oh boy…That’s going to be a new experience. Do you know anything about that?”

“Not a thing. Lex is going to have to walk me through the shopping.” As much as she wanted to stay here, they had to get moving. Ellie stood up and held out her hand. “Come on; let’s make those phone calls, I’m sure Mrs. Murphy is anxious to talk to her kids,” Ellie said. “After that, we can start the shower rotation.” She noticed Alan’s bedroom had a bath also.

 

Alan took her hand and slowly stood up, waiting for his back to protest. He was relieved when he only felt slight discomfort. “We need to figure out the sleeping arrangements, too,” he said. “Ellie, I don’t know if it’s a good idea for us to sleep together, being unmarried and all.”

 

Ellie sighed, he was right. Right now though, she did not want to think about that. “One problem at a time,” she said with a laugh.

 

Alan chuckled. “That’s about all I can handle at once too. I’ll call Ben after we talk to Mrs. Murphy.” They were originally supposed to be back in Montana tomorrow, to finish out the season. “You know, Ben’s probably going to have to close down the dig.”

 

“I was thinking that earlier. He can handle it.”

 

“I’m not a bit worried about him.” Ben Kincannon was one man he could always count on. They had first met while Alan was an assistant professor at Harvard, and Kincannon had been on the preparatory staff. Although of radically different temperaments and personalities, they had found common ground in their passion for both pre-history as well as beer. They had become close friends, and when he had taken the job at the University of Denver, he had brought Ben with him and made him Chief Preparator and field crew chief.

 

Kincannon had completed his masters in Paleontology, but had not attempted to write his dissertation despite Alan’s urging. Hardworking, intelligent, and funny, he was a crucial member of the crew. He had been the first one of them to get a teepee, and his was the one everyone gathered in to drink beer and tell stories after a hard day’s work.

 

As they walked towards the door, Alan pointed at the bathroom. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

 

“Okay…” Ellie went into the living room. Lex was fiddling with the TV, and Tim had opened the French doors, and was looking outside.

 

“Sleeping Beauty will be out in a minute,” Ellie said, which made the children giggle. She went into the kitchen to look around and was happy to see it was well equipped with stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, coffee maker, dishes, and cooking utensils.

 

“Ellie, look out here,” Lex called out as she peered outside.

 

Ellie stepped through the door and into the gathering dusk. Surrounded by tropical plants; she found herself on a small patio complete with table and chairs. She and Alan had a patio at their home in Denver and they loved to eat and entertain their friends outside when the weather cooperated. She assumed they would do the same here. Beyond the patio, she could see a swimming pool. “Oh, I like this a lot,” she said.

 

“You like what?” Alan asked, as he looked out the door. “Hey, this is terrific.” He walked out followed by Tim and glanced around. “I must admit, they set us up in a nice hotel.” Well maintained, the hotel was not opulent. “Well, are you guys ready to talk to your Mom?”

 

“Yeah,” Tim said enthusiastically.

 

“I guess so…” Lex said.

 

Alan and Ellie sat down on the couch.

 

“Want to talk to her first?” he asked Tim.

 

“Okay.”

 

“Then, here you go,” he said as he gave the receiver to the boy, who seemed much more excited to talk to his mother than Lex did. He dialed the country code to the US. “What’s your number?” he asked.

 

“415-026-4478.”

 

For future reference, Alan wrote the number down on a notepad he had found by the telephone.

 

 

 

Lynda Murphy ceased her pacing when she heard the phone ring, and half walked, half ran to answer it. “Hello?”

 

“Hi, Mom.”

 

“Timmy! Oh honey, are you okay?” Tears formed in her eyes as she heard her son’s voice.

 

“Yeah, we’re fine.” Tim stopped talking for a moment, and then continued. “Mom… Grandpa…he’s…” His voice trailed off.

 

“I know, sweetheart. They told me,” she said sadly. She prayed the children had not seen her father die. The Embassy had been vague about what exactly had happened, other than her father was dead, and two scientists had saved the children’s lives and were caring for them.

 

“Honey, they said you were hurt.”

 

“I just hurt my hands a little bit, but I’ll be okay. I can’t go swimming for a couple of days, though.”

 

“Oh that’s too bad. I know how much you like to swim. Do you need anything?”

 

“I don’t think so. We went and got some clothes and stuff.”

 

Lynda would have to pay them back for buying the clothes, but if it was true they had saved their lives, then there was no way to repay that. She would forever be in their debt. “Well, that’s good. Are Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler nice?”

 

“Oh yeah, they’re great, they’re taking good care of us.”

 

“I’m glad to hear that. Well, I don’t want to run their phone bill up, can I talk to Lex?”

 

“Yeah, she’s right here.”

 

“Tim?”

 

“Yes, Mom?”

 

“I love you sweetheart.”

 

“I love you too. Here’s Lex.”

 

Tim gave the phone to Lex who put it to her ear. “Hi.”

 

“Hi, sweetie. How are you?”

 

“I’m okay. Tim’s the one that got hurt.”

 

Lynda winced as she heard the barely suppressed anger in her daughter’s voice. They had argued before she had left about her vegetarian diet and obviously, Lex still remembered that. Things had been tense between them for some time, and the divorce had not helped their relationship. Her daughter had been her husband’s favorite, but he had seen almost nothing of the children since they had separated. Lex seemed to blame her for that too. However, if she were being honest, she would have to admit she had not been the most attentive mother for a long time.

 

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay.”

 

‘I’m fine,” Lex said shortly.

 

Lynda put her hand to her forehead in frustration. She began to say something further, but let is pass. There would be time for that later. “Well, I’d better talk to Dr. Grant, if he’s there.”

 

“He’s here.”

 

“Good night sweetheart, I love you.”

“Me too.”

 

Lynda sighed at the tone of voice Lex used. There was so much to repair in their relationship.

 

Lex handed Alan the receiver. “She wants to talk to you.”

 

Alan nodded. He felt uncomfortable; he didn’t have any idea what to say to the woman; after all, her father had just died and her children were under the care of two strangers.

 

“Mrs. Murphy, this is Alan Grant.”

 

Lynda realized she would be Mrs. Murphy for just a few more days, then after 17 years of marriage, her name would be Hammond again.

 

“Dr. Grant, I wanted to thank you for taking care of the children.”

 

Surprised by her calm manner, Alan hesitated before he spoke. He would have thought she would have been more upset. However, he felt a growing numbness about what had happened, as though it had occurred a long time ago. He supposed they were all suffering from shock. Perhaps it was for the best; he could not afford to dwell on Isla Nublar. He was worried about the others. Tim had emerged from his emotional shell, and on the surface both Ellie and Lex seemed fine. However, he knew they were bound to suffer aftereffects. “It’s no problem at all. I’m very sorry about what happened to John. I wish there was something more we could have done.” No matter how angry he might have been with Hammond, he did not want him to die.

 

Lynda thought she heard a slight hint of an accent in his voice, Australian maybe. “I should have never allowed the children to go to that island. My father is very persuasive, however,” she said, a catch in her throat. “Rather, he was very persuasive.”

 

“I know that very well, Mrs. Murphy.” Alan replied ruefully.

 

“I always thought it was insane trying to clone those creatures.”

 

“You knew what they were doing?”

 

“I knew a great deal of what InGen was doing, Dr. Grant. Until recently, I was on the board of directors. Early on a few of the more rational members of the board tried very hard to talk them out of building the park, but it did no good. I resigned from the board three years ago. The only thing the rest of them could see was dollar signs. This is what it got them,” she said bitterly, then sighed. There was no point in rehashing that sad story. “Look, why don’t you call me Lynda?”

 

“Okay, if you’ll call me Alan.”

 

“I’ll do that.” She liked his soft-spoken voice; something in it made her trust him. “I hope Tim hasn’t been too much of a pest, he’s been obsessed about dinosaurs since he was a toddler. He was thrilled when my father told him you were going to be there.”

 

Alan chuckled. “No, he hasn’t bothered me a bit. He’s a very brave kid. They both are.”

 

Ellie shook her head as she remembered the way he had reacted when he had first seen the kids on the stairs. Things had certainly changed since then.

 

“Frankly, after what’s happened, I don’t know how much interest he’s going to have in the subject,” he said.

 

Lynda laughed. “Somehow, I don’t think that will deter him. Tim told me you had bought some clothes for them.”

 

“Yes, we had to leave everything on the island.”

 

“I want to pay you back for the clothes.”

 

“We can talk about that when you get here.”

 

“All right, but I will pay you back.”

 

Alan chuckled. “Okay.”

 

“Are the children nearby?”

 

“Yeah.” He figured Lynda wanted to know more about what had happened to John. The fact was he did not know how Hammond had died. He would have to find out from Muldoon. He thought back to Ellie’s coldness towards the man, and wondered once again what had happened between them.

 

“The Embassy wouldn’t, or couldn’t tell me what happened to my father, but I don’t want to upset the children. I’d like to know what happened. Would you mind calling me later after they’ve gone to bed?”

 

“Sure, that’ll work.”

 

“Thanks.

 

“Lynda, I’m supposed to go talk to the Costa Ricans in a couple of days; hopefully they’ll be ready for the kids to leave then.”

 

“I’m in the middle of divorce hearings, which should be finished this week. If necessary, I’ll get a postponement and fly down and get them.”

 

Alan thought for a moment; he had an idea, but he knew he should ask Ellie first, although he was sure he knew what the answer would be. “I need to ask Ellie something. Can you hold on for a moment?”

 

“Sure.” That must be Dr. Sattler, Lynda thought.

 

He put his hand over the receiver. “Ellie, Mrs. Murphy has some court hearings to finish,” he said, not mentioning the divorce itself. Nevertheless, he saw the two children scowl. “She’d have to delay them to come down here. How about we let Tim and Lex stay with us until they’re finished?” He was motivated by more than altruism, he genuinely liked and cared about the two youngsters.

 

“That’s fine with me,” Ellie looked at the children. “How would you guys like to hang out with us for a few days?”

 

“Cool…” Tim said.

 

“Yeah, that’ll be fun,” Lex said, a broad smile on her face.

 

Alan took his hand off the receiver. “Lynda, if it’ll help out we can take care of Lex and Tim until you get finished. It’s going to be awhile until we get out of here.”

 

Torn between wanting to get the divorce over with and getting her children back, Lynda hesitated. It was only going to take a few more days to be finished with the whole thing. “Do you mind? It would be a huge help.”

 

“We’ll be happy to.”

 

“Thank you so much. How are the kids doing on clothes?”

 

“Ellie got them enough for three days.”

 

“Hmm… I can send some of theirs if it’ll help.”

 

“That might be a good idea. We’re going to have some of ours shipped down too.”

 

“I’m going to need the address of the hotel.”

 

Alan laughed. “Right…Sorry, my brains a little slow this evening.”

 

Lynda could hear the fatigue in his voice. “I understand. Are you certain you want to do this? Those two can be a handful.”

 

“They’ll be fine. I just need a good nights sleep.”

 

“Okay, if you say so.” She felt a little guilty about asking him to call her back. “Don’t worry about calling me tonight. Nothing’s going to change what happened.”

 

“Okay, sure. Let me get that address.” Alan reached over to the table and picked up a binder with the hotel information. “Here it is; let me spell it. My Spanish is nonexistent.” He spelled out the name and address. “The hotel’s phone number is 506-245-0812. 506 must be the country code.”

 

“Okay, I’ve got it. Well, I’m running up your phone bill. I’m terribly sorry you had to get mixed up in this mess.”

 

“What’s done is done, Lynda.”

 

“That’s true. I’ll get those clothes off tomorrow. I guess Federal Express would be the best way.”

 

“Probably. I’ll talk to you later.”

 

“Good night Alan.”

 

Alan hung up the phone. “Your mother’s nice.”

 

“Yeah, she’s pretty cool for a Mom,” Tim said.

 

Lex did not comment, Ellie noticed. Ellie was certain there were problems between them. Her own parents had been divorced when she was about Lex’s age, and she knew from experience how traumatic it could be.

 

“Guys, if you want to, you can take your showers while we call home,” Alan said.

 

“Where should I put my clothes?” Lex asked.

 

“Well, why don’t you put yours in the bedroom with the two beds?” Ellie asked. They might as well get the sleeping arrangements sorted out, she thought. “In fact, I’ll put mine in there too. Lex, if you don’t mind, I’ll sleep in the other bed.”

 

Lex looked at her in surprise. “You’re not going to sleep with Alan?”

 

The girl’s directness startled her. “Well, Lex, we thought under the circumstances it would be the best thing to do.”

 

“Why?”

 

Alan smothered a smile as Ellie tried to explain their reason for not sleeping with each other.

 

“Lex, we’re not married, and your mother might not like for us to sleep together.”

 

Lex shrugged. “Okay, whatever you want to do.”

“Where am I going to sleep?” Tim asked.

 

“Well, we have three beds for four people.” She looked at Alan and did her best to keep a straight face. “I know; you and Tim can share the bed in your room.” The look of disbelief on Alan’s face was priceless, and Ellie almost burst out laughing. Gotcha back, buster, she thought; she had seen how amused he was at her predicament.

 

Alan liked Tim, but there was no way in hell he was going to sleep in the same bed with him. “Uh… What about a rollaway?” Alan said, glaring at Ellie.

 

Ellie laughed. “I was kidding, don’t worry.” Glancing down at the couch, she had an idea. “Alan, stand up.”

 

“What?”

 

“Stand up. I want to see if this is a sofa bed.”

 

“Of course… Cross your fingers.”

 

They took off the cushions and Ellie saw a strap attached to the underside of the couch. “I think we’re in luck,” she said.

 

Ellie pulled the strap and to Alan’s relief a ready-made bed, including pillows, folded out.

 

Ellie chuckled. “You’re off the hook, dear.”

 

“Thankfully,” Alan said.

 

Tim jumped onto the bed. “Oh cool a sofa bed. I want to sleep here!”

 

“You sure can,” Ellie said. Problem solved she thought, with relief.

 

“Tim, let’s put the sofa back together until we’re ready to go to bed,” Alan said.

 

Tim got off the bed. “Okay.”

 

Ellie folded the bed back into the couch and replaced the cushions. “Can you and Tim share some closet space?”

 

“Sure,” Alan said.

 

“I’ll put my stuff in there after I take my shower,” Tim said.

 

Alan realized he was getting hungry. “Is everybody hungry?” Alan asked.

 

“Yeah, kinda,” Tim said.

 

“After everybody gets cleaned up we’ll see what we can stir up with room service.”

 

“Great!” Lex said.

 

“I guess I’ll put my things up too,” Alan said. He went into his bedroom and began to put away his clothes as the others gathered up theirs from the table. Tim came into the bedroom and put his bags on the bed then went into the bathroom.

 

That job completed, Alan returned to the living room and sat down. He propped his head against the back of the sofa, propped up his feet, and closed his eyes. He had decided to wait for Ellie, as she might want to tell Ben something.

 

After a few minutes, Ellie walked wearily into the room. “All done,” she said as she sat down next to him, and tucked her long legs under her body. “How much money are you going to get Ben to wire?”

 

“We need to pay Joe back so I was thinking $400 would be more than enough, so if you want to she can send $200.”

 

“Okay… That sounds good.”

 

Alan dialed the number and waited, hoping someone was around the trailer at that time of the evening.