He woke up twice during the night. The first time was because of the thumping and shouting coming from the next room. Someone was clearly getting busy in there, because some woman was screaming her lungs out. It didn’t bother Jasper at all—his snoring even drowned them out at times. But it kept Daniel awake, and it took him a while to fall back asleep. The woman next door had apparently decided to earn every penny she’d been paid, going at it full throttle, banging against the wall so hard it shook his room too. He was kind of glad Jasper didn’t wake up, because he’d have definitely gone over to give them a piece of his mind.
The second time, he woke up from a dream he’d had. He couldn’t remember much, except that he was wearing black gloves. And when he took them off, he had no hands. His arms ended somewhere above the wrists, where the gloves should’ve been. He didn’t know why it freaked him out, but it woke him up. Jasper wasn’t snoring anymore, and the noise from the other room had finally stopped. The first rays of sunlight were creeping in, but he still felt sleepy. And he fell back asleep.
The third time he opened his eyes, Jasper was standing over the bed, looming over him and staring. It took him a moment to realize Jasper was actually talking.
“Bro? How long’s it been since you slept? I can’t wake you up.”
“What time is it?”
“Eight-ten.”
“We’ve got breakfast…”
“They’ve got that here too?”
They walked along the outdoor corridor. It was quiet. Daniel glanced at the room next door. The curtains were pulled back, windows open. Those people must’ve gotten pretty heated. On one side lay a hefty man, maybe fifty or older, and on the other, a dark-skinned woman with black hair and a slightly stocky build. They were sprawled on opposite sides of the bed, lying like figures in a Rembrandt painting. Jasper didn’t notice them. Otherwise, he’d have come up with some way to wake them up.
As soon as they stepped into the so-called restaurant of the motel—which was really just part of the kitchen the place had—it smelled like fried toast. Jasper put a hand on his stomach to signal how hungry he was and found a spot at one of the two tables. Daniel sat next to him. A moment later, the redheaded woman from yesterday appeared.
“Oh, didn’t you say you’d be alone, sweetie?” He’d forgotten to mention it to her.
“Yeah, but a friend had to stop by. I’ll pay extra later.”
“Oh, you didn’t seem like that type yesterday. Sorry if I offended you. I’m totally tolerant of all kinds. Everyone can sleep with whoever they want. Especially at the motel.” She patted his head and smiled. “Don’t worry about the money, sweetie.”
“Bro…” Jasper tried to cut in, but Daniel ignored him.
“No, no. We’re not like that. He was just passing through.”
“No problem if you were. I was just saying I’m tolerant.”
“We really aren’t—”
“Bro…” Jasper’s voice got louder, but still not enough to interrupt.
“Sweetie, you don’t have to explain. Even if you don’t have the cash, I don’t want you to pay extra.”
“I insist. And we didn’t do anything.”
“Well, that’s your business.”
“Bro!” Jasper yelled the third time. The woman jumped.
Daniel looked at him. Jasper was staring at her hands. They were in black gloves.
“Oh, sir? Why are you upset?”
Jasper kept looking at Daniel.
“Sorry, why are you wearing gloves?” Daniel decided to ask her straight up. Jasper was starting to get paranoid.
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The woman glanced at her hands.
“Oh? The gloves? What a question! I’m cooking, aren’t I? I can’t cook with bare hands. It’s not hygienic. The motel might not be the cleanest, but we at least try with the food. If they bother you, I’ll take them off.”
“No, you don’t have to.”
“Yes. We want you to,” Jasper cut in. He was harsh.
The woman grabbed one glove and pulled it off. Then the other, crumpling them in her hands. She didn’t look thrilled, but she tried to keep smiling.
“Sorry about my friend,” Daniel said, trying to smooth things over. “He’s been a bit on edge lately. We’ll pay for the gloves too.”
“Oh, no need. If I can put on the others, though, I’ve got to finish breakfast. I’ve got two more rooms waiting for theirs.”
“No,” Jasper interrupted again. “I want to touch your hands.”
“What’s wrong with him? Please, if you keep this up…”
Jasper stretched his hand out.
“You don’t have to, Jas.”
“I want to. I’ll pay triple for the room. Just shake my hand.”
The woman didn’t hesitate. She reached out and grabbed his hand. Jasper’s eyes shifted from angry to slightly confused.
“Well?”
“It’s warm,” he said, looking at Daniel.
“Are you two some kind of fetishists? Not that I mind, it’s just a bit weird.”
“Sorry again. He’s just a little odd sometimes.”
“Well, it’s your business. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the kitchen. Your toast’ll burn.”
The woman turned, watching them almost the whole way. With slow steps, she dragged her plump backside to a wooden door with no lock, pushed it open, and disappeared behind it.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Jasper held his head.
“I don’t know, bro. I’m really getting paranoid. I’m starting to think maybe those apartment people didn’t have cold hands either. Something’s wrong with me.”
“I want to get out of here.”
They didn’t stay to finish eating. The woman was kind enough to pack their sandwiches in a box. Jasper insisted on paying extra for the room and leaving a tip. He only managed the latter. They stood in the parking lot—Jasper by his jeep, Daniel leaning against his car.
“Emma texted me yesterday.”
“Emma? Didn’t you say you deleted her number?”
“Yeah. It was from an unknown number, but I recognized it. I remember the last two digits.”
“And? Don’t tell me you…”
“Deleted it.”
“Good job, bro. You’re healing fast.”
“Now what?”
“What do you mean, now what?”
“Where to?”
Jasper looked off to the side.
“We head back, and life goes on. That’s it. I’ve got more viewings this afternoon. A guy and another family. The good thing is, there’s interest. I think I can sell everything within a month.”
“High goals.”
“Well, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t. You know how it is.”
“What about Friday?”
“Friday? I lied, I didn’t plan anything. And now I don’t have the time. Or the desire, bro. What about you? Looking for a new job?”
“Not yet. I think I’ll go with the flow for a while. All this has been too much. I’m thinking of traveling a bit.”
“Where to?”
“No idea. I need to clear my head. It works when I’m driving. I don’t know how to explain it. When I speed up, I outrun the memories. Leave them behind.”
“Ever thought about going back to the park when it reopens?”
“Honestly, yeah. I think about the park all the time. We didn’t get to enjoy it enough. There were stories left untold.”
“Yeah. Same here. And you see how I’m imagining robots everywhere. It’s messed up. That Barnes guy…”
“Just like you got fooled about the woman here, you might’ve been wrong about those people. At work,” Daniel reminded him.
Jasper sighed and looked around. The parking lot was empty. The rooms upstairs were starting to wake up. From one, loud voices argued about money.
“Well, bro, I’m off,” Jasper said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Call me if you need anything. I’ve got your back.”
Daniel nodded and watched Jasper’s whole journey—from getting into the jeep to pulling out of the lot until he vanished in the distance.
Daniel went back up to grab the few clothes left in his room. The window in the next room was still open, and the couple who’d woken him during the night were still asleep. The guy he’d thought looked old had shifted. Now he didn’t seem that old. It was just his patchy beard adding years. Probably a truck driver, judging by his sun-reddened face. But what Daniel didn’t like was the girl next to him. Only one of her hands was visible. And unless he was imagining it or it was some trick of the light, that hand was wearing a glove.
He practically ran to drop the keys off with the redheaded woman. He didn’t want to see her. He was starting to doubt her too. He left a big tip. The money he ended up leaving was triple what the room normally cost. He got in his car and peeled out. He didn’t remember how long or where he drove. But he was starting to feel like Jasper. He saw black gloves everywhere. No, he couldn’t be losing it that badly.
He’d definitely call Jasper tonight. He wanted to tell him. And he regretted not taking a picture.
He didn’t know who else he could share it with.
But Jasper beat him to it.