In Between Dreams (4 page)

Halene was small for a twelve-year-old and had beautiful brown skin and ultracurly black hair that was always in a tight ponytail with an “afro puff” (as Halene called it) of hair that sat on the top of her head. She was “the leader” and was an exceptional artist. Her hands never rested, and she was always drawing. She used the visual to explain
herself and how she approached problems and solutions. She was the clearest thinker of the group when she focused on the issues. Even though she was young, she seemed to always know what to do next.

“That’s a sad one, Haley,” Sam said, patting the top of her head.

“All she does is cry. I can’t draw her any other way,” she said with a shrug. She looked around the room. “I wish y’all would let me be in there. I feel really worthless out here drawin’,” she complained. “She’s hollering so loud I can hear her anyway.”

“Oh, she was not. Even if you can hear her, there is no way you can hear me,” Sam pointed out. “You can’t understand her yelling.”

Halene lifted her head as if to prove him wrong. “How do you know I don’t speak Mandarin?” She said, her southern accent making the word “Mandarin” rhyme with “tangerine.”

Daniel laughed at her and threw a pen from the table at her head. “Because if you did, Sammy froufrou wouldn’t be here, and you’d be doing the translating,” he explained. “You can’t even pronounce the word ‘Mandarin’ right.”

“You do say it kind of weird,” Sam admitted.

Halene looked at Bailey, her dark eyebrows furrowed. “I think I say it just fine, don’t you, B?”

Bailey gave her a half grin before scrunching up her nose and looking at Daniel. “I’m sorry, Halene. Daniel does have a point.”

Halene grumbled under her breath and lay back down to keep drawing. “Well, how am I supposed to know? I’ve never even eaten Chinese food before this.”

Sam patted her head again. “It’s all right, Haley. We’re all out of our element here.” He patted his stomach. “Speaking of food, I’m kind of hungry.”

Daniel walked to the door, which was next to a cabinet with a hotel directory sitting on top. “Get what you want,” he said as he threw the menu that he found inside the directory at Sam. “I’m thirsty; I’m going down to the hotel bar.” He started to walk out before turning back around. “How do you say ‘two whiskey sours’?”

Sam stood up and followed Daniel. “I’ll go with you, and we can grab something to eat while we’re down there.”

“Get me a Coke,” Halene requested. “And some of those hard candies from the gift shop.”

Bailey nodded and put two fingers up signaling that she wanted a candy as well. “Anything to sip on, Bailey?” Daniel asked, with a little wink attached, and Bailey rolled her eyes at him.

“Couple bottles of water?” she told him, and threw the pen back at him that he had thrown at Halene. “And be good,” she yelled at the closing door. Bailey turned to Halene, who had crawled up on the couch where Sam had been sitting. She covered herself with a throw blanket that had been on the chair and shivered a little.

“You all right, Hales?” Bailey asked, scooting closer to her and putting her arm around her. “We’ll get out of here soon.” She didn’t know who she was actually trying to convince, Halene or herself.

Everyone had an interesting relationship with Halene, and though she was the one who led them, the one who told them what to do next, no one could overlook her age. They all tried to protect her from information that was a little difficult to swallow.

Halene nodded, “I know we will, B—it’s hard when I’m not in there. How am I supposed to know what to do next when you are keeping everything from me?”

“We’re not keeping anything from you. Sam and Daniel aren’t really comfortable with you listening in,” Bailey told her as she attempted to share the blanket with Halene. Halene resisted at first, jokingly pulling it away from her, coaxing a giggle and a smack from Bailey before ultimately sharing the blanket with her. “Come on, Hales. It’s not fun listening to the gory details.”

“I know. It’s weird though. I really don’t know who we’re dealing with here,” she grumbled, her accent deepened when she was frustrated. “I’m fixin’ to just give up.”

Bailey nudged her. “Hey, now. Don’t say that. We need you.”

Halene shook her head and shrugged her off; Bailey remembered when she was Halene’s age and how frustrating it was for her. “I can relate,” Bailey said. “You’re taking it better than I did.”

“Rodney said you were a pistol.” Halene chuckled. “I guess I am in better shape than you were.”

“Who isn’t?” she teased as she got comfortable next to Halene. Bailey laid her head back on the hard sofa and closed her eyes. It took a moment, but Halene’s words sunk in and her head shot up. “How do you know Rodney?”

Halene and Rodney had never been in the missions together. Rodney was there, and then he wasn’t. Halene had been his replacement.

Halene jumped a little, Bailey hadn’t noticed how brash she had sounded. “Why wouldn’t I know him?”

“He wasn’t around when you were,” Bailey noted, becoming suspicious.

“I met him four or five months before my missions started. You didn’t think I was wingin’ it, did you? I got my training from somewhere.” Halene looked at Bailey skeptically. She wasn’t sure why Bailey was acting that way.

Bailey rubbed her eyes tiredly; she didn’t know why she reacted so intensely. “Yeah, of course.” She nodded. “Makes sense.”

Halene gave Bailey a dubious glance. “He was a cute old guy.” Halene smiled at Bailey. “I bet you miss him a lot, huh?”

Bailey nodded softly, feeling a twinge in her stomach. She had felt that twinge before, usually when she thought about her dad. It was the feeling she’d never see him again. That pain, that ache, that longing. She took a deep breath and shook her head as if to get the feeling to dissipate and promptly changed the subject.

“Do you think they’ll kill each other?” Bailey asked jokingly, cocking her head to the door.

Halene giggled and shook her head. “I think they’ll make it just fine,” Halene said. “Boys will be boys. It’s kind of cute how they fight over you.”

Bailey gave Halene an exaggerated eye roll. “You’re crazy, Hales,” Bailey said before nudging her a bit. “Those two not liking each other has nothing to do with me.” Bailey knew Halene was right, to an extent. She knew they both had feelings for her. But she had never wanted to acknowledge it. She definitely didn’t want Halene to get in the middle of it.

Halene bit her lip as if to show she was holding her tongue, and Bailey began to get impatient. “You’re wrong, Halene,” she said a little
more forcefully, her mouth turning to a hard thin line. “It’s not about me; they’re just dumb.”

Halene gave her a knowing look. “Whatever you say,” she said, her voice taunting.

Bailey’s eyes turned into slits as she jokingly glared at the girl. “You’re lucky you’re cute. Or I wouldn’t be so nice,” Bailey said. “And quit laughing at me.”

“All I’m saying is you seem a little riled up about the idea of those two fawnin’ over you,” Halene said, her intuitive nature rearing its ugly head. “I think it’s interesting, that’s all,” she said smugly. “Which one do you want to win?” Halene probed suddenly, surprising Bailey.

She choked a bit. “Excuse me? I am not a prize.”

“Oh, B. You can’t fool me. I can tell you’re into them. I just want to know which one ya like better.”

Bailey shook her head furiously. “I’m not having this discussion.”

“Have it your way,” she retorted. “If I’ve gotta, I’ll figure it out myself. But you could save me the trouble,” she taunted again.

“Halene, I honestly don’t know what you are talking about,” Bailey lied. “Sam and Daniel are cute, I can’t deny it. But their utter distaste for each other is
not
my fault.”

“What isn’t your fault?” She heard Daniel’s voice come from the door, in her exasperated state she hadn’t noticed the open door. Luckily, it didn’t seem like he heard very much.

Sam carried an unmarked brown sack into the room. Daniel had two glasses in his hand, both full of alcohol. “Bailey was just saying that—” Halene started, and Bailey cut her off by clearing her throat. She stood up abruptly and walked toward Sam, taking the bag from him.

“What’d you get us?” Bailey asked loudly.

“Rice and vegetables and a couple cups of the pork soup we had yesterday,” Sam said, setting the food on the table. “You guys hungry?”

Halene nodded, jumping off the couch and helping herself to one of the cups of soup. “Did you get my Coke?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, Haley. I got your Coke,” Sam said, patting her back.

“Don’t get your panties up in a bunch,” Daniel growled after pouring one of the glasses of whiskey down his throat. “The almighty Sammy Froufrou got your fucking Coca-Cola.” Daniel smirked at Sam.

Bailey turned around swiftly. “So you’re going to get drunk and be an even bigger ass then usual?” she asked, with a glare to match. “Watch your mouth around Halene.”

Sam reluctantly agreed, “Yeah, Dan, we’ve talked about this.”

“Don’t call me ‘Dan,’” Daniel said back roughly, his eyes slits as he got into a staring match with Sam.

“I’ll stop as soon as your degrading nicknames stop,” Sam said softly.

“I didn’t come up with it; it was Rodney,” Daniel defended himself with a confident grin.

“It doesn’t matter who came up with it,” Bailey defended Sam with a shake of her head. “You know he doesn’t like it. So stop.”

“I know he doesn’t, B,” he said with his tone stale and his face sullen. “And I don’t care. That’s the difference between you and me.”

Bailey held her breath. She didn’t know what she should say then. Daniel was getting drunk and mouthy and she didn’t want to argue with him, but she also didn’t want to watch him pick a fight just for the fun of it. She was at a complete loss. “You’re unbelievable,” she murmured in frustration. “Unbelievable.”

Bailey knew that Daniel had hit the point where he was illogical. He had a couple drinks in him, and what little filter he had was completely gone. When he did finally sober up, he wouldn’t apologize; he wouldn’t plead for forgiveness or even pretend like the way he acted was wrong. Sometimes he would even stand behind his drunken cause. But at least he would be reasonable. Sober Daniel was bearable; this Daniel was not.

Sam grabbed Bailey’s elbow, pulling her up against him so they were face-to-face for a moment before he leaned down to speak in her ear. “He had two at the bar while I was ordering. He’s on his third,” he warned. “Maybe we should get him some food and let him pass out while we discuss what to do next.”

Bailey nodded lightly. She could feel Sam’s breath on her neck, and it gave her an odd emotion she decided to ignore. She pulled away from
him and fixed Daniel a plate, instructing Halene to get Daniel onto the couch.

It took some convincing, but after a few long minutes, Daniel slurped down some pork soup and rice and sprawled out on the couch. “I could never live in this hellhole,” he motioned around to the room, but everyone knew he was referring to China. “The food is shit. I swear their main ingredient in just about everything is chicken feet.”

Halene patted his head. “You watch too much television, Danny,” she said, “Want a blanket?”

Daniel nodded, and Halene covered him up while Bailey took off his fashionable shoes and dress socks, trying to get him comfortable. Sam watched from the chair with a look of disgust. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as Bailey tucked the blanket under his feet and rubbed his knee for a moment. Sam didn’t like that Bailey would argue with him one minute and take care of him the next. She had a love-hate relationship with Daniel that Sam could never understand, and didn’t want to.

Sam saw her whisper a soft good night, and he cleared his throat to catch her attention.

Bailey walked toward him, grabbing her plate and taking her place on the floor next to Halene, in front of Sam. “So…” Bailey said as she fiddled with the food on her plate. “What’s next?”

three.

“W
e need to wait for Daniel to sleep it off, and then I’ll decide what to do next,” Halene suggested. “Maybe you two can fill me in on what Mei told you. What’s gotten her all squeamish?” Halene demonstrated her level-headed approach to these missions. It was so strange to all of them that so much wisdom came out of such a young source.

Still trying to protect Halene from the realities of the situation, Sam and Bailey shared a look of reluctance; Sam’s eyes begged Bailey not to give details. “Halene, we’re not going to give you any specifics,” Sam said, still eyeing Bailey, willing her to agree.

“You gotta give me something; you’re leaving my rear flapping in the wind. I’m in this up to my throat just like y’all, so how ’bout it?” Halene barked back, and Sam’s top lip curled up in disgust. “What?” Halene asked Sam, staring at him with her arms crossed and raised eyebrows. Halene was definitely a sassy young girl. This push for equality of involvement and knowledge of the details was an indicator that Halene wanted to be treated as a full partner in the unfolding intrigue.

“Is ‘flapping in the wind’ some weird southern phrase?” Sam asked, his face still distorted.

Halene shot him a look before looking at Bailey. “You get what I’m sayin’, don’t ya?” she asked forcefully. Her eyes pleading with Bailey to side with her. Bailey took a breath and broke eye contact. It was a bridge of maturity Halene wanted to cross. Sam was reluctant to tell
Halene everything; a lot of the information that was relayed to them was very adult. Bailey was trying to figure out the right role for Halene. Was she really emotionally mature enough to hear everything? Maybe they didn’t really have a choice.

“I’m sorry, Hales. We can’t give you all the details,” Bailey said, her eyes on her plate.

Halene threw her head back in frustration, the beginnings of a temper tantrum brewing as she stood up. “I’m not asking for all the details, I’m asking for
anything
. Why is Mei upset? Where does she think we should go? What does she think we should do? Why wouldn’t she sleep?” Each question had an increase in volume denoting her frustration. She wanted to help, but her compatriots kept boxing her out.