Kapitel 14: All Worked Up
When Pearl finally turned off the video cam, she was ready to drop. The CCC that had given her the prize the previous night had nominated her to represent the regional chapter in the international body, which had had the meeting to review the construction of a conference centre and other pressing issues. The meeting had been a whirlwind introduction to the way things were done and the responsibilities of the role she had just taken on. She would have the help of the previous representative and the coordinating body, so she knew she wasn't entirely on her own, but the meeting had required her complete attention and thus had taken up so much of her energy.
Beth was waiting to remind her to phone Dr Murray. Pearl groaned but thanked her assistant and sent her home. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."
Originally, she had just wanted to find out how Jesse was feeling about coming on camp with her, but now she actually had something important to tell him. Pearl knew she should have asked Beth to do this a long time ago but she had gotten caught up in her meeting and now she was stuck with the task of following up on Jesse. In fact, she knew that if she asked Beth to do it now, her assistant would gladly take the assignment from Pearl, but Pearl felt bad and decided she might as well do it herself.
Putting her device in a cell-phone holder mounted between her seat and the passenger's seat, Pearl dialled Jesse's number on her way out of the Excel parking lot. He didn't answer, so she let it cut automatically and tried again later when she got home. As she was preparing her meal, she tried a few more times, but she couldn't get through to his number.
Pearl went as far as asking Sam and Dana if they had an alternate number where she could reach Jesse but she found out that he didn't have a landline. Of course, asking the two of them had led to her having to explain why she wanted to talk to him at this hour in the first place and they were both intrigued that he had agreed to go on a camp with her. Feeling the need, Pearl told them not to get any funny ideas, he was just helping her out this one time. Her best friend and his wife didn't push it and she told them she'd get in touch when she returned from Missouri.
Failing to get a hold of Jesse on the phone, Pearl sent him a message, letting him know what it was that she'd been trying to call him for and she went about her routine for getting ready for camp and for bed in turn. Hoping that Jesse saw the message sometime between now and her waking up, Pearl left it all in God's hands, because there were some things that even she couldn't do.
Jesse sat up in bed and shook his head. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, it registered that his phone was ringing.
With eyes closed he reached for it, resting his head against the head board. His hand missed and it fell to the floor.
Jesse groaned and opened his eyes. Swinging his long legs over the side of the bed, he placed his bare feet on the floor. The phone had stopped ringing but he picked it up and looked at the screen.
Four missed calls from Pearl. He groaned again and started toward the shower. Before he could get there, the doorbell rang.
Jesse grabbed the doorknob and yanked his bedroom door open. He went to the intercom in the hallway. "Yes."
"It's Pearl." She sounded hesitant. "I tried calling last night but you didn't pick up-"
A loud buzz drowned out the rest of her statement as he pressed the button that would grant her access to his town house.
Pearl hesitated before opening the glass door. Jesse had sounded very aggressive when he spoke through the intercom. She walked over the threshold and across the marble floor, up the steps to his front door and knocked.
Well, she almost knocked. The door swung open.
Jesse looked at her and she looked at him.
He looked like he had just gotten out of bed. Not only did his hair tell her, but he had answered the door in pyjama bottoms.
Just pyjama bottoms.
Pearl managed not to ogle at his naked upper half for too long. She focused on his face. His scowl vanished the moment their eyes met. Hers widened.
Despite his tousled appearance, his eyes blazed.
"Good morning," he said letting her in.
"M-morning." She gave him a timid smile. "I tried calling last night," she said again as she walked in.
"I just saw your missed calls."
"Yes. I wanted to tell you about the flight plans, but since you didn't pick up I had to drive up a little earlier than we'd agreed. I called you again when I got into town."
He didn't seem to understand.
"Do you mind if I go shower and then you can tell me what you're talking about. I'll be quick."
She glanced across the room at the clock. "Okay."
He offered her a seat in the living room and disappeared into his bedroom down the hall.
Jesse recalled with a grimace having agreed to be a part of camp. Camp was starting in the afternoon today. So why was Pearl in his house this early? What was so urgent that she had to drive from Long Beach?
His shower didn't last long but he felt more awake and more human afterwards. He headed toward the closet, got dressed and five minutes later, he was seated in the living room with Pearl.
"I'm sorry for leaving you alone," Jesse said, "I needed to wake up a bit."
"It's okay. I'm sorry to show up uninvited but we have to be at the airport in thirty minutes."
"What?" he asked incredulously.
She explained hurriedly that leaders almost always arrived at the campsite early to do set up and recon. "I would have let you get a later flight but it's usually the medic who picks up late arrivals. So you have to be on the same flight as us. And we are checking in at 8.30."
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein