It started off like any other Monday. Jessie Mathis kissed his wife and kids goodbye, and he left for work. The morning commute was typical, with heavy traffic and plenty of asshole drivers. Jessie arrived at work with five minutes to spare before he started his day. Little did he know that this would be anything but a typical Monday.

Jessie had a stack of files on his desk when he arrived. These were client reports that he would have to analyze and complete financial projections for. The stack was lighter than usual, and Jessie could go through them in a couple of hours. He was happy to see the lighter work load, it meant he would be able to go home early today. Maybe he would even be home when the kids got off the bus this afternoon.

He sat down and started analyzing the files. He completed his work quickly, and by 11:30, he was finished. His supervisor stopped by his desk, and told Jessie to take the rest of the day off. Jessie was ecstatic. He wasted no time in gathering his coat and lunch box. He was clocked out and headed for the door by 11:32. 

He drove home the long way, taking some time to just enjoy the drive. The morning traffic rush had subsided, and the roads were clear now. Jessie loved driving, he always had. He remembered fondly the road trips he had taken with his friends when he was younger, before Jeannie and the kids. He loved the freedom of the open road, the wind in his hair, listening to mixed tapes or CDs, and eating at some greasy roadside cafe. Those were the good old days.

But those days were gone. Jessie was only two weeks away from his fortieth birthday. His kids were almost high-school age, and he had responsibilities now. He had a job, a mortgage, and bills to pay. He couldn’t afford to just take off like he could when he was single. Still, he could dream, and that’s what he was doing. He drove until he reached the edge of the city, and he turned around to head back home.

Financially, he was comfortable. He made enough money to pay the bills and support his family. Of course, he would have been more comfortable if Jeannie would go to work. She had insisted on being a stay-at-home mom all these years, and there had been some hard times. Things were better now, although he still didn’t make enough money to be able to save any for retirement. He realized that he was getting older, and that would have to change. He was going to have to start saving if they were ever going to buy that RV and travel full time like they had planned.

It had been Jessie’s dream to sell the house, buy and RV and travel full-time once the kids were in college. Jeannie went along with it, but Jessie knew her heart wasn’t in it. He had decided long ago that they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

He was looking forward to surprising Jeannie today by coming home early. It would be good for the two of them to have some quality time together, without the kids. He was sure she would have a “honey-do” list for him, but he didn’t care. As long as they had some time together, just to themselves.

Jessie turned the corner. There was an appliance repair van in his driveway, so he had to park on the street. It looked like Jeannie had finally called someone to fix the dishwasher. Jessie collected his coat and briefcase from the car, and made his way up the path to the front door. He was just about to grab the doorknob when he happened to look through the living room window.

He saw Jeannie, wearing only a t-shirt, standing beside the repairman, her back turned toward the window. She walked into the kitchen, briefly blocked from Jessie’s view, but then she returned. Jessie could see clearly that his wife did not have on underwear, even from outside the window. He was shocked that she would expose herself in such a manner in front of a total stranger. 

As he watched, Jeannie bent down, as if she were picking up something from the floor. Her t-shirt rode further up her back, exposing parts that only Jessie was supposed to see. The repairman, appearing timid at first, reached out and touched her. Jeannie moaned loudly, loud enough that Jessie could hear her from outside. He knew what was about to happen and he was getting angry and hurt all at the same time.

Jessie’s blood was boiling. He decided it was time to interrupt them. He threw open the front door with a fluid motion and stepped into the living room. Jeannie screamed. The repairman, shocked, grabbed his toolbox and ran out the door. Jessie let him go. The van’s tires squealed as it reversed out of his driveway.

Jessie went upstairs without a word to Jeannie. She fell to the floor, sobbing and speechless. He went into the bedroom and packed a bag. When he came back downstairs, Jeannie was still on the floor sobbing.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” she cried. She kept repeating it over and over.

He walked past her, deliberately ignoring her cries. He was furious. He felt like his chest was on fire and his hands were shaking. How many times had this happened? How many other men had there been? And in his own home, right under his nose. Jessie walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

He got back into the car and threw his bag into the passenger seat. He drove away from the house with no clear destination in mind. He just needed to think. A nice, long drive would help him clear his head and calm down. 

As he drove down the parkway, Jessie passed a sign for the Magnolia Inn. He realized that he would need a place to stay tonight. He turned around at the next exit, and went back to the Magnolia Inn. The desk clerk, an older woman of about sixty, took his credit card and gave him a room key. 

Jessie sat on the bed and watched the clock. When 3:00 pm rolled around, Jessie took out his cell phone and called his house. Jeannie answered.

“Let me talk to the kids.” Jessie said.

“No. Please, don’t do this.”

“I want to talk to the kids.”

“There’s no reason for them to know about this. Please.”

“Either put the kids on the phone, or I’m hanging up.”

“I’m not putting the kids through this. Not until we talk things out.”

“There’s nothing for us to talk about, Jeannie. I caught you in the act. There’s nothing more to say.”

“There’s no reason for the kids to be involved. Don’t do this to them.”

Jessie started to say “You’re the one that did this to them,” but he caught himself and stopped. It was obvious that Jeannie was not going to put the kids on the phone, so Jessie hung up on her.

His anger, which had started to subside, returned full force. He started punching the mattress, and kept punching it until he felt tired. He resolved that he would see an attorney first thing tomorrow morning.

Chapter Two

Alex Durham walked slowly back to the office building. Paralegals at his firm only got thirty minutes for lunch, and he was making sure to take every last minute he was allowed. He had been with the firm for twenty years now, and he was tired of them demanding more and more from him without giving him more pay or benefits.

The firm employed mostly young, fresh, hungry kids who were eager to climb the corporate ladder. Alex had no such ambition. He was happy just doing his own job, getting his own pay, and going home at the end of the day. Only a couple of weeks away from his fortieth birthday, Alex was the oldest paralegal working at the firm.

His twenty-year anniversary was coming up at the end of this week. He was expecting a hefty pay raise and reduced cost of benefits, and he should be getting one-hour lunches. At least, that’s what he had read in the employee handbook.

He returned to his desk to find a note taped to his computer. It directed him to report to the human resources office when he returned from lunch. Alex was excited. This would be the meeting about his raise. His twenty-year anniversary wasn’t technically until Friday, but they must be giving him his raise a few days early. Alex had no other business with HR that he could think of, so it must be about his raise.

He waited anxiously in the human resources lobby, until a receptionist ushered him into a small office at the end of the hall. The name on the door was Greg Harper. Alex had never met Mr. Harper before, but knew he was the director of human resources. 

Mr. Harper was younger, about thirty, with wavy black hair and thick-rimmed glasses. His bright red tie contrasted against his white shirt. As Alex entered the room, he motioned toward one of the chair on the opposite side of his desk. Alex took a seat.

“Mr. Durham, thank you for coming in. We’ve been reviewing your file, and I wanted to talk with you in person. I see that you are approaching your twenty-year anniversary with the firm, is that right?”

“Yes, sir. I started here right out of high school.”

“Congratulations. I also see that you have a birthday coming up. Number forty, is that right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, it’s a little early, but happy birthday.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Now, let’s get to your file, shall we? I noticed here that you’ve had some excellent reviews by your supervisors in the past years you’ve worked here. You were an exemplary paralegal, and you helped train many of the employees who work here now. But recently, well, your work ethic seems to be lacking the energy and vigor that we require. You always arrive at exactly 9:00 am, you take exactly thirty-minute lunches, and you leave at exactly 5:00 pm. There’s no extra effort on your part to help make the firm successful. It’s as if you only want to do the bare minimum to get a paycheck.”

Alex was angry. He’d poured his heart and soul into this firm for twenty years. There were plenty of times that he had come in early, skipped lunch, and stayed late to complete assignments. It’s true, he hadn’t been doing that recently, but he wasn’t eligible for overtime pay, either. He did what he was paid to do.

Mr. Harper continued, “We just feel like you probably resent your job, or worse, that you resent the firm and you aren’t as enthusiastic about your work anymore. And that’s why, we have decided that we will not be retaining your services any longer.”

“Wait! I’m being fired?”

“Yes, I’m sorry, but you are. These officers will show you out.”

Two security guards stepped into the room and escorted Alex back to his desk. They watched while he gathered his personal belongings. Alex could feel the eyes of his coworkers, burning with questions, knowing why the security guards were watching him clear out his desk. Alex walked to the elevator, followed by the officers.

Alex sat in his car and cried out of frustration. Things had been different when he started at the firm. It was understood that you would work hard, dedicate yourself to the job, put forth the extra effort, and you would be rewarded when you had put in your time. After twenty long, hard years of stressful dedication, day in and day out, Alex felt like he deserved better than to be shown the door.

He started the car and drove home. His text alert went off while he was on the road. Alex hated texting while driving, so he ignored the message. When he arrived home, he went inside, his mind still on the unfairness of his termination. He was going to have to find a new job and fast. He had exactly $75 in his checking account, and no savings to speak of. 

He remembered the text message he had ignored. He picked up his phone and saw right away that it was from a familiar number, even though the name was not saved in his phone. The message simply read “Want 2 c u”. It was from an eighteen-year-old that Alex had hooked up with from the bar. They had gone home together one night, and Alex had not been able to perform. That was happening a lot lately, and Alex suspected it had to do with him getting older.

He texted back “no. not a good time.” He left it at that. Within seconds a reply came back. “Ok” was all it said. Alex put his phone on the charger and started looking through internet job boards. Surely there was something available. He started out on a forum that had local job postings, then expanded his search to include the region. He sighed. He was bored with the job search, and clicked on a YouTube link. Within minutes, he was scrolling through videos instead of searching for a job.

Chapter Three

“Zak Heath”, the receptionist called out. Zak stood and walked to the window. “Mr. Heath, I’m sorry. There’s been a problem with your insurance. The insurance company says this policy has been cancelled.”

“No, that can’t be right. I’m insured through my employer.”

“Sir, we asked them to verify it twice. The insurance company won’t cover the cost of today’s visit.”

“Well, how much is it? I have a little bit of cash on me.”

“It’s seventy-five dollars, sir.”

“Wow. That’s a lot. Just to get my test results?”

“Yes, sir. That’s our standard office visit.”

Zak counted out the cash. He had five dollars left after paying the fee. As the receptionist handed him his receipt, he wondered why he hadn’t just charged it to his credit card. Instead, he had used all but five dollars of his remaining cash, and he would have to use the credit card to get by for the rest of the week. 

“Thank you, sir. Dr. Sloan will be with you in a few minutes.”

Zak returned to his seat in the waiting room. He had come to Dr. Sloan because he had been having trouble peeing. It didn’t burn, like with an STD, it was more like he had trouble getting started. His bladder always felt full. Dr. Sloan had said that his prostate was enlarged, and did a biopsy. Zak was here today to get the results of the biopsy. 

“Zak Heath”, a nurse called out from the door to the waiting room. Zak followed her into an exam room, where she took his blood pressure and pulse, then measured his height and weight. “Okay, Dr. Sloan will be in to see you in a minute”, she said. 

Zak wondered why Dr. Sloan couldn’t have just called him and given him the results over the telephone. Then he remembered the seventy-five dollars he had just spent. 

He pondered why his insurance company had said his policy was cancelled. The premiums were payroll-deducted and the city never missed a chance to deduct something from payroll. There had to be a mistake. Zak would have to call them when he left the doctor’s office to straighten it out.

Dr. Sloan knocked and then entered the room. “Hello, Zak. How are you feeling today”, he asked.

“I’m okay today. I still feel like my bladder is full.”

“Well, that’s to be expected, I’m afraid. I got your biopsy results back, and it’s not good news. You have prostate cancer. Now, usually if we catch it early enough, it’s completely treatable. I’m going to send you for an MRI on Wednesday over at the hospital to find out whether or not it’s spread. Once we have an idea of what we’re dealing with, then we can come up with a game plan.”

“What kind of game plan?”

“Well, usually chemotherapy or radiation treatments. We’ll try chemotherapy first. I’m going to talk to an oncologist, a doctor who specializes in cancer, and he’ll be the one to administer the chemotherapy. Do you have any other questions for me?”

Zak sat there, numb. After a moment, he realized he hadn’t answered yet, so he shook his head “no”. 

Dr. Sloan said, “Okay, good. If you need anything, you can make an appointment and come back in to see me. We’ll get you straightened out.”

The doctor stood and left the room. Zak sat there, still numb and in shock. Cancer. He’d known that his prostate was enlarged, and he knew they were checking to make sure it wasn’t cancer. Nobody prepared him for the possibility that it was cancer.

Zak stood, shakily, and gathered his coat. On the way home, Zak started to cry. He was too young to have cancer. He was still in his thirties. Granted, he would be forty in two weeks, but still, he was in his thirties right now. The cost of chemotherapy scared him. He had no idea how much it would be, but he knew that, in general, medical treatments like chemotherapy were insanely expensive. 

When he arrived home, Zak took his insurance card out of his wallet and called the toll-free number on the back. He gave his name, date of birth, and policy number. He then waited on hold for nearly an hour before a representative picked up the phone. 

“This is Michael. How can I help you today?” The representative had a very heavy Indian accent. Zak doubted very much that his name was really Michael.

“Hello, Michael. This is Zak Heath. I’m calling about my policy. I was just at the doctor’s office and had to pay out of pocket. They said my policy was cancelled.”

“Yes, sir, that is correct. Your policy cancelled on December 1 due to non-payment.”

“But I have insurance through my employer. My premiums are payroll deducted.”

“I’m sorry, sir. You’ll need to talk to your employer about that. Our records show that your policy cancelled on December 1.”

“But there must be some kind of mistake. I didn’t cancel my policy, and I didn’t lose my job, so how can the policy be cancelled?”

“I’m sorry, sir, you’ll need to take that up with your employer. I can reinstate the policy today, if you would like to pay the $3,562 premium with a credit or debit card.”

“No, I want my policy reinstated, but the premiums are paid through payroll deduction. My employer takes them directly out of my paycheck.”

“I’m sorry, sir. Your employer cancelled the policy and stopped paying the premiums on December 1. Your coverage is stopped as of that date. The only way I can reinstate the policy by phone is to pay the premium in full with a credit or debit card.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to my employer.” Zak was getting frustrated, and he was getting nowhere with the insurance representative. He hung up the phone and called the city’s human resources office.

“Hi, this is Zak Heath. I’m calling because my insurance company is telling me that my policy is cancelled. They said that you were the ones who cancelled it. There has to be some kind of mistake. I’m a bus driver for the transit service, and as far as I know I still have my job and the premiums are still being deducted from my check.”

“Hold on for me, sir. I’ll look into it.” The human resources clerk put Zak on hold. When she came back on the line she said, “Mr. Heath, I’ve found the problem. It was a mistake in our office. We’ve cancelled the wrong policy. I’ll call the insurance company today and make arrangements to reinstate your policy.”

“Thank you.” Zak hung up the phone. He collapsed onto his bed, exhausted from the morning’s events. He grabbed onto his pillow and held it tightly, as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Chapter Four

Jessie sat on the edge of the bed and silenced his alarm. It was 7:00 am. He had an appointment at the lawyer’s office at 9:00. His back ached from sleeping on the lumpy motel mattress. He limped into the shower, where the hot water helped to relax the tensed muscles. 

After showering, he brushed his teeth, shaved and put on clean clothes from his bag. He gathered up his dirty clothes into a trash bag, and carried all of his belongings from the room to his car. He went to the office and checked out of the motel.

The continental breakfast in the motel lobby consisted of coffee and a bagel. Jessie opted to skip in, in favor of stopping at a drive-thru later. He drove around for a little bit, stopping at a fast-food restaurant for breakfast, then he waited in the parking lot of the lawyer’s office for his appointment time.

At 8:30, Jessie called is boss to let him know that he was taking the rest of the week off, and why. His boss was sympathetic, and offered a shoulder if Jessie needed it. Jessie had plenty of paid time off banked up, so taking the time off work was not a problem for him.

When the office finally opened, Jessie walked inside. He approached a younger receptionist in the lobby. 

“Can I help you, sir?”, she asked.

“Yes, I’m Jessie Mathis. I have a 9:00 appointment.”

“Oh, yes, sir. I have you down to see Matt. Just have a seat right over there and he’ll be with you in a moment.” She pointed to a group of chairs facing a television in the waiting area. Jessie took a seat, and within minutes a tall, young man in a suit called his name.

“Hi. I’m Matt Lucas. Good to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, Matt.”

“Come right this way.” Matt ushered Jessie into his office. “Have a seat, Jessie.” Jessie sat in one of the chairs facing the desk.

“So tell me what’s going on.” Matt asked.

“Well, I came home from work early yesterday, and caught my wife having sex with the dishwasher repairman, right in my own house. A total stranger, right there in the living room.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. So I’m guessing you are here to file for divorce?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I can help you with that. First of all though, do you think you might need to be tested for any sexually transmitted diseases?”

“No. My wife and I have not been intimate in a while. I actually thought, when I left work early yesterday, that we might have some time before the kids came home…” Jessie trailed off.

“So you do have kids?”

“Yes. A boy, Jason. He’s thirteen. And a girl, Jennifer, she’s fourteen.”

“Oh. Tough ages.”

Jessie chuckled. “Yes, they’re a handful.”

“Have you considered marriage counseling?”

“No. I don’t think it will help. I mean, I caught her red-handed. I saw, with my own eyes, that she was having sex with another man. I don’t think counseling is going to help us.”

“Still, it’s required before you can get a divorce, and it’s a good step to try. A lot of marriages are saved by counseling. I’m going to give you the number of a counselor, and I want you to make an appointment to see him. Try to get your wife to attend. If she won’t, we’ll deal with that later. But you definitely need to go see him. In the meantime, I’ll begin working on your case. I’ll email you a list of questions that I want you to answer as honestly as you can.”

Matt droned on about divorce and the legal process, but did not ask Jessie any more questions. When the appointment was over, Jessie took the counselor’s card and made an appointment for marriage counseling. 

Alex woke up in the mood for sex. He looked at the text message on his phone from yesterday. “Want 2 c u.” He texted the number “come over.” Within seconds he got a reply. “OMW”. 

He realized that he didn’t even know this guy’s name, he was just some random guy from the bar. Alex didn’t care, he didn’t need to know the guy’s name to have a good time. He took a quick shower and lay back down in the bed, awaiting the arrival of the eighteen year old. 

Alex pretended to be asleep when he heard his kitchen door open and close. He heard footsteps down the hallway, and sensed the presence of someone in his bedroom doorway. He heard clothes falling to the floor, and weight on the bed. A pair of arms wrapped around him, and he felt heavy breathing on the back of his neck.

He snuggled closer to the warm body laying behind him. It felt good to know that there was a younger man who found him attractive. Alex had some serious self-esteem issues, and he was ashamed of his body. His height wasn’t the issue, his weight was. At 5’11”, he weighed over 300 pounds. He was a pariah among most gay men. He saw their Grindr profiles with “No fatties” written right there in the descriptions.

When this eighteen year old came up to him at the bar and started flirting with him, Alex had thought at first that it was sarcasm, and that the guy was being mean. But after a couple of minutes, he realized that he was sincere, and Alex had taken him home.

The guy wasn’t boyfriend material. He was too young, too immature in general. Alex didn’t want to have to teach him and train him to be an adult. He also didn’t want the drama that inevitably comes with dating a much younger man. For crying out loud, Alex was old enough to be the kid’s dad.

And so, it was all just fun. That’s as serious as Alex was willing to be with this guy. Alex turned over in the bed, ready to enjoy the warm body beside him, when he realized he was limp. As much as he had looked forward to this moment, he could not achieve an erection. He tried, but it just wouldn’t respond.

Embarrassed, Alex got out of bed. He apologized over and over. The guy sat up, put his clothes back on and said, “It’s okay. It happens sometimes.”

“Yeah, but this is twice in a row. I think something’s wrong with me.”

“You should see a doctor about that. I’m just gonna go now.” The guy finished dressing and left the house. Alex sat on the bed, disappointed and humiliated. He asked himself why he had just put himself through that ordeal. He looked at his watch. It was 10:00 am. He needed a drink. He would go to the bar and drink until he was either broke or no longer embarrassed, whichever came first.

Zak was sitting at the kitchen table. He’d slept late this morning. There were a couple of bills in the mail. One was from Dr. Sloan for another $600, one from a laboratory for $2,000. Zak lay them to the side. He had just finished clearing the table after breakfast when the phone rang.

“Hello.”

“Mr. Heath?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“This is the human resources office. I’m calling about your insurance policy.”

“Yes, thank you for getting back to me.”

“You’re welcome, sir. I’ve found the mistake, and we’re in the process of correcting it. We’ll get your insurance policy reinstated as quickly as possible. I do need to let you know that it can take up to six months before the policy is effective again. If you have any doctor’s office visits or medical issues during that time, they might not be covered.”

“I’m going to have several visits during that time. Isn’t there anything you can do to reinstate the policy immediately? It never should have been cancelled in the first place.”

“No, sir. I’m sorry. We’ve put in the request to reinstate the policy, but the insurance company can take up to six months to process it. We did inquire about expedited processing, but they are pretty backed up.”

Zak sighed. “Okay, thank you.”, he said. He hung up the phone and sat at his kitchen table. The stress of the added financial burden was starting to get to him. He decided that he would go to the bar. Maybe someone he knew would show up and he would have a friend to lean on. Or maybe he would just get drunk. Either way, it was better than sitting at home alone.

Chapter Five

Jessie didn’t have anywhere to go after he left the lawyer’s office. He was driving around town when he saw the sign for Club Upscale. He’d never heard of it before, and he thought that having a drink might not be a bad idea. It was early in the day still, but given the circumstances, he felt it was a great idea. 

When he stepped inside, Jessie knew right away that this was a gay bar. There were pride flags draped over the walls and rainbows everywhere he looked. On a small stage, drag queens were rehearsing a show. He considered leaving, but then thought, why not? They serve alcohol, and that’s what he was there for. He took a seat at the bar, between two other guys who looked as miserable as he felt. Jessie guessed that even gay guys had their problems and needed a drink now and again.

He made eye contact with one of the guys, but neither of them said a word. Jessie ordered a whiskey and sat silently at the bar, nursing his drink. He figured he would break the ice and speak to at least one of the guys sitting beside him at the bar, but he hadn’t had enough to drink just yet.

After refilling Jessie’s drink, the bartender took a break. One of the drag queens came over to watch the bar while he was gone. She noticed Jessie, Alex and Zak sitting silently, nursing their drinks. She sidled up to the bar directly across from them. 

“What’s up with the glum faces?” She asked. Nobody answered.

“Strong and silent. I like that. But sweethearts, your problems don’t go away if you don’t talk about them. Tell Mama Rhianna what’s wrong.”

Jessie spoke first. “I just caught my wife having sex with another man.” He took another swig of his whiskey, then continued. “Two weeks before my fortieth birthday.”

Alex spoke up. “Well, happy birthday to both of us then. I’m turning forty on the 19th. And I just lost my job today.”

Rhianna looked at Zak. “What about you, cutie? What’s your story?”

“Well, I’m turning forty this month too. And I just found out I have cancer.” Tears streamed down Zak’s cheek. “And apparently I don’t have insurance anymore.”

“Aww. That’s terrible. But you all have birthdays coming up. Here’s a shot, on the house, for the birthday boys!” She poured three shots and gave them each one.

“Listen.” She said to all three of them. “I turned forty a couple of years ago, and it was a terrible time. I finally told my wife that I was bisexual, she divorced me, and I came here. I got started in drag, and I loved it. It’s been great ever since. I’m doing something that I enjoy, I get to meet great new people, like you guys, and I don’t have to pretend to be somebody that I don’t like. You guys are reaching that age where the rat race is dragging you down. You don’t want to spend the rest of your lives miserable. Embrace the change, and enjoy your lives.”

“I thought my wife and I would grow old together. We had all these plans, we were going to travel when we retired and the kids were grown. And now, I’m sleeping on a lumpy motel mattress that hurts my back.” Jessie said.

“At least you had somebody you wanted to grow old with. I’m gay, nearly forty, overweight, bald, single, and now unemployed. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to retire. I’m going to have to work some dead-end job right up until noon on the day of my funeral. And to top it all off, I can’t get hard. I tried hooking up with this really cute guy, and nothing.” Alex said.

Zak remained silent. Rhianna said, “Hey listen. The bartender is coming back from his break in just a minute. Why don’t we all go over there and sit at a table where we can chat?” She pointed to a table in the corner. “You guys go ahead, and I’ll get changed and join you.”

The bartender came back and Rhianna left the bar, presumably to go to the dressing room. Jessie looked at Alex and Zak. The three of them picked up their drinks and moved to the corner table.

“I’m really sorry to hear about your cancer, “ said Jessie. “What kind of cancer is it?”

“Prostate.” Zak replied.

“Is it treatable?” Alex asked.

“We don’t know yet. They want to try chemotherapy.”

As the guys sat there discussing Zak’s cancer, another man joined them at the table. This man looked old, like he had lived a rough life full of poor choices. When he introduced himself as Frankie, Jessie gasped.

“I didn’t recognize you as a man! So, are we supposed to call you Rhianna or Frankie?”

“Rhianna is my stage name. The rest of the time, I’m Frankie.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean it if I offended you. I’ve never been around any of this before.” Jessie said.

Alex chuckled. “I’m guessing this is your first time at the fag bar?”

Jessie looked nervous. “Yes, it really is.”

“Well, welcome to our fabulous club. We’re glad to have you.” Frankie said. “It’s just like any other bar. We don’t do any weird shit here. It’s just a bunch of gay and bisexual guys who like to get drunk and some of us dress up like women and entertain everybody else.”

Frankie turned to Alex. “So Jessie told us he wanted to travel. I wouldn’t mind getting out of here for a while. How about we all go on a road trip? It would be good for all of us to get away for a little bit.”

“That sounds good to me.” Jessie said.

“I can’t afford to go anywhere” said Alex.

“I’ll be doing chemo treatments” said Zak.

“What if I can solve the money problem, and work around your chemo schedule?” 

“If you can work around the chemo, I’m in” said Zak.

“How are you going to fix the money problem?” Alex asked.

“You leave that up to me. I’ll take care of it. As a matter of fact, I’ll take care of the entire cost of the trip. You guys won’t have to pay anything.”

“I can’t let you do that.” Jessie said.

“Oh, I insist. It’s the least I can do. Besides, consider it a birthday gift.”

“Do you have a particular destination in mind?” Zak inquired.

“What about Mexico? It will only take a couple of days to get there, couple of days back. We’ll be gone less than a week.” Frankie said. 

Chapter Six

Alex woke up late the next morning. His head was pounding, and he didn’t remember much from the night before. Obviously, he had too much to drink, and he couldn’t remember how he got home. He stumbled into the shower. The hot water felt good, but the sound of the stream hitting the tub worsened his headache. 

After his shower, he fixed a cup of coffee and sat at his kitchen table. Bits and pieces of last night’s events were coming back to him. Did he really agree to go on a road trip with a drag queen and two total strangers? He couldn’t be sure. 

He needed to spend the day looking for a new job. But first, he wanted to go to the free clinic. He dressed quickly, and drove across town to the clinic. While he was sitting in the waiting room, he noticed a much younger man, about twenty-five,  smiling at him. Alex wasn’t sure, but he thought the man might be flirting with him.

When it was his turn to see the doctor, Alex took a seat in the exam room. The doctor came in and said, “How can I help you today?”

“I’m having some, um, sexual problems.” Alex replied.

“What kind of problems?” The doctor asked.

“Well, I’m having trouble getting hard, and when it does get hard, it doesn’t stay hard.”

“I see. It sounds like erectile dysfunction. It’s common in men your age, especially in those with high blood pressure. No problem, I’ll write you a prescription for some little blue pills that will fix you right up.”

The doctor was gone in less than five minutes. A nurse came back in with a pill bottle and gave Alex some directions on using them. Alex left the clinic and as he stood in the parking lot, he heard a voice behind him.

“Hey, buddy. You want to try those pills out?”

Alex turned around. It was the guy from the waiting room. He looked at the pill bottle, then back at the guy, who was smiling at him. 

“Yeah, sure.” Alex opened the bottle and swallowed one of the pills.

“Let’s go back to your place.”

“I’m parked right over here.” Alex led the way to his car, and the guy got in the passenger seat.

During the drive home, the stranger couldn’t keep his hands off of Alex. He kept rubbing Alex’s thigh, his crotch, his arm. Alex didn’t know if the guy was going to wait until they got home or not.

When Alex pulled into his driveway, the strange man jumped out of the car, almost before Alex had it parked. He unlocked the door, and as soon as they were inside the man stripped off his clothes and said, “Where do you want to do this?”

Alex said, “In the bedroom.” He led the way to his bedroom, and began taking off his own clothes.

The encounter was thrilling for Alex. He was able to achieve and maintain an erection the entire time. When it was over, the strange man said, “Wow. That was amazing.”

“Yes, it was”, Alex replied.

“Guess I’d better be going.”

“Sure. Where are you headed?”

“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’ll get there on my own. But it’s $100 for an hour.”

“Excuse me?”

“Honey, you got to pay. I don’t work for free.”

Alex was embarrassed. He hadn’t realized the man was a prostitute. He wouldn’t have picked him up if he had known. Alex counted out the cash in his wallet, then scrounged through the house to find the remainder. He handed him the full amount, and the man left the house.

Jessie was nervous. What if Jeannie didn’t show up? Or even worse, what if she did? He hadn’t seen her since Monday, and he didn’t know if he could even stand to look at her. He was struggling to keep an open mind. The purpose of counseling was to work through their problems, the issue of her infidelity, and keep their marriage intact. Jessie knew it was a tall order, but he was prepared to try.

He waited in his car until it was time for the appointment. He walked inside the building, expecting to see Jeannie in the waiting room. She was not there. He signed in with the receptionist, and waited until the counselor was ready. Jessie walked alone down the hall to the counselor’s office.

He had just taken a seat in the counselor’s office, when the door opened and he heard the familiar voice of his soon-to-be ex-wife say, “Sorry I’m late. I couldn’t find anywhere to park.” Jeannie burst into the room, shopping bags on both of her arms. 

Jessie wondered if the counseling session was happening too soon. After all, it had been only two days since he found his wife cheating on him. Maybe he needed more time to process everything. He found those emotions bubbling just under the surface. He had a calm, stoic composure, but on the inside he was fuming.

The counselor spoke as Jeannie took her seat. “Well, good morning and thank you both for coming. I usually like to get right at the heart of the problem, so please tell me why you think you need marriage counseling. Jessie, we’ll start with you.”

Before Jessie opened his mouth, Jeannie interjected. “He came home early from work, he wasn’t supposed to be home, and caught me having sex with another man. He hasn’t satisfied me in a long time, and when I found somebody who would, he got mad about it. This wouldn’t have happened if he had been a good husband. I wouldn’t have had to step out if he had been able to take care of my needs. I won’t be made out to be the bad guy, just because I have needs that he wasn’t taking care of. He’s got no one to blame but himself.”

Jessie felt his face growing hot. The counselor said, “We’re not here to assign blame. We’re here to find a way to work past this.”

“I don’t know if we can work past it. He’s a hothead, and he’s hell-bent on a divorce. He’s already talked to a lawyer. I know that for a fact. I also know that I want full custody of the kids, I want the house, my car, half of our savings account and alimony.”

The counselor look surprised. “We’re not here to discuss the splitting of assets. We’re here to prevent the dissolution of marriage. This counseling is to avoid getting a divorce.”

“I don’t think I want to avoid it. He filed for it, let him have it.” 

“Are you saying that you are not willing to try to save your marriage?”

“I’m saying it’s probably not worth saving.”

“Jessie, how do you feel about all of this?”

Jessie opened his mouth to speak, but Jeannie cut him off. “I’ll tell you how he feels. He’s mad at me, because he thinks I did some horrible thing. He thinks that I’m a bad person because I cheated on him. But ask him when was the last time we had sex? Ask him when the last time was that he spent any time at all alone with me. Let me tell you something. My husband fell out of love with me a long time ago. I have needs, and he wasn’t meeting them. So I found somebody who would. If he wants a divorce, he’s getting a divorce. And we’re done here.”

Jeannie stood and collected her bags, then walked out the door without another word. Jessie watched her leave, then turned to the counselor.

“What do you think I should do?”

“I think you should pray about it”, the counselor replied.

Zak woke before his alarm went off. He lay there in the darkness, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing. He was trying to come to terms with his diagnosis, but the questions would not go away. What if it had spread? What if they didn’t catch it early enough? Would he have to have surgery? 

He nearly worked himself into an anxiety attack before he had to force himself to think of something else. His thoughts turned to insurance. How was he going to pay for all of the cancer treatments? He felt his breath getting short and his heart was pounding in his chest. Zak remembered the road trip idea that had been brought up at the bar. A short vacation would be good for him.

But on the other hand, he didn’t want to be out of town when he was supposed to be taking chemotherapy. He wanted to get his treatments done, so he could be rid of this horrible disease as quickly as possible. 

Zak’s alarm sounded, and he got out of bed. He showered and dressed, and when he exited the bathroom the sun was up. He ate breakfast, cleaned the kitchen and by the time he finished, it was time to leave for the hospital. Today was his MRI to see if the cancer had spread.

He arrived at the hospital, still nervous and jumpy. He was scared, and not just of cancer. He was also claustrophobic, and knew that the MRI machine was small. He’d seen them on TV. What he hadn’t bargained for was just how small the machines were. Zak felt like he was in a coffin. The loud clicking and banging noises the machine made caused him to jump, and the technician came over the little intercom, telling him to lie still. 

Zak fought the claustrophobia for a good twenty minutes. When it was finally over, and the technician came back into the room, Zak scooted out of the machine right away, instead of waiting for the table to slide out. He stood there, wearing only a hospital gown, while the technician chuckled. 

“Claustrophobic?” The technician asked.

“Highly.” Zak panted, dizzy and lightheaded.

“It’s okay. Just have a seat, and let me check the images to make sure everything looks good for the doctor. You should be able to leave in about five or ten minutes.”

Zak took a seat while the technician left the room. His breathing started to return to normal, and the dizziness subsided. The technician returned, and told Zak he was good to go. As he changed clothes, Zak felt tears welling up in his eyes. He hated that his emotions were so unstable. He wiped away the tears and dropped the hospital gown in a dirty linen basket.

Chapter Seven

When Jessie walked into the bar, Zak and Alex were sitting at a table in the corner. It was the same table they were sitting at last night, and it looked as if Alex was wearing the same shirt. Jessie took a seat and ordered a drink.

“Well, how’s y’all’s day going?” Jessie asked in a slow drawl.

Alex and Zak were silent.

“That good, huh. Same here. My wife wants full custody of the kids, and she wants alimony. Can you believe that? She hasn’t worked a day in the last eighteen years, and she wants me to keep paying her to stay at home. It’s just not right. She should have to go out and get a job. If she doesn’t want me around, she shouldn’t get my money, either. Hell, I don’t mind paying child support on my kids. No problems with that at all. It’s the alimony that I’m against. It’s just not right.”

“But aren’t you the one leaving? Technically?” Alex asked.

“Well, yes, but only because she wanted another man instead of me. Let him pay for her shopping trips and spa visits and such.”

Frankie, dressed as Rhianna Cox, appeared from behind the stage and took a seat at the table.

“Well hello, darlings. How are we all doing after a good night’s sleep?”

Jessie recounted the incident at the counselor’s office. He made sure to include the fact that Jeannie still had not let him talk to the kids.

“How terrible. You do know that for every woman who doesn’t want you, there are three gay guys who would eat onion rings off your boner.”

“Not interested.” Jessie said. Alex snickered at the thought. 

Jessie paused hesitantly, then said, “I don’t think I’m going to be able to go on the road trip. I don’t want to be away from my kids. I’m going to try to get Jeannie to let me take them this weekend.”

“Well, darling, if you don’t want to go, it’s fine, of course, but you could easily spend next weekend with your kids. That would give you time to get back from the trip, find a place to stay, and then you would have somewhere to bring the kids to. But, the choice is yours.”

“Well, when you put it that way.” Jessie looked thoughtful. “Okay, I’m in. Why not?”

“Well, I’m out”, said Alex. “I don’t have the money to go, and I need to be looking for a job.”

Frankie looked hurt. “Dear, I told you last night. I’ll take care of the expenses. It won’t cost you a thing, just a couple of days of your time. This shit-hole will still be here when we get back, and there will be plenty of time for you to find a new job.”

“I can’t ask you to pay for everything. That’s not me. I just can’t do that.”

“What? You can’t accept a gift from a friend? Fine. Then consider it a job. I’ll pay you to accompany me on a trip. That’s the job. I want to hire you as a travel companion.”

“Are you serious?”

“Completely. I want you to go on this trip with us, and I’m willing to pay you to do it.”

“Drag queens must make pretty good money here.” Jessie thought out loud.

“I’ll rob a bank if I have to”, Frankie laughed. Turning to Zak he said, “And what about you? You’re sitting over there, looking like you want to back out too.”

“I’m just worried about missing a chemotherapy appointment. I don’t know when they will start, and I don’t want to be out on the road when I need to go in for my treatments.”

“Oh, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. But they won’t start treatments this week. It will take a couple of days for them to read all of the tests, and get everything set up, and then they’ll call you to start treatments. When my friend had his chemotherapy, it took them several weeks before he actually started. Don’t worry. We’ll be back in plenty of time.”

Frankie looked around the table. Each of the guys looked resigned, as if they were agreeing to go begrudgingly. He asked, “Have any of you ever been backstage? Come with me.” He stood and the others followed.

Frankie led them to the dressing rooms. Jessie had never seen this side of a drag performance before, in fact, he’d only just recently seen a drag queen in person for the first time. As he walked through the dressing room, he looked at the vanity mirrors, the makeup kits, the wigs, the dresses and the prosthetics. 

Frankie noticed his curiosity. “Try one on”, he said, gesturing toward a wig. 

“Oh, no, I don’t think so”, Jessie said.

“Come on, loosen up. Have a little fun.” Frankie said.

Jessie smiled wanly. He picked up the wig and put it on his head.

“Come on. Everybody. Let’s all dress up!” Frankie exclaimed.

Alex and Zak each picked out a dress and tried them on. Next were wigs, then make up and prosthetic breasts. 

“This is fun!” Zak said. “I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”

“I know, right? It’s like playing dress-up when we were kids.” Alex remarked.

“And now, it’s your turn, Mr. Straight Man.” Frankie said to Jessie.

“I wouldn’t know where to start.” Jessie said.

“Here, let me help you.” Frankie selected an evening gown from the rack. “Try this on.”

It was a struggle for Jessie to get the gown on, but once he did it looked amazing.

“Now for the hair.” Frankie selected a short, black, styled wig. He fitted Jessie with a pair of small prosthetic breasts, and stuffed them inside the gown. 

“Finally, some makeup.” Frankie applied makeup to Jessie’s face. After about an hour, he declared Jessie to be a work of art.

“Look at that!” Frankie exclaimed as he whirled Jessie around in the chair to see himself in the mirror.

Jessie was amazed at the transformation. He looked like a woman. Alex and Zak marveled at the change as well. Jessie stood and checked himself out in the full length mirror. The gown was floor-length, which covered his hairy legs. The only indication that he was a man was the hair on his arms.

Noticing Jessie looking at the hair on his arms, Frankie asked, “Do you want to shave them?”

Jessie nodded. Might as well. 

Frankie prepared a bowl of hot water and a razor. Jessie shaved his arms, starting at the hands and going all the way to his shoulders. He even shaved under his arms. When he was finished, he gazed in wonder at the smooth skin. He could pass for a woman.

He toweled off and wiped off the bit of shaving cream that had dripped onto the gown. Jessie had one more question.

“How do you keep your, um, you know. How do you keep it from showing under the tight clothes?”

Frankie laughed. Jessie did have a visible bulge in the front of his gown. Frankie unzipped the gown, and Jessie dropped it to the floor. Alex and Zak watched intently as Jessie dropped his underwear as well.

“What you do is, you take a piece of duct tape. You put it here, and run it to the back, like this.” Frankie demonstrated to Jessie how to apply the duct tape. Jessie was hesitant, so Frankie said, “It only hurts when it comes off. Even then, it’s tolerable. A big, strong straight man like you should be able to handle it.”

Jessie applied the duct tape, securely suppressing his manhood. After zipping the gown back up, Jessie examined himself in the mirror again. The duct tape was uncomfortable, but he thought he would get used to it after a few minutes. It’s not like he would ever dress up as a woman again. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Chapter Eight

“Okay, girls, let’s go to the bank. I need to withdraw some money if we’re going to hit the road.” Frankie said.

“Like this?” Alex asked.

“Why not? It’s a free country, you can dress like a woman if you want to, you can even go out in public as a woman if you want to. You don’t have to go in the bank if you don’t want to be seen. I’ll go in and you can wait in the car.” 

Jessie volunteered to drive, so he, Alex and Zak packed their regular clothes into trash bags and carried them to his car. Frankie gathered a bag and met them in the parking lot.

Jessie followed Frankie’s directions to the bank, and when they arrived, no one was brave enough to go inside in drag, except for Frankie. Alex, Zak and Jessie all waited in the car while Frankie went inside to withdraw some money.

As they waited, Jessie noticed something was suspicious. There had been a steady stream of customers going in and out of the bank, but they had abruptly stopped. 

He was about to say something, when Frankie came running out of the bank. It was impressive watching him run in a purse and heels. Frankie dove into the car and yelled “Drive, drive, drive!”

Jessie hesitated for a moment, then slammed his foot down on the accelerator. The tires squealed as the car gained momentum and Jessie sped out of the parking lot. 

Frankie laughed maniacally. “What the hell happened in there?” Jessie demanded.

“I robbed the bank.” Frankie laughed. “I robbed the fucking bank!” 

Jessie’s mind was racing. The first thing he had to do was stop speeding. He needed to blend in with traffic. There was no sense in drawing the attention of the police with erratic driving.

Frankie opened his purse. It was filled to the brim with cash. Alex said, “Tell us what happened. How did you rob the bank?”

“Well, I went in there, and asked to withdraw a couple of thousand dollars from my savings. The clerk told me that I had been charged a bunch of fees, and I didn’t have any money left in savings. So I showed her my gun, and told her to empty her cash drawer into my purse. I did the same thing for each one of the tellers. I took their money, and I ran out the door, just as fast as my legs would carry me.”

Jessie was fuming. “The cops are going to be looking for my car. We’ve got to change cars somewhere.”

“Let’s go back to the bar. We can get my car.” Zak offered.

“Your car isn’t big enough for the four of us. We’ll take my car.” Alex decided.

“Let’s take a rental car.” Frankie said. “Why not? We’ve got the cash. Let’s get a rental car and head for Mexico.”

Jessie swung the car into a gas station. “The first thing we have to do is get out of these disguises. The cops are going to be looking for this car, with four drag queens in it. Everybody get changed, and wash off that makeup. Then we change cars.”

All four of them piled into the tiny bathroom outside the gas station. They were bumping into each other as they tried to remove their clothing and get changed. Jessie screamed with pain when he ripped off the duct tape. He noticed that Alex had an erection.

“You liked that, you sick bastard? You get off on other people in pain?” Jessie pulled up his jeans and stuffed the evening gown into the trash bag. Alex looked at the floor, sheepishly. Jessie stormed out of the bathroom.

Once everyone was changed, and cleaned up, they all met back at the car. They froze, and watched in horror as a police cruiser pulled into the gas station. Zak knew they were busted. As the four of them stared, the officer pulled up to a gas pump and got out to refuel his car. They breathed a collective sigh of relief. 

Jessie said, “Okay. Now to change cars. We’re getting a rental car. Something big enough for the four of us, but small enough to be good on gas, and not draw attention.”

The first car rental agency Jessie found was a few blocks away from the airport. “Why don’t we just buy tickets to Mexico? We can get there a lot faster if we fly.” Alex asked.

“Because, driving there is half the fun.” Frankie said. “Also, because we would have to show ID, and there would be a record of the flight. Better to just drive.”

“I agree.” Jessie said. He steered the car into the parking lot of the rental agency. “They’ll check our ID when we cross the border, but that will be a couple of days from now, and nobody will put two and two together.”

The guys selected a mid-size SUV. Frankie paid the cashier, and gave her an extra $100 bill to skip the ID check. He signed the rental agreement “Rhianna Cox”. The cashier never looked at the signature.

They piled into the SUV, with their bags containing their drag disguises. Jessie grabbed a toolkit from his car, just in case they had car trouble on the way. He made sure the tank was full of gas, and they headed for the interstate.

Jessie merged onto I-40 westbound. They drove for about four hours before Jessie began noticed Alex squirming uncomfortably in his seat.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, looking at Alex in the rearview mirror.

“Nothing.” Alex replied quickly.

“Bullshit. I’ve been watching you for miles, and something’s up. What is it?”

“My dick.”
“Excuse me?”

“My dick is what’s up. It’s hard. It has been for hours. I took a pill this morning, and now it won’t go down.”

“So what are we supposed to do?”

“Well, they told me if I had an erection that lasted for more than four hours to go to a hospital.”

“That’s great. A hospital. We’re giving them all kinds of ways to track us.” Jessie sounded a little paranoid.

He exited the interstate on Highway 13 and drove to the nearest hospital. It was a small community hospital, and it was several miles from the interstate. 

Alex got out of the car, and ran into the emergency room. Zak and Frankie waited in the car, while Jessie went inside to check on Alex.

They were the only two people in the waiting room. Jessie said, “Look, I’m sorry about snapping at you earlier in the bathroom. I’m guessing you couldn’t help it?”

“No. It’s those damned pills. I’ll never take another one. It hurts.”

“I can only imagine. Look, I’m here for you. I’ll be right here with you, no matter what happens.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.”

A nurse opened the door to the waiting room. “Alex Durham” she called out. Alex and Jessie walked together to the exam room. The doctor came in, and Alex explained what the problem was. 

“Okay,” the doctor said, “I’m going to step outside and let you undress. We’ll drain it, and have you on your way in no time.”

“What do you mean, ‘drain it’?” Alex asked.

“Oh, we use a needle to remove the blood.” The doctor replied.

Alex looked very worried. Jessie squeezed his shoulder, trying not to giggle, and said, “It’s okay, buddy. I’ll be right outside the door.”

Jessie and the doctor left the room while Alex undressed. Jessie heard the doctor go back in a few minutes later, followed by Alex’s deep breathing and cries of pain. After several minutes, the doctor left again. A nurse told Jessie, “You can take him home now. But tell him to stay away from those pills. And he needs to let his urologist know what happened.” Jessie laughed.

Alex emerged from the exam room, fully dressed.

“Feel better?” Jessie asked.

“Much.” Alex replied. They walked out of the hospital to the car where Zak and Frankie were waiting. It was already dark outside, and Zak was asleep in the back seat.

Chapter Nine

As Jessie merged back onto I-40 west bound, he checked the fuel level. He should have enough to make it to Memphis before he would have to stop again. Zak was still asleep, Alex and Frankie were talking softly to avoid waking him.

Jessie turned the radio to a soft rock station, and gently raised the volume, not enough to wake Zak, but enough to help keep Jessie awake while he drove. He would stop for coffee when he stopped for gas in Memphis. Jessie didn’t mind driving. For the moment, he didn’t even mind that he was a felon on the run. He was just enjoying the open road. 

He wasn’t speeding, but he was coming up fast behind the car in front of him. Jessie slowed down, just as his headlights illuminated the reflective lettering on the brown car: “Tennessee State Trooper.” Jessie slowed down, cursing under his breath, suddenly reminded of his fugitive status. The trooper sped up, and within a couple of minutes was far ahead of Jessie.

Jessie resumed his speed, and set his cruise control to 75. On the radio, a news report detailed their bank robbery. “And in the news tonight, the Bank of Madison was robbed of over ten thousand dollars earlier today. The suspect was a woman, about fifty years old, and is believed to have escaped in a dark colored sedan. Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to call the FBI  tip line at 202-555-5555.” Jessie laughed out loud. Not only did they believe Frankie was a woman, they had the vehicle description wrong. They weren’t even looking for his car. He was now optimistic that they might get away with the crime. 

He looked over at the passenger seat. Frankie was sitting with his arms crossed, head leaned against the window. He was asleep. Alex was in a similar position in the back seat, but with his head forward, snoring softly. Zak was still asleep as well.

Just outside of Memphis, Jessie pulled into an all-night gas station. He got out of the car and put the gas pump nozzle in the tank.

Zak woke to the sound of the car door closing. He looked around. They were stopped at a 24-hour mom-and-pop gas station. Jessie was standing outside his window, pumping gas. Zak closed his eyes, and thought about their current predicament. How had he allowed himself to become involved in a felony, and now a furtive dash for the Mexican border to escape justice? Zak had always considered himself to be an upstanding person. He’d never even gotten a traffic ticket, and now he was mixed up in a bank robbery.

Zak slowly opened his door, as Jessie moved to the side to let him out of the car. 

“Hey, I didn’t realize you were awake.” Jessie said softly. 

“I just woke up. I need to pee.” Zak said.

“Okay. It’ll take a few more minutes here. This pump is running slow.”

Zak exited the car and walked into the store. As he stood at the urinal, forcing himself to pee, Zak realized he was also hungry. After he finished, he took out his wallet and counted his cash. He had only three dollars on him, and he didn’t want to go ask Frankie for money.

Zak browsed through the snack items in the store. He glanced upward to check for security cameras, and saw that there were none. The only other person in the store, the clerk, was watching a Laverne and Shirley rerun and not paying attention to Zak. He slipped a soda, a bag of chips and a candy bar into his coat pockets. At the coffee counter, he filled a cup with black coffee and grabbed a couple of packets of creamer and sugar. 

He carried the coffee to the counter, where the clerk charged him a dollar for the coffee. Zak paid nervously, afraid the clerk was going to call him out for stuffing food into his pockets and trying to get away without paying for it.

The clerk smiled, and remained silent. Zak took the coffee and walked back outside to the gas pumps.

“Here. This is for you”, he said as he handed Jessie the coffee. 

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Jessie said as he took the cup from Zak’s hands. Alex and Frankie were still asleep in the car. Zak got back in and buckled his seatbelt. 

Jessie finished pumping the gas and paid at the pump with his debit card. He took his receipt and got back in the car.

Zak lay his head against the window. Alex was still snoring. As they drove off in the night, Zak felt a little homesick. He missed being at home in his own bed. Jessie must have sensed his discomfort, because he said gently, “Don’t worry, buddy, we’re going to stop for the night soon.”

When they crossed the Arkansas state line, the roads became much worse. Potholes were everywhere. The bouncing and jarring woke Frankie, then Alex. 

“Holy hell, where are we?” Frankie asked.

“Arkansas.” Jessie replied.

“Well they need to fix their roads.” Alex stated emphatically.

Zak opened the bag of chips and soda from his pocket and started snacking on the chips. Alex asked “Where did you get those?”

“Gas station.” Zak replied with a mouthful.

“I wish you had said something when we stopped. I would have gotten something too.”

“Want some?” Zak held the bag out.

“No, but thanks anyway.” Alex replied.

Jessie guided the car off the highway and pulled into a motel parking lot. Frankie went in the office and paid for two rooms. Frankie and Alex went to one room, while Zak and Jessie went to the other.

Zak turned on the light as he entered the room. It was furnished with two full-size beds, a chair, desk and dresser with a TV. In the bathroom, he found towels, soap and shampoo. Zak stripped off his clothes and got in the shower. 

When he finished showering, Zak didn’t want to put his dirty clothes back on, but his only other option was to exit the bathroom naked, in front of Jessie. He put his underwear back on, and picked up the rest of his clothes. Jessie was sitting on the bed closest to the door when Zak came out of the bathroom. Zak put his clothes beside the other bed, and got under the covers. 

“Goodnight, buddy.” Jessie said.

“Goodnight.”

Jessie went into the bathroom, and Zak heard the shower turn on. He faded back to sleep.

Alex ordered a pizza. While he was waiting for the delivery, he lay across his bed. Frankie was undressing to get in the shower and Alex watched him. He realized that Frankie was actually a decent-looking man, without all the makeup and wigs and expensive-looking evening gowns. He listened as Frankie got into the shower. He hoped the pizza delivery man would be hot. He stripped down to his underwear, and waited for the knock at the door. When he opened it, he was disappointed to see an elderly man in a pizza chain uniform on the other side. The delivery man didn’t react to Alex’s near-nakedness at all. He handed Alex the pizza and receipt, then turned to walk away.

Jessie finished up his shower, dried himself and walked out of the bathroom. Zak was asleep. He felt sorry for Zak, he seemed like a nice guy. Jessie was impressed with all the guys, since they were nothing like he had imagined a group of gay guys would be. They were respectful around him, and they didn’t treat him like a piece of meat, which is honestly how he had initially expected them to treat him.

He crossed the room and got into bed. As he lay down, he realized just how tired he was. Sleep came quickly, and Jessie voluntarily surrendered to it.

When Alex woke the next morning, sunlight was streaming through the heavy drapes. His head hurt, and as he looked around he saw empty booze bottles, the overturned pizza box, and an undisturbed bed. He sensed that he was not alone in the bed, and lifted the covers beside his face. He saw a pair of legs. He sat up in the bed and saw that the legs belonged to Frankie, who was naked. Alex’s own underwear was on the floor. He couldn’t remember what happened last night. Surely, he didn’t. Not with Frankie. Or did he? He tried to remember. Alex stood up and put his clothes on. He started cleaning up the mess, as he was sure the others would be ready to get on the road as soon as possible. 

Frankie stirred and sat up slowly. His hair was wild, sticking up in all directions. He blinked a couple of times, then asked Alex, “What happened last night?”

“I’m not sure, and I don’t know that I want to find out.” Alex replied.

Chapter Ten

In Washington, DC, FBI agent Hubert Young received an alert of a bank robbery. He left his desk and went to the case briefing meeting.

A senior agent was just getting started, giving the details of the case.

“Yesterday, around 3:00 pm, this woman entered the Bank of Madison in Nashville, Tennessee and robbed them of over ten thousand dollars..” He put a grainy photo on the television screens. “We’ve cleaned up the image from the security cameras and discovered this…” He switched to a much higher resolution, showing a cleaner image. “It’s not a woman at all. It’s a man, dressed as a woman. He has been identified as a local drag performer named Rhianna Cox.” He paused while an assistant distributed high resolution photos of Rhianna to the team.

“It was initially believed that Cox was traveling alone in a dark sedan, but these cameras outside the bank…” he changed the photos on the screen to show the exterior camera views. “They show him, or her, getting into a beige Toyota with three other drag performers. We don’t have identities on them yet, but we are working on facial recognition software to get a match.”

“The Toyota used as the getaway car has been found. It’s registered to a Jessie Mathis of Nashville, and it’s being searched for evidence as we speak. Mathis has no known ties to Rhianna Cox, so we need to find out how these two know each other.” The image on the screen changed to show Jessie’s driver’s license photo. An assistant distributed printed copies of his photo as well.

“Neither Cox nor Mathis has been seen since the robbery. We believe that they are headed west, possibly toward Mexico. It is believed that the other two drag performers are still with them, although that’s just our best guess right now. Mathis has an estranged wife and two kids in Nashville. Okay, that concludes what we know at this point, let’s go find these guys and bring them to justice.”

The meeting broke up. Hubert was apprehensive, but also excited. It would be his first bank robbery, and he was determined to make the arrest. He approached the senior agent. 

“Sir, I’d like to go to Nashville. I want to be in charge of this investigation.”

“Are you sure you’re ready for a bank robbery, Young? You’ve never had one before.”

“Yes, sir. I can do it. I also believe I can get Mathis to turn himself in, and that should lead us to Cox.”

“Okay, then. Grab your bag and get to Nashville. I want these guys in jail.”

“Yes, sir.” Hubert rushed back to his desk to retrieve his duffel bag. He drove straight to the airport. The flight to Nashville only took a couple of hours. When he landed, he was met by the local FBI agents, who escorted him to their field office.

Minutes later, Agent Young was set up in an office, and he was ready to try to contact Jessie Mathis. A tracing program was ready to pinpoint Jessie’s location as soon as he answered his phone. Agent Young dialed the number.

“Hello,” Jessie answered groggily.

“Good morning, Mr. Mathis. Did I wake you? I’m sorry. This is Agent Young with the FBI. I’d like to talk to you for a minute.”

“Yes, sir.” Jessie sounded fully awake now.

“Your name came up in connection with a bank robbery in Nashville yesterday. I wondered if I could stop by your home and talk with you about it this morning?”

“I’m not at home. I’m on vacation with my family.”

“Oh, Jessie. We know you’re not. Your wife is at home, your kids are getting ready for school. You are on the run. I’m guessing you’re still with Rhianna Cox, who we’ve identified as Frankie Rubio. Now, we can go easy on you if you cooperate with us. We know that all you did is drive the getaway car. You could have been an unknowing accomplice. We can explain that. But the longer you run, the less we can explain it, and the worse it’s going to be for you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t have anything to do with any bank robbery, and I’m on vacation with my family.”

“Okay, Mr. Mathis. When did you leave on vacation?”

“Yesterday.”

“Yesterday around 3:00 pm?”

“That’s right.”

“Who is your family?”

“Excuse me?”

“What family members are with you? Wife, sister, mother, cousin, who?”

“I’d rather not say, I don’t think it’s any of the FBI’s business.”

The audio technician nodded to Agent Young, who said, “Okay, Mr. Mathis. I just want to let you know that as of right now, you are considered a person of interest in a bank robbery. If you’ll come in and talk to us, we can clear this up. If we have to come find you, we’re going to charge you.”

Jessie said, “You’ll just have to come find me then. I’ve done nothing wrong, and there is no reason for me to turn myself in.”

“Okay, sir. Thank you for talking to me. Goodbye.” Agent Young hung up the phone. 

The technician looked up from his computer and said, “The call was answered from a cell phone at a motel, about thirty miles this side of Little Rock, Arkansas.”

Agent Young smiled. “Get me a flight to San Antonio, Texas.”

Chapter Eleven

Jessie looked at the now-dead phone in his hands. Agent Young had not put up much of an insistence that he turn himself in and had ended the call quickly. Jessie could only assume that meant that Agent Young had his location, and the local police would be there within minutes.

“Zak! Zak! Wake up, we gotta go.” Jessie shook Zak gently until he stirred, then he quickly threw his clothes on.

“Get up. We have to leave now. The police know where we are.”

“What? How?”

“I don’t know, but I just got a call from the FBI.”

“The FBI?”

“Yes. Now get up and get dressed. Meet us at the car. I’m going to go get Frankie and Alex.”

Jessie left Zak and went to the other room. He knocked on the door, and Alex answered. It looked like there had been some kind of wild party in the room. 

“What happened in here? Never mind, tell me later. Right now, we have to go. The cops are onto us.”

“What? How?”

“That’s exactly what Zak said. I don’t know, but they are. Just get dressed and meet us at the car.”

Jessie went to the car and waited for the others. Zak was the first to arrive, followed by Alex and then Frankie shortly thereafter. By the time Frankie was in the car, Jessie already had it in gear and was accelerating through the parking lot as Frankie shut his door.

“How do you know they’re onto us? What happened?” Frankie asked.

“I don’t know. I got a phone call from an FBI agent wanting me to turn myself in.” 

“What FBI agent?”

“Some guy named Young. Sounded like a prick. He said it would go better for me if I turned myself in. He called my cell phone, and I’ve seen enough TV shows to know that they can track your location if you answer the phone. And we were certainly on the phone long enough for him to trace the call.”

“You watch too much TV.” Alex said.

“I hope so. But being paranoid is what’s going to get us to Mexico safely.”

“Why did you answer the phone anyway?” Zak asked.

“It woke me up. I thought it might have been my kids.”

Jessie merged onto the highway and pressed the accelerator. The SUV responded smoothly and he set the cruise control at 75 miles per hour. Within twenty minutes they were approaching Little Rock. 

“I think I want to do some driving today.” Frankie announced.

“Okay. We’re going to stop for gas in Little Rock. We’ll switch there.” Jessie said.

Jessie exited the highway and pulled into a gas station. He got out to pump the gas, but Frankie shooed him away.

“You did all the driving yesterday. It’s my turn today.”

Jessie went inside the convenience store and bought some snacks and drinks, and Alex did the same. When Alex counted out the cash for his purchases, he noticed that he had an extra three hundred dollars in his wallet. 

When they returned to the car, Frankie was just finishing pumping gas. Jessie and Alex got into the car, and Frankie ran for the driver’s seat. He put the car into gear and drove away at a high speed.

“What are you doing?” Zak asked.

“Getting out of here!” Frankie replied.

“Did you pay for the gas?”

“Nope.”

Frankie navigated back onto the highway and pressed the accelerator. Within seconds they were doing 90 miles per hour. 

“Slow down.” Jessie commanded.

“Why?” Frankie asked.

“Because we don’t want to attract attention.”

“But if we go faster, we get there faster.”

“And if we go slower, we get there alive.”

Frankie pouted, but slowed the SUV to 75 miles per hour. He set the cruise control to keep it at the speed limit. 

“Take I-30 west.” Jessie navigated from the passenger seat.

“And we need to talk about you stealing things. First it was the bank, and now driving off without paying for gas. You have to stop stealing, or you’re going to get us busted.”

“Oh come on. It was fun. Relax, Jessie, have a little fun. That’s what this whole trip is about. Letting go and having some fun.”

“I don’t think twenty-five to life is going to be a lot of fun, thank you very much.” Jessie said.

They drove in silence for about ten minutes before Jessie turned the radio on. He scanned through radio stations until he found an eighties rock station. Before long, the volume was turned up, and all four guys were singing along. They were all beginning to loosen up again, even Jessie, when blue lights flashed behind them.

The tension in the car was palpable. Frankie pulled over and rolled down his window, and everyone sat silently, knowing that this was the end of the trip and the beginning of a long prison sentence.

“Good morning, sir.” The officer said as he approached Frankie’s window. “Do you know why I stopped you?”

“No, sir.”

“You’ve got a brake light out. Now, I’m not going to write you a ticket, because I ran your tag already and I know this is a rental. But you take it back and let them know to get that brake light fixed.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll do that today.”

“Okay. You’re free to go. You gentlemen have a good day.”

They all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Zak hadn’t realized that he had been holding his breath throughout the entire traffic stop. 

Frankie signaled and carefully pulled out onto the highway. The officer was still standing outside his car as they drove away. Frankie didn’t want to give him any reason to pull them over again. 

“Take the next exit.” Jessie ordered.

“Why?” Frankie asked.

“I’m going to fix that brake light.”

“But it’s a rental. That’s not our responsibility.”

“Maybe not, but it almost landed us in jail. I’m going to fix it.”

Frankie obediently took the next exit and drove to a nearby auto parts store. Jessie went inside and bought a new bulb for the brake light and some tools to change it. He sat in the parking lot and removed the cover, then changed out the bulb. After testing to make sure it worked, Jessie replaced the cover and the guys were on the road again.

Chapter Twelve

The further they drove, the more static they heard on the radio, until the station disappeared completely. They drove in silence for several minutes, before Alex suggested plugging a phone into the radio. They listened to Jessie’s favorite techno playlist before their phones all lost service in rural Texas. 

As they neared Dallas, their phone signals returned. Jessie noticed he had a missed call and a voicemail message. He disconnected the phone from the radio and listened to the message.

“Hi Jessie, it’s me. Jeannie. I um… I want you to come back home. The kids know about what happened, and they blame me for you leaving. We can’t make it without you, and I need you to come back home. Please.” The voicemail ended. Jessie hung up the phone, and sat there, deep in thought. He listened to the message again, then deleted it.

He was torn. On the one hand, he wanted to go back home. He wanted to turn the car around, drive back home and go back to his wife and kids. But on the other hand, this was the same wife who had brazenly cheated on him with a total stranger, then acted like an ass at a marital counseling session. Jessie didn’t believe that she was sincere in her desire for him to come home, he believed she just wanted the safety and security of his income.

And besides that, he rationalized, he couldn’t go back home anyway. The FBI knew who he was, and they were looking for him. Mexico was his best option, and he would have to stay there for a long time until the heat died down.

Jessie plugged his phone back into the radio and turned up the music. He sang along, trying to push the thoughts of home from his head. He did miss his kids, he couldn’t help that. But his situation had changed, and he couldn’t go back to them now.

Alex also had a missed call. He pressed the button on his phone to listen to the voice message. “Mr. Durham, this is Greg Harper. Upon closer review, we’ve determined that your dismissal from our firm was unfair. We’ve made the decision to offer you re-employment in our paralegal department, with a starting salary of $28,000 per year, with eligibility for full benefits after one year. If you’d like to accept this offer, please return to our offices tomorrow morning to meet with us in person. Thank you.” The message ended.

Alex stared at the phone in disgust. He was insulted. Mr. Harper was right, his termination was unfair. But to offer him his old job back, at entry-level wage, and he had to wait a year for benefits? Alex was angry. He was now getting the impression that he was fired as a way of cutting his pay, and that the whole situation had been thought out and orchestrated in advance.

Jessie had turned the music back up, and Alex was finding it difficult to concentrate. Did he want to go back to work for such sleazy bosses? The more he thought about it, the more he decided that his answer would be no. 

Alex also considered the possibility that the job offer was a ruse. The FBI could be waiting for him at the office when, and if, he showed up. The thought of the FBI’s involvement was a sobering one. It would mean that they knew who Alex was also, and that they were looking for him. They already had Jessie’s identity, and Frankie’s. Alex reflected on how quickly his life had changed. One minute he was going to the bar to get drunk, and maybe get laid, and the next minute he was a fugitive. If he had just went home instead of the bar, none of this would have happened, at least not to him.

When the cell phone service returned, Zak also had a voice mail message. He recognized the number, and held the phone in his hand, staring at it for several moments before he pressed the button to listen to the message.

“Mr. Heath, this is Dr. Sloan. I have the results of your MRI, and I’m afraid it’s bad news. The cancer has spread, and it’s present in several organs, including your pancreas. The best prognosis I can offer you right now is three months, even with aggressive treatment. You should come in right away so that we can begin the chemotherapy. Please contact my office to make an appointment.” The message ended.

Zak sat there, stunned. Jessie was singing along with the radio again, but Zak barely heard it. He felt a tear fall down his cheek. Three months to live. Twelve weeks. Ninety days. Two thousand, one hundred and sixty hours. That’s all the time he had left. There were so many things left to do, so many sights he had not seen. He’d never been in love, not really. Sure, he’d been in several serious relationships, but never what he would call “true love”. He’d never seen the Grand Canyon, or the Pacific Coast. He had never been out of the country, and he’d always wanted to see the world one day. 

Now his fate was sealed. He would never get the chance to fall in love, or see the world, or experience adventure. The rest of his life would be spent in a cancer treatment center, hooked up to machines and being poked by needles. Zak didn’t want that. He decided that he was going to enjoy this road trip, because it would be his last, and only, adventure. 

Zak resolved that, if they were caught, he would take full responsibility for the robbery and state that he acted alone. What were they going to do, give him the death penalty?

Chapter Thirteen

The FBI jet touched down in San Antonio. Agent Young deplaned and was escorted by local agents to the nearest field office.

When he arrived at the field office, a local agent had a briefing ready. “We’ve tracked your bank robbers to Dallas, sir, but we lost them again there. It seems that local law enforcement stopped them for a broken brake light, but let them go because the officer didn’t know they were wanted. We’ve got them in a dark colored SUV, southbound on I-35, possibly headed toward Austin. And there are four of them.”

“I know. They’re headed here.”

“What makes you think they are headed here? And why?”

“Because they are headed for Mexico. The closest border crossing is Nuevo Laredo. They’ll be headed there, and to get there, they have to pass right through here. This is where we will catch them.”

Agent Young turned to the local agent in charge. “Let’s bring in the highway patrol, and give them a description of the vehicle. Let them know the path of travel, and suspected destination. Have them keep their eyes out, but nobody stops this car until we do. This is my arrest, I’m bringing these guys in.”

“Copy that, sir.”

“And get me the identities of the other two individuals in the car. Pull the security camera footage from the car rental agency, the motel, anywhere they stopped along the way. I want to know who those other two are pronto.”

“Yes, sir.”

Agent Young took a map of the Nuevo Laredo border crossing and began formulating a plan to stop the SUV before it crossed the bridge over the Rio Grande. He marked the location for highway patrol units, FBI vehicles and officers on foot. It was going to be a glorious scene, with plenty of action and adventure. Of course, the sight of the sheer number of law enforcement officers blockading the bridge would be enough for Jessie and Frankie, and whoever their companions were, to turn themselves in without incident.

After they were in custody, he, Hubert Young of the FBI, would be on the news, taking credit for the capture of these dangerous bank-robbing fugitives from justice. He smiled to himself. 

A technician came into the office. “Sir, you wanted the identities of the other two men with Mathis and Rubio?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve identified them as Zak Heath and Alex Durham, both of Nashville. Durham was a paralegal until Monday, when he was fired from his job, and Heath is a bus driver for the city transit service. Neither of them have a criminal record.”

“What’s the connection between these four men?”

“There’s not one that we can find. Mathis is a financial analyst, filing for divorce and Rubio is a drag performer at a Nashville bar. Our best guess is that they all met at the bar, since all but Mathis are gay.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

The technician left the office. Agent Young sat in the chair, thinking. Frankie, Jessie, Zak and Alex. What was their connection? How did they go from total strangers to colluding together to rob a bank overnight?  

Young dialed Jessie’s number again. The phone rang, but there was no answer. When the voicemail greeting finished, he said, “Jessie, this is Agent Young again with the FBI. I wanted to let you know that we know Rubio robbed the bank, and you drove the getaway car. We also know that you have Alex Durham and Zak Heath in the car with you. If you are holding them hostage, I can negotiate with you to release them. If they are accomplices, we’ll take them into custody, along with you and Frankie. We know you’re driving a dark colored SUV, headed southbound on I-35 and headed for Austin. We’re going to get you, it’s not a question of if, but when. It’s going to go better for you if you turn yourself in to me. Call me back.”

Chapter Fourteen

After spending several hours in heavy traffic, Frankie finally pulled the car into a motel in a small town, just off the interstate. It had been Jessie’s idea to only travel for a few hours, to throw off the FBI who would be expecting them to travel as far as possible, as quickly as possible. They would spend the night here, and stop for groceries the next morning, before continuing on to Austin, then San Antonio. 

Frankie checked into the motel, again reserving two rooms. This time Alex and Jessie shared a room, while Frankie and Zak took the other. The guys all hung out in Alex and Jessie’s room, talking and planning their next moves.

“It feels like we’re in a movie,” Alex said, “One of those action movies, except there’s not as much gunfire and explosions.”

“Let’s keep it that way” Jessie commented. His phone beeped. He had a missed call from an unknown number. When Jessie pulled up the caller ID, he recognized the number. It was Agent Young with the FBI. Jessie listened to the message.

“Guys, we might have a problem. That FBI agent, the one who called me, well, he called again.” Jessie replayed the message on speaker. 

“If we get caught, I’m definitely a hostage.” Alex quipped.

“Quit joking around. We could all be going to prison.” Zak said.

“Nobody’s going to prison. We’re going to make it to the border.” Jessie said. “We just have to be smart about it and not do anything stupid to get caught.”

“Well, we’re screwed.” Alex said.

Jessie noticed that Zak looked worried. He lay a comforting hand on Zak’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, buddy. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

“I have a confession to make.” Zak said. “Back in Memphis, at that gas station, I stole my drink and snacks that I picked up. I don’t know why I did it, I just did. It was stupid, I know that. And I’m sorry, I guess I just figured I would go along with you guys stealing stuff.”

“So far only you and Frankie have stolen anything. You bunch of damn kleptomaniacs.” Alex said.

Zak hung his head. Jessie squeezed his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, Zak. It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay. But no more stealing stuff. That goes for everybody.”

Frankie, who had been silently sitting on the bed, spoke up. “Well, I for one disagree with the term ‘stealing’. And I resent being called a kleptomaniac. I didn’t steal anything. The bank took my money from me, all I did was take it back.”

“Yeah, at gunpoint.” Alex said. “That’s called robbery, even if it is your money.”

“I know that, smart ass, that’s why I’m with you, running to Mexico.” Frankie retorted. “Okay. They know what kind of car we’re in. We need to change it. I’ll take it back today, and get a different one. If they had the license plate, we’d be in jail already. Plus, if they ambush me at the car rental, it will just be me they find. I’m the bank robber, I’m the one they want.”

“That’s awfully risky. Why don’t we just repaint it, like in the movies? Change the color of the car?” Zak asked.

“Because that’s Hollywood. To repaint a car takes a long time, plus there are lots of steps involved, and it costs a lot of money. Frankie’s right, it’s better to just exchange it for a different color and style, one that the police won’t be looking for.” Jessie said.

“I’ll only be gone an hour. Everything will be fine. Nobody knows to look for us here, and there was a car rental place down by the interstate. We passed it on the way in. I’ll be right back.” Frankie took the car keys and left the room.

Within an hour, he returned with the keys to a brand new cherry red convertible. The guys all went out to the parking lot to see it.

“Wow. That’s… flashy.” Jessie said.

“Very stylish, very comfortable.” Frankie replied. “Besides, it matches my wig.”

“Oh, no you don’t. No more wigs, no more drag. Not until we get to Mexico.”

Zak and Alex marveled at the luxury of the new car, admiring its beauty and checking out the features.

“Isn’t this going to draw some attention?” Zak asked.

“Yes, it is.” Jessie replied sternly, looking at Frankie.

After looking over the car, the guys went back into the motel room. Frankie ordered a movie on pay-per-view and they all settled down to watch.

By the time the movie ended, it was dark outside. Jessie suggested that everyone get some sleep, and they would leave bright and early the next morning.

Frankie and Zak left for their room, while Jessie and Alex lay down in their beds. The next morning, Jessie’s alarm clock went off at 5:00 am. He woke, showered and got dressed. He realized they would need some new clothes today. It would be a good time to go shopping now, before they left the small town they were in. 

When Jessie came out of the bathroom, Alex was waiting to take his shower. Jessie went next door and knocked on Frankie and Zak’s door. Zak answered, already showered and dressed. He told Jessie that Frankie was in the bathroom, “putting on his face”. Jessie told him to relay the message to Frankie that they would be going shopping today for some new clothes, then they would make a run for the border.

Chapter Fifteen

After quickly buying a new set of clothes each, the guys were back in the car, headed south. Zak couldn’t keep his secret any longer. “Guys, I have something to confess.” He said. “My cancer, it’s worse than I told you. It’s spread, and the doctor only gave me three months to live.” He started sobbing.

Jessie had an expression of shock on his face and exchanged glances with Frankie. Frankie had a similar look, and Alex reached over and put his arm around Zak. They all made a pact. They would take care of Zak and give him the best life possible for the time he had left, and if they were caught by the police, none of them would be taken alive.

“We could give Zak a better life in Mexico if we had more money.” Frankie said. “We should stop off at another bank and clean it out on the way.”

“We’re coming up on San Antonio. We might as well.” Jessie agreed. “We’ve already robbed one bank, what’s one more?”

Frankie started putting on his drag costume. It was considerably harder to do in a moving car, but he managed. Jessie pulled up in front of a bank and parked the car.

“If anything happens to me, you guys get the hell out of here.” Frankie said. “You leave me behind and get to Mexico.”

Minutes later, Frankie was running out of the bank with a bag full of cash. “What took you so long?” Jessie asked as he gunned the engine.

“They tried slipping in dye packs.” Frankie replied.

Jessie headed out of town as fast as he could. The flashier car would certainly attract more attention, and if anyone at the bank saw it, the police would be on their trail quickly. The border was only a couple of hours away. Jessie sped toward Mexico as Frankie counted the cash. It was mostly twenties and hundreds, and the final count was over three hundred thousand dollars. Combined with what they had left from the first bank, they would be entering Mexico with nearly half a million dollars. 

Jessie whistled as Frankie announced the amount. That should set them up for a while in Mexico. With that kind of money, they could buy a house big enough for the four of them, and have some left to get by on for a while. They could find a peaceful, quiet town on the coast where Zak could spend his last days.

The thought of Zak dying made Jessie sad. He had grown fond of Zak. He wasn’t as flamboyant as Frankie, or sex-crazed like Alex. No, Zak was more of a normal guy. A normal guy who was dying.

Jessie turned up the radio to occupy his mind before he started to cry. The announcer was just delivering the news of a bank robbery in San Antonio. Jessie pressed a little harder on the gas pedal.

Agent Young’s phone rang. It was a 202 area code. That could only be the Supervisory Special Agent from the Washington, D.C. office. He smiled as he answered the phone. He quickly stopped smiling, however, when the voice from the other end of the phone started yelling so loudly that he had to hold the phone away from his ear. Apparently his bank robbers had struck again, this time right under his nose.

His orders were to apprehend the four bank robbers, immediately, or he would be relieved of duty and reassigned. In this instance, he assumed that “reassigned” meant “you’ll be reassigned to civilian status”. Fired. Terminated. He resolved to make sure to follow those orders to the letter. 

The SSA hung up on him, and Agent Young put the phone down. “Okay people! Listen up! We’re moving out right now. We’ve got to get to the border crossing at Nuevo Laredo. That’s where they’re headed. We have to close the border and make sure they don’t get through. We’re taking these guys today, dead or alive.”

One of the agents alerted the ICE agents at the border, while another called the Highway Patrol. Agent Young got in a helicopter to take him to the border. They would set up a roadblock and catch their robbers as they tried to cross the border.

Chapter Sixteen

After a couple of hours of racing down the interstate, the border crossing came into view. Jessie was dismayed, as he saw a heavy police presence blocking the roadway. Cars were being turned around, no doubt to facilitate their capture. As he approached the roadblock, he noticed police cruisers behind him with their lights on. They were boxed in.

Jessie slowed down as the cruisers behind him got closer and the roadblock loomed in front of him. He felt his palms getting sweaty and his heart beat faster. This is it, he thought. This is the end of the line. 

Alex leaned forward in his seat. “We’re surrounded” he said. Zak was silent, but gave a deep sigh. Frankie turned to Jessie, a concerned look on his face.

Jessie slowed to a crawl. The cruisers behind them kept their distance. Jessie said, “This is it, guys. We’re caught.”

Alex asked, “I thought we decided that none of us would be taken alive?”

Jessie turned in his seat, holding the wheel straight. “Is that what you all want? You want to go out trying to run this roadblock?”

“Might as well. I’m gonna die anyway.” Zak said.

“I don’t want to go to prison. Let’s go for it.” Alex said.

“We’ve got a better chance of breaking through and getting away than you think.” Frankie said, trying to sound optimistic.

“Okay. Here goes nothing.” Jessie said, as he turned back to the front. He aimed the front of the car at the gap between the two patrol cars blocking the road and put the gas pedal on the floor. 

As they drew closer, Jessie could see the officers aiming their guns. Just before they reached the patrol cars barricading the highway the officers opened fire.

The convertible hit the front corners of the patrol cars, pushing them both backwards. The force of impact caused the convertible to flip over. Zak, who was not wearing his seatbelt, was ejected from the car. He landed in the water. 

The water was surprisingly cold for this time of year. Zak started swimming toward the Mexico side of the river. He hauled himself out of the water, noticing blood on his shirt. He checked himself and found a bullet wound in his shoulder. He took his shirt off and used it to hold pressure against the wound.

He looked back across the river and saw the car on its top. EMS had arrived and were pulling bodies from the car. Zak cried as he saw Jessie, Alex and then Frankie pulled out of the car and placed into body bags. 

At the edge of the bank, something floated ashore. It was Frankie’s bag of money. Zak retrieved the bag, then scrambled back up the bank. He hid behind a tree as he watched the FBI agents and Highway Patrol search the other side of the river for him.

As darkness fell, Zak took the bag of money and left the border crossing. He needed to find a hospital to stitch his wound. He was determined to live the best life he could with the time he had left, because his friends had just given their lives to make that possible for him.

THE END