Chapter 89

89
THE WATERGATE HOTEL, WASHINGTON, D.C.

The penthouse windows were wide open to the evening air of Washington. The place had been under full force air conditioning all day to both drive out the humidity and the nearly ninety degree heat. Juan was making the same loop from the television to the kitchen to the spacious balcony over and over. Even Beatrice, normally full of energy, seemed a little drained by both the heat and the tedium.

He couldn't understand what was spoken on the television with the exception of a station broadcasting a profoundly dull show called "What's New in Brazil" in Portuguese. In a word, Juan was stir crazy. The heat didn't help. Jesus had managed to doze off on a wrap-around sofa in the living room of the place.

At seven fifteen something remarkable happened. The telephone rang. Juan ran back into the living room looking for it. On the second ring he clumsily snapped it open. It was their unlisted number, so who ever was on the other end was either someone they knew, which was almost no one, or some interesting person who had finally managed to get the number. It had always been the latter, and the interesting part of the call had usually been something about burning in hell or getting killed.

"Hello?" he answered uncertainly.

"Juan! Is that you?" came through the phone. Although his understanding was limited to the first few words, he recognized the voice of Peter Vasquez. "Peter! Juan!" was the best he could do for an answer. He started shaking Jesus' shoulder. "Peter! Peter Vasquez!" he repeated to his sleepy friend.

Jesus sat up immediately and took the phone. "Peter! This is Jesus. It is so good to hear your voice. How are you?"

"I'll tell You how we are, we're coming to visit if You'll invite us. Wait, before You say yes, there are six of us, Mark Stentson and I are going to bring our girlfriends to meet You and they're bringing two of their girlfriends. If that is okay, we're gonna leave in a cab right now. We should be at the Watergate in twenty-minutes." Peter Vasquez was entirely comfortable and confident, like most young Marines.

"We would love to have company, Peter. Make sure you call when you get here, I mean downstairs, and we'll come down to meet you. There are all sorts of people here to keep anyone from ever actually getting up to where we live. I'll start expecting you in twenty minutes." Since Juan had been able to understand Jesus' conversation from its Portuguese version, he knew all about this social development.

"Jesus, You know they won't let them in unless we are right there. We need to go to work right away on getting from here to the reception area by the operations room. This is our first company! This is too important to risk having them screw it up." Juan was beyond excited at the prospects of any company at all, much less company which included women, even more company which included extra women.

"You're right. Get dressed and come with Me on the double. We need to collect some Secret Service agents and get on the elevator." Jesus was already striding toward the door while He was donning His fatigue tunic.

Beatrice squawked hoarsely from where she was perched on the balcony, "SOMETHING'S HAPPENING! SOMETHING'S HAPPENING!"

Juan answered her smiling. "That's right, Beatrice! Something is happening!"

Agent Barnes was right outside the door. The merest sight of Jesus and Juan brought a worried look to his brow. He had been with them on South Jacinto. He had heard of the dead pilot being brought back to life. He had no official position on that story, he only wished he could get a different assignment. The spookiness rating of these two was out the roof. "Good evening, Sir. What can I do for You?"

"We need to get to the first floor operations area, to the reception room. We are expecting company." Jesus smiled proudly. "We are anxious to meet them when they arrive."

Agent Barnes was already on his cell phone. After a short conversation with someone on the other end, he looked up to say "There are no visitors scheduled, Sir. Are You certain that You have company coming tonight?"

"Yes, quite certain, Agent Barnes. They will be here in twenty minutes and we are counting on you to get us down there in time." Jesus could sense His plan for rapid action sliding to a halt in the mud pit of Secret Service protocol. Juan couldn't understand all of it, but what he could understand led him to the same conclusion.

Agent Barnes was already back on his cell phone. "Yes, Sir. Yes, Sir. They are both already outside Alpha Zone. They're standing here in the hallway waiting to get on the elevator. No, Sir. No, Sir. Yes, Sir." He turned around, revealing a visible case of nervous agitation. "Both of you, please re-enter your quarters. My supervisor is arranging for the trip downstairs." As the worried agent finished his request, three more Secret Service agents rounded the corner from the elevator. They had their hands in their jackets. That was usually a bad sign meaning that everything was not exactly perfect and, hence, needed to come to a full stop to allow "situation stabilization".

Jesus reiterated His earlier request in the presence of all four of the agents. "I have every confidence that you will be able to get Juan and Myself to the reception area by seven thirty this evening. What time is it right now, Agent Barnes?"

"Seven nineteen, Sir. We're working to meet Your request as quickly as possible. Now, please re-enter Your apartment and wait for us to call You." Agent Barnes seemed to be a little less unconfident in the company of his comrades.

Jesus was wary of all these men who wore sunglasses inside the hotel in the middle of the night. They wore sunglasses instead of faces. They traveled in packs

Thirty minutes later, Jesus and Juan received another explanation from the Secret Service as to why there would be further delays in using the elevator. "They are not going to let us out, Juan." Jesus sighed. "I wonder where Mark and Peter are right now. I'm going to try to call General Tower again."

Jesus walked over to the intercom, a great gray box of Marine Corps steel that sat on a table off to the side of the entryway. "General Tower, please." The delay in answering was a bad sign. It meant that the General was doing something else more important than talking to his guests. Finally, a staff officer came on the line. "This is Jesus calling. Have our guests arrived? Can you tell Me if our guests have arrived?"

"I'm sorry, Sir. At this time that information is classified." The voice on the intercom sounded a little afraid and a great deal uncertain. "We will advise You as soon as information becomes available."

Jesus thumbed off the intercom. Turning to Juan, "They know what we want and they have always been afraid to hold out for too long. Let's give them some time to stew, then start in again if We haven't made any progress."

Beatrice agreed with "LET 'EM STEW! LET 'EM STEW!"

Far below them in the bowels of the operations room six young enlisted Marines were sitting in a conference room. Outside the door was enough brass to destroy every one of their careers in a lightening clap. The minutes creeped along. Mark Stentson and Peter Vasquez were less worried than the girls. They had seen the incredible clout Jesus had in action during the outing, but the girls were beginning to be shaken by the development of events. This was far from what the two Marines had promised them when they had decided to come along.

Suddenly, the door opened admitting General Tower to the cramped room. He was, unbelievably, out of uniform, wearing only a shirt unbuttoned at the collar and his uniform trousers. He turned to two Secret Service agents outside the door, "This will be a confidential meeting. If a single word of this conversation reaches the press, well, just assume that I will remember your faces long enough to make sure everyone pays his dues."

Without hesitation, the General turned to the young Marines. "I know that all six of you are off duty, but I want you to know that what you've done here tonight is completely irresponsible. I am sure that every one of you knows just exactly Who it is you are trying to visit. Jesus Robeles is classified as a virtual Head of State by the President. That would be President Robert Haskill, your Commander in Chief. You are all going to be cleared to go on up stairs after the Secret Service has completed your background checks and gives the okay. Prior to entering the elevator, you will all be subject to a strip search and an x-ray examination. But before that I have a few things I want to get off my chest."

"First, you will all behave like ladies and gentlemen. I expect this of my Marines in any event, but when you are upstairs your behavior will be exemplary. Am I understood on this?" General Tower wanted to single someone out of the group, but on reflection tried to glare at everyone equally.

"Now, there are two couples here and two other women. Which ones of you are the 'extra' women?" Tower was actually trying not to be totally intimidating, but with little success. It was his nature to utter every command in a way that would wither the self-confidence of any rank less than a full colonel.

Corporal Nicole Ramsey and Sergeant Brenda Teal sheepishly raised their hands. Sergeant Cindy Bennet edged closer to her boyfriend, PFC Stentson. Corporal Margaret Stone would have followed suit, but she was sitting across the table from Corporal Peter Vasquez.

Tower began again, this time knowing who to glare at. Jesus Robeles and Juan Eschario are extremely naive. Jesus is twenty-three years old. He spent His entire life in poverty on an island off Northern Brazil. Neither of them has ever had a chance to meet any girls. I am cautioning you that they may not act in the same manner as a young man who has had a chance to gain experience during growing up. At the same point, Jesus is very rich and very important. He appears to be a very common fellow, not pretentious, easy to get to know, but don't be confused. He is an uncommon Man."

"You will not take advantage of Him in any way. You will pay attention to yourselves. You will not get swept away. You will not ask for anything like an autograph or a souvenir. Jesus and His friend Juan do not drink. Ever. None of you will drink during the time you visit them. I don't know what you all are going to do up there, but I can tell you that it better not be an orgy. Ramsey, Teal. You remember that He is a healthy young man who probably has pretty normal appetites. He is not the Holy Spirit looking for a chance at the Immaculate Conception!"

Tower dipped precipitously close to an air of exasperation.

"Does everyone understand me completely?" the General was finishing up in full military style. The young people sitting before him were dumbstruck, not even a head had nodded in answer to this last question. "MARINES! Does everyone understand this mission?"

Shocked into consciousness, the six of them answered in unison. "YES, SIR!"

Then the General continued anti-climactically, "This can be a very good thing for relations between the United States and Jesus if it is done properly. Both of them have been trapped in this hotel for weeks, and this is an opportunity for them to have a good time. Believe it or not, I hope all of you have a good time. Now get to it. You're late."

The process of being examined, strip searched and x-rayed actually took very little time. The Secret Service questions from their background checks tended to be a little more probing. The interrogation continued during the elevator ride.

Arriving at the top floor the Secret Service agents tried to hustle them out of the elevator car and into the hallway. The women Marines, true to the nature of all women everywhere, insisted on adjusting their recently removed clothing, asking each other complicated questions about their hair and their make up, some of which had not survived the strip search in first form.

The commotion approaching around the corner caught everyone's attention. Juan appeared behind a shield of Secret Service agents, reeling out long agitated sentences in Portuguese and finally waving over their heads to the party in the hallway.

He was the most handsome man Corporal Nicole Ramsey had ever seen.

"Peter! Mark!" Juan yelled. He smiled at the sight of his friends. His straight white teeth looked like a spot light was trained on them in the dimly lit hallway.

The first of two Secret Service agents with Juan turned to look back at him. Shoulder to shoulder they were still blocking the way. "Please stay behind us, Sir." Of course Juan had no idea of what they had said in English.

Mark Stentson spoke up from the door of the elevator. "Hey, guys. We've already been stripped, inspected, x-rayed and backgrounded. We were cleared for the reception room, then we were cleared for the elevator, then we were cleared for the hallway. C'mon. What can be left?"

As if Stentson's complaint had meant something, had somehow finally turned the tide, the agents parted allowing Juan to approach the group of young people. He shook Peter's hand, patted Mark on the back and smiled at the women as he led them to the penthouse. An anxious Jesus met them at the front door.

"I am truly sorry for the treatment you have had, but you're all here now. That's what's important. This place can get pretty crazy. I guess you already know that for yourselves." He motioned them toward the living room.

The main room in the penthouse suite was at least five thousand square feet and very comfortably appointed with overstuffed leather furniture, almost too many large house plants and an impressive collection of original art work. A log fire was burning in a wall length fireplace. Glass doors to the balcony off to the south were wide open, revealing a spectacular view of Washington, D.C.

"Juan likes the fireplace, but we have to keep the doors open or it gets too hot. They really give you a lot of blankets here." Jesus said in an effort to break the ice.

Juan spoke rapidly in Portuguese to Jesus who in turn relayed his question to the women guests. "Juan is wondering if you all are really soldiers?"

Nicole bumped shoulders with Maggie Stone, giggling. "Not when we're off duty!" she chortled back. Everyone began to laugh. Everyone had been waiting for a reason to start laughing.

Beatrice interjected "THAT'S BETTER! I'M BEATRICE! I LIVE HERE!"

"What a beautiful parrot! Does she bite?" asked Mark Stentson, walking over to the bird.

"She only bites people I bite." laughed Jesus.

"This is a great place! What's the rent like here?" asked Peter's girlfriend, Margaret.

"We don't know, but our lawyer can find out if it's important." Jesus answered. He was beginning to feel distracted by all the company in the place. It felt good. It felt very good. He and Juan had finally touched the world of the United States. They were talking to people for no reason, nice common people, and everyone was laughing.

Mark Stentson rose to the duty of introductions. "This is my girlfriend, a United States Marine Sergeant and incredibly sexy woman, Miss Cindy Bennet." He took a Pepsi can in his hand pretending it to be a microphone. His speech parodied an obnoxious television game show host introducing his contestants. "This is Corporal Maggie Stone, mysterious and lovely secret admirer of Peter Vasquez."

Jesus was translating to Portuguese for Juan's benefit as Mark walked across the room to where the other two women were seated. "And this voluptuous jewel of the deep south is USMC Corporal Nicole Ramsey. Last but not least, newly arrived from Camp Pendleton, the incomparable Sergeant Brenda Teal, hereafter to be known as Brenda." The young man's ridiculous theatrics lightened the mood in the room even further.

Mark then stepped over to Juan and Jesus who were pretty clearly huddled together. The young Marine moved behind Juan and gently pushed him forward. The young Brazilian was blushing mightily. "This is one of our gracious hosts," Stentson hesitated while Jesus translated, "Juan, who is from somewhere in Brazil and is visiting the United States with his Friend, hoping to meet American women and have a good time. And, finally, not to be lost in the crowd," he put his arm around Jesus' shoulder, "is Jesus Robeles who needs no further introduction."

By this point the entire party, including Juan and Jesus, was laughing. It was clear to everyone in the room that serious chemistry was developing between Juan and Nicole. The pair slowly migrated to the balcony. Peter figured out the controls to the stereo system. When he turned it on, the booming voice of Buck Stratton, delivering his evening sermon, boomed out of the speakers which were hidden all around the great room.

Beatrice broke in with "GOOD OLE PASTOR BUCK! GOOD OLE PASTOR BUCK!"

"You guys listen to him? Buck Stratton is not someone we want sharing our evening with us, as far as I'm concerned!" The young Marine quickly selected a popular station and filled the room with music. It was the first music that had graced the place since Jesus and Juan had moved in.

"General Tower suggested that I listen to Buck Stratton, but I don't very often. It makes Me nervous -- especially the telephone calls from listeners." Jesus explained. "It never occurred to us to change the frequency of the receiver."

Mark was holding Cindy Bennet to his side when he asked, "Do You mind if we take a look around?"

"No, please make yourselves comfortable. I'll warn you not to leave the penthouse, though. Secret Service will be on you in a second. There's probably twenty of them out there by now. This is a very big occasion for them, you know." Jesus snickered.

To His surprise both couples walked off to explore the penthouse. The place had eight bedrooms, a kitchen, ten bathrooms -- well, it had twenty- seven rooms in all. Jesus suddenly found Himself alone in the living room, sitting on the sofa with Brenda Teal. He rose to add a log to the fire, turned to look back at her. "I am so glad that you came tonight. This is one of the happiest times I can remember for a very long time. Your are very beautiful, and your visit here is an honor to our home."

"I'm really glad I came, although things downstairs were getting pretty scary for a while. I think it was mostly that I just didn't expect it." Brenda had a distant quality in her speech. "I didn't expect You... I mean, You and Juan are not what I expected. Mark and Peter really didn't prepare us for Who You both would be, I mean, You know, be like..."

"What did you expect?" Jesus asked quietly as He sat back down on the divan.

"I don't know. I think I expected something more, like, Biblical. Some crazy guy with a long white beard, I guess. Someone who'd say stuff no one could understand. I mean that thing You do when You talk is pretty impressive, and I've heard about things You've done. No one says that You did them. They always have some kind of explanation or something, but I think You really did that stuff." She turned in her seat to face Him.

"You know, Brenda, right now you are, what did you say...off duty. I'm kind of 'off duty' Myself. This is so pleasant right now that I could just sit here and say nothing and have a great time." Jesus was staring deeply into her eyes.

"Can I ask You just one last thing" she hesitated to actually speak His name, "before we all go officially 'off duty'? I mean this is delicate but, You wouldn't do something weird to me to like get in my pants would You? I mean some kind of miracle or something?" The question was a serious one.

"First of all Brenda, those miracles and things almost always happen when I am trying to get out of some kind of fix, or worse, trying to repair someone's life who was hurt because of Me. To tell you the truth, I have never considered trying to do that for any personal aim. I'm pretty sure nothing would happen." Jesus' answer was candid and reassuring.

Brenda leaned forward into a seriously revealing posture and opened the first three buttons on Jesus' fatigue tunic. "Don't misunderstand me. I think you are an incredibly hot man." Without drawing a breath, she ran her hand inside Jesus shirt. "I don't think You'd have to do a miracle, anyways."

The touch of that Marine's hand on his chest was electrifying. Jesus thought to Himself, "This explains very many things about why people act the way they do."

Suddenly, a voice from the balcony called. "Brenda! Can you come out here for a minute?"

Brenda Teal stood slowly, turning toward the couple in the distance. Her eyes lingered on those of the Man sitting on the sofa. "I'll be right back. I'll be looking for You right where I left You." She looked more closely through the glass doors. "Nicole! Are you alright?"

Jesus settled back, watching the fire, until He heard Brenda's voice from the balcony. "Jesus, can You come out here for a minute?"

When He arrived He could see the three of them, standing together. Actually, Juan was standing to one side. Brenda and Nicole were standing a little apart from him. "Is everything okay?" He asked anyone of them who would answer. Juan had a terrified look on his face. After Brenda stepped toward Him, He could see that Nicole was upset. "Nothing happened here except Juan doesn't understand English. So when Nicole kind of said that they ought to cool it down a little, he couldn't understand her. She freaked out a little, but she's better now. Nicole doesn't want to hurt his feelings because she really, really likes him. Basically they just need a little help communicating."

Beatrice watching the scene from the handrail of the balcony, addeddded her sense of the situation. "SO WHAT'S NEW? SO WHAT'S NEW?"

Jesus relayed the entire matter to Juan in Portuguese. When he had heard the whole affair and understood what had happened, the tall Brazilian seemed to be wounded. He dropped to his knees and, speaking in Portuguese, apologized to Nicole. She stepped to a place directly before him, lifted gently on his clasped hands and raised him up to his feet. She placed his arms around her waist, and kissed him passionately. Jesus suggested that all of them should go inside. He hated the idea.

When they reached the living room, the other four were already there. Peter had put another log on the fire which was burning brightly. The warm glow filled the room, and the heat from the blaze was a welcome contrast to the cool air entering from the balcony doors.

Peter immediately noticed Nicole's state, even though she and Juan were holding each other. "What happened? Is everything okay with you guys?"

Mark Stentson spoke up. "Bathroom conference, me, Jesus and Juan! Let's go. On the double."

Jesus looked up, puzzled. "Bathroom conference?"

"Yeah. Bring Juan and meet me in the bathroom. We have to talk. Private. You know, guy talk." The young Marine was showing definite leadership potential.

Once behind the closed door of the master bath, a room large enough for a dozen 'guy-talk' participants, Mark began. Jesus translated. "Juan, Nicole really likes you a lot, I can tell by the way she looks at you. Right now, she isn't even really pissed off at you. I mean, we told her what to expect here, and General Tower ranted and raved long enough to make me think I was a teenager again."

"I thought I was doing what she wanted. I mean, she seemed to like it." Juan spoke to Mark, through Jesus.

Mark stepped closer to the Brazilian, putting his arm around Juan's shoulder. "My friend, the reason it seemed that she liked it is because, in fact, she did like it. She thinks you are the best. You know, you're a dream boat. I've never seen Nicole go for a guy like she's going for you.

"But, you both need to stand down a little. For Nicole and Brenda this isn't even a first date. This is just hanging out, giving everyone a chance to look at everyone else. This is not a good time to be, like, sexually intense, if you get my idea. This evening is a good time to just get to know one another, not make a family."

Juan was a little confused, but he was beginning to understand. He especially understood the family part. 

Jesus asked "Am I getting too sexually intense with Brenda? We were having a nice time on the sofa before all this came up. Only the two of us were in the living room, but we were just talking."

Mark turned his therapy efforts toward Jesus. "Okay, I don't know what happens to people who just tell You what the deal is, but here goes. Brenda likes You. A lot. She thinks You are a very handsome man, and exciting. But unlike Nicole and Juan, You and Brenda have a few extra hurdles to cross.

"When she is sitting in front of the fire with You, she is actually sharing the couch with three people, and I don't mean the Holy Trinity. One guy is a billionaire living in the penthouse of the Watergate with Secret Service agents and the rest of this mess, one of them is probably the Son of God, a Reincarnate Jesus Who controls all the power of the universe, even more than the Marine Corps, and the third is is good looking twenty-three year old Guy Who is lonely and probably horny and doesn't know what to do with a woman but really, really wants to do something with her."

"Jesus, Juan. Both of you remember something. Peter and I know you from the meadow. None of the girls knows anything about either of you for sure. Not to burden this conversation too much, but this a pretty scary place for them. They are here on faith. Like everyone else, they have heard all the lies people tell about You, Jesus. But they came anyway. Plus, Nicole and Brenda are not just some girls you pick up at a bar. They are Marines, and they are just as fierce and brave as any male Marine." Mark's pride in his fellow soldiers was showing a little, but Jesus and Juan were getting the message.

He continued, "Jesus, sitting on the couch looking into Your eyes is probably more intimate that a toss in the sack. You need to make Brenda feel more at ease if You want this to go anywhere. Try to just, You know, act normal."

"Juan, do you understand what Mark is saying to us? We need to try to be more casual. This whole evening needs to become a little more lighthearted. Game to go, My friend?" The young Brazilian beamed as Jesus placed His hand on the side of Juan's head. "Let's go back to the others."

The group in the living room was once more animated and the room was filled with laughter. Maggie Stone saw the three of them skulking in from the 'bathroom conference' and asked "Well, have all the little fellas got their signals straight again?" Once more the room broke into laughter.

Cindy stepped up behind her. "I'm hungry. Let's order some pizzas!"

After Jesus' translation of Cindy's remark, Juan offered "We have some in the refrigerator, but Jesus and I have never particularly cared for it." After Jesus relayed his comments in English, he went on, "Plus, it usually takes about six hours for it to get here."

Cindy walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. There was a stack of several pizza boxes. She opened the top one. "Maybe we could just heat one up. Wow, what happened to this poor pizza? Why is it all in little pieces?"

"That is the way they all come. We order one at about noontime, six hours later the Secret Service brings it to the door." Jesus said, staring at the shredded pizza in the box.

"Let me see that." Peter Vasquez walked into the kitchen. "They're poison testing! That's what! They're poison testing these pizzas. That's why they are all torn up and that's why it takes six hours to get one."

"You have probably not even ever had the complete, ecstatic joy of a fresh hot pizza! That's against the UN Convention!" joked Maggie Stone.

"CRUEL AND UNUSUAL! CRUEL AND UNUSUAL!" chimed in Beatrice.

"That bird is really something!" commented Cindy Bennet.

"Pizza! That can be our mission for tonight! We won't quit until we have delicious pizza from Mama Luigi's on 54th Street! The whole problem is between this penthouse and the delivery desk on the first floor." proposed Mark.

Juan's face lit up. "We can get to the pool anytime we want to. Pablo can get a pizza and give it to us! Except Pablo has no money. Pablo never has any money."

"We can put it on my credit card!" Offered Cindy. "The poor thing won't carry much water this time of the month, but it can handle a few pizzas."

"We have credit cards. We just never used them. Let's charge something on our credit cards!" Jesus was scheming. He disappeared into the kitchen and reached into a drawer. It was full of credit cards.

Looking over His shoulder, Peter spotted a good one. "That one. That one will do it." Examining the card more carefully, he said "It's some kind of no limit international guaranteed charge thing. Let's do it."

Juan called Pablo in pool maintenance on the cell phone, the last bastion of privacy left to the two. He handed the phone to Mark. Pablo's English was bad, but not nearly as bad as his Portuguese. Mark spelled out the plan in simple terms. "They're gonna bring three pizzas in about thirty minutes. Just take them into the men's locker room and lock them in the towel closet. Make sure the Secret Service doesn't find them when they sweep the pool area. Call us back on Juan's secret number when you're ready. We'll announce that we're going swimming, and be down in a few minutes. Have you got that? What's that? Oh. Hang on a minute." Mark put his hand over the phone, turning to Jesus. "He wants to get tipped for it, Jesus. What's the deal?"

"TIP PABLO! KIDS TO FEED! TIP PABLO!" Beatrice croaked.

"Pablo considers us to be a cottage industry. He's probably taking advantage of us, but he's a pretty valuable asset in our situation." Jesus explained. "Tell him that he'll get a good tip."

Juan nodded knowingly, disappearing into his bedroom to reappear with a fist full of fresh hundred dollar bills. "Good old Pablo!"

The three pizzas were ordered from Mama Luigi's, Mark's favorite place, and the clock was started on the operation. Maggie piped up as soon as the call was made, "You know we don't have swimming suits, and I don't think this has gone far enough that either we, or General Tower, are going to be comfortable skinny dipping."

"Juan and I don't have swimming suits either. We never use 'em. But there is a thing here called room service that has plenty of everything. I'll call, then pass the phone around for everyone to tell them what size."

"Won't that take six hours like the pizza?" asked Peter.

"No, room service is fast because the guy who runs it is Secret Service already. Just don't order a pizza from them. Then it's the same." Jesus spoke and Juan nodded in agreement. Nicole hadn't moved a step away from him since the incident on the balcony.

Jesus prediction was accurate. Within a few minutes, the agent outside the door delivered a package wrapped in brown paper. Inside were six brand new swimsuits. Expensive ones.

"Wow, this is really nice!" Brenda said, holding the suit open to see it. "Can we keep these?"

"You remember what General Tower said about gifts and souvenirs. Let's just worry about completing the 'pizza mission' first." Mark made a poor imitation of the James Bond theme.

The cell phone rang. It was Pablo calling from pool maintenance. He had completed his part of the task. The pizzas had been delivered. It was time to move. Jesus notified the Secret Service that He wished to use the swimming pool. He knew that several floors below Him, agents were looking for assassins and bombs while Pablo looked on with his practiced lack of comprehension.

Nicole had taken the wrong suit, but, exchanging it with Cindy, was anxious to get ready. "Okay, girls and boys, we're changing in separate bedrooms just like the General said. Remember? The part about 'ladies and gentlemen' and 'behaving'?" Giggling, she added, looking at Juan who couldn't help but smile back, "Not that there are any gentlemen here, thank God." Everyone burst into laughter again, but she suddenly caught herself. She put her hand to her mouth and looked at Jesus. "I didn't mean anything by that, I mean, "

He cut her short. "Juan and I are both pretty dumb when it comes to things in the United States, but we both know when people are being nice to us and when they're not. Cindy, in fact all of you, are the nicest people we've met so far. Please be comfortable with us. Be yourselves, It is exactly you, yourselves, that we hold in such great affection. Speak as you speak to each other. Act as you act when you are with each other. I carry the memories of two lifetimes in Me. I know what cruelty is from first hand experience and that comment didn't have a cruel thing in it. Please, just relax and have a good time. Remember, we're all off duty."

Brenda broke the tension. "Let's change and get down there. I'm hungry." She took Jesus by the arm, handing Him His trunks, and led him authoritatively to the first bedroom. "Now strip and get into Your swimsuit. Brenda's hungry!"

Juan, speaking in Portuguese, told Beatrice, "Hold the fort, Beatrice. We'll be back in a little while."

Brenda looked at Jesus. "The parrot understands Portuguese?"

Jesus answered smiling. "She only understands Portuguese. We're trying to get her so she can translate for Juan when I'm not around."

"That's spooky. Is she coming to the pool with us?" Brenda asked.

"No, she can only be allowed in fresh water. We took her to the pool once, and she almost got sick. She can stay here." Jesus answered. "Unlike us, she can fly right out over the balcony and go wherever she wants."

Thankfully, an elevator went directly from the penthouse to the pool. The trip could be made in complete privacy without the intervention of the Secret Service or anyone else. The six of them entered the natatorium by a side door. The palatial room was huge, quite unlike the indoor pools the Marines had seen before. The six of them stood at one end of a double Olympic size pool done in tasteful tile and marble. Floor to ceiling columns lined both sides of the place giving it the appearance of being even larger than it actually was.

"Wow! This is nice!" Cindy and Nicole said almost in unison.

"Jesus, ask Nicole if she wants to swim to the other end with me?" Juan said breathlessly. Although speaking to his Friend, he was staring at the young woman. She was even more alluring in the swimsuit.

After Jesus relayed the question, Nicole countered the proposal with "I'll race him. I'll shame that beautiful man after I leave him in the dust!"

With the two of them perched at the edge of the pool and the other four all assisting with the technicalities of a fair start, the race was finally arranged. Even though the room was huge, the laughter filled it. And the pizzas were there, just where Pablo had promised.

Tasting their first fresh, hot pizza, Juan and Jesus were impressed with one of the highest joys of modern America. The evening wore on in a pleasant mix of pool side chats and swimming. Mark Stentson even managed to get the pool's FM stereo running. Peter was stuffing the pizza boxes and all other evidence into the waste can.

Nicole taught Juan a few words of English, but the exact words were a secret between them. The remainder of what had grown between them was hardly a secret.

Jesus sat comfortably with Brenda Teal in a chaise lounge. "I have really enjoyed Myself tonight. I think I had forgotten just how tense all the affairs of My life have made Me. I am so very thankful that Mark and Peter brought you all here. You can imagine how lonely it's been."

"You know it's hard to believe that You could be lonely in that penthouse, living like this. That's probably the fanciest place I've ever been in, I mean, it seems to have everything. I'm totally glad I came." Brenda replied dreamily.

"You know that I would like to see you again. Your company is good for me. It's a bright spot in a pretty gloomy world." Jesus looked into her eyes. "I hope that Our inexperience with members of the fairer sex hasn't given you cause not to visit again."

"No. In fact both You and Juan are probably just as refreshing to us as You say we are to You. Nicole and I have really been drilling dry holes lately." Brenda leaned back to look across the pool where Nicole and Juan were still playing in the water.

"Drilling dry holes?" asked Jesus.

"I'm oil field trash, Jesus. My father worked in the oil business his whole life, and I guess I just picked up a lot of the lingo. Drilling a dry hole means putting in an oil well someplace where there's no oil. What I meant was that Nicole and I date together a lot. We have gone out with Marines, although not as sweet at Mark and Peter, and civilians, college boys. They all look pretty good going into it, then when the sun goes down they turn into creeps. Nicole and I were kidding around, counting tabs on 'em. Half of them don't have enough money to pay the check by themselves, and the other half just want to spend all their money on a motel. You know, a girl can starve to death without at least a damned cheeseburger." Brenda continued.

"You can see how difficult it is for Us to even get a check, much less pay it!" Jesus joked. "Anyway, My lawyer says I have lots of oil wells with oil in them."

Suddenly the lights in the room went to full brightness. Pablo appeared from the maintenance room. Jesus had assumed that after getting another hundred dollar bill from Juan, he would have disappeared for the night. He tapped the end of his broom handle loudly against the office window, and motioned violently toward the door. Then he was gone.

A moment later two great knocks reverberated from the outside door as keys rattled. Suddenly the door burst open as General Tower emerged, flanked by two Secret Service agents. "Sir, I'm going to ask You to call it a night. I don't want anyone here to assume this means I have any problem whatsoever with what is going on. I am, however, concerned about appearances. You can all assume that this whole evening, or at least the parts they can guess about it, will be in the papers by morning. I just don't want to give them anything I don't have to."

All the Marines had lined up respectfully when the man had entered the pool room. They showed no hesitation at all in following his directions. "Now go upstairs and get dressed. I am going to make sure that your journey out of this place goes more smoothly than getting in."

The whole party rode the elevator back to the penthouse in silence. For some reason the General had ordered a Secret Service agent to ride along.

Juan, speaking Portuguese for confidentiality in the company of the agent, tried to catch Jesus' attention. "Be sure to give Brenda our unlisted number, Jesus."

The scene in the penthouse was a short one. Marines did not delay when their Generals suggested that they hurry. The Secret Service Agent dampened the passion of the good byes with his practiced stolid stare. It seemed to Jesus that all Secret Service agents had but one facial expression, that being a stony mixture between disapproval and disinterest. "Brenda, I am so glad that I met you tonight. Do you think we could see each other again? I hope you had a good time."

"Jesus, I really do want to see You again, but we have to talk, I mean, You being Who You are and all, I'm just not sure about a lot of stuff. I mean I've got church running away in one ear and I've got me talking to myself in the other ear. I'm not used to traveling in these circles, all high and mighty with the Secret Service and, God forbid, a two star general who's acting like my father. All that as it is, I'll tell You this. I don't want to lose my chance to see a really nice Guy. When I think of You that way, that's what You are. A really handsome, really nice Guy Who's not a Jerk. I don't want to lose that." She said these things softly, directly to His face. "I think it would be a lot better if we could meet somewhere besides Your Fort Apache. Getting in and out of this place is a little rough."

"I'll work on it. I have a lot of influence, you know. And I'm sure that Juan and Nicole would like to see each other again. too." He palmed His unlisted number into her hand. Then something of a cosmic nature occurred.

She kissed Him. Not on the forehead, not on the cheek, but squarely on His lips. It was not a mother's kiss, nor was it a dignified peck of a departing buddy. The Secret Service agent's expression moved ever so slightly away from disinterested and toward disapproving.

Juan and Nicole were making a more disinhibited departure. The other Marines, completely accustomed to this kind of scene, were laughing and joking with each other.
Beatrice reiterated her favorite comment, "LOVE MAKES A HOUSE A HOME! LOVE MAKES A HOUSE A HOME!"

Happily, General Tower, now back in full uniform, did not appear until affairs had become less passionate and more cordial. "Ladies and gentlemen, you've all had experience with gossipy neighbors. Right outside this hotel there are literally hundreds of media hounds who would love to turn this into the story of a lifetime. That's why everyone is going to go home early. I have two decoy limos that are going to leave empty. You all are riding in a Suburban right behind them. Let's go."

The penthouse was suddenly empty. It was also gloomy and quiet after all the conversation of their company. The stereo still played, but the music seemed different in some way, as if the life had been drawn from it.

"That was the most incredible evening of my life, Jesus. I feel like I never knew what I wanted before, and now I know. I can't help thinking about all my life on the island where there was no one around." Juan spoke haltingly, betraying his drifting thoughts.

"Yes, My friend, this was a night of many new things, many discoveries. I intend to see Brenda again. In fact, I won't allow anything or anyone to keep Me from seeing her again. Of course, I include you and Nicole in that promise, too." Jesus' voice had a certain kind of new determination. "We need a new plan, Juan."