Chapter 5 β Duality
Joel's chest shuddered under the deep shockwaves of one massive starburst after another as the pyrotechnic show lit up the sky and thundered across the bay with the fury of God. The rapid-fire, high-energy finale of the of the July Fourth fireworks celebration was coming to a close, and people all around were cheering, clapping, shouting, and whistling at the tribute to America's freedom, and a proud reminder of the unholy firepower she will surely rain upon anyone reckless enough to test her resolve. He rested his arm around Jenny's shoulders while she howled with patriotic pride.
The echoes of the last firework faded into darkness, and Joel thought the show was over, as did most others, but then he heard the muted sound of distant rocket launches. Joel grabbed Jenny by the waist, who had pulled away from Joel and turned around, "Quick! Look up!" he spun her around, "there's more!" She looked up to into the empty sky where the last barrage of fireworks had faded into darkness.
In his closing tribute, the pyrotechnic choreographer launched thirty six immense rockets into the silent night, and all thirty six detonated simultaneously at precisely engineered altitudes and positions, collectively breaking the world record for the largest and loudest coordinated firework detonation. Jenny screeched with fright at the galactic blast, and then she barrel laughed with giddy delight and excitement. She wrapped her arms around Joel's neck as they watched the scintillating cinders trickle down the black sky canvass.
"Oh my God!" Jenny bawled, barely hearing herself over the wildly appreciative crowd, "that was the most amazing and scariest finale I've ever seen!" Now everyone watched the empty sky for a good minute, not wishing to miss another spectacular encore, but the show was over. Slowly people turned and walked up the pier, away from the river. Jenny let go of Joel's neck. They anonymously blended into the slow moving crowd while Jenny excitedly recounted the firework display as animated and smiling expressions flashed across her face.
Joel's apartment was an hour's walk away and with the closest subway station a forty minute walk, the transit system was no faster. They checked Uber, but it would take half an hour to get a car at this hour on July Fourth. They decided to walk, and if they found a cab, they would hail it. When they reached the first D line station thirty minutes later, Jenny said she would take the subway home.
"So you have options, but that isn't one of them," Joel offered without commanding her. She looked at him with a guarded glare. "You can stay at my place β I have a spare room β or I can drive you home, but you're not taking the subway home alone on this night."
She appreciated his chivalry. "I really can't stay," she cringed as she cocked her head to the side. "I have to rescue my dogs." Joel didn't disbelieve her, but he wondered if she didn't manufacture that excuse before leaving home.
"Okay, that settles it," Joel took her hand. "I'll drive you home."
"You really don't have to," she protested weakly, secretly thankful for the offer.
"Yes," Joel insisted, "I do." She put her hands around his arm, and rested her head on his shoulder briefly, and then walked upright again without holding his hand.
The crowds had thinned, but there were still always pedestrians nearby on these well-lit streets. "You've never asked me about our first night," she said quietly.
"I figured you would let me know when you're ready to talk about it," Joel offered.
"Joel, I'm just not that kind of girl," she cautioned shakily. "I don't know what happened that night. Well, of course I know what happened. I just don't know ... you know what I mean," she fumbled through her words. She took in a deep breath. "Joel, I don't want you seeing me just because you think ..."
"I'm seeing you tonight because I like you," Joel interrupted. "You're a nice person, and I'd like to get to know you," he professed honestly. Admittedly, his early intentions for Jenny were purely physical, but the more he got to know her, the more he liked Jenny. On the more sinister side, Joel wanted to see if he could even handle a real girlfriend β one he didn't command. Now that he had powers, Jenny could be his little experiment to test if he could commit to a normal relationship. He would let her take it as slow as she wanted while he still scored as much action as he desired.
"I would want to see you tonight whether that first night happened or not, and I'm not expecting anything from you in return." Joel paused in thought. "Why don't we just put that first night aside? We both know what happened, but why don't we just say, '
okay, that was interesting
', and now take some time to get to know each other?"
"Okay," she nodded softly. "I'd like that."
They walked in silence for a minute. "Must have been something in the beer," Joel broke the silence.
"I guess!" she nodded emphatically with a smile. Her face turned serious. "Joel, did you honestly delete that picture?"
He pulled his phone out and handed it to her as they walked. "You can search it," he offered. Joel had earlier sanitized his phone, deleting all pictures and videos of commanded girls, and removing all traces of his carnal exploits. It wasn't that he was anticipating this exact moment β he was just being careful.
"Oh, no!" she pushed it back. "I don't mean to say I didn't trust you. I was just ..." she had trapped herself.
"I'm not taking offense," Joel insisted. "This is really important to you. You can search it. Look at my emails. Look at my text messages. It's deleted and I never sent it." He handed the phone out to her, but she didn't take it.
She stopped walking, and so did he. She looked into his eyes. "Thank you, Joel," and she pushed the phone away. "There are a lot of guys that would have done that differently." Joel was ready to have her search it. All his dealings with Agatha McDougal were on his pre-paid phone he bought in Atlanta.
"So are you looking for another job?" Joel asked, changing the subject.
"Not actively," she shrugged. "I keep my ears open. There's a big HR conference in DC I'd like to go to. It would be great networking opportunity, but you know Quinton. I asked, and they won't pay."