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Part I Chapter 8

Jen was asleep when she entered the room. Win slipped into the bathroom and changed out of Jen’s clothes folding them neatly. After she changed she placed the clothes on top of her suitcases and clipped a ten-dollar bill to the tank top and plopped the shoes by the bag as well. She said hello to Jack and slipped him some food before crawling in bed and drifting into thoughts about AJ.

Jen woke Win gently at around ten o’clock, and she thought it strange that she’d been allowed to sleep as long as she did.
“Red called up here a few minutes ago. You need to go talk to Brian he said, and he is not happy about it.” Jen said as she slipped on a linen shirt.
“Brian? Why did Red let me stay in? What the hell is going on around here?” Win asked sitting up and rubbing her head.
“Red got some last night, so you lucked out, he was in a better mood than usual.” Jen said lacing up her sneakers.
“Red, got some? Ewwwww! That is disgusting! What girl would sleep with that?” Win asked again swinging her legs out of bed.
“I don’t know, no one knows who she is, they just saw him walking out with her.” Jen replied.
“Anyways, I’m supposed to talk to Brian?”
“Yeah, supposedly he flew his wife in last night, she’s not supposed to fly since she’s pregnant but she got on the plane herself, and she lost something last night, some jewelry or something that Brian gave her and she’s hysterical.”
“Did Red leave a room number?”
“Seven twenty. I got to go, Don, you met him last night, my boss wants all the instruments set up and tested, plus the speakers. I’ll see you later.”
“Hey Jen, would you happen have a schedule on you, Red refuses to give me one and I never know where we are going, or what we’re doing.” Win asked grabbing clean clothes out of her bag.
“Sure, on the bedside table, go ahead and take it, I got another. See you later.” Jen replied waving as she walked out the door. Win grabbed the schedule from the table and changed her clothes. She saw that they would be here another three days so she didn’t need to carry her things with her today. Checking to make sure she looked somewhat presentable she left the room and took the elevator three floors up. As she approached the door all she could hear were loud sobs. She knocked on the door and Kevin answered and ushered her in.
“Baby, sweetie, please listen to me, it’s okay, I’ll buy you another ring.” Brian was on the floor, kneeling in front of a very pregnant woman who had her face buried in her hands while she sobbed.
“Are you saying that the ring you gave me, when you proposed, means not-not-nothing to you! That I mean nothing to you!” she sobbed, hiccuping a few times in the process. Win cringed and looked at Kevin.
“Ouch,” she said, he nodded and said,
“Exactly.”
“Honey, of course that’s not what I mean. I just don’t want you to be so upset.” Win stepped forward and tapped Brian on the shoulder.
“Here, let me try,” she said squatting beside the chair and taking a handkerchief out of her pocket holding it in front of the woman.
“Hi, sweetie, I’m Winifred, one of Brian’s friends, how you doing?” Win asked. She took the handkerchief and said after blowing her nose loudly,
“I-I-I’m Brianna, tha-thank you.”
“So what’s this I hear about losing a ring?”
“My, my, my engagement ring! I lost it, I don’t know what happened!” Brianna sobbed, a fresh wave of tears billowing out of her eyes and into the handkerchief.
“Oh that’s terrible, I’m so sorry. And these men, don’t understand anything huh?” Win replied.
“Ye-ye-yeah, I’m supposed to have his baby, in two-two-two months, and it won’t even be like we’re married! I wanted to show our kids one-one-one day! And he doesn’t even care! He, he, he should be furious with me!” Brianna continued to sob.
“I know, men are just so insensitive sometimes. So tell me sweetie, where did you take it off?” Kevin and Brian gave each other looks.
“I put it on the counter, my fingers, they-they-they’ve swollen up so bad, that I can’t wear the ring, it’s too tight, and-and-and I put it right there on the counter, and the next time I looked it-it-it was gone!” She was positively wailing by now.
“I know honey, that happens all the time. Now did you look all through the room?” Win asked patting Brianna’s arm.
“Yes, everywhere! It’s gone!”
“Okay honey, you just sit right here, I’m gonna get you a cup of tea, and Brian will sit right here with you.” Win got up patting her shoulder.
She grabbed Brian and said,
“I need him for just a second,” Win assured her. Win pulled Brian over to Kevin and said,
“Okay Kevin, run down to my room and grab Jack, don’t start, just do it, Brian, get her a cup of tea, I’ll stay right her with her, now hurry.” Kevin left with a hurry and Brian grabbed the phone for room service.
“Now Brianna, why don’t we come over here to the table, where we can look at this lovely view? Yeah, that’s it,” Win said helping Brianna over to the table by the window. She had stopped sobbing, only sniffling a little into the handkerchief tears still streaming down her face. Kevin returned with the rat, held at a distance from him and set it down on the table in front of Brianna.
She stopped sniffling and looked into the cage.
“You have a rat?” she asked pathetically.
“Yes I do, Jack, this is Brianna, Brianna, this is Jack the Rat.” Jack sat up and sniffed out at Brianna, she laughed.
“He’s cute, for a rat,” she said, calming down.
“Here, you want to hold him?” Win asked.
“What, a rat? He won’t bite will he?” she asked.
“Of course not, he’s a good rat, and I’m sure he’ll like you.”
“Okay,” Brianna said putting the handkerchief down on the table and leaning back on the chair. Win opened Jack’s cage and he scampered happily out of the cage and into her hands. Win saw Kevin recoil and she gave him a stare.
“Here, now don’t jump, he’ll sit real still if as long as you don’t jump.” Win said putting Jack into Brianna’s hands.
“Ooh, he’s so soft,” Brianna cooed as she pet his black fur. Room service arrived and set up tea at the table, leaving quickly when they saw the rat.
“I’m gonna send Brian over okay, now you just take care of Jack for me,” Win walked back over to Kevin and Brian.
“Okay, so where was it that she put this ring?”
“Right there, on the counter, I watched her do it.” Brian replied. Win marched over to the counter and looked around. She pulled out a garbage can under the counter and looked in it, it was empty.
“Okay, and what does this ring look like?”
“It’s a large circular diamond with four blue bagets on either side, in yellow gold,” Brian replied.
“All right, now you just stay here with her, keep her calm, and do not talk about the ring, I’m going to do some investigating.” Win said going towards the door.
“Hang on, what about the rat?” Kevin asked.
“Keep an eye on him for me,” Win replied closing the door.