The Jackals’ Fall

By Peter M. Talty

Jay Blinksiter and Horace (“Horse”) Kellerman convinced each other that they could kidnap a rich old lady, safely hold her for bigtime ransom, collect it, return her to her lavish style, and repeat the process with new victims in different cities. They found the perfect place to hold their intended victims in a rural upstate New York decrepit animal rescue farm.

Jay and “Horse” were two law-abiding citizens who convinced each other and a naïve friend that they could kidnap a rich, older lady, and safely hold her for a hefty ransom in a faltering animal rescue farm. Unanticipated tragedies would befall them all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Oct 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665712002

Peter M. Talty

Peter M. Talty is a semi-retired professor and occupational therapist who has been fascinated by human behavior not only in the mental health settings where he practiced, but in observing everyday people going through difficult life situations. Just as most people struggling with mental illness are not institutionalized, nor are all the criminals incarcerated. He is also the author of Occupation as the Key to Change, and Disparity: The Autobiography of a Man with a Hungry Heart.

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Copyright © 2021 Peter M. Talty.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

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except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents,

organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products

of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Archway Publishing

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Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1199-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1200-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021918525

Archway Publishing rev. date: 10/19/2021

Jackal:

"a person who performs dishonest

or base deeds as the follower or

accomplice of another."

-Dictionary.com

Contents

1     Jay, the Lot Boy

2     Lauren Staunton, President and CEO of the Epsilon Centers

3     Horse and Lauren: Act 2?

4     Horse and the Langtry Group

5     Returning to Jay’s Big Announcement!

6     Who Is Ward Langtry, Founder of the Langtry Group?

7     Horse and Lauren Meet Again

8     Jay May Have Found an Alternative to Volunteering at the Blood Bank

9     Lauren and Ward Really Hit It Off!

10   Jay’s Evolving Criminal Mind Comes Alive!

11   Discernment

12   Horse Gets a Surprise Visitor!

13   Updates on the K9 & Kat Rescue Farm

14   Ward’s Preparation for the Epsilon Centers’ Presentation

15   Double-Crossing-or Is It Double-Dealing at the DoubleTree Inn?

16   Much Sadness for Cole

17   Jay and Lauren Have the Talk

18   Horse Meets the Sisters, Cole, and the Animals

19   An Olive Branch at the Olive Garden?

20   The Langtry Group Moves into the Epsilon Centers

21   Lauren + Horse + Ward =?

22   The New Sisters

23   The Scheme Moves Forward

24   Horse Is in Trouble (Briefly)

25   Hollywood Horse

26   Where Are Lauren’s Head and Heart These Days, and What Is She Up To?

27   Robin Has a Date?

28   Opportunity Knocks!

29   Is the Scheme a Go or a No?

30   Big Trouble at the K9 & Kat Rescue Farm!

31   The ICU

32   Horse and Jay Visit the Girls

33   The Inquisition

34   Two Unexpected Angels Appear

35   Jay Tries to Visit Cole

36   The Big Presentation

37   The Girls’ Status

38   Complications, but Not at the Hospital

39   Another Inquisition, Sort Of

40   Catching Up and Trying Not to Get Caught

41   Back to the Hospital

42   Back to Work: Blue Monday

43   Horse Pushes for a Big Change in the Scheme

44   Kate Goes Home, but without Robin

45   Lauren and Ward, Etc.

46   Robin Wakes Up (Briefly)

47   Practical Matters …

48   Visiting Cole Macline

49   Jay Joins the Lougen & Rutherford Law Firm (Really?)

50   Crazy Horse

51   Ward Has Second Thoughts and Gets Quite an Offer

52   Robin’s Big Meeting

53   Horse and Jay Catch Up and Move Ahead

54   Jay Blinksiter: Investigator

55   Detective Sweeney Comes to Call at the Rescue Farm

56   Oh No! Not Again!

57   Cole Is Out! (Out of the No Visitors Punishment)

58   A Last Check for Pitfalls

59   Assembling the Backstory of Cole Macline

60   The Snatch

61   Surviving Captivity: Settling In

62   The Sheriff Arrives!

63   Jay and the Sheriff Chitchat (Briefly)

64   Irma Gets to Talk with Paul

65   Jay Has a Meltdown and Another Change Evolves

66   Problems in the Penthouse and at the Epsilon Centers

67   Time to Collect the Ransom

68   Jubilation and Crises at the Rescue Farm

69   What about Paul?

70   Sweeney and the BCI Get Some Needed Direction

71   Jay Unintentionally Generates Big-Time Tension at the Rescue Farm

72   Cooperation Really Works!

73   The Sheriff Is Surprised Many Times at the Rescue Farm

74   The Sheriff Moves the Investigation Forward

75   The Search and a Potential Shortcut

76   Ryan Newkirk Arrives, Departs, and Another Tragedy Happens

77   The Deal!

78   Friends in Times of Chaos

79   The Sheriff Visits and Surprises

80   Becky Fontana to the Rescue (Maybe)

81   The World Now Knows and the Results Are Staggering

82   Becky Arrives at the K9 & Kat Rescue Farm

83   Horse’s Ghost Part 1: Lauren and Ward

84   Horse’s Ghost Part 2: Horse as Orchestrator?

85   Horse’s Ghost Part 3: Horse Speaks

86   The District Attorney Reads, and Reads, and Reads

87   The DA Meets with Jay’s Attorney

88   Endings and Beginnings

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Chapter 1

Jay, the Lot Boy

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Of course, Jay was sweating; this was August, the hottest month in upstate New York, and Jay was pissed at Lauren. There was also no shade out on the lake. They were canoeing in the Adirondack Mountains, and Lauren did not respond effectively to his paddling directions. Jay’s thought was that tandem canoeing required a level of communication and coordination far more than he and Lauren could ever possess. She was so used to being in charge that she completely ignored Jay’s directives. This situation was way beyond what Lauren teasingly called his comfort zone. As usual, she was right. Very annoying.

He knew they had to hustle and get on the road right away so he could be at the Portico by five thirty that night, and it was a four-hour drive. Excluding the tandem canoeing fiasco, it had been a great three-day minivacation in a lakeside rented cabin. No matter, it was time to head to shore, but still at a somewhat leisurely pace. If they headed to shore now, they could tie up the canoe, grab their stuff that they had previously packed, and get on the road.

As they paddled in stony silence, Jay reflected on what he liked about the Portico lot boy job. The Portico was the most exclusive restaurant in western New York (WNY). He liked the simplicity of his job, the hours, and the brevity of contact with about thirty or more generous customers each night. He could be quite gregarious for brief periods, but over the long haul (more than five minutes), he liked to be quiet and alone. Each day was his own. Lots of time to sleep in, hang out, do his wash, read true crime books, go for a run, work out, bike ride, visit friends, check out the stock market, play video games, think big thoughts, and watch sporting events of any kind on his gigantic TV.

He also didn’t mind, until recently, volunteering at the hospital’s blood bank two mornings a week. Again, brief interactions: greet, hand out and collect forms, socialize, and give out cookies and juice at the end, along with a T-shirt or shopping bag extolling the virtues of giving up your blood or platelets and your time. After six was when the wealthier customers began arriving. Jay greeted many by name in a somewhat formal but always warm manner. Good evening, Mr. Decker. It’s nice to see you, Mrs. Decker. That color looks great on you. He showed them genuine respect, and they loved it. He also made considerable amounts of money from their tips on various stocks. Lauren would be shocked to hear how substantial his portfolio had become.

However, self-examination was not vexing for Jay. He enjoyed being a puzzle to himself and to others. A simple man, easily satisfied, he was not. His was a world of private ideas that seldom resulted in plans with any concrete direction. His ideas just evolved into ways to get richer, even if they were outside the law. But so far, nothing at the action level had happened. Until recently.

His happy six years as the oldest and best-paid lot boy at the Portico were again at risk. Are you going to spend the rest of your life as a lot boy? It was a good question for Lauren, but not for him. Why did she always have to have everything so tight? Jay preferred loose. Clothes, women, obligations, deadlines, everything. I like my life. Why would I want to mess it up by going out and getting a real job? Full-time too? Ugh!

So, Jay Blinksiter was doing OK, not exceptionally happy but OK. He did not really think much about the future (except where stocks and the economy were concerned), until people like Lauren asked their intrusive questions trying to tighten things up. They didn’t greatly annoy him. He just liked to pretend they did because that’s what they expected. When Lauren told him more times than he wanted to hear that she would never marry a thirty-year-old lot boy, he gleefully reminded her that he hadn’t turned thirty yet and he never asked her to marry him in the first place. This was a once a week or so exchange going on now for three years, but lately it seemed to be a bigger issue with Lauren. Much more intense. Could my sweet life be in real jeopardy? Oh, no!

He knew his present alternative life plan (the scheme) was bizarre and therefore very private. It was typical of his perpetual generation of many ideas without form. It was from his extensive interest in crime that a real plan of action began to take shape. Because it was both illegal and so bizarre, he told no one. He had been ruminating about a different sort of kidnapping. But one where he enjoyed imagining all the possible ways he could get caught. Jay knew where all this crazy thinking came from; it was from his family. His very law-abiding family’s obsession with true crime (magazines, books, movies, stories, and TV shows) revealed the mistakes criminals often made. Rather than ridiculing the errors leading to their arrests and convictions, as his family did, Jay privately admired their courage and resolve to act on their ideas and wants. They just should have planned better. If he were to activate the scheme, he would do it differently. I have watched enough TV shows and read enough true crime literature to see that there are a lot of dumb folks out there who get caught trying to pull off some serious crimes. I will, for sure, do it differently.

He could not tolerate any crime shows or movies that were not absolutely true. The popular shows of mainstream America had no appeal for Jay. He believed he could learn nothing from these shows or from fictionalized versions of crimes in books and movies. Only the real thing took up his free time.

How to avoid the snares of cops and detectives was Jay’s perpetual mental challenge. That was the key. The results of this kind of research from afar usually brought Jay right back to the safety and comfort of his lot boy role at the Portico. The scheme was never fully abandoned. It was just modified incorporating the latest results of Jay’s research and analysis.

At this stage, he knew the scheme was unique, risky, and ripe with pitfalls. Not leaving anything behind that could be traced back to him was why he was obsessed with secrecy in all things related. That was why he never did any problem-solving or planning on paper or on his home computer without deleting everything. Deleting every search at the rural library and any other computers that would allow him access anonymously was part of this obsession. All cell phones had to follow the same rules. Was he truly erasing this information? Of course not, but he refused to believe otherwise regardless of the source. The same went for never telling anyone about the scheme—not even Lauren.

Especially not Lauren.

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Chapter 2

Lauren Staunton, President and

CEO of the Epsilon Centers

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Lauren Staunton was smart—both book smart and street smart. In many ways, she was much smarter than Jay, and even most of the executives at the Epsilon Centers. There was ample evidence of this. That was why she refused to move in with Jay—even though he never asked her—until he matured and acted like an adult. At thirty-one, she repeatedly disclosed to anyone that seemed mildly curious that she was ready for the next big life steps. Find a good man with an exceptional salary, build a big house, and then start making lots of babies. Interestingly, the order in which these events occurred was unimportant to her. I need a boyfriend who is a man, not a boy, and definitely not a lot boy! But knowing what I need in a man and finding him continues to be more challenging than my job.

Lauren’s nervous system did not contain even one neuron or synapse that would tolerate procrastination. She also was repulsed by anyone who wasted time or avoided their responsibilities. Repulsed? Yes, repulsed is not too strong a word for Lauren’s feelings when in the presence of someone like that. She learned early in life that every problem only worsened when it was ignored. Think of bananas on a countertop ripening beyond their time in a humid room.

Jay, to her, was a frustrating puzzle who was not receptive to her guidance. She wasn’t sure she loved him, but she sure as hell didn’t respect him or his lifestyle. He was a lot like a guy she dated and slept with just after high school, back in Albany, New York: Horace or Horse Kellerman. Lauren wouldn’t call it a fling because they did talk about getting married and bought a flat screen TV together, but he acted weird after that and drifted away, and he kept the TV. It was strange the way Horse was now possibly coming back into her life, and through Jay of all people. She replayed in her mind Jay’s big news from last night. Hey, I met a guy at the Portico last night who went to Beacon High in Albany around the same time you did. He said he knew you. I forget his whole name, but everyone in his party called him Horse. I told him you were the head honcho over at that big nursing home business, but I forgot the fancy name of it. It’s Upjohn, right?

Could it be the same Horse? It had to be. How many Horses could there be at Beacon High? Only one. This was far more information than Jay ever brought home from his so-called job but hearing that Horse might still be around and here in Buffalo after years of silence made Lauren eager to hear all she could about him—and what had happened to their flat-screen TV. Unfortunately, although Jay was quite verbal, he didn’t know Horse’s business, what company he worked for, or his job title. Typical of Jay, he had limited information about a very important topic to her—Horse. So frustrating!

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Chapter 3

Horse and Lauren: Act 2?

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Horse did not like Buffalo or the western New York area. However, there did seem to be a lot of positive publicity and talk about Buffalo’s resurgence and its booming housing market. Albany had everything he needed. However, his boss, Ward Langtry, was trying to expand his business in human relations consulting. He felt that the WNY area was ripe. Horse thought Ward was usually on target with his business planning, but this WNY exploration seemed like a waste of time. Well, almost a waste of time. Running into his post-high school sex partner’s boyfriend might prove beneficial. You never know.

Horse did wonder how Lauren Staunton got to be the president and CEO of the Epsilon Centers, the largest and most dynamic nursing home conglomerate in the northeast. It was headquartered in Buffalo. Surely, it wasn’t her education. A bachelor’s degree in recreational therapy would have received no interest from most organizations like the Epsilon Centers when they went looking for high-level executives. However, unbeknownst to Horse, Lauren’s twelve years of excellent crisis management and on-the-spot problem-solving were well-recognized by her board of directors. She applied her skills in different long-term care facilities, including the Epsilon’s Centers’ executive offices after the termination of three previous CEOs and more than a few facility administrators. It was Lauren’s steady leadership whenever a CEO, facility administrator, or executive suddenly left that enabled Epsilon to remain on course. The anticipated chaos never happened. Lauren was the voice of reason and calmness in those turbulent times.

Along the way, Lauren completed her MHA (master’s in healthcare administration) online from Utica College and thus completed all the requirements to become a New York State LNHA (licensed nursing home administrator). However, it was really her on-the-spot piloting in times of organizational chaos that really earned her this prestigious and lucrative position.

So, what was this high-flying executive doing with a lot boy? This was a question on the minds of lots of people, including Lauren’s. She could not say that Jay’s support and guidance caused her to connect herself to him because he provided neither. It was doubtful that Jay even knew or cared what her position entailed. He knew she worked a lot of hours with a lot of responsibility. She also was constantly being texted and emailed, but she didn’t seem to mind. It was like Jay was hanging out with a superstar in her industry, but she didn’t seem to notice or care.

In fact, Lauren did know she was a real superstar. But she was quite surprised that she achieved so much so easily. Each crisis due to absent or deficient leadership was resolved in what she thought was the most obvious of ways. It was neither stressful nor difficult for her. Her clarity in communicating what needed to be done coupled with decisive deployment of resources quickly got every organizational or personnel mess cleaned up. It was something people came to expect of her. She was also fearless and relentless. No one could avoid doing their job when Lauren was focused on their facility or department. Friendly but firm was her way.

Despite her ample professional success, Lauren was not happy. Her needs and interests outside of her career are probably not unlike that of other young women, but young she was not. Flannery O’Connor’s short story’s title (but not the actual tragic tale) A Good Man Is Hard to Find captured her thoughts of late. Was Jay the man to fill this post? She sure didn’t think so, but no other guys were applying for the position—not that Jay was striving to be the guy either.

What about Horse? She wondered what he looked like now. Was he married? Was he successful? What would he think of how she looked now with too many added pounds and her evolution into more of a pear-shaped body? He would surely be impressed to hear that she was the president and CEO of a prestigious company. But would any of that really matter? There was no reason for them to ever meet again, but one never knows.

Jay was coming to a different conclusion. Horse and his boss, Ward Langtry, were at the Portico every night of late, sometimes with a different potential client or fish. Ward seemed to be doing all the talking every time Jay glanced into the dining room. Horse seemed uncomfortable and out of place both at the table and with the fish. If Horse was supposed to oversee marketing and selling for the Langtry Group, as he claimed, he seemed to be doing a piss-poor job of it based on Jay’s observations. However, Jay always enjoyed it when Horse would come outside for a break and to hang out with the Lot boys. Horse had to talk fast, and all the talk was with Jay and all about Lauren. When Horse heard about Lauren’s big job, he saw an opportunity to gain a new client for Ward, some much needed job security for himself, and maybe even some sex. You never know.

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Chapter 4

Horse and the Langtry Group

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Horse was curious. What was Lauren doing with a lot boy? And he sure was a long way from being a boy. He was also curious as to what brought her to WNY and what she was doing with her romantic life. Was it all about Jay? Horse also was curious as to what her sex life was like with the old guy—the lot boy.

Ward told Horse that they would be working their way west down the New York State Thruway (INS 90) and then eventually south into Pennsylvania for at least two weeks seeking consulting contracts. Online research and word of mouth elicited several leads, but it seemed the most potential was in WNY; at least that was Ward’s assessment.

Since Horse’s title of associate manager of marketing implied knowledge and skills he did not actually possess, he was anxious—nervous but not eager about his future. He was supposed to be working under Ward’s wing, but it was more like under his twenty-pound thumb. What Horse needed was an infusion of Ward’s confidence, knowledge, energy, enthusiasm, optimism, and bullshit. Selling was not in Horse’s wheelhouse. He just hoped that Ward wouldn’t discover it.

It was unusual the way Ward hired Horse. With a two-year degree in construction management and a minor in computer science from SUNY SCCC (State University of New York at Schenectady County Community College near Albany), he applied for several positions and even got called for some interviews. His present IT job at a big box store as a tech repairman utilized his significant computer technical skills and paid his bills. However, it did not meet his appetite for big-time business success and lots of money.

Ironically, it was through his volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity that he impressed Ward Langtry. Neither of them was that skilled in hands-on construction itself, but they did well in getting donations of tools and supplies, writing grants, and recruiting additional volunteers to build homes for poor people. He and Ward were a good team doing this behind-the-scenes work. Ward’s consulting business, the Langtry Group, was really doing well. He had human relations skills training contracts spread throughout the northeast. Some big firms repeatedly called on Ward’s expertise when they had what Ward called a people mess. One day while they were finalizing and assembling a grant application for Habitat, Ward suddenly said, Horse, I am very impressed with you. How would you like to be my marketing person? The salary was very good as were the fringe benefits like a new car with all expenses paid. It was quite a jump from his present job, and Horse didn’t have to think about it for a second. Hell yes! When can I start? His ready acceptance without any negotiation showed his naivete in business matters and generated some concern on Ward’s part. Regardless, he shook Horse’s hand and enthusiastically said, Welcome to the Langtry Group.

Oh shit. Horse knew right away that he was in over his head. He simply was not qualified for the position. He had never worked in sales and only had a rudimentary understanding of marketing concepts and principles. It was like a race to see if Horse could develop the necessary skills in marketing and salesmanship before Ward discovered his myriad forms of incompetency. Horse could see some very stressful days ahead. Indeed.

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Chapter 5

Returning to Jay’s Big Announcement!

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Hey, Lauren guess what. Horse wants me to bring you to dinner tomorrow night at the Portico. Tomorrow’s cool for me because it’s my day off. Ward, Horse’s boss, is paying for everything. Horse told Ward that you and him were old friends and that you were a high muckety-muck at the Upjohn Centers, or whatever the hell they call it, and that you probably would sign a big contract with him for some kind of consulting stuff.

Lauren almost threw up as Jay prattled on with one outlandish statement after another. Jay! Have you completely lost your already demented mind? How dare you put me in this position.

Jay heard but more so felt her great rage and contempt but could only muster a weak I’m sorry as he continued to prepare their dinner of mac and cheese with broccoli florets and shrimp (their favorite). Then without saying another word, Lauren grabbed her purse and jacket and walked out. This was new. She never walked out before, no matter how intense the argument. In-your-face confrontation was more her style, not avoidance and withdrawal.

The twenty-minute drive to her condo did not calm her. There was lots of cussing through grinding teeth as she drove too fast and then right through a red light. The Buffalo cop was a friendly woman who good-naturedly handed Lauren her second ticket in the past two months. She wanted to scream, Screw you! in response to the cop’s sugary You slow down now, miss, and drive safe. We want to protect our kiddies as well as our seniors here in Buffalo. She did drive slower the rest of the way home, but she remained enraged and continued grinding and cussing.

Unsure of what to do, Jay pulled up a Netflix movie that he and Lauren were going to watch, but he couldn’t concentrate. Lauren’s apparent rejection of Horse’s boss’s invitation to dinner was a problem for Jay’s colossal ego. Maybe her walking out was even a bigger problem. Jay was worried. He didn’t like Lauren mad at him. In the three years of their vacillating romance, he had never seen her so mad. Also, foregoing a free dinner at the Portico was crazy. He had to fix this.

Without even taking time to put the uneaten mac and cheese with broccoli florets and shrimp into a proper storage container, he shoved the pan and his half-eaten plate into his crowded fridge. He was then out the door and on his way to Lauren’s.

This was not the way he expected to be spending this night, but—but what? What was he going to do? Sometimes, when he really listened to or watched Lauren closely when she was this worked up, he was sort of scared of her. Jay hated confrontation. He much preferred subversive manipulation. Her list of things we must address was way too long. Ignoring and avoiding confrontation always worked for him. However, not this time.

After using his keycard to gain access to the opulent lobby of Lauren’s waterfront condo building and a quick greeting to the security guy, he ran up the six flights to her even more opulent penthouse that her company owned and where she lived for free. Jay thought running the stairs would relieve some of the stress and anxiety he felt about facing an enraged Lauren. It did not. He dared not just swipe his keycard and walk in as was his custom, because he feared Lauren may have partnered with Smith & Wesson. Who knew what she might do in her state? He rang the bell like the cowardly lion ringing the Great Oz’s giant bell cord. Knowing that Lauren would check him out using her security camera, he adopted what he hoped was a look of care and concern.

He didn’t expect the icy flat tone. What do you want? Rather than morphing further into the cowardly lion, he yelled like a real take-charge kind of guy. Open this damn door. I need to tell you something. Lauren must have wondered who was impersonating Jay as she unlocked and swung her big door open. He didn’t tell her anything. He just hugged her tightly as she cried loudly against him. Lauren was not a small woman, but her vigorous efforts to pull away from Jay were of no use. He was stronger. She didn’t know he was strong at all.

When she was calm, Jay released her. Wiping her face on his Sabres T-shirt (weird—another first), she offered him a beer. With beers in hand, they went out on the balcony overlooking the almost deserted marina and Canalside and the calm of Lake Erie spread out before them. Hoping for a closeness that did not happen, he chose the settee while she curled up on a lounge chair. If he were a praying man, he would be praying for the right words in this very fragile situation. Say the wrong thing, and he would be screwed. Look, I don’t know what I said that got you so upset, but I do know I hurt you badly. I am sorry. I love you.

Lauren did not catapult herself onto his settee. But her quiet I know was a softening of the crazed woman who stormed out of his apartment an hour ago.

Internally, she was only slightly calmer. Lauren saw a mess facing her on both a professional and personal level that was staggering. In a few stupid sentences, Jay put her in a vulnerable position. She was accustomed to being in control and now she was cast into a storm of uncertainty all due to Jay’s asinine mouth. His denseness was made even more obvious when he expressed bewilderment over her reaction. I have a pleasing fantasy of hanging Jay upside down over my balcony, watching him trying to keep his keys, cell phone, change, and whatever else he has in his pockets intact and him screaming like a howler monkey as I shake him violently up and down. Yes, I’m getting crazier by the minute.

All right, it was time to stop the crazy thoughts. Have I slipped into a spell of my hated procrastination? Oh no! I must get onto the mode of problem-solving, damage control, and most importantly, regaining control. Jay, I want you to think back to all the conversations you had with Horse. Tell me everything that was said. I also want you to tell me how this Ward guy got involved and what you said to him about me and the Epsilon Centers. Take your time, and I’ll get us another beer.

Jay was nervous but encouraged. She was at least talking nice to him. Now he had to think. Nothing! His usually fine, analytical brain was failing him. He just could not remember how it all went down. Lauren sat down to share his settee, but at the opposite end with a Well? look on her face. This was very stressful. So stressful that Jay did something he never did; he began to cry. Real crying. Blowing snot into his hankie (not on her blouse) kind of crying. All he could get out was I’m sorry. I just can’t damn remember.

Lauren was moved by Jay’s plight, and in fact she