“Ugh, I just got back from LA and she’s still on my back all the way here?”
“If she wasn’t on your back, none of this would exist,” Jakub gestured toward the expansive fields. “This is going to be thousands of peoples’ dinners for at least a month. I don’t care if she says jump, man. You ask her how high.” Felipe laughed and peered at the note in the dusky light.
“Okay,” he told Jakub, “I’m heading back to the house. I have a phone interview with a magazine in about 10 minutes.”
One of the perks to having 100 acres was plopping his home right in the middle of it, where paparazzi couldn’t shoot him even with the longest-range lens. Nico had plenty of space to run around and Felipe could spot visitors coming from yonks away.
On his way to the house, he passed the wide red blooms of the hibiscus patch–the first thing he’d planted upon acquiring the land eight years ago. It reminded him of Juno every time he walked by it.
You’ve been carrying that sticky around for 12 years, jackass, he swore at himself while stepping onto his front porch. Talk about procrastination. At this rate, wherever she is, she’ll have to call yo–
Felipe’s phone vibrated in his pocket and he fished it out. Then he nearly dropped it when he saw the caller ID.
“The actual fuck?” he said to himself in shock as JUNO flashed across his screen. Then he remembered it was only three rings until it went to voicemail and he scrambled to answer the call. “H-hello?”
“Hi, is this Carter Amos? My name’s Juno Delfina calling from GTA Life. Did I catch you at a good time?”
“Uhhhh…” Felipe stammered, trying to find the sticky note in his wallet to see if the numbers matched. Delfina? he asked himself. Wasn’t her last name Ngam? “Um, yes,” he said aloud. It’s fine.”
“Great,” Juno said. Felipe felt like he was suddenly reverting back to the apprehensive and guarded 23-year-old who ambled through town with her over a decade ago. He stumbled into his living room and plunked himself down in his recliner.
Every question he answered had him second-guessing what he said, sometimes awkwardly correcting himself and backtracking. Juno was nothing but gracious, however, telling him he could correct himself as much as he needed because she was recording their chat for accuracy.
“Um, can I ask you something now?” Felipe finally mustered the courage to speak his mind when it looked like Juno was ready to end the call. “Is this all you need? I mean, I was told it would be a feature article and we’ve only spoken for 10 minutes.”
“Well…” he could hear Juno hesitating. “I was told you’re a busy man and I shouldn’t expect more than 10 minutes from you.”
“I’m a lot less busy when I’m here than in LA,” he said. “Why… why don’t you visit the farm tomorrow to get a firsthand look at what we do?” Felipe had to know if this was the woman he was indebted to. He was pretty sure it was, judging from her first name and phone number alone, but he couldn’t pass up the chance to see her again.
“Come to your farm?” Juno asked blankly. “Are you… are you inviting all the press to your property?”
“Nope. Just you. Bring a camera if you must, but you take the pictures. No photographer.” There was silence at the other end of the line. “I like your magazine,” he lied, having never heard of it before now, “and I like how you’ve conducted this interview. But if you’re not interested in an exclusive…”
“Mr. Amos, please don’t take this the wrong way,” Juno said, “but my understanding is you eat reporters for breakfast.” Felipe couldn’t stop his guffaws from slipping out, even as Juno went on. “I can’t imagine I impressed you that much in the last 10 minutes for you to give me an exclusive for no reason.”
“Maybe I’m just happy to be home again for a while and I’m feeling generous. It’s fine if you’re not interested, though. I have a call with a writer from the Dispatch in another 10 minutes.” Felipe clenched his jaw, hoping she wouldn’t call his bluff as another silence ensued. Upon hearing her sigh, he relaxed and leaned back to reach for his cigarette pack.
“When do you open?”
Juno
Juno took down the details of how to get to his farm and was told a series of passwords she would have to repeat to the security team at the gate. Then she bade Carter Amos goodnight and immediately called her boss.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t call him, Juno,” Lucy answered her phone.
“Uh, no, I called him and it went well,” Juno replied, still perplexed at what had just happened. “But I’m not going to be in tomorrow. I’m, uh–he invited me to spend the day at his farm.”
“What?? Juno, how in the hell did you pull that?”
“I didn’t pull anything! He said he was feeling generous and then he said it would be an exclusive.” Juno could practically hear Lucy salivating at the E word. “I’m wracking my brain trying to figure out what it is I did. Does he have a reputation for being a sleaze? Should I be on my toes?”
“Honey, I’d be on my back if Carter Amos even hinted at being interested in me,” Lucy laughed. “He’s known for being a perfect gentleman to the point that he has gay rumours swirling around him. Look, it doesn’t matter why he invited you; grab it and run with it. This will be the biggest-selling issue we’ve ever put out.”
“Yeah, putting out is kind of what I’m worried about here,” Juno said flatly.
“There will be a bunch of us at the office demanding every detail the day after tomorrow, you got it?” Lucy added after a hearty laugh. “You’ll be fine.”
***********
Felipe/Carter
Felipe was awake at dawn although Juno wouldn’t be showing up for another three hours. He used his anxiety to fuel his workout for most of that time, then chainsmoked on his porch swing until the security system alerted him to an unknown vehicle entering the premises.
He knew Juno would have to drive a minute or two before she reached the house, so he quickly stubbed out his smoke and waved his arms in the air.
“You could just try not smoking, you know,” Jakub said as he pushed a wheelbarrow past the yard. “Flap any harder and you’ll take off.” At Felipe’s glare, he grinned. “Tell me after all these years you at least know you’re not going to get the smell off your clothes or hair by doing that.”
Felipe ran into the house to change clothes, cursing to himself as he saw Juno’s light blue compact sedan making its way down the dirt path. He came out again to see a woman with her back turned to the house, wearing a red plaid shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots. Her full hips curved in a way he hadn’t noticed beneath her flowy sundress all those years ago.
Her straight, black hair fell to the middle of her back, and she slowly turned as she surveyed the expanse of land glowing around her in the morning sun. Then her eyes fell on Felipe, who was frozen to the porch as he took in her beauty. He’d fantasized about this moment for years but he still wasn’t prepared for it.
My god, she hasn’t aged a day, he thought.
“Hi Mr. Amos,” she said, approaching the wooden front steps and holding out her right hand. “I’m Juno Delfina. We spoke on the phone?” Felipe snapped back to earth and reached out to grasp her hand in both of his.