by Ann Marie
Billy quickly removed himself from her room and any further questions. “I’ll be right outside, in the hall, if you need me.”
Josephine watched him exit and caught sight of the envelope the doctor gave her. She walked over and picked it up and carried it across the hall to Antonia’s room. She paused in the doorway. Switching on the light, she noticed for the first time the simplicity of the room. It was such a drastic difference from her own. Antonia’s room had very few decorations. There was a queen size bed, night stand, dresser and a hope chest at the foot of the bed. There was no chair. No makeup table. No television or stereo system. No pictures hung on the walls. There wasn’t even a clock. Josephine walked to the dresser, where she placed the envelope.
On the dresser were two pictures in frames. The first was of Mother Teresa and a small child, of perhaps five years of age. The second was of Josephine and Antonia taken right before they parted ways from school. Josephine picked up the photo of herself and Antonia and looked at it as she returned to her own room. She placed it on the table beside her bed and sat down again. Laying herself down, she recalled how Antonia hated having her picture taken. She squeezed her eyes shut tight as she ran both hands up her head and through her hair. Laying there on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, with her hands resting on the top of her head, she tried to think, if she knew and perhaps had just forgotten about Anthony being pregnant.
She thought about Antonia’s mission. She had to work at remembering exactly what the mission was. ‘Literacy Awareness something. Reading. It had something to do with reading.’ Josephine had to ask herself why she did not know exactly what it was Anthony did in Africa or anywhere else for that matter. She was sure they had discussed it. ‘They had to have, didn’t they? Reading, Anthony and her reading.’ Josephine’s head started to hurt again. She closed her eyes and allowed the fog to take control.
Chapter 6
Twelve year old Josephine excitedly phoned Antonia from the lobby just inside the Hilton, where she was staying with her parents. It was raining outside and the lobby was crammed with people trying to stay dry and that made phone conversation difficult to hear. The phone rang. “Saint Agnes, can I help you?
“Hello,” Josephine said a little too loudly, “It’s Josephine. Is Antonia around?”
“Hang on a moment, she’s down the hall. I’ll get her.” Someone slipped in a puddle in the main lobby. The commotion increased the noise level to the point where Josephine could barely hear at all.
“Hello, hello is anyone there?”
“Anthony? Is that you? Hey it’s me, Joe.”
“Joe, hi, how’s vacation?”
“Oh, you won’t believe it, guess what happened?”
“You finally got some hair under your arms.”
“Come on, this is serious!”
“OK, sorry, what happened?”
“Ma got me an audition for this big time director!”
“Really? Who?”
“Louis Irving, you know the guy who did that movie, that one that got the Oscar last year?”
“Gee, that really narrows it down a bit for me, now doesn’t it?”
“Anyway, anyway, I did the audition thingy and guess what?”
“I don’t know, Joe. You found out you were related?”
“What? Anthony, do you even care? I got a part in his next movie!” Josephine was talking very loud into the receiver, due to the noise behind her. Perhaps too loud, since people behind her seemed to have stopped to take notice of the young woman who had managed to get a part in the new Irving flick. “It was so cool. I just had to read a few lines and turn around and smile. It was so easy.”
“When are you coming back to school?”
“I don’t know, a couple of week’s maybe. They have to take some pictures and do some tests. I will have to leave school again in a few months for taping. Isn’t that great?”
“Take some pictures?”
“Yeah. I get to pretend I’m a model, isn’t that cool?”
“Are they gonna be in a magazine or something?”
“Gee, I don’t know. Hey you don’t sound all that happy for me.”
“No, no I’m happy, it’s just that...”
“Wow, I wish you could have been there Anthony.”
A man in his early twenties had tuned in to the phone conversation. He was leaning against the wall about six feet away, out of Josephine’s view, holding up a newspaper and pretending to read it.
The operator interjected, “Time is up; please insert another eighty five cents to continue your call...”
“Hey, I’ll call you later Anthony.”
“Joe?” the phone clicked dead.
“Ms. Ferrero, please, Ms. Ferrero.” Josephine stopped in her tracks on the way up the stairs, back to her room. She turned to greet the gentleman, following her. “Ms. Ferrero, isn’t it?” Josephine smiled and raised an eyebrow in question. “I couldn’t help but notice you. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind. Could I have your autograph? Please?” Josephine was amazed, but excited.
“You want my autograph? But why?”
“You are going to be in the next Irving film, aren’t you? I thought you were. I mean, if you’re not you should be.”
“How did you know that?”
“Oh, so it is true. I heard talk, you know, around. Wow, could I, would you mind?” He extended a note pad out to her. She obliged him whole heartedly. She couldn’t seem to remove the smile from her face, as she handed him back his note pad.
“Thank you,” he said as she turned to continue up the stairs. She stopped and turned to watch him exit the building. She let her eyes scan the lobby. She felt so proud, so good about herself.
‘Imagine’, she thought to herself, ‘someone wanted my autograph’ she smiled and turned to continue up the stairs.
Her child’s mind replayed the scene, over again. ‘Ms. Ferrero, Ms. Ferrero ma’am...’ the voice in her vision had changed, from male to female.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Josephine was temporarily awakened from the memory. Chloe, her maid, was standing above her bed. “The hospital just called. About Ms. Dal Santo, Ms. Ferrero?”
Josephine rubbed her eyes. “And? What did they say?”
“Ms. Dal Santo has come out of surgery and is in recovery now. She is stable. They don’t expect any problems or complications and you should be able to see her in a couple of hours. Ma`am?” Josephine rolled over and drifted off once again.
---------------------------------------------------------------
The mail had arrived, back at St. Agnes. Josephine ran to see if anything had arrived for her. Sister Patricia handed her a brown wrapped package addressed to her. “Josephine, there is something for Antonia. Will you take it up to her?” Sister asked holding up a single envelope. Josephine took what she was handed, but her eyes never left her own package. As she walked back to her room, she ripped open the wrapper. Inside was a magazine. A piece of paper marked a page for her inspection. She placed the wrapper and Antonia’s letter under her arm as she opened the page. A photo of her. Ms. Josephine Ferrero. An up and coming star. One to watch for in the future. There was a whole article attached. An article on her, along with several more photos and a brief biography. She raced to her room.
“Anthony, Anthony, guess what...” Josephine barged into their room and threw herself on Antonia’s bed. Her friend was lying back, reading a book.
“You finally got hair under your arms?” Antonia responded, not looking up.
“Anthony, my picture is in a magazine. Here look, they did a whole story on me.” Anthony glanced up at her friend. Then, placing her book aside she sat up to look at the magazine. Josephine read the article out loud. The article explained where Josephine was born, where she lived at that moment and how she got her big break. It explained her role in Louis Irving’s newest release and how she was currently being considered for a part in his next film.
> “Can you believe it? Oh my God, Anthony, a whole story on me!” Josephine bounced up and down on Anthony’s bed. Both the wrapper and letter for Antonia fell to the floor.
Anthony stepped off the bed to pick them up and said “Why did they have to mention where you live?”
Josephine stood up and stared in disbelief at her friend. “Why can’t you ever be happy for me? Who cares what they wrote anyway. Look at the pictures, Anthony, my face is in a magazine.”
Anthony was looking down at the letter she held in her hand. Bringing her right leg up under her, she sat on her bed again. Josephine stopped talking and watched her friend’s reaction.
Anthony looked scared. “It’s just a letter, it can’t hurt you.” Josephine came back and sat next to her friend. She noticed the big red prison stamp on the front of the envelope. She hadn’t noticed it before. Anthony was looking blankly at the letter. All the confidence and security she had managed to obtain in the past few years had left her spirit. She knew she should have just thrown the letter away. Her inner self told her not to open it but she needed to know what he had written. Still she stared at the letter.
“You don’t have to open it, you know.” Josephine tried to help. Antonia did not respond. She needed family contact. ‘Perhaps he was writing to apologize’, she thought. Antonia carefully, slowly, opened the letter.
There was only a simple white piece of paper with the words, ‘Looking good, love daddy’, along with a newspaper clipping. Anthony just looked at it.
Josephine said, “Hey, is that you? When did you get your picture in the paper? Why didn’t you tell me? July? You made the paper in July?” Anthony was not listening as Josephine read the article out loud. Antonia Dal Santo, this year’s spelling bee winner for the tri-state area. Winning her claim to fame with the word, “paleontologist.” Ms. Dal Santo beat out twenty five other contestants from around the area, taking a prize of one thousand dollars back to St. Agnes.
Josephine looked up at Antonia with both jealousy and rage, but her anger slowed as she saw the color her friends face had become. Antonia jumped up from her bed and dashed down the hall to the rest room. Barely making it through the door, she vomited painfully for several minutes before passing out on the floor. Josephine followed, with both the letter and the article in hand. Finding her friend, she stood stunned in the doorway. Sister Ursula appeared and told Josephine to run and get Sister Margaret, quickly. Josephine dropped the article and letter as she turned to leave. Sister Ursula bent and retrieved them both. Placing them in her pocket, she went to Antonia.
Chapter 7
The alarm clock sounded. The television went on automatically, preprogrammed to the news channel. In the bathroom another alarm sounded. Josephine cursed the sun as she forced herself from her bed. She must have sat up too fast because her head hurt. She put her hand to her head in an attempt to hold back the pain and was quickly reminded of the previous night’s events when her hand came into contact with a tender area. Josephine got herself up and grabbed the bottle of pain pills the nurse had given her the night before. Shutting off the alarm clock, she walked to the bathroom, where she shut off the second alarm and grabbed a glass of water. Tossing a pill into her mouth, she chugged the glass of water. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and noting the lump on her forehead, she told the reflection, “She should have lumped you up years ago.”
After a quick shower she returned to her room to hear all about the previous night’s events. The news station had her house live, as a reporter gave the story from her front lawn. “Jesus.” She muttered to herself. Josephine went in search of Billy, only to find him dozing in a chair outside her bedroom door.
“Hey, wake up dammit.” She batted him on the shoulder. “Got reporters all over the grounds, hell they probably showed me in the shower. What’s with you?” Billy jumped up and wiped his face with his hands. He ran down the stairs to the foyer where he picked up his phone and started barking out orders.
Josephine made her way to the kitchen where her preprogrammed coffee maker had obediently done its job. She poured herself a cup and proceeded to the back hall to retrieve her morning paper. Chloe always placed it neatly on the back table for her, so she didn’t have to venture outside to get it. She peeked out the window and didn’t see anyone with a camera. She smiled to herself, Billy must’ve been working extra hard at the moment. She made her way back to the table and read the paper while having her coffee.
Josephine picked up one of the many cordless phones she had lying around her estate. One of Chloe’s many jobs was to keep the phones fully charged. She dialed up her secretary. The phone rang four times before he picked up.
“Jim Deloryan, how may I help you?”
“Morning Jim, what’s on the agenda for today?”
“Josephine, how are you feeling this morning? You sound well.”
“Perhaps you did not hear me, I believe I said, Morning Jim, what’s on the agenda for today?”
“Meeting in Ohio at two this afternoon, followed by dinner with Leon Tune’s leading lady.”
“Reschedule both for next week at the earliest. Cancel all appointments for the next two days and get your ass out to the Paper Mill and grab a copy of everything printed in the last twenty-four. Take them and your little self over to my attorney’s office and read everything.”
“Joseph...” She clicked the phone off before waiting for his response.
Jim got under her skin. He felt powerful in his position. He felt some sort of invisible bond with Josephine and she wanted him replaced badly. Anthony was supposed to take care of it for her.
She sat thoughtfully at the table with her coffee in both hands. Anthony took care of a lot of things for her. When had it become Anthony’s job to do anything for Josephine. It was just easier for her to ask Anthony. That way it was sure to get done. Anthony never questioned, or rolled her eyes the way some of Josephine’s paid employees did. Employee. Josephine wondered if Anthony felt she was an employee.
Anthony did live free of charge in the estate. She never wanted for anything. Chloe always kept the house well stocked of food and beverage. The laundry was always clean and replaced as needed.
Anthony only needed to purchase what she wore. Josephine never inquired as to how Anthony paid for anything. Anthony had been selling stories and articles for most of her life to various magazines. She had a nice size savings before she ever left school. She wondered if Anthony felt obligated to do her bidding because she was living free of charge. It was Josephine who had begged for her to stay. Anthony never wanted to live in any of Josephine’s homes. She had offered to stay in a hotel. She claimed it wasn’t the type of living suited to a missionary’s life. Josephine remembered how angry she had become at this offer, thinking of how this would make her look. She had made Anthony feel so guilty, she had no choice but to move in with her. Josephine sat at her kitchen table and felt absolutely disgusted with herself.
Billy entered the kitchen. “Will you be needing a ride to the hospital?”
“No, I think I will drive myself over this morning, thanks anyway.”
Billy looked as though he might want to object, but thought better of it. He grabbed himself a cup of coffee
“Why don’t you get some rest?” Josephine offered. Billy looked up startled. “I am sure the local P.D. can handle whatever might come up today. And you were up late last night. Not any good to me if you’re tired. Besides, I doubt anyone will be back. It was probably just some crazed fan, probably got scared off from all the attention.” Billy nodded his head in response as he lifted his cup and headed down the hall to his room. Both Billy and Chloe lived on location with Josephine all year. It was one of the job duties.
Next Josephine dialed up the hospital. She spoke with the answering service and was put through to the Chief of Staff. “Morning, Ms. Ferrero, Doctor Luke here, what can I do for you this morning?”
“Dr. Luke? You’re the Chief of Staff?”
“Small h
ospital, lot of duty.”
“You must be exhausted.”
“Ms. Dal Santo has given me a shot of adrenaline this morning, or so it seems. She pulled through her surgery and recovery with amazing strength. She was awake this morning for a bit. She asked for you, wanted to know if you were OK, didn’t ask about the baby or herself, just you. I assured her you were just fine and I told her we had to throw you out last night so you could get some rest. You did get some rest, didn’t you?”
The baby, why did he have to bring up the baby? “Yes, I did sleep some. And now? Is she awake now?”
“She is off and on; she will probably sleep real well today. But she is up for minutes at a time. I am certain that if you were present for thirty minutes today, she will be up for fifteen of them.”
“And security, how are you set up for security?”
“Are you asking this for yourself or for Ms. Dal Santo? Because I am sure you are aware, we have security on duty twenty-four/seven here, walking the grounds and parking area. If you are concerned, you can just call in to the desk and let them know you are arriving. We can have someone go out to your car and meet you if you’d like.”
“Thank you, I meant it for Anthony though.”
“We were under the impression you were the target. I don’t see how Ms. Dal Santo would be at risk here.”
“Right, you’re right, I just, I’ll do that. I will call when I pull into the lot. Thank-you.”
“No problem, Ms. Ferrero, only to glad to help. Ask for Jake, when you call. I will leave word with him to take care of you.” Again Josephine clicked off the phone.
Josephine climbed the stairs to her room where she grabbed the suit coat and removed the video tape from the VCR. She went back down to the first floor. There was a large room on the first floor for entertaining. It boasts of a wide screen TV and a major league entertainment center. The walls on either side of the room were enclosed by several French style doors, which when opened, always allowed a breeze.