"Absolutely not!" Jagdesh replied.
"Well, I'll be damned."
"Same thing I said."
It took a few minutes before the doctor could move on and the nurse seemed stuck in the same spot she was when she first walked in. After the initial shock wore off, she left the room.
Jagdesh placed the baby in his carrier and sat down with Amina. He opened the child's file and pulled out a chart. "Since you're filling in for Mister Matheson today I want to explain something to you."
He used a ball point pen as his indicator. "See, at this stage of the baby's life, he should be here in terms of height and weight based upon his measurements at the time of birth. However, he's all the way up here," he pointed on the graph, "which is far beyond what we call 'normal'."
"I see," Amina replied, paying close attention. "What does this mean now for the child?"
"It means that if this rapid growth continues, he'll be standing when he should be sitting and walking when he should be creeping. It means that when he's one year old, in actuality, he'll be more like a three or four-year-old, maybe older. Only time can tell. I can go ahead and order some blood tests to find out if everything is normal, but based upon his prior visit and the tests taken when he was born, there was nothing abnormal that appeared in those results. That decision would be up to his parents, but for now, we'll have to monitor baby Foster closely and see what happens."
"Okay," Amina said.
He stood up. "You can tell Mister Matheson what I said, but he can give me a call today and I'll explain everything to him."
"Thank you, Doctor."
Jagdesh and his nurse watched as Amina left with the child.
6
Here I am!
"Ms. Matheson, there's someone downstairs to see you. Said she's a friend of yours," Clara said on the line.
"Who is it?" Solange asked while snacking on some crackers at her desk.
"Pardon me, dear, but she says it's a surprise. I couldn't send her right up without first getting your permission—company rules—so I told her this is about as much as I can do in the surprise area."
Solange didn't like surprises, particularly considering the reality that she was guilty of killing a man and burying his body in her back yard. Then a smile worked its way across her face. "Send her up please," she said.
Solange got up and walked out into the lobby. Moments later, a woman in white, high-heeled shoes and a lovely two-piece burgundy outfit stepped out of the elevator. Solange shook her head and smiled. "I knew it was you! You look fabulous, girl!"
Sonia and Solange hugged tightly.
"That old Clara lady spoiled the surprise!" Sonia smirked.
"Come on! Come to my office." Solange led the way. She offered her friend a seat across from her and sat with both elbows on her desk and hands clasped beneath her chin.
"Does this mean you're accepting the job?" Solange was hopeful.
Sonia nodded. "I humbly accept the job."
"Yay!" Solange got up and hugged her again. "I'm so glad. Now we can work together like before."
"Only difference is: We won't be clearing tables anymore and we make a decent salary. Please thank your brother for me. I know without him accepting and loving you as his sister, neither one of us would be sitting here right now."
"So, you want to start today? I told you that anytime would be perfect…"
Sonia grimaced. "You think I got dolled up like this for nothing?"
Solange chuckled. "Well, I'll let you thank my brother yourself when he gets in."
There was a brief pause.
"Thanks for looking out for me, Liza." Sonia was truly grateful. She lowered her head for a moment. "I only hesitated at first because…"
"I know. You told me already," Solange said. "A good friend is one who pulls the other up with them. I've always felt that way. Without you as a friend, Sonia, I don't know where I would've been. Without your tip on the smile thing with Mister Fung the very first time I walked into the restaurant, I probably wouldn't have landed the job there. So, in essence, you got me my job without knowing me from the man on the moon. Now I get to return the favor."
"So how are the renovations coming along?" Sonia cleared her throat wanting to escape the sentimentality of the moment. "That's one huge sucker you bought out west."
"It's coming on good. I'll be able to move in there in another couple of weeks."
"I'm so proud of you."
"You know, if my brother hadn't convinced me of needing a 'better image' for the position I now hold, I would not be leaving my apartment. Although the neighborhood's not the best, I kind of like it there. I have no problems."
"Your brother's right though. You now have an image to uphold and by golly, you can afford a better place now! Why not take advantage of it?" Sonia exclaimed.
Just then, the phone rang. "Excuse me." Solange answered it.
"Oh. Hi," she said as Sonia looked around the office.
"Uh huh. Uh huh. Okay," was about the extent of her input before hanging up. "My brother… he's on his way now. He wants to talk to me when he gets in, so I'll let him know you're starting today. You can thank him like you said you wanted to, then I'll have Tom from the computer department show you around and introduce you to the staff until I'm finished with my meeting."
"Swell!" Sonia replied, though feeling a little anxious about speaking with Trent Matheson.
"You're nervous?" Solange asked, watching her.
"Me? Nervous? You've gotta be kidding! I've seen him too many times at Fung's to be nervous."
"True." Solange nodded, knowing her friend was lying. "You're so scared right now you wish you could hide under this desk. Don’t you?"
Sonia sighed. "You're full of crap. You're probably forgetting who you're talking to."
"Yeah… big, bad Sonia!"
Several minutes later, Trent walked in and Sonia immediately stood up.
"Hello," Trent said to her.
"Hello, Mister Matheson." Sonia was a little shaky.
"It's good to see you. Starting today?" He glanced at Solange.
"Yes, sir. Yes, sir," Sonia answered feeling terribly awkward.
"Well, that's great. My sister's been holding out for a full month for you to fill the Assistant spot. She refused to hire anyone else, so you must be one of a kind." Trent struggled to put up a good front in the face of his many bizarre challenges.
Sonia looked at Solange who was smiling back before making eye contact with Trent again. "Well, I really want to thank you, sir, for allowing me to work here. This kind of opportunity is something I never thought I'd have, so I'm very grateful." She tried not to get choked up about it.
"It's my sister you should be thanking—not me," Trent noted. "What she says in terms of her hired help… goes."
Solange walked to the front of her desk. "Tom's going to show Sonia around."
Tom was at the door. "Ready, Ma'am?" He asked Solange.
"Yes." Solange made the quick introduction of her friend to Tom Lancy before the pair left for the tour.
"I'm glad you got your wish," Trent sat down, crossing his legs.
"Took some convincing though. She didn't want me to think she was using me or anything." Solange sat also.
Trent frowned. "Really? Well, she seems like she's definitely got your back. Good choice there."
"Hey, what about Tina's friend? You left here so distraught."
"It might've been a hit and run." Trent didn't want to say what he truly thought. "She was out jogging that evening."
"That's terrible!" Solange exclaimed.
"Her family's a mess right now. I feel so sorry for them." He had a strange look in his eye. "As sad as that is, I have great news though."
"What is it?" Solange was curious.
"I got a call from Tina's psychiatrist. She's coming home today."
"My goodness! That's awesome! When? What time will you be picking her up?"
"He told me I can come at three. I missed he
r a lot." Trent was visibly relieved.
"I'm so happy it's over now. This has been such a tough time for you," Solange commented.
"I wanted to give you the news and to tell you… we're getting married right away. I'm giving Tina's pastor a call and will arrange for us to get married this weekend. She doesn't know it yet."
"This weekend?"
"Yup."
"You've only got four days," Solange indicated—as if he didn't know.
"Yup." Trent nodded.
"Is everything already prepared?"
"It will be. It's not going to be anything fancy. Tina said after she had the baby that she was leaning more towards a smaller wedding. I'll get the word out to everyone and whoever can be there will be there. I just have to marry her; I feel like time is of the essence."
Solange wasn't sure what he meant by his last remark, but didn't bother to ask.
"What about her friend who just died? Wasn't she supposed to stand in the wedding?"
Trent sighed deeply. "Yeah. I haven't told Tina what happened yet."
"I know you want to marry her right away, Trent, but don't you think you should wait and speak with Tina first since this tragedy just happened? I don't know… but she may not be as eager right now to walk down the aisle in the face of such tragic news—having lost her best friend," Solange explained.
Trent thought for a minute. "I guess you're right. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm just so darn afraid to break the news to her about Taylor that I guess I wanted to soften the blow at the same time with talk of a quick wedding."
"That's understandable, but talk to her. Maybe she would want to go ahead with it in her friend's honor. Is there anything I can do to help you?"
"You're doing it now. You're making me see things more clearly and I appreciate that. I will leave that wedding talk for later—now isn't the right time," Trent said, getting up. "Thanks. You're an awesome sister."
"Trent…"
"Yeah?" He looked back.
"Nothing. It's nothing." At that point, Solange felt like a traitor, seeing how much her brother confided in her and how she still wasn't sure if she trusted him enough to do the same.
7
Finally, I See
Trent arrived at the hospital fifteen minutes early. He was waiting in Palenski's office when Tina walked in with the doctor.
The couple embraced for what seemed like hours and Tina wiped Trent's tears away with her fingers.
"Why are you crying?" she asked.
"He's glad to see you. That's why!" Palenski interjected, moved by the obvious love between them. "He's thrilled that you're going back home today!"
Trent managed a smile. "I am."
"Tina, now take your medication and listen… let there be no repeat of what occurred before," Palenski admonished her. "Take your medication and take it religiously. You don't want to end up in this place again. Do you?"
"No, I don't, Doctor. I'll be good; I promise."
Trent reached down for Tina's luggage. "Thank you, Doctor," he said. "We appreciate everything you've done."
"You both know my number if you ever need me," Palenski replied.
They headed outside to the car. Trent was so happy to have Tina with him again and at the same time afraid of what he was about to reveal to her, knowing it would absolutely break her heart.
As they drove, Tina was excited and felt like they were actually a team again.
"We can protect our son from those awful people trying to get him," she said. "I don't understand why they want our child. This is just crazy."
"It is, but we'll tackle this together." He glanced her way.
"Who's this guy you mentioned that knows what's going on?" she asked.
"His name's Deed. We met recently and he explained some… interesting things to me."
"How did you meet him?"
"Uh…that's a long story. I'll explain everything to you later, okay?" Trent wasn't sure how to even begin.
"Okay. So what did the doctor say about the baby sitting up already?"
"My impression, based on what he said, was that he really doesn't understand what's going on. Even so, he didn't see any need for alarm because Foster is completely healthy. He'll just be ahead of most children. He's a special child."
"It's really strange though. Someone must be able to explain why our son's developing so fast. We need to get a second opinion."
Trent was quiet.
Tina sighed. "You don't know how much better I feel that you believe me now." She was looking at him adoringly.
"I love you, honey." Trent said, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "I just love you so much."
"I know that and I love you too." She caressed his face. "No matter what happens between us, nothing can destroy the love we have for one another. That's what's so awesome about our relationship."
The tears were streaming down his face again.
"I don't want you to beat yourself up about what happened, Trent. You didn't know. You just didn't understand what was going on. That's why—as tempting as it is—I can't be mad at you right now. I realized after you told me what you did at the hospital that if the shoe was on the other foot, I might have reacted the very, same way. We're all human and we all make mistakes."
Trent knew that was where Tina had it all wrong—the "we're all human" part. He fought back the tears and dried his face on the sleeves of his shirt. "Thanks for forgiving me," he said. "You don't know how much it means to me."
"Welcome home, Miss," Amina said after Trent and Tina arrived at the house.
"Thanks, Amina. It's good to be back home," Tina replied.
"Are you much better now?" Amina asked.
"Yes. I'm much better now." Tina glanced upstairs. "Where is he?"
"He's asleep in his crib."
Tina looked at Trent and smiled. "I'm gonna have to wake him up; I miss him terribly. It feels like I've been gone forever."
Tina's heart melted at the sight of Little Foster lying peacefully in his crib. "He's so precious. I wanna grab him up right now."
"I know," Trent said, holding her.
"Did Amina have any trouble while I was gone?"
"Not at all. They won't bother her." Trent spoke softly. "I know you want to hold him, but while he's asleep, I have to tell you something."
"Okay." Tina looked at Foster once more before leaving the room.
"Amina!" Trent jogged downstairs. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Yes, sir," Amina replied from the doorway of the kitchen.
Tina appeared at the top of the stairway. "Thanks for everything, Amina. You've taken great care of our son. See you in the morning!" She waved.
"My pleasure, Miss. Have a good evening."
After Amina left, Tina joined Trent on the couch. "
He took her hand into his. "I don't know how to say this, honey."
"What is it?" Tina asked. Something told her it wasn't good.
"Tina… Taylor was killed last night."
"What?" Tears suddenly filled her eyes. "How?"
"We don't know yet. She went out jogging like she did every evening and after it got dark and she wasn't home yet, Dan went to look for her. He found her a short distance away from their house lying dead on the side of the road. Emergency services were already on the scene when he got there," Trent explained.
Tina was sobbing uncontrollably. "No! Not Taylor! Not her!"
Feeling helpless and partially responsible for Tina's anguish, Trent held her closely.
"Was she knocked down by a car?" Tina asked.
"It appears so, but no one's sure right now. They're doing an autopsy."
"She was supposed to be my maid-of-honor. This can't be happening!" She looked at Trent. "Please tell me this isn't real. Please!"
"I wish I could, honey," Trent answered somberly. "I really wish I could."
"I have to speak to Dan. I have to let him know how sorry I am," Tina said. "He must be such a wreck right now." She reached for the ph
one and tried to compose herself enough to make the call.
Trent listened as she tearfully expressed her condolences to Taylor's husband. He was angry that another person so close to them had fallen prey to the evil connected to him. His heart ached as he saw Tina in such pain and wanted nothing more than to kill everyone who had anything to do with Taylor's death. He knew he had to stop them somehow as they were determined to get what they wanted at any cost.
Trent heard the baby crying and got up to check on him. Tina watched as he rushed up the flight of stairs.
"Honey!" She called upstairs after ending her call with Dan a few minutes later. "Is he all right?"
Trent appeared with the baby. "He's fine. I was changing his diaper. He's hungry now after the nap."
Tina met them at the base of the staircase and quickly took the child. "Mom's home," she said. "I love you, sweet boy." Her eyes were red with tears and her voice doleful.
She sat down to breastfeed him. "It's been ages; hasn't it?" she remarked, unbuttoning her blouse and pulling out her breast.
"Feels so to me…" Trent said, "…although you haven't been gone that long."
"Ow!" Tina shrieked a minute later, carefully sliding her nipple away. Blood was spewing around it. She looked down at the baby with shock. "He bit me!"
Trent was over there in a second. He took the baby from her. "Are you all right? How is it?" He looked closely. There was a slight tear around the nipple where the blood had settled.
Tina got up. "I… I'll be fine. It's just a little cut. Maybe he pulled to hard." She headed to the downstairs bathroom.
"Tina, I forgot to tell you… he has a tooth."
"What the hell did you say?" She looked back from the bathroom.
"Yeah. I saw it yesterday. It's just a small protrusion - not fully out yet. Maybe that's what you felt. I'm sorry I didn't remember to tell you before you started…"
Tina had a damp cloth pressed against her breast and went over to have a look inside the baby's mouth. "I see it," she said. "This can't be normal Trent. Nothing about our baby seems normal." She spoke in a desperate tone.
Immortals- The Complete Real Illusions Series Page 29