Maria went on to tell Carol everything she and Vito had talked about the previous night on the ride home from the airport. Not just the story of Calix and Anya but also the few bits of information he had told her of what Vito and Calix had planned for Carol’s husband.
Chapter 20
“Mmmmm, Calix.”
“Yes, love.”
“That feels so good.”
“You know what’s even better?”
“Hmmm?”
“My son growing inside you.”
He kissed her stomach and then lower and lower… Anya woke with a start and sat straight up. She put a hand on her belly. It was just a dream, only a dream, she thought. With a small groan, she moved her hand from her belly to her head. Her head pounded with a throbbing headache. She wasn’t really a drinker. She’s under age, so she had a glass or two at parties and such. But, last night, she and Nicole finished off the entire bottle, and it wasn’t just a normal five-glass bottle of wine. No, Nicole knew what she was doing; she got a big bottle, like a jug, actually. Anya just sat there for a minute. She was shaken by her dream and a bit dazed from her headache.
“Well, good morning.” A perky and chipper Nicole came out of her room, heading for her kitchen. She was already showered and dressed.
Anya wiped the sleep from her eyes and glowered at Nicole, causing Nicole to chuckle as she passed Anya.
“How are you so bright and
sunshiny? I have a bad headache and had a dream that shocked me awake.”
“Oh really?” Nicole asked with an arched eyebrow. She stopped walking to the kitchen and turned to walk over to Anya.
Anya moved over and sat up Indian style. Then she cleared her throat. “Yeah, I was with Calix, and Calix was, well you know, anyway, I said that it felt good, and he asked if I knew what was better. Then he answered me and said his son growing in my belly. Then I bolted awake with this pounding in my head.”
Nicole covered her mouth with her hands in an Oh My God! kind of way. “You know what my mother always said, if you dream of babies or pregnancy, then either you or someone close to you is pregnant. You’re not pregnant, are you?”
Anya shook her head. “No, I took a test the night I left.”
“How late were you when you took the test?”
“A day.”
“A day?”
“Yes.”
“Anya, did you take it first thing in the morning?”
“No, I took it when I came home from work.” Nicole palmed her forehead in irritation. “Anya those tests are ninetyseven percent accurate, but only when taken correctly.”
Anya was a little affronted. “I’m not dumb. I read the directions and followed them to the T.”
“No, Anya, you’re supposed to take the test in the morning when your urine is the strongest, and, if you take it too soon, you can get a false negative. Most OB’s suggest taking a test fourteen days after conception. So, if you got pregnant two days before your period or something like than most likely you’ll get a false negative.”
“Are you serious?” Anya’s eyes bulged. “Anya, I’m a nurse, why would I lie to you? Do you know when you might have conceived?”
“No, we were intimate every night, sometimes two or three times, and we never used protection.”
“Two or three times!” Nicole shouted. “Girl, you held out on me last night; how could you?”
“Nicole, focus, do I have to wait two weeks from my missed period to get an accurate result?”
“How late are you?”
“Well, my period was due Sunday, so four days.” “Well, if you want to take another home test you’ll most likely get an accurate result if it’s not too soon. To know one hundred percent without a doubt you need to get a blood test. They’ll have the results within less than a day. It’s better than waiting two weeks.”
“Okay, let’s do that then.” “Well, you’ll need to see a doctor here, and they’ll have to order the test for you. They usually like you to take home tests first, but I’m sure we can get around that, then you’ll need to go to the hospital outpatient lab, and they’ll draw your blood.”
“But, I don’t have a doctor here.”
“I’m a nurse, Anya, I know doctors. I’ll get you an appointment.” “Okay, I’m gonna shower and take some Tylenol for my headache, and then I’ll call my mom.”
“Okay, I’ll make breakfast. Want pancakes or omelets?”
“Ugh I’m not really hungry, maybe just some oatmeal if you have some.” “Yeah, instant okay?”
“Yeah.” Anya got up, put her blankets and pillows away, and put the futon up. Then she went to take a shower. Warm showers always make everything better.
She walked out of the bathroom calm and refreshed. She took some Tylenol before jumping in, so her headache had dulled. Nicole was sitting at the table reading something off her tablet and eating some stuffed pancakes. Anya always thought the way Nicole ate pancakes was weird; she’d make them thin instead of fluffy then she’d smear plain cream cheese on them and roll them up.
“Mm oat mee is in mmcro,” Nicole said with her mouth so full Anya could barely understand her.
Anya just laughed to herself and made her way to the kitchen to retrieve the bowl. “Thanks.” She walked back over to the table and sat across from Nicole.
“It’s, what, a little past nine am now, so I’m gonna call my mom. She should be up by now.”
Anya grabbed her cell and called her mom while taking small bites from her bowl of oatmeal.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Mom.”
“Anya, honey.” “Mom, I called all day and texted yesterday. Why didn’t you pick up or text back?” Anya all but yelled at her mother.
“Honey, I’m sorry, after you left, Maria and I decided to leave for Italy early. We left the morning after you left. Calix came over looking for you, we talked in private, and I told him I knew everything and warned him off. When he left, Maria knew something was seriously wrong, and I had to tell her.”
“What!” This time Anya did scream. So much so that Nicole stopped eating and looked at her with concern and confusion.
“Honey, I couldn’t not tell her, she knew I was holding something back.” “Oh God, Mom.” “Anya, calm down, there’s so much I need to tell you, but I can only tell you if you’re calm. Okay, deep breaths, calm down.”
Anya immediately started to cry. Her mind kept thinking one thought, Maria knows, Maria knows. Anya could handle her mother knowing, but Maria knowing was a whole other thing. Calix was an only child; he was Maria’s life. To hear what
happened, she probably died inside. Anya was wiping tears away, but she couldn’t wipe fast enough, because tears just kept coming. Anya waved her hand in front of her face, trying to slow the tears and calm herself.
“So, you’re in Italy?” “Yes, and, Anya, I have to tell you a lot. So, calm down, so we can talk. Are you calm now?”
“Yes.” Anya sniffled.
“Okay, so Maria talked to Vito…”
Chapter 21 It took Calix several hours, but he got all the meetings set up. He had notified the necessary people of what he needed photo copied, notarized, and couriered over. If everything went according to plan, this week would be a very hot news week. The cleaning crew had come and gone, and his penthouse was clean and as silent as a morgue. He missed her voice and just the daily sounds of having her in the house.
Calix just sat in his desk chair, not knowing what to do with himself. He was used to working sixty hours a week, sometimes more. When he wasn’t working, he had a young, beautiful woman
entertaining him. His uncle had offered to send someone over, but all Calix wanted was Anya. He had awoken this morning in a really shitty mood. In the few hours he did sleep, he dreamt of Anya. She was in their bed, smiling at him while cradling their child, to which his crash and smash this morning could probably be attributed to.
Carol hadn’t responded to his email. He was tempted to call his mother,
but with how disappointed she must be in him right now, he wasn’t sure that was a good idea. He might as well get it over with now. He hesitantly picked up his phone and dialed his mom’s number.
“Buon pomeriggio,” Maria answered.
“Mama,” he said so unsure and nervous he slipped back into Italian.
“Calix?”
“Yes.”
“What do you want?” Her voice was colder than he had ever heard it before. “Mama, please, I can guess what you must think of me. Zio told me you blamed him. Please, don’t, he didn’t know what happened.”
“Calix, how could you?” “Mama, I–I don’t know; she didn’t want me, and she was so disgusted at the thought of being touch by me. I wanted her so much. I wanted her to want me, and, when she didn’t, I snapped like I never had before. I’m sorry. Have you heard from her? Is she okay?”
“Carol talked with her earlier. They both cried, but they talked for a while, and everything was straightened out. I talked to Vito; he told me a little of what you are doing. Carol knows, and so does Anya.”
“She does?” “Yes, Carol got the papers, signed them all, and sent them back with the same courier. When Anya called, she told her.”
“Mama, please tell me where is she?” “I don’t know where she is, Calix. Carol talked with her earlier, but I didn’t ask her any questions. I know you love her. That much was obvious when I saw you two together. She may be in denial or just not realize it herself yet, but she does have feelings for you, also. She would have pressed charges and gotten you out of her life that way if she didn’t care for you in some way. And you, only love could bring a strong man to his knees and soften such a hardened heart. I know you are a good man and a good son. But, you have never allowed yourself to love until now, and you went about it the wrong way.”
“Mama, tell me what to do. I’ve never felt this way, never been in this position.”
“I can’t tell you what to do, Calix, you need to figure it out for yourself. This is between you and Anya. You started off bad, whether you can fix it or not, is up to you. I know you aren’t a quitter. If you were, then you wouldn’t be where you are today. I was hurt and disappointed in your behavior, but I know that isn’t you. Calix, it’s a little passed nine pm here, so I’m going to go for now, okay? Remember what I said. It’s up to you. I love you, mio figlio (my son).”
After ending the call, Calix thought about what his mother had said; Anya knew what he and his uncle were doing. She hadn’t called to tell him to stop. She hadn’t told his mother to tell him to stop, and Carol hadn’t told Maria to tell him to stop, so they must all be in agreement.
***
“Okay, yeah, great. Thanks, I owe you one. Bye.”
Nicole turned to Anya, who waited patiently. “So, that was Deejay at the clinic next to the hospital. She said she could send an email to order the test, so you don’t even have to go in or make an appointment. We can just go to the outpatient lab in the hospital. It’s not a priority test so, she put a rush on the results, so depending on when the lab actually runs the test, we can get results tomorrow or Friday.”
“That’s awesome, the less time the better. I don’t think I could wait more than that. I’ve been on pins and needles, since you dropped that bomb on me.”
Nicole used her hands to point to herself. “Me? Drop a bomb on you? Honey, it ain’t my fault if you don’t read the fine print on those instruction papers.”
“You should have seen the house when I got home. I had called Calix from work to tell him I was going to be late, because I needed to pick up a test on the way home. When I got home, the whole entryway and living room was filled with flowers, dozens and dozens of flowers, everywhere in every color and every type. He was so happy and excited. He said we would celebrate no matter what the results were.” Anya’s face fell. “As crazy as it was, I was kinda excited, too, and disappointed when I wasn’t. Is that crazy? Do you think it was just maybe Stockholm syndrome or something?”
Nicole walked over to Anya and hugged her. Rubbing her back soothingly, Nicole answered her, “No, honey, he didn’t kidnap you or hold you hostage. I think you’re in love and don’t want to be and are scared to be. So, you’re doing everything you can not to be. Now, let’s go, and we can get some lunch too. I have a graveyard shift tonight, nine o’clock tonight till seven o’clock tomorrow morning. So, I’m going to have to leave you tonight.”
“That’s okay, you got cable and lots of DVDs. Now, let’s get going.” The girls entered the side entrance of the county hospital, where the
outpatient lab was located. Anya was getting nervous. She hated needles, and her period was now four days late. She was never late. She had heard several people say before that stress can affect your cycle, so, maybe, that was what was happening with her. She was also still processing everything her mother had told her earlier. When Nicole had asked what Anya’s mother had said, Anya told her she couldn’t talk about it. Her mother had overwhelmed her so much, she wasn’t able to tell her mom that there was still a chance she was pregnant.
Now, here she was, walking into a lab to get her blood drawn. She looked around, and there were tubes lined up all over the counters, and plastic baskets filled with the colored rubber things they use to tie around your arm. She could see the chairs that practically locked you in place.
Standing in front of the desk, Anya waited for the nurse to finish up on the phone. She was an older nurse, maybe in her mid-forties. She wasn’t wearing the bland scrubs the other nurses were wearing. Hers were covered with Hello Kitties all over her top and bubble gum pink bottoms.
“Thank you for waiting. How can I help you?” Her voice was deep and crackled, a solid giveaway that she was a smoker. You’d think, being a nurse, she’d know better.
“Hi.” Anya smiled. “My name is Anya Richards. My doctor emailed my blood test order in.”
“Okay, let me just check. Here you are. There are three people in front of you, so if you just take a seat, we’ll call you in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” Anya and Nicole turned around and headed for the generic plastic covered seats to wait. There was a TV bolted on the wall, but it was practically useless since it was muted. It seemed to be on a news station, which made it even more useless because all they did is sit there talk and show pictures, so without the sound, you had no way of guessing what they were talking about. If it had been a TV show, then it would be more like charades, which could be a bit entertaining.
Nicole, again trying to ease the tension, started to just yap insistently about how unfair it was that only certain nurses in certain areas of the hospital got to wear fun and cute scrubs. She absolutely hated the dull grey scrubs she had to wear. She said she’d even once thought of changing to pediatrics, just so she could wear the fun scrubs. Nicole’s talking did the trick; Anya didn’t even realize how long they had waited.
“Anya Richards,” the older nurse croaked out with her smoker’s voice. Anya stood up and walked back up to the desk with Nicole right beside her.
“Yes,” Anya answered when she got to the desk.
“Follow Katie back. She’ll be drawing your blood today.” Anya turned to look at Katie and was not too sure about having this done after all. Katie was short with a cute, layered pixie cut, bright green eyes, and a wide smile. She even had on Betty Boop scrubs. Which was all well and fine. The only thing Anya did not like about Katie was she looked like she was eighteen and fresh out of high school. So, how well trained could she be with needles?
Chapter 22 Thursday morning, Calix woke up ready to conquer the day. He needed to meet the notary and his uncle at Vito’s favorite bistro. By six o’clock tonight, all hell would break loose for Senator Richards, and Tomas didn’t even have a hint that any of this was going to happen.
Calix walked in to La Bella Cantante and headed straight to his uncle’s favorite table. As Calix approached, Vito rose from his seat to greet him.
“Nipote (Nephew).” Vito raised both
his arms in welcome to hug Calix. “Zio.” He returned his uncle’s hug. When both men sat down, the two men in suits sitting at the next table relaxed.
“Zio, I want to apologize.” “No,” Veto cut in, “believe it or not, I know how it is to lose yourself with a woman. I was disappointed, though. I’ve talked with your mother, everything is straightened out, so no more talk of this. Now, Alex Valastro is the notary. He’s also a good friend of mine, and he will be here shortly. Then our appointments will start showing up. Despite what you may be feeling right now, you need to be stone, capisce?”
“Si.”
Five minutes later, Mr. Valastro walked in and business was on.
*** An exhausted Nicole unlocked her apartment door. It had been a long night, people left and right on gurneys. They didn’t go a single twenty minutes without a new patient coming in. She was supposed get off at seven, but being busy and short staffed again, it was a little passed nine in the morning, and she was just getting home.
“Morning.” Nicole yawned as she greeted Anya.
“Morning. Weren’t you supposed to be home earlier?” “Yeah, but, it’s like I told you, we’ve been under staffed. I’m going to shower and sleep for a couple of hours, and then we can go for lunch.”
“No, it’s okay. I didn’t get much sleep either. That bloodsucker at the hospital bruised my arm pretty good, and my mind just kept running nonstop, you know, about the results and stuff. I slept on and off. So, I just really wanna veg.”
“Well, I won’t argue with that.” Nicole laughed.
*** Having his wife gone was a doubleedged sword for Senator Richards. On one side, it allowed him the freedom of having his mistress come to him, but he had to be more careful in public, because wanna-bepaparazzi were around every corner, waiting for a juicy picture. With his wife out of town, almost any picture could be made into a bigger story. If he had it his way, he would have let his wife go years ago when she wanted to, but talking with his campaign manager they agreed that with a wholesome family portrayal, he would be scrutinized less and be more favorable in the voter’s eyes.
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