“I want to know where I can find her, I just want to talk to her to make sure she is ok.”
“Do you really think that is such a good Idea under the circumstances?”
Just then they heard a knock at the door. “That would be them.” Kevin said, he was never so glad to see anyone in his life. He could see the anger building in Rian and wasn’t sure how long it would be before he would take his frustration out on him. Garrett stood about 5’7” with a strong broad shoulders and dark hair. Diane stood 5’4” blond with a slender build. But her manner was very abrupt. “Hi Garrett…, Diana.” Kevin greeted them.
“Hi Kev….” Diane saw Rian standing in Kevin’s living room and had to hold herself back from bashing his face in. “Rian.” She said coldly.
“Diane…” Rian said pleadingly. “Some one needs to tell me what is going on. Kevin, what did you mean…..under the circumstances?
“I’ll tell you exactly what he means you dirty low life scum bag.” Diana screamed. “Your sweet little Miss Kareena is pregnant. Rian stood perfectly still absorbing the shock of what she said. Even though he knew it was a possibility, the reality of hearing it sent shivers down his spine. He tried to quiet his pounding heart so he could speak coherently.
“Why didn’t she tell me?” was all he could say. It took him another minute before he could speak again, “Where is she?”
“She is somewhere far away, and she doesn’t want to be found, especially by you.”
“No…, I have to speak to her! You have to tell me where she is!”
“Well it’s not up to me, but if I were her, I’d make you pay big time, you selfish ignorant bastard.” Rian just looked at Diana, and took everything she was dishing out. He deserved that and more.
“What about Genna, at least let me speak with her.”
“Do you think she’ll tell you where they are? I don’t think so!”
Garrett could see the pain in Rian’s eyes. He reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. Rian turned abruptly and almost nailed him. His anxiety and anger had built to near explosive proportions.
“Woe, Garrett said, I think we need to call Genna right now. Let Kareena decide weather or not to speak to Rian.”
“She already decided that Garrett! …. What now you’re on his side?”
“No!” Garrett said in a stern voice. “I just think that they should talk this out themselves. It’s not for us to decide.”
Rian gave Garrett a look of appreciation, and watched while Garrett dialed a ten digit number. He recognized the area code. ‘That would be South Florida, so the girls had gone to Florida after all.’ Kareena answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi Kareena.” Rian’s heart quickened at the sound of her name. “It’s Garrett, listen Rian is here, he wants to speak to you.”
“What... Garret why…why would you?”
“Kareena, he is in a lot of pain, he really needs to speak to you.” “Have you told him where we are?”
“No!”
“Did you tell him that I’m pregnant?”
“Yes, I’m sorry Diana did, you know how upset she is with Rian over this.”
“Oh great, I really don’t need any more complications in my life Garrett. I’ve made up my mind and I really didn’t want him to know anything about it. I knew it would only hurt him.”
“I know, but if you could just see his face right now. It’s only fair that he knows.”
“I know, I know, ok…your right put him on.”
“Kareena?… Kareena where are you? I’m so sorry, I didn’t know! Kareena…oh God! Where are you?”
“Rian, listen, I’m sorry I didn’t let you know. I didn’t want it to be like this. I just thought it best if you didn’t know anything about it.”
“Kareena I need to see you! Look I know your in South Florida, I’ll come down. We need to talk about this.”
Kevin and Garrett glanced at each other; Diana had walked out the door in anger. Kevin and Garrett decided to follow to give Rian and Kareena their privacy.
“Rian, I don’t’ think that’s a good idea. I’ve made an appointment at the hospital.”
“No, you can’t do this.”
“Well what is your solution Rian? You’ve made it clear that there is no place in your life for me.”
“But this changes everything.” He couldn’t believe he was saying this to her. He didn’t’ even know if it was true. His Da was the last person on his mind right now.
“How is that Rian? You really don’t want me to bare your children do you? After all you know I’m not whole, and what do you think that would make a child of ours. I don’t think I could live with passing on my weak genes to our child Rian.”
“I…..I need to see you Kareena, I love you.”
“No Rian .... Don’t say that” She was sobbing now. “You’re only…sob… making it harder.” She was trying to be strong but she could feel herself falling apart. Why had he said he loved her? ‘This is so impossible!’
“I know. I’m sorry!” He had to think of something to make her allow him to see her. He said the only thing that came to mind. “What about money, you must need money.”
“Oh Rian, don’t worry I’ll get buy. It was my decision, so I’ll foot the bill. I’ve saved a little. Another three weeks and I’ll have enough.”
God, she was the strongest combination of conflict. Strong yet Fragile, and here she was playing the martyr to a fault.
“What is the date of your appointment?” He asked
“Four weeks from today, the twenty forth.”
“I’d like to be there with you.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. It will only make it more difficult if you’re there. Genna will go with me.”
“How can you just throw me out of your life like that Kareena?”
“I don’t think it was me who did the throwing Rian! We had an agreement remember, no strings.”
“Well I was wrong.”
“What about your father? Are you going to throw away your future?”
Silence….Rian had no response.
“That’s what I thought, it’s to late Rian.” She hung up the phone. She had been trying to hold on, but she couldn’t keep it in any longer. The sobbing took hold of her and she began shaking uncontrollably.
Rian rushed out of Kevin’s house, and made it back to his dorm in record time. He picked up the phone and dialed Ireland. His parents were still in Killarney for the six week holiday. “Da, please, you have to help me!”
After a lengthy and sorrowful explanation, Sean said. “I told you to stay away from her Son, but did you listen? No you didn’t! You never listen! You’re just going to have to suck it up Son. She is doing the right thing. Leave it be Rian, that’s all I have to say, good by!”
Katherine, who was listening on the other line, walked out of the bedroom with that look on her face that Sean always tried to stay clear of. “Are you going to allow this?” She screamed. “Are you going to allow that little bitch to kill our grandchild?”
“You heard him, Katherine, she is not Irish , she’s a half breed she has less than adequate genes, and I don’t want a grandchild of ours to be born weak; you know what society does to the weak.”
“You don’t even know this girl, you only laid eyes on her once. It seems to me that she has some kind of moxie to be sticking to her convictions. But she has to be stopped. You will do something about this Sean O’Connor or I’ll be making your life a bloody living hell.
“Alright…. Alright Katherine, I’ll see what I can do. But our son needs to learn his lesson. He can’t keep on making these blunders, without endangering our whole family and our futures.”
Sean immediately picked up the phone and made two calls the first to Tom Stanton an old friend and X-CIA operative in Boston. Tom and Sean were very tight when they worked together for the CIA. That was a long time ago, but they had always stayed in touch. The second call was to Doctor Phillip Barrett, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Crisis
Rian cursed as the traffic from the Ft Lauderdale airport backed up. They were headed south to Hollywood in the taxi he had flagged at the airport. He had to stop her from going through with the abortion.
“Can’t this bloody cab go any faster?” He questioned. He had tried to find her with no help from his father. He had called every restaurant in two counties with no luck. He had even tried the nursing homes, knowing that Genna might be at one of them. Of course no one would give out any information on either of them. A person doesn’t just disappear like that. His luck was with him the day he discovered which hospital she was to have the abortion. He had called several in Broward County posing as a doctor. He luckily stumbled upon a new employee who after using his Irish charm gave him the information he needed.
Kareena sat on the gurney wearing the hospital gown that the nurse had given her. She’d be next.
I’m not sure if I’m doing the right thing, should I walk out? No! If only I hadn’t taken that abortion pill to get rid of this child. “Child” that’s right it is a child. What am I doing? I must be out of my mind. If that medication did some irreversible damage, I’d never forgive myself. Or if this child has the weak gene, as surely it would, how could it not.
My Mom passed it on to me and her Mom to her. It doesn’t skip a generation. No, I can’t put a child through the same suffering that I’ve felt, and witnessed: The depression, the weakness, the inability to function normally, the daily fight to fit in, the constant struggle to overcome my mental failings. No, it would defiantly be passed on to this child. Yes, than there’s the alcoholism on my fathers side. This child would surely be cursed. No, defiantly not…I can’t.
“Kareena.” The nurse called her name. She looked up as they walked to her and began wheeling her into the operation room.
Rian paid the cab driver and rushed into the Hospital lobby. He asked at the desk for directions as he quickly glanced at his watch. The elevator seemed to take for ever to get to the third floor. He stepped out and saw her being wheeled down the hall on a gurney. He called her name “Kareena!” She didn’t respond.
At that same moment he felt a hand grab on to his right arm with a slight pinch. He turned and was looking into his father’s eyes.
“It’s done Rian…. It’s done!”
“No!” He screamed. What …. Why are you here?” He said as he pushed his father away.
“I knew you would come. I knew you would need my support.”
“I need to see Kareena!”
“That would only make it more difficult for her Rian, you know that! I think it’s best if we go.”
“No! I need to make sure she’s ok!”
“She will be just fine Son, I spoke to the Doctor. She’s doing great. Listen, you never planned on marrying her, so why make her life more painful than it already is? She’ll forget about you, and go on to have a good life. Your young, Rian, you have so much ahead of you. Don’t let this get in your way. I’ve paved the way for you to follow in our ancestor’s footsteps, you have an obligation to our family. You will achieve greatness one day. Don’t’ make a mistake for a fleeting romance that was never meant to be.”
They had entered a white room, when Rian realized that his father had been leading him away form her. What was his father saying: Something about marriage – ancestry – romance? None of it was making any sense. He felt light headed and his world went black.
Kareena arrived home the following evening. She had gone directly form the Hospital home. She was wiped out, she needed to sit down. She had done the right thing, she was sure of it. Even if she had second thoughts it was too late. Now she would have to live with her decision. Genna had picked her up and made sure she was comfortable, but now had to leave for work but would be home in the morning from her night shift.
Kareena needed to sleep. The abortion hadn’t gone as planned. The doctor said there were complications. They needed to do some laparoscopic repair, and she had to stay in the hospital overnight. She had been told that all of the medical bills had been taken care of by an anonymous donor. She knew Rian was behind it. ‘Well’ She thought. ‘He hadn’t shown up to be with me so I guess this was his way of saying goodbye and easing his conscience.’ She lay down on the bed and slept.
The “Dream” woke her in the middle of the night, only this time it was a little different. She struggled to keep it in her memory. She shivered with the eerie feeling that came over her as it slowly came back to her. It started the same as always with the darkness and the pain that came with the shards of light, but this time a dark figure stood off to the side partially hidden by a large object that she couldn’t identify. She heard a voice calling her name, and then it was gone. She remembered screaming. Had it been her screaming in her sleep or had she dreamed it? She wasn’t sure.
Sleep
Rian woke with a throbbing headache; he was in a familiar room, but for the life of him, he could not remember how he had gotten there. He tried to rise his head but the dizziness over took him; he fell back against the pillow. His head was bandaged. As he lay there he found it difficult to recall the events that led to his current situation. He knew he was in Killarney and that his Mum had been tending to him, but he could not remember what had happened. He knew he had been in and out of conciseness for sometime. His left arm was bandaged and his right had an IV tube attached. As his eyes scanned the room he could hear the monitor behind him. He tried to call out but his mouth felt so dry, he could not even manage a whisper. He could see the tiny bubbles float to the top of the IV drip, and his eyes closed again.
Katherine entered Rian’s room. She gazed upon her son with a heavy heart. Since the accident she had been nursing him day and night, she had thought he was about to regain consciousness on numerous occasions and her heart would soar with anticipation as his eyes would flutter. But then he was still again.
Sean had unveiled the events to Katherine just as he had planned. It all happened the day that Kareena was to have the abortion. Sean had described the tragic event. Rian had rushed to the clinic to stop her. The traffic was horrific. He didn’t make it in time.
Doctor Barrett was on the case, there were complications; the fetus had developed enough for the procedure to take place. The doctor had made an unprecedented decision. He would try to save the fetus. They did all they could for Kareena, but they could not save her. The fetus was placed in a cocoon. The research had been completed, and the trials were just beginning.
The project had cost over a 12 million dollars to date. They had discovered a way to keep a fetus alive by attaching the umbilical cord to a specially formulated feeding tube. It simulated the mother’s feeding from the womb. This project had sprung from the geoconectics research in test tube reproduction. So when the opportunity presented itself Dr. Barrett had no choice but to take a chance.
Six months had passed and the fetus was doing well. It was developing at a normal rate now. At first it was touch and go. It was a matter of finding the correct formula for the feeding. This fetus did not respond to the normal nutritional formula that was to be expected. Several times they thought they had lost her. It was a simple change. They discovered that they needed more magnesium and less iron in the formula. All other parts of the recipe had remained the same.
So in five more weeks Katherine would have her grandchild with her. Poor Kareena, she had lost too much blood. The Doctors did all they could, but they could not save her.
Rian had taken it hard. After many hours, he had left the clinic, and flew back to Hartford he had rented a car to drive back to school so he wouldn’t have to leave his Mercedes at the airport. He met with a horrible accident on the highway back to Williams. The roads were slick and he must have been driving at a high rate of speed. He slid off the road and the car overturned. He had been thrown from the vehicle.
Sean told Katherine, he thought that Rian may have been trying to end his life. He had severe head trauma. They didn’t know if he would m
ake it. Sean had been in D.C. when they notified him. He flew to Boston where Rian had been transferred. After five weeks Sean made the arrangements to have Rian transported back home to Killarney. He knew that’s where Rian would have the best chance for recovery. Dr. Barrett had flown in on several occasions to check on Rian and had left his best assistant here to watch over him.
As Katherine sat on the edge of Rian’s bed and stroked his hand, she heard a slight change in his breathing, and what sounded like a soft moan. She took a peace of ice from the cup and put it to his lips as she had done hundreds of times over the past Six months. His eyes fluttered again and his fingers twitched. She spoke to him softly. “Rian, sweet heart, can you hear me? Please, Rian if you can here me move your fingers. Please let me know in some way. You know your going to pull through this. You know you have a lot to look forward to. Your baby will be coming home in a few short weeks. Rian, she’s going to need her Da. Rian, we all need you. Rian, please, please wake up.” Katherine felt the heat from the tears that were making tracks down her cheeks. She felt his fingers move again. “Rian…Rian honey, you do hear me don’t you?”
“Ms. Segur, please come here please quickly. Derica Segur was in charge of monitoring Rian’s life support equipment and tending to his medical needs. She came in to the room and saw the movement in Rian’s fingers that Katherine was feeling. She had been instructed to change the IV drip precisely at the appropriate time to allow Rian to begin regaining consciousness slowly. She had started this procedure the preceding day.
The plan was to give Rian enough time to absorb the news of Kareena’s passing and the new baby. Give him some time with the new baby and his Mum, Sister and Father. Then he would finish school in Oxford. He would then all go back to Gillingham where he would begin his internship with his father.
Ms. Segur told Katherine that it looked very promising, but with a head injury of this nature it may take several more days before we see much more than the hand movements. Katherine nodded and motioned the nurse away.
Humorlost (Humorlost Book I of III) Page 7