by Trish Moran
‘Hey! There’s Pellier!’ Leon said as their friend joined them.
They stood talking about the success of the concert for a while.
‘Is Yuri with you?’ Ruby asked, looking around.
‘No,’ Pellier shook his head. ‘We haven’t seen much of him lately. He rarely goes to college; says he knows more than the lecturers can teach him already!’
‘He’s probably right,’ Ruby said. ‘But college life does allow you to get used to Non-Lab life, doesn’t it?’
‘We don’t have any complaints with college life, do we, Johnny?’ Leon said as his brother approached. ‘We get on well with Non-Labs, don’t we?’
‘I’m having a great time at college!’ Pellier looked around. ‘And I think this concert has shown that Labs and Non-Labs can get on quite happily together!’
Johnny nodded towards Mrs Armstrong, who was talking to her son, ‘There’s one person who probably wouldn’t agree with you! She was talking to me earlier on without realising who I am.’
‘What did she say?’ Ruby asked him. ‘Something against the Labs?’
‘No, she wasn’t openly anti-Lab, but her friendly act was starting to slip! She started to say it was nice to talk to someone who wasn’t a … then she quickly changed it to “wasn’t a famous musician”!’
‘Does she know about Simon and Sakura?’ Ruby wondered.
‘Sakura will have her work cut out if she ends up with her as a mother-in-law!’ Johnny said.
The Prime Minister’s aide was introducing Mrs Armstrong to different performers from the concert.
‘And this is one of our talented violinists, Sakura,’ he said as Sakura held out her hand.
‘Mrs Armstrong, I am so pleased to meet you! I hope you enjoyed the concert,’ she said smiling warmly.
Mrs Armstrong touched her hand briefly.
‘Yes, it was very good! What talented performers!’ she replied. She felt a sense of relief as the aide introduced a young man with dreadlocks.
‘Hey, man! An honour to meet you!’ he gave a wide smile, pumping her arm enthusiastically. ‘Glad to have you on board, supporting us!’
She fixed the smile on her face as she realised he was also a Lab, and murmured a vague agreement. Looking around she was relieved to see Simon coming towards her.
‘Excuse me a moment, won’t you?’ she moved to join her son.
‘Hey, Mom! Isn’t this just great! Unbelievable!’ his eyes were shining. ‘What did you think of Sakura? Isn’t she beautiful? And so talented? She’s just wonderful!’
His mother gave a slight nod, ‘Yes, she is …’
Simon continued, ‘Have you seen how many celebrities are here? All giving us their support! It’s just so good! Gives us so much hope for our future!’
Mrs Armstrong gave another wan smile, ‘Simon, I’m rather tired; I think I’ll get the car to take me back to the hotel.’
‘Of course, Mom!’ he looked concerned and spoke to the aide who gave a nod and left. ‘The car will be here in a moment.’
He walked with her to the car and helped her in, ‘I’ll call and see you in the morning, OK?’
She leant back against the seat of the car, Simon’s words going over in her mind:
‘… Giving us their support … gives us so much hope for our future!’
‘Us … our?’ she muttered.
‘Labs and Non-Labs come together for the greatest show of the year!’ Johnny read aloud from the newspaper the next morning. ‘And look! There’s a photo of Keith on the sound system!’
‘He seems to have found his niche!’ Celia said smiling as Johnny spread the paper on the table.
‘There’s Sakura, Jade, and Miyu. And Jamie and Zorro!’ Leon leaned over his brother’s shoulder.
‘Last night’s celebration heralds a whole new era for the Labs,’ Ruby read out. ‘This morning Abel, the Lab leader, is due to continue talks with the Prime Minister and members of Amnesty International to establish the legal standing of the Labs.’
‘Won’t it be great when we all this is sorted out and we don’t have to hide who we are?’ Leon sighed.
‘Yeah, just like Non-Labs do every day!’ Johnny added.
As they continued to talk about their future lives, Celia got up.
‘I’d better get back to the Centre, to check Abel has all the data he needs for this meeting. No, you stay here for a while, Ruby!’ she added as Ruby made to follow her.
Back at the office, Celia switched on her laptop. She plugged in her memory stick and began to scroll through the lists of names.
‘There must be some more details here!’ she muttered to herself, ‘Something to help me get on to him!’
She clicked open a file entitled VC and scanned through the information again.
‘Vincent Craig, father of Marissa Craig.
Cell donor: Marissa Craig, female, age 10 months.
Code SEL 43126
Procedure initiated date:…………… Personnel:…………
On a second page Celia read, as she had so many times in the last few weeks:
Informed of death of donor, aged 4 years and two months.
Instructions to cancel subscription and to discard cells to be implemented immediately.
Finalised date ………. Personnel …………….’
Celia opened a second file that held a newspaper report of the tragic road accident that had killed her donor, Marissa, and left Vincent Craig, her father, in a wheelchair. Her mother Vanessa had survived the crash, suffering less serious injuries.
She once again read through the background details of Marissa’s parents. Vincent Craig worked for a large IT company in New York; his ex-wife now lived in Florida with her new family.
Celia had made several searches on both of them.
‘If only I could find out how they would react if they knew of my existence,’ she whispered to herself. ‘Would they want to meet me? Or would they hate me, surviving when their daughter did not?’
She sighed and pushed the chair back. If only they would get in touch with the Centre! But why would they have reason to? If only she knew what they were thinking! Suddenly she sat up straight. She was staring at Vincent Craig’s email address linked to his work.
If she could get into his email box and take a look at some of the emails he had sent and received, she might get some idea of his feelings!
When Ruby came into the Centre office that evening, Celia was still on the computer. She quickly minimised the screen as Ruby came in.
‘Celia! You work too hard!’ Ruby said. ‘Some of the Labs have suggested a rerun of Zorro’s concert on the big screen in the hall; do you want to join us?’
‘No, that’s OK, Ruby,’ she yawned. ‘I’ll be going to bed soon!’
‘Any news from Abel?’ Ruby asked her.
‘He phoned a few hours ago. Things are going pretty slowly. The government officials and our lawyers are trying to establish the definition of “race” they can both agree on.’
‘Nothing is straightforward, is it?’ Ruby said.
After Ruby had left, Celia turned back to the computer and opened the screen she had been looking at. Her face was tense with concentration until suddenly she gave a cry. Success! She was now looking at the first page of Vincent Craig’s email box! Her heart pounded as she saw there were several recent ones from his ex-wife. She quickly opened one with an attachment.
Hi Vince,
Here are the photos I told you about. I must admit it brought back good and bad memories looking through them. Still, whatever happened we must keep our little girl in our minds! She did bring us so much joy, we mustn’t forget that – but I’m not so sure about your idea to contact the Centre, Vince. Why reopen old wounds? It won’t bring her back, will it?
Take care,
Vanessa
Celia’s hands trembled as she pressed the button to download the attachment. Soon she was looking at photos of the young Marissa.
The first one sh
owed her sleeping in a cot beside a teddy bear twice the size of herself. There were several more of her as a young baby – one had a man’s arms holding her as she splashed about in a bubble bath, the same arms held her up as she gazed in amazement at a brightly lit Christmas tree. The next group were of the family at a holiday resort. There was a picture of the three of them together, smiling into the camera.
Celia peered at the picture of the smiling baby.
‘I must have looked exactly like that as I slept in the Nursery Ward,’ she thought. She looked at a close up of the family group.
‘Who do I take after now?’ she asked herself as she scrutinised the features on each face, ‘Marissa’s mother or father?’
She scrolled through the pictures again, wondering how it would be to be created by love and loved and cared for by a mother and a father.
‘But their love was not enough to save her when their car crashed,’ she thought ruefully. ‘And, yet, if it had been, I may not be here now.’
She closed Vincent’s email box as she heard voices nearing the office. Abel and Fil came in.
‘Celia! You’re still working!’ Abel patted her shoulder, ‘Ruby says you’ve been here all day!’
‘You didn’t even join us for lunch!’ Fil added. ‘Don’t overdo it now.’
‘Any luck researching “race”? Any previous court cases? Definitions? Anything useful? Our lawyers are struggling, even with our own Lab helpers,’ Abel asked.
‘You can find useful information where no one else even thinks of looking!’ Fil said. ‘What have you come up with so far, Celia?’
Celia shook her head as she opened a file on the screen.
‘Nothing much, so far. There are no previous situations that fall into the same category as we do,’ she told them. ‘But I’m not giving up yet. I’ve one or two ideas that may prove useful. Did you bring me the information you’ve obtained so far?’
Abel switched on his own laptop and went to pick up Celia’s memory stick.
‘Yes, I’ll copy it for you now.’
Celia snatched up her stick and pushed it into her pocket.
‘No! Just copy it straight into the office folder! Much quicker that way!’ she said.
Chapter Eighteen
Ruby had just reached her apartment door the following evening when she heard someone call her name. She smiled as Beth hurried to her side.
‘Could you come with me, Ruby, please?’ she asked, a note of anxiety in her voice.
‘Of course,’ Ruby replied. She followed the young girl through a side gate and along a narrow road leading to the village. Her attempts to question Beth had been met with a quick shake of the head.
‘Wait! We will both tell you!’ she had whispered.
At the end of the lane, Frank was waiting. He gave Ruby a smile.
‘Thanks for coming. I live just up here.’
Soon they were seated in a tiny flat. Frank gave them each a mug of tea.
‘Do you want me to tell her, love?’ he asked gently and turned to Ruby as Beth nodded.
‘Beth’s having my baby – but everything is going to be OK. I can look after her and the baby! I’ve got my old job back, apprenticeship, plumber. He’s given me a chance to make a go of it! And I can. I’ve got this place, too!’ he blurted out.
‘Wow!’ Ruby sat back in her chair, ‘Slow down a bit!’ She looked at Beth who sat tensely, looking at the floor.
‘Have you been to the doctor?’
Beth shook her head.
‘She’s fine! But we will have to think about doctors now. She’s about six weeks pregnant, we think,’ Frank said.
Beth shook her head again.
‘No! I don’t want anyone to try to take this baby away from us!’
Frank looked appealingly at Ruby, ‘I’ve already told her they can’t do that, can they?’
‘No, of course not!’ she said. ‘You will need to see a doctor, though. Just to make sure everything is fine; it is the first Lab baby.’
‘Why won’t it be? Beth is healthy!’ he smiled and squeezed her hand. ‘Everything will be just great!’
He looked at Ruby again, his face serious, ‘There’s one thing, though. Neither of us wants this to turn into a circus act! Beth wanted us to disappear and start again somewhere. But I said we aren’t running anywhere, we’ve got nothing to hide! We’re going to be a normal family!’
‘I’m sure you will be! We will have to speak to Abel, about the doctor and also about avoiding publicity.’ Ruby looked at their expressions, ‘Would you like me to speak to him first?’
They both nodded.
‘Beth … we … are a bit nervous about his reaction. But we’ve made our minds up!’ Frank said.
Ruby also felt nervous as she stood outside Abel’s apartment later that evening. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
Abel looked pleased to see her.
‘Sorry to disturb you, Abel …’ she began.
‘Ruby! Come in!’ he saw her expression. ‘What is it?’
She took another deep breath.
‘I have to talk to you about Beth and Frank,’ she waved a hand as he began to make a disparaging remark about the young man. ‘No, he’s much different than when we first met him. I told you how he had stopped me and apologised! He’s totally supportive of the Labs. And he’s extremely fond of Beth. Very protective of her. She’s really inspired him. He’s got a job and a flat and …’
‘Why do you think I’ll be interested in hearing about the reform of a young Non-Lab thug?’ Abel interrupted her. ‘Unless it directly affects us Labs?’
‘Beth’s pregnant by him!’ Ruby blurted out. ‘They are both really pleased! They’re going to be a real family! It’s a real chance for Labs and Non-Labs to integrate! Of course, Beth is going to need to have medical supervision …’
She stopped talking as Abel stood up.
‘So, for the sake of integration, you have encouraged a Non-Lab and Lab to embark on some romantic idea of family life! Have you any idea what you may have started?’
Ruby stood up to face him.
‘Just wait a minute! I did not encourage anyone to do anything! I’ve only just learned about it myself! I’m here to ask you to help them; not to come down on them like a ton of bricks!’
Abel sat down, and put his head in his hands.
Ruby sighed, ‘Look, Abel. This was bound to happen, sooner or later! Young people together, whether they are Lab or Non-Lab …’
He looked up, ‘You are a Non-Lab. You know what you are. You know how your body works; how you develop; how you produce young. We know very little yet of how Labs will develop outside the laboratory!’
‘I think we might as well be optimistic. Both Frank and Beth are healthy. So, chances are their baby will be fine …’
Abel got up and paced around the room. Finally he gave a sigh.
‘I will phone the Compound doctor immediately. Ask Beth and Frank to go to the office.’
Ruby put a hand on his arm.
‘Abel! I promised Beth and Frank I would stand by them on this, and I will! They have done nothing wrong, just behaved as young people have done since … since people were on this earth! They need sympathy and help through this!’
Abel gave a brief nod and left with Ruby following him.
‘Well, as far as we can tell, the pregnancy is proceeding as a normal human pregnancy should,’ the doctor told Beth and Frank as they sat nervously in front of him. Frank beamed at Beth.
‘I told you, love! Everything is going to be fine!’
‘Looking at the scan,’ the doctor continued, lighting up the image on a screen, ‘I would say you are nearer to three months than the six weeks you calculated.’
‘That doesn’t seem right!’ Beth frowned. ‘But as long as the baby is healthy …’
The doctor spread his hands, ‘Everything seems as normal, just further on than we would expect. We will monitor you closely, of course.’
Fran
k beamed at Beth again, who returned his smile, ‘Our baby, Beth! Our baby!’
‘Would you like us to allow the others to come in now, Beth?’ the doctor said.
She nodded her head as Frank frowned.
‘Don’t worry, Frank. All the Labs are going to be interested in what’s happening,’ she told him.
The doctor spoke into an intercom and Celia and Ruby entered. They looked at the image on the screen and Ruby hugged Beth to her.
‘Oh, Beth, Frank! Your baby! You can almost see his, or her, little arms and legs!’
Celia looked impassively at the screen, ‘It would probably be best to keep this out of the public eye for the moment.’
Frank nodded in agreement, ‘Yes. We don’t want reporters following Beth around! She needs to take care of herself, now!’
‘Abel has agreed that you can both move into the empty staff accommodation for the moment, until the baby is born,’ Ruby told them. ‘You can continue to work outside the Compound, Frank.’
‘We will show you the entrance we use. You must be discreet,’ Celia added.
‘Oh, that would be great! Thanks!’ Frank said. ‘By the time Beth has had our baby I’ll have nearly finished my apprenticeship. I’ll be earning better money. We’ll have a really nice home for our family, Beth!’
As the doctor arranged further appointments with Beth, Ruby spoke to Celia.
‘It’s so exciting, isn’t it? But you’re right; with Abel in the middle of talks with the government, I think it’s better if we keep this story to ourselves for as long as we can.’
‘I don’t think that will be for too long, somehow!’ Celia remarked. ‘News stories seem to have a way of getting out!’
Ruby frowned. Celia was probably right. She decided to phone Isaac; ask him to prepare a positive news story ready for when the storm broke.
A week later Frank was walking out of the village when he saw Steve and Callum.
‘Oh, hi, Steve, Callum. How’s things?’
Steve shrugged, ‘Pretty much the same here. I’ve heard you’re back at Milton’s; finishing your apprenticeship?’