by JL Curtis
Aaron nodded as he pulled slowly across the cattle guard and onto Highway 18. Meanwhile, the old man had stepped back into the house and called the ER, letting them know that Jesse was on the way. The nurse that took the call promised to call Doc Truesdale and advise him, as he was the on-call doctor for the day.
The old man went into Aaron and Jesse’s room and stripped the sheets off the bed, throwing them in the washer. He was thankful he’d remembered about mattress covers and had purchased one just in case. At least the mattress wouldn’t be ruined. Having done that, he got the dogs calmed down and went back to bed. He knew there wasn’t a damn thing he could do, he’d just be in the way anyhow. Besides, he knew a phone call one way or the other would be coming in the morning.
As Aaron pulled into the ER entrance, he saw Doc Truesdale come through the doors with a wheelchair and he stopped right there. He jumped out and fell, cussing the prosthetic, picked himself up and hobbled around to help get Jesse into the wheelchair. Doc looked at him and said, “Okay, Aaron, calm down. We got time here. Contractions, Jesse?”
Jesse looked up. “Oh hell, yes! And my water broke too. These are a lot worse than the false ones the other day.”
Doc asked, “How far apart are they?”
Jesse shrugged. “Dunno, I haven’t been counting. Argh! That’s one!”
Doc glanced at his watch, “Okay, we’ll get you in. Aaron, go park the truck. And don’t hit anything. She’s not going to deliver before you can get back here!”
Aaron nodded nervously. “Okay, Doc. Be right back.” He hobbled back around the truck as Doc wheeled Jesse through the ER doors. He handed Jesse off to Rosa and Evangeline the two night nurses and asked them to prep her for labor, then he headed for his office. He flipped through his Rolodex and found the anesthesiologist he wanted. Dialing the phone he waited impatiently. “Derrick, got one in labor that just came in. Water broke about a half hour ago. Contractions are forty-five by six. I’m guessing we’ll be doing an epidural on her in about three hours. Can you come in and administer please?”
Derrick said he would and Doc hung up. Heading back down the hall he saw Aaron and said, “Okay let’s go see how Jesse’s doing. And how are you doing, Mr. Miller?”
Aaron glanced at Doc. “Scared shitless to be honest. There isn’t a damn thing I can do but hold her hand. It’s not a great feeling, Doc.”
Doc said sympathetically, “Yep, you’re pretty much out of the picture at this point. But you need to understand Jesse may cuss you, call you names, and blame you for her pain and everything else. Just remember it’s not personal, and she’s just lashing out at anything and everything. Hell, you wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve been called!”
Aaron chuckled nervously. “Okay, Doc, whatever you say.”
Doc and Aaron walked into the delivery room and Doc proceeded to examine Jesse as the contractions continued. “Well, you’re only dilated about three centimeters, so it’s going to be a while. And the contractions are steady, so I don’t have any good news for you at this point Jesse, other than the fetal monitor shows the baby is not reacting adversely to the contractions. When was your last OB appointment?”
Jesse finished a contraction and said, “Um, you’re not going to like me for this, but. Uh! Probably two months ago. We’ve been kinda busy with Aaron’s rehab.”
Doc shook his head. “Damn acorns never do fall far from the tree! You and John are just like each other, going to the damn doctor won’t kill you.” Turning to Rosa he said, “Guess we’ll have to do a full workup. Jesse, do you remember what doc you were seeing down there?”
Jesse slumped back and said, “I think it was Bend or Bond. It was at the hospital. I don’t really remember.”
***
The next morning, Aaron was walking Jesse up and down the hall as Angelina came through the door. Angelina hugged Jesse and asked, “How long?”
Jesse said, “So far about seven hours I guess. Doc was going to give me an epidural about three hours ago, but told Aaron to get me up. I’ve been walking up and down this damn hallway since! I- Ow! Ow!”
Angelina took Jesse’s other arm. “Okay, let’s get you back to delivery, I think you’re a little closer than you think you are.” Guiding them back to delivery, she helped Jesse get back in bed as another strong contraction hit, and Angelina said, “Aaron, help her with the breathing please. Long deep breaths.” Aaron nodded, and Angelina disappeared out the door. After a quick turnover with Evangeline, and tracking down Doc Truesdale who was asleep on his couch, they convened back at Jesse’s bedside. Doc examined Jesse and he and Angelina held a muted conversation, pissing Jesse off. “Hey guys, I’m right here. Since you’re looking at my vagina, how about filling me in?”
Aaron coughed, and tried to calm Jesse, but she wasn’t having any of it. “Seven, or is it eight hours, of this shit so far has me just a tad tired and grumpy. So if y’all have something to say, just say it, dammit!”
Doc looked at Angelina and finally said, “Well, you’re dilating nicely, the baby is head down, starting to crown and we were trying to decide whether to leave you here, or put you in the delivery-“
Jesse grunted a near scream, grasped Aaron’s hand in a vice-like grip and almost convulsed with the strength of the contraction. Aaron said, “Breathe, honey, breathe!”
Jesse replied between gasps, "If I weren't breathing, I'd be dead. Shut up - it hurts."
Doc said, “Well, I guess that answered that. Ang, go get Derrick please, it’s time for the epidural and I think we have a new voice about to be heard. Ang, I think we better get busy. Get Rosa in here and let’s deliver this baby.”
***
An hour and forty-five minutes later a healthy baby boy lay on Jesse’s chest, as Doc and Angelina finished up the birth paperwork, “Okay, APGAR eight at one minute, nine at five minutes transient cyanosis, nineteen inches, eight and three quarter pounds time was zero nine fifteen.” Angelina finished the last notes, and Doc continued, “Let Rosa have the baby, we’ll put him in the nursery and let you get cleaned up Jesse. We’ve got a few things to do in here to clean up too. Aaron, if you want to take a walk, maybe get something to eat, this would be a good time to do it.”
Aaron leaned over Jesse and said, “I love you, I love you. I’ll be back in a few minutes. You want me to call Mr. Cronin?”
Jesse nodded weakly. “Please. And tell him not to rush over here, I’m not presentable.” Handing the baby to Rosa, Jesse added, “Thank you all. And I cannot imagine how our ancestors gave birth out here a hundred years ago with no doctors and no meds. Thank you!”
Angelina hurried back in with a little point and shoot camera. “Gotta get a picture of Mommy, Daddy and the new baby! Do y’all have a name picked out?” Rosa handed the baby back to Jesse as Jesse said, “Jace Cronin.”
Angelina looked at Aaron in confusion and Aaron said, “I know Mr. Cronin thought the Cronin name would die with him, but Jesse and I talked about it, and decided this would be the best way to continue the name.”
Jesse reached over and squeezed Aaron’s hand and pulled him down to her saying, “Okay Ang, take the picture already, I gotta pee!” As Angelina took the picture, she whispered in Aaron’s ear, “Thank you for that. It will mean a lot to him.”
Aaron squeezed back, and said, “Oh shit. I gotta call in! I was supposed to report for duty this morning! Gah. I gotta go call.” As he limped from the room, Jesse laughed tiredly and handed the baby once more to Rosa with a smile.
***
Two hours later, the old man, Aaron and a much relieved Jesse were back in her room as Rosa brought baby Jace in once again. Jesse cradled the baby as the old man got his first look up close and he asked, “Jace?”
Jesse replied, “John, Aaron, Carlos, Edward. You, Aaron, Francisco’s real name and Daddy’s middle name. And Papa, his last name is going to be Cronin.”
The old man felt tears start, and he unabashedly wiped them away, saying only, “Thank you both.” With
that he got up and left the room, prompting Aaron to wonder what was going on.
Jesse said softly, “Papa almost never shows his feelings. He’ll be back in a few minutes. Just let him be alone right now.”
The old man walked blindly out the front door of the hospital and leaned against a column. Bowing his head, he said a quick prayer of thanks that Jesse and baby Jace had come through okay, and smiled. Then, he thought about the Cronin last name, and quickly turned and walked back into the hospital.
He saw Angelina first and said, “Angelina, if you tell anybody about the birth, don’t tell them the last name. Last thing we need is the Cronin name in the papers after what’s happened the last year.” He walked back into the delivery room and looked at Jesse blissfully breastfeeding the baby and he hated himself for what he was about to say, but went on anyway, “Aaron, Jesse we can’t release a birth announcement that uses the Cronin name. It’ll be like waving a red flag in front of a bull. The cartel thinks you’re dead. If a birth announcement shows up, you’re going to be right back in their crosshairs. I’d recommend you use the last name Miller. At least for a while, maybe forever. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the gesture, but I don’t want to put y’all in the line of fire again.”
Jesse looked up from Jace, tears in her eyes. “Papa, that’s not right. The Cronin name should be continued.” Aaron nodded in agreement.
The old man shook his head sadly. “Maybe later, Jesse, but not now. It’s just too damn dangerous.”
Aaron said, “How about no birth announcement then?” Looking at Jesse he continued, “I don’t give a rat’s ass about a birth announcement. I can start the paperwork for DEERS when I get back to Brooks tomorrow, and that will be it. All I need is the birth certificate. Jesse can let who she wants know, and the only persons I want to know are Matt, Toad and a few other Marines.
“If that’s the way you want it,” the old man said. “That might work.”
Chuiloloco
The old man eased into the office, Yogi at his heels. Dropping Yogi with dispatch, he walked back to the coffee pot and went to the sheriff’s door.
The sheriff looked up. “What’s up, John?”
“Good news, Jose! They’re sending Aaron back to the Marines in the next couple of weeks. Jesse called last night and said he’s been cleared to return to duty. Apparently, they’re going to put him on limited duty for a while, then back to full duty status.”
The sheriff clapped his hands. “That is great news! How are Jesse and Jace? That’s it, isn’t it? How are they doing?”
The old man smiled. “She’s tired. The baby is— what did she say?—almost sleeping through the night. Apparently, Aaron can sleep through the baby crying, which is not making Jesse happy, but on the other hand, he’s apparently working his ass off on rehab, so he’s coming home pretty tired. Jace is doing good! Jesse said all the pediatric checks are on the money, and she’s not having any problems nursing. She’s apparently losing weight already. She did say Jace is leaving some nuclear deposits, and apparently the other night Aaron was changing him and he pissed all over Aaron, then laughed!”
Jose laughed at that. “Yeah, been there, done that. I’m glad things are looking up for them, especially after what they’ve been through the last six months. Is Jesse coming back down here before they leave?”
The old man shrugged. “Maybe. If nothing else, they’ll come through here for the night. Since Matt brought Aaron’s truck, and they took Jesse’s GTO back to California after the honeymoon, they’ll only have to worry about moving one vehicle. And honestly all the crap they’ve accumulated wouldn’t fit in the GTO anyway. I just want them out of here as soon as possible, and as far away as possible.”
“Speaking of Matt, did he find anything out when he went back to Quantico?”
The old man said, “Well, they told him he was probably going to Camp Lejeune to the first battalion, second Marines. He said he’d be taking the scout sniper platoon. But in a year, who knows?”
The sheriff replied, “Yeah, lots of things can happen in a year.”
“Anything else?”
“Yeah,” the old man said. “I should have that I-10 hit and run homicide investigation finished later today.”
The sheriff asked, “Any luck?
The old man shook his head. “Not really. The hitchhiker was apparently walking in the right traffic lane, or right on the white line. It wasn’t called in until sunup, and Doc thinks he was hit sometime between midnight and four in the morning. He can’t pin it any closer than that. A semi, or a large truck, based on the damage to the body, might have hit him. All we know right now is that it was probably red in color. I’ve got one paint chip at the FBI for analysis and I’m waiting for that to come back. It was foggy, and it’s very possible that whoever hit him never realized it. Remember, he was dressed in dark jeans with an old Army coat.”
“Did we ever get any ID on him?”
“Nope. He had a few bucks, twenty-nine to be exact, in his pocket and a half pack of Camels. Not another piece of paper on him. We’ve got the fingerprints on the system to see if we get a hit, but right now, nothing.”
The sheriff sighed. “Gahdammit. I really hate these. How can somebody possibly hit somebody and not know it?” Waving his hand, he said, “That was rhetorical, don’t bother trying to answer. What bothers me more was that he appears to have been walking in the lane. That just doesn’t make sense.”
The old man said, “Dark, and foggy. If you can’t see the road, you’re going to walk where you get at least some clue as to where you are. That stripe is probably, or was probably, his only cue.”
The sheriff nodded. “One damn mile. He was one mile from the off ramp. One mile from being safe. Never found any bags or anything else, right?’
The old man shook his head again. “No. Nothing. We searched by foot all the way up to the ramp and by car for another five miles. It looks like all he had was what he had on.”
The sheriff said, “Okay, understood. I know you tried.”
***
Roberto sat in the back of the Mexican restaurant idly toying with a cup of coffee as he waited on Sanchez. He looked at his watch and cursed under his breath as he saw Sanchez finally stumble through the front door.
Sanchez came weaving back to the table and sloppily sat across from Roberto, leaning heavily on the table. He stared blearily around the restaurant, then said in a low voice, “Cronin is at work. Jimmy says it looks like he’s back on a normal schedule after the last couple of days. If you’ve got your people ready, tonight might be the best time. I can call you when he leaves work.”
Roberto said, “Do it.” Roberto got up and as he left said loudly, “Miss, that man that sat at the table is drunk. I don’t know who he is, but I think he needs some help.”
As the waitress went back to check on Sanchez, Roberto slipped out the door and walked the block back to his car. Getting in, he drove up to the interstate and out to the rest area at mile 233. Pulling on a set of leather gloves he pulled a burner phone out of the glove compartment and dialed another phone in Cozumel. When it was answered, he said, “Senor, the contract will be filled tonight.”
Montoya leaned back in his chair and smiled, “Very good. When can we expect you to bring the paperwork into the office? Will there be any additional contracts to go with the main one?”
Roberto replied, “Nada, Senor. Sadly, we didn’t find anyone else of interest.”
Montoya said philosophically, “Well, this is the important one. I will look forward to your return.”
Roberto said, “Si, Jefe. Adios.” Roberto looked at his watch. Twenty seconds, so it should be okay. Taking the battery out of the phone, he got out of the car and threw it in the trash can. After visiting the rest room, he came back and continued west until he could get an off ramp and return to Fort Stockton. Watching his rear view mirror, he threw the burner phone out the window and watched it shatter on the road. Stripping off the gloves as he drove, h
e smiled as he took the off ramp and pulled into the hotel parking lot.
Roberto walked into his room and was happy to see that the maid had not been in and cleaned yet. He’d purposefully left trucking schedules and contracts out in case the maid was nosy. The next decision was whether to check out now, or wait until tomorrow morning. Thinking it through, Roberto decided to go ahead and check out, get a leisurely lunch and go to the library. He loved American libraries, they had books, magazines and free computers. And no security! Making up his mind, he quickly packed his bag, wiped the room down and checked out of the hotel, using the trucking company credit card.
***
The old man looked at the clock and sighed. He knew he’d told Jose he’d have the report today, but it didn’t look like it. It was already four, and he knew he wouldn’t hear anything from the FBI before tomorrow. Sighing, he took Yogi out for a break and stood in the parking lot stretching while Yogi visited his tree. Back in his office, he looked at the report on his desk and started shuffling the papers together to put them back in the file. His phone rang, startling him and he dropped the folder. Cussing, he hit the speaker button and leaned over to pick up the files.
He heard, “Captain Cronin? This is Agent Fong from Quantico. Captain Cronin?”
The old man realized he hadn’t actually answered the phone and said, “Oh sorry, Fong. I’m here. Isn’t it kinda late for you back there?”
“Well,” Fong replied, “I’m on a floating schedule so I can pretty much work when I want, as long as I put forty hours a week in. Anyway, I’ve got some news.”
“Hang on a sec,” the old man said. “Lemme get a pen and paper.”
“I’ll get this out officially tomorrow in email, but wanted to let you know what we’ve come up with so far,” Fong continued. “On the paint, the color is a repaint color from Dupont. Based on our records and a call to Dupont, it’s used on a lot of tractor-trailer rigs. It was popular about six years ago as a repaint color for Peterbilt after they had a problem with their original red color. The color is still used in at least fifteen states, mostly out west.”