The Family You Choose

by Deborah Nam-Krane

  "How old was I when I said that?"

  "Wasn’t it just last week that you called me a parasite?"

  "Anyone ever tell you that you like to belabor a point?"

  "Anyone tell you that you’re incapable of an apology?"

  "I thought my apology was understood to be global."

  "I guess I’m too much of a princess to let you off the hook so easily."

  "Miranda, what are you going to do?"

  She sighed. "Well, I think college is over as of now, at least for a little while. I’m pretty sure Zainab will let me stay there for a while—God knows she was generous with Emily—but she’s going to have to leave at some point. I could probably get a job from Richard or, God forbid, Lucy. And I can go to Israel. Maybe that’s what I should do. And if all else fails, I’m pretty sure the title to that little cottage in Magnolia is in my name, unless Alex lied about that too. Last resort, but it’s a pretty little town."

  "So you’ve got it all figured out."

  "And let’s not forget eBay—I mean, God knows I’ve got plenty of expensive things sitting in my closet that I could get rid of."

  "Will you stop it?" Michael blurted out suddenly.

  Miranda pulled back and laughed. "What is your problem?"

  "You don’t have to sell anything and you don’t have to go to a foreign country or get a job from Lucy. I’ll take care of you."

  "No, you won’t!" she said, sitting up. "I don’t need to be taken care of. I am not a child, and I don’t want to be a kept woman. Besides which, I’m still not convinced that you can afford to keep your house, much less another person."

  "I have a job," he repeated. "A good one."

  "Right, because Alex has never screwed someone out of a job."

  "Not this time."

  "And how can you be so sure?"

  "Let’s just say I’ve been privy to a lot of information since I took this job, and I bet there’s a bunch of things Alex wouldn’t want made public."

  "See, when you say stuff like that, it just sounds creepy."

  "But what about when I do stuff like this?" He kissed her again, so well that her toes tingled. "Well?"

  She wrinkled her nose. "I’m not sure. That might be creepy too."

  He smiled. "Good creepy?"

  CHAPTER 22

  Emily spent Sunday as she had Saturday. She had prayed that if she stayed in bed, if she took it easy, that she’d be able to go to work on Monday.

  No such luck. She woke up at five to throw up, then got up again every half-hour after that to vomit some more. At seven-thirty, Mitch shook his head. He dialed his phone. "Hi Professor Hazlett, this is Mitch Graham. I’m sorry to bother you, but I wanted to let you know that Emily came down with something, and I don’t think she’s going to make it in today or tomorrow. Yeah, if she’s not better by tomorrow morning, she’ll go to the doctor. Okay, I’ll give you an update then. Thanks a lot." He hung up the phone and knew by Emily’s pained groan that she appreciated the assist.

  "I’m staying home," he said.

  "No," she managed painfully. "You have to go to class."

  "I can’t leave you like this. You’re getting too weak."

  She managed one word. "Zainab," she whispered before drifting off.

  Always thinking. Mitch covered Emily up. "Good plan, honey."

  Mitch dialed Zainab’s number. "Miranda?" she said as soon as she picked up.

  Mitch looked at the phone, then looked at the number he just dialed. "Um, no. It’s Mitch. Can’t you see the numbers on your cell?"

  "Yes," Zainab said with a sigh. "Sorry, I’m expecting a call from her, and she’s a little late."

  Mitch furrowed his brow. "Does this have anything to do with her calling from your place on Saturday?"

  "Possibly."

  "Okay." He’d get the story later. "I need your help. Emily needs your help."

  "Mitch, what’s wrong? Is she okay?"

  Mitch looked at his wife, who seemed to have lost about five pounds in three days. "Not really. Can you come over?"

  "Oh, hon, I wish I could, but I can’t leave Jessie. Have Emily come here."

  "That is so not an option right now." He took a deep breath. "Can I come to you?"

  Zainab waited a moment. "Let’s say yes. I’ll call Richard and the doctor just to double-check, but if I don’t call you back, assume it’s okay."

  "Thanks Z." Mitch hung up and put out some ice for Emily, then kissed her on her hair.

  ~~~

  When Mitch got to Richard’s house an hour later, he was surprised to see a security guard at the door.

  "Can I help you?" the guard said.

  "Yeah, please. I need to see Zainab."

  "Is she expecting you?" he said in a rough but professional tone.

  "Yes. I just called her an hour ago."

  "Your name?"

  "Mitchell Graham."

  "Alright, let me check this out." He dialed his cell phone. Mitch heard the phone ring inside. "You have a guest here by the name of Mitchell Graham?" The guard nodded, hanging up. "Alright, Mr. Graham, you can go right in."

  The guard opened the door. Mitch walked in, wondering if Zainab was playing an elaborate practical joke. Before he could say anything, he saw Jessie sitting on the couch, watching television. Her hair was up, and she was wearing a white tee-shirt and white sweatpants. She was pale, and looked like she might have lost a few pounds herself. She turned in his direction. "Hi," she said simply. "Who are you?"

  Mitch blinked. "I’m Mitch. I’m a friend of Zainab’s. I hope you don’t mind me visiting her now."

  Jessie nodded. "That’s okay. It’s nice to see people. Richard’s away this week." She squinted her eyes. "You remind me of someone. Are you sure your name isn’t Martin?"

  Mitch swallowed, not sure what to say. He didn’t have to think, because Zainab came rushing in. "Jessie, sweetie, no, this is Mitch. We’re just going to be a few minutes."

  "Okay," she shrugged. "But I think he looks like a Martin." Then she turned back to the TV.

  Zainab led Mitch to the dining room. "Wow," he said sadly.

  "Believe it or not, the doctor assured me that’s actually a good sign," but Zainab didn’t look convinced.

  "Doesn't her aunt help out?"

  Zainab rolled her eyes. "The thought of Lucy staying in with Jessie all day is laughable."

  Mitch raised his eyebrows. "And do you want to tell me why you have a security guard posted at your front door? Does Richard have some super-secret industrial designs that he’s put here for safe-keeping?"

  "I wish."

  Mitch stiffened. "Does this have anything to do with Michael Abbot? Because if it does, you can let that guy go right now and I’ll take care of that freak myself."

  Zainab sighed. "Mitch, yes and no. And trust me, Richard and I both considered using your services instead of the guy out there."

  "You just let me know."

  "Unfortunately, taking Alex out might prove to be a little bit messier."

  "Alex Sheldon?" Mitch whispered. Miranda’s call. Zainab this morning. "Is Miranda okay?"

  "If I say no will you stop being a jerk about her?"

  "Is it that bad?"

  "You have no idea." She took a deep breath. "What’s wrong with Emily?"

  "Emily’s pregnant."

  "Oh, Mitch!" Zainab shouted, as she threw her arms around him.

  Mitch nearly stumbled, then laughed and hugged her back. "You’re the first person we’ve told." He was glad. Her easy happiness made him feel like he could stop worrying.

  She let him go and squeezed his arm. "How far along is she? I didn’t know you were planning…"

  "We weren’t planning. It just happened."

  Zainab laughed. "Are you fifteen? You know these things don’t just happen, right?"

  Mitch’s face darkened. "No, I’m not. I swear, we took precautions, but it happened anyway."

  "I guess they are only ninety five percent effective."

&
nbsp; "Would you stop joking about this? I’m not fifteen but Emily...she’s not much older, is she?"

  Zainab softened. "Mitch, I don’t care what the calendar says. Emily’s the most mature and responsible person I know. She’s out of college, she doesn’t party and you guys are married. Maybe it’s a little early, but…" She shrugged. "That’s just the way your cookie crumbled, right?"

  She put an emphasis on the last word. Mitch looked at her for a second, and then widened his eyes in comprehension. "Excuse me?"

  "Chill, buddy. I wasn’t saying you had to, but it is the twenty-first century, and if you don’t feel like this is the right time, we do live in a blue state."

  "Yes, thank you, and while I do appreciate that women in this country have the right to choose whether or not they’re going to terminate a pregnancy, this pregnancy is going to remain un-terminated, alright?" Mitch surprised himself with his vehemence. He’d only spent that little bit of time on Friday night even thinking about the little thing causing his wife to degrade in front of his eyes, but that had been enough.

  Zainab smiled and patted Mitch on the arm. "Alrighty then!" They both laughed at Emily’s phrase. "So did you risk being frisked by the security guard just to tell me that?"

  "Sort of, and by the way we’re not done with that story. Emily is in really, really rough shape. She’s been throwing up all weekend. I can’t even get her to keep water down, and she was pretty small to begin with. She couldn’t drag herself to work, so you can imagine. Is there anything, anything she could take?"

  Zainab frowned. "Well, pregnant women, especially this early on, are usually the last people they want to give serious medication to."

  "So how long is this going to last?" Mitch said with exasperation. "I mean, I might as well just quit law school right now and move us in with my parents so I can take care of her."

  Zainab pointed her finger at something in space. "No, wait. In really serious cases they’ll give pregnant women anti-emetics that were created for chemo patients."

  "Anti-what?"

  "It will keep her from throwing up."

  Mitch heaved a loud sigh of relief. "Oh, good! How soon can I get it in her?"

  Zainab looked at him very seriously. "How bad is she?"

  "She’ll throw up ice before it has a chance to melt in her mouth."

  "How far along is she?" Mitch shrugged helplessly. "When was her last period?"

  Mitch struggled to remember. "Uh...maybe five weeks ago."

  "Alright. Give me the name and number of the pharmacy you want to pick this up at. I’ll have it ready for you in two hours tops."

  Mitch wrote down the number and gave it to Zainab. "What are you going to do?"

  "Just reassure me that everything you just told me was true."

  "I swear on my life."

  "Then there is a doctor who owes the Bartolome-Hendricksons a couple of favors, and this can be one of them."

  CHAPTER 23

  Miranda woke up on Tuesday morning to find Michael showered and getting dressed for work. She pulled the blanket around her. "What time is it?"

  "Just about seven," he said, fixing his tie.

  "Really? Do you always get up this early?"

  "Like clockwork. Don’t sound so surprised."

  "No, just disappointed," she said, too tired to cover.

  He smiled and sat down on the bed with her. "What are you doing tonight?"

  "Planning the rest of my life, I suppose."

  "Plan it here—I’ll help."

  "Michael-"

  "Sorry—you’d rather be at Zainab’s, right? Alone?"

  "I didn’t say that."

  "So be here when I get home." He kissed her. "Just don’t answer the door." He got up and walked out of the room.

  "I don’t have a key!" she called out.

  He turned and smiled. "So I guess you’ll just have to wait here." Before she could say anything, he turned and left.

  She fell back on the bed, unable to fall asleep. She’d been in Zainab’s apartment. She’d been on a beach. No, she’d been in Alex’s living room. She’d been in Alex’s study. She’d been in the restaurant. She’d been in a living room many years ago and gone away with someone she’d never met. Now she was back.

  She touched the bed she’d spent so many hours in over the past few days. It was warm. It was warm with him. Oh, wow; that was something that didn’t make any sense at all. She’d come into this room one person and left as someone else. Was that what made her able to go back?

  She hugged herself and smiled despite herself. It was more than that. Michael had been one person when she came in, but a different person had left just now. He had a concussion, which was arguably a better excuse than hers. It was dangerous to believe in something like that when everything else had dissolved or slipped away. She wasn’t totally alone, and she wasn’t without her wits—she didn’t need him. No, she didn’t need him. But she...no, she refused to follow that. She threw off the blankets and jumped into his shower.

  At twelve, Miranda looked at her phone guiltily. She knew Zainab would be worried after not having heard from her for three days. She just needed to work up the courage to call her. After fifteen minutes, she gave into her own conscience, if only because Michael had nothing to keep her amused other than the damn, increasingly boring TV and the internet, which was almost as bad.

  "Hi Z," she said once Zainab answered.

  "Um, hi...where have you been?"

  "What do you mean?" she said nervously.

  "Where have you been staying? I called my place on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Sunday evening. All of Monday. And, oh look at that, you’re calling from somewhere that’s registering as Michael Abbot’s number. What a coincidence, huh?"

  Miranda sank into the couch. "Okay, you caught me."

  She heard Zainab sigh. "I caught you doing what?"

  "Right now I’m just watching TV. Actually, I’m not watching TV. Why is there nothing on right now?"

  "There’s a ton on. It’s just that none of it is nearly as exciting as what’s going on with you, apparently."

  "Oh, Zainab," Miranda pleaded, "don’t be mad, okay?"

  "Sweetie, I’m not mad, I’m just worried. Michael has never done anything to me except give Richard way too much to worry about. If I didn’t know everything you—and Emily—and Jessie—told me, I’d probably say that he was a nice enough guy. But, um, what’s your excuse?"

  "I don’t know!" she practically screamed, leaning her head back. "It doesn’t make sense to me. I just...I never thought he’d make me feel this way." She took a deep breath, trying not to think about him just like that right now. "I never thought anyone would make me feel like this."

  "Not even Alex?"

  "Alex?" It was as if she hadn’t heard that name in years. "No, I never thought...I mean, I wanted us to be intimate, but I never thought it would be like this."

  "Like what?"

  "…Like I can’t get enough of him."

  "We’re still talking about Michael, right? Michael, who could maybe stand to lose a few pounds, has lousy posture and is, well, Michael?"

  "I don’t know how ‘Michael’ he is anymore. I mean, I know how stupid that sounds, but he hasn’t been like that. He’s even been a little bit heroic."

  "What did he do, kill a dragon?"

  "Don’t make fun of me. And actually, what he did was a little scarier. He hid me from Alex and got punched for it!"

  "Is he alright?"

  "The ER thought so, after four hours. But we’ll know for sure after he sees the doctor today."

  "Christ! Alex gave Michael a concussion?"

  "That, after he broke Michael’s lamp."

  "I never would have thought Alex had it in him."

  "Neither would I. Good thing Richard’s a little shrewder than the both of us."

  "Huh? Oh, yeah the security guard. Boy, Mitch kind of got a kick out of that."

  "Mitch was there? Is Jessie better now?"

&nbs
p; "No, I mean, yes, sort of, but not enough...She’s only seen Mitch once, and on top of that she confused him with Martin...that was heart-breaking."

  "Oh, Jess," Miranda said, wiping tears from her eyes. She hadn’t realized how much of an impression Martin had made on Jessie. "So, why was Mitch there in the first place?"

  Zainab held her breath, trying to think of the best way to handle this. "It’s sort of a long story," she said at last.

  "Is it longer than mine?"

  "Yeah, I think you could say that."

  "Should I call her? Should I go visit her?"

  Zainab strummed her fingers on her chair. The medication probably hadn’t taken effect yet. "No, not yet; I think she’s still in the middle of it, but she should be better by next week."

  "Alright, if you say so. Besides, I don’t know what the Hell I’m going to say to her about this thing, whatever this thing is."

  "What do you feel, Miranda? What do you want?"

  Miranda closed her eyes and smiled, rubbing her feet together. "I feel like I want Michael to come home."

  CHAPTER 24

  Miranda jumped up and ran to the door when Michael opened it at seven-thirty. She smiled with relief when she saw him.

  He threw his keys on the side table. "Now that’s the kind of reception I always hoped you’d give me."

  "That’s bad creepy."

  "And yet you’re happy to see me."

  "Do you know how boring the internet is after three hours?"

  "I think you just don’t have the right sites."

  "You’ll just have to show me, I guess."

  He pulled her into his arms. "Whatever you want." He kissed her, and she couldn’t deny to herself just how much she had missed him. But she didn’t want him to know.

  "Wow, you in a tie," she said, stepping back.

  "I had it on this morning, too."

  "I was a little sleep-deprived."

  "Did you catch up on your sleep?"

  "Yeah, mostly."

  "Good, you’ll need your energy."

  "Right, to plan my next steps."