A First Class Act

by Mildred Riley

  “Great! My husband and I are really impressed by you, and please remember, if there’s anything we can do, anything, don’t hesitate…”

  “I do have a bit of news for you and your husband….”

  “Wh…what is it? The baby?”

  Dina heard the anxiety in Coleen’s voice. She hurried to explain.

  “The baby is fine. I’m to have a sonogram in two weeks. If you and Robin would like to be there for that, you can see it, find out if your child is a girl or a boy.”

  “Oh, my God! Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  “Thank you! Thank you! We’ll be there! Wait ’til I tell Robin! Oh, thank you.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Dina sat in the living room of the small apartment she was renting. She pressed her fingers over the large brown envelope her grandmother had given her when she revealed the circumstances of her birth. She remembered the scene vividly.

  * * *

  “Let’s see what we have here,” her grandmother had said, extending a picture to her.

  “Although I never met him, Henry Lawrence was a handsome man.”

  Still stunned by her grandmother’s shocking revelation about her birth, Dina looked at the picture in her hand. She saw that her father had bequeathed to her his large, dark eyes. He had smooth brown skin, and his black hair had been combed back into a sleek pompadour. He was a handsome young man.

  The photograph was signed, “To Graciana, All my love, Henry.”

  “And this is your mother.”

  Dina studied the second picture handed to her.

  “She looks like Momma.”

  “She would, they were sisters.”

  “Except Momma never wore her hair long.”

  “No, Arla always wore her hair in a short bob. I always thought she was very attractive. I remember when Dennis brought Arla Murray to the house for the first time. She and I hit it off right away. And when they adopted you, everyone was happy. Here’s your birth certificate, along with your adoption papers.”

  * * *

  As Dina sat on her couch, holding the birth certificate she had taken out of the envelope, she relived that day. She stared at her given name, Benita Estelle Lawrence.

  Suddenly, she felt a distinct flutter in her abdomen. The baby! It had moved!

  Dear God, she thought, I hope this child’s parents will always love him.

  If the excitement they’d shown the day the sonogram revealed they were having a son was any indication, they would.

  * * *

  Her doctoral proposal had been accepted by the graduate studies committee, and Dina knew she had to prepare to defend her research and findings. She would be required to orally validate her research.

  She was pleased with the way her pregnancy was advancing. She was still wearing slacks and loose tops.

  Robin and Coleen Dineen, the prospective parents, had offered to help with maternity clothing for her, but she’d said, “Not yet.”

  It was her dissertation advisor who remarked on her pregnancy.

  “Are you feeling well, Ms. Raines?” Dr. Sinclair asked. “I understand you are becoming a surrogate mother.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “I’m sorry to be so intrusive…but why?”

  Dina had expected that there would be a certain amount of curiosity about her condition, but she had made up her mind that the ‘less said, the better.’

  She spoke quietly and firmly, wishing to forestall any other questions.

  “Of course, Dr. Sinclair, I understand your curiosity, really I do, but my reasons are personal ones and I’d like to keep them personal. My reason for pursuing an advanced degree is a personal one as well. I’m hoping,” she told him, “that I will be successful in both endeavors.”

  She noted the flush of embarrassment that colored Dr. Sinclair’s face.

  “You are quite right, Ms. Raines, and I apologize for my lack of respect, because I do wish you well.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  The middle-aged man with sparse blond hair opened the folder on his desk. He wore a cardigan sweater with leather-covered elbows on the sleeves, and the dark brown slacks that seemed to be the norm at the university.

  He looked over Dina’s work.

  “I’m pleased with what you have done. I’ve made a few notations, and after you’ve reviewed them we can discuss them. Is that satisfactory?”

  “It is.”

  “We’ll meet again in two weeks then.”

  Dina started for the door, clutching her dissertation folder. “Thank you, Dr. Sinclair.”

  “You are welcome. And again, my apologies.”

  * * *

  He was sitting behind a desk covered with scattered papers, piles of folders, and, at his right, an overflowing ashtray.

  He struggled to rise from his chair, offering his hand to Dina.

  “How may I help you, miss?”

  “You are Levi Kaplan, private investigator?”

  “Right. That’s what it says on my door.” He smiled.

  “I’m Dina Raines.”

  He moved some papers from a nearby chair, inviting her to sit.

  “How may I help you?”

  He had noticed her advanced pregnancy, figured she might be looking for a husband or a boyfriend who had abandoned her.

  “Don’t let the name fool you, Ms. Raines. I know it’s considered to be a Hebrew name, but you know how it has been for generations with African-Americans like us…half the time not knowing who our daddies were.”

  Tell me about it, Dina thought.

  He cleared a space on his desk, emptied the ash tray into a nearby wastebasket, pulling a legal pad from a drawer.

  “You are looking for someone, I take it?”

  Dina opened her purse and handed him her father’s picture.

  “I’d like to find my father, Henry Lawrence.”

  “I see…and the last time you saw him?”

  “I’ve never seen him. He gave me away for adoption when I was an infant, two months old.”

  “I see.”

  From a side drawer he pulled out a form.

  “This is a contract, Ms. Raines. I need a check from you for two hundred dollars as a retainer, and my billable hours are seventy-five dollars an hour. I will make weekly reports to you. You have an email address?”

  “I do.”

  She gave it to him and carefully read the contract before signing it. She also wrote him a check, showed him her driver’s license and her student identification.

  His eyebrows raised, he asked her, “You’re at the university?”

  “I am.”

  Dina could sense that the investigator’s respect for her rose up a notch. She had no way of knowing that he had been raised by a single mother.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  John Sabin emailed Drew to meet him Friday night at 6 p.m. He would be at Appleseed’s restaurant on Route One.

  When Drew read the message, he responded, “Will be there.” Feeling anxious, he hoped the investigator would have real good news. So far, John’s reports were of his journeys to Connecticut with little or no reference to Dina.

  That evening when he got to Appleseed’s, he found the detective in a booth located in the rear of the restaurant.

  He slid into the empty seat across from John, extending his hand.

  “Glad to see you, John,” he said as they shook hands.

  “Likewise. I’ve some information for you.”

  “Can’t wait! What you got?”

  He had already noticed the manila folder beside a cup of coffee. At that moment a young man appeared.

  “May I get something for you?” he asked.

  Drew told him, “Black coffee, hamburger, rare, please. You, John?”

  “I’m all set.”

  Placing both hands on the table, Drew said, “Well?”

  John opened the folder, took out a sheaf of papers. He began to explain.

  “First, Drew, Ms. Rai
nes is doing well. I have here her telephone number and email address.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I have found out that she is busy with her doctoral studies, meets with many professors, advisors, and committees. And as far as her pregnancy…”

  He saw Drew wince at the mention of Dina’s condition.

  “…she seems to be doing quite well. No apparent problems to report. And you might be interested to know the baby is a boy.”

  Again, Drew reacted, this time physically, throwing his head back, closing his eyes, shaking his head in denial.

  Should be my son, he thought.

  But John Sabin had more to tell Drew, knowing full well this would add torment to his client.

  “The child’s parents are ecstatic over the news, plan to name the baby…”

  Drew threw up his hands. “Don’t need to know.”

  “Well, okay. The information is all in this folder. If there is anything else…”

  “No, no, John,” Drew said as he took the folder. “Just tell me what I owe you.”

  He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, pulled out his checkbook and a pen.

  He wrote a check for two thousand dollars and gave it to the investigator.

  “Thank you very much for everything, John.”

  * * *

  Dina sighed as she hung up the phone after Drew’s call, realizing just how pleased she was that he had called her. She had not expected to feel such a reaction. Guess he really does care, she thought. Not a bit put off by my negative responses.

  She remembered, too, Nora’s admonition that Drew was a keeper.

  When the call from Drew came, she had been working on her studies for most of that day. Now she needed to move and stretch.

  As she rose from the chair, Conan Ellis Dineen gave an abrupt kick. She blew out a deep breath as she felt his round heel slam up against her rib cage.

  “So you want to get moving, do you, little one? Thanks for letting me know you’re okay.”

  Still clutching her side, she had just walked into the kitchen when the doorbell rang. She took a quick glance at her watch. Eight-thirty in the evening. Who could be at her place at this hour? She checked through the door’s peep hole. Nora! She pulled the door open, quickly grabbing her friend in her arms.

  “Nora! Nora, what are you doing here?”

  “Let me in and I’ll tell you,” Nora said, returning the hug.

  “Oh, my God! Yes, come in! Come in!”

  Nora pulled her rolling suitcase inside, closed the door, turned to look at Dina.“Well, well, look at you,” she said, patting Dina’s abdomen. “I take it you are glad to see me?”

  “Glad! I’m beside myself!”

  “Knew you would be. I’ve been there, done that, so I know every mother needs support at a time like this.”

  The tears she saw in Dina’s eyes confirmed Nora’s belief that, truly, she was needed.

  They sat down side-by-side on the sofa, with Nora pushing an ottoman beneath Dina’s swollen ankles.

  “I want you to know,” Nora said in a sly manner, “Drew thought my idea was a good one…”

  “Drew? I just talked to him!”

  “He’s nuts about you, girl. Told me to tell you he’s in love with you. Agreed with me that one of us should be with you, and since you were adamant that you did not want him, I was the best choice. How do you think I found you?”

  “I don’t know, how did you?”

  “For years I was a private duty nurse and was listed in the telephone book. Drew looked me up, called me, and here I am!”

  “But how did he find out…”

  “Girl, these days anybody can be found! He didn’t tell me exactly, but find your address, he did. You have to hand it to him, Dina. He is one determined young man.”

  Dina concurred thoughtfully. “Guess he wouldn’t be the talented athlete he is without determination.”

  She rose slowly from the sofa. “I’d better get some bed linens for you, Nora.”

  “Tell me where the linen closet is, I’ll get them. I’m here to help, not for you to wait on me!” Nora admonished Dina.

  “I know, and I do appreciate your being here. By the way, what about your job?”

  Nora grinned, threw her hands up in the air.

  “Told Dr. Ralston I needed a leave of absence or I would retire.”

  “No!”

  “Yes! Everyone knows when you work with psych patients, there are times when you need a break.”

  “How well I know.”

  * * *

  Later, after the sofa bed had been made, Dina told Nora that she had made room in the hall closet for her clothes.

  “Are you hungry after that long drive from Massachusetts? How about at least a cup of hot chocolate before bed? Let’s go into the kitchen.”

  They made the hot chocolate, then sat down at the table, a small table with two chairs. It was a cheerful room, red and white floral curtains at the window over the sink, a black and white tile floor, white cabinets with gold hardware, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

  Nora relaxed.

  “Nice kitchen,” she said.

  “Thanks. I’m comfortable with it. It’s just enough.”

  Nora sipped her drink.

  “Tastes good. Tell me, Dina, how are you doing? From the looks of you, you’re not too far from your delivery date.”

  “Yes, another four or five weeks or so. And Conan Ellis Dineen is already showing signs…”

  Nora interrupted, “You said Conan Ellis Dineen? An Irish ‘son of the old sod’?”

  “Right you are, Nora!”

  “Glory be to God!” Nora clapped her hands to her mouth in disbelief. “I can’t believe it! It’s just as you told me. You brown as a berry, bringing an Irish lad into the world! ‘Tis truly a miracle. Truly, truly,” she repeated, shaking her head.

  Dina smiled. “His parents are so excited and happy. They can’t wait!”

  “I can well imagine.”

  “They are an exceptional couple. Have been extremely nice to me, and I’m glad to be able to grant them their greatest desire, their own child.”

  Nora shook her head again.

  “Have to hand it to you, Dina. You are a strong, determined young woman, and I’m proud to be your friend.”

  “Thanks, Nora. I hope you’ll always be my friend. And, getting back to Conan’s parents, they will be in the delivery room when he’s born. His father, Robin, will cut the cord, and he’ll be given right to his mother, Coleen.”

  “Not to you?”

  “Not to me. I’m not related to him at all. Just bringing him into the world.”

  “Unbelievable.” Nora barely breathed the word. She took a sip of her hot chocolate.

  “Want a refill?”

  “No, but before we go to bed, tell me about your other big project.”

  She saw her young friend’s eyes light up with excitement.

  “Oh, Nora! It’s going better than I expected!”

  “How so?”

  “You do know that a lot has to do with what Dr. Ralston had us do at Waverly. I always thought that nurses could do more for their patients, and given the opportunity they would. The first thing I did was to send out questionnaires to about three hundred nurses across the country.

  “I prefaced the questions by telling them a little about my ideas, asking if they would participate in my experiment, with, of course, clearance from their supervisors.”

  As she listened, Nora nodded her head, thinking, This is one smart cookie!

  “Well, Nora, I received a fair number of positive responses. So then I sent those respondents an outline of the teaching protocols for patients…”

  “Were all the nurses involved with psychiatric patients?” Nora wanted to know.

  “About half, Nora, and the other half worked in general medicine or in surgical settings. Some worked with orthopedic or obstetric patients. I ruled out emergency or triage patients because n
urses have limited time with them.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Along with teaching modalities, I sent a form to be filled out by the nurse delineating the effectiveness of the teaching process for each patient, measured by the patient’s responses.”

  “Did you have a control group?”

  “I did. I asked each nurse to document the reaction of her ‘educated’ patient as opposed to that of a non-educated patient having the same diagnosis.”

  “Your findings?”

  Dina grinned at her friend, ticked off some of her results. “They were discharged earlier, their recidivism rate was lower than that of the control group. They had learned how to live better, had a more fruitful life, and by not having to return to the hospital saved money both for themselves and the hospital.”

  “Now what?”

  “I have to present my findings, defend my theory, and be subjected to an oral exam.”

  “Wow! Sounds like a lot of work.”

  “It is, but I’m enjoying it.”

  “By the way, Dina, have people here asked about your pregnancy?”

  “Oh, my, yes! But I smile and say that it’s a personal matter and I thank them for their interest. I think they see me as a dumb nurse who allowed herself to get knocked up.”

  They had a good laugh at such nonsense.

  Nora’s genuine admiration for Dina was evident when she remarked to her friend, “It certainly had to help your acceptance into the Ph.D. program when the powers that be discovered that you had top grades. Not everyone graduates with cum laude degrees like you did.”

  “I’ve always liked to study, learn new things. I’ve always found great satisfaction in exploring new ideas, new concepts. And I have to say, too, that our teaching experiences at Waverly were a tremendous help for me, along with the wonderful references from Dr. Ralston and the staff.”

  “You have earned every bit of that acknowledgement. Don’t know anyone that deserves it more.”

  “I must tell you, Dina, when all of this is over, you’d better find a way to give Drew a little time. Do you know…course you don’t, but he tried to give me gas money! Men like him don’t show up very often. Believe me, I know!”

  “I must get through these next few weeks. Then I can catch my breath and consider my future…start living my life all over again, Nora. You’re right.”