'Til the End of Time

by Sabra Brown Steinsiek

  “Taylor, you’re needed here. I’ll be fine.”

  “Damn it, Betta, I’m not letting you go alone. It’s done.”

  “What about Annie?”

  “Your grandparents will be here, I’m sure. We’ll be back in a few days.”

  “Daddy’s right, Betta,” Annie sniffled. “You need him to go with you to make sure you and Chris get home again.”

  “Taylor,” Jamie said, “I’ll go with her.”

  “No!” he nearly shouted, then lowered his voice “No. I need to go. I have to go.” He looked at all of them with tears in his eyes. “I have to see for myself.”

  Rosina said, “Annie will be fine. She will be with me and her grandparents. We will keep her safe.”

  “Are you sure they’re coming?” Meg asked.

  “They were too shocked to say so but where else would they be?”

  “And Aunt Beth?” Betta asked.

  “I don’t know. I spoke to Jason. They’ll call later.”

  Then the phone rang and there was not another moment’s peace in the day.

  Chapter 13

  Taylor had been right. The news of the death of the popular writer had been splashed across the airwaves and Internet by noon. The phone seemed never to quit ringing, but Jamie took on the task of answering it, politely turning away reporters, taking messages from friends, and coordinating pick-up of Laura’s family at the airport.

  A part of him was waiting for Laura’s mother, Maria, to arrive. He’d always been impressed with the strength of his tiny mother-in-law. She was always the one who held them together in times of crisis, the one who gave the family hope. But as soon as she and Sean came through the door with Beth behind them, Taylor realized that this loss was beyond even her faith and composure. She looked old and shrunken, her eyes red-rimmed from endless tears.

  As she held on to him, Taylor looked over her head to meet the eyes of his father-in-law. The pain he saw there was an echo of his own. He released Maria into Rosina’s care and took Sean’s hand.

  “Sean, I…” His voice trailed off. There was nothing to say.

  “I know, Son,” Sean said.

  “Maria?”

  “She’s holding up as best she can. I think that seeing the girls has been the only thing that got her here. I guess we never thought that God could be so cruel as to take both our children.”

  Beth stood to one side watching the two men. Alone in the middle of the storm, she wished that Jason had been able to come with her. They’d thought of closing the gallery, but a new artist was set to debut her first show and they’d agreed that he should stay behind to make it happen.

  Taylor gave Sean a final hug and came over to Beth. They didn’t speak, only held on to each other. Until that moment, Beth didn’t realize how much she had needed someone to be strong for her, someone to lean on, and grief overwhelmed her.

  “What are we going to do without her, Taylor? She was my best friend, my sister. I don’t remember a time she wasn’t there for me.” She stepped back and looked up into his eyes. “I need her to be here now.”

  Taylor knew she didn’t expect an answer. All he could do was hold her for a little longer until Betta came and took her from him.

  “Betta,” Beth asked as she followed the young woman, “how badly was Chris injured?”

  “They haven’t told me much. A broken shoulder for sure, maybe a concussion. It was all pretty unreal. I’m going to leave tomorrow to bring him home.”

  “Not by yourself!”

  “No, Taylor has insisted on going with me. I think he needs to be here, but the rest of the family is on his side. Truth is, I’m relieved. All of this is so hard. I could do it alone, but I’m grateful I won’t have to.”

  The two of them joined Megan where she sat on the couch holding Kat, who had finally cried herself into an exhausted sleep.

  “Here, Meg,” Betta said. “Scoot over and we’ll put her down here.”

  Once Kat was stretched out on the couch, Beth sat on the other side of Meg and took her hand. Betta sat on the floor in front of them.

  “I’m glad you’re here, Beth. It makes me feel like Mom will come through the door any minute,” Meg said as she leaned against Beth’s shoulder.

  “Where else could I be, Meg? How is Kat doing?”

  “She’s heartbroken. Worse than the rest of us. Mom promised her she would come home safely and Kat insists she will. That Laura would never lie to her. How am I going to explain to her that Laura won’t ever be back?” Meg smoothed the tangled, tear-soaked hair away from her daughter’s face.

  “Where’s Annie?” Beth asked.

  Betta looked around the room. There was no sign of her younger sister. “She’s been in and out all day. It’s like she can’t stand to be away from us and can’t stand to be with us, either. She needs Dad, but he’s pulled in so many directions…”

  “Let me go see if I can find her,” Beth said. “Maybe she’ll talk to me.”

  Stopping to hug Rosina and say hello to Jamie, Beth made her way to the hallway and down to Annie’s room.

  Outside the door, Beth stopped to listen. She could hear the sobbing on the other side. Of all of us, Annie’s lost the most. She knocked softly then opened the door.

  “Annie? It’s me…Beth.”

  Annie sat up in her bed and held out her arms to her Godmother. Beth sat beside her and held her through a new storm of tears.

  “Why, Aunt Beth? Why Mom? Why now?”

  “Annie, I don’t know. There are no answers. Your mother always believed that each of us had an allotted time. I guess hers was up.”

  “It’s not fair! This is my senior year! She’s supposed to be here to help me pick out my prom dress. We were going to go to Venice after graduation. I need her.”

  We all do. She was so much a part of all of us. Beth held Annie as she cried, offering comfort but no answers. There were no answers.

  * * *

  Taylor watched Beth go, relieved that she was checking on his youngest. He’d tried to be with Annie as much as he could, but there was always some fresh crisis or question to handle.

  He looked around the room. So many times this family had gathered here. Times of joy, of sorrow, of fear. Even though he longed to find a place to be alone, Taylor refused to give in to his grief. There was too much to do, too many people depending on him.

  More importantly, if he gave in and mourned, it would make this nightmare the truth. And, right now, he couldn’t deal with that. Denial was easier.

  Chapter 14

  In the afternoon, while her exhausted child was sleeping, Megan went with Betta to help her pack for the trip to bring Chris home. They were silent in the cab, sitting with their hands entwined, not needing words to draw comfort from each other.

  At Morganna’s, Betta accepted the words of sympathy offered by her employees then climbed the stairs to the third-floor loft where she and Chris lived.

  “Do you want something to drink, Meg?”

  “Just water. What would you like me to do?”

  “Would you pull some clothes out for me? Nothing fancy, just jeans and shirts. Enough for maybe three days? I need to get my passport and get my carry-on organized.”

  They worked in silence for a while. Betta made a couple of phone calls to reschedule private fittings then began to organize things. As she searched for her passport, her eyes fell on the photo of her and Chris taken on their wedding day. He was laughing and so alive that his energy reached out of the picture to pull you in. Suddenly, she began to tremble. How close she’d come to losing him! Tears welled in her eyes and the trembling grew stronger. She could feel herself losing control.

  Then Meg was there.

  Betta had been too calm all day and Meg had been watching for her to reach her breaking point. She hugged her sister as they both cried for
the loss of their mother and the near loss of Chris, the injustice of it all.

  When the storm had passed, Meg brewed a pot of tea and they sat facing each other on the couch. Betta was still trembling, still in shock, but the release of tears had given her more control.

  “Meg? I’m so scared. What if they’re not telling me the whole truth about Chris? What if it’s worse?”

  “They would have told you if it was life-threatening. He’s going to be fine, although it sounds like he’ll need a lot of mending time and TLC.”

  “I can handle the TLC. As of this minute, my schedule is cleared except for a few fittings that have to be done for Christmas weddings. I have to admit I’m glad Taylor’s going with me.”

  “I am, too. You should never even have thought of going alone.”

  “I can’t believe this is happening. Why Laura? Why not Chris, too?” she paused then went on, “Meg? Will the family be able to forgive Chris?”

  “Forgive him? For what?”

  “He’s alive and Laura’s not. Will Taylor be able to forgive him?”

  “Betta, you know Taylor loves him. Chris was a victim. Taylor’s not going to blame him, neither am I. No one will.”

  “But I do…a little. He promised me he’d keep her safe.”

  “And you know he tried to keep that promise. You’re just tired and wrung out. It will be fine once you see him.”

  “I know it will. I just wish it was now.”

  Meg hugged her. “It will be soon, mia sorella. We’d better head back now.”

  Together they finished the packing then left to return to a home that was suddenly incomplete.

  Chapter 15

  Chris woke in the hospital. His arm was encased in a cast from shoulder to fingertips, and he had one hell of a headache. It took a few seconds to orient himself, then he remembered…Laura! Rhen! He tried to sit up, but groaned as the pain shot down his shoulder.

  “Lay still, Chris.” Sergeant Jim Brown, their military escort, was standing beside the bed.

  “Jim,” Chris said, his voice raspy. Jim held a glass of water with a straw and helped Chris to drink. The water was cool and tasted better than anything Chris could remember.

  “Don’t talk. I know what you want to ask,” Jim said as he took a seat beside the bed. “Rhen is fine. She has a cut on her head and a slight concussion. She’s already been treated and is back at the orphanage. You, on the other hand, have a bad concussion and your shoulder is broken. So’s your arm. But the doctors say you’ll recover and can travel in a few days.”

  “Laura?”

  Jim’s eyes clouded. “We didn’t find her, Chris. What was left of the building came down. She was…we’re assuming she was buried under the rubble. They brought in search dogs, but they didn’t find anything and we just don’t have all the sophisticated equipment they do at home. It was too dangerous to keep digging. As it was, we lost one of the dogs and his handler was injured pretty badly in another collapse, so the search was halted. There’s no way she could have survived.”

  “Oh, God, no. I promised Betta I’d make sure she got home safely.” The thought of his wife’s pain at the loss of her mother was devastating. “The family? How long has it been? Have they been notified?”

  “You’ve been out of it for a couple of days. We had to go ahead and notify them. You’ll want to call your wife. She knows you were injured but that it wasn’t life-threatening.”

  “And Taylor…Laura’s husband?”

  “He was notified. I don’t know how your family is. Your best bet would be to call your wife. I’ll leave you so you can have some privacy. My cell number is there. Call if you need me. I’ll check back in with you in the morning.” Jim paused then said, “Chris. I’m so sorry. She was a lovely woman. Please extend my condolences to your family.”

  “No need to call us, Chris,” Betta said from the doorway. “I’m here.” Her voice broke as Chris held out his good arm. She ran to him and they held each other, oblivious to anyone or anything else.

  Jim turned to go and saw a man in the doorway, his face drawn, turquoise eyes dim with tears. Taking a guess, Jim asked, “Mr. Morgan?”

  “Yes. You’re the man who called. I’m sorry…I forgot your name.”

  “Understandable. I’m Jim Brown. I was your wife’s military liaison. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Taylor glanced back to the bed where his daughter lay safe in her husband’s arms. “They seem to be doing all right without me. Would you have some time to talk?”

  “Of course, sir. Here or my office?”

  “Let me leave a message for Betta where to find me. I think I’d be more comfortable in your office.”

  After leaving a message at the nurse’s station, the two men walked out into the cold night. Jim went straight to his vehicle, assuming that Taylor would want to leave the rental car for Betta. He opened the passenger door then got into the driver’s seat.

  “It will take a minute to warm up.”

  “That’s fine,” Taylor said. “Sergeant, would it be possible to go…” His voice trailed off in pain.

  “You’d like to see the site?”

  “Like to? No, but I need to. I’m having trouble believing she’s gone.”

  Jim pulled out of the hospital parking lot and made his way into town. It meant leaving the compound then coming back to the office, but he could feel the depth of Taylor’s need. Without a word, he drove them to the street that remained blocked with debris.

  “Cleanup’s going to take a while,” he said as he looked down the street to the jagged gap in the middle of the block.

  Taylor was silent. He stared at the street for a few minutes as if expecting to see Laura round the corner and come running to him. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

  “Mr. Morgan, we should come back in the morning. I’m not sure how safe it is right now.”

  But Taylor didn’t seem to hear. He stood next to the military vehicle for a few moments then walked slowly down the street, his solitary figure highlighted by the headlights.

  Here, Taylor thought. Here is where she died. Died. Dead. Laura was dead. Laura was dead. Laura was dead…the words rang in his thoughts as he tried to find a place they would fit. He came to a halt when he saw the devastation left by the bomb, the carcass of the car still parked in front of where a building had once stood. A building his wife had been in when it came crashing down. The building where Laura died. Seeing the devastation personally, he finally realized she was never coming home.

  Jim watched as Taylor bowed his head and reached out a hand to touch a remaining fragment of brick wall. He stood there for a long time, then finally turned away and made his way back to the vehicle and got in silently.

  Jim made no comment, only started up and drove away, back toward the compound where he would have to answer this man’s questions.

  Chapter 16

  Betta sat on the side of Chris’s bed, his uninjured hand clasped tightly in hers, unable to take her eyes away from the face of the man she had come so close to losing.

  “I’m sorry, Betta,” he whispered. “I promised you I’d bring her home.”

  “Chris, don’t you think I know you tried? This wasn’t your fault. No one blames you.”

  “Not even Taylor?”

  “Especially not Taylor. He, of all of us, knows how head-strong Laura is…was.”

  “Betta, how is he? How are you, and the family?”

  “I think we’re all still trying to come to terms with the idea. It’s only been a few days. Abuelo and Abuelita are in New York with Annie. I’m worried about Abuelita. She was so devastated. And Annie…I can’t believe that Laura won’t be there for Annie the way she was for Meg and me.” Tears flowed down her face. “I don’t know what we’ll do without her, any of us. Why her?”

  With his good arm, Chris drew her
gently down against his shoulder. He could feel her tears soaking into the hospital gown he wore…and his own getting lost in hair. All he could do was hold her as they both mourned for the woman they had lost.

  * * *

  “How long before we can take Chris home, Sergeant?” Taylor asked as he took the cup of coffee the man offered.

  “I think he’ll be able to leave in a day or so. It will be a rough trip for him. It’s not going to be easy to make him comfortable. I imagine the doctors will want to keep him sedated for pain.”

  “Is there any chance we can hire a nurse to travel with him?”

  “I’d thought of that. One of our nurses is due to be discharged in two weeks. I think I can get it moved up so she can travel with you.”

  Taylor sat silently for a moment. “What do I do now? I assume there’s some paperwork and procedures that have to be completed?”

  “Actually, Mr. Morgan, there’s very little. Mrs. Morgan’s things are waiting for you, if you want to go through them. Then I can have someone pack them up for you.”

  “No, I’ll take care of that. Laura always traveled light. I doubt there’s more than will fit in her luggage. May I…I’d like to see where she was staying.”

  “Of course. You can stay in her quarters if you’d like or I can arrange another space.”

  “May I use your phone to check on Betta? I doubt she’ll be leaving Chris and I can see him in the morning. Once I’ve spoken with her, I’d like to go to Laura’s quarters and stay there.”

  Jim wrote a number down then said, “Use this office and phone as long as you’d like. I’ll wait down the hall for you.”

  * * *

  As he’d expected, Betta had refused to leave the hospital. “I need to stay with him, Taylor.”

  “I know, darling. I’ll see both of you in the morning and we’ll see what the doctor has to say, when we can take him home.”

  “Will you call?”

  “When I finish speaking with you, I’ll call home, let them know we’re here safely.”