'Til the End of Time

by Sabra Brown Steinsiek

  Chapter 36

  As Annie came into the room pulling her mother behind her, everyone stopped what they were doing, unsure what to do. It was Kat who broke the silence by jumping from her mother’s lap and running to Laura.

  Laura dropped to the ground and took the excited little girl in her arms. “Oh, Kat, I’ve missed you so!”

  “You promised you’d come back. I knew you wouldn’t break your promise,” the little girl exclaimed before bursting into tears. “I missed you!” she sobbed. Laura rocked her in her arms and murmured soft words into her granddaughter’s ear. Thank God she’d been able to keep her rashly made promise.

  “My turn,” Meg said quietly as she sat on the floor beside her mother and daughter. “Oh, Mom…” Her voice trailed off with tears. There were no words needed as Laura looked into her eyes and saw the love there. She reached around Kat and took Meg’s hand.

  Jamie came over and gruffly said, “Don’t you think we could use the furniture instead of the floor?” As Meg took Kat, he helped his mother-in-law up from the floor and enfolded her in his arms. “Welcome home, Laura”, he said in a tear-roughened voice, “Welcome home.”

  As he stepped back, Rosina came to take his place, then Chris. For a moment, the two of them just looked at each other. Chris alone knew the horrors they had seen in the country they’d left behind and his fear for her well-being shone in his eyes.

  “Ah, Chris,” she said as she gently touched his cast. “I’m glad you were safe.”

  “It should be some story, Laura. I’ll be ready to hear it, when you’re ready to tell.”

  Taylor insisted Laura sit down and rest. “I’m going to call the doctor and see if I can get him to make a house call,” he said.

  “No, Taylor. I’m all right. Just let me have today then we’ll worry about things like check-ups and stories.” Her emerald eyes were bright with happiness and he could deny her nothing so he nodded his agreement.

  “Dinner!” Meg said, jumping to her feet. “Things must be burning!” She and Rosina rushed to the kitchen as the others laughed. Annie settled down at Laura’s feet, her head resting on her mother’s knee and Taylor sat beside her, her hand in his.

  “Dinner’s safe,” Meg said as she came back in the room. “We can eat in about an hour.”

  “I can’t believe I’m here,” Laura said looking in wonder at the faces around her.

  “Can you tell us what happened?” Jamie asked.

  “Oh, Jamie. I will, but not now. I want to know how all of you are, what’s been happening to you. I’ve missed you so much!”

  “Before you get started,” Taylor said, raising her hand to his lips, “we ought to make a few phone calls.”

  “My parents and Beth.”

  “How do you want to handle it, darling?”

  “I don’t know,” she said with a worried look. “Betta told me Mamá was not doing well. We can’t just have me call without warning.”

  “Let me call and talk to your Dad,” he said. “We’ll let him break the news to her and to Beth. She and Jason are in Albuquerque and they were all going to be at your mother’s. I’ll go call now.”

  “I’ll come with you,” she said, reluctant to be parted from him.

  “Why don’t you go into the bedroom. It’s quieter there,” Jamie said.

  * * *

  Sean and Maria had just returned from Christmas mass when the phone rang. “I’ll get it,” Sean said and hurried to answer while the others shed their coats. The smell of roasting turkey was beginning to fill the house and he was grateful to Beth and Jason for coming to be with them. It was hard to think of celebrating this year.

  “Hello?”

  “Sean, it’s Taylor.”

  “You just caught us, Son. We were at Mass. How are things in New York?”

  “That’s why I’m calling, Sean. Maybe you’d better sit down.”

  Sean’s heart skipped a beat as he braced for bad news. We don’t deserve any more heartbreak than we’ve already had. “Dear God, what now?”

  “It’s good news, Sean. The best. But it’s a shock so brace yourself.”

  “What in hell are you talking about, Taylor? Tell me!” Instead of Taylor’s voice, he heard one he thought he’d never hear again. “Daddy?” He couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. This had to be a hallucination. Maybe Annie, sounding like her mother, but why would she say ‘Daddy’?”

  “Daddy? Are you there? It’s me. It’s Laura.”

  “Laura? Can this be true?”

  “It’s true, Daddy. I’m alive. And I’m so sorry that you and Mom had to go through all of it again. It was a mistake.”

  “A mistake? Where have you been?”

  “I was being held hostage. I escaped when Betta was there to pick up Rhen.”

  “Betta? What? I don’t understand.”

  “Daddy, it doesn’t matter. I’m alive. I’m well. I’m home and I can’t wait to see you.”

  Sean began to cry. “Oh my darling girl, I am beyond words.”

  “How is Mamá?”

  “She has been so sad but this will take care of that! Let me get her.”

  “No, Daddy, I think you should tell her gently. Then call us back at Meg’s. Can you do that?”

  “I can. I will. I’ll shout it from the rooftops!”

  Laura laughed. “Just tell Mom for now. And Beth, is she there?”

  “She is.”

  “Then tell her, too. And call us back quickly.”

  “I will. In a few minutes.”

  “Merry Christmas, Dad.”

  “That it is, little girl. That it is.

  Laura replaced the phone and turned to Taylor. “They’ll be calling back in a few minutes. He was so happy. How is my mother, really?”

  “She took the news of losing you very hard. She hasn’t seemed to bounce back at all and she’s talking of retiring from teaching.”

  “So much damage because I didn’t listen to you and stay home,” she said sadly.

  “No blaming yourself, Laura. Blame those bastards that took you.” He paused, then took a deep breath. “Laura, did they hurt you?”

  Touching his face, she shook her head. “No, I was treated well. No one hurt me physically. The hurt came from losing all of you. I’ll be fine now.”

  She leaned her head against his chest and he held her while they waited for the phone to ring.

  * * *

  “Who was on the phone, Sean?” Maria asked as he came into the kitchen.

  “Let’s get everyone together then I’ll tell you all at once.”

  “Not more bad news?”

  “No, no bad news. Come. Let’s find the others.”

  Beth and her mother were setting the table while her father, husband, and twin sons were watching the football game in the next room. Gathering them all, Sean went in and turned off the television and said, “That was Taylor on the phone. He had some news for us.”

  As he saw the worry in each of their faces, he was quick to continue. “It’s not bad news. It’s surprising and there’s no way to ease it out so I’ll just tell you—Laura is alive. I just talked to her.”

  There was a stunned silence in the room then Maria quietly crossed herself, saying, “Madre de Dios—it is a miracle.”

  “It is a miracle, Maria. Our little girl is alive.”

  “But where has she been? What happened to her?” Beth said, her voice shaking as she held tightly to Jason’s hand.

  “She was evidently being held hostage.” He raised his hand as questions began to fly, “She didn’t tell me more than that. She wants us to call them back at Megan’s.”

  “Sean!” Maria said. “Why are we waiting? Get the phone!” Sean’s hands were shaking as he dialed then handed the phone to Maria. Beth ran to pick up the kitchen extension and Sean went to t
he bedroom to use the phone there. The others had to be content with listening to Maria’s side of the conversation.

  * * *

  When the phone rang, Taylor reached to answer but Laura put her hand over his. “Let me,” she said. “Hello?”

  “Dios Mio,” Maria whispered. “It’s true. You’re alive!”

  “Feliz Navidad, Mamá.”

  “I can’t believe it’s you,” Beth said.

  “It’s me, Beth. Oh, it’s so good to hear your voices. I missed you all.”

  Sean said, “Laura, when can you come home? Or should we come there?”

  “I can’t come for a while yet. Could you please come soon?”

  “As soon as I can get us a flight out,” he said. “Maybe by tomorrow.”

  “I can’t wait. Beth? You’ll come, too?”

  “Try and keep me away, girlfriend. You better have a good reason for missing my birthday!”

  Then they were all crying and talking at once. Taylor leaned back against the headboard of the bed and pulled Laura close to him, holding her as she cried and laughed with her family.

  When they finally hung up, with promises to call as soon as they could make flight arrangements, Taylor smiled at her. “Now what?”

  “Can we just stay here, Taylor? You and me and no one else? I missed everyone so much but it was you I needed.”

  “Not yet, but soon, love. The others need you, too.”

  “Can you help me fend off the questions? I know you’re all dying to know but I don’t think I can tell it more than once.”

  “Today we’ll celebrate. Tomorrow we’ll think about the practicalities.”

  “The news will probably be released late today or in the morning. The ambassador promised not to release it until I was home. Once it’s out, we’re going to be inundated with reporters.”

  “And they won’t get past the security in our building. I won’t let them overwhelm you.”

  “There’s one more phone call to make. I need to have Pierce Albright help me run the government gamut. I’m sure there are questions they’ll want to ask.”

  “Shall we call him now?”

  “Would you, please? I’m suddenly tired of talking.”

  “I’ll take you home if you’d like, Laura. The family will understand.”

  “No, I want to be with them today. I need to be. I dreamed of this every night, of being home with the people I love.”

  “Then sit here for a minute while I call Pierce. Then I’ll go talk to the family and let them know that you’ll answer questions when you’re ready. We’ll have dinner then we’ll go home.”

  “Home. What a wonderful word.” Smiling, she curled up with her head on his chest as he called Pierce Albright. The F.B.I. agent had been their friend for years after helping recover Annie when she’d been kidnapped at five. He was surprised, as they had all been, and more than happy to help run interference for her. Setting a time to meet tomorrow, Taylor hung up and discovered Laura was asleep. He didn’t want to wake her so he stayed there holding her, figuring someone would get curious and come to check on them soon.

  Chapter 37

  It was Meg who came to find them and she stood in the door smiling at the picture they made. All these months, her father had seemed to be incomplete, but his whole face had changed now that Laura was home.

  Taylor held a finger to his lips, cautioning her to be quiet. “Dinner?” she whispered. “Half an hour?”

  He nodded and she left, closing the door behind her.

  * * *

  Rosina and Betta were setting the table when Meg joined them. “Laura’s asleep,” she said. “I told Taylor dinner would be in half an hour.”

  “Did they reach your grandparents?” Rosina asked, still brushing tears from her eyes.

  Meg hugged her and said, “I think they must have. They’ll tell us at dinner.”

  “She is so thin,” Rosina fretted.

  “You’ll take care of that soon,” Betta teased. “She’ll probably be a blimp if you have your way.”

  They laughed together then Meg asked, “Betta? How is she really? She seems so calm.”

  “She has been from the minute she walked through the orphanage door. Calm and in control. I kept waiting for her to fall apart but she never did. She’s amazing.”

  “It must have been awful for her,” Meg said.

  “She hasn’t talked about it except to say she was treated well. I’m afraid when she does tell the story, it will all get to her.”

  “Perhaps,” said Rosina. “If it does, she will have all of us around her to lean on.”

  “So much to take in,” Meg said. “Betta, we’ve hardly talked about Rhen. She’s beautiful and obviously devoted to you already.”

  “She’s wonderful. She’s handled all this change and chaos so well. She and Kat seem to have become fast friends already.”

  “I’m so glad. They’re so close in age that it will be almost like having a sister for each of them.”

  “It all happened so fast. Chris and I have been looking for someplace to live that has more room. We don’t want her to have to grow up in the apartment. We’ll have to look harder now.”

  Chris came in as she was finished. “Nope, no more looking. Remember the townhouse we made the bid on before you left?”

  “The one around the corner from Morganna’s?”

  “The very one. They accepted our offer the day you left. I hadn’t had a chance to tell you.”

  “So much good news,” Rosina exclaimed. “After so much sorrow it is hard to take in.”

  “Oh, wait ’til you see the house! It’s so perfect for us.” Betta kissed her husband who was more than happy to return the favor.

  “Enough kissy-face, you two,” Meg said. “Come help me get dinner together.”

  “Let me check on Rhen and I’ll be right in,” Betta said.

  Rhen was in the living room with Annie and Kat. Annie was reading a book to the two of them, the younger girls snuggled up beside her. She glanced up and smiled, but kept on reading. Chris and Betta listened for a minute then went back into the dining room, reluctant to disturb the bonding going on.

  Before Betta could go on to the kitchen, Chris stopped her and pulled her close. “I haven’t had a minute to welcome you home, Betta. How are you doing? It was a long trip and way more exciting than we expected.”

  “I’m so glad to be home, Chris. It all seems so unreal. I’ll never forget coming down that stairway and seeing Laura standing there.”

  “I think your being there had something to do with her escape. It’s just too convenient,” he said.

  “I’ve wondered about that. But she was adamant about not talking about it. Her whole focus was on getting home.”

  “And now that she’s here,” Taylor said from the doorway, “she’d like to avoid the questions for today. Can we give her that much?”

  “Of course,” Betta said as she went to hug Taylor. “She’ll tell us when she’s ready.”

  “Betta, you are amazing,” Taylor said. “I’m still mad at you for going alone but I am so grateful you were there.”

  “We were just wondering,” Chris said, “if Betta’s presence somehow had something to do with Laura’s escape.”

  “She hasn’t said anything, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t.”

  “Did you talk with Abuelo?” Betta asked. “How did they take the news?”

  “Pretty much as we did—surprise, puzzlement, joy. They’ll be here as soon as they can. Aunt Beth will be coming, too. Once everyone is here, Laura plans to tell us her story.”

  They heard Laura laugh from the living room where she sat with the three girls. Taylor smiled at the sound. “I think I’ll go join them.”

  “Go, we’ll get things ready.”

  Before he turned to go,
he took both Betta’s and Chris’ hand in his. “No one’s said it yet, but congratulations on your new daughter. May you find as much joy in yours as I have in mine.”

  Then he kissed Betta and went to join Laura and the girls.

  Chapter 38

  At home, Taylor waited in their living room while Laura was with Annie. What a day this had been! Even now, hearing the murmur of voices down the hall, he was having trouble believing it was all true.

  Dinner at Meg’s had been far merrier than anyone had expected when they’d awakened this morning. The focus had alternated between Rosina trying to get Laura to eat and everyone trying to explain all the new foods to Rhen. There had been so much laughter, something that had been sorely missing from their lives for the last few months.

  By the time the last crumb of crostini had been eaten, it was apparent to everyone that the travelers were beginning to fade. When Rhen fell asleep at the table leaning against her new mother, Betta and Chris had excused themselves and left for home. Rosina said she would stay and help Meg with the clean-up and urged Taylor to take Annie and Laura home. Laura’s parents had called earlier to say they would be in late the next day and everyone had agreed to meet at Taylor and Laura’s in the evening, to hear Laura’s story.

  His phone rang bringing Taylor back to the present. “Hello?”

  “Taylor, it’s Pierce. The news just broke. The ambassador called a news conference and announced that Laura had escaped and was safely back in the United States. Your phone’s going to be ringing off the hook in a few minutes.”

  “Thanks for the warning. I’ll switch off the house phone and send calls to the answering service. What’s the government going to want of her?”

  “I’m working on that now. They want to ‘debrief’ her; get her story.”

  “She wants to tell the family first and that won’t be ’til tomorrow night. She wants you here, too. Around seven.”

  “I’ll be there and I’ll hold off the officials until the day after.”

  “Thanks, Pierce. We’re lucky to have you.”