The Next Ten: Beginnings Series Books 11 - 20

by Jacqueline Druga

  “What about the way Dean makes love?” Bev smiled snidely when Ellen stopped. “The way he likes to make love across the bed instead of long ways because he hate when a bed squeaks. Or . . . Dean is far from a selfish lover. He likes to secure his victory. Never does he end if you don’t? He’ll even pause mid act to . . . go down,” Bev whispered and moved toward Ellen. “He laughs about you, makes fun of you. And the biggest laugh we had about you was how sappy you were when he left Beginnings. No one was supposed to know but I did. He came to me that night. He had to see me. We couldn’t be together because you had used him up. He degraded you so badly and your daughter . . .”

  Ellen looked up. “Don’t even say a word about my daughter.”

  “Why not? Her own father does. She reminds him so much of you he can’t take it. He said even though she’s a child, she makes his skin crawl.”

  “Bev, I am warning you, Pregnant or not, I will knock your ass through a wall if you say one more word about my daughter.”

  “I’m merely repeating Dean’s words. And I have proof.”

  “There you go again. Proof, proof of what? What is . . .” The hard bang on the counter made Ellen look down. When Bev lifted her hand, a small Gods-eye lay there. It was made of purple and pink yarn with a little heart pasted to it that read ‘I love you daddy’.

  “Recognize this?” Bev asked. “How do I have it? I’ll tell you and I think you know. When’s the last time you saw this?”

  Ellen’s words were barely audible. “When Dean left.”

  “What was that? When Dean left?” Bev tugged on her own ear. “Alex gave this to him that night. You told her to make him something special and it was wrapped up in a piece of red material for him on his dresser. You put it in Dean’s bag and you know what? He took it right out at my house and left it there.”

  Ellen’s heart sunk.

  “Of course he never did give me back my St. Christopher’s medal he took. If you find that, I’d like it. It was a gift from my mother. I can see by your face, Ellen, I’ve given you unwanted proof. What more do you need to open that closed mind of yours to the fact that Dean and I are lovers.”

  “What is it that you want from all this?”

  “The truth?” Bev shrugged. “Dean. Let him go. Get him out of your life so I can have him. And then he and I can raise our baby together.”

  “That!” Andrea’s voice seeped in the lab. “Has yet to be determined.” She walked in with an angry stride, holding her hand up to silence Bev. “I heard enough out of you little girl and no matter what, nothing but that child’s paternity is gonna prove anything. So take your little accusations and leave my hospital. When that baby is born, then we will end this.”

  “Why wait?” Bev said. “Why wait. There are other ways to determine it, aren’t there. I believe I’m far enough along.”

  Ellen whispered in her entranced thoughts. “An amnio.”

  “That’s it.” Bev pointed. “I’m far enough along. Do it. End it all now. Show Ellen who is right. I am.”

  “Ellen.” Andrea looked at her and spoke softly. “She is far enough along. We could end this all . . .”

  “Do it. Set it up. Get it ready.” Ellen grabbed the Gods-eye off the counter. “We’ll do it.” She stormed to the door, stopped, and spun around. “But I swear, Bev, right here where I stand, when it’s proved your little ass has been doing nothing but starting trouble, it’s gonna take an act of God to stop me from killing you,” Ellen raged out.

  After watching Ellen leave, Andrea turned to Bev.

  Bev happily started to leave. “So when do we do this test? Today?”

  “No. I need a few days,” Andrea spoke coldly. “Then we will end this. Then Bev . . .” Andrea waited until Bev stopped at the door. “. . . fear for your life. You are a marked woman.”

  ^^^^

  Reckless, sloppy, and full of emotions, Ellen searched but nothing like the day before. There was no neatly placing her hand between items and returning them undisturbed. Ellen pulled everything from Dean’s drawers. The contents and drawers themselves were dumped about. She checked every fold, pocket, and crease, tossing the item out of her way when she reached for the next. Out of breath, Ellen turned around and looked at the mess she had created of her bedroom. The clothes from Dean’s side of the closet were scattered about the floor. Ellen even checked her own clothing. She just wanted to prove nothing was there. She needed to prove that. In the second drawer of Dean’s barely empty night stand, Ellen pulled out the papers and tossed them on the bed. An old book was in there and she shook it. Nothing. Three pairs of black socks Dean never wore were rolled up neatly and tucked in the back of the drawer. So frustrated, Ellen grabbed all three pairs in one hand and with an emotional grunt, tossed them across the room. They smacked into her dresser mirror.

  Click.

  Ellen turned with a zoom into the sound that shouldn’t have come from thrown socks. With heart beating, she raced to her dresser. Her hands felt the pairs of socks. Unraveling the first she found nothing. As soon as she started to unroll the second, a small, quarter-size, heavy gold medal flung out. It rattled as it landed in the dresser. Her hand was shaking as she slowly reached for it. St. Christopher was on the front and when she turned it over, she saw all that she needed to. An inscription that not only engraved letters into the gold but hurt into her soul read, ‘To Bev, love Mom’.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “Christ, Frank,” Joe complained out his name loudly. “We came here to listen to all this Savage warning bullshit for this?”

  “Dad, it’s a good idea,” Frank defended. “We can kill two birds with one stone.”

  “Frank, in the words of Denny and Josh, it sucks.”

  “Joe.” Dean held up his hand. “I think . . . I think it’s a good idea.”

  “Oh you would,” Joe snapped. “Anything sick and demented is a good idea to you, Dean. Catching all the killer babies and using them as attack dogs against the savages is sick. Sick. Sick.”

  Dean shrugged. “I think it will work. With a properly executed plan to capture the babies and then specialized training in using them, we can utilize those infants for what they were actually designed to be used for.”

  “Dean.” Joe tilted his head. “They were designed to be used for that when they are adults, not infants. Christ.”

  “These new ones are different. They aren’t the same as Marcus. This is from visually examining the one Frank brought,” Dean said. “Of course I have to do an autopsy before I know any better.”

  Joe quickly looked at Frank. “Did that baby die?”

  “No.” Frank shook his head.

  “Autopsy?” Joe looked back at Dean. “Don’t you dare kill it just to do an autopsy.” Joe looked up at Frank’s laughter. “Why are you laughing?”

  “Listen to you.” Frank shook his head. “You act like they’re human.”

  “They are!” Joe yelled. “Distorted, mutated, and animalistic killers, but human none the less.”

  “Like you care.”

  “Oh my God.” Joe smacked himself in the face.

  Robbie spoke up. “Dad, it’s a good idea. I can be trained to use them.”

  “Yeah,” Frank said.

  “Jess,” Robbie continued, “can be trained.”

  “Yeah!” Frank yelled out.

  Robbie was on a roll. “And we can use Frank as bait to capture the babies.”

  “Yeah! Huh?”

  Henry turned in his chair to look back at Frank. “Your idea, Frank.”

  “Fuck.”

  Joe looked at the faces in the room, people who didn’t argue. “All right. Listen, since I’m getting old and I don’t want to hinder anymore of my chances of getting into Heaven, I will not make the decision on this. You people will. It’s your call.”

  Ellen had run so quickly through her emotions she didn’t even know if she physically had it in her. With hands in her lab coat pocket, fingers still felling the gods-eye, medal, and crinkled note, E
llen raced to Frank’s office. She skid to a stop when she saw his Jeep outside of Joe’s.

  Frank was there.

  Near wheezing, Ellen knocked once on Joe’s door, flung it open, and ran in. “Joe, I need to see Frank. Is . . .” She stopped cold when she saw she barged in on a meeting. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  Joe saw the near panic on her face. “Ellen, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I needed to see . . .” She shifted her eyes to Dean who sat in a chair. “I needed to see Frank.”

  Frank’s simple ‘hey’ from his hiding spot behind the open door caused Ellen to jump and shriek. “El?”

  “Sorry.” She raced out and pulled the door closed.

  Everyone stood up.

  Frank held out his hand. “I’ll see what’s wrong. Go on, vote.” He opened the door and closed it as he walked out. He looked toward town to see Ellen walking. “El. Wait up.” He jogged to her.

  Ellen stopped and turned around. “Frank, I didn’t mean to take you from your meeting. Go back.”

  “No. You came up here, out of breath, and looking like someone died. What’s wrong?”

  “It’s silly.”

  “What is it?”

  Ellen brushed her hands up and down her arms. “I just . . . I just needed to see you.”

  “Just see me?”

  “I needed to see you. Sometimes, Frank, no, a lot of times, just being around you helps when I feel down.”

  “Why are you down, El? Did something happen?”

  Ellen shook her head.

  “Nothing’s wrong?”

  “Nope.”

  “Though I love it, I don’t buy it. You just needed to see me out of the blue.”

  “Yep, a Frank fix.”

  “A Frank fix?” Frank slightly shook his head. “El . . .”

  “And I got it. Thanks.” Ellen smiled. “I’ll let you go.”

  “El.”

  Ellen started to leave. She stopped and went back to him. “Thanks.” She tipped toed up and put her arms around Frank’s neck.

  Frank felt the squeeze in her hold. It wasn’t just a ‘thank you’. He knew Ellen’s touch. It was an ‘I need you’. “O.K. Let’s go off somewhere and talk. My meeting was done.”

  “No.” Ellen still held on. “This worked.”

  “It works real well, but is just a hug all you need?”

  “Yep.” Ellen let out a breath and released the embrace. Her hands slid down his arms and she grabbed his hands. “After all these years, you’re still the one I run to.” She leaned up to him, kissed him on the cheek, and stepped back “Stop and see me later?” She winked. “I’d like to just talk.”

  “El.”

  “We’ll talk about . . . anything,” she spoke as she walked away. “Anything.”

  “El.” Frank’s raised hand fell as she moved further and further away.

  Ellen turned in her continuous walk. “Go.” She pointed as she walked backwards. “Your meeting.”

  Frank stood there not knowing what to do. Ellen kept walking. He felt lost about what was wrong and helpless to do anything so he just watched her leave his sight.

  ^^^^

  Andrea’s fingers touched down upon the ‘Bev evidence’ and examined each piece, including the note Ellen found in Dean’s pants. She looked upon them as if they were injuries on a patient. They actually were injuries. Ellen’s.

  “Andrea,” Ellen whispered as she watched Andrea pick up the note. “You can’t yell.”

  “Why would I yell? You mean this?” Andrea set down the note. “You sought out like any woman in your position would.”

  “What does this mean?” Ellen asked.

  “What do you think it means? What do your instincts tell you?”

  “I have no instincts on this. I heard what Bev said. She has said things no one should know and that’s not just today. Then we have physical evidence and don’t think I haven’t thought that this physical evidence wasn’t a plant. I have. But . . How did she know about Alex’s gift, where it was laid, and what it was wrapped in? How? How does she know other intimate details of Dean and mine’s life? Then on the other hand, my biggest argument to all of this and all of what she said is I know Dean. I know my Dean.” Ellen clenched her fist close to her chest. “I believe he loves me and he wouldn’t have a continuous affair.”

  “I don’t believe he would either.”

  “So you think she’s making it all up?” Ellen questioned.

  Andrea was silent.

  “Andrea? What do you think? You said you don’t think he would have a continuous affair.”

  “Ellen. It really doesn’t matter what I think.”

  Ellen closed her eyes. “You think he did.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t say otherwise. Andrea . . .”

  “Ellen.” Andrea gathered up the items on the table. “Put these away.”

  Ellen picked them up and started to place them in her pocket. “I wish you would just tell me what you think.”

  “Does it really matter?”

  “Yes.”

  Andrea stared at Ellen. “You can’t get mad at me.”

  “I won’t.”

  “I think . . . I think.” Andrea held up her hand. “I don’t think he’s had an ongoing affair. I don’t even think he’s slept with her multitudes of times. I do think he made one . . . one mistake and it’s coming back at him.”

  “This summer?”’

  “Yes.” Andrea nodded. “And he’s not admitting it. What man would?”

  “But why lie? Why keep lying. If it’s one time, why not say, ‘hey I did it’.”

  “I’d hate to say it’s because there’s more to it, but unless he owns up to it, we’ll never know, unless the baby is his.”

  Ellen, who was looking down, raised her eyes. “We’ll know soon enough.”

  “Are you sure you want to wait?”

  “You said you wanted a couple days to get ready.”

  “I can rush it.”

  “No.” Ellen shook her head. “I need to just step back. I’ll use that time.”

  “You’re sure you can get a large enough sample for us to all run a test?”

  “Yes.” Ellen nodded. “I think it’s my way to check, double check, triple check, you name it. We’ll secure a big enough sample. Trust me. Dean did an amnio on me at the same gestation with Brian. There was plenty.”

  “But we never used it,” Dean spoke as he walked not only into the conversation, but into the lab. He grabbed a lab jacket and kissed Ellen. “Remember?”

  “Yeah. We decided not to,” Ellen replied.

  “What’s up with the talk of Brian’s amnio? I thought the three of us labeled that subject taboo?” Dean stated.

  “We, uh, did,” Ellen answered. “Mary wants to try to have a baby. At her age, we were concerned and were talking about amnios, that’s all. What . . . what are you doing here? I thought you had a meeting.”

  “It’s over,” Dean answered. “I wanted to get those anti-infective agents and head down to the cryo-lab. Are you coming?”

  “Um . . .” Ellen shifted her eyes to Andrea.

  Andrea got the optical hint. “I have to go.” She pointed out to the door. “Ellen, take care.”

  Dean watched Andrea leave. “Take care?”

  “Yes.” Ellen nodded.

  “Does this have anything to do with your burst into the meeting?”

  Quickly Ellen looked up. “No. I was just looking for Frank.”

  “Yes, I know. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I was looking for him for something really stupid.”

  “Oh yeah? What?” Dean asked and walked to the fridge for his samples.

  “Just something I came across. I thought he’d want to see it.”

  “What was it?” Dean took three bottles out of the fridge. “Did it have to do with your college days? I know you always . . .”

  “Dean,” Ellen silenced him. “We have to talk.”


  “Sure. Can we talk on the way to the lab?”

  “No. You go on down. I’m not coming. I have things to get ready here.”

  “For?”

  “I’m leaving.”

  Dean looked surprised. “Where are you going?”

  “To New Bowman. I have to do pap smears. All those women are due.”

  “No wonder you’re in a weird mood.” Dean shook his head. “How long will you be gone?”

  “Till Thursday.”

  “Thursday?” Dean chuckled. “There aren’t that many women. Go tomorrow and come . . .”

  “I’m leaving tonight. I’ll be back Thursday.”

  “El?” Dean picked up his bottles and walked to her. “Can I at least try to spend some time with you before you go? Please?”

  “I’ll try but I have things to get ready. I want to leave before dark.”

  “Dark is still some time away.”

  “Then I guess we’ll spend time together.” Ellen placed on an awkward smile. “Why don’t you go down to the lab? I’ll do what I have to do here and meet you.”

  “Sounds good.” Giving Ellen another kiss, Dean walked to the door with his arms full. “Bub will miss you.”

  “Won’t you?” Ellen asked.

  “Of course.” Dean turned around with a smile. “But let me let you in on a little secret.” He winked. “When you’re gone, it’s not like you are. Alexandra fills in. She bitches and yells at us. She is so much like you, El . . .” Dean shook his head. “She drives me insane at times. I’ll see you at the lab.”

  Ellen closed her eyes as Dean said those words and left. She turned from the door and reached into her pocket. She pulled out the gods-eye and held it in her hand. Thinking of Alexandra, Ellen’s fingers ran over the little heart with the note to her father. Her head rose when there was a tap on the door. Ellen slipped the artwork into her pocket.

  Henry’s voice spoke softly. “I really have no one to turn to about this. I figured it wasn’t that long ago that we were close. I’m hoping for an honest opinion. I think I made a big mistake. What do you think?”

  Drumming up a look of curiosity, Ellen turned around to face him. When she did, she nearly fell over. “Henry,” she said in shock. “Your hair.”