The Cloning

  “You don’t mean Wentworth?”

  “That’s the one!”

  “You’re kidding!” Lucy exploded. “I thought she was seeing Bob!”

  “Well, she is,” Jennifer replied with arched eyebrows, “when she’s at school, but you know Claudette. A total slut.”

  “Oh my God, I can’t wait to see what happens when we go back to school. I’ll bet she tries to keep Bob on the string too, don’t you?”

  “You know she will. Don’t you think so, Maria?”

  “I really haven’t kept up with her since I left school,” Maria confessed.

  “She asked me to room with her next year, but it’d never work out,” Jennifer confided, oblivious to the fact that Maria was feeling somewhat excluded from the conversation. “Like, I wouldn’t know what to say every time I answered the phone. I mean, she has so many different guys calling. You’d have to tell a million lies for her.”

  “You’d never be able to get any studying done.”

  “Tell me about it! And I have a tough semester coming up. I mean, like I have to take eighteen credits. Did you pre-register?”

  “I’m registered for twelve credits, and I’m on the wait list for that course in Marriage and the Family. Jane says it’s a snap, and that’s why everybody wants to take it, you know. I’ve just got to get in because I don’t want to have a heavy load for my senior year. That’s the one year I want to, like, chill totally.”

  “What about you Maria? Will you be coming back after you’ve had your baby?” Jennifer asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Maria confessed. “I really don’t know what my plans will be.”

  “Of course, there’s no way you could come back next year. I mean, your baby isn’t due until January, and our class will graduate by May,” Lucy observed.

  “That’s true,” Maria acknowledged with a stoic smile, fighting back the thoughts that she really wasn’t a part of their world any longer, nor was she ever likely to be again. How could she be a full time student and a full time mother simultaneously? Maybe when the baby was older, but by then all her friends would be out in the world, pursuing their careers, or married. Married? Would there ever be some guy interested in her? How could she even meet somebody in the first place? Her mind was awash with possible scenarios of her future life, and none of them looked like much fun. “I’m not feeling too well,” she told her friends, clutching her stomach as if she might be nauseated.

  “We’d better be going anyway,” Jennifer said, glancing at her watch. “We’re meeting Bunny and Bobby for drinks.”

  “We’d better not be late,” Lucy agreed. “Why don’t you come and hang out with us sometime?” she asked Maria.

  “Thanks, but it’s kind of risky. I mean, like, when people see me they really flip out, you know?” Maria explained lamely. Her friends nodded compassionately. “And I’ll be going to Rome in September.”

  “Well, you keep in touch,” Jennifer urged with a friendly pat. “I hope you feel better. You look just fabulous.”

  “We’ll keep up with you on e-mail,” Lucy added, giving Maria a little buss on the cheek, “you lucky thing!”

  Shortly after the two had gone, Marc came into the room. “How’s everything?” he asked innocently as if he’d just happened to drop by.

  “Oh, just marvelous,” she said, her chin trembling as she tried to hold in her emotions. “I don’t know why I ever agreed to do this. My life is ruined!”

  “Says who?” he asked.

  “Two of my sorority sisters came to visit.”

  “What did they say?” he demanded.

  “They were just talking about the usual things. It’s just that I’m not a part of ‘the usual things’ any more. And I never will be.”

  “Come on, you’re exaggerating.”

  “No, I’m not. How can I ever have any friends when I’m like this?”

  “Hey, if two little twits were insensitive, forget ‘em. We can find some of your other friends.”

  Maria looked him squarely in the eye and simultaneously realized what had happened. “They didn’t come on their own. You arranged it, didn’t you?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Don’t lie to me! Look how they were all dressed up. You did it, didn’t you?” she shouted.

  “Okay, I had Nora call them. But they’d have come on their own if they hadn’t been intimidated by all the hype.”

  Maria was no longer able to hold back the tears. “They’d never have come on their own,” she moaned. “Nobody’ll ever come to see me. I’m some sort of a freak,” she cried, her body wracked with sobs.

  He reached out ineptly to pat her shoulder.

  “Just leave me alone,” she told him, turning away to cry into her pillow. “This is all your fault anyway!”

  “My fault?”

  “You’re the one who came up with this dumb idea in the first place! You’ve ruined my whole life. Just go away! Now!” she demanded.

  He left the room feeling like a complete dolt for making bad matters worse.

  *

  The next day he arrived at the hospital early, knocked tentatively on Maria’s door, and stuck a bouquet of daisies inside. “I brought you these. Can I come in?”

  There was a momentary silence, then he heard her quiet voice. “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry about yesterday,” he offered, handing her the flowers.

  “Me too,” she replied. “It not your fault. It’s my father’s fault.”

  Mark was pleased to hear that new rationale. “You’ve been going through a big adjustment. But things will get better,” he assured her.

  “When?”

  “When you get to Rome. And after you have the baby.”

  “You promise.”

  “Promise,” he nodded.

  “You’d better be right. This has been a major bummer so far.”

  Realizing that he was in a better position than anyone else to help her make the adjustment, Marc began being more attentive, doing as much as he could to divert Maria within the confines of the hospital. He replaced the lost CDs, then got a DVD player and supplied her with as many videos as she desired. He brought whatever food she requested to supplement the bland hospital fare. He offered to contact some other friends and arrange an outing, but she refused.

  “I can’t stand hearing them talk about their boyfriends and their senior year and all that crap!”

  Noting that she was virtually surrounded by males, Marc asked Nora to help with some feminine diversions, and Nora rose happily to the occasion. Nora’s own daughter, now nearly forty, had never married, so Maria provided Nora with an opportunity to vent all her latent grandmotherly urges. She made homemade cakes and cookies. She kept Maria supplied with cosmetics. She brought books about the Vatican so that Maria would have a better knowledge of her next “home.”

  About six weeks later, when Maria’s waistline had begun to expand, Nora surprised her with a gift. “Oh, neat! It’s the dress I wanted!” Maria exclaimed as she opened the box. It was indeed made of the same dark aqua velvet as the dress in the mall. When she held it up, she realized that it wasn’t exactly the same; this was a maternity dress. “You had it made?”

  “Why not? I thought it was about time,” Nora explained. “And if we waited for Cardinal Dugan, you’d never get one.”

  “How’d you know about this one?”

  “Marc told me.”

  “That’s so sweet of you. It’s my first maternity dress,” Maria said, heading into the bathroom to try it on.

  As Nora busied herself straightening up some of the magazines strewn around the room, Marc stopped by.

  “I brought Maria that little surprise. She’s trying it on.”

  “That’s really generous of you,” he commented. “How is she today?”

  “She seems fine. Upbeat.”

  “Really?”

  “When I came in, she was actually reading one of the books about the Vatican. I couldn’t believe my eyes.”


  “Hmmm,” he mused. “Maybe she’s finally adjusting.”

  “She’s really responded to your attention, you know.”

  “I’m just protecting my investment. You’re the one she’s responded to. She needed a little female bonding.”

  “Something’s happen to her,” Nora concurred. “The last few weeks, she hasn’t been so restless.”

  Maria bounded back into the room, a smile wreathing her face as she showed off her new dress. To Marc’s astonishment, she took his breath away. Maybe it was the way the aqua complimented her rosy complexion. Or was it just because she was so radiantly pregnant? He’d always heard that expectant mothers displayed a particular beauty. There was no denying that her breasts had filled out. In any case, it struck him for the first time that she was a beautiful young woman.

  “I love it, Nora! Isn’t it great, Marc?”

  “You look nice in it,” was all he could manage to say.

  “I have another idea,” Nora said. “How’d you and Marc like to sneak over to my place for dinner? It’ll be something simple, but it’d be a change of scenery at least. Surely Cardinal Dugan wouldn’t object to that.”

  “Marc’s probably seeing his designer tonight,” Maria suggested.

  “As a matter of fact, I’m not,” he said. He’d neglected to tell her that he and Cynthia hadn’t been in touch since Vail.

  “Actually Nora, if you don’t mind, I don’t want to go out. I’m sort of nervous about taking any more chances. You know?”

  “Just a suggestion,” Nora replied.

  “Thanks. But after waiting this long, I’d hate for anything to go wrong. And we’ll be going to Rome soon. That’ll be enough change of scenery.”

  “Whatever you say,” Nora agreed.

  “I want to show the nurses my beautiful new dress,” Maria said and scampered out the door.

  Nora smiled, gave Marc a knowing look, then said, “You’re right. She is adjusting. But it’s nothing we’ve done. She’s just getting ready to be a mother.”

  *

  Cardinal Nani carefully poured the Amaretto into delicate Venetian glasses, added a splash of water, then handed one to Giovanni Capaletto. Both men sipped silently for several moments.

  “The failure in Cambridge was most regrettable,” Capaletto finally said.

  “Indeed,” Nani agreed, casting a disparaging look at his friend. “It would have solved the problem at the very inception.”

  “I have been assured that the assignment was given to a very capable operator. It was just an accident that the woman arrived at a very inopportune moment.”

  “Accidents don’t happen when plans are properly made,” observed Nani in a stern tone.

  “The man was reprimanded. Severely reprimanded,” Capaletto explained.

  Nani remained silent, waiting for his friend to make the next move since he'd instigated this meeting. Capaletto took his time before speaking again.

  “Perhaps something can still be done,” he ventured finally.

  “Oh?”

  “But it will not be simple because it is my understanding that the security around Solovino is very tight.”

  “Forget Solovino!” the Cardinal said sharply, rising and moving to the window with agitation. “He's already done all the damage he can do. The problem now is the girl.”

  Capaletto was surprised at the vehemence of his friend's tone and even more surprised at the bluntness of his statement. Nani had always been one to speak obliquely on any delicate subject, but clearly he was more disquieted about this than Capaletto had realized. “The security around her is also strict,” he offered.

  “Of course it is, because the assignment failed the first time. They've been alerted.”

  “Still . . . there could be ways to infiltrate the hospital. She's on the top floor, so it would be . . .”

  “I don't really care where she is,” Nani cut him off. “Why should we risk showing our hand in America again? There will be adequate opportunity to handle the problem much more conveniently when she’s right here in the Vatican, away from the prying eyes of civil authorities. September will be here soon enough.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Dusty autumn air hung in a golden glow over Rome. In Saint Peter’s Square, the influx of tourists broke all previous records. From around the globe they came to stand and point to the building where Maria would be living . . . and to await her arrival.

  As soon as her private 747 touched the ground at DaVinci, a twenty-one-gun salute boomed across the runway. An unprecedented number of dignitaries were on hand to welcome her and to escort her to the Vatican where the Pope was scheduled to meet her on the steps of Saint Peter’s.

  Security measures were stricter than in anyone’s memory, and Marc stayed in the background during the ceremonies on the tarmac. But when the Popemobile pulled up, ready to transport Maria safely into Rome, she refused to climb aboard until Marc was located.

  “I want you to ride with me,” she said.

  “This is your day. You’re the one people want to see.”

  “You’re part of it too,” she insisted, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the bulletproof glass enclosure. “Come on.”

  The odd vehicle edged through the throng, then gained speed as it headed for the highway toward the Holy City.

  “Is this a gas or what?” she said while waving at the sea of faces moving past. Some of them were fluttering handkerchiefs, some held up crucifixes, while others knelt on the ground and crossed themselves as Maria passed before their wondering eyes. “Wave back!” she instructed Marc, and he did, nevertheless experiencing some qualms about how he’d gotten into this extraordinary position and what might lie ahead.

  *

  In Cardinal Nani's office, the Cardinal turned away in disgust from the television where every moment of the arrival was being covered in minute detail.

  “We must go now,” he said with resignation to Bishop Bottero. “His Holiness wouldn't understand it if we weren't there to greet her too.”

  “Before we go, there's something I must tell you.”

  The Cardinal took a moment to look at his pudgy associate. The Bishop was perspiring profusely and was wringing his hands with more than usual angst.

  “Can't it wait?” Nani asked somewhat impatiently. “We don't have much time.”

  “We'll have to take time,” Bottero informed him. “You'd better sit.”

  Nani wasn't used to taking suggestions from Bottero; that was a total reversal of their roles, but something about the Bishop's demeanor led Nani to do as instructed this time.

  “I've had an epiphany,” Bottero began.

  “I'm not your confessor,” Nani interrupted.

  “Will you just be quiet and listen for once!” Bottero retorted, his voice rising an octave in anger. He stopped, took a deep breath to get control of himself. “It came to me just as clearly as the picture on that television . . . that you're wrong about the baby. And the Holy Father is right.”

  “I’m wrong?” Nani asked, annoyed at the very concept.

  “Yes, completely wrong. From the very beginning. You tried to stop Doctor Solovino from investigating the shroud. Then you tried to have him murdered, and very nearly killed a woman in the process. You've got to be stopped before you do any further harm.”

  “You’re overwrought, Bottero,” the Cardinal replied, rising impatiently.

  “There's no reason to think that God has to repeat himself in the method that brings Christ back to earth. When I look about the universe, it seems to me that God is very inventive. Just because Jesus was born in a stable once doesn't mean that he couldn't be cloned this time. After all, that was two thousand years ago, and we're in a new scientific age now. God's capable of being modern.”

  “That may be your opinion. Your new opinion, I might add. But I'm not the only one who thinks that the Pope has been misled.”

  “You may not be the only one, but you're the only one who's willing to go to such extremes to pro
ve himself. And I can't allow it.”

  “It's really not for you to say, despite your so-called epiphany,” Nani informed him in a tone that implied that he had closer contact to the Almighty than Bottero and knew the true meaning of God's blueprint intimately. “Now let's go,” he said, and headed for the door.

  “I know what you're planning to do next, and I won't let it happen.”

  Cardinal Nani stopped in his tracks and turned. “What do you know?”

  “That you're planning on eliminating Maria . . . and the baby will die before it's born.”

  “You're mad.”

  “I heard it all . . . your conversation with Giovanni Capaletto in this very room. And I'm prepared to expose you both unless you do exactly as I say.”

  “You'd be well advised to take care, Bottero. You're not impervious to harm yourself.”

  “I have no doubt that you could easily have me disposed of by one of your henchmen, but that won't keep your secret. If anything should happen to me, the Pope will be informed of everything you've done . . . and everything you plan on doing.”

  “Oh, you have a confidante?”

  “No, nobody knows about this . . . yet. But I've made provisions, if I should die, for my information to reach the Holy Father . . . and to be disseminated to the media as well. You would be destroyed.”

  Nani grew pale and was speechless as the full implications of Bottero's threat sank in. Finally, he spoke in a subdued voice. “And what precisely is it you want me to do?”

  “Simply drop your plans to do any harm to Maria or to her baby when it's born. And, of course, you must continue to maintain your close relationship with me so that no one will suspect anything, and I'll be in a position to keep my eye on your activities.”

  “You drive a hard bargain, Bottero.”

  “I've learned at the knees of a master,” the Bishop replied with a twitchy smile.