Forever Young: Blessing or Curse (Always Young Trilogy)

by Morgan Mandel

  Finally, she heard back from her friends, who’d been out and about before. She considered calling Keith, but they hadn’t been on the best of terms the last time they’d spoken. She’d wait for him to make the first move.

  She wished she could get into the Christmas spirit, but it was hard without Larry. Over a year had passed, yet the pain hadn’t lessened. She still couldn’t believe someone who’d been such a huge part of her life could disappear as if he’d never existed. So much had happened since he’d left, some good, much not.

  Maybe next year would be better. If all turned out well, she’d be showering love onto her child, and hanging one of those Baby’s First Ornament keepsakes on the branch of a Christmas tree. The thought comforted her.

  ***

  When she returned to work the next day, Roman had her strike various poses in photo shoots, some highlighting her pregnancy, others not. By Friday afternoon, Dorrie could barely function. What she most wanted was to get home and vegetate. Unfortunately, she was still on the clock and had dictation to finish.

  After a few pages, her eyes started to close, despite her efforts to keep them open. From her last visit to Dr. Lewanthal, and from all the information she’d read, sleepy feelings were a natural effect of pregnancy, and the vitamins could only do so much. Realizing that after the baby was born she wouldn’t get much sleep either, she smiled wryly.

  Dorrie broke off her thoughts and concentrated on what would go into the new brochure alongside the digitalization poses masking her pregnancy. In the event it would prove useful, as promised, Roman had begun a secret alternative campaign highlighting her condition. She fervently hoped it would be used, because in that scenario her child would be born healthy. The baby had to be all right. It kicked and moved, and kept reminding her it was alive. Already she ached to hold it in her arms.

  As she continued typing, the adjectives, safe, fast, and effective, seemed to leap out at her, erasing her drowsiness, making her fingers stumble. Despite Roman’s assurances, she couldn’t help wondering why Mike had died. An autopsy might have erased her doubts, but she couldn’t fault Jeanne for respecting her father’s wishes and refusing one.

  So, the question remained, how safe was the young pill? How could Forever Young, even if taken according to directions, not contain any ill effects, at least for a minority of users?

  Nothing could be that perfect. Even the pharmaceuticals advertised on TV mentioned depression, insomnia, diarrhea, kidney problems, heart attacks, and other possible side effects. Shouldn’t Roman be up front also? Was he hiding something?

  She really should calm down. After all, nothing bad had happened to her and she’d been on the pill since February. Still, she wouldn’t want to be responsible for misleading anyone and causing ill health or a fatality. If only she had Larry’s abilities to understand the pill’s effects.

  Thoughts of Larry brought to mind what he’d said about the iPhone that last evening. “Dorrie, I want you to keep it. Something’s…on it.”

  She’d reassured him about the songs and photos, but he’d said, “No, more…Life is for Living isn’t…Forever Young isn’t…”

  Had she misunderstood him? Had he tried to tell her something about the pill that he’d documented on the iPhone? That was a wild stretch. Her imagination had to be working overtime. She really needed more sleep so she could think clearly instead of coming up with outlandish ideas.

  Once she’d thought of the possibility, her mind stubbornly refused to dismiss it. The iPhone had been synced to the Institute’s computer, which meant that computer would hold whatever Larry had discovered. If the findings were detrimental, it stood to reason Roman would be desperate to get the iPhone out of circulation.

  While she’d placidly eaten breakfast at the café , waiting for the iPhone to charge, could her time have been better spent investigating the apps? At thought of the possible ramifications, she misspelled another word and had to backspace over it.

  “How’s the brochure coming along?” Roman asked, bending over her desk, making her jump.

  “I didn’t hear you,” she mumbled, keeping her eyes focused on the screen. She could never keep a straight face, and knew if she looked up, her eyes would reflect fear and doubt.

  “You’re speed’s increased so much since you started, I thought you’d be through typing by now. Better hurry along. It’s four o’clock.”

  She gave a wry laugh. “Sorry, Roman. Blame our baby for making me dragged out like a zombie. I’m afraid I don’t have as much energy as I used to, even with your miracle pill inside of me.”

  “Hang in there.”

  The words were probably meant to be encouraging, but in her present state of mind they sounded ominous.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Anxious to get to the iPhone and have her doubts dispelled, Dorrie kept waking during the night, hoping it was time to get up.

  Finally, she heard the birds chirping from outside the window. Though tired from missing a half night’s sleep, she got up and downed her young pill and vitamins. Her appetite had not diminished, but she didn’t have time to stop and eat.

  Don’t worry, little one, we’ll get something good at the café, she said, patting her stomach. The child kicked as if it could understand.

  After showering, Dorrie grabbed her purse and stopped at the family room on the way out. She set the purse down on the end table, then pulled the Bible from the shelf. As she opened it, she deftly swiped her hand over the page containing the key, and stopped for a few minutes to read a passage from the Holy Book. In the process, she couldn’t get over the feeling of eyes watching her.

  Though she constantly checked the doors and windows, even the closets, and would know if anyone had entered the house, she still felt jumpy. Maybe her paranoia had something to do with pregnancy hormones, or the fact she’d already been robbed, both good explanations, instead of anything bizarre.

  As she grabbed her purse from the end table, in the same motion, she dropped the safe deposit key inside and pulled out the car keys. Soon her questions would be answered, her worries would be resolved, and she’d sleep easy.

  At the bank, she removed the iPhone from the safe deposit box and hurried to the café a few blocks over. With her breakfast beside her on the rectangular table, she plugged the iPhone charger into the wall receptacle, pressed the start button and slid her finger over the unlock bar. The screen sprang to life, looking innocuous enough, with its usual array of icons.

  While holding a piece of toast in her left hand, she noticed the usual array of apps for weather, news, calendar, some card games, even Farmville, which Larry had used occasionally to relax. Nothing vital there. Where was that speech recognition app he’d mentioned? It stood to reason anything important would be there.

  In the far corner of the screen she found the program her husband had been so excited about buying a few weeks after they’d moved. As she tapped the app, she still heard their conversation.

  “Think of the time I’ll save. My hands will be free, so I won’t have to stop and type. The cool thing is I can sync it to the work computer and I’m done. It’s worth the cost and then some.”

  “If it means less overtime and more home time, I approve.”

  He’d laughed. “Can’t count on it, hon. Until Forever Young is ready, my time isn’t my own. Believe me, it’ll be worth the sacrifice. That pill is utterly monumental, life changing, completely radical.”

  “All that? Sounds like a miracle.”

  When he’d explained the pill’s concept, her skepticism had grown. It sounded too much like a fairy tale.

  “Only a few kinks to iron out, but so far, so good,” he’d said.

  “Let’s hope it works.” She didn’t want to discourage him, yet doubted the pill would perform as claimed.

  Amazingly it did work, at least for her. The pill made her look and feel so great she’d do almost anything to stay on it. It had to be all right. She hoped and prayed her misgivings were wrong. Just in
case, she’d skim some of the documents to make sure.

  Holding the cup away from the computer, she took a sip of the now lukewarm coffee, and looked down at the iPhone resting in her other hand.

  The articles were so technical she could barely read them, much less understand their meaning. Frowning, she was about to give up in frustration when the header of one entry caught her eye, making her hand shake and almost drop the mug. With a splash, she set it on the table. She read more, then scrolled down to earlier entries. The more she saw, the more the chills spread.

  Oh my God! Larry had tried to tell her something about the pill. In the urgency of the situation, she’d misunderstood his message. The price for not comprehending might prove high, not only for her, but others. Appetite lost, she stared unseeing at the screen.

  ***

  Dorrie wasn’t sure how long she sat, scared stiff, feeling helpless, wondering what to do. From what she gathered, Larry had completed his study of the Forever Young pill the day before he’d died. In his post entitled Stop Production of This Pill, he’d documented the formula for Forever Young, and underneath had outlined its weaknesses.

  Though she couldn’t follow much of the technical language, the accompanying summary written in laymen’s terms was concise enough for anyone with average intelligence to understand.

  A frightening list of possibilities leapt out at her, as if in bold print: Highly addictive, producing insurmountable withdrawal symptoms. Can cause extreme hyperthyroidism, a condition which, in the present form of the pill, is guaranteed to elicit thyroid storms, with symptoms of fever, confusion, disorientation, rapid and irregular heartbeat, heart failure and death.

  Although I don’t recommend distribution of this pill because of the abovementioned side effects, if in some instance those issues could be resolved, a warning label may suffice to emphasize that once begun, cessation would most likely prove fatal if the original age of the individual is past normal life expectancy.

  Another instance must also be taken into account. If pills are stopped for even one week, and the subject attempts to return to the regimen, certain death will follow.

  In no instance should children ingest this drug.

  Given the above mentioned flaws, my recommendation is: Until a safe alternative is found, cease production of the present formula, as it is not ready for a test market.

  A possible exception might be subjects with defective thyroids, who might potentially be disposed to withstand the continual onslaught of thyroid hormones into the bloodstream. Since the only way to test this is by using human guinea pigs, the loss of human lives is not worth the cost.

  Another possibility to clear the thyroid hurdle would be to administer enough radioiodine to thereby disable the subject’s thyroid. Unfortunately again, the only way to test thyroid findings is to put human lives at risk.

  As already mentioned, the first issue of addiction would still remain, as well as the consequences of deviating at any time from the recommended dosage.

  At this point, I’m unable to arrive at a viable alternative. Forever Young is a great concept without safe or practical value.

  Dorrie’s mind whirled at the impact of what she’d read. She’d almost died. Fortunately, her thyroid condition had saved her, but it might not have. What Larry had mentioned about children was also a concern. She placed her hand on her stomach to confirm her baby still moved. She’d already known of its uncertain future, but seeing it spelled out directly made the prospect more terrifying.

  Not only that, according to Larry’s findings, it looked like Mike had not died from a pre-existing condition, but from ingesting the young pill. Roman had known of the findings beforehand, yet had been callous enough to not only talk her into taking the pill, but also to start Mike on the regimen. Where was his conscience?

  Her fingers shook as she unplugged the iPhone, and slipped it into her purse. Now that she knew why Roman had wanted the iPhone, the question was what to do with its valuable information. It was her duty to preserve the findings, but how?

  For security sake, Larry had constantly changed his username and passwords, and she had no idea what his last ones had been. She could try to get the iPhone account turned back on in her own name, and email the documents to herself. That might work, but what if the backup failed and the information got lost? She couldn’t take that chance.

  It would be cumbersome, but the wisest option would be to copy Larry’s posts onto her new laptop computer and email it all to herself for good measure. It would mean bringing the iPhone home and risk its being discovered there.

  The iPhone, though small, felt like a time bomb in her purse, as she exited the café. She didn’t like the idea of its presence in her home even a short while, but for the sake of expediency, she’d take the chance.

  It wasn’t until she pulled into her driveway that another thought struck her, making the sweat spring to her forehead. Maybe the burglar hadn’t chosen her house at random, but had targeted it in search of the iPhone. If that were the case and Roman had hired someone to look for it, why would he have sent her home that day in the midst of the robbery? None of it made sense.

  Whatever the case, she’d finish the project as swiftly as possible and get the iPhone back to the safe deposit box where it belonged.

  It took a good part of the afternoon for Dorrie to type all of Larry’s posts from the speech recognition program and transfer them to the laptop computer in her kitchen. It sure would have saved time to have Larry’s username and password. Fortunately, she’d not needed them to access the apps, or she’d never have learned what was going on.

  After each entry into her computer, she did a cut and paste into her word processing program and e-mailed the page to herself as backup.

  Finally through, she rubbed her aching neck and stretched the kinks from her back on her way to the kitchen. With eyes and shoulders drooping, she forced herself to eat a chicken salad sandwich, vegetable soup and milk to keep up her nourishment for the baby’s sake.

  She’d been too busy typing to think. Now that she was through, the doubts and fears returned. So far she’d been lucky enough to escape harm from the pill, but how long would her luck last?

  Should she stop? If she did, it might kill her child who appeared to be chemically dependent on it. She’d best stay the course until after delivery, and then decide what to do.

  With so many fears and questions crowding her mind, she needed an outlet. She grabbed a book from the many she’d been meaning to read, but her brain was too fried to concentrate. A glance at the television listings showed no programs she cared enough to watch. Giving up, she trudged upstairs to bed.

  She’d almost drifted off to sleep when a memory jolted her awake, making her heart gallop and her eyes flash open. What about that night in the bar? She could swear she’d had only one drink, despite what Roman had said. Not only that, its taste had been strangely bitter. On the grounds of Roman’s popularity, she’d discounted the notion he might have altered it. Now she wondered if he had. Maybe he’d drugged and seduced her, not because of her irresistibility, but that of the iPhone’s. In her recollections of her semi-aware state that night, she vaguely remembered him asking about it.

  Well, if he’d hoped to get the iPhone then, he’d failed miserably. Knocking her out and knocking her up could not have been part of the plan.

  ***

  Sunday morning Dorrie took stock of her situation, and didn’t like her conclusions. Now that Mike had died, Roman counted on her as a fill in until a substitute was found. That meant working at the Institute whether she felt like it or not. Still, how could she in good conscience further the cause of a harmful product? She couldn’t see any way out of the mess without horrible repercussions.

  Her smartphone rang, interrupting her thoughts. It was Jeanne telling her she’d found a job last week at the wildlife park near her home. “It’s not much pay, but I love the place,” her friend said.

  “That’s great. I know how much
you love animals. It sounds like the perfect spot for you.”

  “You don’t sound too enthusiastic. ”

  Dorrie sighed. “I can’t pull anything over on you, can I? Actually, I’m nervous and scared and don’t know what to do.”

  She told her friend about what she’d discovered on Larry’s iPhone. When she’d finished, she felt Jeanne’s steam across the airwaves. “I knew that bastard was up to no good. Now you have proof. You should go to the authorities, or the Food and Drug Administration, or somewhere to expose his operation.”

  Dorrie sighed. “If only it were that simple. Unfortunately, if the Institute were to shut down, my baby couldn’t get the pills and survive.”

  “So you’re willing to risk other people’s lives for the sake of that devil’s spawn?”

  Dorrie flinched at her friend’s harsh words. Holding her stomach as if to protect the child, she said, “I warned you before and I’m warning you again. Don’t say anything bad about my baby. When you do, you’re attacking me.”

  “Wise up and do the right thing, Dorrie. Don’t take a chance the pill will get into the wrong hands.”

  “You’re asking too much. I won’t kill my child.”

  “Well then, you’ll have to live with your destructive decision the rest of your oh so long life.”

  “The pill’s not out for the general public. There’s still time.”

  “Maybe not. He could release it tomorrow, and you’d risk countless lives for the sake of a child who probably won’t survive anyway. I thought better of you, Dorrie.”

  “I don’t have to listen to this, and I won’t.” Dorrie clicked the button and ended the call.

  She stood in the kitchen, trembling. Her life had sped out of control, growing crazier by the second. She’d counted on her friend’s support. Instead, Jeanne had added even more concerns. Dorrie wouldn’t put it past her to expose Roman’s operation, and doom the baby for sure. Before, she’d not believed Jeanne would ever betray her, but given the circumstances, anger might overrule reason. Her friend didn’t have the actual proof, but any hint of impropriety at this stage could prove disastrous. Then where would she and the baby be?