by Beth Martin
“Thanks,” Irene said. She went out to the living room and found her suit and blouse from the day before folded on top of the couch. Elijah must have loaned her the t-shirt and sweatpants she slept in. With a few sprays of the refresher, her clothes would pass for the day.
Elijah dropped her off at her car on his way to work, and she drove from the bar parking lot straight to her office. She couldn’t stand the thought of seeing Aiden, but she didn’t want to let on that she knew about their affair. Not yet. Until then, she needed to go on with life and act normal.
She got to work only fifteen minutes late. When she came down the staircase, she saw the three employers were all huddled together instead of each working in their own zone.
Bobby looked up and saw Irene. “Come read this,” he said.
“What’s going on?” Irene asked.
They were all crowded around the memo. “It was just here on the table when we arrived.” Bobby turned the paper so Irene could read it from the other side of the table. The title read, “AQD ready to begin the first QD female trial.” Irene read through the entire page and still wasn’t clear what it was saying.
“I don’t think I understand,” she said.
“I wonder who she’s going to be,” Sharon gushed, her eyes wide. “What a privilege.”
Irene looked back at the memo. Not once did it mention what the QD female trial was, just that Aiden was confident that they were ready.
“I bet he’ll pick a total babe like he does for the male recipients,” Bobby said.
Irene scratched her head. “I’m sorry, male recipients?”
Bobby and Sharon just stared at her before exchanging a glance with each other. “Should we…” Bobby began.
The old man interrupted before Bobby could finish his thought. “It’s time to show her.”
Sharon’s eyes grew wide. “Are you sure?”
“Show me what?” Irene asked.
The old man looked at Bobby. “Go up to the house and phone Sean. Tell him he needs to come here to escort Miss Crow.”
Bobby nodded and dashed up the staircase. Uneasily, Irene joined Sharon as the they all got to work. When Bobby came back down, he said, “Sean will meet you out front at nine.”
The honk of a car horn interrupted her concentration as she copied profiles with the special typewriter. She looked down at her watch. It was five ’til nine.
She went upstairs and out through the storm doors. Sean was waiting in his black car. After getting in, she double-checked the back seat to make sure Aiden wasn’t with them. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“The medical facility,” he answered. She had expected him to be coy, but this time the answer was scarier than not knowing. “You didn’t really think AQD was just about silly matchmaking, did you?” he asked.
“Changing the world one baby at a time,” Irene said, quoting part of the mission statement they recited at all the meetings.
“We’re hoping to accelerate that pace in the near future.”
They got out of the car, and Irene followed Sean through the subway station and down the tracks to the same medical facility. This time there were a few people already there wearing lab coats, milling around. Irene’s heart fell to her stomach. She felt faint, like she was about to pass out. The closest person in a lab coat noticed them and started walking toward her.
“Troy finally thought you were ready,” Aiden said.
“That’s what Bobby said,” Sean replied.
Irene so badly wanted to punch Aiden square in his smiling face. She did her best to put her feelings aside.
“Didn’t you say this was an emergency medical shelter?” she asked.
“It was until I took over. Now this is where I do my research.”
“What research?” she asked.
“How would you like to learn firsthand?” he asked. “You get the privilege of being the first female recipient.”
Before she could react, she felt a sharp sting in her arm. She turned to see Sean gripping her arm, pushing down the plunger of a syringe. “What is that?” she asked. Her vision swirled, the lights getting brighter until all she saw was white.
sixteen
Yet again, Jamie was having trouble concentrating on her art. She had finished two of the three panels for her featured piece, but couldn’t decide what to do with the third. The theme she settled on was life from death. She could do something with a phoenix, but that felt too literal. Perhaps she should just give up and use the painting which currently graced their living room.
She hadn’t seen Irene since Monday morning and was starting to get worried. Monday night she had gotten a call from Irene’s old coworker, the young guy. He said they were all going to Victory’s retirement party, and since she had lost her device, she’d spend the night instead of driving manually that late. Jamie found her wife’s device floating in the toilet. It all seemed a little strange.
There was a familiar knock on the door. “Unlock door,” she said. Her device heard the command, and the deadbolt retracted into the door with a click. “Come on in. I’m in the studio,” she yelled.
A moment later, the door to her studio opened and Aiden walked in. “So this is where the magic happens,” he said.
“You could say that.” She wasn’t going to be able to figure out what to do with the last canvas. Not today. She grabbed the rag and started wiping her hands, cleaning off the paint from touching up some details on the left panel. On that one, she had painted a skull in the mud with a solitary mushroom poking out of an eye socket.
“What goes on that one?” he asked, pointing to the blank canvas.
“So far, nothing,” she sighed, dropping the rag on the easel and pulling off her smock.
“Hey, is something the matter?” he asked.
“I haven’t seen Irene all week,” she confessed. “I’m starting to get worried.”
“Oh, right,” Aiden said. “She’s on a business trip.”
“A business trip?” Jamie asked. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I was starting to think she found out about us and left me.”
“No, no, of course not.” Aiden brushed her cheek with his hand. “I thought she already told you about the trip. I guess it was kind of last minute.”
“Where is she?” Jamie asked.
“In LA,” he said. He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Now can we stop talking about your wife? I hate that you’re married.”
Jamie smiled and placed her hands on his shoulders. She loved that he was jealous. “Just one more question. How much longer will she be gone?”
“At least a few days,” he said.
“Then you should stay here until she gets back.”
“I think I might.”
She leaned in and kissed him before he led her into the bedroom.
··OOO··
Annette wasn’t entirely sure she was ready to bring Ophelia out into the world again, but she didn’t really see any other way. Irene hadn’t called, which was unusual, and she also wasn’t answering Annette’s calls, or responding to her messages.
She even tried reaching out to Jamie a few times, but Jamie seemed to be blocking calls from her device, and Annette didn’t know if the two were currently getting along.
She grabbed the stroller frame from the trunk of her car and unfolded it. Taking the bucket seat with Ophelia still in it out of the back seat, she clicked it into place on the frame. Her little baby had fallen asleep on the ride over. Hopefully she would stay that way.
There were a few puffy white clouds in the sky, but mostly it was a beautiful, sunny day. Even though the air was crisp and cool, the heat of the sunlight warmed Annette’s face.
She went into the apartment building and rode the elevator to the sixth floor. She walked slowly down the hall. It smelled like someone was cooking. It couldn’t be coming from Irene’s apartment. Neither she nor Jamie were any good in the kitchen.
She knocked on the door and waited. Irene wouldn’t be home
from work yet, but Jamie was usually there during the day. Jamie would let her in to wait for Irene to come home. She couldn’t resist spending time with a baby.
Instead of Jamie, a man opened the door. “Good afternoon,” he said, a big, sleazy smile on his face. He wore an apron over his business clothes and had an oven mitt on one hand. The smell of lasagna baking wafted out of the apartment. He turned down and saw the stroller. “Oh, what a sweet little baby. How old is she?”
Annette loved talking about her daughter, and instantly answered, “Six weeks.” She had to double-check that she was at the right apartment. This was definitely it. She could see the gaudy orange painting that dominated the living room over this man’s shoulder. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?”
“I’m a good friend of Jamie and Irene’s. I was invited to come over. Who are you?”
“I’m Irene’s best friend, so I know their friends, and you’re not one of them.”
He gave a chuckle. Annette didn’t think this was funny. “I guess Irene would introduce me as her boss before admitting we’re friends. I’m Aiden Stone.” He held out his hand, the one without the mitt, for a handshake.
This was the boss and baby daddy Irene had been so cautious about. She decided not to shake his hand and just said, “Where’s Irene?”
“Didn’t she tell you? She’s on a business trip in Los Angeles.”
“Then why can’t I reach her?”
“Did she forget to bring her device?” he asked, striding back into the apartment and toward the kitchen. Annette stayed firmly planted outside the door. “Oh, she did,” he said, holding up a device from the counter. She knew Irene would never go anywhere without her device. This man was hiding something. She didn’t trust him. “Should I have her give you a call when she gets back, Miss…”
“Annette. Yes. Where’s Jamie?”
“She stepped out to the gallery, but should be back in a minute. Would you like to stay and join us for dinner?”
She didn’t want to spend another second alone with this man and felt safer standing in the hall. Irene was right to be cautious about him. Even though he was smiling and charming on the surface, something clearly wasn’t right. But her desire to make sure Irene was alright, even if it meant just checking in with Jamie, made her stay. “Actually, that might be nice. I left the diaper bag in the car, let me go get it and I’ll be right back.”
“Great.” He closed the door as she walked down the hall back to the elevators.
Her diaper bag was already sitting in the bottom of the stroller. Annette pulled her device out of the outside pocket and whispered, “Call Ray.”
“Y-ello.”
“Ray, I need you to come over to Irene’s apartment right now.”
“Why are you whispering?” he asked.
“There’s a strange man here. He claims he’s friends with Irene and Jamie,” she said.
“What do Irene and Jamie say about him?”
“They’re not here.”
“Oh my God, Annie?” he said loudly. “You’re in an apartment alone with a strange man?”
“No,” she hissed. “I’m outside the apartment in the hallway. He invited me to stay for dinner.”
“So why are you calling me and not Irene?” he asked.
“I can’t reach her. I haven’t heard from her all week. I’ve got a really bad feeling about it all, but he said Jamie would be home from the gallery soon and that I should join them for dinner.”
“So then wait for Jamie,” he said.
“I’ve got Ophelia with me.”
She could here him sigh heavily. “Dammit, Annie. Fine. I’ll be there in a minute. Don’t go in without me.”
She waited in the hall, gently pushing the stroller back and forth for what felt like forever. Eventually, the elevator opened and Ray came out.
“This better be good,” he said as he walked down the hall. He knocked solidly on Irene’s door and a second later it opened.
“Hello, I’m Raymond Blisburn. I’m Annette’s brother.”
“Aiden Stone. It’s a pleasure,” he said, giving Ray a firm handshake. “Please, come in.”
Ray glanced back at Annette, raising his eyebrows. He clearly didn’t find this strange man nearly as threatening as she did.
“It smells delicious,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind us crashing.”
Aiden opened the oven to check on the food inside. “Not at all.” He pulled a pan out and placed it on top of the range, then pulled off the mitt. “So, you two are siblings? That’s kind of rare.”
“Fraternal twins,” Ray said. “Two for the price of one, the old-fashioned way.”
Aiden leaned against the counter and smiled. “I think that’s great, growing up with other children in the same household.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Annette said. She was adjusting the blankets tucked around Ophelia. She remembered fighting with Ray when they were younger. It wasn’t until they were in college and living separately that they finally started getting along.
Aiden just shrugged his shoulders.
They were interrupted by the door opening. Jamie came in saying, “Hey,” warmly to Aiden.
“We have guests for dinner,” he said.
Jamie looked initially disappointed that other people were here. “Hi, Annette. Hey, Ray. How are you guys doing?”
“Great,” Ray said.
“Where’s Irene?” Annette asked.
Jamie glanced at Aiden then back at Annette. “She’s on a business trip. Didn’t Aiden tell you?”
“I did,” he said.
“When was the last time you talked to her?” Annette asked.
“I don’t know, maybe Wednesday? It might have been Tuesday. She didn’t bring her device.”
“Well, when will she get back?”
“I…I don’t know,” Jamie stammered.
Annette looked pointedly at Aiden. “She’s almost done there. I’d expect her to be back any day now,” he said.
Although she didn’t like that answer, Jamie didn’t seem concerned, and that would have to suffice. She took a seat at the dining table while Jamie set the table and Aiden brought over the lasagna.
The other three got along great, chatting away over dinner as Annette sat, quietly observing while she picked at her food. Even though it smelled amazing, it tasted bland. She missed Irene’s visits complete with delicious takeout.
Ophelia started fussing in her stroller. “Must be time for a bottle,” Annette said. She checked her watch. It was close enough to Ophelia’s usual evening bottle time.
“May I?” Aiden asked. He was already up out of his seat and walking around the table to reach the stroller. “You finish your meal. I’ll get her.”
Even though she didn’t totally trust him, he seemed much more genuine and calm while handling her baby. She nodded slightly, although he had already taken her silence as permission and was undoing the buckles holding Ophelia in. He pulled her out and carefully cradled her in his arms. “Hi, sweetheart. Are you hungry?”
He took the diaper bag from the bottom of the stroller and sat down on the living room sofa. Jamie watched his every move, an intense look of interest on her face.
Ophelia was enraptured by this new person fawning over her. Annette would give her daughter a pass this time for not being the best judge of character since it gave her a few more minutes to eat.
While Aiden sat with Ophelia, Ray asked Jamie about her art and her upcoming opening.
Aiden came back once the bottle was empty with a happy baby in his arms.
“Someone looks ready to fall back asleep,” he said.
“It’s almost her bedtime,” Annette admitted. “I should take her home.”
“Thank you so much for staying for dinner,” he said.
“Thank you for having us,” Ray said, helping pack up the diaper bag and tucking it under the stroller.
Annette breathed a sigh of relief when they finally got out of the a
partment. As Ray helped her get her daughter in the car, he said, “They’re totally sleeping together.”
She stepped back and looked at her brother. “Why do you say that?”
“The way she looked at him when she first got there. She was ready to jump him before she saw we were there. And the way he kept touching her through the meal? You don’t touch someone like that so casually unless you’re used to a lot more touching behind closed doors.”
“Irene was right to be worried about him. He’s the man they wanted to use to make a baby.”
Ray shook his head. “Well, Jamie’s certainly going about that in the traditional sense.”
“You think they were lying about Irene being on a business trip?”
“No,” he said. “But I’m sure she was sent on a business trip so those two could play house, and not for any actual business. She’ll come home next week, and they’ll have to face the music.”
Annette nodded. He was right. “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course, Annie,” he said, giving her a hug before leaving to take his own car home. She got in her car just as Ophelia woke up screaming. She got back out and sat in the backseat next to her baby before telling the car to navigate home.
··OOO··
“That was a lot of fun,” Aiden said as he cleared the table. He set the dishes on the counter before coming up behind Jamie who was loading the dishwasher and wrapped his arms around her waist.
He had seemed in his element during dinner, especially while he held Annette’s baby. By the way he pressed against her, she could tell he wanted to keep having a good time. “Can you imagine if it was like that all the time?” he said. “You and me, doing normal stuff together like hosting dinner parties, our baby sleeping in a crib next to the table.”
“It sounds nice,” Jamie said. The whole thing had felt off though. Annette was Irene’s best friend, and it was awkward spending the evening with her when Irene wasn’t there. She stood up stiffly, and he started nibbling her neck.
“Don’t you wish you were mine all the time?” he asked.
“What about Irene?”