Panicked, David admitted, “I’ve been trying to identify our father all these years. You’re trying to tell me you know who he is?”
“Not yet unfortunately,” Daniel replied. “I’m close though.”
I heard the twins crying in the distance. “I got this,” Daniel replied, heading for the nursery.
David looked at me and I looked at David. The look on his face said it all. Daniel had opened up a can of worms and there was no telling what would happen next.
David made himself scarce that evening, heading out to give Daniel and I a moment together.
“I’ll be at the hospital,” he said. “I’m sure there’ll be something for me to do there.”
I felt for him, and knew he’d secretly been counting on Daniel not being there for me, so that he instead could be there for me. I couldn’t blame him. After sharing the birth experience with me, we had reached new heights in our relationship, which could only be explored further as friends. He looked in on the babies before he left. “I’m only a phone call away,” he reminded me. “Get as much rest as you can, I’ll look in on them when I’m back, bring them to you when you need me to…”
“I’m here now,” Daniel reminded him. “I can take it from here.”
“Good,” David said stiffly. “I’ll see you later on,” he added, before leaving in a hurry.
Turning to Daniel I stated, “You know, you don’t need to be so hostile towards him. He has been here for me when you were not.”
“I know this,” Daniel replied. “He needs to know you’re mine, not his.”
“I think he knows that,” I said in his defence.
“Oh, I’m not sure he does,” Daniel argued as David walked back in. He’d forgotten the keys.
“Keys would help,” he said. “See you later.” He walked off humming a tune I recognized as the Supremes’ Someday We’ll Be Together.
“Hm,” I noted. He still held out hope that I’d be his one day.
Daniel waited for the door to shut before stating, “I missed you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
“I missed you too,” I replied, though the truth was that David had kept me so busy the only time I got a chance to miss him was in the evenings when I went to bed alone.
“I’ve got something for you,” he advised, standing up and reaching into his pocket. He produced a ring. “Give me your hand,” he requested. I did.
“Love covers over a multitude of sins,” he said, quoting the Bible. “1 Peter 4:8. Temwani, you’ve loved me so much. You’ve forgiven so much. You’ve stood by me through all those spurious claims which led me to lose my licensure as a lawyer, you’ve carried me when I should have been carrying you,” he concluded. “This ring, please accept it as a symbol of my eternal love for you. Always remember how much I love you and will continue to love you, come what may.” He placed the eternity ring on my finger. “In my stupidity, in my selfishness and in my self-centeredness I almost lost you. I’m not losing you again. You’re it for me, baby. I don’t ever want to be without you,” he said.
My eyes welled with tears as I recalled the doubt that had racked my mind in the time I’d spent away from him. I knew now I didn’t have to doubt him, he’d promised to love me forever, and so far, as far as our love went, his word was good.
“I’m sorry you had to put up with me the way I’ve been. I’m here now, I’m sober, and I’m willing and able to be all the things you need me to be,” he promised.
I cupped his chin in my hand, the stubble on his face giving him a rough, rugged yet handsome look. The Queensland sun had bronzed his skin and hair giving him a summery beach look, not dissimilar to David’s look, save for the shoulder length locks David sported. Staring into me intensely, he leaned in for a kiss.
“I missed this. I missed you,” he stated. “What is it, six weeks before we can… you know, have relations again?”
I tried to hide my surprise, but truth was, I wasn’t surprised. “Yes, give or take six weeks,” I told him.
“Well, that’s a relief,” he replied. “I’m finding it hard as it is, your body all blossomed up and all.” He noted my discomfort and stated, “I’m sure we can work on building our relationship in other ways.”
“We’re going to have to,” I replied, recalling how uncooperative and impatient he had been at that, when I was on bedrest.
“I’m a new man,” he said, noticing my unease. “But I’m not blind. Your body’s blossomed into something else – some kind of super perfection. Hope you won’t fault me for admiring the goods from a distance.”
“I won’t,” I told him, laughing under my breath.
“Good,” he replied. Looking around at the house, he noted, “So, this is where you were when I was back in Texas, all on my lonesome.” Looking at the bassinette and plush baby toys and swing, he added, “I see he spared no expense for our babies.”
I sighed. He wouldn’t have had to if you were here. “David loves our babies as though they were his own,” I advised.
“I can see that,” Daniel said, gently touching my cheek. “I can also see how much he loves you. I don’t blame him, I just wish…I don’t know,” he started, getting up to pace the room. “If he wasn’t so much in love with you, he wouldn’t have asked me to rescue you and we wouldn’t have met. I guess I just wish I could love you without the threat of you being stolen from me. By him. ‘Cause let’s face it. He is the better man.”
“That won’t happen,” I promised him. “I’m yours. For a lifetime.”
“Is that all?” he joked.
“Daniel. You know what I mean.”
“I do. You’ve got me for a lifetime and beyond,” he joked. “If I die today, I’ll come back and haunt you.”
“That’s not very romantic at all.”
“Hauntings are not supposed to be romantic,” he acknowledged. “How old is this house?” he asked.
“Stop it Daniel,” I cautioned as he smiled away, cheekily. “Life is for the living.”
“So let’s live,” he ordered. “Let’s do what we’ve always wanted to do. Together. No time like the present. When you recover, let’s make it happen. Mexico, Brazil, Zambia, let’s make it happen.”
I grinned, warmed by his new lease on life. I wondered how long it would last.
“Let’s get you to bed,” he suggested. “I’ll set your bath with some Epsom salt, apparently it’ll help you heal better. Quicker.”
“Of course,” I replied. “The quicker I recover the better it will be for you?”
“Yes, but not just for me. It’ll be good for us. For the babies.”
“Right,” I replied, glad he was here with me nevertheless.
I woke to hear one of the babies cry out in the night, then soft hushing. I turned in bed and noted Daniel was fast asleep. David. I lay in bed for a moment longer before getting up slowly, the stitches making it difficult for me to move quickly and without pain. David met me at the bedroom door, Josiah in his arms.
“Get back into bed, I’ll bring him to you,” he whispered.
I did as he said, and sat upright in bed, feeding cushion on my lap.
“Lie on your side,” he suggested, casting a furtive glance at Daniel who was fast asleep. Once I did, he helped me position the pillow behind my back and placed Josiah in my arms. I positioned Josiah correctly for a breastfeed and silently thanked David.
“I’ve moved the bassinet into your bedroom,” he whispered. This would make it easier for me to get to the babies. He sat in the corner of the room, by the lampshade, partly asleep, waiting for Josiah to finish eating.
Daniel stirred in his sleep and eventually woke up to Josiah nursing in bed. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he stated, “I don’t think this is a good idea, they should be getting used to sleeping in their own bed.”
David who was kneeling by the end of the bed now stated, “Don’t be a dick. This is what the babies need right now, this is what your wife needs right now.”
“That�
�s our call to make,” Daniel said. I happened to agree with David but was too tired to argue.
“I’ll just be in the lounge. Sing out for me if you need me,” David said, getting up.
That moment was a sign of things to come, and evidence that Daniel and I were perhaps not as attuned to each other as we initially thought we were. Where parenting was concerned, we were polar opposites, and this would become apparent over time. What would also become apparent was the fact that David and I would have been the perfect pairing.
It was a few weeks before we flew back to Texas. David’s initial insistence on remaining in Australia didn’t last long - he insisted on returning to Texas for a few weeks to help out. Daniel initially refused, but my insistence won him over. There was also the steadily unfolding drama with Shania that needed to be dealt with. Apparently Jonah had discovered that she was pregnant, and did not believe her claim that the baby was David’s. Word was he was making plans to be with her longterm, but in her stubbornness, she was refusing to be with him for as long as he continued to remain a part of the Brotherhood.
17
CALLING IT IN
Daniel’s behaviour on our return to Austin, Texas was in many ways somewhat erratic. He supported me and the babies the best way he could, but what worried me the most was his state of mind. The investigative work on the Brotherhood and his birth father had him driven to the point of obsession.
One night, he left in the early hours of the morning without an indication of where he was going and when he was coming back. When a few hours passed and he hadn’t returned, I worried.
I called him on his mobile phone several times. Pick up Daniel, pick up, I thought to myself. His phone rang out. Twice. Three times. The fourth time, I left a message. I got up and turned the kettle on for a cup of tea. The kettle whistled what seemed like a little louder than usual. Something was wrong.
I called Daniel again. To my surprise, he answered. “Hello?”
“Daniel, baby, it’s me. Where are you?”
He muttered something I could not understand.
“Daniel, wherever you are, I’m coming to get you. Daniel, say something…”
He sobbed over the line.
“Daniel, please tell me where you are, I’ll come and get you.”
A slight pause then he said, “Craig…”
“Daniel, tell me where you are.” I was met with silence on the other end of the line. “Daniel…” I started again. The line went dead. I called him again and the phone rang out. I speed dialed Craig.
“Not to worry,” Craig said. “Anything stand out when you talked?” he asked.
“He sounded off,” I said, nearly in tears.
“Okay, not to worry. I’ll call you back,” he insisted.
Moments later he rang back. “I found Daniel,” he said, with bated breath. “I need you to come now. He’s in a bad way.” Before I’d had a chance to ask more of him, he’d hung up.
Johnny was staying with us again, so I left him with the babies. A quick call to Sadie, our newly appointed babysitter, would ensure she’d be there with him in no time, so he wasn’t alone. I also contacted David who was all too happy to come over.
When I got to the office, Daniel was seated on the couch, his hair, face and clothes visibly wet. He sat motionless, staring into the distance, eyes glazed as though he were under the influence of some drug.
“Daniel,” I called out. He turned slightly to face me, managing a half smile before looking away.
“I just need to get some sleep,” he said. Visibly gaunt, he had lost a lot of weight over the past few weeks. He shivered, cold. A towel lay strewn across the couch, he had on a blue suit shirt and grey trousers which were soaked from the rain. He’d taken off his shoes.
“Daniel, let’s go home.”
“Alright,” he stated. “I’ll save you the embarrassment of being here any longer than you need to,” he added.
“Daniel…”
Craig appeared.
Immediately taking me to the side office, Craig asked, “You okay?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Is he okay?” Craig asked rhetorically. “Doesn’t look it.” Stating what I feared, he said, “I think he’s suicidal.”
Shaken, I said, “He has so much to live for, at least this was what I thought.”
“Take tomorrow off,” Craig insisted, writing down a name and number on paper. “Give Scottie a call,” he insisted. “Ask him to come by.” Noting my concern, he added, “He’s one of the best. He’s discrete.” I looked at what he’d written down. Scottie was a psychiatrist.
“Thanks,” I managed, filled with sadness. That Daniel would even consider leaving me and the babies saddened me.
“I am here, you know,” Daniel said in the distance.
Ignoring him, Craig insisted, “Leave your car here. It’s late. I’ll take you home.” After a slight pause, he said, “Or you can stay here, overnight. I’ll be here with you.”
After the way he’d treated both Johnny and Daniel, I didn’t trust Craig, so I called David instead. He was there in a heartbeat and took Daniel and I home. He offered to stay the night, an offer I graciously accepted.
Daniel said very little other than complain about his head hurting, which David put down to a migraine. When we got home, Daniel jumped straight into the shower and then into bed.
I sat up with David and Johnny in the early hours of the morning, while Sadie looked in after the babies. David advised against calling Scottie, saying we needed to have a very good reason to call a psychiatrist. “I don’t see why Craig is jumping the gun and asking you to call a psychiatrist. I don’t know why he’s saying Daniel’s suicidal. Daniel loves life.”
“That he does,” Johnny confirmed. “Craig’s speakin’ out of his arse as per usual. Pay him no mind.”
“We can’t just ignore what he has to say,” I cautioned.
“Of course not,” David said. “Calling Scottie right now isn’t the right thing to do though.”
“I hear you, David, but if he’s under distress somehow, we need to act appropriately,” I said.
“Of course we do,” David agreed. “Something here just doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Johnny, Daniel hasn’t been taking any drugs in our absence?” I asked.
Johnny almost scowled at me. “I’m not that bad you guys.”
“I didn’t mean to suggest you were,” I apologised.
“That’s alright,” he said. “I know I’m a bad influence. But no, he’s been good. He hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol since you left,” he said. “Nor has he touched any drugs. he doesn’t do drugs, you know this.”
I sighed in response. “Well, this investigating he’s doing is as good as a drug. He’s obsessed. He’s barely sleeping, he’s hardly eating…”
“I’ll evaluate him,” David suggested. “Discretely. I’ll also get a colleague to do the same. Discretely. We agree not to call Scottie at all at this stage,” he insisted.
“Alright,” I agreed.
“Aye,” Johnny agreed.
When I went in to check on Daniel, he had gone out again. He’d gone out through the patio adjoining the study.
At 1 am in the morning my phone rang incessantly. I didn’t recognize the number. I didn’t pick up the phone on time and it stopped ringing. Daniel still wasn’t by my side when I woke.
In the distance, I heard David’s phone ring. He picked up, and spoke in a hushed tone. “Right, right. Will be there as soon as I can.”
My phone rang again. It was Craig this time. “My apologies for how early this is, but Daniel’s been picked up and he’s been committed to a facility,” he said.
It took me a moment to gather my thoughts. “What?” Had I heard him right?
“Texas State Hospital,” Craig stated firmly. “He’s been involuntarily committed.”
I tried to get more out of him, but he refused to say any more over the phone. I quickly got dressed and ready to go.
<
br /> “This all doesn’t make sense to me,” David said frankly when we were in the car. “Daniel’s not on the edge, he’s not…I don’t believe he is…” he mentioned before insisting on driving in silence.
At the hospital Daniel seemed in good spirits when we saw him.
“The food’s decent,” he claimed. “Milk and juice will be my staples though. Not sure I can hack this food all day every day,” he said, referring to his mashed potatoes and pureed meat.
“What happened?” David asked.
“I don’t know how I ended up here,” Daniel replied. “I went back to the office last night, tried to get a bit of research completed, had an excruciating headache, fell asleep. Got up, looking for water, I don’t remember much else. Somehow I wound up here.”
“Craig called it in?” David asked.
“He must have,” Daniel replied.
“Apparently you were behaving strangely earlier on,” David said.
“According to who, Craig? He was in the middle of reviewing merger contracts when I confronted him. I…” he broke off, wincing in pain. “Is it me or is the light flickering.”
“You confronted him? About what?” I asked.
Daniel stared at me oddly, not able to recall.
“The light isn’t flickering,” David interjected. “Nurse, can we get an evaluation done by the doc?”
She looked at the chart. “One’s not due for another two hours.”
“Please get one done sooner than that. Query migraine with aura,” David said as a matter of factly.
Puzzled, she looked at him blankly.
“Doctor Davenport,” he replied. “Max Facial,”
“Oh, I see,” she said, giving him a brief once over.
I interrupted her gaze. “Lawyer and the patient’s wife.”
“I’m on your side,” she said softly, writing something down on Daniel’s chart.
“Good to hear it,” David replied.
“I’ll get the doctor to see him now,” she said with finality.
“Paging Doctor McIntyre,” she announced over the intercom.
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