“You might be right,” Stephen agreed.
The next day Stephen canceled all of Bridget’s credit cards and barred her from accessing their checking account.
“Mrs., your check. It bounce,” Consuelo informed Bridget.
“Are you sure, Consuelo? There’s no way that check could bounce...unless. No! Wait right here. Stay with Jasmine and Jacob. I’m going to the bank.”
First, she used her bank card and tried to get cash at the ATM. She got a message telling her to see her financial institution and when she did, she was told by one of the people at the bank that there was a hold on her account. Bridget was devastated. She stood in the middle of the bank, unsure of what to do. She had nothing. She didn’t even have all of the money she had saved all those years. For the longest time Bridget had been so cautious about everything, she hadn’t even kept a bank account. She kept all of her money at home. But, when she met Stephen, she realized she was living in the Dark Ages. When they got married, she thought that meant they were one and therefore they shared everything. So, every dime she had went into their joint bank account.
Now, what was she going to do? Stephen had served divorce papers and he was seeking full custody of Jasmine. Normally, she would have turned to Jade or David for help, but they, too, had abandoned her. For the first time since her childhood, she was truly alone. Then she realized, she wasn’t alone. She had two defenseless little babies to care for. Two babies, no income and no money. She stood there in the bank overwhelmed with the veracity of it all.
“Miss, is everything okay? Is there something I can help you with?” one of the bank representatives was asking her.
“It’s Mrs., Mrs. Bridget Martin.”
She ran from the bank leaving behind a virtual sea of onlookers, curious about what was wrong with her. The bank rep who had informed her of the status of her bank account turned to her office mate and said: “There goes another woman who should have had her own bank account. These women need to learn that you never put all of your money in an account with a man, husband or no husband. Men have their pre-nups, and all women should have their own bank account. I’ve seen women leave banks with that same look on their faces more times than I care to remember.”
Bridget wandered the streets, unsure of what she should do next. She thought of riding the subway down to Penn Station and getting a train to Long Beach, but she wasn’t alone anymore. She had two very small babies at home. She couldn’t just go traipsing off to the beach when things got rough. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to go home yet. She had to have time to think. Consuelo was at home with Jasmine and Jacob and they would be fine for now. Bridget wandered the streets, unsure of what she should do next and full of desperation. She finally had to admit it to herself, that all of her dreams of a fairy-tale happy ending probably weren’t going to happen. After all these years, Jade had been right. Ever since meeting Stephen for dinner and learning that he and Jade were together, Bridget tried her best not to think of Jade. Jade, the woman she once considered her sister. How could she have betrayed her in such a way? Bridget could somehow justify Stephen’s betrayal a whole lot easier than Jade’s. Bridget, like so many other women, reconciled herself long ago that relationships between men and women didn’t always last, but somehow she couldn’t reconcile herself to the fact that her relationship with Jade was over. She had been the force that had sustained her all these years when things got really bad. What was she going to do now? Who would she turn to? That’s when she thought of Brianna.
Bridget decided it was time to call Brianna. The last time she had spoken to her, she had told Bridget that she wouldn’t be able to come to New York to see Jasmine and Jacob, because she and her husband, Trevor, were having some mild financial difficulties. However, that she would travel to New York as soon as things improved. She also had told Bridget that she and Trevor were going to try to have a baby. They had bought a house and Brianna sounded ecstatic about her life, even with the added pressure of a mortgage and planning a family. That’s why Bridget was so surprised to find that Brianna no longer lived there when she called.
“I’m surprised Brianna didn’t mention it or get in touch with you, but she moved back to New York. We split up,” Brianna’s husband, Trevor, said.
“It’s really important. Do you have a number where I can reach her?”
“Yeah. Her home number is 718-555-2889 and her work number is 212-555-3200. She’s probably at work now.”
“Are you okay?
That’s when Bridget realized what a bad friend she had been. Brianna had been there for her so often and she had gotten so caught up in her own life, once again, that she hadn’t been there for Brianna when she needed her. Now, here she was reaching out again because she was in need. At first she considered not calling at all. Now, like so often, she had wanted to call Brianna, but decided against it because she was feeling so needy and didn’t want to burden Brianna with her troubles. Instead, she decided she would call, if nothing else, but to say hello.
Bridget was half-way through dialing the number when she realized it was McDonnell & Simpson she was calling. She really had no desire to speak to anyone at McDonnell and make small talk about what she had been doing since she left, so she hoped the receptionist didn’t recognize her voice.
“Good afternoon. Could you connect me with Brianna Taylor’s line, please?”
“One moment, please, I’ll connect you.”
Bridget thought she heard a note of recognition in the receptionist’s voice but if she did recognize her, she didn’t bother to say anything.
“Brianna Taylor, can I help you?”
“Hi, Brianna, it’s Bridget. Sorry it’s been...”
Just as Bridget was about to speak to her long-time friend, she saw Consuelo coming down the block with Jasmine and Jacob in their double stroller. She had a bag with her and seemed out of breath.
“Mrs., Mrs., Miss Jade, she come to the house with the Mr. and they want to take Jasmine and Jacob. I tell them no, no. I work for the Mrs. but they no listen. They have papers, Mrs., with all kinds of bad stuff written on it about you. They say you bad lady and they have right to take the little ones. I know you want me to find you. Did I do the right thing, Mrs.?”
“Yes, Consuelo, yes! Of course, you did.”
“Bridget, Bridget!” Brianna screamed into the phone.
But, it fell on deaf ears. Bridget hung up.
Brianna had heard the entire exchange between Consuelo and Bridget, and although she didn’t have a clue as to what was going on, she knew it didn’t sound good.
Over at Bridget’s apartment, Stephen and Jade were trying to figure out where Consuelo might have gone with Jasmine and Jacob.
Not being an attorney, Consuelo didn’t realize that the papers she was looking at were not official legal documents. Jade had called the house earlier and knew that Bridget was not at home and therefore, only Consuelo and the babies would be there. Her time at McDonnell & Simpson had trained her well. She had taken one of the documents on the company’s computer system, duped it and made it appear to be papers that indicated her and Stephen’s right to take the babies with them. Knowing that Stephen would not have agreed to be a part of anything like that, she waited until he was not paying attention and had handed the papers to Consuelo. The document mentioned that Bridget was unfit and wanted for murder, that she had cheated on Stephen, and that she was not caring for either of the twins. Instead, she had sunk into a deep depression and was allowing the two babies to be cared for by an illegal alien. Consuelo looked over the papers, and afraid to turn the babies over to Jade, had quickly gone out of the apartment’s back door.
“Why do you think she bolted like that?” Stephen asked.
“I don’t know. Bridget probably warned her to do that if we ever came by. I told you before, we’re not dealing with a rational person. That is exactly why you need to get legal custody of your daughter.”
“I wanted to see Jasmine. I hadn’t even pl
anned on taking her anywhere. I wanted an opportunity to see her. That’s all.”
“Again, you keep acting like this is a rational human being. She’s not.”
“I guess maybe you’re right,” Stephen conceded.
As much as Consuelo wanted to help Bridget, her immigration status was an issue and the last thing she wanted to do was get caught in the radar. Bridget was well aware of that fact and had no desire to make things difficult for Consuelo because of her mess.
“Thank you so much, Consuelo...for everything. I appreciate it more than you know.”
“Thank you, Mrs. You’ve always been very kind to me. I’m sorry I never tell you about Miss Jade. I think maybe, if I tell you, things wouldn’t have gotten so bad.”
“Tell me what, Consuelo? What about Miss Jade?”
“Many, many times I hear her say very bad things about you. She try to touch the Mr. and she try to kiss him, but he say no. One time she tell him you stole her family from her. She tell him that she not have a family because of you; that you very selfish and only care about you self.”
Bridget didn’t have a clue what any of this meant. She didn’t know whether Consuelo was confused or whether Bridget was out-and-out lying. She decided it was the latter.
“It’s okay, Consuelo. I probably wouldn’t have listened then anyway. I thought she was my friend.”
“She no friend, Mrs. Miss Jade muy malo...very bad.”
“I know, Consuelo. I know. I’m so sorry about the check, Consuelo, but I promise I’ll find a way to get your money to you.”
“No worry, Mrs. It is okay.”
And with that Consuelo hugged Bridget and kissed each of the twins on their foreheads and said good bye. Bridget realized how sorry she would be to see her go. She really liked her.
In her hurry to return to New York after things didn’t work
out between her and Trevor, Brianna had left many of her things behind, including her phone book. There were no ill feelings between her and her ex, so she decided to call Trevor and see if he could locate her phone book so she could get a number for Bridget. She thought of asking someone at McDonnell but thought against it. No, she would try her phone book first, and then if she had no luck, she would try to see if she could get the number from someone at work.
“Hey, babe,” Trevor answered the phone.
“How did you know it was me?” Brianna asked.
“Caller ID. Ain’t technology grand?” he quipped.
Brianna got that same old feeling she always got when he called her “babe.” She had hoped that after the two of them split up and she moved to New York, that would have changed. She was wrong. She decided to ignore her inner voice and concentrate on the issue at hand.
“How you been, Trevor?”
“Oh, I been okay. How ’bout you?”
“Okay, I guess. A friend of mine is in trouble, though. I realized I don’t have my phone book. I may have left it in Georgia. You haven’t seen it, have you?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, I have. Do you need a number out of it? Let me guess, Bridget.”
“How did you know?”
“She called earlier today and I told her you’d gone back to New York. I don’t believe you didn’t tell her we split up.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve spoken to Bridget. How did she sound when you spoke to her?”
“Well, I don’t know her and all, but if I were going to guess, I’d say she didn’t sound great. She clearly had something on her mind. Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know yet. She called me and I caught the tail end of a conversation that concerns me. But, I’m going to do my damnedest to find out what’s going on. You got that number?”
“Here it is. 212-555-6875.”
“Thanks, Trevor. I really appreciate it.”
“Anytime, babe; anytime.”
Just as Brianna was about to hang up, Trevor spoke. “Brianna, I know you got a lot on your mind right now, but when you’re done helping your friend out, I was thinking maybe I’d come up to New York, maybe you and I could talk.”
“We’ll talk. I’ll call you. Okay?”
“I’ll be waiting for you to call, Brianna. Bye, babe.”
After hanging up the phone with Trevor, Brianna saw David’s friend, Michael, rush through the office on his way to David with a special level of urgency. Brianna wondered what was up and whether or not it had anything to do with Bridget and her phone call earlier. The first and last thing she heard Michael say before David shut his office door was, “Man, we’ve really got to talk.”
Behind closed doors, David was still so agitated about the situation with Bridget and the call he had left with her earlier in the day. He was so convinced that she was actually at home and refus ing to answer the phone because of him that it angered him even more. He barely heard a word Michael said.
“Michael, man, I’m at the end of my fuckin’ rope. Bridget won’t budge an inch. She won’t take my calls, and refuses to let me see my son. Please tell me you’ve got something that’s going to make all of this a lot easier for me.”
“David, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. But, you need to calm down and just listen. What I’m about to tell you is going to be a big shock. And I’m pretty sure that once I do tell you, you will get your son back. However, I don’t think it’s Bridget you need to be worried about. There’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye. And believe me, Bridget is not the enemy. If anything, you and Bridget would both be best served as allies.”
By the time Michael was done recounting all that he had learned during his investigation, David was speechless, beyond speechless; and he was afraid. But, not for himself; he was afraid for Bridget and the twins. Clearly, all of their lives were in immediate danger. That is, unless he acted fast.
“There is one more piece of this puzzle that is missing in action. I’m going to go follow up that lead now. Make sure you leave your cell phone on and I’ll let you know when I’ve located him. In the meantime, you need to get to Bridget.”
“I’m going to do that now. She’s not going to be all that willing to listen to what I have to say, though. I don’t believe what a fool I’ve been. It was all right there in front of my face and I ignored all my best instincts. When I think of the message I left on her voicemail today, I’m the last person she’s going to want to talk to. She must be feeling so alone right now.”
“Tell her everything I’ve told you. Make her listen, David.”
As David and Michael were leaving his office, Brianna caught the tail end of what they were saying.
“Are you talking about Bridget?” she interrupted.
David was cautious about telling Brianna too much, but he remembered that Brianna and Bridget were friends when Bridget worked at the firm.
“Yes, we were,” he said. “Do you have any idea where Bridget might be?”
“I don’t know. She called me today and I heard a conversation between her and a Hispanic woman; I think it might have been her sitter. From what I could gather, Bridget seemed to be in some sort of trouble. Is she? Is Bridget in some sort of trouble?”
“Yes, Brianna, I believe she is. If we put our heads together, we can probably find her. Maybe we should split up. I’m going to go to her apartment. Do you have any ideas?”
“I might have one idea.”
“Okay, you follow up there and make sure you call me on my cell if you find anything. I’ll do the same.” David turned to Michael. “The same with you. Once you find the guy mentioned in that report, call me right away. I think it’ll help if Bridget knows she has nothing to worry about in that department.”
“Even if I don’t find him, make sure you tell her she’s not in any trouble, one way or another. It’s also probably a good idea to start looking for Jade.”
Brianna remembered her cousin, Pookie, and she instantly knew how they could find Jade.
“I know someone that’s sure to know how to find Jade. My cousin’s a
runner for Jade’s boyfriend, Big Rob. In fact, Jade works for Big Rob; they all keep very close tabs on one another. Yeah. Pookie will definitely know how to find Jade, or at least he’ll be able to point us in the right direction. And, if he doesn’t know where she is, Greg might.”
“You don’t mean Greg in my accounting department?”
“Yeah. That Greg. He and Jade are pretty tight.”
“Shit! I’ve been completely clueless. That would explain a lot of things. I’ll take care of that right now.”
David picked up the telephone at Brianna’s desk.
“Greg, could you come over to Brianna’s desk, now?”
Greg was shaking in his boots. He wondered if Mr. McDonnell figured out what he and Jade had been doing with the books. But, he relaxed a little when he thought it out. If he had figured it out, what would that have to do with Brianna? Why would he be calling him from her desk? It was probably a project of some sort that he needed him to assist Brianna with.
“Where’s Jade?” David asked as soon as Greg arrived.
“Jade. I don’t know. She didn’t come to work today.”
David suddenly grabbed Greg’s shirt and slammed him against the nearest wall. “Don’t fuck with me. Where the fuck is she?”
“I told you. I don’t know. The last time I saw Jade was a week ago. She doesn’t come to work half the time anyway, so I didn’t make much of it. I tried calling her a few times and the last time I spoke to her, which was last Thursday, I believe, she acted like she barely knew me, like she didn’t want anything to do with me. You don’t have to tell me twice. I figured she had moved on to bigger and better and left it alone.”
“So you have no idea where she might be?” Michael asked.
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