Ch. 24 - Secrets Revealed
It was quiet inside the hospital and the lights had dimmed down. The light blue reflection fading off the counters and tiled floor drew her into the pathway of the employee lounge room. No one was inside and she found herself sinking onto the plush green couch and covering her pained forehead with the palm of her hand. She had a headache.
A light began to beep and she heard a distant sound coming from the nurse’s station in the other room. There were plenty of nurses on duty, though there didn’t seem to be any real reason for them to be sticking around. Her eyes shifted to the hallway once she saw the shadow of a figure passing by. There was a reason the door to the lounge was almost never closed, and definitely not ever locked. If someone needed to change there was an adjoining bathroom, just like there was in every-night patient’s room.
She was hoping Dr. Maganey was on duty tonight. There were some things she needed to discuss with him, and it had nothing to do with their supposedly forbidden romantic relationship. Gary had had some points at the restaurant. She didn’t know what was going on in his family life, but she really did not have a right to judge him for something that had happened when they were kids—16 and 17 were hardly ages of maturity and guarantees of successful adult making decisions.
A couple pastel-colored nurses walked casually past the doorway. That shadow flash must have been another nurse or some type of messenger informing the update in the status of a patient. Obviously the situation was not serious enough for them even to be speed-walking to the supposed destination.
The patient must need water…or help to the bathroom.
Half an hour later and not much had changed. The nurses who had left from the front desk had returned. A few more past clad individuals came punched in for their shift. The only difference in these however was the fact of the spotted and starred patterns on their scrubs, instead of just the solid colors. They were all female and consisted of high blonde ponytails. Their hair scrunchies even matched. She didn’t take notice to it tonight, or even grow slightly annoyed. These girls always coordinated their outfits, while pretending it hadn’t been arranged ahead of time.
She sighed, wishing there was something she could do—anything to prevent her from dwelling on what that needed to be dwelled on.
It had only been puppy love.
“Janie.”
She turned at the sound of her name from a familiar man’s voice, an adoring man’s voice.
“Robert,” she said, smiling, and rising to her feet to greet him. A quick peck on the lips and he entered the room, enveloping her in a hug.
“It’s good to see you,” he nodded, pulling her back to the couch she had been sitting.
“You too,” her smile dimmed.
“What is it?” her eyebrows furrowed in concern.
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
His hands encased hers and he massaged tiny circles across them. “It doesn’t sound like something.”
She chuckled, tearing her eyes from his tender movements and directing them to his silver-green eyes. “You’re so sweet.”
His lips turned upwards in a quiet smirk. “Janie, tell me.”
She swallowed hard. “The Chapman case.”
His eyebrows furrowed together, hardly expecting the conversation to turn this unusual corner. “What about it?” he slinked into the couch, crossing his arms across his chest. He wasn’t frustrated or even really amused, he was just…confused, and trying his very best to discover where this was coming from. Worry spread throughout his mind when she sighed shakily. “What—”
“I’ve lied to you.” Her eyes closed in an undeniable amount of guilt.
Now, he swallowed hard. “What are you talking about?” his voice lowered.
“She’s not okay,” she said.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning she needs your help, not your avoidance!” her eyes flashed to his own who were widening more by the second.
“But you told me—”
She sighed, turning her face away. “I know what I told you, but it wasn’t true. It was based on the grudge I’ve been holding on my high school boyfriend for the last…twenty five plus years.”
He was speechless, and every moment killed her. When he finally spoke she wished she could disappear and just fall away from the madness she had created.
“When you decided to be a nurse, you knew the risks you would have to take. When you got into a relationship with me, you knew the risks we both would have to take. The fact that you made your professional career personal disgusts me.” He rose to his feet, not even considering her watery gaze that looked up at him. He looked out the doorway, and into the hall, at the dominantly calm atmosphere and pursed his lips, trying as best as he could to not lash out at her again. “Who is she, and what have you not told me?”
She gulped, closing her eyes again and feeling the crystalline tear dripping down one side of her face. “Her name is Chelsea Chapman,” she cleared her throat. “She came in about two weeks ago with a termination of under a month to live. The doctor she had before in America hadn’t yet discovered what was wrong with her, only that she needed medication. She ran out of medication for a week and collapsed. Since then she’s been here…and…and I’ve told you…” she gulped, voice incredibly shaky now.
“You told me she was dizzy. That whenever I came into the room to check on her, she was just sleeping. She continued to stay in the hospital because of the side effects of something we were giving her, and I passed it off as nothing.” He scoffed, and she kept her eyes pinned on the floor.
He strode to just before the hall and turned to her. “I should have known.”
And then he was gone.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
The door didn’t squeak when it opened, and for that she was grateful. She smiled a little bit when she spotted her babysitter fast asleep on the living room couch. The 16-year old hadn’t noticed when she slipped out of the house. She looked pretty sleepy when she came to begin with and it convinced Betsy that tonight would be the perfect night to ‘make connections’.
Her father really was a great family man, and such a poor hopeless soul trying to make everything right with those he cared about. She wished she had been able to cherish him as a father growing up. She didn’t entirely know the situation about what happened between her mother and her father, but they weren’t together for a reason, and now mommy was seeing a doctor, for dating.
“Mmm-aaaaayethr…thr.”
Betsy scrunched her nose at the noise, but soon after realized it must have been caused from some sort of dream or nightmare her babysitter had concocted. Slowly, she tiptoed up the stairs to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Most likely her mom would be coming home late again and kiss her goodnight. She had to be prepared for this type of event and so settled herself into her favorite pink pajamas, crawling into bed and turning off the light.
Sigh.
She wondered it would have been like to have a father. The act of being mysterious came across as quite curious and enticing in her mind. When she practiced it, it was even more so…and when Laura even believed the fact of a perfect father, she knew she was talented.
For a little girl…she was doing pretty well, especially since she had managed to hide herself by almost unseen objects and yet still make her voice known. They must have thought she was an angel or something.
She smirked to herself and closed her eyes. It was cold in her room and the window was pretty much impossible to close any further. There was a wisp of wind that flew through at the bottom of the window, that tiny crack, and it always kept her awake for awhile. She groaned, somehow wishing Katie—her babysitter—was suddenly awake and scolding her for being out alone for so long and coming back so late. At least then she could sit with her…and close the window.
She shivered, and tightened the blankets around her as best as she could. The soft plushie bear resting on the far side of her pillow seemed like such a comforting friend and she pulled it to her, and clung it, regardless of its current location under the window.
Knock.
Her eyes widened instantly but she didn’t move. Couldn’t. She wasn’t exactly sure who it was, but the most obvious assumption was Katie. There were some quiet steps moving closer to her bed and Betsy comfortably closed her eyes.
“Betsy?” she heard Katie whisper, and her breathing evened out even more. “I didn’t fall asleep on ya, did I?” she quirked an eyebrow, chuckling softly. Then, she cleared her throat.
Silence. And then she leaned over and closed the window entirely, tucking the blankets closer around the young girls form and tossing another on top of her.
“It’s so cold in here,” she muttered to herself.
The door closed.
She hadn’t gotten her kiss good night and it made her a little sad, but it was a comfort that Katie had thought to close the window. At least now she was a little warmer.
Sigh.
It occurred to her that maybe her babysitter had woken up sometime before she came in or just after she had, or maybe she had been pretending to sleep when she came in, just to see what she would do. But the girl was more fun and games than conniving and manipulative.
Not that Betsy knew anything about those particular objects of attraction.
She couldn’t pull the blankets closer around her and she didn’t really need to, but it bothered her now that she couldn’t fall asleep. She kept thinking about the dad she knew, and her mother who was always working. They had already been in the South before those huge ice storms hit, so it wasn’t as far to go as it might have been for some people…still, she wondered. Ever since she had stumbled upon that file in her mother’s office, she knew something wasn’t right. Everyone else had a daddy—everyone that she knew. Of course, all those friends that she knew…she didn’t really know anymore. She didn’t know where they were or how they had ended up at that particular place.
But Sam seemed kinda and sweet to that Laura girl. Her dad seemed like such a caring father as well, and it made her feel important at the thought that she could help him in some way.
She wanted to be more in his life though. Her mother was hardly ever home because she spent so much time at the hospital. People were always sick it seemed. And dating a doctor?
Betsy didn’t even really comprehend what this ‘dating’ thing was all about.
Sigh.
It was time to sleep.
She flipped over from her side to her stomach and nestled her face deep into her pillow, clutching at the teddy bear buried beneath her chin. Tomorrow was another day and she only hoped that someone would come into her life instead of her always pushing herself into theirs.
Katie.
She loved the girl. She felt like a sister to her. The best non-older sister ever, and having spent so much time with Betsy she knew exactly what were the most fun games and the tastiest treats. She knew everything about her, and she should have expected the young girl would have known she was too tired to keep track of her.
It didn’t really matter.
Her mother wouldn’t be home for hours, and for as much as she knew she loved her…she hadn’t paid attention to the young girl’s…anything, for quite awhile.
……………………………………………………………………….
This was ridiculous. It was probably past two in the morning and Sam, his son, was out with Laura Chapman, out with the girl he seemed to have some pretty intense feelings for…but it was still ridiculous.
Sure, he dated in high school, but it was nothing like this. Then again, it was nothing like a global disaster to alter how you felt about someone and what you would do to keep them, should anything severe happen again. Things became more precious when you really considered them in the grand scheme of things. You didn’t take things for granted—or at least you tried not to.
Regardless, he needed to find his son. He was still seventeen, not eighteen, not an adult, seventeen, and his mother was worried sick over him. Apparently there was something he—rather Laura—needed to know, and Jack wasn’t waiting around until his son came to his senses and realized there was a world outside of Laura Chapman. They had to end their date sometime.
Up one street…down another. He had no idea where to look. They didn’t say where they were going, his wife said. They didn’t give any clues or hints. It was supposed to be a surprise. Even when Lucy had told Sam to get something for the bubbly brunette, he never included what would happen entirely and even his mother had grown worried when she saw his purchasing a studded diamond ring—within his price range of course.
A proposal?
No, no that was…ridiculous! He was seventeen. They would need his consensus. There was no way…especially with the whole purity thing and what not. Quite honestly Jack was surprised they took the idea so seriously. He certainly wasn’t as ‘moral’ as a teenager. It made him pretty proud of his son, and of Laura too. But…that did not explain the ring, or the very fact that he couldn’t find the two of them.
It would’ve been awkward to ask beforehand, he supposed. And a tracking device was a little too creepy, too overprotective, too stalkerish.
Mexico City was a big place.
A very big place.
And it concerned him that he had not decided to take a car and insisted on walking the distance in the dark—though it was brightening a little, being almost 3 am and all.
“Oh Sam, where are you?” he whispered to himself, drawing a hand through his ruffled hair. He should have brought a thicker coat, but he didn’t. He was just so furious when he left the house. Seemed they had all gotten rather dramatic over the last few days, and he decided to blame it on the global disaster again. It sounded like a really good excuse.
Sigh.
The sunrise was nice at least. And one good thing about this huge natural disaster was the amount of time he had spent with his family afterwards. His government job was a big deal. It was definitely cash-worthy, and it did the nation a lot of good, especially this time around. But he missed out on a lot of family details, details he wished he had been around for. Sam’s first steps and first words and first accidents…dropping the vase, not making it to the bathroom, all these little kid things. Jack was only around for half of them, and it was troubling. If he was lucky, now at least he would make it to his wedding, maybe even hear the engagement story.
No, he would be around for so much more.
True, there was a need for government processing now. The cocky vice president had humbled himself once falling into the presidential status that entirely didn’t mean a whole lot with the remaining American citizens residing in the borders of Mexico. But…there was progress, and progress meant more off-work time, more free time for Mr. Hall to be with his family.
Now all he had to do was rip his son away from Laura Chapman. That would be the challenge.
He chuckled.
He was glad his son had found love. He just wished it had happened a little later, when things were not so complex, not so troublesome with her family. He didn’t understand the half of it. It seemed no one really did, not even Mr. Chapman himself. Hopefully that would get fixed. Besides, he knew love never waited for anything, certainly not perfect circumstances.
With his anger cooling down more the second with his engaging thoughts, the sight of Sam & Laura cuddling before him didn’t send him into a fit of sprinting the way he thought it would. No, instead he calmly walked towards them and just cleared his throat rather loudly.
“Dad!” Sam exclaimed, immediately jumping from his spot beside Laura to his feet and staring wide-eyed at his father.
“Hello to you too, son,” he smiled, looking back and forth between the two of them. Laura was awkwardly trying to avoid Mr. Hall’s line of vision.
“Mr. Hall…” she began, also standing to her feet. She tightened the thin coat around her.
“Laura,” he nodded, making a mental note to himself on how cute they looked together as they moved closer to one another. Team effort, he guessed.
She stuffed her hand in her pocket then, but he would have been blind to miss it. Something glimmered on her ring finger and there was almost a protective fear in Sam’s eyes when he caught where his father was direction his attention.
“Laura,” he repeated, clearing his throat, “Can I see your…” he coughed, “…your hand?”
She glanced at Sam and he glanced back at her, both incredibly silent. Jack watched the both of them as they gulped and exchanged a few uneasy breaths, scooting just a little closer to each other where they stood.
“What brings you here, dad?” Sam asked, looking back at his father who now had narrowed his eyebrows. He pretended to see past it. And to act casual. That was his mistake.
“You mean besides you being out past two in the morning?” he argued.
“It’s not a crime…” he began.
Laura stepped forward, her ring showing for a second. “Don’t blame him, he wanted to—”
Mr. Hall grabbed her hand, being able to see exactly what was on her finger and hoping beyond all hope that it wasn’t an engagement ring. He wanted that to be just in the back of his paranoid thoughts.
“Laura.”
Sam’s eyes widened. He gulped. He couldn’t say anything and Laura’s hand began to shake. Eventually she pulled it away and moved back to Sam.
“That’s not a ring on your finger,” Mr. Hall said, more trying to convince himself than anyone else.
The two sat back on the bench together, hidden hands clasped together, and their eyes zeroing in on the ground.
Not a ring. Not a ring. Not a ring.
Not an engagement ring…at least.
A light began to beep and she heard a distant sound coming from the nurse’s station in the other room. There were plenty of nurses on duty, though there didn’t seem to be any real reason for them to be sticking around. Her eyes shifted to the hallway once she saw the shadow of a figure passing by. There was a reason the door to the lounge was almost never closed, and definitely not ever locked. If someone needed to change there was an adjoining bathroom, just like there was in every-night patient’s room.
She was hoping Dr. Maganey was on duty tonight. There were some things she needed to discuss with him, and it had nothing to do with their supposedly forbidden romantic relationship. Gary had had some points at the restaurant. She didn’t know what was going on in his family life, but she really did not have a right to judge him for something that had happened when they were kids—16 and 17 were hardly ages of maturity and guarantees of successful adult making decisions.
A couple pastel-colored nurses walked casually past the doorway. That shadow flash must have been another nurse or some type of messenger informing the update in the status of a patient. Obviously the situation was not serious enough for them even to be speed-walking to the supposed destination.
The patient must need water…or help to the bathroom.
Half an hour later and not much had changed. The nurses who had left from the front desk had returned. A few more past clad individuals came punched in for their shift. The only difference in these however was the fact of the spotted and starred patterns on their scrubs, instead of just the solid colors. They were all female and consisted of high blonde ponytails. Their hair scrunchies even matched. She didn’t take notice to it tonight, or even grow slightly annoyed. These girls always coordinated their outfits, while pretending it hadn’t been arranged ahead of time.
She sighed, wishing there was something she could do—anything to prevent her from dwelling on what that needed to be dwelled on.
It had only been puppy love.
“Janie.”
She turned at the sound of her name from a familiar man’s voice, an adoring man’s voice.
“Robert,” she said, smiling, and rising to her feet to greet him. A quick peck on the lips and he entered the room, enveloping her in a hug.
“It’s good to see you,” he nodded, pulling her back to the couch she had been sitting.
“You too,” her smile dimmed.
“What is it?” her eyebrows furrowed in concern.
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
His hands encased hers and he massaged tiny circles across them. “It doesn’t sound like something.”
She chuckled, tearing her eyes from his tender movements and directing them to his silver-green eyes. “You’re so sweet.”
His lips turned upwards in a quiet smirk. “Janie, tell me.”
She swallowed hard. “The Chapman case.”
His eyebrows furrowed together, hardly expecting the conversation to turn this unusual corner. “What about it?” he slinked into the couch, crossing his arms across his chest. He wasn’t frustrated or even really amused, he was just…confused, and trying his very best to discover where this was coming from. Worry spread throughout his mind when she sighed shakily. “What—”
“I’ve lied to you.” Her eyes closed in an undeniable amount of guilt.
Now, he swallowed hard. “What are you talking about?” his voice lowered.
“She’s not okay,” she said.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning she needs your help, not your avoidance!” her eyes flashed to his own who were widening more by the second.
“But you told me—”
She sighed, turning her face away. “I know what I told you, but it wasn’t true. It was based on the grudge I’ve been holding on my high school boyfriend for the last…twenty five plus years.”
He was speechless, and every moment killed her. When he finally spoke she wished she could disappear and just fall away from the madness she had created.
“When you decided to be a nurse, you knew the risks you would have to take. When you got into a relationship with me, you knew the risks we both would have to take. The fact that you made your professional career personal disgusts me.” He rose to his feet, not even considering her watery gaze that looked up at him. He looked out the doorway, and into the hall, at the dominantly calm atmosphere and pursed his lips, trying as best as he could to not lash out at her again. “Who is she, and what have you not told me?”
She gulped, closing her eyes again and feeling the crystalline tear dripping down one side of her face. “Her name is Chelsea Chapman,” she cleared her throat. “She came in about two weeks ago with a termination of under a month to live. The doctor she had before in America hadn’t yet discovered what was wrong with her, only that she needed medication. She ran out of medication for a week and collapsed. Since then she’s been here…and…and I’ve told you…” she gulped, voice incredibly shaky now.
“You told me she was dizzy. That whenever I came into the room to check on her, she was just sleeping. She continued to stay in the hospital because of the side effects of something we were giving her, and I passed it off as nothing.” He scoffed, and she kept her eyes pinned on the floor.
He strode to just before the hall and turned to her. “I should have known.”
And then he was gone.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
The door didn’t squeak when it opened, and for that she was grateful. She smiled a little bit when she spotted her babysitter fast asleep on the living room couch. The 16-year old hadn’t noticed when she slipped out of the house. She looked pretty sleepy when she came to begin with and it convinced Betsy that tonight would be the perfect night to ‘make connections’.
Her father really was a great family man, and such a poor hopeless soul trying to make everything right with those he cared about. She wished she had been able to cherish him as a father growing up. She didn’t entirely know the situation about what happened between her mother and her father, but they weren’t together for a reason, and now mommy was seeing a doctor, for dating.
“Mmm-aaaaayethr…thr.”
Betsy scrunched her nose at the noise, but soon after realized it must have been caused from some sort of dream or nightmare her babysitter had concocted. Slowly, she tiptoed up the stairs to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Most likely her mom would be coming home late again and kiss her goodnight. She had to be prepared for this type of event and so settled herself into her favorite pink pajamas, crawling into bed and turning off the light.
Sigh.
She wondered it would have been like to have a father. The act of being mysterious came across as quite curious and enticing in her mind. When she practiced it, it was even more so…and when Laura even believed the fact of a perfect father, she knew she was talented.
For a little girl…she was doing pretty well, especially since she had managed to hide herself by almost unseen objects and yet still make her voice known. They must have thought she was an angel or something.
She smirked to herself and closed her eyes. It was cold in her room and the window was pretty much impossible to close any further. There was a wisp of wind that flew through at the bottom of the window, that tiny crack, and it always kept her awake for awhile. She groaned, somehow wishing Katie—her babysitter—was suddenly awake and scolding her for being out alone for so long and coming back so late. At least then she could sit with her…and close the window.
She shivered, and tightened the blankets around her as best as she could. The soft plushie bear resting on the far side of her pillow seemed like such a comforting friend and she pulled it to her, and clung it, regardless of its current location under the window.
Knock.
Her eyes widened instantly but she didn’t move. Couldn’t. She wasn’t exactly sure who it was, but the most obvious assumption was Katie. There were some quiet steps moving closer to her bed and Betsy comfortably closed her eyes.
“Betsy?” she heard Katie whisper, and her breathing evened out even more. “I didn’t fall asleep on ya, did I?” she quirked an eyebrow, chuckling softly. Then, she cleared her throat.
Silence. And then she leaned over and closed the window entirely, tucking the blankets closer around the young girls form and tossing another on top of her.
“It’s so cold in here,” she muttered to herself.
The door closed.
She hadn’t gotten her kiss good night and it made her a little sad, but it was a comfort that Katie had thought to close the window. At least now she was a little warmer.
Sigh.
It occurred to her that maybe her babysitter had woken up sometime before she came in or just after she had, or maybe she had been pretending to sleep when she came in, just to see what she would do. But the girl was more fun and games than conniving and manipulative.
Not that Betsy knew anything about those particular objects of attraction.
She couldn’t pull the blankets closer around her and she didn’t really need to, but it bothered her now that she couldn’t fall asleep. She kept thinking about the dad she knew, and her mother who was always working. They had already been in the South before those huge ice storms hit, so it wasn’t as far to go as it might have been for some people…still, she wondered. Ever since she had stumbled upon that file in her mother’s office, she knew something wasn’t right. Everyone else had a daddy—everyone that she knew. Of course, all those friends that she knew…she didn’t really know anymore. She didn’t know where they were or how they had ended up at that particular place.
But Sam seemed kinda and sweet to that Laura girl. Her dad seemed like such a caring father as well, and it made her feel important at the thought that she could help him in some way.
She wanted to be more in his life though. Her mother was hardly ever home because she spent so much time at the hospital. People were always sick it seemed. And dating a doctor?
Betsy didn’t even really comprehend what this ‘dating’ thing was all about.
Sigh.
It was time to sleep.
She flipped over from her side to her stomach and nestled her face deep into her pillow, clutching at the teddy bear buried beneath her chin. Tomorrow was another day and she only hoped that someone would come into her life instead of her always pushing herself into theirs.
Katie.
She loved the girl. She felt like a sister to her. The best non-older sister ever, and having spent so much time with Betsy she knew exactly what were the most fun games and the tastiest treats. She knew everything about her, and she should have expected the young girl would have known she was too tired to keep track of her.
It didn’t really matter.
Her mother wouldn’t be home for hours, and for as much as she knew she loved her…she hadn’t paid attention to the young girl’s…anything, for quite awhile.
……………………………………………………………………….
This was ridiculous. It was probably past two in the morning and Sam, his son, was out with Laura Chapman, out with the girl he seemed to have some pretty intense feelings for…but it was still ridiculous.
Sure, he dated in high school, but it was nothing like this. Then again, it was nothing like a global disaster to alter how you felt about someone and what you would do to keep them, should anything severe happen again. Things became more precious when you really considered them in the grand scheme of things. You didn’t take things for granted—or at least you tried not to.
Regardless, he needed to find his son. He was still seventeen, not eighteen, not an adult, seventeen, and his mother was worried sick over him. Apparently there was something he—rather Laura—needed to know, and Jack wasn’t waiting around until his son came to his senses and realized there was a world outside of Laura Chapman. They had to end their date sometime.
Up one street…down another. He had no idea where to look. They didn’t say where they were going, his wife said. They didn’t give any clues or hints. It was supposed to be a surprise. Even when Lucy had told Sam to get something for the bubbly brunette, he never included what would happen entirely and even his mother had grown worried when she saw his purchasing a studded diamond ring—within his price range of course.
A proposal?
No, no that was…ridiculous! He was seventeen. They would need his consensus. There was no way…especially with the whole purity thing and what not. Quite honestly Jack was surprised they took the idea so seriously. He certainly wasn’t as ‘moral’ as a teenager. It made him pretty proud of his son, and of Laura too. But…that did not explain the ring, or the very fact that he couldn’t find the two of them.
It would’ve been awkward to ask beforehand, he supposed. And a tracking device was a little too creepy, too overprotective, too stalkerish.
Mexico City was a big place.
A very big place.
And it concerned him that he had not decided to take a car and insisted on walking the distance in the dark—though it was brightening a little, being almost 3 am and all.
“Oh Sam, where are you?” he whispered to himself, drawing a hand through his ruffled hair. He should have brought a thicker coat, but he didn’t. He was just so furious when he left the house. Seemed they had all gotten rather dramatic over the last few days, and he decided to blame it on the global disaster again. It sounded like a really good excuse.
Sigh.
The sunrise was nice at least. And one good thing about this huge natural disaster was the amount of time he had spent with his family afterwards. His government job was a big deal. It was definitely cash-worthy, and it did the nation a lot of good, especially this time around. But he missed out on a lot of family details, details he wished he had been around for. Sam’s first steps and first words and first accidents…dropping the vase, not making it to the bathroom, all these little kid things. Jack was only around for half of them, and it was troubling. If he was lucky, now at least he would make it to his wedding, maybe even hear the engagement story.
No, he would be around for so much more.
True, there was a need for government processing now. The cocky vice president had humbled himself once falling into the presidential status that entirely didn’t mean a whole lot with the remaining American citizens residing in the borders of Mexico. But…there was progress, and progress meant more off-work time, more free time for Mr. Hall to be with his family.
Now all he had to do was rip his son away from Laura Chapman. That would be the challenge.
He chuckled.
He was glad his son had found love. He just wished it had happened a little later, when things were not so complex, not so troublesome with her family. He didn’t understand the half of it. It seemed no one really did, not even Mr. Chapman himself. Hopefully that would get fixed. Besides, he knew love never waited for anything, certainly not perfect circumstances.
With his anger cooling down more the second with his engaging thoughts, the sight of Sam & Laura cuddling before him didn’t send him into a fit of sprinting the way he thought it would. No, instead he calmly walked towards them and just cleared his throat rather loudly.
“Dad!” Sam exclaimed, immediately jumping from his spot beside Laura to his feet and staring wide-eyed at his father.
“Hello to you too, son,” he smiled, looking back and forth between the two of them. Laura was awkwardly trying to avoid Mr. Hall’s line of vision.
“Mr. Hall…” she began, also standing to her feet. She tightened the thin coat around her.
“Laura,” he nodded, making a mental note to himself on how cute they looked together as they moved closer to one another. Team effort, he guessed.
She stuffed her hand in her pocket then, but he would have been blind to miss it. Something glimmered on her ring finger and there was almost a protective fear in Sam’s eyes when he caught where his father was direction his attention.
“Laura,” he repeated, clearing his throat, “Can I see your…” he coughed, “…your hand?”
She glanced at Sam and he glanced back at her, both incredibly silent. Jack watched the both of them as they gulped and exchanged a few uneasy breaths, scooting just a little closer to each other where they stood.
“What brings you here, dad?” Sam asked, looking back at his father who now had narrowed his eyebrows. He pretended to see past it. And to act casual. That was his mistake.
“You mean besides you being out past two in the morning?” he argued.
“It’s not a crime…” he began.
Laura stepped forward, her ring showing for a second. “Don’t blame him, he wanted to—”
Mr. Hall grabbed her hand, being able to see exactly what was on her finger and hoping beyond all hope that it wasn’t an engagement ring. He wanted that to be just in the back of his paranoid thoughts.
“Laura.”
Sam’s eyes widened. He gulped. He couldn’t say anything and Laura’s hand began to shake. Eventually she pulled it away and moved back to Sam.
“That’s not a ring on your finger,” Mr. Hall said, more trying to convince himself than anyone else.
The two sat back on the bench together, hidden hands clasped together, and their eyes zeroing in on the ground.
Not a ring. Not a ring. Not a ring.
Not an engagement ring…at least.
Back to Chapter 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23
Back to True main page
Back to The Day After Tomorrow page
Back to True main page
Back to The Day After Tomorrow page