Mixed Reality (Indigo Love Spectrum), page 17
“Great. What’s your take? Am I in trouble?”
“Judging from what I’ve read so far, you’re not in any real trouble.”
“Yet.”
“I didn’t say that. It seems that your brother’s divorce and the fact that they’ve brought your wife into it has shaken your numbers up a little, but overall I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“My chief of staff seems to think I should make a public statement showing support for my wife.”
“It’s not a bad idea. However, I have to ask you something personal.”
“Go ahead.”
“Are your wife and brother friends? Do they hang out?”
“Of course they’re friends. They even occasionally have lunch together. It’s been that way for years.”
“The problem is even though it’s nothing, it has already been made into something. If you come out with a public statement it could make them look guilty. And with Jasper Lyons on the case, you can be sure he’ll make a mountain out of a molehill. It’s sort of his specialty.”
“I thought so.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, who’s representing your brother?”
“Wendy Kulick.”
“Your brother is in good hands. She’s just as good as Jasper. In my opinion this thing will eventually lose steam, scandals always do. As bad as it sounds you have to wait it out. I’ll send you over my analysis and recommendations by messenger this week.”
“Wow, my uncle said you were good. Don’t forget to include your invoice.”
“There’s no charge.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“No. The way I see it, this is the equivalent of a loss leader. When you run for your own term, I hope you’ll hire me.”
“No wonder Uncle Robert likes you.”
Seth laughed.
“Well I’ve got to run to my next meeting. I’ll look for your package. Have a good day, Seth.”
“Same to you, Mayor Brennan.”
Feeling somewhat vindicated, Doug headed out of his office. He looked down at his watch. I’ll give Elle a call a little later.
* * *
Her examination over, Elle waited anxiously in Dr. Aranow’s office. She stared at the many photos of all the babies he’d delivered. Dr. Aranow had been an obstetrician for more than twenty-five years. Not much had changed about him in that time. He was average height with slightly stodgy build. He still had a cherub face with just a little more grey hair around the temple.
“Okay, Elle,” he said as he walked in with her file.
“What’s the verdict, Doc? How pregnant am I?”
He sat down and opened the file. “I’d say you’re about eight weeks along. We’ll know better after the sonogram, which I would like you to have today.”
“All right. Can you do it here?”
“I don’t do it in this office. We use the radiologist on the fifth floor. I’ll have Terry call down to let them know you’re coming.”
“Don’t I have to drink a gallon of water first or something?”
“No. That was the old way. You don’t have to do that anymore.”
“That’s a relief. I hated that when I was pregnant with the boys.”
“There are a few other things that haven’t changed for you, Elle. You were a high risk pregnancy with the twins…”
“Are you saying that now that I’m over forty, I’m really high risk?”
“We have to follow you more carefully, and you’re going to have to slow down and watch your stress levels.”
Elle laughed. “I take it you don’t read the paper or watch the news. I’m an accused adulteress and home-wrecker. My whole life is one big ball of stress.”
“I’ve seen the news,” he said matter-of-factly. “I know you, Elle. I haven’t even bothered to look at it.”
“You must be the only one.”
“Seriously, Elle, you have to be careful.”
“I’ll do my best. That’s all I can promise.”
“I’ll take it.” He took his prescription pad out. “I’m going to write you a scrip for vitamins.”
“Please tell me they finally made them smaller. I hated taking those horse pills.”
“Sorry.”
“You mean to tell me they can make a tiny little pill for erectile dysfunction, but they can’t figure out how to make a prenatal pill that doesn’t carry the risk of the Heimlich maneuver as a side effect?”
Dr. Aranow laughed. “You haven’t lost your sense of humor,” he said as he handed her the scrip.
“I have to keep it. If I didn’t, I’d never stop crying.” She took the paper and put it in her bag. “Thank you.”
He stood up. “Radiology is in room 522. It’s still early yet, so there shouldn’t be many people there.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Elle got up.
Dr. Aranow walked her to the waiting room.
“Well?” Melissa asked anxiously.
“It’s official.”
“Great.”
“I have to go to radiology on the fifth floor for a sonogram. Do you have time?”
“Sure.”
“Do you need me to come back up here, Doc?”
“No. They’ll send the report to me. I’ll give you a call.”
“Okay.”
“We’re putting you down for another appointment two weeks from today. Same time?”
“Works for me.”
“All right, then I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Okey-dokey.”
Elle and Melissa went straight to the radiologist’s office, which was empty. Elle had the sonogram and afterwards the technician gave her a copy. As she stared, the pregnancy felt real for the first time. It was no longer conjecture as she looked at a photo of the life she and Doug created inside of her.
Melissa walked over to her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She showed her the picture. “It’s our baby.”
“Aww, Elle. It’s precious.” She hugged her.
“I’m really having a baby.”
They walked out of the office into the hall. “Well, this is a reason to celebrate. I’m going to call Myles and ask him to cover for me for the rest of today.”
“Are you sure? It’s okay if you need to go back to work.”
“No. Don’t be silly.” She took her cell phone out. “Figures, I don’t have a signal here. I’m going to go down the hall.”
“Okay. I’ll wait for you by the elevator.”
“I won’t be but a minute.”
“Take your time.”
Elle walked over to the elevator. She couldn’t stop staring at her sonogram. That little tiny blur is our baby. She smiled. The elevator doors opened.
“Elle?”
Startled, she looked up. “Rory?” Elle quickly slipped the sonogram into her purse.
He stepped out. “What are you doing here?”
“I had an appointment.” She stopped. “I mean, Melissa had an appointment.”
“Oh, is she okay?”
“She’s fine. She’s just down there making a call.”
“You know I’m not supposed to be around you with all this brouhaha going on.”
“I know. It’s not like we planned this. We ran into each other. It is a medical building.”
Melissa walked over. “Okay, we’re all…Oh, hi, Rory.”
“Hi, Melissa. How are you feeling? Elle tells me you had an appointment.”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
“Well, we’d better get going. You never know who may be hanging around with a telephoto lens,” Elle said bitterly.
“About that, Elle. I really should explain.”
The elevator doors opened. “That’s okay, Rory. We have to run.” She waved.
“Bye.” He waved.
“You told him I had an appointment here,” Melissa said, arms folded.
“Yes. I couldn’t tell him I was here to see my obstetrician. I haven’t even told Doug that I’m pregnant.”
“You have a point.”
Melissa couldn’t help but snicker when Elle put her coat, hat and glasses back on. “Oh, you think this is funny.”
“I’m sorry, Elle. You have to admit it is kind of funny.”
Elle looked at her reflection and laughed. “I do look like a bugaboo or something.”
Melissa put her coat on. “How about we feed the baby? Have you eaten anything today?”
“No.”
“Well then I know just the place we can remedy the situation.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Are you game?”
“Let’s go.”
A half hour later, they walked into Amy Ruth’s restaurant in Harlem for a little down-home comfort food mixed in with some holiday spirit. The hostess seated them right away.
“The place looks nice and festive,” Elle said as she looked around. “With all this garbage going on, I haven’t exactly been in the Christmas spirit.” She sat down.
“I can’t say I don’t understand.”
Elle looked around the restaurant. “Listen, if I ask you a question, will you tell me the truth?”
“Of course.”
“Do you think that I brought this on myself because of all the time I’ve spent with Rory?”
“No. I can’t believe you’d even think that for a minute.”
“You’ve seen the papers and the blog posts. How can I not think that?”
“The media and Angela are like Pavlov and his dogs. She rings the bell and they come running whether or not there is an actual tidbit to devour. Forget about them,” Melissa said.
“That is easier said than done.”
“Well if you can’t forget about them altogether, at least forget long enough to order lunch.”
“I’ll try,” Elle said.
“Good.” Melissa grinned as she opened the menu. “Everything is good here.”
Elle studied the menu. “Maybe I’ll just have the chicken soup.”
“You will do no such thing. You’re eating for two, remember?”
“All right, I’ll have the pan-seared jumbo shrimp with green beans and candied yams. Is that better?”
“That’s more like it. Make sure you check out dessert, too.” She winked.
“You are too much.”
“Listen, if you can’t have dessert when you’re pregnant, when can you have it?”
“That’s so true.” She nodded.
The waiter came over and took their lunch order. The restaurant was busy, yet quiet. Elle and Melissa enjoyed their meal in relative peace.
“Mmm,” Elle said as she put her fork down. “I don’t know that I can eat another bite.”
“Oh no, you’re not getting out of dessert that easily.”
Elle looked pensive.
“You’re still thinking about everything, aren’t you?”
“I can’t help it.” Elle sighed. “Back when we were in school things seemed to be clear cut. To me it was black or white, right or wrong.”
“Then you stepped into the real world,” Melissa added.
“Yes, and I found out that we live in a mixed reality where the lines are blurred, especially when it comes to politics and how people view you.”
“Who cares about how people view you?”
“I don’t care, but I do worry about how this affects my kids.”
“Have they said anything to you?”
“No.”
“Then don’t go looking for trouble,” Melissa said as she sipped her soda.
“Maybe you’re right.” Elle sighed.
“Of course I’m right. Now how about chocolate cake?” she grinned.
Elle rubbed her stomach. “Let’s share a slice.”
“I’m game.”
After Melissa ordered a slice of cake with two forks, Elle realized her stomach was less than thrilled, but she had a few bites to appease Melissa.
Elle put her fork down. “That chocolate cake was just what I needed,” Elle lied.
“I told you.”
“Thanks for coming with me today.”
“Don’t mention it.” Melissa sipped her coffee. “So now that your pregnancy is official, are you going to tell Doug?”
“Yes. I’ll tell him when he gets home tonight, after I get the boys squared away.” Elle shook her head.
“What?”
“Doug and I haven’t really talked since last night’s conversation. I was so angry with him.”
“Well now you have the ultimate icebreaker. ‘Honey, I’m pregnant’ is a game changer.”
“It’s a life changer, too. After fourteen years I’m going back to square one with diapers, breastfeeding and sleepless nights. And that’s in addition to all the teenage angst we have to look forward to.”
“Oh, my God, that reminds me.” Melissa looked at her Blackberry.
“What’s up?”
“The PTA is handing out the parents’ packages for the winter dance today and tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s right. I nearly forgot about the winter dance. What did you sign up for?”
“I signed up for the decorations committee and dance chaperone.”
“I bet Jason loves that,” Elle said facetiously.
“He doesn’t think it’s chaperoning. He thinks I’m going to be lurking around spying on him.”
Elle laughed.
Melissa looked at her watch. “Listen, I can drop you home and then I’ll head over to the school.”
“Why go out of your way? Besides, I signed up for the winter dance, too. I need to know what I’ve been assigned to bring by the refreshment committee.”
“Are you sure? I can pick up your assignment and bring it over later.”
“Thanks, Melissa, but it’s okay. I’ll go with you to the school. I think I’ve been entombed long enough.”
“If you say so,” Melissa said as she glanced over at the dessert cart. “I’m going to order a couple of slices of cake for Myles and Jason first.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Do you think they have a whole cake?”
“You want to buy a whole chocolate cake?”
“Please, you’ve seen my sons eat.”
“Oh yeah, you’d better see if they have two, one for each of them.”
“I just might do that.” Elle chuckled.
“I’ll get the waiter.” Melissa motioned him over to their table. A few moments later they left the restaurant with dessert.
* * *
With a few minutes to spare between meetings, Doug dialed Elle. The phone rang a few times and then went to voicemail. “Damn”, he said quietly.
“Did you get her?”
Doug was a little startled. “Ki, I didn’t see you there. Where did you come from?”
“I just walked up. So did you get Elle?”
“How did you know I was calling her?”
“Lucky guess.”
“Well, I didn’t get her. I got her voicemail.”
“Maybe she didn’t hear it ring or she couldn’t get to it fast enough.”
“She did say she was going to the doctor with Melissa.”
“There’s your answer. She probably turned it off at the doctor’s office.”
“You’re probably right.” He looked at his watch. “I better run. I have another budget session.” Doug quickly scooted down the hall.
Chapter 14
The moment Elle and Melissa walked in the gymnasium went from a low roar to near silence.
Melissa quickly turned to Elle. “Listen, you can wait in the hallway. I’ll get your stuff, too.”
“That’s okay, I’ll get it. I’m not going to run out of here like I have something to hide. I haven’t done anything.”
“Okay.”
As other parents milled around the gym, Elle and Melissa walked over to the desk where Morgan was seated.
I never thought I’d miss the fashion auxiliary, Elle thought while she waited behind Melissa.
“Here you go, Melissa.” Morgan handed her an envelope.
“Thanks.”
“Elle, I’m surprised to see you here,” Morgan said.
“Really? Why? I did sign up for the refreshment committee.”
“I just thought with everything going on you’d…”
“You thought I’d forget my obligations?”
“No, of course not,” she said hastily, and then handed Elle a paper.
“Thank you.” Elle looked it over. “I see I’ve been given cupcake duty.”
“Oh, that’s fun.” Melissa smiled.
“It’s something the whole family can do together.” Morgan sounded innocent, but Elle knew better.
“Excuse me?” Elle was beginning to get heated.
“I was just saying…”
“You were just saying nothing as usual,” Melissa quickly interjected. “Let’s go. We have what we came for.”
Elle and Melissa left Morgan with her mouth agape.
“That Morgan has got some nerve,” Melissa huffed as they walked down the hallway. “The woman is in love with her own voice. She should consider going on America’s Got Talent.”
“What?”
“The woman talks out of her ass. I think that qualifies as more than just a magic trick. Don’t you?”
Elle howled with laughter. “I never thought of it that way before. By the way, thanks for getting me out of there before I lost my temper and said something I would regret.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“And thank you for the laugh. I really needed that.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“I can’t let people like Morgan get under my skin.” Elle sighed. “Most of them can’t believe I got Doug in the first place.”
“The fact is you did, and now you’re having another Brennan, so the heck with them.”
Elle yawned.
“It’s been a long day. How about I get you home so you can rest?”
“Yes, please.”
“Not to mention you need to get your two chocolate cakes home for the boys. I still can’t believe you bought two.”
“They have basketball practice today, which means they’ve gone from eating machines to human piranhas.”
As the two women laughed, Elle felt a twinge in her stomach.
“Oh,” she said suddenly.
“Are you all right?”
“Sure. My stomach’s just a little upset again.”
