The Cries of the Butterfly - A LOVE STORY (53 page)

“Did it work?” he asked anxiously.

“I don’t know,” Wolf said gravely. “Did you return the car?”

Knott nodded. The beat-up Plymouth was back in his friend’s garage, the fake number plates destroyed. In the morning, it would get a new paint job. Just in case.

“Swell job, Stan, great acting. Thank you very much. Perhaps I should now call you
Al-Fahd-Abu-Ibrahim-Bin-Abdul-Aziz-Alwaleed-Bin-Bandar
, eh?”

Knott laughed.

“Anyways, now lie low for a month…just in case,” Wolf added.

“Cannot afford to, sir. There’s the next couple to take care of. What’s their blithering name? Ah, yah…Mr. and Mrs. Lunn…”

“The same method, Stan?”

“No, sir. They’re a childless couple.”

“What are we going to do then?”

“Let me take care of it, sir,” Knott said, a peculiar glint coming to his eyes.

“Be careful, Stan. We can’t afford to get caught.”

“If that happens, sir, you and I have nothing to do with each other. I acted on my own.”

Wolf smiled wryly. He didn’t like it one bit—he was being forced to go to places that were so alien to him…places that scared him badly. But what choice did he have? Even if Stan Knott did get caught, Wolf had promised to take care of his girls…give them the best possible life. That was now a given, no matter what.

Half an hour later, as he lay in bed, a thought hit him. Could Robin’s biological parents be traced? Could they be still alive? Were they around? Could at least one of them be found?

Still thinking along those lines, he at last drifted off to sleep.

“
WHAT’S
up?” Wolf asked suspiciously.

“Up?” Maddy retorted defiantly.

“You look unusually radiant today. Something nice happened?”

She gave him a wink.

“Come on, tell me,” he pressed.

“I feel satisfied. Fulfilled.”

“How come?”

“I had sex after a very long time,” she smiled. “Very gratifying.”

“Sweet shit!”

“Don’t be a prick!”

“So finally you found a partner?”

She nodded. “Yah.”

“Who’s it?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Someone I know?”

“Absolutely.”

“Sweet shit, don’t tell me it’s…” he broke off, unable to continue.

“Rochelle? Uh hu. Although I’d sacrifice my clitoris to bed her.”

“Who then? Savannah?”

“Oh, no, no, no! She’s your girl and as pretty as she is I have some principles I live by.”

“You and principles? Ha!”

“Don’t be a prick!”

“So?”

“So, nothing.”

Wolf shrugged. “Fine, keep your fucking secrets,” he said feigning indifference.

“And you mind your fucking language.”

“Yah, your language is very chaste, I forgot.”

.

M
onday, May 12…twelve-eighteen am.

This was going to be their last visit to Robin. She would be discharged later this day.

She was no longer in the ICU and her new room was on the third floor. Room 318.

She was strolling the large empty lobby and saw them first as they exited the elevator. After the greetings were done, they went back to Robin’s room and she got into bed.

“My baby should’ve been asleep!” Wolf mock-scolded.

“But I was waiting for you and Mom.”

“You shouldn’t be walking around.”

“I’m nice, Daddy! I’m not at all tired.”

Yes, she looked good now—the cheeks had filled out and the color had returned.

“So today you go home, uh?” he said.

“Yes, in the morning,” she said and her face fell.

“What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, but didn’t say anything.

He took her hand. “Robinnnnn!”

She glanced up. He nodded at her encouragingly. After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Can I come home with you now?” she said in a low voice. “I really want to. Please!”

Wolf’s face fell. He looked away.

“I’m so sorry, Daddy…!” She was near tears.

Wolf felt a sudden surge of emotion, that wanted to grab his baby and make a run for it…away, far away from it all, where no one could reach them, where no one could ever separate them again.

But he quickly controlled himself. What was the point thinking along those lines? He took her in his arms. And he held her for a long time, smelling her hair, blinking back a few defiant tears.

“Very soon you’ll be staying with me and Mom. Very soon,” he said quietly at length.

“But you’ve been saying that for so long! It never happens!” she wailed.

“But it will now, I promise you. In ten days you’ll be with us. Okay?”

She looked searchingly into his eyes. He nodded earnestly at her.

“This time final promise?” she said.

“Final promise.”

A smile came to her lips and she reached up and planted a big watery kiss on his cheek.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, Butterfly?”

“I love you, Daddy. I love you just too much. And Mommy too.” Her eyes were suddenly vibrant in her face.

He clasped her again and pressed his face to her head. “Oh, my baby, I love you too. So very much.”
More than I can ever adequately express...more than you’ll ever realize.

She grabbed his bicep and held him.

Savannah, on the other side of the bed, leaned over, and the three hugged each other. They said nothing, just held one another. A loving warmth engulfed them, holding them in its embrace.

Afterwards, Robin lay down tiredly. She yawned and rubbed her eyes and they turned pink. She yawned again and her eyes began to wilt.

“My Butterfly is sleepy,” Wolf laughed.

“No, but I don’t want to sleep!” she blurted, opening her eyes wide defiantly. “I want to talk with you and Momma.”

She held Wolf’s forefinger as they talked. But soon it was all too much for her and her eyes drooped again, then shut helplessly, and she began snoring lightly. Her face was calm and happy and a little smile crackled on her fine lips, like the dance of angels, even as she continued holding Wolf’s finger in her sleep.

.

W
olf and Savannah went to drop Maddy home first.

“Anyone for a quick drink?” Maddy asked at the parking lot.

“At this time of the night?” Wolf said. It was three-twenty am.

“What’s day and night? Just a mental concept. Anyway, you could have orange juice or a coffee.”

Wolf looked at Savannah and she gave him a look that said:
now don’t push it on me!

“Fine orange juice then,” he said.

“No hard drinks? Perhaps a beer?” Maddy queried.

“I’ve given it up, Miss.”

They went up.

It was a small first floor apartment and Maddy thrashed the switches on, flooding the little living room in white light. She pointed to the settee and Wolf and Savannah lowered themselves in it.

“What took you so long…?” someone wailed from the bedroom. Then that someone came into the living room, dragging her feet and rubbing her eyes.

A chill kited up Wolf’s spine.

It was Sister Clara.

She glanced around the room absently, then her eyes fixed on him.

They gaped at each other, disbelief large on their faces. Maddy quickly walked over to Clara, took her by the arm and led her back to the bedroom, then shut the door behind her.

“I’ll get the orange juice,” Maddy said and disappeared into the kitchen.

There was undiluted shock on Wolf’s face. Maddy handed him a glass and sat on a chair opposite him, nursing a scotch on the rocks.

“Okay, so you know now,” she said. “You don’t have to look so stupefied. After all, it’s nothing to do with you.”

“She?!” he blurted incredulously, finding his voice.

“Shhh…keep your voice down. She’s trying to sleep.”

“Sheeeee…?!”

“So?” She took a sip. “She has needs, I have needs, and we happened to match.”

“Sweet shit!” He began shaking his head.

“Don’t be a prick now! And you don’t have to be so scandalized,” Maddy said. “She was never meant to be a Sister. Celibacy and all that religious crap was never meant for her. But then we all make mistakes, don’t we? It was just one of those false starts in life for the poor thing.” She studied her glass. “She never really meant to hurt you. But then she’s human too. All those frustrations kept piling up, over days and weeks and months and years of living a sham existence. Finally it all exploded, and it was most unfortunate you had to bear the brunt of it. Of course, I scolded her severely for what she did to you, but the poor thing just completely lost it for a moment. I apologize on her behalf, Wolf. Please find it in your Holly-boy heart to forgive her…for my sake. She thought she needed a man, when in reality she needed a woman, someone like me, someone who could treat her delicately and explore her exquisitely. Then to compound her miseries, there was the religious guilt. So initially, she wouldn’t allow me to take her clothes off, or touch her below the waist. So many things. But her suffering is over now. She has been emancipated.”

Wolf lowered his head over his drink.

“Ah, you’re wondering how she and I happened? Accident really. I went to the orphanage to interview Sister Blessing about the whole affair. Exactly at that time, Clara was being kicked out of the Home. Anyway, she had no place to go, she was in utter shock, the poor baby, so out of mere compassion, I took her in with me. Then one thing led to another and you can guess the rest. There’s no need for me to paint a porn here, is there?”

Wolf exhaled in a long stream.

“Now that she’s got over her inhibitions, she’s been such a revelation,” Maddy added. “She may not be much to look at, she may not have much of tits, but girl, does she give out…”

“Okay enough!” Wolf put his hand up.
Now you
are
painting a porn
. He gulped down the juice, then placed his glass on the table and got to his feet. He wanted to go home…on the double.

.

R
obin was shifted back to the Home later that day. But it was decided she would not live in the dorm with the other girls, instead would temporarily put up with Sister Blessing.

Three evenings later, on Thursday, May 15, a second meeting of the trustees was held, this time at Cass’s.

“It’s incredible,” Judge Cass said. “They’re all backing out at the last moment. I ain’t understand.”

“What happened to the Pringles?” Grant asked, looking at his son.

“He changed his mind.”

“Does he not work for you? Do you not have a hold over him?”

“But I don’t have a hold over his wife. She threatened to divorce him if he considered adopting the girl.”

“What about the Lunns?”

“I’d offered them a hundred-thousand in return for adopting the girl,” Cass said. “And they were eager too. But their house caught fire two days ago. They’re on the street now. They barely escaped being torched alive.”

“You had some other couples lined up too, I was told,” Cardinal Misquitta said.

“Yes, the Buntings,” Cass said. “Like the Lunns, they’re from the middle-class. I similarly offered them a hundred-thousand, hard cash. Again, initially they agreed, then recanted. It’s beyond my understanding.”

“I think they were offered more money
not
to adopt the girl,” Art said quietly.

“By whom?” Grant asked.

“Who else do you think?” Cass said.

“Wolf? How in God’s name would he know any of this? Beyond the five of us… Goodness gracious, you are not suggesting one of us is feeding him, are you?”

“I don’t know. But somehow he
is
getting the information.”

“And the Hardings?” Grant asked.

“They too went the way of the rest,” Cass said. His face was very grim.

“You offered them money too?”

“Of course not, they’re rich enough. And were keen enough. Until whatever happened to change their minds,” Cass shrugged.

“So what do we do now? What’s the solution?” Misquitta asked. “Do we just keep at it? For how long? Till the nation converges on
us
and flogs us to death? Have you been seeing the newspapers and the television news channels? They’re getting shriller by the day. It won’t be long before we have violent demonstrations descending on
us.
Are we going to wait till that day? We’re losing all credibility and that isn’t good for the Church.”

“No,” said Ian Cass.

“No?” Grant said. “Look, I do not want demonstrations calling on my property anymore. I have had enough. As it is my popularity ratings have hit rock-bottom. I cannot afford to alienate the masses any further. Elections are due in six months.”