The One (113 page)

It was in times like these that I recalled
why I never wanted to be on the bad side of this woman
…

((~~!~~))

Kevin

“
Is this a joke, Lil?
”
he had asked looking at her as if
she
’
d suddenly lost her mind.

“
No,
”
she had simply replied in a serious tone.

“
Why?
”
he had demanded.

“
Because she asked me to get him, and I
’
m not leaving her,
”
she had replied with determination,
“
Besides, only you can convince him,
”
she had added with a soft smile.

“
You mean kick his butt into next week if I
have to drag him here?
”
he had said with a sardonic grin, as if
her request was indeed worth entertaining.

“
That too,
”
she had laughed.

“
But, she needs him,
”

“
She does. You
’
ve seen her lately, I don
’
t need to
…”
her helplessness couldn
’
t be denied.

“
I hate you sometimes
…”

“
But you love her.
”
she had concluded, knowing she had won.

((~~!~~))

Kevin and Ethan

“
You
’
re a hard man to track down.
”
he said in a cool voice to the back
of the man who was standing, whistling, a fish rod in hands.

Ethan turned around, and said,
“
So, how did you find me?
”
unperturbed by this unexpected visitor.

“
Your last credit card use was 20
kilometres from here.
”

“
Ah. Of course. And, in typical sleuth
fashion, you followed the lead
…”
Ethan pursued with a relaxed grin.

Kevin shrugged. He had already wasted nine
days flying to Australia and searching Sydney to no avail. Ethan had left his
cell phone behind when taking one his personal car before vanishing. He hadn
’
t used any of his cards for the past 6
weeks, and it was sheer luck that a $50 charge activity that unexpectedly
appeared in a small town in the middle of nowhere in outback Australia, led him
to travel another 1000 kilometres to find the object of his search.

“
I ran out of cash
…
so, now that you have found me, what do
you want?
”
Ethan asked calmly.

“
Pack up your stuff, we
’
re going back to Sydney right now, and
flying out tonight,
”
Kevin had retorted, already walking back
to his car.

“
Just like that?
”
an unmoving Ethan had grinned wider, as
Kevin had turned sideways to check the man was indeed following him.

“
Yes, just like that.
”
Kevin had replied with blazing eyes.

They stared at each other until Ethan, putting
the rod on his shoulder, finally said,
“
How bad is she?
”

((~~!~~))

Ethan

The minute I heard his voice, I knew something was
wrong.

Because I knew for certain, he
’
d go to hell and back before coming to see
me willingly
…

Yet, he was here, and I could see it all
over his face: he was scared.

((~~!~~))

On the drive to Broken Hills, he explained with small
details what had been happening to
her
since I had left almost 7 weeks
earlier.

What surprised me was he kept all reproach
out of his tone when he told me everyone had been calling me while I chose to
behave like a petulant child, and hid to lick my wounds, while the rest of the
world moved on.

He wasn
’
t angry with me, and coming from Kevin
with the tumultuous relationship we
’
ve always had, his behaviour gave me some
pause.

I nearly voiced my wonder aloud to this
new attitude he was giving off, when it dawned on me, we shared something in
common that made us more allies than anything else would: we both had lost her,
both been forced to accept her husband was there to stay, and we were just
lucky, she
’
d let us play secondary roles in her
existence.

So, instead, I asked,
“
How is Julian taking all this?
”

“
It
’
s been hard on him. On all of us. And, now
…”
Kevin had whispered ominously.

“
Now what, Kevin?
”
I asked, alarmed by his tone.

“
She wants the baby out. She was getting
better the last weeks, thinking you
’
d come
…”

“
She wants the baby out,
”
I repeated, calculating in my head how
far away she was from full term, and realizing she was at week 32.

“
Give me your mobile,
“
I asked, keeping my voice steady as my
insides felt anything but.

“
Who are you calling, we
’
re on our way
…
we
’
ll be there tomorrow evening at the most
…”
he said, giving it to me nonetheless.

“
I
’
m calling Julian.
”
I said, going through the contact list.

“
Why?
”
he asked, puzzled,

“
Because he
’
s about to become a father, and fathers do
anything for their children.
”
An elliptic answer for Kevin, but I knew Julian would
get it.

((~~!~~))

Ethan and Julian

“
It
’
s me
…”
he announces.

“
E! Where the fuck have you been?
”
Julian exclaims with relief.

“
Kevin tells me she wants the baby out?
”
he asks, unresponsive.

“
Yes, the past few days have been a little
…”
Julian starts, trying to word the
distress he feels.

“
Don
’
t let her do it,
”
Ethan interrupts sharply.

“
E
…”
Julian starts, surprised by the force of
his friend
’
s voice.

“
Julian, just tell her to think of Luca.
”
Ethan whispers, as Kevin
’
s focus veered away from the road to him.

“
I don
’
t understand, what
…”

“
Julian,
”
Ethan sighs,
“
Do you want your child to be born healthy?
”

“
Of course I do, we all do! But she
’
s adamant she wants her out! She can
’
t take any more of what this is doing to
her. The doctors are saying 32 weeks is not bad considering where we started, a
C-section is quite safe
…”

“
Julian, is there a medical reason for her
to have the C-section now? They are still controlling the dilation, right?
”
Ethan cuts in.

‘
Yes, they are, but she
…”

“
No. Just tell her to think of Luca. Tell
her it
’
s coming from me, she
’
ll understand, trust me.
”
Ethan declares, in a shaky voice,
swallowing the nostalgic feeling threatening to rise in his throat

“
Are you sure? Maybe you should tell her
yourself, I can
…”
Julian is
thinking about waking her.

“
No. I can
’
t speak to her now. Just tell her to think
about Luca, and that I will see her in a few days.
”
Ethan hands the phone to Kevin. He can
’
t speak anymore. Raising the subject of
his son has always a draining effect on him.

Kevin just watches Ethan, and after a few
seconds, says to Julian,
“
Tell her what he said. We
’
ll be in Paris in the next 24 hours or so,
do not let her have that C-section if you can prevent it,
”
and he disconnects the call, dropping the
phone into one of the coffee holders on the centre console between them.

When his eyes are back on the road, he
whispers,
“
Thank you.
”

((~~!~~))

Vi and Julian

They
’
re watching each other in silence.

She is crying, her eyes not leaving his.

She says,
“
Bastard
…”
as a small smile is creeping up on her
face.

Julian is stupefied, so he remains silent.

She awoke 20 minutes earlier and asked
about the C-section she wants to happen the very same afternoon.

He told her the doctors could perform it
if she still wants it, but before she confirms her intent, he tells her he
spoke to Ethan while she was sleeping and he
’
s got a message for her.

Her face becomes alive at the mention of
her ex-husband
’
s name, and she asks what the message is.
When he relays their conversation and repeats Ethan words, he face transforms
into a mask of sadness, and she doesn
’
t say a word for the next ten minutes as
tears are streaking down her cheeks.

Julian just watches her unable to gauge
what she is thinking.

Finally, amidst the tears she murmurs,
“
Bastard,
”
as she starts smiling, and then a full
laugh escapes her throat.

As she realizes her husband is stunned by
her behaviour, she explains,
“
Not you. E. He is a smart, manipulative bastard
…
but, I
’
ve never been so happy he is!
”
she exclaims joyously.

Julia asks the only question that matters
to him today,
“
Do you still want the C-section?
”

“
No,
”
she shakes her head, silently giving
thanks for the tortuous politician
’
s brain of her ex-husband.

Julian
‘
s shoulders sags with relief as he says
with a small smile,
“
Now, can you tell me what is going on, and
why Ethan is such a smart bastard?
”

She gives a grin, and retorts, her eyes
fiery with life that seemed to have left her weeks ago,
“
Because E. never hesitates to hit below
the belt to get what he wants! Even with me!
”

If she had one weakness in life, it was
her son Luca, and Ethan knew it. Reminding her she
’
d sworn to do whatever it took, including
give her life, to ensure his birth was the jolt she needed to remember this was
about giving life, and she owed it to her daughter to do whatever it took,
albeit her own discomfort, her own fear or feeling like she was losing herself.
She had been there before,
they
had been there before, and she had
survived. He was on his way, and would help her get through it.