Serenity

by Dixie Land

  …

  It was nearly six o’clock when they reached Regional Children’s Hospital on the outskirts of Raleigh. They found parking places close together on the same level of the parking deck. A cold front had come through during the day, and it brought with it blustery winter winds that carried an Arctic chill. It blew Melanie off balance, as it howled through the cement parking deck. Ross took her arm to steady her as they hurried to take the garage elevator to the hospital’s main entrance.

  When they reached the fifth floor, Ross followed Melanie to room 532. She walked into the room and over to the crib at the far side of the room. Ross watched from the doorway, as Melanie lowered the side rail and leaned over the child. Two chubby little arms reached up to embrace her.

  “Mommy! You’re back!”

  “Just like I promised, Keri,” Melanie said, kissing her cheek. “And, I’ve brought someone with me.” Melanie stood up and looked behind her, then back at her child. “Keri, this is Ross. His name is Harrington, too. He wanted to meet you.”

  Ross moved to the side of the crib. He held his hand out to the golden haired, blue eyed toddler who looked to be between two and three. “Your mommy tells me you’ve been a pretty sick little girl,” he said, smiling down at the child.

  “Keri all better now,” she told him. Her voice was a little raspy and her breathing still sounded wheezy from her illness. She looked at her mother for reassurance. “Mommy? You take me home with you, now?”

  “Well sweetheart, you are much better,” Melanie told her. “But, don’t you remember what we talked about yesterday? You need to stay here, with Dr. Nick, for just a couple more days.”

  Keri stuck her lower lip out in a little pout. Melanie kissed her cheek, and the little girl smiled at her mother. Then, she reached for a stuffed teddy bear and hugged it to her. The child began to sing softly into the stuffed bear’s ear.

  Ross’s heart went out to her. He looked at Melanie, “You’re right, Mel. She is beautiful.”

  … It was pushing eleven when Ross left Raleigh the following morning. He had intended to get an early start back to Serenity but had forgotten to leave a wake-up call. He’d been surprised when he opened his eyes to the bright ten o’clock morning sun. He’d been exhausted when he checked into the motel with a carryout chicken sandwich and chocolate malt for his evening meal. After eating, he had stretched across the bed to relax for a few minutes. The next thing he was aware of was the bright sunlight, as he opened his eyes the following morning.

  He stopped for a ham-and-egg biscuit and coffee on the way out of town. He tried to call Lil, to let her know he expected to be there within the hour, but both lines were busy. “I need to hire another pharmacist,” he thought aloud. It was ridiculous that he hadn’t done so before. His life was becoming much too complicated, and the town’s population was growing too. It was unfair to him, as well as his customers, for him not to do so.

  As he drove, he pondered the last twenty-four hours. What a shock to hear from Melanie after all this time! He hadn’t been sure what she was after when she said she had to see him. And, he had dreaded coming face to face with her. He had to admit she looked wonderful; time had improved her, and she was beautiful to begin with. And unexpectedly, she seemed to have changed. This woman who wanted to be footloose and fancy-free when she was married to him, who had said she never wanted children, that she wasn’t cut out to be a mother, looked to be a very loving and devoted mother to Keri.

  Ross had to admit his skepticism when she told him she had a child, but, upon seeing the little girl, there was no doubt left in his mind. She was a miniature version of Melanie.

  What had really thrown him was what she said to him over lunch. “I was a fool to ever leave you, Ross. I didn’t deserve you then. But, in the years we’ve been apart, I’ve found myself thinking of you more and more and what we could have had if I hadn’t thrown it all away. I still love you, Ross. I’d like for us to try again.” There had been tears in her eyes as she gently laid her hand over his. He’d been so overwhelmed that he couldn’t find words immediately. He had sat there, in the sandwich shop, speechless, staring back at her.

  When she told him about the child, she had been honest. She wasn’t sure if it was his or Richard’s. Richard had promised to marry her when she left Ross, but he was a married man. When he learned she was pregnant shortly after she left Ross, he told her he couldn’t afford to leave his wife and didn’t want any more children. He already had three, and the oldest was starting college at the time. At forty-two, he told her, he was too old to start over with a baby. They had gone their separate ways. She had taken a job in a medical laboratory to support herself and her baby. And, she had, as she put it, “done a great deal of growing up since becoming Keri’s mother.” She told Ross she wanted more children.

  “Who in Serenity, of those who knew Melanie, would ever have guessed something like this?” he wondered aloud. It was a total about face.

  Fifteen minutes later, Ross pulled in behind the drugstore, parked his car and went in through the rear door. He stepped into the pharmacy and donned his lab coat. Lil immediately came bustling from the front of the store to join him.

  “Morning, Lil, would you please call Doc’s office and get Maggie for me? I need to talk to her.”

  “She ain’t there, Ross,” Lil said curtly. “Maggie saw you and Melanie at the diner after you cancelled lunch with her. Doc had to send her home yesterday afternoon on account of her blood pressure went sky high, and he’s worried about her and the baby. And by the way…”

  “Oh my God,” he cut her off. Ross turned and raced out of the drugstore without another word. He got into his car, and Lil heard the tires screech as he pulled away. …

  Ross turned into the Keller’s driveway and parked behind Charlie’s car. He got out quickly and climbed the steps to Maggie’s apartment two at a time. He rang the bell and waited. “Maggie, are you in there? It’s Ross. Let me in! I have to talk to you.”

  He waited a moment more then turned and raced back down the stairs. He went to the Keller’s back door and rang the bell. When that got no results, he banged impatiently on the wooden frame. Ross could hear Charlie’s voice inside as he heard the door lock release.

  “Hold your horses. I’m coming.” The door swung open. “Ross!”

  “Lil told me Maggie was sent home yesterday. She doesn’t answer her door. Is she here?”

  “She is,” Charlie said quietly. “But she’s resting now. She’s been pretty upset.”

  “I didn’t want this to happen. I have to see her Charlie! I have to see her now!”

  Charlie opened the door wide, and Ross pushed in past him. He went into their living room where Caroline had risen from the sofa and was starting toward the kitchen.

  “Caroline, I have to talk to Maggie.” Ross sounded breathless.

  “Ross Harrington, you sit down and compose yourself a minute before I let you go in there. Maggie’s sleepin’, so a minute or two won’t make any difference. You need to calm down before you talk to her. Maggie’s had enough excitement in the last two days. She doesn’t need you goin’ in there all upset.”

  “You’re right, Caroline,” he said taking a deep breath. “It’s just that Lil told me that Maggie was in the sandwich shop yesterday and saw me with Melanie. She said Maggie was pretty upset. I have to talk to her. His breathing had slowed, and he sounded more controlled.

  “Caroline,” Maggie called from the bedroom. “Do I hear Ross out there?”

  Without hesitation, Ross hurried past Caroline and went into the bedroom. Maggie propped herself up on one elbow. Ross sat down on the side of her bed.

  “Maggie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to upset you. I’ve handled this all wrong.” He embraced her and held her tightly to him. “I know you saw me with Melanie yesterday. Lil just told me. The last thing on earth I wanted to do was to hurt you. I should have told you when I cancelled with you that I was going to meet her. I was wrong not to. And no
w, by keeping it from you, I’ve only made matters worse.”

  Maggie looked into Ross’s eyes waiting for him to continue. Her heart was beating rapidly. Did she want to hear what he had to say next? She wasn’t sure.

  ChapterTwentyTwo

  love you, Maggie. I love you. I’m so sorry I’ve upset you.” He pulled her to him. His lips brushed the tears rolling down her cheeks, the side of her neck and ended on her lips. “Can you forgive me for the way I’ve handled this?”

  She pulled back from him until they were face to face. Her fingers traced his cheekbone. “I forgive you, Ross, but are you absolutely sure of this, of your feelings for Melanie?”

  He kissed her again. “I’m absolutely sure, Maggie. You’re the one I love, the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. It seemed strange to be with Melanie again after all this time and to look into her eyes and feel nothing but sympathy for the situation she’s in. For a long time after she left, I couldn’t imagine that I’d ever stop loving her and hurting because I’d lost her. But yesterday, being with her and feeling nothing, all I could think of was that I wanted to get back to Serenity and you, to tell you all that had happened.”

  Maggie leaned forward and kissed him.

  “In the future, let’s not hold anything back from one another, no matter what it is. Deal?” He asked.

  “Deal,” she agreed. After all, she’d kept information from Ross too.

  Maggie relayed the details of Michael’s call. “Do you think he could get my child or even visitation rights?”

  “Not after what I found out yesterday. But let me start with Melanie since I handled that so poorly. “Melanie called me at the pharmacy the night I returned from my meeting with Kevin. I’ve got to admit it was unnerving to hear her voice again. She said she had to talk to me. I told her to call me at the house later in the evening. She reached me about ten-thirty.”

  He went on to fill her in on everything that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours. Maggie listened without interruption.

  “And you’re absolutely certain of the way you feel about her proposal?”

  “There’s no way I’d even consider it, Maggie. I love you. I want to marry you just as soon as possible. Nothing has changed that. But, I do want to know if Keri’s my daughter. And I’ve been giving it a good deal of thought since last night after I left them and driving back today. It doesn’t really matter whether she’s mine or not. I want to set up a fund for Keri, so that her education will be taken care of. I certainly have the means to do that. I inherited my home and some money from my grandparents, and I make good money at the pharmacy. Melanie doesn’t have good insurance, and this hospital stay was expensive. I’d like to help her out with that, too.”

  “I understand, Ross. You do what you feel is right.” She silently offered a prayer of thanks for the outcome of the last twenty-four hours.

  There was a knock on the bedroom door. “You all right, Maggie?” Caroline called. “Doc’s on the phone checkin’ up on you.”

  “I didn’t even hear the phone ring,” Ross said on his way to open the door. Caroline popped her head into the room smiling.

  “Tell Doc I’m feeling much better now,” Maggie told her grinning.

  “I already did. He says he’ll be by to check your blood pressure on his way home anyway.” She stepped back into the living room closing their door as she did.

  Ross sat back down on the side of Maggie’s bed. “And now for Mr. Kevin Williams and the good doctor. You’ll like this, Maggie.” He began to chuckle. “When I showed up, Kevin told his secretary to tell me he was tied up for the entire day, that he didn’t have time to see me. I let myself into his office against the secretary’s protests, and there sits Mr. Williams, feet propped on his desk, reading John Grisham’s latest paperback.”

  Maggie couldn’t suppress her laughter. “Oh, Ross, you’re joking!”

  He held up his right hand. “Scouts honor,” he said, feigning a sober expression. “Anyway, the woman was about to call security on me when I mentioned to Kevin that I’d recently met with Calvin Whitton. He immediately became considerably more cooperative.”

  “I’ll bet he did.”

  Ross continued, “To begin with, he was very cautious about the way he worded everything. But when I pulled out the letter and told him that it was a copy of the original that was in a safe-deposit box and that Mr. Whitton was willing to testify that he represented himself as your attorney, he broke down and told me how he became involved.

  “Lee General is a client of the law firm Kevin works for. It seems one of the senior partners is the brother-in-law of the chairman of the board of directors at the hospital. Shortly after Kevin joined the firm, he was assigned as a member of the legal team that handled that account. He traveled to Alexandria several times and met Michael on one of his first trips. He says this all began before you were in the picture. Anyway, they hit it off and used to go up to Atlantic City for weekends to gamble and meet women. To hear Kevin tell it, Michael was a real womanizer.”

  “And obviously hasn’t changed,” Maggie said, rolling her eyes.

  “Well, Michael had a turn of bad luck at the tables and lost upwards of two hundred thousand dollars to the casino. He second mortgaged his house and borrowed money to pay the casino off, then started day trading over the Internet to try to recoup his losses. He was losing more than winning and had to borrow more money to keep trading. Because he was so desperate, he made some pretty risky investments and ended up compounding his losses. Because he became desperate, he began filing fraudulent tax returns. He borrowed money from several private sources. Kevin says he loaned him money up to a point, but Michael was draining him, too. So, he agreed to take Michael on as a client and try to work out some repayment terms with the government in order to keep him out of prison.”

  “Oh, my gosh. That’s incredible! Michael seems to have a whole side to him that I hadn’t a clue about. They must be some kind of friends for Kevin to loan him that kind of money.”

  “What Kevin said, was that during the time they were going to Atlantic City frequently, Michael did Kevin a tremendous favor. He wouldn’t elaborate, but, because of it, Kevin felt obligated to loan him the money. As the situation progressed, I suppose Kevin felt the only hope he would have of ever recouping any of his own losses was to agree to help Michael in his negotiations with the IRS.

  “He also agreed to do what he could to help Michael try to get you back. I suppose Michael promised him some cash if it worked out. Michael was following the airline’s lawsuit in the papers up there, and he figured, if you and he were married, it would go a long way toward solving his financial problems.“

  Maggie listened, spellbound.

  “Now, Kevin’s terrified that if we make an issue of his involvement, he’ll be severely reprimanded by the state law board. He would, in all probability, lose his job. He’d probably be disbarred.”

  “It would certainly be interesting to know just what that favor was. It had to have been immense for Kevin to risk his law career,” Maggie said.

  “Several possibilities come to mind,” Ross replied.

  “Hmm, you think you know someone,“ Maggie mused.

  “By the time I left, Kevin was on his second helping of humble pie. Says he deeply regrets getting involved in the whole thing. He, of course, hopes we’ll let his part in this drop, and he promised he’d try to talk some sense into Michael.”

  “I wonder if he can, if anyone can at this point. You know, as I think of it, Robyn’s great uncle died last year. She always said he was quite a wealthy man. She was one of the beneficiaries of his will. For a while, she talked about it at great length. She used to take her afternoon break with Michael and me. I suppose that’s when it all started between them. It must not have been as much as he needed, because they didn’t stay together long. That must have been what she meant when she said she didn’t have enough.”

  “I don’t know, Maggie. I don’t know what to make
of a man like that. Michael sounds to me like he needs some psychiatric care. He also needs a financial counselor as well as a good tax attorney.”

  Maggie shook her head. “What a mess! How desperate Michael must feel. A gambling addiction is a terrible thing. I wonder what other surprises he has for us before this all ends. I’ll have to say, I think he’d have a hard time convincing any court that he’d be more fit to raise my child than I would.”

  “I agree. I’m sorry for the way he’s hurt you. I hate that you had to go through it. But how lucky for you to be out of that whole situation. And I’ll be eternally grateful for your feeling the need to stretch your legs that morning at the Serenity exit.” He leaned forward and took her in his arms.

  “Me, too, Ross. Me, too.”

  …

  Doc and Kathryn came by at five-thirty. Kathryn visited with Caroline and Charlie, while Doc went into the bedroom to check on Maggie.

  Doc took her pressure twice, while Ross sat on the side of the bed. “Steady as can be at 116 over 74 now. Ross, son, don’t do anything like this again. For heaven’s sake, call Maggie, and talk to her first.”

  “You’re absolutely right. I stand duly chastised. Believe me, I’ve already told Maggie that’s how it’ll be in the future.”

  “I told her there was a logical explanation for you not telling her, and obviously you’ve cleared it up for her because she looks fit as a fiddle now. And, Maggie, your urinalysis results came out fine.”

  “That’s wonderful,” she said softly as she leaned against Ross.

  “I’ll have to admit you caused me a lot of concern young lady, but all’s well that ends well. Now, I want you to get some good sleep tonight, and it might not be a bad idea to have someone with you for the night. If I were you, I’d stay right here with Caroline and Charlie.”

  “Thanks, Doc. I’ll probably do just that.”

  After the Millers left, Maggie and Ross went into the living room and visited with Caroline and Charlie. Caroline fixed dinner for them, but after dinner Maggie and Ross left and went up to Maggie’s apartment.