by J. B. Reed
“Of course, darlin. We’ll go right now, if you like.”
“Michael, you’ve been out all night. I think I can go to the clinic down the street by myself. Eat your breakfast and go to bed. I will wake you later and let you know what the doctor said. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”
“Alright, Vivie. I don’t want you to feel that I’m smothering you. I know how independent you are.”
Michael gave Vivie a wink and kissed her on the cheek.
After Vivie left for the clinic, Michael went into his bedroom with the newspaper. As he was about to fall asleep, his telephone rang, it was Joseph.
“Lucky, I have some news.”
“Joseph, what’s up?”
“That little girl’s father, was his name Patrick Clancy?”
“Yes, Joseph, Patrick Clancy…why, what have you heard about him?”
“He was hit this morning Lucky. He was on his way to work from what I understand, and somebody drove up and whacked him, right there in the street. Dead shot, right between the eyes.”
“Christ……”
“Lucky, you know what this means, the guys responsible for this, I’m assuming it’s the Westies, are trying to find you. Now why would that be, Lucky? They wouldn’t hit an old man just because you took off with the girl. What haven’t you told me, Lucky?”
Michael knew he had to come clean with Joseph. He had to tell him the truth, the truth that he had gone to Hell’s Kitchen looking for Tommy to settle the score for Vivie.
“I’ll meet you at your office in ten minutes Joseph.”
Michael left a note for Vivie, telling her that he would be back soon. How he dreaded telling Joseph what he had done. He knew he should have let someone else handle it, he was too personally involved, but it is too late. Now he must face the consequences. And, more importantly, how is he going to tell Vivie that her father is dead because of his actions?
Setting in the clinic, waiting her turn to see the doctor, Vivie looked around the waiting room. The room was crowded with the economically disadvantaged. Even though this was a more affluent part of the city, they still had their share of the poor among them. Women, with small children waited, holding their children on their laps, to free up a seat for someone else. Older gentlemen, some who reminded Vivie of her own father, who could barely hold their head up, waited patiently for their name to be called. One woman, sitting directly across the room from Vivie was holding a newborn baby. Visions of herself ran through Vivie’s mind.
“Sweet Mother Mary, what will I do, if I am carrying Tommy’s child?”
“Sarah O’Connor.”
For a moment, Vivie had forgotten she had registered using a false name.
“Yes, here I am.”
“Come this way, Miss O’Connor.” The nurse held the door open and directed Vivie to have a seat in the second room to her left.
“What are you here for today, Miss O’Connor?”
“Well, I’m not sure, really. You see, I haven’t been feeling very well for the past few days. I’m thinking I may have the flu.”
“I see. Have you been running a fever, vomiting, diarrhea?”
“No fever, but I have been vomiting. No diarrhea.”
“When was your last period, Miss O’Connor?”
“The second week of September.”
“That was two months ago. You haven’t had a period for two months?”
“No, but that’s nothing unusual. My periods have never been regular, you see.”
“Is there any possibility that you could be pregnant, Miss O’Connor?”
Vivie dropped her head in shame.
“Yes, there is a possibility.”
“Alright then. The doctor will be in to see you in a few minutes. Let’s have you put this gown on. He may want to give you an exam. After you‘ve changed, please have a seat up here, on the table.”
The nurse handed her a cloth gown, and patted her on the shoulder, smiling at her sympathetically. Vivie quickly changed into the gown and sat down on the cold steel table. It was only a few minutes before the doctor came into the examining room, but to Vivie it seemed like hours.
“Good morning, Miss O’Connor. I’m Dr. Cohen.” The doctor offered his hand to shake hands with Vivie. “I hear you haven’t been feeling well the past few days?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Vomiting?”
“Yes.”
“But no fever or diarrhea?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Well, let’s take a look, okay?”
The doctor stood up to examine Vivie, listening to her heart, lungs, asking her to open her mouth so he could look at her throat.
“Miss O’Connor, I don’t believe you have the flu. You seem to be perfectly healthy. The notes say there is a possibility that you could be pregnant, is that correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m going to perform a quick exam on you, and we’ll be able to find out, if, in fact, you are pregnant. How would that be?”
“That would be alright, I guess.”
“Have you ever had a female exam, Miss O’Connor?”
“No, sir, I have not.”
“It may be a little embarrassing for you, so I’m going to call my nurse in here to be with us during the exam. Would that be alright with you?”
“Yes, sir.”
Dr. Cohen called in the nurse and then explained to Vivie the nature of the exam he was about to perform. The nurse helped Vivie lay back on the table and placed her feet in the stirrups. The nurse then covered her with a sheet. As Dr. Cohen began the examination, Vivie felt as though she wanted to pull the sheet over her head. In a matter of a few moments, the examination was over and the nurse told Vivie she could get dressed.
“Dr. Cohen will be back in to talk to you in a few minutes, dear.”
Vivie dressed as rapidly as she had undressed, and sat nervously on the edge of the chair, waiting for the doctor to come in, and tell her what she already knew he was going to tell her. The door to the examination room opened and Dr. Cohen entered, carrying a folder, and a bottle of pills.
“Miss O’Connor, my suspicions were correct. You are approximately two months pregnant. Congratulations” Dr. Cohen again reached out to shake Vivie’s hand.
Congratulations? Holy hell - congratulations is not exactly the word that came to Vivie’s mind.
“Thank you, doctor.”
“I have a bottle of vitamins I want you to start taking right away. You can, of course come back here for your check ups. I can see you throughout your pregnancy if you like.”
“That would be fine, doctor.”
Dr. Cohen stood to his feet and helped Vivie to hers.
“If you have any questions, please feel free to call the clinic. The nurse has a packet of information we give to new expectant mothers. It will tell you what you can expect in the months to come. Again; congratulations and good luck.”
Vivie stopped at the desk and picked up the information from the nurse. As she left the clinic and started walking back to Michael’s apartment, her mind searched for the words to tell Michael that she was going to have a baby. Not just a baby, but Tommy Flannery’s baby, the baby of the devil himself. She was carrying the demon seed. What had she done to deserve this? As Vivie passed by St. Andrew’s, Church she decided now was good a time as any for confession. As she opened the doors to the church, she looked around for the confessional. Opening the door, she knelt down and the priest slid opens the window.
“Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It’s been two months since my last confession……”
As Michael approached Joseph’s office, he was trying to wrap his mind around where he would start explaining his actions. Joseph was a powerful man. Michael new Joseph had a fondness for him; he also knew that business was Joseph’s top priority. If he thought Michael had jeopardized his security in any way…a chill ran down Michael’s back, he knew very well the magnitude of Joseph’s wrath.
“Come in, Lucky, have a seat. Let’s talk.”
Michael sat down on the big leather couch across from Joseph’s desk.
“You want a drink, a cigar?”
“No, thank you, Joseph.”
“Lucky, I may be wrong, but I have a feeling, the last time we talked, you were not telling me the whole story about you and this girl. Am I wrong?”
“No, no, you’re not. I wanted to tell you, Joseph, I thought about telling you, but then thought better of it.”
“Why is that, Lucky? Have I ever given you any reason to withhold information from me? When people withhold information from me, Lucky, it makes me feel like they are lying to me. I do not like it when people lie to me. You know that, better than anybody.”
“I haven’t lied to you about anything, Joseph; I just haven’t told you everything.”
“There’s a difference?”
“In this case, yes, there is a difference.”
“Okay, Lucky, enlighten me, tell me the difference between lying to me, and, not telling me everything.”
Joseph leaned back in his chair, puffing on his cigar, feet propped up on his desk.
“Joseph, had you seen Vivian, the night after those animals attacked her, you would understand. I knew this girl, hell, you saw her; you saw how beautiful she was. That night, Joseph, when I found her, had it not been for her beautiful red hair, I would not have known it was her. I wanted to take her to the hospital. She begged me not to take her. I then told her I would take her home to her parent’s home and she begged me not to take her home, she said it would kill them to know what had happened to her. She asked me to take her home with me, Joseph, just for a few days, just long enough for her to get better. What was I to do, Joseph?”
“Go on, Lucky. I know there’s more to the story.”
“After a few days, when she started to feel like her old self we talked about her going home. She told me she had decided she was never going home again. She decided to write her folks a letter, telling them she had married and left the state. Joseph, if you knew this girl, the way she feels about her family, for her to sacrifice her family, to never see them again….I felt that I had to do something, Joseph. I knew I was too personally involved, I knew I should hire someone to take care of those bastards, but Joseph, a part of me knew I had to be the one to take care of this. I had to be the one to settle the score. I went to the Kitchen looking for Tommy Flannery. He’s the fuck that actually did the raping and beating. I could not find Tommy. I did find one of his crew that helped him that night. One, Shane Murphy. I asked him where Tommy was hiding out, but couldn’t get any information from him. So I gave him a message to deliver to Tommy.”
“And that message was?”
“I told him to tell Tommy I was coming after him, and the other guy that was there that night, Ryan Kelly. Then I blew out both of Shane’s kneecaps.”
Joseph jumped to his feet, slamming his fist down on the desk.
“Son of a bitch…….Michael. Where is your fucking head? It must be up your fucking ass, because it’s not where it should be.
Joseph started swearing in Italian, waving his arms around, walking around from behind the desk to stand in front of Michael.
“I told you, I warned you Michael, you get involved with a woman and you get fucked up. You lose your focus and you fuck up. You cannot be an assassin and be involved with anybody….especially a woman. Women are good for one thing, Michael. Fucking, that is it, Michael. Fuck em and forget em. Anything more than that is not for you. You chose this life for yourself. I took you under my wing, I taught you everything I know and made you what you are today. You are the best mechanic in the business Michael, but you fucked up. Now this cum wad Murphy knows who you are; he can make you, Michael. Shit.”
Michael sat silently, waiting for Joseph to continue. He knew now was not the time to tell him that Vivie also knew that he worked for Joseph.
“Well, that explains why they hit the old man. They are trying to flush the girl out. They know if the girl shows at the funeral, you will not be far away. The girl can’t know about her father.”
“How can I keep that from her?”
“I don’t give a fuck, how you keep it from her, Michael. Just make sure she doesn’t find out. Nothing she can do about it now anyway. We may want to relocate the rest of her family though. I will send a couple of the guys up there to pack em up, get em out of there. We’ll make sure they are far enough away that no one can find them.”
“Joseph, the mother will be scared to death if you send the guys up there right now. Give her time to bury her husband at least.”
“Lucky, please, give me some credit. I’m not a heartless prick. I have not gotten where I am without knowing how to handle people. And, Lucky, I don’t think you need to be telling me how I should be handling anything, do you?”
“No, Joseph, I apologize.”
“Okay, go on home. Stay there until I call you. Do not go anywhere, Lucky, and I mean anywhere. Do you understand me?”
“I understand, and thank you.”
Joseph walked over to the window of his office, standing with his back to Michael, puffing on his cigar, his hands behind his back. Michael closed the door as he left. As Michael started the engine of his car, he thought of how he would keep the news of the death of Vivie’s father from her. It would be in the newspapers in the morning. He would have to make sure Vivie did not have a chance to see it. She has been adamant about looking through advertisements for a job lately.
When Vivie returned home, she found Michael’s note on the kitchen table. She was glad he was not home. That would give her a little time to gather her thoughts and decide on the best way to tell him her news.
“I swear that man never rests. No wonder he is so thin. Speaking of thin, Vivie ol’ girl, you’ll soon be losing your girlish figure.”
Vivie stood in front of the mirror in the hallway looking at herself. For a brief moment, the thought of having a baby seemed less repulsive to Vivie.
“Why does this have to be Tommy’s child? Why can this not be Michael’s baby?”
A thought came to Vivie’s mind.
“Why can this not be Michael’s baby? Michael has said he has fallen in love with me. Would it be so difficult for him to make love to me? I am only two month gone. If I could get Michael to make love to me soon……”
Vivie immediately put the thought out of her mind.
“No Vivian Clancy, you were raised better than that. You will not add the sin of lying to your other sins. Michael has been far too good to you for you to trap him into such a terrible lie as this. You must tell Michael the truth and let the chips fall where they may. If he throws you out on your ass, then out you will go.”
Vivie was changing clothes when she heard Michael come home. When she came into the living room, she saw Michael standing at the bar, pouring himself a drink.
“Hello Vivie, darlin, would you like a drink?”
“No thank you, Michael. Is everything okay? I read your note. You had to go out? I thought you were going to bed for a while?”
“Joseph called; just some business he wanted to discuss. There is nothing to be concerned about. How did things go with the doctor?”
Vivie was not sure how to start this conversation. She knew she could not put it off; she could not lie to Michael and tell him all was well. How was she going to tell him she was knocked up and she was carrying the child of the devil?
“The doctor at the clinic was nice. He checked me over, said I didn’t have the flu.”
“Well, that’s a good thing, right?”
“Right.”
“So, did he say why you’ve been so sick the last few days?”
“Yes, Michael, he knew exactly why I’ve been so sick.”
“Well, then, are you going to tell me or make me play twenty questions, girl?”
“Michael…..I’m pregnant.”
Michael’s glass of scotch hit the floor, as di
d his jaw.
“You’re pregnant? Vivie, this means that you’re pregnant with Tommy’s child?”
Vivie began to cry.
“Yes, Michael, I’m pregnant with Tommy’s child. Oh, Michael, what am I going to do?
Vivie dropped to knees on the floor. Michael got up from his chair and sat down beside her.
“Vivie, is the doctor sure of this?”
“Yes, he gave me an examination. He said I am two months along.”
“My sweet Vivie. Have you not been through enough?
Michael held Vivie close, as she wept.
“Vivie, you do have choices you know.”
“What do you mean; choices?”
“You don’t have to keep the baby, Vivie. You can give it up for adoption. Another choice would be is that you do not have to have the baby at all. I know a doctor, Vivie…..”
“Michael, you’re not suggesting I have an abortion, are you?
“I’m just trying to make you aware you have options, Vivie, that’s all.”
“I’m Catholic, Michael, I cannot have an abortion. I may be carrying the child of the devil himself, but this child is also part of me. I will not get rid of it. And I will not give it away for someone else to raise it. This is my child, Michael, no matter who the father is.”
“Okay, Vivie. I just needed to know what you were thinking. I do have one more option that I think you should hear.”
“What is it, Michael?”
“We get married and raise the child together. Let me be this child’s father, Vivie.”
Vivie looked up into Michael’s face.
“Michael, you cannot be serious? How can you even consider raising Tommy Flannery’s child as your own?”
“Because, as you said, this is your child, no matter who the father is. I can be the child’s father, Vivie. Maybe not biologically, but in every way that matters.”
“Michael, I cannot marry you, I cannot be a wife to you, at least not the kind of wife I should be, not the kind of wife you deserve.”
“Maybe not right now; but in time Vivie, who knows. Time brings change, in all of us. You may find that, in time, you can be exactly the kind of wife that I want, and need and deserve. I can be a good husband to you Vivie, and a good father to the child.
