by Rey, Solomon
“Dacia…it’s nice to meet you.” Olivia nodded to Rhonda.
“Dacia? What an unusual name.”
“My mom was a throw back from the sixties,” Olivia quickly countered.
“So what brings you out this morning?” Donna asked.
“Oh…I have to pick up a few things because Sheila and Mark will be staying with me. You have to hear what happened last night!” Rhonda said excitedly.
Donna did her best to match her excitement, “What…tell me about it!” The others stood silent.
“Well…Sheila and Mark were in a car accident last night,” Rhonda said, “Her car tumbled and ended up in a gully.”
“Oh my God, are they alright,” Donna asked unctuously, as the others feigned shock.
“I thank God they’re both safe. Sheila’s in the hospital with a few bumps and bruises, but the doctor wants to keep her overnight because she banged her head pretty good.”
“That’s standard procedure,” Richard interjected.
“That’s what Sheila told me. The amazing part is, Mark was untouched…not a scratch.”
“Where’d this happen?” Derek asked.
“A few miles out of Bandon, on the 101.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear everyone’s alright,” Donna said.
“Thank you, but you haven’t heard the most amazing part,” Rhonda said excitedly, “Someone…or something saved them.”
“What?” Donna pretended surprise.
“Well, when Sheila woke, she was lying next to Mark, the car was on fire and the doors had literally been torn off. The police found the doors about forty yards away.” Rhonda’s face was lit with excitement.
“Wow,” Derek exclaimed, “Did Sheila see anyone?”
“Nope…nothing, but Mark did!”
“What’d he see,” Richard asked.
“He says it was a pretty Angel,” Rhonda says seriously.
“Really…an Angel?” Derek asked dubiously.
“Yes, isn’t that crazy? “Rhonda said, “I’ll say it again…I thank God my babies are safe.”
* * *
“Let’s get a cart so you can ride in it…okay?” Lisa asked.
Mark smiled, “Up we go!” She said playfully, hoisting him up, “Now, let’s find Nana!”
His head swiveled, as he labored to look at everyone he passed. Each time he saw a young woman with blonde hair, he’d say, “Pretty Angel, that’s her,” as he’d tug on Lisa’s hand with a huge smile.
“You’ve got to stop doing that, Mark. The Angel is not going to be hanging out at Walmart, okay,” she said firmly.
He nodded, as his smile disappeared.
Lisa hastened her pace when she spotted her mom speaking with Donna, Richard, Derek, but the blonde she didn’t know, but there was something vaguely familiar about her. Seeing Derek brought a smile to her face.
She was still angry about what happened to him and Olivia on Friday. She felt a pang of guilt for not doing more to help them, but in the end, they got over on the bullies. The memory nearly made her laugh.
“Hi!” She said to everyone, her eyes stopping on Derek. She was already familiar with everyone, so no introduction was necessary, except the blonde girl.
Mark immediately locked eyes on Olivia and began to bounce excitedly in his seat as he silently pointed at her.
“Hi sweetie,” Rhonda said, “Any problems?”
“No, he did fine,” she said.
“Lisa, this is Olivia’s cousin, Dacia,” Rhonda introduced them. That explains why she looks familiar, Lisa thought, because she’s related to Olivia.
“Hi,” they both said.
“Where’s Olivia?” Lisa asked.
Olivia was getting nervous because Mark continued to point at her without saying a word.
“She wasn’t feeling well,” Richard said.
“What’s wrong with her?” Lisa asked concerned.
“She’s constipated! Yeah…she’s all clogged up,” Derek said, suppressing a laugh, “It’s not pretty at all!”
Olivia wasn’t about to let him get away with that. Her mouth quirked up in a half-grin, as she focused her abilities. Everything and everyone slowed to where movement was barely perceptible: Children running in the aisles—froze mid−stride; A picture frame falling from an elderly woman’s hand—suspended in mid−air; a little girl sneezed—each tiny particle of saliva hung, as though attached to invisible strings.
In the smallest fraction of a second, Olivia’s hand shot from her side, slicing through the air, smacking Derek in the back of the head. Hard, but not too hard, but enough to make him say, “Ow!”
“What’s wrong?” Lisa said.
“Are you okay?” Donna joined in.
“I suddenly have an annoying headache,” he said with a quick leer at Olivia.
“What’s the matter with Mark?” Rhonda asked. Richard and Donna exchanged apprehensive looks.
“Nothing…every girl that has blonde hair, he thinks is The Angel,” Lisa said, “He’s been doing that since we left the restroom.”
They laughed nervously.
“Mark dear,” Rhonda said in her best Grandmother voice, “This is not The Angel, this is Dacia, Olivia’s cousin. Stop pointing, it’s not polite.”
Mark’s smile disappeared. He didn’t like Nana scolding him, even the slightest.
Olivia had always liked Mark. She thought he was a sweet little guy with an awesome disposition and every time she would help Lisa babysit, he’d attach himself to her. She felt bad for him and wanted to see his adorable smile again.
“That’s okay,” Olivia said, “I don’t mind,” she bent down to Mark’s level, when the others were preoccupied, “Hi Mark, it’s nice to meet you.” She held her hand out to him. He giggled as they shook. The others were talking, Derek was the only one watching.
Under his breath, Derek whispered, “Don’t do it, Olivia.” She paid him no mind. He knows me to well, she thought.
She slid the glasses off her face, his eyes widened so much, she thought they would pop out. She put them back on and held her index finger to her lips, “Shhh.”
“I won’t tell no one!” He whispered. He leaned back and smiled, though his eyes never left her.
“I know you won’t,” she said smiling back, “Remember, I’ll be watching you.” She stood next to Derek.
“Did you have fun?” Derek whispered. She nodded with a grin.
The need to leave was growing stronger by the minute. The longer they stood there, the more chance there was to be seen by someone else they knew, raising more questions, which they desperately wanted to avoid.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but we need to get going,” Richard said apologetically, “I’m very happy Sheila and little Mark are okay.”
“Oh, I’m sorry for keeping you guys… Donna call me, okay!” Rhonda said, “Dacia, it was very nice to meet you…enjoy your visit.”
“Bye, Derek,” Lisa said, “You and Olivia should come over.”
“We’ll have to unclog her first,” he said smiling.
“Well, text me,” she laughed.
“Okay,” Derek said.
“I’ll see you at work if we don’t talk on the phone,” Donna said, “I hope Sheila’s okay.”
“Thanks Donna,” Rhonda said.
They hugged and were on their way. Olivia smiled and waved at Mark.
Richard turned to the others, “I think this was a bad idea for all of us to be together.”
“Why?” Derek asked.
“It’s normal for us to be together, but not without Olivia. It could raise to many questions.”
“So we should split up?” Olivia asked. Richard nodded.
“I don’t get it…even if we split up there will be questions.” Derek asked.
Olivia rolled her eyes, “Look…If I go with my Dad, people will ask who I am—If you and I are together, then questions will be asked. The only simple and logical choice is…” She waited for a light to appear about hi
s head.
“You and my mom stay together.”
“I knew you were trainable,” she said sarcastically.
“Haha,” he replied, glancing at her. She grinned.
“Donna and Olivia, go to the car. Try not to talk to anyone,” Richard instructed, handing Donna the car keys, “We’ll get the stopwatch, then join you guys, okay.”
“Okay,” they replied. Donna and Olivia waited in the car and were joined by the other two shortly. Richard climbed into the SUV placing his hand on Donna. The kids smirked.
“Well, let’s drop you two off at Fred Meyer,” he eyed Olivia and Donna, “While we go across the way to Safeway.”
“Don’t forget Hot Pockets! Oh…and banana baby food,” Olivia said to Derek, “Oh and Nutella!”
“We won’t,” Derek assured, “What are we going to do about the testing? We didn’t get the things we needed.”
“I know. We’ll have to compromise,” he said, “The tests have gone from crude to acutely crude, but we’ll have to do our best, unless you are willing to wait.”
“Wait how long?” Olivia asked eagerly.
“Derek and I can come back later…today or tomorrow and get the things we need, or I can go on-line and order the state-of-the-art equipment so I may test you properly, which do you prefer?” Richard asked.
“Come back later,” Olivia said.
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Richard agreed.
They arrived at Fred Meyer five minutes later. Donna leaned over and kissed Richard goodbye. He slipped her one of his credit cards.
“Gross!” Olivia joked.
“Come on! Get a room!” Derek said impulsively, without thinking.
“Really?” Olivia asked.
“What?” Derek asked, as the adults listened to their exchange, smiling.
“Do you really want them to get a room? Forget what I said,” Olivia laughed. “You’re stupid,” she joked.
“I can’t help it! This undercover stuff is frying my brain.”
“Get going,” Richard said, taking the opportunity to steal a kiss.
“Okay, bye Dad!” Olivia gave him a peck on the cheek, while Derek stood next to her, waiting to climb in to the front. She playfully slugged him, laughing.
He countered, swinging at her shoulder. Everything slowed for Olivia as she took two steps to the side, causing Derek to miss. “Hey! That’s not cool,” He said whining.
“I am really going to enjoy this…a lot!” she snickered.
“Olivia!” Richard said, “Don’t do that out here.”
“Oh…sorry.”
Richard and Derek watched them enter the store. “Well, let’s go shopping,” Derek said.
Richard drove across the street to Safeway. “Let’s take our time,” Richard said, exiting the vehicle, “They will probably be a while.”
“Especially with my Mom leading the way.”
CHAPTER XXII
“What do we start with first?” Olivia inquired, excited about her new wardrobe.
“How about bra and panties?” Donna suggested.
Olivia nodded. She tried on several bras, until she found the perfect fit. It was crazy to think that days ago she had no breasts; now, because of a miracle serum, she sprouted boobs. She was happy to have them, but would take some getting used to. They seemed to get in the way…a lot! Her arms would hit them or when she would mess with Derek, she had to always be aware of them. Things had changed drastically.
They moved on to pants, tops and shorts. As they ferreted through the available choices, Donna decided it was a perfect time to have a girl-to-girl talk.
“How are you doing with everything?” Donna asked.
“It’s taking some getting used to, but I’m good,” she paused to ponder her situation. “I wasn’t happy initially about becoming a human guinea pig, but Dad had no other choice. Now…I’m enjoying the changes, especially after last night. I seem to be adapting easily to my new abilities, you know what I mean?” Donna shook her head. “Well, it’s like I can turn them on and off…like a switch.” Olivia said.
“Really!” Donna said, obviously surprised.
“Like right now…I’m focusing on our conversation. I can hear people speaking, along with noises in the background, but it’s muffled…you know, like normal. She froze. It was evident to Donna that she was focusing. “Now…I can hear any one person or all of them talking. Depending on how hard I concentrate, I can even hear their heartbeats. I can hear yours…it’s beating pretty fast.” Olivia said smugly.
Donna placed her hand on her chest, “I didn’t realize…it’s because this is so exciting,” she said wide-eyed.
“I’ll give you another example. When I look around, I see things as I used to. There’s no difference, but when I focus my attention on my eyes and seeing, things happen!”
“What do you mean things happen?” Donna was so captivated by their conversation, she absent- mindedly fuddled through the clothes.
“Well…let me see if I can explain it better…okay, like the other day, there was a fly passing by me. Initially, I saw it as I always did, but then I concentrated. Instantaneously, my eyes were like a powerful zoom lens. It was still flying the same…I mean it looked the same, but a hell-of-a-lot closer. So close, I could see little hairs on it’s body.”
“Wow!” Donna exclaimed.
“Then I focused harder, it slowed to nearly a stand still and I was able to pick it out of the air by its wings without hurting it.” Donna stared, speechless. “I have no idea why everything slows down, but it’s pretty cool!”
“Well, I’m sure your father could explain it a lot better than I can, and I could be wrong, but if I had to guess, it’s not so much that things are slowing down, it’s about the speed in which your mind is now processing them. Your mind is…super-charged, working at an incredible speed. Your father told me that you would experience changes in your brain, I think this would definitely fall into that category.”
“I guess it would,” Olivia said.
Donna paused for a second, “Olivia, I’m so very proud of you.”
“For what? Oh…because of last night?”
“No…well partly,” Donna said, “But mainly, because of the way you’ve handled this whole ordeal. Most people would have lost it.”
“What do you mean? I totally freaked out last night and took off.”
“I know, but considering what you are dealing with, how you reacted was normal. Now you’ve gained control and are dealing with it positively. Some people wouldn’t handle it as well.”
“I am dealing with it well, aren’t I,” Olivia realized.
“Yes, you are and I’m sure your Dad is proud of you, too.”
“Yeah, I hope so,” Olivia said.
Donna looked away. The memory of Olivia dying flashed through her mind, bringing her emotions to the surface.
“What’s wrong?” Olivia asked with genuine concern.
“I was thinking about when you died…” Donna’s emotions flooded—she cleared her throat, “I lost it Olivia…I cried and I wanted to curse God. I couldn’t understand how he could take you…I felt like I lost my daughter.”
“You think of me as your daughter?” Olivia asked, surprised at Donna’s declaration.
“For a long time,” Donna said, casually wiping a tear, “I love you so much, Olivia.”
Olivia remained silent as Donna’s words flailed around her head. She knew how she felt about her, she loved her like a Mom, but she had no idea if her feelings were reciprocated. She fought back tears.
Olivia hugged her gently and whispered, “I hope someday you will be my Mom…I love you.” As they eased away from each other they wiped their eyes.
“Look at us getting all sloppy,” Donna said, once again clearing her throat, “We should hurry.”
Olivia nodded.
* * *
“How many boxes of Hot Pockets should we get?” Derek asked.
“She’s eating a lot now…I d
on’t know. What do you think?” Richard asked.
“At least ten,” Derek thought again, “Maybe twelve…yeah, that sounds good.”
Richard watched him remove the boxes from the freezer, noting Derek favored one side. “How are your ribs doing? Are they beginning to hurt?”
“Yeah, especially if I take a deep breathe.”
“I brought some pills for you. They’re in the car,” Richard said, “Let me do the lifting, we don’t want to aggravate your injury,” Derek nodded.
“How long will Mom and I be staying?”
“How long do you want to stay?”
“As long as possible,” Derek said, “I like it at your house and being around you and Olivia is like…being a family.”
“We’ll have to discuss this with your mom, but between you and me, I’d prefer you guys to stay and I agree with you−it does feel more like a family,” he said furtively, putting his hand on Derek’s shoulder.
“Really?”
“Does that surprise you?”
“I don’t know…I guess it’s like, when you feel a certain way, then you find out another person is thinking the same way, you know what I mean?” Derek was flustered, trying to find the right words.
“I know what you mean. You explained it perfectly.”
* * *
“Gentlemen,” Ms. Sinclair addressed her associates, “As you can see by the data compiled, we have a serious problem.”
Four men sat around on elongated Cherrywood table. Each dressed in expensive suits and ties wearing strained expressions on their faces, as though the world, as they know it, might come to an end.
“That is an understatement, Ms. Sinclair,” Mr. White said curtly. His name was self-descriptive. His hair, including his goatee, were white and his skin, pinkish.
“I completely agree with you. What we have here is a catastrophe, which can potentially affect, not only the world of medicine, but the economy of every civilized country.” She said matter-of-factly.
