No Reservations

by Natalia Banks

  Lorraine and the others had room to breathe, even if it was their last. Lorraine’s body trembled, her hands reaching out to find Griffin’s bloodied jacket, a gunshot in his shoulder. “Y-y-y-you’re hurt.”

  He offered a calm smile. “I’m fine.”

  “Ashe? Ashe!”

  “I’m okay,” the boy rasped out, words clumsy and choked out, uncomfortable if not unnatural. “You saved me; you saved us both!”

  Lorraine’s body jutted, her blood spreading fast across her dress. A cold shiver passed through her, followed by another quick hot flash. Lorraine knew her body was shutting down, organs systematically failing, letting her go. Lorraine coughed, blood rising up from her stomach and filling her throat. She fought to choke it back for Ashe’s sake, but she knew it wouldn’t be long before she drowned in her own blood. She swallowed hard.

  “Relax,” Griffin said, “help is coming. You’re gonna be okay.”

  But waves of certainty passed through Lorraine’s body, sweat pouring down the sides of her face. “No,” Lorraine muttered, “no…”

  Carmen buried her face in Albert’s beefy shoulder. “Oh, Al…”

  “Shshshsh,” Albert said, a comforting hand on the back of her head.

  Jeremy ran up onto the stage, peering over Lorraine near her feet but pausing, no room to fall upon her and sob as he was clearly ready to do.

  Tears pushed out of Griffin’s face, but he struggled to keep that smile on his face. “Don’t you give up, Lorraine.”

  “I-I…can’t…”

  “Yes you can, Lorraine, yes you will!” Sirens were soft in the distance but got louder fast. “I won’t let that happen, Lorraine! I won’t be helpless again, and I won’t lose you! We won’t lose you!”

  Lorraine turned to see Ashe kneeling on her other side, sobbing. She struggled to say, “I’m sorry, Ashe, I-I’m so sorry…”

  Ashe screamed out again. “No! Please don’t! Please don’t die, Lorraine!”

  Lorraine could feel her strength draining, her heart already slowing in her chest, the burning pain slipping away as her hands and feet became numb. She tried to say goodbye to them, but she just couldn’t muster the strength.

  “No, no,” Ashe screamed, sensing that Lorraine was slipping away. “Don’t leave us! You can’t leave us now! Please? Please!”

  Ashe broke out in a gut-wrenching howl, tears pouring down his cheeks.

  I don’t wanna die like this, Lorraine’s inner voice cried out as if to rally her body in one final fruitless push. I don’t wanna die now, not when I’m so close, now that I have something to live for, everything to live for. I won’t do it, I won’t die! I won’t, I-I…

  Those sirens got louder even as Ashe and the clamor around them became more dim, faint, of no further to use to Lorraine. Camera crews loomed in, reporters jabbering at hyper-speed in grim tones.

  Jeremy shooed them away, whining, “What’s the matter with you, you parasites, you monsters? Get outta here; get away now!”

  But the chaos receded in Lorraine’s senses, everything becoming quieter, dimmer.

  Dying.

  Ashe was sobbing into his father’s shoulder, the two of them huddled by Lorraine, cradling her.

  It’s okay, Lorraine wanted to say to Ashe, You’ll be fine. You’ll find happiness, just like I did. And for you, it’ll last, I know it will. But you have to let it in, Ashe; you have to take that risk. It’s worth it, Ashe, so worth it. You don’t have to be sad for me, don’t cry for me, it’s okay, it’s all going…going to…

  Lorraine’s fingers slipped away from Ashe’s as her head fell into Griffin’s lap.

  No regrets, Griffin, I love you so much…

  The sirens finally overtook the boy’s cries, the bustle around Lorraine fading behind a cloak of darkness—no sight and no sound, her heart finally slipping into its few final beats.

  Epilogue

  TWO YEARS LATER

  Lorraine strained to open her eyes, that warm, familiar voice leaking back into her consciousness. But she was slow to recognize her own name, or even his hands wrapped around hers.

  “Lorraine? Lorraine.”

  Her eyes finally opened, a flutter over blurred vision, mouth dry as she strained to focus on that handsome face hovering just above her and to the side.

  “Griffin,” she barely said, her eyesight becoming sharper, his smile finally becoming clearer.

  “How’re you doin’?”

  “I-I’m not sure.” Lorraine read her body: pain and stiffness everywhere, limbs exhausted, everything functioning at half capacity, if that. “It hurts.”

  “That’s natural. It’s only been a few days.”

  “I suppose. Still, those gunshot wounds still ache!” Bolts of pain shot into her body from her healed shoulder and especially the belly. “It’s been two years.”

  Griffin shrugged. “Doctor said it won’t last.”

  Lorraine looked over at Ashe, sitting in a chair in the corner of the hospital room with the infant Kayla in his lap, the baby wrapped in a plush blanket. “How do you like her, Ashe?”

  Ashe broke a wide smile, his growing maturity increasingly evident on his face. “She’s great, amazing. I can’t believe I have a little sister!”

  Griffin chuckled and looked back at Lorraine. “Neither can I. And I couldn’t be happier.”

  Lorraine asked, “What about my folks?”

  “Still in the waiting room.”

  “Still? Three days straight?”

  “I booked the presidential suite at the Ritz; I still can’t get ‘em out of the waiting room. They won’t stop talking about you,” Griffin said.

  “My mom too?”

  “Your mother especially. She’s positively glowing.”

  Lorraine leaned back, unable to resist a feeling she could barely recognize, one she knew she’d been searching for her whole life. She felt whole; she felt complete.

  Loved.

  “Where’s Jeremy?”

  Griffin shrugged. “Somebody had to enjoy all those hotel amenities. I mean, it’s the Ritz.” They shared a chuckle. “Anyway, I think he deserved a few days off.”

  “He’s good with Ashe. Thanks for giving him a chance.”

  “Thanks for the referral. I know you recall how my…our last nanny worked out.”

  Lorraine glanced over at a large bouquet of flowers with a big pink ribbon. “Beautiful, thank you.”

  “From Al and Carmen Jenkins, actually. They wish they could have been here, but he’s got that election coming up; he’s campaigning pretty hard.”

  “I’m glad they wound up together after all,” Lorraine said.

  Griffin turned to Ashe. “Bring your sister over here, Ashe.” The boy responded quickly, obediently, as he always had and always would. Griffin took the infant from him and set her in Lorraine’s arms. She looked down at the little cooing creature—squinting and reaching, flinching and wriggling.

  “Hi, Kayla, hi,” Lorraine said, “it’s Mommy, Kayla, it’s Mommy.”

  “Are you sure about the name?” Griffin asked hesitantly.

  “Sure,” Lorraine said, “of course. She was Ashe’s mother, Griffin; it’s a family name.”

  Ashe said, “It’s such a cool name, Kayla.” After a little pause he smiled and added, “But I think Lorraine is a pretty cool name too.”

  Lorraine’s tears couldn’t resist racing down her reddened cheeks, past her cramping smile. “It sounds great when you say it, Ashe.”

  Griffin smiled even wider, his eyes tearing up. “I really do love you so much.” He leaned over and kissed her, a gentle touch of his lips against hers the beginning of a beautiful chapter in the story of their lives together.

  THE END

  PART 2

  Chapter 1

  Bam bam bam! The gun kicked back hard in Lorraine Phoenix’s hand, her arm rigid, one eye squinting. Bam bam!

  It was as if that terrible day in Denver had never ended, even three years later. The screaming crowd running for
their lives, cops closing in from every angle, Lorraine felt as if she was reliving it all in excruciating detail.

  She was braced with nervous anticipation, muscles clenched with terrible expectation of those hot lead bullets digging into her skin, tearing through her organs. A terrible man’s last, best hope for some twisted kind of happiness.

  But, so far she’d managed to survive, as she had before, even if it had been touch and go, her grip on life fast slipping away. But, the paramedics had been quick, just a few seconds ahead of their grim adversary.

  Lorraine had to wonder, Will I be as lucky this time?

  The visions had haunted her during sleep and while awake, inspiring lessons in how to shoot and hours of practice. Lorraine’s senses were swimming, her mind’s eye blurred with fleeing pedestrians, armed assassins, friends and loved ones in the direct line of fire, police sirens leaking in from the distance.

  And she wasn’t the only one who came armed and ready. Bam bam bam bam! A man, not three feet to her left, pumped a series of shots in a tight cluster, the shots echoing amid the others.

  Even Ashe was compelled to join the fray. Lorraine couldn’t see him, as she couldn’t afford to take her eyes off her hideous target, which was still upright and staring straight at her. But she could feel her stepson there, she could hear his gunshots amid the others, the .22-calibre shots just a bit softer than the .36 in her own hands.

  Bam bam bam!

  I hope he’s okay, Lorraine silently said to herself, but one glance back gave her every reason to be confident, secure, at least for the moment.

  Griffin’s here, she knew, and that meant everything. His steely blue eyes were fixed on the subjects of his family’s shots, observing the sureness of their aim, silently assessing.

  Bam bam click click click.

  She was out of bullets.

  Bam click click click.

  Ashe stepped back, raising his own handgun to point harmlessly upward.

  Lorraine and Ashe both reached for the electric switch which pulled their paper silhouette targets across the shooting range back to their booths. She didn’t remove her earphones but she did pull up her goggles to get a better look at the target.

  Her shots were not well clustered, only a few hit the silhouette, one in the head and two in the chest.

  She gave Griffin a look and a shrug, which said to him, Wouldn’t three be enough?

  Griffin answered with a sad shake of his head. Ashe stepped around from the other side of the partition with his own target, which he offered to Griffin, who shared it with Lorraine. A tight cluster of shots, all grouped around the heart, was a perfect example of effective fire.

  Griffin smiled and wrapped his arm around his son’s shoulder for a squeeze and a tap. Ashe could only shrug at Lorraine with a look that said, Maybe I was just lucky?

  Lorraine couldn’t withhold an amused huff as Griffin fit two fresh silhouettes into the metal clips, she and Ashe reloaded for another round.

  The chargrilled burger at the Spotted Pig was one of Lorraine’s favorite things, and it had become Ashe’s favorite place to go. The burger’s bun was crossed with grill marks, bleu cheese dripping over the side to add a tangy, exotic flavor to the rich, juicy beef.

  Lorraine washed it down with a tangy, delicious lemonade, just sweet enough to be brisk and refreshing.

  “Ashe,” she said, “you really can shoot. Are you sure you boys haven’t been doing this all your lives?”

  Ashe shook his head, his blond hair and blue eyes and increasingly mature face made him look like a twelve-year-old version of his father. “Luckily, we haven’t had to.”

  Griffin’s smile was replaced with an authoritarian air. “Ashe, are you being rude?”

  “No, Dad, no,” Ashe said, his voice looping and innocent. “I just mean, we’re only doing it now. That’s the truth.” He turned to Lorraine. “I didn’t mean that, y’know, it was your fault or anything, nothing like that!”

  “It’s okay,” she said with an easy smile, “I know what you mean, it’s fine.” Griffin nodded and softened his air, having done his parental duty. Griffin took a big bite of his burger as Lorraine went on, “I guess it’s just a natural talent. And Ashe, you have so many of those; the writing, now you’re going to get into acting … ”

  Ashe had to shrug, “I dunno about that,” he said, and Lorraine knew instantly to back off. He’d made tremendous progress in the previous three years and Lorraine didn't want to push him and undo any of the good work they’d all done as a family. But Ashe surprised her with, “I thought about directing something instead, a play for school maybe.”

  “That is a brilliant idea,” Lorraine said, glancing at Griffin for an approving nod. “Wow, writing and directing a play, I wish I’d done that when I was your age.”

  “You could do it now if you like,” Griffin said.

  Lorraine had to release a surprised little chuckle. “Me? Oh no … ”

  Ashe cocked his head, “Why not? You know all about storytelling from all the books you’ve read. And you’re not afraid to get up in front of a crowd. Hey, maybe you could be an actor in my play!”

  Griffin looked on with an amused half-smile, happily waiting for her answer.

  Lorraine stammered and Griffin stepped in with, “Good opportunity to lead by example,” he said, teasing her.

  “It’s not that,” Lorraine said, “I’m not … afraid, obviously, but … I think a school play should be cast with students or at least faculty.” Griffin and Ashe shared a glance and a shrug; they knew they’d been beat. And she went on to say, “Anyway, I had another project I wanted to talk to you about now that the library system is in good shape.”

  Griffin nodded, chewing and swallowing a bite of his burger. “What’d you have in mind?”

  “I’m not sure what we’d call it, but, I’m thinking of some learning centers in lower income areas. The public schools, in general, are pretty terrible. You said so yourself when we first met, remember?”

  Griffin said, “They’re like prisons.”

  “Right, exactly. And I don’t think there’s much we can do about that, the whole school board system is pretty corrupt, bureaucratic at best. They’d soak up any donations and nothing would get done.”

  “I’ve already donated and it didn’t do a damn thing.”

  “Right. And in the mean time, they’re cutting every teacher they can and every program except for sports. But if we could establish, like, free-clinics for education, y’know? Only open after school hours so it doesn't encourage truancy, volunteer or student teachers, or we can staff them with tutors. It would give kids a place to go during those dangerous hours after school, keep ‘em off the streets and maybe even give them the education they deserve.”

  Griffin gives it some silent consideration, chewing slowly and glancing at Ashe. “What do you think, son?”

  Ashe nodded, “I think it’s a great idea. But … what about crime? Wouldn’t gangs come around? Would it be safe?”

  “Armed guard at each facility should keep the bad elements away. That could be budgeted, it’s not a big deal. I think the big challenge would be real estate. This is New York — ” Griffin replies.

  “But there are unused buildings all over town, especially in some of those bad areas. We could pick up an old brownstone on some crappy block somewhere. You’re in real estate, Griffin, this is right up your alley.”

  Griffin sighed, wiping his lips with his white cloth napkin and sipping his own glass of lemonade. “Let me see what I’ve got lying around.”

  Lorraine’s brows arched up into her pale, freckled forehead. “Lying around? You’ve got real estate in New York just … lying around?”

  “Tell you the truth,” Griffin said, “I’m really not sure. But we’re about to find out.”

  Chapter 2

  Lorraine, Griffin, and Ashe got back to their Fifth Avenue Penthouse around midday, eager to see baby Kayla. The adorable little toddler waddled toward Lorraine as they step
ped out of the private elevator, her little arms outstretched. Lorraine scooped up Kayla, who was growing her own clutch of red hair and spun her around to the child’s delight, cackling and laughing until Lorraine pulled her close for a tight, loving embrace.

  Griffin crossed the room to Jeremy Bush, wearing his usual warm and friendly smile. “She behave, Jer?”

  “Like an angel, Grif, just like an angel.”

  Griffin and Jeremy turned to share the sight of Lorraine holding Kayla, Ashe cooing and smiling at his baby sister. “Yeah,” Griffin muttered, “an angel.”

  Lorraine sniffed and winced. “This little angel’s carrying around a load of sulphur.”

  Jeremy was quick to react, crossing the room and reaching for the child. “I’ll take care of that.”

  “It’s okay,” Lorraine said with a smile, “I want to. Join me?”

  Jeremy stood for a split second with a worried expression on his face that Lorraine thought she understood. But he quickly replaced it with a smile and said, “Sounds great.”

  Lorraine carried Kayla down the hall to her nursery and laid her down on the dressing table. Jeremy fished out a fresh diaper, his brown hair hanging over his face.

  “So, Jer, how’s everything going?” Lorraine said.

  “It’s great, Lo’, just great. I love working here, being around you, looking after the kids. It’s … I’m just so grateful.”

  “So are we, Jer. You’re great with the kids, Ashe is doing great and we know we can trust you. Believe me, it’s been as great for us as it is for you.”

  Jeremy nodded, but a nervous silence passed while Lorraine handed him Kayla’s soiled diaper. “You’re not … firing me, Lo’?”

  “No, Jeremy, no, of course not. How could you imagine such a thing?”

  “Well, I … y’know, you’re doing the diapers now … ”

  “Yeah, now. I’m not gonna keep doing ‘em! But I love the time I spend with Kayla and I love the time you spend with her, too.” Jeremy smiled and sighed, relieved. But Lorraine added, “But you don’t have to spend all your time with the kids, either, Jer. We want you to have a life, too.”