by Nico Augusto
He slipped on his jacket, the season was changing and the air had a little bite to it early in the mornings. Satisfied that he had what he needed, he proceeded out to the back of the garden with Ani.
“It’s time to finish our shed, Ani. Look, I made a list of what we need to finish it: kindling, timber, ropes, nails and a hammer.”
Yann and Ani stepped into the shed and Yann searched through his backpack. Looking down at Ani he said, “Where did I put my diary? I thought I brought it out with me, but it’s not here...”
Ani went immediately into the house to look for the Yann’s diary. He knew exactly where it was. While he was inside he heard the front door open and ran to greet Shirley.
“Yann!” she called out, then she bent down and caressed Ani behind his ears and said, “Hey sport! How are you?” Yann heard Shirley calling and ran into the house, “Hi there,” Shirley told him. “How is your day going? What have you two done today?”
“Come and see, we’ve been finishing the shed, come...”
Laughing, Shirley followed the two energetic males to the back yard. Yann led her to the shed and with a proud look on his face he stepped back so that she could see what he and Ani had built.
“My gosh. Yann! It’s great! Can I go in? What a beautiful job!”
“Yes, but watch your head.” Yann and Ani followed her in and Yann said, “See over here is the place where we tell each other our stories. Right Ani?”
Ani barked. Shirley looked at the dog and back at Yann. For a year she had listened to the boy talk about communicating with Ani. She suspected Yann was telling the truth because he wasn’t prone to lying. He did have a big imagination though, so Shirley wondered sometimes if it was that. She finally asked Yann,
“You really talk to each other? How do you do that?”
Yann lowered his head. He felt like Shirley didn’t believe him as he said, "I don’t know Shirley. It’s been like that since the beginning, do you remember…?”
“I think it’s amazing,” she said, making the boy happier. She looked at Ani and said, “What does he think now?”
Ani was making eye contact with Shirley. He cocked his head to one side and then the other. Yann laughed and told her,
“He doesn’t understand you, but he knows we are talking about him because he hears me.”
Shirley picked the little dog up into her arms and cuddled him as she told Yann, “He really is special, and you two were meant to be with each other.” She sat Ani back down and told Yann, “Well… I have some work to finish, are you coming inside?”
“Can we stay here five more minutes?” Yann asked her.
“Ok,” Shirley agreed before going back into the house and into the living room.
******
That evening as the sun was setting; Shirley was sitting in the living room studying and Ani paced around the house while Yann read his comic book, “The Emperor’s Blades.” Yann was really into it. It was inspired by the true story of a Samurai named Roshi whose real name was Tonobu Sanada. The book recounted the astonishing chronicle of a man who was at war against divinities who had abducted his wife in exchange for the eradication of Samurais. He was a man who had lost everything and was willing to sacrifice everything to see his wife at least one more time, even if only at the door of the Kingdom of the death.
Yann glanced over as Ani was sniffing around Shirley’s sports bag. He watched as the dog shuffled through it a bit, moving a pair of black lacey underwear up near the top. Yann moved his eyes back to his book. He didn’t want to see Shirley’s undergarments. Ani finally got tired of pacing and climbed up into Shirley’s lap.
Yann looked over at them. He loved them both so much. They were living proof that “family” didn’t have to mean “blood.” He’d known Shirley for five years now. He couldn’t imagine what his life might be like if she hadn’t come into it. He knew that his parents loved her as well. His thoughts turned to Ani then. The first day they had met, when he pulled Ani out of that box and hugged him, he’d known they were going to have a fabulous life together.
They had since formed an unbreakable tie that linked them heart to heart. Yann took great care of his dog. Not only because he loved him, but also because Ani needed extra care because of his disease. He made sure that Ani always had fresh water and he would often humidify his paws to refresh him. Yann helped make sure he took his medication every day as well. The veterinarians had warned the family that his growth could be slowed significantly because of all his problems and possibly keep him from developing correctly as he grew. What the family had found was that with good care and lots of love, Ani’s unfortunate disease kept him from ventilating correctly but he had grown and thrived over the past year in spite of it. Life had decided to give him a second chance to be loved by a little boy who would devote his life to loving him and protecting him.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“CHAOS”
UNITED NATIONS
Tuesday September 7, 1991
Elise sat in her seat at the highly varnished table amongst the thirty or so other people attending the meeting at the United Nations. She felt so tired, both mentally and physically. Her work was so stressful. She’d done this job for a long time, working in different positions and for different private funds and organizations. She has been an assistant to a multitude of influential people. She’d gotten into the field because of her degrees and over time she’d been selected for top positions because of her experience and reputation. This particular job she had worked at for a couple of years. Her main duties were to assimilate important information and deliver it properly to the authorities at the United Nations. The job brings her close to a lot of high level and even classified documentation. She never has all of the details, but from what she does have, she often knows more than she would like to. She sits in on the meetings and takes notes and receives her assignments and orders, but she doesn’t take part in the decisions made there. Sometimes the helplessness of knowing too well what is going on in the world but being unable to do anything about it, rains stress down on her.
One of many groups contract she works for now is a private corporation founded by a group of billionaires doing research in different fields, they are tied up with the U.N. Because of this she is usually responsible for being the contact between them and the press who are often anxious to get any information about what the group is involved in. They have a hand in things such as industrial food, pharmaceutical companies and a lot of science research involving space exploration and NASA. Some of the men she worked for had worked together to create the ethical system that we now know through highly publicized materials like The Kingsley sexual rapport, a top secret mission on the climate changing technology. The decisions that these men make on a daily basis are often highly controversial with activists and less mainstream media. Elise worried often about the explosion of the internet changing the direction of the work they do. She shook off her worries for the moment and focused back on what was going on in front of her.
There was an endless expression of ideas being shared at the table about the end of the intervention in Iraq. Too many ideas in fact. The general public had just about enough of this “crisis” and they wanted the troops called home. The government however was not satisfied that pulling the troops was the right thing to do. They worried that the rebellious troops still needed to be controlled and that the only way to do that was to maintain a military presence in the country. The active discussion hadn’t amounted to an agreement amongst the professionals and as some of them bemoaned this outcome, Elise impatiently waited for the meeting to come to an end. It was Friday night and all she could think about was getting out of this darned office and to the romantic dinner that she and her husband had planned together at their favorite restaurant. Neither of them had found a moment for themselves, much less each other in four months thanks to their busy jobs. The lack of intimate time coupled with the stressors of their jobs was taking a toll on their marriage. Elise could
n’t even recall the last time they’d been intimate. The daily routine of their lives had become like a flavorless dish and she was ready to change that.
Elise had struggled with the decision for a while, but in the end she’d known it was not only what she had to do, but what she wanted to do in order to save their family. This job had never been about passion for her. She’d taken it for the money and the travel and the respect. Elise had gotten her fill of that and now she was ready to make a change. She wanted to be a mother to her son at last. She’d already typed her resignation letter and she was ready to mail it and start a new chapter in her life. She was missing her son grow up and although Shirley did a good job with both Yann and the house, it wasn’t the same thing as Elise doing it herself. She was Yann’s mother and she wanted a chance to stay at home with him and do it right. She wanted to be the one to help him with his homework and take him for a stroll in the park….And maybe, she and Tim could start thinking about having another child, maybe a little sister for Yann. Elise had actually been thinking about it so much that she’d already been picking out names. She was ready to talk to Tim about it. It was time to move their lives forward, in a new direction.
“Okay, we’ll wrap up the discussion next week,” the meeting chairman announced, “Linda will record the minutes and get them back to us on Monday. Enjoy your weekend everyone!”
With a relieved sigh, Elise closed her briefcase, and on the way to the elevator she pulled at the tight bun she’d wrapped her hair in this morning. As she pulled out the wrap her long brown hair spilled out and cascaded across her shoulders.
As she walked through the hallway she glimpsed something strange. There was a crowd of people in front of her and standing in the midst of them was someone, or something that shouldn’t be there. It’s was an inky dark silhouette from where she stood, but she had the feeling she’d seen it…or him before. Something about him…or it frightened her and she began to walk quicker, passing the elevator in her rush. It wasn’t the first time today that she’d felt like she was being followed. She turned down first one corridor and then the next with a feeling of panic rising up in her chest. When she got closer to the second bank of elevators she looked over her shoulder. Standing about ten feet away a man in a black hood was watching her. She jumped into the elevator with her heart racing and pressed the “door close” button. Once the door was closed she pressed the button for the first floor and she was able to breathe a little easier.
When Elise hit the exit door and the fresh air outside she gulped a deep lungful of it. She was still shaking and she wasn’t even sure what it was about the man that had frightened her so badly. She wasn’t even sure he’d been following her…. She saw Tim’s car sitting in the lot and replacing the anxiety with a smile of anticipation for their night together she walked over and opened the door and slipped into the passenger seat.
“Hi Honey. How was your...?” Tim could see from the look on Elise’s face that it hadn’t been a good one. He said, “Ok I get it,” he said with a sympathetic look. “Hard day?”
“Yeah,” she said, “It sure was...” Tim could tell that she was worried. It seemed like more than just the usual stress from work. He was about to ask about it when she said, “I had this creepy feeling all day that I was being followed. My day is stressing enough as it is, with the everlasting discussions at work about this darned conflict.”
With a worried look Tim put the car in drive and headed out of the parking lot. Once they were on the road he said, “What do you mean by “followed”?”
“I don’t know. I had the impression that a man was following me. I didn’t even get a good look at him, yet I’m sure I’ve seen him before. The security of our offices is one of the tightest in the country. I can’t imagine just anyone could have slipped in. I’ll check with security on Monday.”
“Ok, let me know if you have a problem, you know that…”
“I can take care of myself, “Mister Inspector,” She told him with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.
Tim grinned and said, “Okay, fine. I’m so glad that we’re getting to spend some time together, finally. Are you looking forward to our dinner tonight?”
“Of course, Hun! And I have something important to tell you. Well, actually it might even be two important things.”
Tim glanced over at Elise’s animated face, wondering what it was that she had to tell him. He decided to be patient; they finally had all night to talk. He drove them down to 48th street to a French Gourmet restaurant they both loved. The restaurant was done up European style with brick walls and a little wrought iron gates around the windows. There was a potted shrub on each side of the door and an old-fashioned black chalkboard out front announcing the specials.
The neighborhood around the restaurant was a noisy one with loud music drifting out from the apartment building down the street and heavy traffic going by, but once inside they felt as if they’d been transported to a quiet bistro in Paris. Soft lighting gave the place a warm atmosphere and it smelled of fresh bread and rich pastry. The sounds of Edith Piaf singing a love song floated out of the speakers and gave the impression that a French Cabaret was taking place in the background.
Tim and Elise stepped up to the podium at the front door and were greeted warmly by the maître.
“Good evening Madam, good evening Sir. Do you have a reservation?”
“Good evening, Yes we do, a table for 2, booked under Northman,” Tim told him.
“Very well, one moment please.”
They didn’t have to wait long before they were taken to a little table in the corner with a glowing red candle in the center and a giant 1930’s style painting framed in a heavy ancient frame hanging next to them. The waiter took their orders and Tim asked for a rare bottle of Bordeaux. They listened to the soft music, “Mon bistrot préféré” of Renaud playing in the background while they waited for their meals both of them caught up in their own thoughts. When their pasta was served and they’d both begun to eat, Elise said,
“Ok, let me finish what I had started in the car, and thank you for not interrupting me until I finish because this is big news and if you interrupt me I’ll just get nervous. I have handed in my resignation letter. I’m done. I want to focus on our boy now.” Elise laughed nervously and Tim, looking shocked in the middle of taking a bite of his pasta said,
“Are you sure?”
Elise nodded, still smiling and Tim went on to say,
“Wow, I don’t know what to say. I’m so happy about that! Yann will be so happy. It will be great for his education... And I could tell that this job was ruining you…” he paused there. He knew that hers wasn’t the only job ruining them. He took a deep breath and said, “Mine as well… I swear to you that this last case… It has been a living hell; we have been after that murderer for so long…”
Elise rolled her eyes and said, “See, there you go talking about yourself again...let me finish my story, I was only halfway through it.”
“Ok, ok! I’m sorry, I’ll be quiet!”
“I’m three months pregnant…” she blurted it out quickly. This was the part she was really nervous about. She ran her hand through her hair as she waited for his response.
Tim didn’t look happy, but he tried to sound happy as he said, “Oh, ok, great! Have you known for long?”
“No... You don’t look happy,” she said.
“Please don’t make assumptions,” he told her. “I'm happy, but the world we live in… it’s not easy, and it’s hard for me to put a positive spin on reality with everything I’m confronted with at work. And if I could quit, I would do it.”
“Do it then, it’s not going to change the face of the world… stay with us, instead of chasing ghosts.”
On the radio behind the counter a man was talking about the events that were happening around the world. If anyone had been paying attention, they would have found it all to be depressing news.
“The premier general of the United States Army has b
een quoted today as giving the following statistics with regards to losses of U.S. lives and military equipment throughout the course of the war in Iraq. He said that 535,000 soldiers have died, eighty ships have been put out of service, six aircraft carriers blown up, two hospital ships destroyed, two submarines lost, 1,350 aircrafts, 1500 helicopters, 1000 tanks, 2000 armored vehicles and 1800 pieces of heavy artillery lost. The financial impact of all of that to the country has been staggering, the loss of human lives devastating. In other news, a massive flood in Venezuela that caused mudslides and the loss of three hundred lives is said to have been a natural catastrophe mainly triggered by global warming now by some experts….”
“I wish I could make you understand, Elise…Shit!” Tim said in the middle of talking to his wife.
“What?” Elise said. She was shocked at how he’d yelled out the profanity in the middle of the restaurant. It wasn't like Tim at all. She started to turn and see what he was looking at when he said,
“No! Don’t turn around, honey. Damn it! I can’t believe that son of a bitch is here!”
“What?” Elise said again, confused. She’d heard Tim say don’t turn around, but she turned around anyways. She had to see what had gotten him so agitated. Tim was on his feet, headed towards the front window. He shouted over his shoulder to Elise,
“Don’t move. I’ll be right back!” He made his way between the tables, pushing a waiter out of his way and pulling his gun before he reached the door. Once he pushed through the door, the man he’d seen there at the window had vanished. He looked up and down both sides of the street. How does the son of a bitch move so fast?
“Damn! Damn! Damn!” he said aloud to the alarm of many of the people walking by on the sidewalk. He tucked his gun back in its shoulder holster and went back inside the restaurant. He looked at the server standing near the door and said, “Do you have a phone I can use?”
“Yes sir,” the server handed him the cordless phone from behind the counter. Tim dialed Eddie’s number.
