Divided (The United Trilogy Book 2)

by Wheeler, Jaci

  “I will do my best, how about that? Let me go talk to your doctor and call up some friends and see what I can do.”

  “You mean it, Roz? I can really see a monkey? It will be so much better than chocolate pudding if you bring me a monkey!”

  “Well now, how can I say no to that? I’ll be back soon. Just finish your pudding.”

  I walk out of his room and go find my mom. I sure hope I can pull this off; otherwise, I might just have to break the kid out myself and take him to the zoo. I see my mom at the nurses’ station, going over a few charts.

  “Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Sure, honey. What can I do for you?”

  “Well, you can start by getting me a monkey.” She looks at me like I have just lost my mind.

  “A monkey…like a stuffed animal, you mean?”

  “Nope, like an orangutan or something like that. I really don’t know what type, baboon or some such, maybe. You know the kind from the zoo.”

  She is giving me the you’ve-got-to-be-kidding look now.

  “Look, mom, I just met that adorable little boy R.J. and he loves monkeys, but he’s never been able to see one or go to a zoo because he’s been sick most of his short little life. He heard the doc tell his parents that he is dying and there’s nothing they can do. The only thing he’s ever wanted is to see a monkey and I don’t care what it takes, I’m going to make that happen! As long as it will not physically harm him, I need to make this happen, mom.” I plead to her.

  “Roz, it’s very sweet of you, and I know you are doing this out of the kindness of your heart, but, sweetie, you can’t give every dying child a monkey. It will take too much time and effort to be going after their every request like that. There are more children who are dying all over this floor and each one will want a different impossible task.”

  “I don’t think it’s that impossible. I mean, taking him out to a zoo may be risky, but even if it means it is his last day here, he will die happy! If it was my child, I’d take that risk, and I don’t see why we can’t take a little extra time and give these kids one last dream. If I can make it work logistically, can you clear it with the doctor and his parents?”

  My mom lets out a sigh and then concedes. “Oh, Roz, that’s very sweet of you. Yes, I can talk to them. How you are going to pull this off is beyond me, but somehow I know you will.” I give her a huge hug.

  “Thanks, mom!” I tell her before I get on the phone and put in a call to Judy. I ask her if she can get a hold of the director of the zoo in this zone and see if he will be able to shut it down for the day. I have explained R.J’s story and by the end of the call, Judy is crying and saying that no matter what, that boy will have his monkey.

  I come back to the nurses’ station to see my mom standing next to two men and a woman, probably R.J.’s parents and the doctor. The physician looks skeptical but his parents are beaming at me.

  “Hello, Miss Thatcher, my name is Annalise and this is my husband Tory. Can you really take R.J. to see monkeys?”

  “It’s very nice to meet you both. Your son has stolen my heart. Yes, I’m pretty sure we can make something happen, that is if the doctor approves of this. Doc, is it safe for R.J. to leave the facility?”

  He lets out his own sigh and is obviously upset about being put on the spot in front of parents. Well, too bad for him.

  “This is highly unusual, Miss Thatcher. Health-wise, R.J. is a very sick boy, and being away from the facility can be very dangerous for him.”

  “What about if a nurse is present with him, will he be able to go?”

  “All our facilities are fully staffed and at the moment, we just don’t have the time to rearrange everything. Maybe in a few days, but R.J.’s health isn’t going to get better.”

  He is full-on glaring at me now. Well, it looks like it’s time to flex a little muscle.

  “So what your saying is that he is able to go, it just won’t be ideal for you. That’s great news because I have the means to make it happen! Since my mother is working on my schedule and is to travel wherever I go, I just so happen to be going to the zoo today.”

  If looks can kill I would be dead on the spot. No doubt the doctor is not a fan of mine, but Annalise sure is. She throws her arms around me and sobs. “Thank you so much, President Thatcher. This is going to mean the world to him!”

  “I will be back. Please go be with your son and I will meet you shortly. If you can hold off telling him until I can work out all the details; that would be best.”

  I grab my mom’s hand and take off at a fast pace down the hall. I call Judy back and I can barely make out what she is saying through her sobs. After asking her to repeat herself several times, she told me the zoo is shutting down for the rest of the day, and as soon as we make it to the train, the zoo is ours for the day. I then call Masters to meet us and have my mom whisper the news to Annalise for her to share it with R.J.

  “You did a good thing, Roz,” my mom says, looking at me proudly.

  “I thought you didn’t approve.”

  “Of course I approve. It’s just going to be hard to make every dream for every child come true. It’s a big undertaking and most of these kids don’t have any time left. But what you did is help one child with his dream today, and that’s all that matters.”

  I hug her. “I’d like Molly to get a program started to help all the kids do something they have always dreamed of, at least once in their lifetime. A staff from the Ministry can put it all together and a group of nurses and doctors can accompany the child. When we can, we will try to bring the dream to the child, but I think this will work, mom.”

  “I think so too. Just remember me for that list of people who go with the child, okay?” she winks at me. “What a fun job that would be to be around that much joy every day for work!”

  I smile at her. “You bet! You can even lead the program if you want. I’m going to send Molly a message once we get on the train to get started on putting something together. I know hundreds of years ago they had something similar. I think it will be great to bring it back.”

  Once R.J has been told and he has everything he needs and my mom has her medical kit just in case, we all go down and get on the train. Just being on the train fascinates R.J, and he can’t stop chattering all the way there.

  Masters whispers in my ear: “The zoo, really, Roz? First, you try to spring the inmates, now you are stealing sick kids?” He has amusement and laughter in his eyes.

  “Yes, now just think how much fun we are going to have today, Masters! It’s been ages since I’ve been to the zoo,” I say excitedly.

  “You know this is going to majorly put us behind, especially if you take these little trips at each stop for every kid,” he reminds me.

  “Oh hush, stop being such a party pooper, Masters. So we will get behind; just think of how much joy we will bring. Personally, I can care less if this delay’s the inevitable with the Council. What a way to go out, huh?” He just smiles at me and soon we are pulling up at a stop at the zoo.

  That is the most fun I’ve ever had, I think. We spend the rest of the day at the zoo. R.J. uses up a good hour at the monkeys; they even let him hold one of the trained ones. We have had such a good time; I’ve never seen anyone happier. I make sure to take a ton of pictures and send them over to Wes and ask him to put something special together for the Cartwright family. I’m not sure how long they will have R.J. around, but I want them to always have this day to remember. We take him back to the hospital and are well on our way to the next Zone. I have so much running through my head and I spend most of the night on the phone with Molly, going over ideas and how we can make a Dreams Come True program at all of the R&R centers. If we increase the amount of jobs in the nursing area and in production and event coordinating, we can have more kids being slotted each year for apprenticeship. We will not be taking any nurses away and we will have a new great program. The logistics are going to take a lot longer to implement. It won’t be as f
ast as the prison acts, but at least I will be proud to leave this legacy behind. I tell Molly to have George pick someone from our staff to head a new team. They will be in charge of the Dreams Act and take care of everything on the Ministry side of things.

  I go from Zone to Zone and meet children, adults, old people, all sick and dying; some of them living on borrowed time, others just hoping to make it through the day. Most people are happy to see me while some are just angry with the world. I try to do nice things for the kids with some trips here and there. However, it has taken much longer than I have anticipated. I thought a month would be plenty enough and by the end of two and a half months, I have finally visited the last facility. I am completely exhausted and emotionally worn down. I don’t know how my mother does this every single day. It is heart-wrenching, and I feel completely useless and helpless as I watch all the slowly dying people who are so full of life and love and have families. I hardly have to make any changes to the facilities; they are run efficiently and all the patients seem very well taken care of by a loved one. I am glad to see that there aren’t any issues with cleanliness or lack of maintenance in any of the facilities.

  Chapter Ten

  After saying good-bye to my mom, Masters and I travel toward the Ministry while my mom goes back home. As soon as my mom leaves, I turn to Masters.

  “So, did you find anything? Please tell me you found him.” It’s been absolutely killing me that I haven’t known if Masters has found Ed or not. Two and a half months is a long time to wonder.

  Master looks torn for a minute, and he is taking way too long to answer me so I snap at him. “MASTERS!”

  “Roz, this is a very complicated situation, and I think it will be best if you stay out of it.”

  He can’t be serious. After months of planning and worrying, he just wants me to stay out of it? I look at him with shock, anger and confusion. I don’t even know what I’m feeling right now, but I burst into tears.

  “Roz, come on, don’t cry. You are taking this the wrong way. I’m trying to protect you. If I tell you the Council can use it against you, it’s best if you don’t have any clue. That way, you will look much more credible to the Council.”

  He is right. I know what he is saying is true, but how can I just not know? I need to have some idea before I walk in there.

  “Masters, you’ve got to give me some idea, please. I can’t take not knowing.”

  Masters lets out a long sigh.

  “Roz, this isn’t as easy as we thought it would be. Once I was in there and talking to your mom, I found out that anyone of high importance such as a Council member is put in the system under a different name. There’s no Ed Jones in the system or a patient by that name. I have no clue who knows the name he is using now, but they are the only ones who can help us.”

  “We have to go back to the OC.” I decide.

  Masters raises his eyebrow and gives me a disapproving look.

  “This isn’t me wanting to see Dex and Grace. I mean, of course I do, but we need to talk to Malik. He is the only one who can tell me if Ed is close to anyone on the Council. I’m just praying that it’s Annabelle because she is the only one I can get alone.”

  “Do you really think it’s going to be that easy?” Masters inquires.

  “Of course not, but it’s been a long day. I’m exhausted and I really just need a freaking break here!” I almost shout at him

  Masters is wise enough to keep further comments to himself.

  “You are right about needing to go to the OC to talk to Malik, but the guards will be too suspicious if you show up unannounced again. I’m going to call them off and tell them I am doing a drill. We will stay the night and head back to the Ministry in the morning.”

  I try to hide my excitement about staying for a whole night, but there is no hiding it. Masters gives me a smirk.

  “I love you, Masters.”

  “Yea yea, no need to blow it out of proportion. It’s just the best thing to do right now.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to name my firstborn after you or anything?” I say teasingly to him.

  “Depends on how cute he is.”

  I can’t stop laughing at that. Somehow over the past two months, Masters and I have gotten even closer. Next to Wes and Molly, he is probably my closest friend. All of my exhaustion seems to have melted away at the thought of seeing Dex and Grace again. Masters gets on his phone and makes a few calls, telling Green to call a drill and make sure he is the only one on sight both tonight and tomorrow. There isn’t a need for a guard tonight, but the morning guard will have to be Green and nobody else.

  I change out of my suit and into jeans and a t-shirt. I’m glad I thought of bringing some lounging clothes for after the tours.

  When we get to the station, Masters told me to wait inside the train until he can check to make sure that the men are gone. I pace back and forth while I wait for him to come back. I wish I had some cookies to bring for Grace, and then I remember the box of snacks my mom has packed for us for the train ride. I have a candy bar that I haven’t eaten that she would love. Just as I am putting the candy in my pocket, Masters comes back with the all-clear signal.

  We pull up to the gate and Masters scans himself in, leaving me out of the system.

  “Since when did they give you access to the gate?”

  “You told them that Green needs it, that’s when. Since I override Green’s clearance, we are both given access into the system. Now I have one night to come up with a good enough reason why I needed to come in tonight.”

  “You are cleaver. I’m sure you’ll come up with something.” We reached the OC just around dinner time so everyone is probably in the dining room. We walk in and I scan the crowd, looking for Dex. He’s not too hard to spot since he’s so much taller than everyone else. Luckily, he has my sweet little pixie on his lap, and Malik is sitting across from them. I run into the room and come up behind them. Malik smiles wide when he sees us. I cover my hands over Dex’s eyes. “Guess who?” I whisper in his ear. He whirls around so fast he almost knocked me over, but he reaches out with one arm and wraps it around my waist so I will not fall.

  “Swept you off your feet?” he asks with a chuckle. Grace sees me and she instantly grabs onto me. I start hugging her and whispering how much I missed her and asking her if she has been good. She nods, gives me a kiss on my cheek and digs into her dinner. I look over at Dex and he nods to the candy sticking out of my pocket.

  “She’s a sneaky one, that little mouse. You seem to have given her a pretty bad sweet tooth.” Now that I look at her closely, she seems to have gained some weight and is looking much better than when I last saw her.

  “She’s eating well and sleeping better?”

  “She is eating much better, thanks to Green bringing her so many sweets. The sleeping is a little better, but she still wakes up with nightmares some times,” he tells me.

  I nod, and then I turn to Grace. “Guess what, little mouse? I get to tuck you in tonight.”

  Dex’s head snaps up when he hears it and asks, “You get to stay for a few hours?” The grin on my face confirms this.

  “What would you say to all night?” His eyes widen and a slow smile starts spreading over his face as Masters clears his throat and sends Dex a pointed look.

  “We are here on business,” Masters says, looking at Malik.

  Malik nods his head, “Go grab some dinner and when we are done eating, we will talk.”

  Dex says he will have his neighbor watch over Grace and will meet us at the pond when he is done. We all eat fast; I can’t even remember what I have eaten. After that, Masters, Malik and I make our way over to the pond. Dex shows up shortly and shoots me a little smile and a wink for our choice of spot.

  Once we get to the pond, we immediately dive right into the reason for our visit. “What did you find out?” Malik asks. I nod at Masters to fill him in on everything. Malik sits quietly while Masters is filling him in on the changing of the Co
uncil members’ names. He just keeps nodding his head as Masters tells him that we need to find out who Ed was close to during his stay at the Council.

  “It makes sense that they would change the names. I don’t know why I haven’t thought of that before,” Malik says.

  I look at him with hope in my eyes. “Do you know who might have been close enough to Ed to know how we can get in touch with him?”

  Malik has a frown on his face. “I don’t, Roz, I’m sorry. I didn’t know the Council very well, and as you know, they didn’t really share much with me.” My shoulders fall in defeat.

  “Amira.”

  We all turn to Dex. We just assumed that if anyone would know, it was Malik, but Dex was in line to be a member, and I should have known that he may have gotten to know them on a more personal basis.

  “Amira was close to Ed?” I ask, looking up at him for confirmation. His face is a blank slate, not showing any emotion.

  “They were engaged. He broke it off when he got sick, and he left the Council. I’m not sure if they stayed in touch, but I know she would have kept track of him. Ed and Samuel are best friends; if anyone knows how to reach Ed, it’s one of them.”

  I am not even sure if Ed is still alive, but if he is, it’s good that Amira and Samuel have been close to him, because I think they are the only ones who see things my way.

  “Samuel was out here last month.” Malik says, throwing me off my train of thought.

  “Samuel? He came out to the OC?” I ask. Surprise is not a good-enough word to describe my shock on hearing about this.

  Malik nods.

  “He stayed for the day, worked beside the men, talked to Dex for a while, and then he left. I was shocked to see him here, and he didn’t tell us why he came.”

  I can’t help the smile that has spread across my face.

  “He listened to me! I told the Council members to come see on their own that you guys weren’t a threat, that they didn’t know why they were banning you. He listened to me! This has to be a good sign, right?”