The Units

by Jamie Mackay

  ***

  Tatum welcomed the routine of daily life as a distraction from the flurry of activity that had made up the previous many days. For the first time since leaving for Chicago, Tatum got up early and went for her run, leaving Jake to sleep. She ran fast, as she often did when she felt like she needed to outrun her emotions. But, in between her sprints, she stopped and waited while her stomach settled.

  You can actually feel grief physically she rationalized as she waited for the sickness in her stomach to pass.

  She ran onto the WMI grounds, so different than they had been during her first time through the estate. The stately green parkland was now barren and brown. The leaves had all fallen and the lawn had retreated into dormancy. Residents no longer worked on the upkeep; it was as if the entire site had gone into hibernation for the winter.

  Tatum ran around the outside of the now familiar buildings, admiring the detailed and beautiful architecture as she always did. As she ran by Unit Six, she had to stop. Her nausea getting the better of her, she hunkered down in the bushes to relieve her aching abdomen. Tatum stood up, feeling a bit better after releasing some of the sickness inside her. For the first time, she paused and really looked at Unit Six. She saw a small door on the side the building, lowered into the ground; a door she had never seen before. It was fully covered by shrubs and vines, as if it had been concealed on purpose. Checking to make sure she was alone, Tatum quickly worked her way over to the entrance, taking care to ensure she left the shrubs and vines undisturbed. Similar to the other entranceways around WMI, the doorway had a FOB reader to determine who would be allowed access.

  Tatum would be back.

  .

  Having returned to work on a Thursday, Tatum really had little to do. She had completed her reports and clinical notes the week before and hadn't seen any clients since. She felt relieved that the day would be light. Work with clients would be difficult while her stomach wasn't cooperating. She used the morning getting caught up on email and reviewing what had happened with her regular patients while she'd been away. She was anxiously looking forward to meeting with James. It had been nearly a week since she'd seen him. Tatum took an early lunch and grabbed a cup of tea to take with her for her visit.

  Tea will settle my stomach, she tried to convince herself.

  Tatum pulled up her usual chair.

  "Hi James. I'm back. Did you have a good week? I hope it was better than mine. We had Michael's funeral on Tuesday. I get now how other people felt when they have lost someone they loved."

  She thought about Jake and Milligan.

  "I don't know if you can understand unless you've experienced it. Have you ever lost anyone James? Someone that you loved so much that the loss felt unbearable?"

  "Mom Six E," James responded.

  .

  In the afternoon, Tatum had two things she now knew she needed to do. First, she called Sam.

  "Hey, do you have any plans for this evening?"

  "No. Not really. Why? What have you got in mind?"

  "I need you to do something with me."

  "Okay. What?"

  "I'll tell you later. But, can you come and get me from work?"

  "Yup. I'll be there around five, okay?"

  "Okay. Thanks Sam."

  The second was something that Tatum really did not want to do while her stomach was already feeling less than okay. She needed to re-visit Unit Five. There were some more questions she wanted to ask Lee.

  .

  Tatum found Lee sitting hunched over in his cell just as he had been the previous time she'd visited. But, in contrast to the prior time, he seemed genuinely happy to see her. Now armed with the knowledge that she was safe, she didn't waste any time and immediately requested that the guard allow her to enter the cell.

  "Hi Lee. Do you remember me?"

  He nodded.

  "Remember we talked some last time I was here about that lady. The one that everyone says you hurt."

  He nodded again.

  "You told me you didn't hurt her and I said I believed you. I still believe you." Tatum kept her voice as low as she could. "Do you remember anything from that day? Anything that might help me figure out who really did it?"

  Lee shook his head sideways.

  "Do you remember anything? How did they keep you from knowing what was going on?"

  "They covered my eyes," he said as he motioned to put his arm over his face, demonstrating for her what it was like.

  "Like with a blindfold?"

  He nodded.

  "Do you remember how many people blindfolded you?"

  "I think two," said Lee, looking as unconfident as an eight year old answering the same questions.

  "Do you remember what they looked like? Or their voices?"

  Lee shook his head again.

  "Did they talk about anything while they did it?"

  Lee nodded.

  "What were they talking about Lee?"

  "Money. They were gonna get a lot of money."

  This time is was Tatum's turn to nod.

  .

  Sam met Tatum outside of the front entrance, right after work as promised. She had told Jake that she would miss dinner that evening because she had made supper plans with Sam. She had told the truth; as soon as they completed the errand Tatum had in mind, they would indeed eat together.

  "What's going on?" asked Sam. "Are we on some sort of covert mission?"

  "Sort of," Tatum responded coyly. "Let's go to the drug store."

  "What? Are you sure?"

  "I don't know; I thought I was sick from grief about Michael, but it seems to be getting worse instead of better. Plus, I'm a couple of days late."

  Sam just smiled; she had no words to respond to what her friend was implying. After a quick jaunt over to Main Street, the girls went back to Tatum's apartment. Sam waited anxiously until Tatum returned from the bathroom.

  "Two lines," was all she said as she held out the test for Sam's inspection.

  "Yup. Two lines. Now what?"

  Tatum didn't even answer. She had to sit down; her stomach was upset and she was suddenly really, really dizzy.

  .

  Tatum and Sam went to Johnny's for dinner. Tatum needed some time to absorb her news before she could face Jake.

  "Do I tell him?" she asked her trusted friend.

  "Of course you tell him. He loves you Tate. This just makes it permanent," she grinned as she said permanent. She knew full well that they were 'permanent' regardless.

  "Should I tell him tonight?"

  "That's up to you. Do you need some time to get used to the idea yourself?"

  "I have no idea," Tatum said honestly.

  .

  Tatum decided that she would tell Jake Friday night. She'd make them a nice dinner at her house, so that they could have some privacy not afforded by eating at the farm. Friday at work promised to be busy. She had planned a training workshop with the research assistants in the morning, and the afternoon she would spend starting to get things organized for the Center. In between, she would visit James and find a file that she couldn't believe she'd neglected to read up to this point.

  Her visit with James was short. She wanted to get to the file room and she wanted to make sure she visited the files during lunch, while no one else was thinking about getting necessary records and she could be alone. During their visit, she had hoped James could tell her something, anything that would help her in her search. Feeling less than satisfied after having received no additional information from him, she decided to see if Larry could help.

  "Hey Larry," Tatum said, getting the attention of the man who was never very far away. "I can't believe that I'm asking you this after all these months, but do you have any idea what James' last name is?"

  "Hmm, actually that's a good question. No one ever comes to see him except you. Never any real need to know. I'll check for you."

  Larry walked away and Tatum stood in place, anxiously waiting, hoping that she'd get the inf
ormation she needed. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Larry returned. He only said one word, "Muller."

  "Thanks!" called Tatum over her shoulder as she hurried off the clinical unit and toward the administrative files.

  Tatum looked at her watch. Damn it, she thought as she realized there was no time to find anything before she needed to be back at the Assessment Lab. She'd waited longer for Larry than she'd realized. Monday, she decided as she turned an about-face back outside toward Unit Six.

  .

  Arrangements had been made for Jake to pick her up right after work. She wanted to spend some time with Brady at the farm, before she stole his dad away for the evening. Satisfied that his attention tank was full, Tatum and Jake headed back to Regency Apartments. Tatum and Sam had carefully planned the evening during their visit the night before, making sure the apartment was stocked with all of the necessary supplies. When they arrived, Tatum handed Jake a drink and started preparing dinner, as he stood nearby admiring her every move. Their meal would be stirfry, intentionally chosen because of its minimal preparation time. As the chicken and vegetables sizzled, Tatum carefully set the table with her best table-cloth, candles, and wine glasses for the non-alcoholic spritzer she had purchased.

  "Dinner's ready," she informed Jake when the stirfry had cooked to perfection.

  "It looks delicious Tate," said Jake. "Is there some kind of occasion or did you just go through all this fuss ‘cause I'm cute," he teased.

  "Well, you are cute," she responded matter-of-factly. "But, yah, I guess it's a bit of an occasion."

  She poured some spritzer into his glass, well aware that he took no notice of the 'non-alcoholic' label on the bottle.

  "I have something to tell you."

  Tatum paused and Jake looked at her, preparing himself for the bad news he thought could be coming. The last time she'd said that she had news she'd been in tears while she told him about Michael.

  "I'm expecting."

  "Expecting what?" he asked sincerely.

  "No Jake. Expecting."

  Jake was silent. His face moulded into a catatonic state of shock. Finally, he came to, and Tatum waited anxiously to hear his reaction.

  "Are you sure?" he said, his face finally breaking into an ear to ear grin.

  "Yes. I'm sure."

  "Oh Tate. This is awesome," he hollered out, standing up and grabbing her out of her chair. He swung her around the room yelling out, "We're gonna have a baby! We're gonna have a baby!"

  Tatum had hoped for a positive reaction, but this, she hadn't expected.

  .

  The announcement about the pregnancy and the resulting flood of emotions meant that the stirfry sat lonely on the table, while the new parents-to-be celebrated their news. Tatum was shocked that their love making was deeper and more intense than it had ever been, as if their connection had transcended to a level she didn't know was possible. Finally they tired and then laid together as they'd done many times before, but feeling a security in their relationship that was all together new.

  "Tatum?"

  "Yes."

  "I love you. You know that, right?"

  "Yes. I love you too."

  Slowly, Jake pulled himself up until he leaned on his arm and looked down at her face, happy and at peace with the major change that was taking place in their lives.

  "Will you marry me?" he said softly.

  Tatum was stunned.

  "Will I marry you? Of course I will marry you," she shouted as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him so tightly, he thought he might choke.

  .

  The next morning Tatum and Jake got up early. They couldn't wait to share their news. They showered and headed straight out to the farm. Mrs. Mackinley had just started breakfast, and Tatum and Jake fully intended to take advantage of their excellent timing.

  "Morning Mom," yelled Jake as he opened the wooden screen door and, as always, let it slam noisily behind him.

  "Morning Jakey. Hi Tatum. Are you guys here for breakfast?"

  "Yah, if we're invited," he teased his mother, knowing full well they were always invited.

  Carol turned around, wiped her hands on her apron and hugged both her son and Tatum.

  "Have a seat. Dad will be right in and I just woke Brady a few minutes ago."

  Feeling particularly energetic and happy, Jake raced into Brady's room and Tatum could hear the young boy's laughter as his dad tickled him awake. Eventually, the two appeared in the kitchen, Brady slung over his large father's shoulder. Jake was just putting Brady in his seat when George came in and plopped himself down, waiting anxiously for the breakfast that smelled so delicious. Once everyone was seated, Jake started to talk.

  "Brady, Mom, Dad. Tatum and I have some things we want to tell you."

  Mrs. Mackinley's face broke into a big, wide grin.

  Woman's intuition, thought Tatum looking at her mother-in-law to-be's knowing face.

  "We've decided to get married."

  "Oh Jakey. That's wonderful!" said Mrs. Mackinely as she jumped up to physically congratulate her son.

  "Just hold on Ma, there's more."

  Carol backed off and looked suspiciously at her son.

  "Brady, you're gonna be a brother," Jake said directly to his son. "Tatum's pregnant."

  There was a moment of silence as everyone around the table absorbed the shock, but the mood turned quickly to congratulatory. Brady finally broke the silence with his primary concern.

  "Is it going to be a boy?" he asked. "Cause I don't like girls."

  .

  Since she'd started dating Jake, the Mackinely's had always made Tatum feel like a part of the family. But, now, things were different, she really was part of the family and Carol was determined to make it official.

  "Jake? I assume Tatum will move in here?"

  Jake looked at Tatum, surprised both by his mother's question and by the forthright way she'd made the statement.

  She continued. "It only makes sense. Assuming you want it, the farm will be yours soon enough anyway, and that way I can help with both Brady and the baby. You both work you know."

  Tatum had to admit she had a point. She smiled at Jake.

  "Okay with me, if it's okay with you."

  "You are the best!" he announced as he hugged his fiancé.

  .

  It had been less than a week since Michael's funeral and Tatum was uneasy about sharing her news with her family, unsure of how they would take it so close to her brother's death. Despite her reservations, she couldn't keep her happy news from the people that meant the most to her. She phoned her mother first, and then Sarah. They congratulated Tatum and Jake, and they meant it. But, for the O'Neill's, the couple's news was bittersweet. It meant that, in some ways, they had lost their son and now they were losing their daughter. Tatum had made her choice, and they knew she would never again call Chicago her home.

  .

  Tatum had reserved Sunday morning for Milligan. She had asked Jake to spend the morning with Brady so that she could have some time with her special coffee friend. Milligan wasn't expecting her. She'd been less than reliable in her coffee attendance lately.

  "Tatum!" he called in joy as she came into the common room that had been transformed into the coffee room for the winter months. "Long time no see."

  "Yah. Sorry about that. It's been a busy, complicated month."

  "I know. How was your trip home? Your family?"

  "Hanging in there. It's a rough thing losing a family member." Tatum felt her face turn red in embarrassment. "Oh geez Milligan. I'm so sorry. As if I need to tell you that."

  "It's okay Tatum. Sadly, we're now both just part of a select club, a club nobody wants to belong to. A club nobody understands until they join. You're just our newest member." Tatum could hear the sadness in Milligan's voice as he spoke. "No matter what anybody tells you, you will never be the same. It will get better, but you will never be the same."

  Today was the first day Tatum ha
d really heard Milligan talk honestly about his loss. Now he knows I get it, she thought.

  "I'm still waiting for it to get better."

  "It takes time Tate. It just takes time," her kind friend reassured her.

  "Anyway, I didn't come here to get us both depressed for the day. I came to tell you some happy news."

  "What's that?"

  "Jake and I have decided to get married. And..." Tatum paused to build some suspense, then smiled as she said, "I'm pregnant."

  Milligan's face went from somber to full of life. He grabbed her and gave her a big hug.

  "He's a good man Tatum, and now he's a lucky man too," he said into her ear, as proud as if he were her own father.

  .

  Milligan was happy for Tatum, but really sad to see her go.

  "It'll take me a bit to get all of my stuff out, and I'll still come by for coffee. It's the best coffee in town you know," she said to show her appreciation.

  "What are you gonna do with all that fancy furniture," Milligan asked.

  "You want it? Be easier to rent the apartment with it as-is. Beats how it was," she teased the kindly apartment manager."

  "Sounds good. I'll rebate you two months' rent. How's that sound?"

  "Sounds good to me."

  The truth was Tatum would have left the furniture with Milligan for free. She had no use for it anymore.

  She and Jake worked diligently the rest of Sunday packing and loading her belongings into the back of his pick-up. They didn't want to wait one more minute to start their life together.