by Gerald Lopez
“The people in the book will have to be dealt with, or nobody in this room will be safe,” Gabriel said.
His uncle turned to the man holding the book. “If there are ten or less smiley faces in the book, kill all of them. If more than ten, kill half of them and burn their houses or residences to the ground. Either way, it’ll be enough of an example to prevent any survivors from trying anything else.”
The man looked at Amy and Milo, then the children in the stroller.
“They will have to die too, unfortunately,” Gabriel’s uncle said.
Chapter 66
Dealing with the Living and the Dead
BART SAW Julia look at Simon, as if imploring him to do something.
“Make sure the bodies of Lorena and her lover are found in Rebecca’s home, or rather the burned ruins of her home,” Gabriel’s uncle said. “The children’s bodies can be found there with them.
“W…wait,” Simon said. He stood tall, as if he’d summoned every bit of strength within himself. “Gabriel, said he owed me and Julia favors. We’ll call in our favors now.”
Gabriel nodded to his uncle, when he looked at him, to confirm that Simon was telling the truth.
“What is it, you want?” the uncle said.
“The children—all of them,” Simon said. “George will make sure Amy never talks, so will the rest of us. I promise.”
Gabriel’s uncle turned to Amy. “This man is brave, standing up to me to save your life and the life of your brother. Your mamá didn’t do as much for you, always remember that. Never speak about what happened here, and live a good life, unlike your mamá and her friends.” He looked at Simon. “Do the other two have family?”
“No,” Simon said. “Their parents died in a car crash, they have no aunts or uncles… only their grandmother… who’s dead now.”
“If they have no one, then why save them, just to put them in a children’s home or on the streets?” The uncle said.
“I didn’t say they have no one,” Simon said. “They have my future wife and me. We’ll raise them.”
Gabriel’s uncle looked at Julia, and she nodded her head nervously. “It’s not safe to leave them alive. They’re a link to what happened here tonight,” he said. “But, children die every day in my country; we can have two suitable bodies sent here. Simon, I’ll get paperwork to you and your future wife, which will state that you adopted these two children from my country. They’ll have two new identities with no connections to their former families. Give them new names, and make sure they grow up to be better humans than their grandmother.”
“Yes, Sir,” Simon said. “Thank you, Sir.”
“The three of you and Gabriel can leave with the children,” the uncle said. “We’ll deal with any loose ends, and make sure this space is clean and usable for tomorrow.”
Bart saw Julia rush forward, pick up Amy and her brother and walk speedily out of the room. He was walking to the little boy and the girl in the stroller with Simon by his side, when Gabriel’s uncle stopped them.
“Leave their stroller, and their clothes… so, we can place them at their grandmother’s house. We want the police to believe they’re dead. They can stay in their diapers.”
Simon nodded his head in agreement, and he and Bart got busy undressing the children. A sudden hand on his shoulder caused Simon to jump. He turned, and Gabriel’s uncle was standing there.
“You have my respect, Simon,” Gabriel’s uncle said. “And I don’t tell that to a lot of people. When you had to, you stood like a man, even though you were terrified. That makes you a very brave man.”
“Thank you,” Simon said.
“Take the extra diapers in the pocket of the stroller, you’ll need them,” Gabriel’s uncle said, before turning to Gabriel.
“You won’t see me anymore this trip… neither will the rest of you. He hugged and kissed Gabriel on the cheek, then did the same with Bart and Simon. “Now leave quickly, and don’t look back.
Bart had the baby girl in his arms, and Simon had the baby boy as they rushed out of the building, followed closely by Gabriel, who had a handful of diapers and two baby bottles. They didn’t stop until they made it to the courtyard of their employee complex where Reese, Frank, James, Julia, and George’s children were waiting. Simon, who looked about to be sick, handed the baby in his arms to Reese, then walked to the garbage can, pushed off the lid, and threw up.
“You made it farther than Julia did,” Reese said. “I saw her throw up in the parking lot.”
“Let’s just go to my apartment and try to relax,” Bart said.
JULIA CLEANED off the blood, that had splattered on Amy, in the bathroom then tucked her into the bed in Bart’s guest bedroom and lay down beside her while the others were in the living room.
Bart and Frank were changing the baby girl’s diaper, and using the baby powder Bart had gotten out of the bathroom, while Reese was helping Simon change the baby boy’s diaper.
“I should warn you about something, Simon,” Gabriel, who was holding Milo, started to say, before realizing it was too late.
“Holy hell, that’s a fine way for my new son to say ‘thank you for saving my life, Daddy.’” He lifted his shirt, then covered the baby’s privates with the current diaper in order to contain the urine. “My kid’s pissed all over me.” He chuckled.
“Baby boys always pee when they’re being changed,” Gabriel said. “I remember that from when my mother used to babysit the neighbor’s baby boy.”
“Simon, rinse your shirt off in the bathroom, and leave it in the sink, I’ll grab you and your kids some of my T-shirts,” Bart said.
Simon pulled his shirt off, walked to the bathroom, put it in the sink and ran water over it. He then went to Bart’s bedroom, where Bart handed him a T-shirt.
“Any of your T-shirts will just fall off the babies’ shoulders,” Simon said.
Reese poked his head in the doorway and spoke.
“The resort’s shop has some baby-sized clothes. I can go down and pick some up.”
“Ask James to go with you, he has the key to get inside,” Bart said. They’ll need something to sleep in, and something to wear tomorrow until Mommy and Daddy can get to the store.”
“I’ll get it handled,” Reese said, then left.
“Thanks,” Simon said. “I’ll pay you back.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll pay the store back,” Bart said, reaching into his open dresser drawer and pulling out two T-shirts. “We can’t have your kids catching colds while we wait for Reese and James to return.
Julia was in the living room holding the baby boy when Bart and Simon entered. They all talked while she put the T-shirt on the baby boy and handed him off to Frank, who was next to her.
“Poor little Amy, finally went to sleep,” Julia said. “That’s why I’m out here.” She finished dressing the baby girl and handed her to Simon.
“Well, Julia, honey, I learned my first lesson in being a new dad,” Simon said. “When I’m changing my boy’s diaper I need to cover his privates with the diaper, so he doesn’t piss in my face.”
Everyone laughed, and Julia went to Simon and kissed him hard on the lips. “I’m so proud of you for how you handled things tonight,” Julia said.
“I saw the whole thing on film,” Frank said. “You had balls of steel, standing up to Gabriel’s uncle and asking for the favors Gabriel owed you and Julia.”
“My uncle was impressed by you,” Gabriel said. “And, so was I.”
“Don’t be too impressed,” Simon said. “Those steel balls were tucked in my body so damn high, I could almost taste metal in my mouth. I was that scared.”
“Rightly so,” Gabriel said. “Those people are scary. And my uncle is more fair than most.”
“I guess, I did something right in my life, then,” Simon said.
“Simon,” Bart said, “maybe everything you’ve done in your life is what prepared you for today. You made the deal of deals, and saved the lives o
f four innocent children.”
“You know, that actually makes sense,” Simon said. “Now that the deal’s been made, I think I’m ready for the quiet life with two kids and a wife. Hell, at least the kids are Puerto-Rican and not Mexican.”
“Simon!” Julia said. “I can’t believe you just made such a prejudiced comment.”
“It’s not prejudice,” Simon said. “Everyone knows Puerto-Ricans are cuter than Mexicans.”
“Marry Julia quick, brother,” Frank said. “Before she changes her mind.”
“How can I change my mind?” Julia said. “Simon hasn’t even asked me to marry him yet?”
“Aw, come on,” Simon said. “You know I love you. Don’t torture me on top of everything else that we’ve been through. I promise to give you your dream wedding.”
“I do love you,” Julia said. “And you are my hero, so I’ll marry you. It’s not as if you could handle the kids without my help.”
“Oh, I could manage,” Simon said. “But I’m glad I won’t have to manage without you.”
Julia kissed him again; and Bart turned to Frank.
“How’s your proposal to Jenna working out, Frank?”
“Ask me tomorrow. I’ve got reservations for two at the hospital restaurant later tonight, where I plan to propose formally, ring in hand, to my lady love. Hopefully, she’ll say yes.”
“She will,” Bart said. “I didn’t know the hospital had a fancy restaurant.”
“They don’t, dummy,” Frank said. “The reservations part was a bad joke.”
“Wait a minute,” Simon said. “Frank said the cameras got everything that happened tonight on film.”
“I did, and they did, then I handed the videos over to Gabriel’s uncle’s man, who was next to me the whole time. Gabriel’s uncle has worked something out with people here to doctor the tape and anything else needed to make it look like this was all part of a joint drug bust between his country and ours. I didn’t ask for details.”
“That was smart of you,” Gabriel said. “I’ll be glad to go back to James’s island with him tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow!” Bart said.
“I hope you’re not too upset about losing James so soon, but he offered to come with me, and I really want him to. Is that alright, Bart? You’ll be able to handle things here, right?”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Bart said. “I’m glad you two will be leaving together. That’s how it should be. Just remember to send us an invite to the fancy affair.”
“We will,” Gabriel said. “And everyone here in this room will be invited.”
“Invited to what,” James said, as he entered, followed by Reese, who had a bag full of baby clothes, and Alstair.
“To our blessed union of course,” Gabriel said.
Reese took the bag of baby clothes to Julia, who looked through it, picked out an infant size sleeper outfit and two one-piece baby sleeper outfits, and started getting the baby girl into the pink sleeper outfit. She handed her back to Simon, took Milo from Gabriel, and dressed him in the infant outfit. When she finished, she dressed the baby boy then rocked him in her arms.
“Gabriel, I invited Alstair to go back to the island resort with us on your yacht tomorrow,” James said. “Is that alright?”
“That’s fine,” Gabriel said. “I don’t think tomorrow can get here quick enough.”
Chapter 67
The End
NOBODY WANTED to be alone that night, so everyone decided to sleep at Bart’s apartment. New daddy Simon went out with Reese and Alstair to find something the children could have for breakfast the next morning. Julia had Bart and James move the two living room chairs together, so they were facing one another; then she placed a comforter Bart brought her in the space.
“I think Milo’s old enough to sleep comfortably in there,” Julia said. “It worked for me and my cousins when we were little. Different chairs, but the same principle. Placing them together forms a nice protective space, and the baby can’t roll off because the arms of the two chairs butt up together.”
“You really are cut out for this motherhood thing, aren’t you?” James said.
“I don’t have much choice, do I? Tonight I got an instant family.”
“You’re not too upset about that, are you?” Bart said.
“I’m not upset at all—nervous, but not upset,” Julia said. “I’ve always wanted to be a mother. I just have the usual jitters about whether I’ll be a good one or not.”
“I have no doubts that you and Simon will be great parents,” Gabriel said.
“Yeah, but those poor kids won’t get away with anything, having Simon as a dad,” Frank said. “He’ll know all their tricks, before they’ve even thought of them”
“I have a feeling, they’ll have their daddy twisted around their little fingers,” Julia said.
“What about George’s kids?” James said. “Who’ll watch them while George is in the hospital?”
“They can stay here with me and Jeremy,” Bart said. “Jer’s not gonna be able to run around too much right away, so he can watch them while I’m working, and I can check in on them periodically through the day.”
“That’s a great idea,” Frank said. “I know Jenna plans to stay on here for at least another week or two to help at the hospital, and I can stay to help find and train my replacement. Both of us can lend a hand with the kids when you need us.”
“Thanks, Frank. I appreciate it, and I know George will too.”
“I can’t believe this, but I’m hungry,” Julia said.
“Come to think of it, so am I,” Bart said.
“Decide what you want to eat, call in the order, and I’ll go pick it up,” Frank said.
They decided on Chinese food, Julia took down everyone’s order, added what she thought the others might want, then called it in, and Frank and James left to pick it up. The three remaining adults each had a baby in their arms.
Simon, Reese, and Alstair returned with their arms full of bags, two baby car seats, and a crib in a box.
“What’d you do, buy out the store?” Julia said.
“Just bought the basics, until we can go shopping tomorrow, honey love,” Simon said.
“James and Frank went to pick up Chinese food for dinner,” Gabriel said.
“Yum,” Reese said.
“I am starving,” Simon said. He spotted his new son holding his hands out toward him, put the crib box down, took him from Julia, and held him close. “He missed me.” He kissed the top of his son’s head, then handed him back to Julia. “I need to put the crib together so our kids have somewhere to sleep.”
“Simon, you’re not suddenly gonna wake up in the middle of the night in shock, because you’re an instant father… are you?” Bart said.
“Simon’s not like that,” Julia said. “The good thing about him is he’s easygoing and adapts well to change. Even sudden change.”
“We’re gonna have to come up with names for our babies, Julia,” Simon said. “But not tonight.”
“Good, cause my brain is about fried,” Julia said.
“Don’t mention the word fried,” Reese said, “I am sooo hungry.”
“Help me put this crib together, that’ll keep your mind off your stomach for a while,” Simon said.
“I’ll give you a hand with it too,” Alstair said.
They had just finished putting the crib together when the food arrived, along with a surprise guest. Jenna walked in waving her hand in the air and showing off a brand new, huge engagement ring.
“I couldn’t wait till later to pop the question,” Frank said. “We swung by and got Jenna on the way to pick up the food. As you can see, she said yes!”
“Yes!” Bart said. “Finally!”
“Congrats, girl, let me check out that rock,” Julia said.
James took the baby from Julia, so Julia could help Jenna put the food and plates out on the table. When they’d finished setting up buffet style, they told everyone to help
themselves. People were hungry, so they ate in relative silence. When they were done eating, Frank and Jenna excused themselves to spend some alone time together. After hearing more congratulations, they left, followed by Bart, who’d handed someone else the baby he was holding. Once they got to the courtyard Bart spoke.
“You two can get married here, gratis because of all you did to help with things.”
“Thanks, but we’ve sort of decided to accept James’s offer of an island wedding at his resort about the same time he and Gabriel tie the knot,” Jenna said. “Everyone will be there, which means I’ll have a nice buffer zone between me and my mother. Plus it’ll be soon, so I have an excuse not to let her get too involved in the planning.”
“The island will be fun,” Frank said. “And I can hardly wait for the honeymoon.”
“How are you two really doing?” Bart said.
“I won’t ever forget what happened with Rachel,” Jenna said. “Everyone’s life matters, but people with more power and higher connections than us were going to take her out soon anyway—and not for dinner. At least, when we did it, her death made a difference.”
“Don’t take this all on yourself, Jenna,” Bart said. “We were all in this together.”
“I know that’s why I said ‘we’. I’m OK, and I’ve been able to have some one on one time with Dr. Tandor. You will just love it when we have our first group session together next week… and don’t try to get out of it.”
“We wouldn’t dream of it,” Frank said.
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want you to kick our butts,” Bart said, then laughed.
THE BABIES got everyone in the apartment up earlier than usual the next morning. James, Gabriel, and Alstair were the first ones to leave saying they had to get ready for their trip back to the island. Amy was quietly eating Froot Loops while Simon and Julia fed the babies from their bottles. Reese was pouring himself and Amy some orange juice.
