Chapter Twenty-Three

And Then It Happened

 

 

Claire stared at the computer screen, thinking of what to say. Her report was due the next day to the team leader. If only she could wrap her mind around the correct way to put it into words. She looked again at the data from the tests, sitting on her desk. Nothing was coming to her. She was too tired. She’d been out at a charity event with Alex the night before and she was still fighting somewhat of a hangover.

Life had gotten better for them as a couple. For the past year since her secret had been discovered by Mallory, Claire had made it her life’s mission to right the wrong she’d done. It wasn’t as if she were locked away in a prison. Only her heart was.

She was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. She grabbed it from her purse. It must’ve been Alex, she thought. Calling to check whether she was as miserable as he with a headache and dry mouth. He’d petitioned for them to stay longer at the party. Pearl was staying a week with his mom and dad and they’d have no reason to return home early.

Pulling it from her bag, the illuminated number on the screen made her drop it. Colin’s number flashed before her eyes. Never had she added him to her contact list, but she memorized those seven digits as if they were her own.

It continued to ring in her quiet office. A few more times and it’d go to voicemail. The suspense killed her. They hadn’t spoken since she left the island and went to the Hamptons with Alex. She remembered packing the car quickly that day, as though they were breaking out of prison. She tried to leave before he returned from the grocery store with Emily. Alexander and Evie had agreed to watch Pearl so they could leave and spend time alone. That was the story, but Claire wanted to put miles between her and Colin for her marriage to survive.

Her heart hastened as Alex kissed Pearl on her forehead for the tenth time, telling her to be a good girl. “Come on, Alex. We’ll miss the ferry.” Claire turned to her husband, all the while toe tapping on the pebbled driveway.

She kissed Pearl and got behind the wheel of the rented SUV. “I love you and be good for Grandma and Grandpa.”

Claire almost backed over a shovel and bucket left by one of the children.

“Claire, watch where you’re going. Lord, you’d think someone was chasing us.”

Not for long, she thought. She wasn’t going to allow herself to be chased by Colin and his hold on her any longer. It wasn’t healthy. It wasn’t living. Still, she rubbed the pendant around her neck, tucked it back under her shirt and sped out of the driveway. Her phone rang that night she left. The same number had flashed on the screen then. She erased the call and hid it in her bag. They hadn’t spoken since that night Mallory caught them.

Now, she wondered why he was calling. Her finger rubbed over the button to accept it. It beeped one more time before it stopped. Her heart sank. What had she done? She closed her eyes and tried to refrain from calling him back.

She was about to hit the recall button when it rang again. This time it was Mallory. Now she was perplexed. She picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Claire—” Her voice sounded grave. “Are you busy?”

“Mallory? No, what’s wrong?”
      “Did Colin call you?”

“No. Why would he call me? What’s wrong?” She felt faint, knowing in her heart something was wrong.

“Mirabel was diagnosed with some type of blood disorder. He told me the name, but I can’t remember it. I’m so devastated I can’t think straight.”

Claire ran through some of the ones she knew off the top of her head. A lot of them were treatable; some were not. She needed to know the specifics. “Let me call him now. I’ll talk with you soon.”

Claire clicked off the phone and sat, mummified. She knew what that little girl meant to Colin. She knew what Pearl meant to her. As much as she wanted to speed dial his number, she rose from her desk and went to get a drink. She needed to be calm when she spoke to him. One of them had to have a level head.

She picked up her phone from the desk and pressed out his number. The rings made her fingers shake. What if he lost his daughter? What kind of blood disorder would attack someone he loved? She felt his anguish, five hundred miles away.

“Claire?” His voice was shaken.

“Colin, Mallory just called and told me. What’s going on? What are they telling you? What are Mirabel’s symptoms?”

“Claire, it’s serious. They say it’s some type of anemia or something. Emily took her in. She hasn’t been feeling well lately. I can’t remember everything they said. My body left after the man began using the words leukemia and transfusions.” There was a bad silence. “I can’t do this without you. I can’t lose my little girl. God is punishing me.”

“Colin, stop talking nonsense. God is not punishing you. But I need to know the specifics. There are dozens of blood disorders. This one could be completely treatable. You mentioned transfusion. What kind?”

“I don’t know, Claire. They gave Emily some paperwork. I’ll have to get it and call you back.”

“Where are you now?”

“I’m driving aimlessly. I don’t know where to go…what I’m doing anymore. Everything I wanted in life seems to be taken away from me. I can’t lose Mirabel, Claire.”

“Colin, you’re not going to lose her. You need to calm down and pull over until you get it together. Go home and call me back with the information. I can find out your options once I know what you’re dealing with. Although I’m sure the doctor’s probably gone over it with Emily.”

“She’s a wreck…worse than me.”

“It’s going to be okay, Colin. We’ll get the information and deal with it.”

“God, Claire, I need you so much. I need you to be here for me. To keep telling me this.” He hesitated. “I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you in some capacity in my life.”

She heard him sniff. If her arms could reach through the line, she would gladly hold him and tell him it would all be okay.

“Colin, I’ll wait for your call. Drive safely.”

“I love you, Claire.”
      She closed her eyes and felt the pain of his words. As though a thousand lashings came with the sentiment. They lost their comfort when she was no longer allowed to return them for the whole world to see. Locked in this secrecy did nothing more than torture her.

“I’ve got to go. Call me back.”

∞ ∞ ∞

Alex was tossing a salad when Claire walked into the kitchen. His sleeves were rolled up and he had a mischievous smile on his lips. “I hope you don’t mind. I gave Mrs. Potter the night off. I thought I’d cook something for you like I used to before Pearl was born.” He pointed to the bottle of wine on the counter. It was breathing; its cork was lying beside it. “Let me pour you a glass.”

Claire raised her hand in protest. He noticed she looked pale. Her shoulders were shrugged forward and her eyes were sad. Sad like the time he’d met her for the first time at the beach house. Only one person could make Claire this sad.

“What’s wrong?”

She tossed her jacket on the barstool and fell into the chair. “I got a call from Mallory today. She said they diagnosed Mirabel with a type of blood disorder that can cause leukemia.”

He set the wine bottle down and came around the counter to hold Claire. “Baby, I’m so sorry to hear that. What can be done? Is there a procedure? A treatment? What are the doctors telling them? Will she be okay?”

Claire talked over his shoulder as he pressed her tight. “I did some research and if she gets a cell transplant, she can survive.”

He pulled back and looked at her. “That’s good. And I can’t see Colin not turning over every leaf to make sure she gets it. I know if anything like that happened to Pearl, I’d move heaven and earth to get what she needed.”

Claire bit her lip. “I hoped you’d feel that way.” She looked up at him with her brown eyes. The same brown eyes that he would move heaven and earth to please. Only, ironically, it was an impossibility in his lifetime.

“What are you talking about?” He took a step back.

“The chances of her finding a match is rare. Not a lot of people register to be donors. And the longer it takes, the sicker she’ll become and the chances of her getting leukemia are greater.”

“And?”

“We could test Pearl.”

He didn’t flinch. He wished he could. He wished it would be that easy. But it wasn’t. The one thing he had wasn’t really his. Pearl, as much as he wanted, would never be truly his. Just like her mother. As with everything that meant anything to him, they all belonged to Colin. This was his lot in life.

“Then what? If she’s a match, then what?”

“Then she donates her bone marrow to save Mirabel’s life.” Her words hung in the quiet room.

“And what are the ramifications to her own health if she becomes a donor?” He paced back and forth.

“Nothing. There is no ramification. It’s merely a blood donation. Mirabel is the one who has to go through radiation to prepare for the transfusion. Then she gets the blood infused into her vein under her collarbone. It’s likely she’ll have to remain in ICU for up to three weeks after she receives it. She’ll be highly susceptible to any kind of virus.”

“Good Lord! She’s only what? Seven or eight years old? What causes this to happen to a child?” He stopped pacing and rubbed his mouth with his hand. The timer on the stove beeped.

“It’s inherited. And we don’t even know if Pearl is a match. It’s a possibility she’s not.”

“Then what?” He went and turned off the alarm and opened the door to the oven. The smell of his pot roast wafted through the kitchen.

“Then they wait for a match. It’s a slim chance they’ll find one.”

He took a deep breath and stared at the oven mitt he held. “Then test her. We’ll cross that bridge when and if it happens.”