The next day, my mother glared down at me in my wheelchair. “Ramón, you’re being ridiculous.”
I returned her glare as Dr. Stein gave me a shot that would help keep me awake and aware long enough to take care of Joy. “No, no one is going to be in there with me. Not you, not Leo, not dad. No one.”
“At least keep the cameras on,” she pleaded as her dark eyes filled with tears. “What if something happens to you? It could hurt Joy.”
My mom was the master of manipulation, but I wasn’t giving into her this time. “No.”
Anger tightened her face before she managed to once again control her features. “But, Ramón—”
“Enough, I don’t have time to argue with you mother. I know you’re trying to do what you think is best, but whatever happens in that room is none of your business. Stay out of it.”
Diego made a soft hissing noise as my mother dropped the sweet old lady act. “It is entirely my business. Everything to do with this family is my business.”
“No.”
“Ramón—”
My father, dressed in a grey suit that went well with my mother’s plum silk dress, put his weathered hand on her shoulder. “Judith, let it go.”
“I—”
“Judith,” my father said again, this time in a stern voice. “We don’t have time for this. Let Ramón do what he has to do and stop fighting him.”
She sagged against my dad, but her expression wasn’t happy. “Fine. But if her programming doesn’t work, don’t blame me.”
Anger roared through me, but I didn’t have time to get into it with my mom. Already the serum was working its way through Joy’s body, and I was running out of time. Looking up at Leo and ignoring my parents, I said, “Take me to her.”
We both disregarded my mother as she tried a last ditch effort to be part of Joy’s programming. When the door closed behind us, she was still trying to plead her case.
We were in a small dressing room and I knew Joy waited for me through the door to the left. In this room, Leo was going to monitor me. I was allowing one live camera in the room to record the event. It was also set up so if I lost track at any point during the programming due to exhaustion, or some other unforeseen event, Leo could step in and complete the programming so Joy wasn’t harmed. I felt good for the moment, but I knew how quickly the fatigue could hit me. Never in my life have I been as tired as I’ve been these past few days, and my body was weak from lack of exercise.
Still, I would do whatever I needed to in order to make sure Joy was taken care of.
As Leo set up his laptop, a call came on his phone.
Frowning, he answered it, “What’s wrong?”
A second later, a knock came from the door, and a pissed off Leo stormed over to answer it.
I leaned against a sturdy leather chair, getting some of the weight off my legs as Leo opened the door, revealing a determined looking Hannah.
Before Leo could argue with her, I sighed. “Let her in. I was expecting this.”
Hannah, her face covered in some kind of green clay looking stuff, glared at me as Leo closed the door behind her. She was wearing one of the spa robes, and still had on those foam things women wear between their toes when getting a pedicure. Leo tried to hold her back, but she shrugged him off and marched over to me while he gave me an apologetic look.
“You’re damn right, I want to talk to you. I know what you’re up to, Ramón, and you’re not going to do it without my input.”
I had been waiting for her to argue with me, to plead with me not to program Joy, so I might have appeared a bit shocked as I stared at her. “You’re not upset I’m doing this?”
She took another step forward, once again shoving Leo away when he tried to pull her to his side. “I know Judith, Ramón. I know your mother, and I know she’s chomping at the bit to bring Joy officially into the family. Am I right?”
“You’re right.”
“Leo wouldn’t tell me what happened to you, but I’m guessing by your injuries, you were hurt too badly to respond to Joy. I know you would have if you could have, but it hurt her to have you vanish like that. You can’t make this a habit, Ramón. If you’re going to marry my friend, you have to promise me you’ll be a good father and husband.”
While Hannah could be annoying as hell, I was glad Joy had her in her life. “Don’t worry, mi amiga, I had a…what does Joy call them? A come to Jesus moment in the jungle when I was sure I was a walking dead man. When I thought the end was near, all I could concentrate on was the life I wish I’d had the chance to live with Joy. My mind was filled with thoughts of the kids we’d never have, the places I’d never take her, the things I’d never get a chance to experience with her. Trust me, Hannah, I will be a good husband and father to your friend.”
She bit her lip, then nodded. “Okay, but I want to stay and watch with Leo.”
“No,” Leo and I both said at once.
Shrugging, she toyed with the belt of her robe. “Fine, then I’ll be forced to tell Joy what you did.”
Leo gritted his teeth. “You won’t tell her anything, Hannah.”
“You’re right,” she smiled at me and I recognized it as the smile my mother used right before she nailed someone to the wall. “Because if you let me stay, I will never tell her. I can’t make the same promise if you make me leave.”
“This is a dangerous game you’re playing.” I checked my watch. “I don’t have time to argue with you right now, so you can stay. But, be sure, we will discuss this in the future.”
Hannah paled, then lifted her trembling chin. “Okay.”
Rolling my eyes, I stood and waited for my knees to have the strength to hold me up. “Relax, I’m not going to beat you or anything. There may be some yelling involved. I’ll trust your Daddy to carry out any…corporal punishments on my behalf.”
Leo gave Hannah a smile that even I found off-putting, and I jerked my head. “Let’s go.”
Adrenaline fueled my movements as I quickly crossed the room and opened the door, my body shaking the slightest bit as I finally got to see my woman again.
There, in the center of the tan and gold room with its low lighting and soft music, lay my beautiful Joy. Dressed only in a pair of plain pink cotton panties, her were eyes closed as she lay on her stomach on the massage table. Her golden blonde curls were pulled up into a bun on top of her head, and the smooth skin of her back gleamed with oil. Even from here, I could see the dark circles beneath her closed eyes and the fact that she’d lost weight. I felt a pang of guilt that I was at least partially responsible for her depression.
But I was going to fix it, fix her. If I had my way, she’d never be unhappy again.
Leo helped me onto the long cream leather couch on the side of the room and arranged pillows on either side. I was still pitifully weak, too weak to stand up, let alone carry Joy from the table, but that didn’t mean I was happy that Leo got to see her partially naked body as he lifted her and carried her to my waiting arms. Rationally, I knew he could give a shit less about Joy being topless, that he was utterly and completely devoted to Hannah in every way, but that still didn’t stop the burn of jealousy.
Joy stirred as he lowered her into my arms, her head resting on the pillow as she snuggled into me with a happy sigh.
Leaning down, he whispered into my ear, “The camera is recording. I’d estimate you have about thirteen minutes until the serum wears off. Use it wisely.”
After partially covering her with a clean white sheet, he left us without saying another word.
As the door closed behind him I tried to calm my nerves, to remember everything I wanted to say to her, but at this moment all I could do was rejoice on a soul deep level that after everything I’d been through I finally had my reward.
My Joy.
“Sweetheart, can you hear me?” I asked in a soft voice as I used my free hand to stroke her body, trying to ignore the faint tremor shaking my fingers.
“Ramón,” Joy sighed and snuggled further into me. “I missed you.”
While I would love nothing better than to sit here and cuddle her, the minutes on my watch were ticking down faster than I expected. “I missed you too, my strong, beautiful girl.”
“I was so scared without you.”
“You’ll never be scared again, I promise. Now listen very carefully to everything I say…”