Forever Young: Blessing or Curse (Always Young Trilogy) (27 page)

“Sorry,
but I’m getting more and more paranoid. I know I’m being silly, but I just went
outside.”

“You
can’t be too careful. Listen, Dorrie, I read over the emails, and I don’t like
what I see. Larry’s conclusions look spot on. I wish you hadn’t gotten mixed up
in this. I’ve got a bad feeling about the whole thing. I’d feel better if I
could get one of your pills and check the formula.”

“But
wouldn’t every pill be different, according to the age the person chooses? How
could you tell for sure?”

“I
can figure it out from the equations.”

“Maybe
I could Fed Ex it or something.”

“That
would work. Just make sure no one sees you doing it, because if Jeanne’s right,
you’d be in a mess of trouble.”

“Speaking
of Jeanne, I haven’t heard from her in a while. She usually gets back to me the
next day at the latest. I wish I could go over there myself to check and make
sure she’s all right.”

“She’s
still on Thunderbird Lane, right?”

“Yes,
same place all these years.”

“I
bet Steve would do it.”

“I’d
really appreciate that. And I appreciate all you’re doing to help me, too,
Keith.”

“No
problem. Remember, you’re my friend, with or without Larry.”

***

Saturday
morning, after her appointment with Dr. Lewanthal, where she was assured all
was proceeding on schedule, Dorrie booked her appointment for the following
week. She then stopped at the drug store to buy a small padded envelope. In the
privacy of her Hyundai, she inserted her pill into it. Inside the Fed Ex store,
she slipped it all into a priority mailing box, which she marked
Fragile
.

She’d
done what she could. For now, she’d think positive. Keith would check the
formula, discover it was different than the original, and somehow put another
pill together for her to use later. Steve would find a simple reason why Jeanne
hadn’t called. They’d laugh over the misunderstanding, and then she could
concentrate on the baby’s arrival, instead of other concerns.

Feeling
as if she’d accomplished something, she stopped off at the greasy spoon near
her house. Though it was only eleven, she splurged on a strawberry milk shake,
cheeseburger and fries. She’d call the extra pounds baby fat. That reminded
her. She’d run out of milk again, so she better stop at the grocery store. Once
inside, though stuffed from her eating orgy, she fell prey to other
temptations. 

She
hated coming home to an empty house, even in the daylight. Frowning, she set
the groceries onto the counter. She didn’t know if she’d ever get used to being
alone, yet didn’t see how anyone could measure up to Larry, not to mention, be
on the young pill as well. She still had to decide whether or not to stay on
them once the baby was born, but one thing at a time.

Life
altering decisions in her condition were too impossible to figure out. For now,
she’d prop her feet on the ottoman in the family room, and click the remote.
Fortunately, she found a comedy that was actually funny. It felt good to laugh.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing in front of the television.

What
had people done in the old days without such an invention? For that matter,
what had they done without computers, Internet, radio, air conditioning,
digital cameras, and so many other conveniences she took for granted? Maybe
without all those distractions they’d actually talked to each other, or sang or
played cards. No, they didn’t have time for that either, not with clothes and
dishes to wash by hand, fields to plow, and God knows what else. She smiled in
appreciation of the modern comforts she enjoyed.

The
cell rang, interrupting her musings. Was it Jeanne or Keith?

God,
I hope she’s all right.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

The
ID showed Keith’s name. Though the yard looked dark and spooky this time of
night, she stepped outside anyway, and headed to her bench by the rose bushes.

“Steve
just got back from Jeanne’s. I would have called you sooner, but we had some
following up to do first.”

“Following
up?”

“Yes.
When he got there, he found two weeks of newspapers on the porch, and a bunch
of uncollected mail, as if she’d gone on vacation and forgotten to tell anyone.
He rang the doorbell and pounded on the front and back doors, but no one
answered. Next he went into the backyard and checked the bird and deer feeders.
Nothing in them.”

Dorrie’s
heart sank. “That is so unlike Jeanne. For one thing, she would have arranged
for papers and mail to be picked up. For another, she loves animals. She’d
never neglect them. Something’s wrong.”

 “That’s
what Steve thought. He tried the front door and it wasn’t locked.”

She
remembered countless times when she’d gone over to her friend’s house and could
walk right in. Had Jeanne’s carelessness been her downfall? Dorrie hoped to God
not.

“Was
she there?”

“No.
He yelled out and got no answer, so he went inside. He searched the whole house
top to bottom, even the closets, under the beds, the basement, but no one was
there. Some other strange things—The milk and vegetables in the refrigerator
were stale, the dishes and utensils were unwashed in the dishwasher. Then a
really weird thing, Steve found her cell phone lying on the floor under the
edge of the bedspread. If he hadn’t stepped on it, he would have missed it.”

Dorrie
frowned in thought. “Well, that explains why she hasn’t called. Maybe it fell
on the way out. But where could she have gone? I’m really worried she might be
off in the head or something. You know, with all those strange notions she’s
been spouting about people bugging my house, maybe she thinks her own house is
bugged, too, and people are following her. She could have taken Mike’s dying
harder than I thought, and felt so responsible it was too much to handle.”

“You
know her better than I do, but I always thought her pretty levelheaded.”

Dorrie
sighed. “True. She’s one of the sanest people I know. She gets mad and blows
off steam, but it doesn’t last. When her Dad died, she lashed out at me for
suggesting he take the pill in the first place, but we made up right away. She
seemed to be handling his death pretty well, unless deep down she hadn’t, and
her mind went off on a strange tangent.”

“Or,
she could be dead-on about the bugs.”

“That’s
a scary thought.”

Pictures
of Jeanne pulled out of bed in the dead of night, trying to call for help, only
to have her cell phone knocked from her hands, flashed through Dorrie’s mind,
making her arms and legs quake.

“I
hope she’s okay. I couldn’t bear it if anything bad happened to her and it was
my fault. I should never have involved her in any of this.”

“Don’t
say that, Dorrie. We don’t know exactly what happened, for one thing. For
another, if Remington’s the cause, it’s not your fault. It’s his.”

“Thanks
for trying to ease my conscience, Keith.”

“You’re
a good person, Dorrie. Don’t ever believe otherwise.  By the way, Steve’s
shoe didn’t land too hard on the phone. He took the cell with him, along with
the charger he found in the drawer. He plugged it in at home and called
everyone on her phone list, even the people from the wildlife park, but no one
had heard from her. Now they’re worried, too.”

“Oh,
dear, well, that can’t be helped. Let’s hope we’ll all be happy soon and
laughing over whatever Jeanne’s been up to. I wonder about her neighbors on each
side. Maybe she didn’t put them in the phone.”

“Steve
tried them, too, but no luck.”

“Thank
goodness for your brother. He seems to have thought of everything. He’s such a
great guy to go through all this trouble. Oh, wait, what about a missing
person’s report? Can he file one of those? I have no idea what the rules are.”

“He
did that as well. They promised to examine the house tomorrow and see if they
can come up with anything. The officer said there might be a simple explanation
why she left, which usually happens in a case like this. Steve didn’t say
anything about bugs and the other stuff you mentioned for fear they wouldn’t
take him seriously.”

“I’m
glad he didn’t. Not everyone even believes this pill is working on me. Some
think the before and after shots are two different people who resemble each
other.”

“Well,
it does seem farfetched. I wouldn’t believe it either, if I didn’t know you.”

“And
I had my doubts, until it actually happened. Sometimes I still can’t believe
it. None of this seems real. I wish Larry and I still lived in Tomahawk and
we’d never heard of the Institute.”

“I
hear you. You’ve gone through a lot, Dorrie. Let’s hope all turns out well.”

“Thanks,
Keith. And, again, thanks for all you and Steve have done, going so much out of
your way.”

“It’s
the least we can do. I’m afraid for now, it’s a waiting game. I don’t want to
be an alarmist, but you better prepare yourself for the worse. In the meantime,
as soon as that pill gets here, I’ll check it out. If it’s different than the
original, not to worry. Otherwise, Jeanne may have been right. In that case,
get ready to get away. Do you have enough pills for now?”

“Yes,
I got a fresh bottle yesterday for February.”

“Thank
God, you and the baby have dodged the bullet so far. Take care of yourself,
Dorrie. I wouldn’t want anything bad happening to you. I’ll give you a call as
soon as I know anything.”

After
Dorrie had clicked off, she glanced nervously about the yard, dark except for
the twinkling solar lights. The air had turned cool and the atmosphere spooky.
Though her house also seemed scary, at least it was brighter. She clambered
inside as fast as her girth would allow.

A
glance at the clock on the microwave showed a good thirty minutes had passed
since she’d taken the call. If anyone were watching, wouldn’t they think it
strange she’d stayed outside so late, talking on the phone? Also, wouldn’t they
wonder why she answered every cell call outside? To allay suspicion, she better
use her cell inside for the more innocuous calls.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

By
the following Wednesday evening, Dorrie had not heard back from Keith. She knew
he had a demanding job, and would have to slip the tests in when he could, and
then wait for the results. It wasn’t as if he could come up with any answers
right away. Still, the suspense felt unbearable.

Not
to mention, her nerves already jangled because of her condition, which had
become a real obstacle. She walked like a pigeon, and simple matters like
showers and baths presented a challenge. She couldn’t abide being dirty, so she
managed, but with the utmost care.

At
work, her back hurt when she stood for any length of time. Now she was grateful
Patricia had caught on so fast. It was much easier to sit on the extra chair
and read a book while waiting for questions which hardly ever came. Every once
in a while, she’d get up and walk around to ease the pressure on her back.

She’d
just returned from a walking stretch around eleven to find Patricia gesturing
to her. “You’ve got a call.”

“How
about lunch today,” Kelly asked.

“Sure,
be glad to. Is twelve a good time?”

Dorrie
hadn’t seen or heard from her work friend in a while. She’d assumed Kelly had
thought she’d flipped out about the bug possibility and didn’t want anything to
do with her. Maybe that wasn’t the case.

After
she’d added a pear, salad, pork roast slices and a baked potato to her tray,
Dorrie joined Kelly at the far booth in the packed cafeteria.

“I’m
sorry I haven’t gotten back to you sooner, but I’ve been so busy you wouldn’t
believe it. Turns out I got this mindboggling opportunity here. It’s one of
those internist things, where I’m learning web design after hours. Once I get
better, I’ll be part of the IT staff and will do all sorts of fun stuff.  

I’ve
been practicing on my lunch hour with a sandwich in one hand, while I navigate
with the other. Today, I decided to break down and eat something  decent
for a change. Plus I missed seeing my buddy.”  

Hearing
her friend had missed her made Dorrie feel warm inside. “It has been a while,
Kelly, and I’m so glad to see you again. I thought maybe you were mad at me or
thought I was crazy over the bug issue.”

“Oh,
darn, I’ve been so busy I forgot to tell you Doug’s still on special detail,
meaning more double shift until it’s over. It seems forever since we’ve shared
the same bed or even said hello to each other, except over the phone. Good
thing I have this wonderful opportunity to keep me occupied.”

“Whenever
he can make it is fine. Anyway, let me know if you have time for a movie or
shopping. I’ve been pretty friendless lately, since for some reason Jeanne’s
pulled a disappearing act.”

“I
thought you were great friends.”