Fort Morgan (34 page)

“
I will come after I’m
done exercising the boys,” Ivan said with a cocky grin at his
joke.

He gave an emotion-laced bow and left. They
heard Ivan’s progress down the hallway through the open door. Ivan
left giggling women in his wake. A woman looked into the room.

“
Who was that?” the woman
asked.

“
He’s a ballet
danceur
with Ballet
Federation,” Sandy said. “Ivan.”

“
He’s yours?” the woman
asked.

She gave Sandy an assessing glance. Her eyes
passed over Delphie and ignored Sissy completely. When Sandy didn’t
respond, the woman raised her eyebrows.

“
He belongs to himself.”
Sissy’s voice came out in croaking syllables. Surprised by the
sound, Sandy got up and went to sit on the bed.

“
But. . . I
mean. . . you. . .” the woman fumbled with
words.

Delphie smiled at her and closed the door in
her face. As if to protect them against the hoard, Delphie
pretended to lean against the door. Sandy gave a light applause for
Delphie’s performance, and Sissy chuckled. The sound brought
Sandy’s attention back to Sissy.

“
How are you, Sis?” Sandy
asked.

Sissy nodded in such a way as to indicate
that it was too hard to talk. She gestured to the side where she’d
been shot. Sandy nodded.

“
I bet it hurts!” Sandy
said, to empathize. She leaned over and kissed Sissy’s
cheek.

“
Water?” Sissy
asked.

Sandy held up a cup of ice chips. Sissy
nodded. Sandy put a few chips on Sissy’s tongue. Sissy never liked
people hovering over her, so Sandy shifted away from her. Sissy
grabbed Sandy’s hand and whimpered at the effort. Sandy turned to
look at Sissy.

“
Can you tell me about
Ivan?” Sissy asked in puffs of air.

“
What about Ivan?” Sandy
asked.

Sissy flicked her eyes toward Delphie. Sandy
turned to look at Delphie.

“
I think she means you,”
Sandy said.

Delphie’s face broke into a smile, but her
eyes were etched with concern. Sandy nodded to the unasked
question.

“
It’s time,” Sandy
said.

Just then, Sissy’s nurse came into the room.
She glanced at Sandy and Delphie before going to Sissy’s
bedside.

“
Your sister is very ill,”
the nurse said as she checked Sissy’s vitals. “She’s not up for
drama.”

“
Yes,” Delphie said with a
smile.

“
Is this about the
gentleman who just left?” the nurse asked.

She looked down at Sissy.

“
Ivan,” Sissy
whispered.

The nurse glanced at Sandy and then back at
Sissy.

“
How is your pain?” the
nurse asked Sissy.

Rather than respond, Sissy looked away.
Sandy’s eyebrows pinched together with worry.

“
I’ll tell you what I’ll
do,” the nurse said. She looked pointedly at Sandy and Delphie.
“I’ll give you ten minutes. Then, I’m coming back in with pain meds
and sleep meds. The man is gone. She can sleep the rest of the
day.”

The nurse nodded to Sandy and Delphie.

“
Don’t upset her,” the
nurse said. She gave them one more stern look before leaving the
room.

“
Phew!” Abi appeared next
to Sissy’s bed. “I thought Nurse Sourpuss would never
leave!”

Sissy smiled at Abi. The fairy leaned down
to kiss Sissy’s cheek. Sissy’s hand went to stroke the bulge in
Abi’s abdomen.

“
For luck,” Sissy
whispered.

“
Give him a good stroke,
Sissy,” Abi said.

She put her hands on her hips and stuck her
belly out. Sissy petted the fairy’s stomach.

“
You want to give it a
try?” Abi said to Sandy and Delphie.

“
Where did you learn
that?” Sandy asked as she reached across the bed to touch Abi’s
stomach.

“
Ivan,” Sissy and Abi said
together and laughed.

The nurse stuck her head in the room, and
they choked back a laugh.

“
That’s better,” the nurse
said.

“
You’d better tell Sissy
the story,” Abi said. “Or we’ll run out of time.”

Delphie gave Abi a full look.

“
Yes, Oracle, I’m nosey,”
Abi said. Her face flushed. “I want to know the story,
too.”

“
Sissy?” Delphie
asked.

Sissy’s hand came up in a vague wave.
Delphie nodded and walked to the window. She looked out for a
moment before turning back to Sissy and the room.

“
It all starts with
Mitch,” Delphie said.

“
Tell you what,” Abi shook
her head. “Why don’t you think it, and I’ll make it
happen?”

Delphie scowled, and Sandy shrugged.

“
It’s faster,” Abi
said.

Delphie gave an acquiescing nod. Abi pointed
to an area of the room and a mullioned window appeared.

“
Seth’s house,” Sandy
said.

“
Exactly,” Delphie
said.

The scene unfolded in front of them.

~~~~~~~~

Mitch Delgado sat on the
edge of a hospital bed. His skin was grey and his breath ragged.
Alone in the room, he pulled the IVs out of his arm. Each action
took tremendous effort. He pulled out an IV and stopped to catch
his breath. When his arm was free of needles, he moved to the
sensors on his chest. One at a time, he pulled off the round leads
until the machines started to scream. He tried to stand, but the
effort was too much for him. He fell on the monitor of the
screeching heartrate machine. He slipped off the monitor and fell
to the base of the machine. Still fighting, he grabbed the power
cord and gave it a good yank. The heavy end of the cord flew out of
the socket and hit him in the eye with a solid “
Whap!
”

He passed out. Holding a damp dishtowel,
Maresol rushed into the room. She glanced at the bed and
panicked.

“
Mitch!” she
screamed.

He grunted. She went to him.

“
I should just leave you
there,” Maresol said.

“
I have to know,” Mitch
said in a solid burst.

He paid for it with gasping breaths. He
looked up at her with such desperation that the anger on her face
melted. The love between them was palpable. She knelt down to help
him up. Cancer had made a shell out of tall, muscular Mitch
Delgado, but he was still too heavy for her. She got only half way
up, and they fell again. Unsure of what to do, Maresol held Mitch’s
head against her chest.

“
Have. . .
to. . . know. . .” Mitch said.

“
She can come here,”
Maresol said.

Mitch tried to speak but ended up gasping
for breath. When he could, he said, “O’Malley.”

“
You rang?” Seth’s voice
came from the doorway.

“
This ridiculous man
doesn’t want you to know that he’s going to see Delphie about
Charlie and Sissy,” Maresol said.

As if what she’d said was the most normal
thing in the world, Seth gave her a curt nod. He came over to where
they lay. He pushed the monitors out of the way before kneeling
down. He grabbed Mitch under his arm and started to lift him. For a
moment, they hung in the air — Mitch’s heavy weight versus Seth’s
strength. Seth won. He dropped Mitch on the bed before leaning down
to help Maresol up.

“
That’s going to be a nice
shiner,” Seth said.

Mitch was too done in to respond. Seth gave
him an oxygen mask, and Mitch gave him the finger. Seth laughed.
Maresol expertly replaced his IVs while Seth returned the sensors
to his chest. They all breathed a sigh of relief when the heart
rate monitor began an even, rhythmic beep. Mitch pulled of his mask
to speak.

“
I need to know,” Mitch
said.

“
From Delphie?” Seth
asked. His face reflected his irritation.

Mitch started to pull off his mask. He held
it an inch from his face for a moment before he nodded.

“
Why?” Seth
asked.

“
He wants to know what is
going to happen in Charlie and Sissy’s lives,” Maresol said. “He
won’t be here, so he wants to manipulate their futures
now.”

“
Some things are simply
not in your control.” Seth shook his head.

Mitch pointed to Seth.

“
Oh, I see,” Seth
chuckled. “It’s in
my
control.”

Grinning, Mitch nodded.

“
The woman is annoying as
hell,” Seth said.

Seth’s voice held the tone of a warning.
Mitch pointed to Seth.

“
So am I?” Seth
asked.

Seth laughed. He looked at Maresol. Her face
implored him to do something to help. Seth looked up at the
heavens.

“
Fine,” Seth said. “But
don’t say I didn’t warn you. She’s exactly what you hate — one of
those ‘I didn’t go to the Nam’ 60’s flower children, who never grew
up.”

“
She is a powerful
Oracle,” Maresol said. “The only one of her kind.”

“
And?” Seth
asked.

“
A 60’s flower child,”
Maresol said. “She was never in Vietnam.”

Maresol shook her head at Delphie’s military
service. Seth pointed to Mitch.

“
Don’t you dare complain,”
Seth said.

Mitch pulled off the oxygen mask.

“
Agreed,” Mitch
said.

He and Seth shared a long look brought about
by a lifetime of friendship. Mitch gave Seth a cocky grin.

“
No complaints.” Seth
pointed at Mitch again.

Mitch gestured, “Me?”

“
Yes, you,” Seth
said.

“
Seth,” Maresol
said.

Seth looked at Maresol.

“
She can be here tonight,”
Maresol said. “Should I call her?”

“
Please,” Seth
said.

Just then, the picture disappeared, and Abi
shrank. Sissy’s nurse came in the door. It had been ten minutes,
and it was time for Sissy to sleep. A few minutes later, Sissy was
asleep.

Sandy glanced at Delphie, who shrugged. They
settled in to watch and wait while Sissy slept.

Delphie meets
Mitch

Tuesday early morning — 2:13 a.m.

Sandy opened her eyes the moment Sissy
groaned. Sissy’s days were painful, but the early hours of the
morning were horrible. No amount of pain medication took away this
early morning intensive pain. Sandy flipped off the blanket and got
up from the couch where she’d been sleeping. On her way to Sissy’s
bed, she touched Delphie’s shoulder.

“
I’m awake,” Delphie
said.

As she had done every night since she’d
arrived, Abi lay wrapped around Sissy. Her hands stroked Sissy’s
long hair as she whispered in fairy language. Sandy had never asked
Abi what she said to Sissy in these moments. Somehow, the foreign
words seemed to strengthen Sissy.

Sandy sat down on the bed and took Sissy’s
hand.

“
Bad. . .,”
Sissy said in an
exhale
. She sucked in a breath.
“Tonight.”

“
Should we get the nurse?”
Sandy asked.

Sissy shook her head.

“
Want to go home,” Sissy
said.

The doctor had told them that, as soon as
Sissy was off morphine, she could leave the hospital. Sissy
desperately wanted out of the hospital. Sandy kissed Sissy’s
cheek.

“
Ivan?” Sissy
asked.

Sandy glanced at Delphie and then at Abi.
The fairy gave a slight nod while Delphie looked conflicted. Sandy
gave her an imploring look, and Delphie acquiesced.

“
How about if we see what
we can
see
in a half hour?” Sandy said. “You usually feel better after a
bit. You need to rest and. . .”

“
Fine,” Sissy
said.

She looked so frail and sick that Sandy
kissed her cheek again. Sandy settled in next to Sissy on the bed.
Delphie turned to the empty space and Abi waved her hand.

They saw the back of
Delphie’s head as she stood in front of a tall and
wide
front door.
Her hair was crazy red, and she was wearing one of her flowing
skirts.

“
I’m standing outside of
Seth’s front door,” Delphie said with a nod.

~~~~~~~~

Delphie knocked on Seth’s front door. She
stood up straight to encourage herself. While she’d been to Seth’s
home to visit Maresol over the years, she’d never been there when
Seth was home. She and Seth had a complicated relationship, filled
with strong feelings that defied definition. They had never been
lovers and certainly were not friends. As far as Delphie was
concerned, Seth O’Malley was Maresol’s employer. No more, no
less.

Her best friend Celia had told her that her
entire world would change because of this interaction with Seth.
Celia had a powerful intuition about relationships. She was usually
right. But Delphie didn’t want a relationship of any kind with
Seth. In fact, she’d be just fine if things stayed exactly the
same.

She never would have come
if Maresol hadn’t asked. Maresol was an honest, big-hearted,
amazing
woman
who’d
helped
Celia teach Delphie how to live in the world. After all she’d
done for her, Delphie could never say “no” Maresol. Delphie nodded
to encourage herself and knocked on the door again.