By DocPaul
Chapter
Fifteen: Adjustment disorder…
Detective
Burns looked at the rabble of people infesting his life. The chaos was too much.
They were all talking at once. Finding a ringleader, he immediately recognized a
familiar face.
“Mr.
Guerin, isn’t it?”
Michael
turned around in the sea of people he was in the middle of, with Maria too far
away. “Right. Detective…Burns?”
“Good
memory. It’s been quite a few weeks. Don’t tell me that you went from being
a victim of breaking and entering to an actual participant?”
“My
brother was never accused of being a good influence on anyone, sir.” Maria
moved in closer to Michael, along with Alex, Tess, and Isabel. They were mixed
with Brody, lawyers, and the other three from Brody’s house. The Judge and
Councilman were trying to avoid the media.
“Hey!”
Burns said to the crowd. “Quiet! I need someone to tell me what the hell is
going on, or I’m booking you all!” Before Burns could choose Michael, all of
them started talking at once.
“It’s
like this….”
“I
want my lawyer….”
“I’ll
have your badge….”
“Can
I have some milk for my kitten?”
“I
have to go to the hospital….”
“Did
anyone order pizza? That’ll be $11.37 with tax.”
“False
arrest, you’ll be walking a beat….”
“I’m
innocent.”
“I’m
not. I want to confess! What’s the crime, again?”
“I’m
on the clock, can someone process me quick, so I can get back out there?”
Burns
sighed and looked for his partner. Waving over the Desk Sergeant. “Split them
up, take statements. I heard that evidence was retrieved from the scene?”
“Yes,
sir. Two are in the hospital, including one who was held captive. She’s a
twenty-seven year old, Caucasian female, about four months pregnant. Her
fiancée is the nail biter demanding to go to the hospital. The other victim has
a sheet. He was just in here a few months back for breaking and entering into
his brother’s house.”
“Don’t
tell me.” Burns pointed to Michael. “That brother?” The Desk Sergeant
nodded. “I told you not to tell me. Okay, separate them. Put the obvious ones
in holding, and someone get Jonesy out of here! I don’t have time to listen to
him confessing to every crime of the evening.”
~~~
It
took longer than any of them realized it would. Max and Tess were the most
frantic. Both were desperate to get to the hospital, but like the rest, they
were detained. After all statements were processed and the evidence seized from
the scene of the crime was read through, Burns and his partner called in the
DA’s office. They sat for about an hour with Max, Maria and Michael as Maria
surprisingly laid out the case for the DA’s office in excruciating detail.
Burns buried his head in his hands. It was going to be a long night. Fucking
white collar crimes. He hated them. Three months ago, he was run ragged over a
stolen computer chip. He needed to reevaluate his career options.
~~~
Max
was pacing the hospital halls instead of the local police station. Amazing. His
attitude and expression never changed. Liz was still being assessed by doctors,
and as of now he had no new information. They had to do a scan on her head to
see the extent of the damage, but her pregnancy made it a complicated matter.
“Is
he going to be okay?” Maria asked Michael as she petted her kitten. He was
asleep again. Good Mr. Peepers.
“No,
I doubt it. I think you can say that Max just had an epiphany. Not a good one
either.”
“They’re
engaged. They’re expecting a baby. So what could be wrong?” Michael shrugged
and reached over to run a finger down the kitten’s back. He told Maria all
about Max and Liz, and their lives since high school. Maria was very attentive
with an occasional ‘I see’ thrown in for good measure.
“I
guess I shouldn’t ask about Alex, then, huh? Is he just as rotten, indulged
and spoiled as the rest of you?”
Michael
frowned at that. “What do you mean?”
Maria
reached up and stroked Michael’s cheek. “I mean that you each get your way
too easily. You pick up fiancées like they’re a market item. Max is so self
involved it’s amazing that he even found the time to make a baby, and
Alex….perhaps it’s best I don’t know about him.”
Michael
laughed, remembering that drinking session he had with Alex and Max after
fiancée number six took a powder. Maybe Maria was right. It was best that he
didn’t come off too clean.
“You’re
a fine one to talk. Counselor?” Michael raised an eyebrow.
Maria
laughed. “It is what I do…pro bono. It isn’t who I am. Not anymore.”
“But
you were? A lawyer once?”
“For
a short time, and my entire life. Long story. Bygones.” Maria moved her leg
next to his. “Did you know that I knew you, before I knew you?”
“Really.
How is that?”
“I
knew the two major firms that would more than likely duke it out for the Maps
Project were Davis or Valenti’s. Can you imagine how I felt to be standing
between two feuding construction companies at that party when little old me was
the person responsible for three years of legal delays? Big, and I mean, big
conflict of interest.”
“Isn’t
it now?”
Maria
shrugged. “Not really. My part in this involves only the planning stages. Once
the decisions are all made and there’s a go, I have no involvement left.
That’s when your involvement starts. The bidding.”
“The
bidding.” Michael perched his lips. “So why did you run off like you were
being pursued by the devil that night?”
Maria
laughed. “Well, I was, wasn’t I? You definitely looked like a fattening
treat to me. I was just forestalling a possible sexual harassment charge.”
Michael
lifted an eyebrow. “You thought I was going to sexually attack you?”
Maria
laughed. “Oh no! I thought I would sexually attack you! I was protecting myself from a future lawsuit.” Michael
laughed at that. Sure. Like he would’ve complained.
“It’s
not harassment if the victim is willing.”
Maria
looked at him with great speculation. “Really? Already. That night? You
didn’t even know me.”
“Hey,
my body has a fully activated lust detector. You were off the charts.”
“Flatterer.”
Michael picked up her hand with his ring and kissed it. “What are you
thinking?” Maria asked.
“I’m
thinking I don’t know you well enough to marry you.” Michael said, but he
looked into Maria’s eyes. “But I don’t care.” She smiled at that. Oh, he
didn’t say much. But when he did, he was real good. “A lawyer. The lawyer
who stalled the Maps Project for three years! I’m thinking I didn’t buy you
a large enough engagement ring!” Maria laughed harder at that. Michael leaned
into her and kissed her laughter away.
She
was his partner in crime long before she ever knew him. If the Maps Project had
gone on as scheduled three years ago, Brody Davis would have gotten it hands
down. Valenti’s wasn’t big enough or able to handle a contract of that
magnitude at that time. Maria and her meddling legally blocked the project for
three years, giving Brody and his silent partners untold grief. They had teamed
with Brody five years previously in anticipation of the largest project ever
seen in the city of
“We
do good work together.” Michael said against her neck. Moving away from her,
he looked down at the sleeping kitten. “We need to rethink the name Mr.
Peepers. Isn’t that the name of the strange SNL character whose an ape
man?”
~~~
Kyle’s
leg was on the mend. They took him to surgery and removed the bullet with no
real damage to surrounding tissue. It still hurt. Not as much as when his father
and stepmother entered the room.
“Kyle!
Sweetie!” Serena was very affectionate lately. Kyle couldn’t get that.
“Hi,
Dad.”
Jim
looked at his son and reached down and hugged him tight. The boy had scared ten
years off his life when Michael called and told them the news. “What the hell
is going on with you, son?”
“Stupid
stuff. I swear. That’s over.” Kyle looked at the doorway where big brother,
Michael stood. Michael just tipped his head to the side. Damn. He hadn’t told
them. He was going to leave it up to Kyle to spin the yarn as he saw fit.
Kyle
looked at Michael, cursing him. Bastard.
“So
you should take a seat. I have a story to tell you, and most of it, you’re not
going to like.” Damn his newfound conscience. Hated it. Michael smirked
slightly and left the room.
~~~
Liz
opened her eyes from a sleep, and frowned at the young woman sitting at her
bedside reading a magazine. She had regained consciousness over six hours
before, and in that time she had Max banned from her room, along with her future
in-laws, the Evans, and her own parents. This person was a stranger to her.
Maria
sat down her magazine. “Well, hello. Good to see you in the land of the
living. I must say you looked horrible when we brought you in from Brody’s
house.”
“Do
I know you? Are you a nurse?”
Maria
laughed. “No. I’m Maria DeLuca. We have a mutual acquaintance, Michael
Guerin.”
“Oh!
You’re the one!” Maria’s eyebrow
went up at that, and she smiled as a dimple graced her cheek.
“The
one? I like that.” Maria leaned back slightly amused. “We’ve never met,
but Michael has told me about you. I figured since you had practically everyone
you knew banned from your room, and I wasn’t on that list, that I would sit
with you. My roommate, Tess would be here, but she has her own patient to hover
over. You’re lucky. I love Tess, but she can be a tad bit overbearing. For
that matter, so can I.”
“I
just wanted a little time alone. To think.”
“Hmm,
well, that’s always a good idea, and I’m a great supporter of thinking
before you leap…..damn, I just realize that you know Michael, so perhaps you
won’t take me at my word, since brain damage is a possibility.”
Liz
laughed. “He has gone through a lot of fiancées.”
“Damn
straight he has. I decided to forgive him that little flaw. I officially call it
the Papa Bear Syndrome.”
“Papa
Bear Syndrome?” Liz was intrigued and fascinated despite herself. Michael
rarely got involved with a woman who didn’t have the mental acuity of a flea.
Maria was definitely breaking a lifetime mold.
“Taken
from Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You
know…..this bed is too hard, this bed is too soft….Well, I’m convinced
that Michael needed to try a lot of beds to find one that was just right.”
Maria paused. “Oh dear, that doesn’t sound very good either, does it?”
Liz
couldn’t stop laughing. It actually was hurting her head. “God! What is
Michael getting himself into? Does he even know?”
“Doubt
it, but I don’t plan to enlighten him, so don’t you!” Liz put up her hands
in surrender. Michael Guerin would survive. It was what he did. “So I wanted
to talk about you.”
“Me?
There’s nothing to talk about.”
Maria
smiled, but her smile had something behind it. “Oh, sure there is. You, Liz
Parker, just stumbled on the biggest expose` this city has seen in forever.
You’re telling me that you don’t plan to capitalize on it?”
“What
do you mean?”
“I
mean….what is it you want, Liz Parker?”
Liz
suddenly looked down at her bedding. “That is a problem, isn’t it? I thought
I knew, but now….I’m not so sure. I worked so hard, and so long. All along
the way, I made compromises when others didn’t or wouldn’t. I gave away so
many of my dreams that I can’t remember if I ever dreamt them in the first
place.”
Maria
smiled kindly. “Some dreams are reality.” Maria placed her hand on Liz’s
stomach. Low. “This is a dream coming true, no?”
“Emma.
I’m naming her Emma. They say she’s fine. Nothing bad happened to her.”
“I
heard. I’m glad.” Maria licked her lips. “So what is it that you want, Liz
Parker? Do you want to sell this story and walk away, or do you want to make it
work for you?”
Liz
looked at Maria in a skeptical way. “Work for me? How?”
“Well,
there you go! It really is for you to say. You have exclusive rights to this
story, to this information, and if you want to blow it out of the water, hold
these rights and to use them to help say…..negotiate a new position for
yourself, then I would think that you’re playing ball with the big boys.”
“I’m
pregnant. In a month or so, I’m on maternity leave.”
“True.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t write articles to be published at home while
watching Emma. It doesn’t mean that you can’t juggle a life you want with a
daughter you want either.” Maria took Liz’s hand. “This is an opportunity
of a lifetime, Liz Parker. I’m telling you, don’t let it pass you by. Look
at you! If I was a producer, I would take those pretty girl next door looks and
put them behind a camera, because they spark of honesty. You could do special
reports, human interest stories, and people would believe you because you’re
just about as wholesome looking at a Norman Rockwell painting.”
“I
would like to be more mysterious and daring.”
“Overrated!
Be what you can be…what you’re best at. Use that! Those who are meant to be
dangerous and mysterious…..well, let them have at it. So, what do you think,
Liz Parker? You want to step up to the plate? This is your life. Don’t let it
pass you by.”
“You
sound like a lawyer or a manager.” Liz said thoughtfully. Maria’s enthusiasm
was wearing off on her. “I thought you were an artist who made candles and
blew glass.”
“I
do that too. Some people think my candles are magical or that I catch dreams in
my glasswork. You want to know what the magic is?” Liz nodded. What did she
have to lose? “The magic is not me. It’s them. It’s the people who want to
believe. They make it happen. They can’t imagine themselves finding that
strength, so when they do, they attribute it to something else. The magic they
seek is there, inside, waiting to burst free. Work your magic, Liz. You might be
surprised.”
Liz
smiled at Maria. No matter what Maria said, nothing would never convince her
that Maria DeLuca wasn’t charmed in some way.
~~~
Surprisingly,
it was three days before Max got to see Liz. Really see her. He sat at her
bedside when she was still unconscious. There was no long extensive damage. She
had a really bad concussion, a small scalp laceration, a huge headache, and her
most serious condition was due to dehydration. The baby tested out fine. So with
that relief, it was good to see her finally open her eyes. Once she did, Max was
banished from the room by the doctors wanting to do an assessment on her, and he
was never allowed to return. Liz asked that he not be allowed to see her.
That
was over two days ago, and finally he got a call from the hospital informing him
that his name was cleared to see Liz. Isabel had gone to see her a few times,
and she shared news with Max, but it wasn’t the same. So it was with real
apprehension that he entered the hospital room.
Liz
was sitting up in bed. Her color looked better. Her hair was no longer caked
with blood, and she was bright-eyed and aware. Max smiled slightly at her,
calling her name.
“Hi,
Max.”
“Hi.”
Max never remembered being so shy around Liz Parker. Perhaps when he first met
her, or when they first started dating. That was so long ago, that it had faded
from his memory. That shyness was back suddenly, and the lawyer in him didn’t
appreciate it.
Liz
plucked at her covers. “I guess you’re wondering why I didn’t want to see
you.” She paused, and Max nodded, but he remained silent. “I think I needed
to finally sit a little and think things through. Part of me was angry with you,
and part of me was angry at myself for letting this go on so long.”
“What,
Liz?”
Liz
licked her lips and held out an envelope to Max. “This is for you.”
Max
held it in his hands. He didn’t want to open it. He could feel a small
circular impression. A ring. Reluctantly, he opened it, and Liz’s engagement
ring fell out along with a bunch of pieces of paper. They were scrap paper torn
from a larger piece.”
“What
is this?” Max asked picking up the paper scraps.
“Your
prenuptial agreement. You won’t be needing it anymore. I’m not marrying you,
Max.”
Max
sat back and stared at her. After ten years, in the last few days, he had a
taste of life without her. He had sat in that empty nursery and realized how
much he almost lost. “Liz, I know you’re angry, and you have every right to
be.”
“I’m
not angry. I’m resolved.” Liz said. “I was angry during those times I knew
you were out there dating legal aides from the firm while living with me. That
made me angry.” Max sat back, a slight flush moved up his neck. He never
realized that she knew.
“Liz,
nothing ever happened with those dates. They were really mostly business.”
“Don’t
lie to me! Not now. There isn’t a need, Max. You were testing the waters, and
the only thing that stopped you was time constraint. They might be more
demanding than I was. The devil you know is often better than the devil you
don’t. After all, I was already trained.”
Max
was horrified. It was true. All true. She had pegged him flat like a bug on a
specimen plate. But things were different now. “I don’t feel that way now,
Liz.”
“It
doesn’t matter.” Liz looked at Max earnestly. “All I could think about
when I thought I was going to die was my daughter. Her happiness. Her birth. Her
life. Nothing else.” Liz took a deep breath. “I have to tell you that she
wasn’t an accident, Max. The pill didn’t fail. I threw them away. I got
pregnant on purpose.”
Max
frowned. “Why? Why didn’t you just talk to me?”
“I
did. You weren’t listening. I wasn’t talking about having a baby right away,
but I was talking about us making a firm commitment. Marriage. Some token of
love, a proof that it wasn’t just me in this relationship. So I did something
really, really wrong. I’m deeply ashamed, but I can’t regret it. I can’t.
It’s Emma. I can’t regret her ever. But, you didn’t sign up for this
pregnancy, and you made that abundantly clear when you basically ignored her
existence. What life will she have, being born a mistake?”
“She’s
not a mistake, Liz. I swear to you…..”
“Don’t.
Don’t make me promises, Max Evans. I have a lifetime of promises from you and
do you know where they are?” Max shook his head. Liz picked up the envelope
with the shredded prenuptial agreement. She dumped them out in a flurry of paper
scattering everywhere. “Here they are, Max. So many promises... If you meant
to keep them then why the hell did you need this?”
Max
was silent. The papers said it all. Better than a lifetime of neglect and
ignoring her. Better than putting his job and career above hers. It said that
she wasn’t forever in his heart. There was a place, a space that he kept her
out of, and it was that place that held a thought that they would not be
together forever.
Liz
reached over and took another envelope and handed it to Max. “This is also for
you.”
Max
was afraid to open it. “What is it?”
Liz
bit her lip a little, but she remained strong. Emma deserved that. “The best
possible custody and child support I can get from you. Also, a palimony suit for
back payments for putting you through law school. With interest. And a request
to liquidate our joint properties, and that includes the house.”
Max
took out the documents and scanned them. In amazement, he reread it twice. A
thin layer of sweat broke out on his forehead. “This is….well done.”
“I’ve
got a great lawyer. She has a magical touch.”
Max
put down the papers. “What if I don’t want this? What if I want you back?
You. The baby. Us. A family.”
Liz
picked up the papers and handed them to Max. “Well, this is a new leaf here,
Max. You no longer get what you want. We played that game for over ten years.
This is a new game called ‘What is Best for Emma.’ And as her custodial
parent, and the only parent she will have, since you barely cared that she was
conceived, I decide what that is. And right now, this is what is best for Emma.
Me? You don’t get me. Not anymore.”
Max
couldn’t believe it. His entire life was blown to hell. If he fought it, he
lost immediately. He and Liz would be over forever. If he gave in, he lost his
family. It was a no-win situation for him.
“I’m
still Emma’s father.”
“I’m
not denying that. Read the papers. I gave you generous visitation rights. She
will be born Emma Evans. I’m not cutting you out of her life, Max. Just
mine.”
Max
wasn’t going to win. He could see that in the stubborn look of her face. In
valor, there was a time to admit defeat, retreat, and live to fight another day.
Taking a pen from his pocket, Max quickly signed the papers and kept his copies.
He would need them later, as he knew the extent of the law.
“Here.
Signed.” Max leaned over Liz. “We aren’t through, Liz Parker. Not by a
longshot. I forgot for a while, but not any longer. I believe in us. So tell me
how to get you back.”
Liz
looked up at him. “I don’t think you can do it, Max. It would take something
you’re unwilling to give.”
“What’s
that?”
“Work.”
Max
smiled a predator smile lacking any humor. “Don’t count me out. I’m coming
for you, Liz Parker.”
Liz
watched the door shut behind him. “I won’t hold my breath.”
~~~
“Hi,
am I allowed in?”
Liz
smiled at Kyle in the doorway in a wheelchair. “Yeah, you are.”
Kyle
navigated himself into the room. “How are you?”
“Better.
They’re releasing me in another twenty-four hours, once my baby doctor clears
me.”
“That’s
good.” Kyle reached out and took Liz’s hand. “So, this is where I say
I’m sorry for getting you almost killed.”
Liz
looked at Kyle solemn face. “That really wasn’t your fault, Kyle. You told
me to back off, and I didn’t listen.” Liz squeezed his hand. “I guess I
had something to prove, and I let the story sweep me away. I was wrong. I forgot
it wasn’t just me anymore, but Emma too. That was stupid.”
Kyle
bent his head to her hand as rested there a moment. “You had me scared, Liz
Parker. Real scared. I don’t mind taking risks with myself, but other
people….I think I’d rather not be that responsible.”
Liz
understood. It was a huge burden. “It’s okay. We’re okay.” Liz took back
her hand and reached over for an envelope. “This is for you.”
Kyle
frowned and slowly opened the envelope. Liz looked up and saw Michael and Maria
in the doorway, she smiled at them. “What is it?”
“Open
it. It won’t explode. I promise.”
Kyle
pulled out a check. Looking at Liz confused, he stared at the money. “A check?
What’s this for?”
Liz
shrugged, “Your share of the money for selling the story. It seemed only fair,
since you’re the one who put me onto it. I only did a little investigation and
got myself hit on the head. You’re the one who took a bullet. So I negotiated
a nice raise, a good price, and a new training program to get me on the air as a
special features journalist. A lot of good came out of this, Kyle. So, thank
you.”
Kyle
was speechless. Staring at the money, he didn’t even get a chance to think
about spending it, before Michael plucked it out of his hands.
“What?
Hey, that’s mine!”
Michael’s
eyebrow went up at the amount. “Not quite enough, but a good first payment.”
Michael looked maliciously at Kyle. “I just received my VISA bill in the
mail.” Kyle groaned. Oh, damn. Story of his life. Easy come. Easy go.