Cancelled (26 page)

“I forgot to thank you for fixing the problem with the chips.”

Eric put the screwdriver he was using down and wiped his forehead with his hand. “Don't mention it, but if another Hedis project comes in? I vote we turn it down.”

Both men laughed in agreement. Johnathan hoped the Neimer company would be a more amiable client. The best part was that he could definitely take a back seat since Eric was on lead and finally mature enough to handle it.

At three, Eric turned off the Cave's music system, prompting Johnathan to look up.

“What's wrong?”

“We've got to go.”

Johnathan swiped his cheek with his shoulder, aggravated there was never enough AC to counter the heat of the electronics and tools. “It's only three, the party isn't until six.”

“You stink. Come on, we're going back to my place so you can shower and change. And I promised Alex to get you there by five to help with setup.”

The wine bistro with
A Paris Street in Rainy Weather
wallpaper was packed with people Johnathan considered friends, family, and acquaintances. Mostly acquaintances. Each table held a game of chance as the centerpiece, such as a small wooden shuffle board or an old-time raffle wheel. The drink names were code words from the time period, and Johnathan was happily gulping down all of the 'coffin varnish' he could.

Tables had been moved to create an impromptu dance floor. With a live jazz band playing hits from the 20s, 30s, and 40s, nearly everyone felt comfortable cutting the rug. After a lively Lindy Hop with Eric to “Jumping at the Woodside,” Johnathan nodded at the band leader and claimed his future bride.

Out of breath, Alexis smiled as Johnathan wrapped his arms around her. The first few strains of “I'm Beginning to See the Light” popped out of the trumpet and Johnathan held his fiancée close for an up-tempo slow dance. After a few turns, Alexis snuggled her head onto his shoulder.

“This is nice.”

“Mm-hmm.” Johnathan felt like nothing could ruin this moment for him, until a buzzing in his pocket caught both of their attention. Alexis broke the dancing embrace and scolded him in a hoarse whisper.

“You left your cell phone on?”

“I had to.” Johnathan whispered back, slowly walking off the dance floor in between the other couples. On the third ring he read the caller ID: CALLUM. Flicking his phone open, he began talking as he walked purposefully towards the side door.

“What? I can't hear you. Hang on.” Johnathan slammed the door’s silver release bar and disappeared into the parking lot.

Alexis marched right after him, catching both Eric and Anna's attention as she bumped into them on the way out. As she opened the door, she heard Johnathan's voice coming from the right side at the edge of the parking lot.

“You’re sure? What hospital?” Johnathan nodded as he listened. “Alright, I'm leaving now.” As he turned around, Alexis was standing right there. “Oh good, hey, I’ve gotta go. Callum called and said Kellie collapsed. They had to call an ambulance. The baby is in trouble.”

“Callum. Kellie’s drug dealer friend?”

This response surprised Johnathan. He didn’t understand how that had anything to do with what was going on. “Er...yeah. He’s the pharmacist intern or whatever. Look, I need to get over to St. Catherine’s Emergency Room.”

“Why? You going to deliver the baby yourself? This is our engagement party you’re leaving. What do I say?” Her voice was equally full of sarcasm and pain. “Johnathan left to go to the birth of his daughter with another woman? But please, help yourself to another shrimp cocktail.” Alexis said, using a high-pitched mocking of her own voice.

Both took a breath at Alexis’ viciousness.

Regaining her composure, Alexis spoke again before Johnathan could respond.

“My family is here.”

“Our daughter. We need to go to the birth of our daughter.” It was a lame attempt, but he was trying.

“Bullshit. You said ‘I’ve gotta go,' Johnathan. She has never been our daughter, but your baby with another woman!”

The truth packed the punch of a heavy-weight prize fighter. Jonathan recovered, but instead of pain his protective response was anger.

“Dammit Alex, everything can’t be about you. You knew this baby was coming, any day now.”

“I don’t want everything to be about me, Johnathan. Just one thing. My engagement party.” Alexis also let go of being hurt in favor of rage. “So go on, go running to Kellie.”

Johnathan was beyond frustrated. How many times did he have to remind her that there was nothing between him and Kellie? He yelled an unintelligible word and physically walked away from her to get some space. With his back turned to her, he finally answered her demand with his own clarification.

“I’m not leaving for Kellie. I’m leaving for Charlotte.”

He turned around to see the effect of his words on her. It was the first time he had used his daughter’s name referring to her. He was a dad. He had a daughter named Charlotte and she needed him.

“Please.” Alexis begged Johnathan with not just words, but every involuntary movement of her body. From her trembling hands and quibbling lips to the eyes threatening to spill even more tears. “Wait until morning. You can go first thing in the morning. Or...or right after the party. Please don’t go right now. It won’t make a difference.”

Johnathan turned away from Alex to give her request consideration. Was she really asking him to choose? He tried it out, a plan to wait and leave in the morning. It felt...wrong.

“I can’t. It isn’t right. I’d never forgive myself if I missed precious minutes with my daughter because I was at a party. They may be the only minutes she...” Johnathan’s voice made a choking sound as he fought back a tingle in his tear ducts. What if his daughter was dying at this very moment and he’s standing in a parking lot fighting with Alexis? On some level, this didn't just feel like another a fight. It felt like a line in the sand, and he was going to cross it. For Jenn. So there wouldn't be another little girl with a daddy she couldn't count on.

“Johnathan, come on, I’ll drive you.” Anna approached from where she and Eric waited by the door, watching. Johnathan gave Alexis a perfunctory hug that she didn’t return and said he’d call her when he knew what’s going on.

Anna and Johnathan continued walking towards her car parked near the end of the lot. Alexis could hear Anna reassuring Johnathan that they didn’t know anything until they got there. Although she didn’t need any more evidence, Johnathan leaving was just another nail in the water-tight coffin lid.

The car lights swiveled like a light house beacon, yet Alex stood where he had left her. A castoff. Still stunned he didn’t choose her over the baby, not even for just a few hours, Alex heard a small voice come from behind her.

“Alex?”

She spun around to see Eric, ready and willing to play sympathetic guy friend. Alexis Rodriguez set her jaw and squashed the emotional tidal wave threatening to consume her.

“We’re going through with the buyout.” Fake smile in place, she dabbed any mascara runs with the pads of her fingers. Eric pulled open the door for the bride to be for a wedding that was never going to happen.

“Mr. Michaels? The social worker will see you now.”

Johnathan glanced at Anna but she shooed him to follow the nurse. Nearly jogging, he struggled to keep up in the never ending labyrinth of sterilized hallways. Various wheeled medical equipment created an obstacle course seemingly bent on taking at least one or two pedestrians out.

The social worker’s office was little more than a broom closet with a desk and two waiting room chairs shoved side-by-side. Johnathan awkwardly settled into the first one. He nervously read the name plate, Lynn Carson, happy to have a fact in his pocket.

When the social worker didn’t acknowledge him, Johnathan gave into his feelings of anxiety.

“Miss Carson, when can I see my daughter?”

This made the woman stop writing, but she didn’t look up. She wasn’t in any hurry. Tonight was just another drug baby born to irresponsible parents.

“One moment, Michael.”

“It’s Johnathan. Michaels is my last name.”

His impertinence broke the spell and Ms. Carson looked up. She expected Johnathan Michaels to be many things, but a handsome man in a suit wasn’t one of them. Realizing she was staring, she shuffled to find the paperwork a lawyer had faxed over concerning the baby.

She searched the grainy sheets and zeroed in on the words “paternity test.” The rest were records of medical bills Mr. Michaels had paid. A typical addendum for a custody filing, but nothing she needed to concern herself with at the moment.

Lynn Carson tried again with the new father, feeling a tinge of sympathy for him. Still, she had a job to do.

“Right now your daughter is officially in my custody until tomorrow morning’s hearing where the judge will determine temporary custody. Your lawyer, a Mr. Simms, has all of the information about the hearing, except for my report that I’m filling out now.”

Johnathan privately thanked Anna for calling the family attorney at home on their way to the hospital. He had been too shell-shocked to even think about alerting him. Straightening his tired body’s posture, he perceived her meaning about the baby being in her custody. His fate rested in her hands, at least for temporary custody.

“What time is the hearing, don’t I need to be there?” Johnathan immediately began calculating what suits he had at home and which were still at the dry cleaners. Would he have time to make it home and get cleaned up? He had no idea how late it was, but was pretty sure he had sat in the waiting room for hours. Before he could check the time, Ms. Carson took away any need for further planning.

“No, you aren’t expected to be there. It’s not a formal hearing. The judge is only going to look at the paperwork to determine where to temporarily place the child. If everything about you checks out, chances are good you will be awarded temporary care.”

Ms. Carson paused to check for visible acknowledgement of understanding. Satisfied, she continued.

“I don’t have to let you see your daughter tonight. I can wait for the judge’s order granting you temporary custody, but I’m willing to let you see her if you can cooperate and answer a few questions.”

Johnathan clenched his left knuckles with his right hand and took a breath. Charlotte Grace had survived and he could see her. It didn’t even dawn on him that anything he shared with the social worker would go before the judge. All he could think about was that he could see her, not what his lawyer’s advice would be at that moment.

“Mr. Michaels, still with me? Have you been drinking tonight?”

“No! Oh wait, no, I mean yes, I have. I just came from my engagement party but it’s been at least,” Johnathan finally spied a small clock on the shelf behind the social worker, “three hours since my last drink.”

“And you drove to the hospital?”

“Of course not. My step-mother brought me.” Johnathan bristled at the suggestion of driving drunk, but took a calming breath. He needed this woman to like him. “I don’t mean to seem out of it, but I’m very concerned for my daughter. This is early, right? We still had four weeks to go. I didn’t know if everything was okay or not until you said I could see her.” Johnathan’s voice was full of hope.

“Wait a minute, I said you could see her if you cooperate.” Lynn Carson sighed. She had a hunch that Mr. Michaels didn’t know the full circumstances of his daughter’s early birth. “I need to know more about the situation before I can let you see her Mr. Michaels, for her protection. This is all standard when a baby is born and the mother tests positive for methamphetamines.”

“Meth? What are you talking about?” Johnathan forgot how confined the broom closet office was and banged his knees into the desk as he leaned forward. He clumsily shifted his weight back int he chair due to lack of space.

“Were you aware Ms. Szachowski was taking drugs?”

“No. I made sure the doctor tested.” Johnathan inwardly groaned and returned to his seat. He didn't want to explain that he had a reason to suspect she would use from the night they met, in case it kept him from seeing his daughter. This was all sounding bad, but it was too late. He couldn’t take back what he had said now. But he could make it sound better for him at least. “I was paying for everything. If she was using, I wanted to be the first to know and put a stop to it.”

“I see. So she was clean for the pregnancy. That’s good. She's claiming she didn’t take anything, but they all do that.” Lynn Carson’s gaze fell to the medical report on Kellie Szachowski. She began to talk more about the hospital’s procedures for removing the child from the mother’s care.

Interrupting the social worker, Johnathan asked if anything was wrong with the baby. He didn’t mean to be rude, but he had to know. The social worker cut him some slack. His face was ashen at the thought of his child’s well-being. It’s what she always hoped to see. Rarely did a father ever show up to claim a drug baby, let alone cared for the child. At the moment, she couldn’t recall the last time it happened in a case like this.

Lynn Carson phrased the next few words carefully. She needed to bring him back to the business at hand and finish her assessment. Nothing would be accomplished until Mr. Michaels understood his daughter’s condition.

“Your daughter was having some difficulty breathing, but they have her stabilized. That might not be from the drugs, simply that she was born a little early. Ms. Szachowski was running a high fever when she came in, and the baby was born via emergency C-section. Typically, babies born at 36 weeks are not considered premature, so your daughter has excellent chances.” She kept a close eye on Johnathan as his hope faded from his face.

Without thinking, Lynn reached out and touched one of Johnathan’s hands that were holding the edge of her desk. This sparked Johnathan back to life.

“How much more?” His eyes pleaded for the torture to stop. He just wanted to see her—his spunky little girl who kicked his hand when he talked to her.

“Just one last question. I take it you were not coming from a party celebrating your engagement to Ms. Szachowski?”