Hi, gang. I know you think this story will never end. You may be right.
I know what you really want is for Dee Dee to get away from Alex and get back to Rick. Well, the thought
has crossed my mind.
But when, where, and why, all start many questions as to how that'll happen. Hmmm.
Thanks so much for your patience and interest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Part 17)
The next morning
Dee Dee had been up long enough for a quick shower and to dress, while Alex continued sleeping soundly. They both made it through the night without any interruptions from his nightmares, and Dee Dee was quite relieved. The alarm clock hadn’t gone off, and she remembered that he didn’t set it last night, which raised her curiosity as to why he wasn’t up to leave for work. Without disturbing Alex, she went downstairs for breakfast but once she entered the kitchen, nausea made an appearance causing her to settle for a snack-size cup of cinnamon applesauce. She’d read that the combination of sweetness and tartness helps many women during morning sickness. so she decided to try the remedy, and would later try other acidic fruits for the same purpose. She sat on the living sofa, while the apple sauce proved it does work. Just as she finished the last spoonful of sauce, the phone rang.
“Hello, Turnan residence.”
“Dee Dee? Hey, it’s Rick. How ya doing?”
She thought her heart would jump from her chest. She was happy to hear his voice and at the same time, afraid of Alex picking up the extension at any time. “Hey. I’m doing okay. How about you?”
“I’m fine.” Rick answered. “I haven’t heard from you in a couple of weeks, so I thought I’d take a gamble at catching you at home. It was a lucky gamble, too.” He chuckled lightly. “Did you get my last message?”
Dee Dee remembered the message completely – (It’s time for our weekly catching up. I guess you’re out, so I’ll try to catch you again later. Take care.) She was sitting in the same room as the phone, but Alex wouldn’t allow her to answer it. During that time, he revealed news about Monica, that he couldn’t and wouldn’t be a father, and for her to abort their baby if indeed she was pregnant. There would be no way she could tell Rick the truth. “Oh, I don’t remember the message. It must have gotten erased by mistake. I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay. I’m talking to you now and I’m happy with that.” A smile came across his face as well as Dee Dee’s.
“Yeah, I’m happy about it too.”
“So, tell me what’s new.”
“I’m working at the community center, and I really enjoy it. The kids are great.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you started working with them. I’m sure they make you really happy.”
Hesitating for a second, she scanned the staircase for Alex. “Yeah. They really do.”
Rick hated to appear rude to Dee Dee, so he thought he’d swallow the bitter pill of asking about her husband. “How’s the doctor?”
“He’s doing well.”
“Are you two planning on any little McTurnans anytime soon?” While curious, he didn’t particularly care to hear the answer is ‘yes’, but of course it would be a dream come true for Dee Dee and he wanted her to be happy. Whether he’d admit to being jealous or not, he’d do his best to put any form of it aside.
“McTurnan’s? You’re so silly. Isn’t that some sort of a fast food chain?” Dee Dee giggled, and Rick joined her and added a comment. She had a thought of her own. – “A little Hunter/McCall combo would be more accurate.”
“If it’s anything to do with fast food chains, I’m sure you’d know about it, Miss four basic food groups.”
Again, the two shared a laugh, and then she replied to Rick seriously. “Well, to answer your question about any little McTurnans, no.”
Without admitting it of course, a sense of relief came over Rick. He wasn’t ready to give her a child, but Alex was. He should be happy to hear she’s pregnant, but the fact of Alex being the father didn’t sit well with him. And he could tell something wasn’t quite right with Dee Dee. She wasn’t really holding a conversation; at least not in the way Dee Dee McCall could go on and on, with laughs and sarcasm included.
“You okay, Dee Dee?”
“Sure.” She knew his suspicions would grow, but could only hope they’d grow slowly. “I’m good.”
“Really? You don’t sound like it.”
“Yes…really.” As she felt uneasy with the questioning, she could feel her stomach begin to knot. “I’m okay; just a little tired I guess.”
Alright, if you say so.” Rick wasn’t completely convinced, and would hope that he was wrong about his intuition.
Dee Dee could hear Alex’s footsteps upstairs and her anxiety grew stronger. From the sound, he’d gone into his office, but she knew he could come downstairs at any moment. She tried to remain calm, but knew she’d have to find a way to get off the phone in a hurry.
“Well, friend…” Rick began. “I hate to cut this short, but I’ve got to meet Sporty in a couple of minutes.”
Without being too obvious with a whisper, she lowered her voice slightly. “I understand. Be sure to tell Charlie, Sporty and everyone else I said hi.”
“Will do. Take care of yourself, Dee Dee. And call me, okay?”
“I will. You better get going. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay. Bye.
“Bye.” Dee Dee quickly let out a sigh of relief causing a wisp of hair to flutter over her brow.
She was thankful that Rick was the one to end the conversation as it kept her from lying her way out of it. She had just enough time to hang up and take a seat on the sofa before Alex entered the room.
“Who was on the phone?” Alex asked.
“It was Ryan.” Dee Dee thought quickly. “He called to go over the class scheduling with me.”
“Oh.” Alex replied simply and left the room.
Dee Dee’s heart was racing with the idea of how close she came to getting caught, but she’d have to manage not to show it, as Alex would have said something about her actions. After Alex went into the kitchen, Dee Dee let out another huge breath of relief. Suddenly she remembered she hadn’t asked Rick an important question, and she pounded her forehead with her fist. -“The money. I forgot to ask him to send my money.” She was thinking of the money Rick collected for selling her belongings. “I’m so stupid! I can’t leave Alex without any money. What now?” In a nervous action, she slightly bit on the nail of her pinky finger. She knew that her only option was to wait for another call from Rick, or call him, if she could figure out how not to get caught during either task.
As she tried to ease her mind of the situation, she began thinking of Rick asking what was new with her, and what she thought of at that moment - “What’s new? Let’s see. Well, I’ve been forbidden to talk to you, to talk about you, or anything related to being a police officer in my own home; as well as most anything about my life before London. I got pregnant the last time we slept together, and our baby will be born in a less than seven months. That’s what’s new.” As those words remained in thought, it was impossible for Rick to know the truth, and she wondered if and when she’d ever tell him the truth. At some point, hopefully in the near future, she’d be leaving Alex. Deciding whether to tell Rick about their baby would be a matter to deal with much later.
(Later that night)
As the Turnan’s shared their bed again, Alex awoke from another horror. Just as during the previous nightmare, he yelled out and bolted straight up in the bed. Dee Dee didn’t say a word this time. Her heart was racing from the startling scream, but she maintained her position in bed. She didn’t Alex ask about the dream and he didn’t tell her either. Instead, he got out bed and went into his office and tried to shake the visions of the dream from his head. He found it extremely difficult to do, so he sat at his desk and began typing on his computer. The words and thoughts easily came to mind, and he quickly typed them before losing a single reflection. There were things that needed to be said to one of the women in his life and though this may be a cowardly way of expressing his feelings, he saw fit to put his words on paper for her to read when he felt it was time.
------
Five days had passed since Alex spoke with an irate Monica Fallon. Her plane was due to arrive in just over an hour, and he knew the mission of calling things off with her wouldn’t be easy. Keeping her in his life would be one of the worst things for him, and he’d remind himself of that as he gave his explanation. He would tell her that he couldn’t let the drugs ruin everything he’d built. She would no doubt remind him of how she was there for him at any time, and how she was the one to help him cope with the issues of a phony marriage.
Many reasons for ending his relationship with Miss Fallon ran through Alex’s mind. - (If I’d never met Monica, things wouldn’t be so screwed up. I never imagined things would go so wrong. I want her out of my life and I want her gone for good. I don’t care what happens to her, as I don’t have to deal with her again.) As he sat waiting in her apartment, he made a decision to drink vodka instead bourbon and turned on the television. His mind wasn’t focused on the tennis match, so he basically kept it on for background noise. Suddenly the theme music from a local news station began and a voiceover announced - “We interrupt this program for a breaking news story.” Alex didn’t pay much attention, but did hear the announcement as the male reporter continued with the message.
“Good afternoon, I’m Taylor Aaronson with News Twenty-Six. We have just received updated news of a six passenger plane, which crashed in France earlier today.”
Alex hadn’t heard any report before this and was clueless about the accident. After hearing the words plane and France; he suddenly grew interested in the newscast as the announcement continued.
“We now go to Kiyah Rowen, at the scene of the accident. Kiyah, what more can you tell us about the accident?” Turning the sound up, Alex listened intently to the broadcast as Miss Rowen gave her report.
“Well, Taylor, as reported earlier, it is a small plane, a six passenger plane, to be exact. For those just tuning in, I’m standing at the crash site, which is only about a forty minute drive from the airport where the plane took off. Sadly, as you can see, there isn’t much left of the craft, which began its voyage in Paris. The plane’s left wing touched down first, sending the aircraft into a horrible cartwheel flip. Authorities here at the site, say from the look of the craft, it must have tumbled several times before halting.
Thankfully there was no explosion that would have burned the plane and possibly large amounts of the surrounding wooded area.”
Alex’s eyes widened at the sight of fallen trees and spots of brown muddied earth which had been grassy areas before the crash. His heart skipped a beat at the images of the plane that had parts broken off due to impact, and wondered if it were possible to have survivors.
His wondering was about to end.
“All six passenger seats were occupied and sadly, all six, along with pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash. It’s a horrible thing that has happened here. As far as the cause of the crash, it has been reported that one of the engines lost complete power. The co-pilot made a distress call to the tower, and at that time reported that an engine had completely stopped without any warning. Before he could give any more information, the radio transmission shut down, and the tower tried to get a response several times without success.”
“Kiyah…” Taylor began. “I know that there are two homes near the crash site. As I stated earlier, no one in or around these homes were injured. I’d like to be sure that the information was correct. Was the report accurate?”
“Yes, Taylor, it is accurate. The pilots skillfully managed to keep the plane up and away from the two homes, bringing it to the small wooded area just beyond. Only a very short time ago, this crumpled piece of metal was airborne with a destination to London, England and now you see the tragic end to its flight.” Kiyah sighed with regret. “My heart goes out to the victims’ families. I’m Kiyah Rowen, reporting live from Paris, France.”
The camera was now focused on Taylor Aaronson. “Thank you Kiyah. At the moment this is all we have to report. I know family and friends are anxious to hear if their loved ones were on this flight, but as you know, we cannot disclose such information at this time. The identities will be made public as soon as all family members are contacted and give their consent to release the names on air. For News Twenty-Six, I’m Taylor Aaronson.”
Alex couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. There wasn’t definite proof that Monica was on that plane, but his gut feeling told him that she was. For a solid hour, he sat quietly awaiting the information he needed. The names still hadn’t been released and he was getting more and more agitated. Since Monica lived alone, there would be no call from the authorities to her apartment. They would contact any next-of-kin by information they find on her or in her luggage. But Alex waited for the phone to ring, with some hope that Monica would call to say she was safe; that she didn’t take the flight. The only other place he could think of that would get a call, was her boutique. The assistant manager, Kaci would have the answer. Hesitant; afraid to hear the answer, Alex made the call to the simply named establishment ‘Monica’s Boutique.’ A voice he wasn’t sure he recognized answered the private line in Monica’s office. “Monica’s Boutique. May I help you?”
“May I speak to Kaci, please?”
The young female voice faltered while replying. “Um…she’s busy right now. May I take a message?”
“It’s really important that I speak to her. Tell her it’s Alex.” The girl sniffled a little; unintentionally giving Alex a clue before saying ‘okay’ and placing the phone on the counter to get Kaci from the storeroom.
“Alex?”
“Yeah. Have you heard from her?”
Kaci’s voice trembled with her words. “The news…didn’t you see…”
“I saw it, but I need to be sure.”
“She was on flight 323. It was her plane. She’s gone, Alex. Monica’s gone.” Kaci was taken over with emotion and gave the phone back to the young girl.
“Sir, are you still there?”
A lump formed in Alex’s throat; halting his reply. “Uh, yeah, I’m here. Tell Kaci to call if she needs me.” With that, the conversation ended and he hung up the phone.
Alex remained at the apartment for several hours, as thoughts of the last conversation with Monica maintained a steady rhythm in his head. He hated that she was so angry with him, and he felt her emotions were unchanged as she sat on that plane. He visualized that within minutes of take-off, her feelings of anger and betrayal had turned into terror and helplessness; knowing that at any second her life could end. He wanted to be rid of Monica, but not like this. Never had he imagined such a thing as her dying, would be the answer to his problems. His feelings toward Monica were mixed as he knew she wasn’t someone he wanted in his life and that she’d helped him make a mess of it all, but at the same time he couldn’t have wished death upon her.
His eyes burned from the building tears, but none actually fell.
The doorbell rang; breaking Alex free of his thoughts on Monica. When he answered the door, he saw a familiar young man with a bouquet of flowers wrapped in blue paper. It was the expected delivery guy known by Joe, and as usual, the flowers were a cover for the more precious package; cocaine, hidden within the blue paper. Alex didn’t mention anything about Monica to Joe as he wasn’t prepared to go into detail. He felt that Monica was just another customer to Joe anyway, and he’d find out soon enough. Alex told him he didn’t want the coke, but paid him for it anyway, and gave him an extra one-hundred dollars for his trouble. Joe didn’t question the response, thanked Alex and went to his next destination.
Alex took one more walk through the apartment, picking up a few personal items he’d left there before, and thought of the times he’d spent with Monica there. The concept wasn’t easy to grasp, but he wondered what it would have been like if they’d been actual friends for the time they were together. He thought that maybe if they were, he could have persuaded her to end her drug use, and he would never have become a user himself. Maybe Monica could have been a more caring and giving person if given the chance. The chance will never come, now.
One more glance around the apartment, and Alex left for the very last time.
------
Dee Dee sat on the edge of the bed; watching the latest plane crash information on the late news. She couldn’t help but be saddened with thoughts of how the families must feel during this time. Her attention was interrupted when she heard her husband coming up the stairs.
Alex, with more than a fair amount of alcohol in his system, literally staggered into the bedroom. His wife wasn’t sure of what to expect from him, and only looked at him for a second and wondered.
Neither said a word, as the broadcast continued. “We have a list of the victims’ names ready for release.”
The names were given, along with a statement that both pilots and all passengers, but one, are natives of France. After Monica’s name was read, Dee Dee gasped with surprise. She remembered that Alex had told her Monica’s last name, the night the truth came out about her. She glanced over at Alex who was leaning against the wall, with his weary eyes were fixed on the television as the report went on.
“Miss Monica Fallon, a local proprietor of the successful ‘Monica’s Boutique’, was a thriving young business woman, taking on a new venture in fashion design. With her growing success, she had been expected to open more boutiques in such areas as Milan, New York and Paris. Those in the fashion industry were anxious to work with this up and coming new talent.
Miss Fallon is survived by her parents and two brothers, who all reside in Birmingham, England. Funeral arrangements will be announced in the local newspaper. Again, we sadly report that local proprietor Monica Fallon is dead at age thirty. Our sympathies go out to her family and friends.”
Dee Dee didn’t know what to say and even if she did, she didn’t know if she should say anything at all. She hated that Monica and Alex were lovers and teammates in the game of making a fool of her, but she didn’t wish death upon her. A picture of Monica had been put up during the broadcast, and up until then, Dee Dee had an indistinct idea of what she looked like. From the descriptions Alex gave; nearly the same height as she, short dark hair, and dark brown eyes, but she didn’t figure she was as beautiful and popular in the business world as she was. It was hard to believe that such an innocent looking young woman could join Alex and add so much chaos and dreadfulness to her life.
When the news was over, Alex held his position against the wall with his hands in his pockets. Flashes of the dream he’d had about Monica appeared in his head, and he felt his heartbeat racing beyond any usual tempo. It was all so clear, as if he was asleep having the dream again. He could hear Monica calling his name, but couldn’t see anything at all. It was pitch black but he could feel the presence of people around him, but none of their faces were visible. Monica’s voice was from a distance and she called for him to come to her. When he approached her, she looked as beautiful as she always had. He could still hear indistinct voices from the unseen people around him but the closer he stepped toward Monica, the louder the voices became. He turned to see who it was; hoping to identify them, but saw nothing. As he continued to go to Monica, she was in clear view, and he could see she wore a long white negligee. Again he heard the voices from the darkness, but this time much clearer. They were warning him stay away from Monica.
He heard one voice that was undeniably his own - “Leave her…leave the drugs and save yourself. You’ll lose everything. You’ll lose your life.” He ignored the warning as he felt that the more he looked at Monica, the more attracted he was to her and wanted to be with her. He knew he couldn’t turn away if he wanted too. Although there was complete darkness, he could see her face as clearly as in daylight, as her perfect figure in the white negligee teased his senses. He stood about a foot away from her as she extended a glass plate with lines of coke waiting to be inhaled. Just as he was about to take a line for himself, a drop of blood hit the plate. He figured it was another usual nosebleed and started to wipe it away with a handkerchief. When the handkerchief came away clean, he realized it Monica who had the bleeding. Just before he could give her his handkerchief, the blood began pouring from her nose like water from a faucet. He offered to help her but she declined as if nothing was wrong. To his great surprise she leaned over the plate and inhaled the coke as the blood continued to pour. When she looked up at him, her face was grotesque mask of white powder and crimson blood and she had a look in her eyes he’d never seen. She looked as if she had no soul, like she was possessed by something unknown, with black coal-like stones where her eyes should be.
Dee Dee noticed that Alex was fidgeting against the wall, his eyes were blinking rapidly and that is breathing increased in sound and speed He’d even taken on a more wild-eyed expression. She didn’t know if he was sick or not, but without expressing too much concern, she would ask. “Alex, are you okay? Alex?” He didn’t answer. Without making it obvious, she kept her attention on him while appearing to be interested in the television.
Alex’s flashbacks continued.
He felt ultimate fear and turned to run, only to have Monica’s hands grab him by the shoulders. As he struggled to free himself, he caught a glimpse of Monica’s right hand from the corner of his eye. Her hand was turning gray in color and quickly became a crumbling ash-like matter. He yelled in fear, but before he could take another action, he saw that his own hands were taking on the same form as Monica’s. She managed to turn him to face her, and that’s when he saw that her entire body had become a gray, decaying form which was like nothing he’d ever seen. She spoke. “It’s time to go, Alex. It’s time for us to spend all eternity together, just the way we’re meant to.”
Again Alex screamed and tried to get away. Soon he saw that his own body became a decayed mass and he felt all life drain from within.
It was always at this point that he woke up, most likely from the sound of his own shouts from the horror.
He’d never mentioned the dreams to Dee Dee, Monica or anyone else. With each episode the scenes grew more and more intense and at times after the nightmare he felt that he would burst from the stress of it all. The dreams and the meanings behind them were becoming unbearable and the only way he felt he could rid himself of the dreams, would be to rid himself of Monica.
Alex finally broke free of his daze for a moment. “Stop it!” He yelled to his wife.
Startled, Dee Dee jumped. “Stop what?” Without a clue as to what he meant, she looked up at him stunned and innocently. “What are you talking about?”
Alex moved to the center of the room and pointed an accusing finger. “You know damn well what I’m talking about! You’re sitting there rejoicing over Monica’s death!”
“That’s not true! I’m not happy that she died!” Dee Dee; honest with her reply was shocked that Alex had said such a thing.
“Yes you are!” Alex screeched. “You know that with her dead, you don’t have to worry about anything else she could do to you! You’re glad you don’t have to deal with her destroying you!”
Dee Dee didn’t know where he coming from with those accusations. “Alex, I swear to you, that I’m not happy that Monica is dead. And I hate that her family has to suffer the loss. You and she made a joke out of our marriage, and I’m sorry that I got trapped into it, but I cannot celebrate the fact that she’s dead!”
Moving closer, taking her by the arm with force, Alex snatched his wife from the bed.
“Stop lying to me!” Dee Dee’s back was pushed against the wall while Alex continued to scream. “You couldn’t handle what she was doing to you! You wanted her out of your life for good, didn’t you?! You knew she was going to ruin you!” Alex stared coldly at his wife before releasing his grip and leaving the room.
Dee Dee remained against the wall for a few minutes as she waited for her nerves to settle and for the trembling to leave her body. When she felt steady enough to move, she went to the bed to lie down in an effort to calm her queasy stomach.
Moments later she heard Alex drive away; knowing he was drunk and had no business being behind the wheel. She was still a little shaken by the event, but couldn’t sit by while he could be putting someone’s life in danger. She called the police with an anonymous tip about Alex. She gave told them the direction he drove off in, the make and model of his Mercedes, and the time she saw him leave the area. Though she didn’t know if he’d be picked up or not, she felt relief from making the call.
It was after 2am before she went to bed, and thankfully no one had called with news of Alex being in an accident, possibly seriously injuring or killing someone. Maybe he’d been put in jail for the rest of the night. She felt it would be well deserved.
At five thirty-two in the morning, Alex still hadn’t returned home. For hours Dee Dee lay awake; without so much of an occasional dozing as she wondered why Alex accused her the way he did. She wasn’t making any more sense of the situation than she had when it all started, so she decided to take a break from it. Tired of lying in the bed without sleep and with a growing desire for strawberry ice cream, she thought – “This is one problem I can solve.” After returning from the kitchen, she sat in middle of the bed with the bowl in her hand. A click of the remote control powered the television which was full of infomercials. With each spoonful of ice cream she slowly replayed Alex’s accusations in her head. She began feeling that Alex was shouting the blame to her, but not actually blaming her specifically, but she still couldn’t get a tight grip on an explanation. If she had to explain her thoughts to someone else it wouldn’t be easy, as she wasn’t quite sure how to explain it to herself yet. After the last of the ice cream was gone, Dee Dee lay down and made herself as comfortable as possible. The sun wasn’t quite ready to make an appearance, and before it did, she’d managed to fall asleep.
Though Mrs. Turnan had only wondered about it, the reality was that her husband had been caught and arrested for driving while under the influence and would spend the night in jail.
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