Chapter 6
When Rosalina woke up the next morning Nat was gone. Dylan was lying asleep beside her in between two pillows like he had been the night before. She got out of bed carefully and went to Nat's room. She turned the doorknob and opened the door. Nat was lying on his back in his bed. He had his hands behind his head and was mindlessly staring at the ceiling. "Nat?" He blinked a couple of times then looked over at her in the doorway. "Can I come in?" she asked. He nodded. She walked in the room and sat down on the bed beside him. She sighed, "Look, I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to yell at you like that. I was just so stressed over everything and I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't mean to blame it on you." He flashed her a half smile, "that's nice of you to say Rosalina. I accept your apology."
"Thanks for singing to Dylan last night I've never seen him fall asleep that fast in his life." "I've never seen you fall asleep that fast either," Nat said with a laugh, "first verse and you're out like a light!" She blushed, "so I was tired." "Very tired apparently," Nat smirked. "Whatever," she answered back. "Where's Dylan?" he asked. "Asleep," she answered, "can I ask you a question?" "Sure," Nat said. "Do you remember when we-"
Alex swung the door open and peered in the room. "Hey Rosalina your uncle's on the phone," he said. "Okay I'll be right there," she told him. He nodded and shut the door. "I better go. I'll talk to you later Nat," she said as she stood up. She cross the room to the door and opened it. "Wait." Rosalina turned back to Nat. "What were you going to ask me?" She had to think for a moment to remember. "Oh yeah, do you remember when we first met?" Nat nodded, "in the park on a cold afternoon." He smiled warmly, "I'll always remember that," he said. She smiled back and agreed then went to answer her call.
Rosalina clenched the phone so hard she was sure her hand would be red. "Yes Uncle Kennedy," she muttered. "Good girl. I'll be over to pick you up on Saturday, okay?" "Okay." "You can even bring Dylan if you want. My wife would be happy to see him," he said. "That won't be necessary Mr. and Mrs. Wolff can watch him," Rosalina said and pinned her lips together. Her Uncle Kennedy sounded a little disappointed as he said goodbye but Rosalina didn't care.
She went back upstairs to Nat's room. When she got there she found that Nat wasn't there. After a quick thought she walked back to her room. When she opened the door she found Nat sitting on the edge of her bed holding Dylan. Dylan was looking up at Nat with his usual wide-eyed stare. Nat greeted her with a smile, "he was awake when I came in," he said. His smile disappeared to worry when he saw Rosalina's expression. "He's gonna make me go house hunting with him and his family," she said, collapsing onto the bed in tears. "What's wrong with that?" he asked sheepishly. She pressed her face into the bed, so she wouldn't have to look at him. "What if they make me move far away?" "They wouldn't do that especially with their kids," Nat said sensibly, "and besides you're 17 and its November which means you'll only have to stay for a few months away." She sat up and sighed, "This will be the first Thanksgiving my father and I won't spend together," she said. Nat placed his free hand onto Rosalina's back. "You can spend it with my family if you want," he said. Rosalina lifted her head, revealing her red eyes to him. "I can't do that Nat and you know I can't," she sobbed. "You don't have to if you don't want to," he replied, "but if you want to spend Thanksgiving with people you know we're here for you, you know that." She lifted herself up and sat up on the bed. She smiled, "You don't know how much that means to me." "I think I do," he said giving her a one-arm hug. Dylan squealed in delight, drawing all attention to him. Nat laughed, "are you excited little guy, are you?"
As promised Rosalina's Uncle Kennedy arrived with his family at 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning. She was waiting in the living room with Nat and Alex when Mr. Wolff called her to the front door. She half-smiled when she saw the man standing in the threshold. His red hair was neatly combed and slicked back as always when he went somewhere important. He was wearing his uniform which again was the usual under these circumstances. "Are you ready darling?" he asked her. Rosalina only nodded and followed him out. They walked outside to a blue 2010 Ford Fusion. She got into the back seat with her six-year-old cousin, Brody, and her ten-year-old cousin, Lila, while her uncle sat down in the driver's seat next to his wife. He started the car and they were off to their destination.
Around 6:00 p.m. Rosalina was dropped off and she ran upstairs to the Wolff's apartment. She knocked on the door and as soon as it was open she went inside. "What's wrong with you Rosalina?" She heard Alex ask as he closed and locked the door again, but she didn't turn around to consult him. Instead she made her way to Nat's room as quickly as she could. "Nat?" she said opening the door but found he wasn't there. She went down to her room but found he wasn't there either. Alex walked down the hall and stood behind her in the doorway. "He's not here," he said. "Then where is he?" she asked without looking at him. "On the roof," he replied then walked back up the hallway.
The roof; why hadn't she thought of that? That was Nat's favorite place. He always went there to think or to just get away from everyone. He had invited her up there with him a few times in the years they had known each other, and on each occasion something was bothering him that he wanted to talk about. She didn't want to go up the same way Nat always did, climbing out his window and using the fire escape, so she left the Wolffs' apartment and went up the stairs that led to the fire exit door. She opened the door and was greeted by a rush of cold air. The sun was just beginning to set. Its rays cast long shadows against the ground. She looked around and quickly found Nat sitting in one of the lawn chairs he, Thomas, and Qaasim had hauled up one summer afternoon. She walked over to him and sat down in the chair next to him. "We need to talk," she said. He nodded and let out a sigh; he obviously already had known what was coming.
Rosalina told Nat of the house her uncle had taken her to see. It was out in a country-looking setting. The house had three floors and grand rooms. The massive backyard was also occupied by small woodland waiting to be explored. The front yard had a small gravel path which led to the lake. The best thing she could remember about this place was the community ranch. Nat had always known Rosalina had a fondness for horses because of the way she would talk about them when she was younger and the horse figures in her room. For a moment Nat pondered, 'did her Uncle Kennedy know this to'? If he were looking for a way to make her comfortable that could be the way to go about it.
When she was done it occurred to him the only flaw that could be found with the property. "Rosalina how far away is it?" he asked. She shifted in her seat then looked down and said, "It's four hours from here to there." "So that means…" "That means we won't be together." For years Nat had always been dependent on Rosalina for someone to talk to when he was upset; someone to tell things that he could tell no one else, and now she was leaving. Now he bit his lip with a sudden hatred for her uncle. He knew how close they were. Nat had even been invited to attend her step mother's and father's wedding. Had seeing them share that dance together mean nothing to him? Now, thanks to him, Rosalina was going to be taken away from him and there was nothing he could do about it.
It was a quiet night in a small neighborhood just outside New York City. The barren black sky was lifted only by a few street lights. The yards of the homes were deserted as well as the streets, besides a couple of parked cars. However, if it was said there was absolutely no one outside then they were deeply deceived.
Having been covered by shadows a group of NYPD members stormed the porch of a house and after a signal an officer broke down the door. With their guns at the ready the officers filed into the building. "This is NYPD," one officer yelled into the dark abyss, "we have you surrounded; surrender or we will use force." Not a single light came on in the home. There wasn't a single movement in the house so the officers were forced to move in into the inevitable.
The static on the radio was noisy but Officer Albert Reynolds spoke as loud as he could until he was heard. "I repeat, we have officers down-we need back up and medical attention immediately." Around him the quiet neighborhood had awaken and horror-stricken occupants were going into a panic.
Rosalina woke up to her little brother crying. After seeing he hadn't soiled his diaper she guessed he was hungry so she scooped him up and wrapped him in his blanket. She could hear the television on as she walked down the hall. "Who could be awake watching TV now?" she thought, knowing that the Wolffs' never left the television on without anyone there to watch it. Of course, with Dylan bawling into her shoulder a silent decent of the stairs wasn't going to happen.
"Maybe you should try rubbing his back." Rosalina jumped at the sound of Nat's voice. He was sitting on the couch with the cheesiest grin on his face. "I scared you, didn't I?" he said, stifling a laugh. She shook her head, "you just startled me," she said. "Same thing," he replied, his smile fading. His eyes went to Dylan. "Is he okay?" he asked. Rosalina noted there was deep concern in his voice so she quickly answered, "Yeah, he's just hungry." "Didn't he eat a couple of hours ago?" Nat asked. She nodded, "but I don't know what else can be wrong with him." "Maybe if I sing to him he'll calm down," he suggested. Rosalina shook her head and explained she had tried to sing him to sleep earlier but it hadn't worked. Nat gave Rosalina one of his dazzling grins as he got up and walked over to her. He then took the baby from her, "let me try," he said. He sat down on the couch again cradling the baby. The silky-haired little boy stared up at him, red faced and teary-eyed, as he began to sing. He sang 'Your Smile' just as he had the night before, hoping for the same reaction. "…Keeps me on the ground. Your smile keeps me on the ground," Nat smiled as Dylan cooed with happiness as he continued, "Your smile keeps me on the gro-ou-ou-nd. Keeps me on the ground…."
Rosalina could hear the phone as it began to ring. Forced by habit, she was about to walk over to the small table in the living room that contained the phone to answer it, but she quickly override her brain when she remembered this wasn't really her home. It was only when Nat asked, "can you get that Rosalina," that she allowed herself to go over to it.
As she picked it up she could instantly hear overlapping voices on the line. "Hello?" she said. "Is this the Wolff's residence?" a voice asked. It took Rosalina a second to realize it was her Aunt Mary, her Uncle Kennedy's wife. She could tell by the note of distress in her aunt's voice that something was wrong. "Hi Aunt Mary, is everything okay?" "No, your uncle's hurt. You have to get to the hospital right away. Tell Polly and Michael to bring you." Rosalina's mouth dropped open a little. Never in her life would she have thought that another casualty would come to her family so soon after her parents' deaths. "I'll be there as quick as I can," she told her aunt before hanging up the phone. She looked over to Nat, who to her surprise, had been listening the entire time to her side of the conversation. "Is everything okay?" he asked. "Wake up your parents."
Nat woke up his father and Mr. Wolff took Rosalina to the hospital. The other members of the Wolff family didn't come because they didn't see it fit to waking up two infants that late at night. Rosalina stayed in the waiting room with her Aunt Mary, Brody, and Lila until 7:00 a.m. The first light of cold sunshine was just beginning to reach the room's window when a doctor came in. Rosalina was barely conscious as the doctor woke up her aunt. Her neck was beginning to hurt from her restless sleep in her chair. Brody had his head in her lap so getting up wasn't an option. She fell back to sleep as the doctor led her aunt outside.
Nat didn't have such a good night's sleep either. He had stayed up pretty much the entire time while Rosalina was gone. Only when his dad came into the living room and told him to back to bed did he go to his room but he didn't go to sleep. Sometime in the course of the night he came back downstairs with his pillow and blanket, turned the television on again, and fell asleep on the couch.
Nat woke up around 7:30 a.m. He didn't move though until about 7:40 and that was just to get the remote so he could surf the channels. Nothing really interested him enough to make him stop pushing the button to the next channel until he saw the face of Rosalina's uncle on the news channel. He stopped and turned up the volume just enough for him to hear what the reporter was saying.
"Last night NYPD got information of the location of the gunmen in the twelve Manhattan murders this year from an anonymous source. Eight officers were sent with a warrant to an undisclosed location last night to apprehend anyone at the scene for questioning. At approximately 3:20 a.m. a distress call was heard from one of the officers after gunshots had been fired. Emergency personnel and backup arrived fifteen minutes later, but for some it wasn't soon enough…"
Nat stared at the screen, distraught by the report as the names of fallen officers were called.
"…..Todd Pelt, Jake Webbs, Conner Blake…."
At the hospital Rosalina was shaken awake. Brody stared at her through green tear soaked eyes and hugged her. She rubbed his back, confused for a minute. She looked over at her aunt, whom was sitting in the chair next to her. She was crying to. She looked at Rosalina then shook her head and left the room. Lila followed her without giving Rosalina a single glance. Brody, however, didn't move an inch away from her and buried his face into her arm.
"….and Kennedy James. May God bless these families and help them through this tough time. I'm Walter Cooper and this is Channel 10 News."
