I go to the door and yank it open.
"WHAT?!" I bark at Taylor. I know I shouldn't take it out on him but I can't help myself.
"Sorry, sir, you asked me to get you at four so you could get your run in before we head down to Olympia for the committee hearing."
I run my hands through my hair and look at the wall clock. Sure enough, it's four o'clock. Shit! Have I really been here for an hour and a half? I look back at the couch; it's empty and for a second I think I may have dreamed everything, but I know better.
"Okay, Taylor, I'll meet you out front." We leave the music room and I head upstairs to get into my running gear. Anastasia's sleeping soundly so I tiptoe around the room. I know she's going to want to hear everything that happened so my run will be a good time to sort out in my head what I tell her.
When I get back she's still asleep so rather than risk disturbing her by showering I go downstairs for breakfast. Gail's there already and serves up some pancakes and sausage. Halfway through my meal Ana walks in with Teddy on her hip.
"Morning, babe," I greet her as she walks over and gives me a kiss. She sets Teddy in his chair and Gail brings over his breakfast.
"So, what happened?" she asks as she starts to feed him. I give her the complete rundown, minus my enraged reactions. By the time I finish my narration, I've also finished my breakfast, Teddy's finished his, and Ana's started on hers. Teddy's crawling around on the floor, happy to be out of his high chair.
"So what are you going to do now?" she asks me between bites while we both keep an eye on our son.
"Well, right now, I'm going to get dressed and go down to Olympia for a committee hearing."
"You know what I mean. What are you going to do with your new-found information?"
"Well, I was wondering if you want to have dinner with my parents this weekend. We can ask them what they know regarding my birth family and see if it jives with what I heard today."
"That's good as far as it goes but don't you think you should ask Taylor about any threats to you? It sounds like you might already have been stalked by your birth father."
"Ana, we have the best security money can buy. I'm sure if there were any threats out of the ordinary Taylor would have told me. I don't even have a name for this guy so it's not like I can ask Taylor or Welch to look him up."
"Do you plan to see your mom again tomorrow morning?" I give her a look and she immediately corrects herself, "I mean Ella."
I roll my eyes and tell her, "Yes, if she comes a-calling again, I'll see her. Much as I hate to admit it, I'm now curious about what she has to say. I'm also curious to see if my mom can verify any of this. You want to call her and see if they can do dinner Friday night or should I?"
"I'll call her," she replies and something makes me add a warning.
"Please don't tell her what's been going on. I'd like to keep as few people as possible in the loop on this."
"But how will you bring the conversation around to your birth family? Won't that look strange?"
"We can always say it's because of Teddy. That won't be too far from the truth. I mean, shouldn't we know my genetic background in case something's there that might affect his health?"
"I suppose. While we're at it, maybe I should give my mom a call and find out how much she remembers about my birth father. That might help lead us into the topic."
"However you want to work it; we've got time to figure it out. Right now I've got to get going. I'll see you at dinner." I get up and put my dishes in the sink. Before leaving the kitchen I pick up Teddy and spend a minute just holding and kissing him. When he starts squirming I put him down, give Ana a kiss, and head off to start my day.
On the way to Olympia I ask Taylor what he knows about any threats that have been made recently against GEH or my family.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, sir. The usual crackpots demanding money or threatening lawsuits. Was there something specific you had in mind?"
"What do you mean, 'crackpots demanding money'?"
"We get at least a couple every month. They usually threaten blackmail but when we run them down they back off. Have you heard of something in particular, sir?"
I'm thinking about how I want to discuss this with Taylor. The man is almost an extension of myself but I'm not sure how he'll react to discussing something as off-the-wall as this. On the other hand, when he reported on the previous inhabitants of the house and their experiences I didn't detect any derision in his tone; he was totally noncommittal. I decide to feel him out as to his reactions on hearing those stories.
"Tell me something, Taylor. When you heard the previous owner of the house talking about his wife seeing her dead father, what did you think?"
He takes a moment before answering. Finally he says, "When I spoke with him, sir, he was dead serious. He didn't seem like someone prone to making up fantasies and he appeared genuinely concerned about his wife. I got the impression he believed her."
"I see. How do you feel about stories like that?"
"Are you asking how I feel about the afterlife, sir? Do I think the dead contact us?"
"Well, yes, if you put it that way, I guess that's what I'm asking."
"There was a time in my life when I either didn't think about such things or if I heard about them, I'd scoff." He takes a deep breath and then continues, "But after a couple things I saw in the Gulf War, I changed my mind. I think things happen that we can't explain away rationally."
"What sort of things?" I ask. It's rare for Taylor to talk about his military experience; I'm really curious what he has to say.
"As you know, my father died when I was seventeen. Well, one night we were out on patrol and came upon an empty house. There were four of us and we decided to check it out. As we walked toward it, I felt something push me back. I thought I'd walked into a trip wire but immediately knew I didn't when an IED exploded right under our point man. I was thrown backwards and had the wind knocked out of me but other than a few bruises and scratches, I wasn't hurt. The point man was killed and the two guys between him and me had injuries so bad they were medevac'd to Germany.
"What was strange, besides feeling as if I'd been pushed back, was what I smelled right when it happened. My old man wore Old Spice cologne and I swear I smelled Old Spice right when I felt pushed."
"Maybe one of your buddies was wearing Old Spice," I interject.
"Sir, when you've been out on patrol in a desert, after a couple hours no one smells like any kind of cologne. On top of that, no guy in my generation wears Old Spice. At least no one in my unit did."
"So you said you saw a couple things. Was that the first time?"
"Yes, sir. It happened again a couple months later. Different guys on patrol but same thing – one of them stepped on an IED but someone or something held me back. And the same whiff of Old Spice. I've never told anyone else about this, sir. Does this have anything to do with your question about unusual threats?"
I decide to lay it all on the line with him. I relate a brief history of what's happened and the real reason I asked him to check the monitors and talk to the previous owners; then I give him an edited version of my conversation with the ghostly visitor. After I've finished, he has one question, "Did she give you a name, sir?" Typical Taylor – calm, low-key acknowledgement of what I've just told him.
"No, she didn't," I answer, "Mrs. Grey and I are planning to have dinner with my parents this weekend. I'm hoping my mother will provide us with some information."
"Will you be speaking with the apparition tonight, sir?" he asks matter-of-factly, as if inquiring about a business meeting.
"Probably," I sigh.
"If she gives you a name, I can start an investigation right away. As we discussed, I'll be going away with Sophie this weekend," he reminds me.
"That's right. Is she excited about it?"
"Very much so, sir. I am, too."
"Be sure to brief Sawyer before you leave, especially if you find anything out."
"Yes, sir; I'll give him an update on Friday. I'd like to pull Ryan in on this too, if you don't mind; his contacts at the Bureau might be helpful. I won't mention the source of the information."
The circle of people who know about my craziness is growing. Oh well, so far they're all people I trust with my life. "That sounds good; as soon as I get a name I'll pass it on to you."
We arrive in Olympia and Taylor drops me off at the O'Brien Office Building where my meeting's being held.
The meeting was long and intense and I'm exhausted on the ride back to the office. We do something we very rarely do: pull into a fast food drive-in and eat lunch in the car. These middle of the night ghostly rendezvous are getting to me. Maybe it's fatherhood, maybe it's turning thirty, but I'm starting to think my days of functioning on four to five hours of sleep are behind me. Cheap burgers and fries certainly isn't the best meal but I really don't feel like ordering in a restaurant.
And now I've got the added stress of pulling off this new shipping deal. As a result of this morning's meeting, I will definitely be making a trip to South Africa for at least a week, probably two. I hope I can convince Ana to join me for part of that time; she's never been there and we could turn it into a mini-vacation. Who knows? It might even be a great place to conceive our next child. The thought makes me chuckle to myself.
Once I get to my desk I decide to make it a short afternoon. I am really, really beat and now that I know I can't nap here I want to go home, relax, and get to bed early. It's strange but I almost feel like I'm looking forward to speaking with my spectral visitor. I call Ana and surprise! she can leave early, too.
During dinner I fill her in on my conversation with Taylor. When I relate his incidents in the war to her she's as surprised as I was. I guess neither of us ever figured him for someone who'd believe in the occult or supernatural.
After dinner we set up the play yard in the sitting area of our bedroom. I start reviewing a contract while Ana edits a manuscript. Pretty soon, though, I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open. Ana's poked me a couple times, telling me to go to bed, and I keep telling her I'm awake. Finally, I give in and take off my clothes, then crawl into bed after giving Teddy a hug and a kiss.
Taylor's driving us in the SUV but I don't know where we're going; both Ana and Teddy are with me. We're on some sort of country road when we stop in front of a rustic cabin. Everyone starts to get out but as I open my door Taylor says, "Sorry, sir, you have to stay in the car."
"The hell I will," I yell at him, "I'm going with my wife and son." I start to scuffle with him.
"Sir, you can't." He pushes me back in the car and I turn to see where Ana and Teddy are going. As they walk toward the cabin she turns to me and waves. Her face is sad and I think she's waving goodbye. She looks like she might be crying. I panic and struggle harder with Taylor but it's no longer Taylor, it's Sawyer and he's holding me down.
"Trust me, sir, it's for the best," he tells me calmly but I don't believe him, I only want my wife and son. He's pinning my arms to my sides and kneeling on my chest. "Calm down, sir. Use your music. It will calm you." What he says doesn't make any sense but I stop struggling and find myself sitting on my piano bench.
"Use your music." I hear his voice but he's nowhere to be seen. I look at the keyboard in front of me but when I try to play, I can only hit two notes.
Middle C, G
No matter what keys I try to press, the only two that make any sound are
Middle C, G
I try over and over but I can't seem to play anything but
Middle C, G
And then I hear a familiar voice.
Christian!
I wake up in a cold sweat. The usual two-thirty is on the clock and Anastasia is sleeping at my side. My sweet, beautiful Anastasia is here with me.
Christian!
Yes, yes, I know. It's time for our little tête-à-tête but first I have to touch Anastasia, I have to reassure myself she's really here. Softy, very softly so as not to wake her, I touch her shoulder and feel her warmth. I grasp a few locks of her hair and rub them against my cheek, reveling in her scent.
Christian!
I kiss Anastasia's hair and lay it gently on her pillow. Reluctantly, I get out of bed and put on my sweat pants. I'll probably go for a run after our conversation so I grab my running shoes, socks, and a sweatshirt; I carry them with me rather than putting them on. Before leaving our bedroom I take another look at my beautiful wife and think back to when I first met her and how I used to love watching her sleep.
Christian!
Oh, for fuck's sake, how much longer will this go on? Whatever she has to tell me, I hope Taylor's able to deal with it quickly so we can all go back to our normal lives and she can leave me alone. When I enter the music room, she's sitting on the sofa, just like yesterday. It's time to hear the rest of the story.