11.
Randy.
A few minutes later…
Gordon thrust the phone at me, "Get your son to get my wife on the phone!"
He was so demanding.
But I got it.
I wanted my sons to be safe home in America, not in some country where my embassies were being blown up. Yeah, I knew we weren't popular in some places. But Switzerland? I'd expect Mickey Mouse to be the culprit next. I took the phone and put it to my ear, "Son?"
"Hi Daddy!"
Inwardly everything turned to fuzz.
The sound of Trey's voice made everything make sense. He was my son, my blood, he was my offspring. My offspring was in danger.
"Trey, I need you to put Aunt Angela on the phone for me."
My son sighed, "No…then she'll be sad and I don't like when she's sad."
What
was she sad about?
I looked to Gordon and mouthed it,
he shrugged.
"Son, why is she sad? Maybe we could make her happy, put her on the phone so we can make it better."
"NO! She doesn't want Uncle G to know, that'll make her sadder."
Ok.
I knew my children were intuitive. But they weren't mind readers.
"Son, adults are sad sometimes and they need other adults to make it better."
My son then informed me, "Uncle Hoot made it better."
My coworkers yelled for Gordon and he went back towards the TV. I was really hoping another building had not been bombed. I was tempted to drive my ass over to Switzerland to go get them.
"What do you mean?"
My son was getting annoyed and dropped the phone. It sounded like he kicked it and it hit something, something that made a loud noise. Maybe a cat. Then the phone was picked up and Troy's voice came, "Hi Daddy!"
We
were so going over phone etiquette when I got home!
"Son!
What is wrong with your Aunt Angela?"
Exasperated, as if I should know the answer he informed me, "She lost something."
Lost something?
What the hell did she loose. "What was it?"
"I dunno."
"Well where was she?"
"The hospital."
The hospital? "What did she loose there? How'd she loose it? Was it stolen? Did she misplace something? Did she forget it? Was it taken or tested?"
Again, he told me, "I dunno." But he added, "She miscarried it."
My eyes closed and I felt sick.
When I opened them I had to ask, "What hospital was she at?"
As if I should have known it he sighed, "When she was in England with Prince Horse-face."
That long ago. It was a month or so at the most, but still. She had kept it to herself for a while. I opened my eyes and forced myself to breath. "When will she stop being sad?"
There was a pause.
I could hear him talking with Trey.
Then my son got back on the phone, God bless young innocence, "She's been sad for about an hour. She should be coming in soon, five minutes tops. We're supposed to be napping."
They were supposed to be napping.
I blinked and realized there were tears in my eyes. "Ok, son, have her call us immediately. Tell her it's an emergency. Can you do that?"
As if I had insulted him he spat, "Yeah!"
"I love you son."
"I love you too daddy."
I heard him hang up the phone. I couldn't move. Gordon didn't know. I knew he didn't know. We didn't even know she was pregnant. Slowly I hung up the receiver and knew he had to know. But did I want to tell him? Could I keep it from him? Did I want to be the one to tell him he had lost a child?
Would he be able to keep it together if he knew?
Before I could even think about that too hard the little plastic beeper in my back pocket began to vibrate like madness.
A collection of profanities drifted from the common area.
