Shadows of the Past
Chapter 3
Things went to hell pretty quickly after Mike left. As the days went by; there was more and more news coverage about some sort of pandemic coming out of Egypt. Christine always paid more attention to the news when Mike was gone, but she was busy getting the kids ready for school being back in session, she barely noticed.
Lucas had been begging to go to a Boy Scout Day Camp all summer, and because of his learning disabilities, school was always pretty intense for him. Christine decided to let him go, as kind of a treat. He had done all of his lessons throughout the summer, trying to maintain through the school break. He had wanted Mike to go, but that wasn't an option.
The third day in, Christine got a call from the camp counselor. Lucas and several other boys had taken ill quickly, and were sent to the ER, where the counselors were told to not allow the parents arrive. A half hour later, a doctor called and explained in a comforting tone that Lucas had died, along with several other boys. Christine was shocked, and asked to see her son's body, but she was told that he had been cremated and the ashes were added to a growing pile.
Explaining to the girls that their brother would not be coming home was unbelievably hard and Christine knew it would be harder with Mike. He adored Lucas, not that he didn't with the girls, but he and Lucas had something special. It had been there for as long as Christine could remember.
Christine woke up and smiled as Mike walked around their bedroom. She was still healing from the birth of their third child, and Mike had told her not to come to the cold dock to greet him, especially when it become obvious that he would be arriving in the dead of the night. They had made the decision not to find out what gender Lucas was, figuring he would be a girl. Lucas being a boy surprised and thrilled Christine, but Mike had asked not to be told until he arrived home. Christine saw Mike looking down at Lucas in the bassinet.
"Probably needs a diaper change." Christine commented and Mike nodded. He grabbed the diaper and wipes and within just a minute, gasped.
"A boy?" Mike asked.
"Yes, and you'd better finish up. He loves to pee during diaper changes. He's a bit ornery." Christine said.
"I thought it would be a girl. I would have loved another girl, but a boy…" Mike said in wonder as he finished the task.
"His name is Lucas Michael." Christine said. Mike picked Lucas up, and held him, until Lucas woke up enough and began fussing, wanting to be fed. Christine took him and began nursing him as Mike looked on in wonder.
It hurt Christine that Mike had not gotten a goodbye with Lucas. While Christine didn't know that it would be her final goodbye, she had hugged and kissed Lucas that morning as she dropped him off at the day camp. Mike hadn't even gotten that.