Chapter 20
It started raining just as they called Kim's flight. She looked up at the sky nervously as she boarded the plane. "Great. It's bad enough flying in good weather, now I have to deal with rain, turbulence.... Stop!" she told herself as she made herself more nervous.
She found her seat on the plane and sat down. She noticed some lightening off in the distance. After about 15 minutes, she heard the plane's engines pick up and the plane started to roll away from the gate. She couldn't see the haggard looking figure hurrying down the hallway to the gate.
The plane took off and headed to Chicago - without Jimmy Doherty on board.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jimmy made it to the gate in time to be told that the plane had just departed. "Dammit!" he said in exasperation.
"Sir, are you okay? Do you need an ambulance or anything?" the airline clerk asked him as she looked at him holding onto the counter, obviously out of balance.
"What? No. I'm okay. Look, can you tell me if Kim Zambrano made it onto the flight?" he asked.
The clerk looked over the passenger list and saw that the ticket issued to Kim had been checked through. The clerk wasn't sure she should be giving out the information. "I'm really not supposed to be giving out that information, Sir," she said back to Jimmy.
He turned on his charm. Even in the condition he was in, he could still smooth-talk the ladies. "I just need to know that Kim didn't miss the flight. My niece - her daughter - had an accident in Chicago and she wasn't able to find me to get her to the airport. I can't find her so I just want to know that she's on her way to her daughter. 'Cause as you can see, I'm not feeling that great myself, but if I have to, I'll fly out there on the next flight so she has someone with her," he finished.
The clerk's heart immediately went out to this man who was obviously a great uncle and brother. "Well, the passenger list shows that the ticket issued to your sister was checked through so she should be on the plane," the clerk answered with a smile.
"Great," he said, trying to show relief that his 'sister' was on her way to his 'niece.' Suddenly, he thought of something else. "Can you tell me if she was traveling alone? Or possibly had a young boy with her? I have to find out if I need to get my nephew from school," he lied.
"No, she is the only Zambrano listed as traveling on this flight," the clerk answered him.
"Oh - that's her maiden name. The boy would be listed as Doherty," he said. "She's divorced," he finished, completing the lie. "What the hell," he thought to himself.
She looked over the passenger listing again and told him that there was no Doherty listed. He nodded and turned to go.
"Are you sure you don't need some medical attention?" she asked him again as he caught himself and sat down in the chairs next to the gate that the plane had just left.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks," he said standing up and starting to turn to head... where? He had no idea what to do now. He knew that he couldn't just let her go without finding out where Joey was.
"You know what?" he said, turning back to her and taking out his wallet with his credit card in it. "Can you book me on the next flight to Chicago? I'm going out there whether she wants me to or not," he said.
"Certainly, Sir," she said, calling up the flights on her computer. "The next flight leaves in one hour. Would you like to book that?"
"Yes, thank you," Jimmy answered, having no idea whether he should be flying in his condition or not.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was 6:30 and Kim and Bobby were having dinner at Barney's while Mrs. Morris looked after the kids.
"So, you just left without talking to him Kim?" Bobby asked. "After you went all that way?"
"Bobby, I told you. I just couldn't deal with it. Not with his family and friends around. You didn't see the way they were all looking at me," she tried to explain. "His mother slapped me. Right there in front of everyone," she added.
"Well, you can't really blame them can you? You just left without giving anyone a chance to...," he stopped.
"A chance to what?" she prodded Bobby.
"I don't know. A chance to talk you out of it. Without talking to me," he said, trying not to show the hurt that was still there.
Kim reached across and held onto Bobby's hand. "Bobby, you're the last one I wanted to hurt. But, I knew you'd try to talk me out of it and I just needed to think. I needed to be able to think without any distractions. I had to think of what was best for Joey and the baby," she said, trying to get her point across.
"And did you?" he said quietly.
"Did I what?" she asked, puzzled by his question.
"Did you make the best decision for JOEY and CHARLIE? Or was it just the EASIEST decision for YOU?" Bobby said. Only he could talk to Kim this way. She would get mad at him sometimes, but she always listened to what he had to say. She always forgave him so he knew he could get away with it.
He saw the anger in her eyes. But he saw her actually thinking about what he said too. "Maybe a little bit of both," she said simply. Bobby nodded.
The waitress brought over the check and they paid and stood up to leave. It was 7:00 and she needed to get home and get the kids ready for bed. Bobby's dinner break was over and he had to get back to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jimmy arrived in Chicago a little after 5:30. He'd immediately gone to a phone and dialed Information. He asked for a listing for a Kim Zambrano and was told that the number was unlisted. He tried explaining that it was an emergency, but the operator refused to give him the information. She had, however, offered to contact the Chicago police and have them get hold of her if it was an emergency. He declined and hung up the phone.
He wandered around the airport for a little while, thinking that maybe Kim was still there. He walked into the coffee shop and ordered some soup and a soda. He wasn't really hungry, but he thought he'd probably need some food if he was going to keep looking for his son.
His food came and he ate part of it. He was exhausted and his head was pounding. He paid the check and stood up to leave. He felt the room spin and everything grow darker. He tried to grab for the table to steady himself, but felt himself falling to the floor as everything went black.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Dispatch to Unit 41," came the voice over the radio.
"Unit 41," Bobby's partner replied into the microphone.
"Unit 41, take a at Chicago O'Hare. In the coffee shop."
"10-4, Dispatch. We're in route."
Within a few minutes, they had arrived at the scene. They walked through the airport with their equipment and eventually made it to the coffee shop. They were confronted with a crowd of onlookers and tried to nudge their way through.
"Excuse me," Bobby said, pushing his way through from behind. Finally, he reached the patient and asked the waitress that was standing there what had happened as his partner began to assess the patient's condition.
"I don't know," she replied. "He came in and had some soup and when he stood up to leave, he just kind of swayed a little and went down in a heap. He didn't look all that healthy when he came in, but I thought maybe he was just airsick or something. We get a lot of that," she offered.
"Okay, thanks," Bobby replied as he began to set up the oxygen. He bent over to put the nasal canula on their patient and drew in a sharp breath. "Oh my God. Jimmy," he said.
It started raining just as they called Kim's flight. She looked up at the sky nervously as she boarded the plane. "Great. It's bad enough flying in good weather, now I have to deal with rain, turbulence.... Stop!" she told herself as she made herself more nervous.
She found her seat on the plane and sat down. She noticed some lightening off in the distance. After about 15 minutes, she heard the plane's engines pick up and the plane started to roll away from the gate. She couldn't see the haggard looking figure hurrying down the hallway to the gate.
The plane took off and headed to Chicago - without Jimmy Doherty on board.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jimmy made it to the gate in time to be told that the plane had just departed. "Dammit!" he said in exasperation.
"Sir, are you okay? Do you need an ambulance or anything?" the airline clerk asked him as she looked at him holding onto the counter, obviously out of balance.
"What? No. I'm okay. Look, can you tell me if Kim Zambrano made it onto the flight?" he asked.
The clerk looked over the passenger list and saw that the ticket issued to Kim had been checked through. The clerk wasn't sure she should be giving out the information. "I'm really not supposed to be giving out that information, Sir," she said back to Jimmy.
He turned on his charm. Even in the condition he was in, he could still smooth-talk the ladies. "I just need to know that Kim didn't miss the flight. My niece - her daughter - had an accident in Chicago and she wasn't able to find me to get her to the airport. I can't find her so I just want to know that she's on her way to her daughter. 'Cause as you can see, I'm not feeling that great myself, but if I have to, I'll fly out there on the next flight so she has someone with her," he finished.
The clerk's heart immediately went out to this man who was obviously a great uncle and brother. "Well, the passenger list shows that the ticket issued to your sister was checked through so she should be on the plane," the clerk answered with a smile.
"Great," he said, trying to show relief that his 'sister' was on her way to his 'niece.' Suddenly, he thought of something else. "Can you tell me if she was traveling alone? Or possibly had a young boy with her? I have to find out if I need to get my nephew from school," he lied.
"No, she is the only Zambrano listed as traveling on this flight," the clerk answered him.
"Oh - that's her maiden name. The boy would be listed as Doherty," he said. "She's divorced," he finished, completing the lie. "What the hell," he thought to himself.
She looked over the passenger listing again and told him that there was no Doherty listed. He nodded and turned to go.
"Are you sure you don't need some medical attention?" she asked him again as he caught himself and sat down in the chairs next to the gate that the plane had just left.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks," he said standing up and starting to turn to head... where? He had no idea what to do now. He knew that he couldn't just let her go without finding out where Joey was.
"You know what?" he said, turning back to her and taking out his wallet with his credit card in it. "Can you book me on the next flight to Chicago? I'm going out there whether she wants me to or not," he said.
"Certainly, Sir," she said, calling up the flights on her computer. "The next flight leaves in one hour. Would you like to book that?"
"Yes, thank you," Jimmy answered, having no idea whether he should be flying in his condition or not.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was 6:30 and Kim and Bobby were having dinner at Barney's while Mrs. Morris looked after the kids.
"So, you just left without talking to him Kim?" Bobby asked. "After you went all that way?"
"Bobby, I told you. I just couldn't deal with it. Not with his family and friends around. You didn't see the way they were all looking at me," she tried to explain. "His mother slapped me. Right there in front of everyone," she added.
"Well, you can't really blame them can you? You just left without giving anyone a chance to...," he stopped.
"A chance to what?" she prodded Bobby.
"I don't know. A chance to talk you out of it. Without talking to me," he said, trying not to show the hurt that was still there.
Kim reached across and held onto Bobby's hand. "Bobby, you're the last one I wanted to hurt. But, I knew you'd try to talk me out of it and I just needed to think. I needed to be able to think without any distractions. I had to think of what was best for Joey and the baby," she said, trying to get her point across.
"And did you?" he said quietly.
"Did I what?" she asked, puzzled by his question.
"Did you make the best decision for JOEY and CHARLIE? Or was it just the EASIEST decision for YOU?" Bobby said. Only he could talk to Kim this way. She would get mad at him sometimes, but she always listened to what he had to say. She always forgave him so he knew he could get away with it.
He saw the anger in her eyes. But he saw her actually thinking about what he said too. "Maybe a little bit of both," she said simply. Bobby nodded.
The waitress brought over the check and they paid and stood up to leave. It was 7:00 and she needed to get home and get the kids ready for bed. Bobby's dinner break was over and he had to get back to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jimmy arrived in Chicago a little after 5:30. He'd immediately gone to a phone and dialed Information. He asked for a listing for a Kim Zambrano and was told that the number was unlisted. He tried explaining that it was an emergency, but the operator refused to give him the information. She had, however, offered to contact the Chicago police and have them get hold of her if it was an emergency. He declined and hung up the phone.
He wandered around the airport for a little while, thinking that maybe Kim was still there. He walked into the coffee shop and ordered some soup and a soda. He wasn't really hungry, but he thought he'd probably need some food if he was going to keep looking for his son.
His food came and he ate part of it. He was exhausted and his head was pounding. He paid the check and stood up to leave. He felt the room spin and everything grow darker. He tried to grab for the table to steady himself, but felt himself falling to the floor as everything went black.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Dispatch to Unit 41," came the voice over the radio.
"Unit 41," Bobby's partner replied into the microphone.
"Unit 41, take a at Chicago O'Hare. In the coffee shop."
"10-4, Dispatch. We're in route."
Within a few minutes, they had arrived at the scene. They walked through the airport with their equipment and eventually made it to the coffee shop. They were confronted with a crowd of onlookers and tried to nudge their way through.
"Excuse me," Bobby said, pushing his way through from behind. Finally, he reached the patient and asked the waitress that was standing there what had happened as his partner began to assess the patient's condition.
"I don't know," she replied. "He came in and had some soup and when he stood up to leave, he just kind of swayed a little and went down in a heap. He didn't look all that healthy when he came in, but I thought maybe he was just airsick or something. We get a lot of that," she offered.
"Okay, thanks," Bobby replied as he began to set up the oxygen. He bent over to put the nasal canula on their patient and drew in a sharp breath. "Oh my God. Jimmy," he said.