Reconnections - Prologue - What It Is...
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Autumn had come early to Sycamore Valley. The garden located in the corner of the backyard was already beginning to bloom with the flowers she had planted on one side as well as the sprouts, beans, and tomatoes placed neatly on the other. As Elisabeth made her way up the brick-lined path that wove through the backyard, she couldn't help the smile of total and utter content that lined her lips. Who would have ever imagined her having a garden? The only garden she remembered had been the one her mother had tried to cultivate years ago only to come to the conclusion that she was no green thumb.
Setting the basket she carried on the ground near the trunk of the tree, Beth looked up to the ripe Washington apples that hung freely on its branches. She reached out, picking one off and bringing it eye level for a thorough inspection. To think that this tree had been nothing more than a seedling five years ago was amazing since it now stood so tall and full, bearing the fruit they would enjoy for years to come. As she went about plucking apples from the tree, she thanked God for all the gifts he had bestowed upon her. The road here had certainly not been an easy one. Trials had met her at every turn and yet it seemed that her former life was such a removed part of the woman she was today.
"Mommy? Mommy!"
Beth turned her head, her eyes instantly landing on the small, dark-haired boy as he rushed out of the back door. She couldn't even imagine what was wrong, but as she placed the last apple in the basket, picking it up off the ground, she turned just in time to see her older son bound out the same door, obviously in chase of his little brother. Oh no. "Boys, don't run." Beth picked up her pace as she made her way back towards the house. "Caleb, why are you chasing your brother?" As the three met near the gate to the fence, both boys huffed and puffed for a second before launching into loud, over-animated explanations.
"Caleb won't let me use his markers!"
"He's too little to use the markers. He's just a baby!"
"I am not! Don't call me a baby." Turning, Haden balled his hand up in a little fist before smacking his dumb 'ole brother in the arm. "You take that back right now!"
"I won't take it back 'cause it's the truth! You are a baby."
Before any more punches could be thrown, Beth stepped between the two boys, making sure to grab Caleb by the shoulder as she went. "How many times have I told you, Cale, don't antagonize your little brother."
"I dunno know what that means! And besides, he was coloring all o'er the place and that was just with the crayons. He's messy. A messy baby!"
"Am not," came a small voice from Beth's right hip.
Stopping, she placed the basket on a bench before turning to her two little angels. She almost laughed because at the moment, they looked anything but. "Okay," she began, taking a seat beside the basket, "both of you come here." Reluctantly, they came, Haden climbing onto her lap as Caleb stood, leaning against her free knee. "Now, I think we've had this conversation before but maybe we should have it one more time."
"Oh no. Not this again."
"Yes, this again," she spoke, giving a pointed look to Caleb. "The two of you are brothers. Brothers are supposed to love each other and take care of each other. Especially older brothers."
"But mom," Caleb protested, dragging out the last word. "I was just trying to keep your carpet from getting all dirty."
"I know sweetie." Who thought she would ever be a mother!?! "But the carpet aside, the two of you don't need to fight, and over something so little as markers. Caleb, you could have shown Haden how to color more neatly, or even taken the coloring from the floor to the kitchen table. Right?"
Caleb took a moment to think about it, his little face drawn tight in total and complete thought. "Well... yeah, I guess."
"And you," she said, turning to her baby, as much as he hated to be called that. "Couldn't you have asked nicely to use the markers? Maybe told Caleb that you would be very careful to not get any on the carpet?"
"But I'm little..."
"A baby."
Haden pinned his brother with a dark look, continuing, "and I don't know how to do that yet. 'Sides, he always gets to use the markers. I'm four. I'm big enough."
Taking both boys' words into consideration, Beth didn't really know what to say. And there certainly wasn't a manual from which she could look up what to do; there never were for the harder situations in parenting. "You know, how about we come up with a compromise, huh? Caleb, you'll let Haden use your marker if Haden will...promise to be very careful."
Caleb pouted. "Hey, I don't get anything out of that."
She frowned. "For a seven-year-old, you're a little too perceptive."
"What's that?" Caleb questioned.
"It means you know too much," she answered.
He smiled wide. "That's because I'm so smart. Just like daddy."
"Did I hear my name?" a familiar male voice rumbled from behind them. All three heads turned to the man that stood just inside the threshold of the back door.
"Daddy!" Both boys chorused.
Caleb turned circles and Haden scrambled off her lap, both running towards the door where their father had just stepped out of onto the back patio. Beth could only watch as he grabbed up one boy and then the next, whirling them around to their delighted glees. As the two began telling their stories of woe to him, Beth stood, grabbing the basket and making her way towards the three most important men in her life. She smiled as her husband of over five years listened attentively to what each boy had to say, his arms never leaving their loose hold around them. She sighed at the rush of love the simple scene brought to her heart. This was what life was about. This was what she had always been waiting for but had never trully found. And now it was hers.
"...but mommy said that I could use the markers if I'm careful and I will be. I won't draw on the carpet or nothing!"
"That sounds like a plan, buddy. Is that okay with you Caleb?"
"I guess," he pouted. His eyes lit up when he remembered what his dad had promised him early morning before leaving for work. "Did you bring the pizza, daddy? Did you?"
Shaking his head at the quick change of topic, he pointed behind him. "They're on the table." He stood as the boys rushed inside, telling them, "But be careful. It's hot. Caleb..."
"I know I know. Serve the baby," Caleb grouched.
"I'm not a baby," was the last thing either or them heard as the boys disappeared into the house.
As their eyes met, both couldn't help but laugh at the antics of their sons. "Have they been harrassing you all afternoon, honey?" Stepping forward, he pulled his wife into his embrace, lowering his lips down unto hers. The kiss they shared was quick but not devoid of the passion each still felt for the other. "I came home early, if it helps any."
"It will help when Caleb goes back to school tomorrow. I think he's feeling a lot better than he was this morning."
His eyebrows knitted together. "You know, Beth, I completely forgot about that. No more fever?"
She shook her head. "I think the tylenol helped and I had him stay in bed for as long as I could manage. He started getting ornery a little after one, so I told him he could color."
"Ah, and then the infamous marker fight broke out." His eyes crinkled with laughter.
"Yeah. But enough about them. How was your day? Did Evan come through with the new client?"
Scoffing, he idly picked an apple from the basket, twirling it in his palm. "Evan can't come through with himself apparently. He didn't show up this morning and I when I called his place, some woman picked up the phone, there was whispering, and then the line got disconneted. I'm firing him tomorrow."
"Oh, honey, don't. I told you it would take some time for him to get into the swing of things."
"Beth, its been, what, three months now? I give the guy any more time and he's going to run me out of a business!" He took the basket out of her hand, throwing his free arm across her shoulders as they walked closer towards the door. "He's got to go, Bethy. I'm serious."
She stopped, halting their steps, as she turned her most forlon look towards him. "Baby, please, just one more chance. If not for him, then for me?"
Hating that she had stooped so low as to use that look with him, he uttered a heavy sigh. What was it about this woman that allowed her have to such a big heart? Given all the lemons life had thrown her way, he surely would have thought her to be the least bit cynical. But that wasn't the case with Beth at all. If anything, she was more willing to see the goodness in people, even if that goodness didn't exist, which was the case with Evan Donnelly.
The guy had been one of her counselee's, a recently divorced 24-year-old who had lost his accounting job along with his home and was, as Beth had put it, 'simply down on his luck'. He couldn't even remember how she had cajoled him into hiring the man for his security firm; it had somehow just happened. And as many times as he had given Evan a chance to prove himself, to prove his worth to LFS and to him, the man had yet to pan out on any of his promises.
"Beth..."
She stepped closer, cupping a palm against his cheek as a soft smile took her lips. "Just one more chance, baby, I promise. That's all. I'll have a talk with him. I'll tell him he only has one more chance to make it work out with you and if he screws that chance up," she cut her hand in the air, "then he's out. Cross my heart."
He smiled. He couldn't say no to those warm, chocolate eyes. That and her zest for life had been what had bound him to this woman forever. "Okay, Bethy, one more chance, but after that..." He stopped to her squeals of laughter as she nearly tackled him to the ground with a hug and little, wet kisses. He slung one arm around his wife, bringing her close so he could lay one where it would count the most. "I love you Beth."
"And I you, Antonio Lopez-Fitzgerald." Beth smiled into the eyes of her husband. Life was good.
- - - - -
Luis' fingers tightly gripped those of the woman beside him as he braced himself for the worst. It had been a week since he passed out on the job, citing the illness to a bug running through the station when no such bug existed. It had taken Sheridan that long to get him to see a doctor for a physical and he had done so hoping that his lack of energy could easily be explained away and life could return to normal for them both. But when the doctor had called yesterday afternoon, sounding urgent and pressing for Luis to meet him the next day as soon as possible, Luis knew that all hopes for normalcy had passed.
Now he sat, with his wife by his side, and the doctor in front of him, about to learn the truth of his health. He couldn't ever remember being so scared in his life. Even so, he wanted to know what was wrong with him. The sooner he knew, the sooner he could go about fixing the problem. Clearing his throat for about the third time, he inched forward in the plush chair, eyeing the man across from him. "Just give it to me straight, Doc," he spoke as calmly as he could muster, even while his hands shook slightly. "Is it cancer?"
"Luis!" Sheridan turned frightful eyes on him, her palms instantly growing damp at his words. "How could you even say such a thing?" She looked him in the eye, knowing he saw the tears at bay in her own, knowing he was just as scared as she was. "Don't wish such horrible things on yourself. Ever."
"Sweetheart, we talked about this last night," Luis interjected calmly. "That was one of the possibilities of what could be wrong with me."
"And you have yet to find out what exactly is wrong with you. For all we know, you could be losing your hair and Dr. MacGraw wanted to tell you in person."
Startled by her words, he turned piercing eyes towards the doctor. "Please, tell me that's not what this is about. I'm losing my hair?" Luis released his hold on Sheridan, both hands going up to comb through his dark locks. "Not the hair," he whispered.
"If I may cut in," Dr. MacGraw spoke then, having been entertained enough by the couple. "It is not cancer. And it is not hair loss." It seemed that with those words alone, much of the tension held within both of their bodies faded out of the closed room. "My intent was not to get you all so worried out of your minds but I did need Luis to come in for some more tests."
"Wait a minute, so you don't know what's wrong with me?"
"The feratin levels in your blood work were high. Feratin counts are what we use to diagonose levels of iron in the body. With yours elevated as it was, I got concerned."
"So, what do I do?"
"Well," Dr. MacGraw began, pulling a bloodwork order he had picked up earlier closer to him, "I've already had you scheduled to give more blood so we can do further tests. I also want an ultrasound done to check your major organs, the kidneys, colon, and liver."
"I don't understand doctor."
"High levels of iron in the body can affect any of those organs as well as the heart and lungs. I just want to make sure there are no abnormalities with those organs while we continue with the bloodtests. Marcy will have take your blood and then show you out to Radiology where I've scheduled you for the ultrasound. You'll come back in a few days and I'll know more about what is wrong, if anything, and what we need to do about it."
Luis looked to Sheridan, uncertainty clear in his eyes. "Well...I suppose giving a little more blood won't hurt. And since you've said it isn't cancer, whatever it is can't be that bad."
"Let's just wait and see. I don't want to bring anyone's hopes up to have them crashed later. Give the blood. Have the ultrasound. And meet back here on Friday, say three o'clock."
"We'll be here doctor. Thank you." Sheridan stood, pulling Luis along with her. A lot of the worry and apprehension she had been feeling had dissipated when the doctor had said it wasn't cancer, yet now, some of it had returned. There might be something wrong with her husband and that caused her concern.
"Yeah Doc, thanks for keeping on the ball," Luis said, shaking the older man's hand.
"That's what I'm paid to do. Friday it is."
"Friday." Luis walked out behind Sheridan, surprised to see the nurse already waiting to take him to get the blood drawn. He wasn't nervous about any old little needle stick, but he was about whatever else was going on in his body. The sooner they found out what that was, the sooner they could take care of it. Hopefully, things would go back to normal within a matter of days.
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Autumn had come early to Sycamore Valley. The garden located in the corner of the backyard was already beginning to bloom with the flowers she had planted on one side as well as the sprouts, beans, and tomatoes placed neatly on the other. As Elisabeth made her way up the brick-lined path that wove through the backyard, she couldn't help the smile of total and utter content that lined her lips. Who would have ever imagined her having a garden? The only garden she remembered had been the one her mother had tried to cultivate years ago only to come to the conclusion that she was no green thumb.
Setting the basket she carried on the ground near the trunk of the tree, Beth looked up to the ripe Washington apples that hung freely on its branches. She reached out, picking one off and bringing it eye level for a thorough inspection. To think that this tree had been nothing more than a seedling five years ago was amazing since it now stood so tall and full, bearing the fruit they would enjoy for years to come. As she went about plucking apples from the tree, she thanked God for all the gifts he had bestowed upon her. The road here had certainly not been an easy one. Trials had met her at every turn and yet it seemed that her former life was such a removed part of the woman she was today.
"Mommy? Mommy!"
Beth turned her head, her eyes instantly landing on the small, dark-haired boy as he rushed out of the back door. She couldn't even imagine what was wrong, but as she placed the last apple in the basket, picking it up off the ground, she turned just in time to see her older son bound out the same door, obviously in chase of his little brother. Oh no. "Boys, don't run." Beth picked up her pace as she made her way back towards the house. "Caleb, why are you chasing your brother?" As the three met near the gate to the fence, both boys huffed and puffed for a second before launching into loud, over-animated explanations.
"Caleb won't let me use his markers!"
"He's too little to use the markers. He's just a baby!"
"I am not! Don't call me a baby." Turning, Haden balled his hand up in a little fist before smacking his dumb 'ole brother in the arm. "You take that back right now!"
"I won't take it back 'cause it's the truth! You are a baby."
Before any more punches could be thrown, Beth stepped between the two boys, making sure to grab Caleb by the shoulder as she went. "How many times have I told you, Cale, don't antagonize your little brother."
"I dunno know what that means! And besides, he was coloring all o'er the place and that was just with the crayons. He's messy. A messy baby!"
"Am not," came a small voice from Beth's right hip.
Stopping, she placed the basket on a bench before turning to her two little angels. She almost laughed because at the moment, they looked anything but. "Okay," she began, taking a seat beside the basket, "both of you come here." Reluctantly, they came, Haden climbing onto her lap as Caleb stood, leaning against her free knee. "Now, I think we've had this conversation before but maybe we should have it one more time."
"Oh no. Not this again."
"Yes, this again," she spoke, giving a pointed look to Caleb. "The two of you are brothers. Brothers are supposed to love each other and take care of each other. Especially older brothers."
"But mom," Caleb protested, dragging out the last word. "I was just trying to keep your carpet from getting all dirty."
"I know sweetie." Who thought she would ever be a mother!?! "But the carpet aside, the two of you don't need to fight, and over something so little as markers. Caleb, you could have shown Haden how to color more neatly, or even taken the coloring from the floor to the kitchen table. Right?"
Caleb took a moment to think about it, his little face drawn tight in total and complete thought. "Well... yeah, I guess."
"And you," she said, turning to her baby, as much as he hated to be called that. "Couldn't you have asked nicely to use the markers? Maybe told Caleb that you would be very careful to not get any on the carpet?"
"But I'm little..."
"A baby."
Haden pinned his brother with a dark look, continuing, "and I don't know how to do that yet. 'Sides, he always gets to use the markers. I'm four. I'm big enough."
Taking both boys' words into consideration, Beth didn't really know what to say. And there certainly wasn't a manual from which she could look up what to do; there never were for the harder situations in parenting. "You know, how about we come up with a compromise, huh? Caleb, you'll let Haden use your marker if Haden will...promise to be very careful."
Caleb pouted. "Hey, I don't get anything out of that."
She frowned. "For a seven-year-old, you're a little too perceptive."
"What's that?" Caleb questioned.
"It means you know too much," she answered.
He smiled wide. "That's because I'm so smart. Just like daddy."
"Did I hear my name?" a familiar male voice rumbled from behind them. All three heads turned to the man that stood just inside the threshold of the back door.
"Daddy!" Both boys chorused.
Caleb turned circles and Haden scrambled off her lap, both running towards the door where their father had just stepped out of onto the back patio. Beth could only watch as he grabbed up one boy and then the next, whirling them around to their delighted glees. As the two began telling their stories of woe to him, Beth stood, grabbing the basket and making her way towards the three most important men in her life. She smiled as her husband of over five years listened attentively to what each boy had to say, his arms never leaving their loose hold around them. She sighed at the rush of love the simple scene brought to her heart. This was what life was about. This was what she had always been waiting for but had never trully found. And now it was hers.
"...but mommy said that I could use the markers if I'm careful and I will be. I won't draw on the carpet or nothing!"
"That sounds like a plan, buddy. Is that okay with you Caleb?"
"I guess," he pouted. His eyes lit up when he remembered what his dad had promised him early morning before leaving for work. "Did you bring the pizza, daddy? Did you?"
Shaking his head at the quick change of topic, he pointed behind him. "They're on the table." He stood as the boys rushed inside, telling them, "But be careful. It's hot. Caleb..."
"I know I know. Serve the baby," Caleb grouched.
"I'm not a baby," was the last thing either or them heard as the boys disappeared into the house.
As their eyes met, both couldn't help but laugh at the antics of their sons. "Have they been harrassing you all afternoon, honey?" Stepping forward, he pulled his wife into his embrace, lowering his lips down unto hers. The kiss they shared was quick but not devoid of the passion each still felt for the other. "I came home early, if it helps any."
"It will help when Caleb goes back to school tomorrow. I think he's feeling a lot better than he was this morning."
His eyebrows knitted together. "You know, Beth, I completely forgot about that. No more fever?"
She shook her head. "I think the tylenol helped and I had him stay in bed for as long as I could manage. He started getting ornery a little after one, so I told him he could color."
"Ah, and then the infamous marker fight broke out." His eyes crinkled with laughter.
"Yeah. But enough about them. How was your day? Did Evan come through with the new client?"
Scoffing, he idly picked an apple from the basket, twirling it in his palm. "Evan can't come through with himself apparently. He didn't show up this morning and I when I called his place, some woman picked up the phone, there was whispering, and then the line got disconneted. I'm firing him tomorrow."
"Oh, honey, don't. I told you it would take some time for him to get into the swing of things."
"Beth, its been, what, three months now? I give the guy any more time and he's going to run me out of a business!" He took the basket out of her hand, throwing his free arm across her shoulders as they walked closer towards the door. "He's got to go, Bethy. I'm serious."
She stopped, halting their steps, as she turned her most forlon look towards him. "Baby, please, just one more chance. If not for him, then for me?"
Hating that she had stooped so low as to use that look with him, he uttered a heavy sigh. What was it about this woman that allowed her have to such a big heart? Given all the lemons life had thrown her way, he surely would have thought her to be the least bit cynical. But that wasn't the case with Beth at all. If anything, she was more willing to see the goodness in people, even if that goodness didn't exist, which was the case with Evan Donnelly.
The guy had been one of her counselee's, a recently divorced 24-year-old who had lost his accounting job along with his home and was, as Beth had put it, 'simply down on his luck'. He couldn't even remember how she had cajoled him into hiring the man for his security firm; it had somehow just happened. And as many times as he had given Evan a chance to prove himself, to prove his worth to LFS and to him, the man had yet to pan out on any of his promises.
"Beth..."
She stepped closer, cupping a palm against his cheek as a soft smile took her lips. "Just one more chance, baby, I promise. That's all. I'll have a talk with him. I'll tell him he only has one more chance to make it work out with you and if he screws that chance up," she cut her hand in the air, "then he's out. Cross my heart."
He smiled. He couldn't say no to those warm, chocolate eyes. That and her zest for life had been what had bound him to this woman forever. "Okay, Bethy, one more chance, but after that..." He stopped to her squeals of laughter as she nearly tackled him to the ground with a hug and little, wet kisses. He slung one arm around his wife, bringing her close so he could lay one where it would count the most. "I love you Beth."
"And I you, Antonio Lopez-Fitzgerald." Beth smiled into the eyes of her husband. Life was good.
- - - - -
Luis' fingers tightly gripped those of the woman beside him as he braced himself for the worst. It had been a week since he passed out on the job, citing the illness to a bug running through the station when no such bug existed. It had taken Sheridan that long to get him to see a doctor for a physical and he had done so hoping that his lack of energy could easily be explained away and life could return to normal for them both. But when the doctor had called yesterday afternoon, sounding urgent and pressing for Luis to meet him the next day as soon as possible, Luis knew that all hopes for normalcy had passed.
Now he sat, with his wife by his side, and the doctor in front of him, about to learn the truth of his health. He couldn't ever remember being so scared in his life. Even so, he wanted to know what was wrong with him. The sooner he knew, the sooner he could go about fixing the problem. Clearing his throat for about the third time, he inched forward in the plush chair, eyeing the man across from him. "Just give it to me straight, Doc," he spoke as calmly as he could muster, even while his hands shook slightly. "Is it cancer?"
"Luis!" Sheridan turned frightful eyes on him, her palms instantly growing damp at his words. "How could you even say such a thing?" She looked him in the eye, knowing he saw the tears at bay in her own, knowing he was just as scared as she was. "Don't wish such horrible things on yourself. Ever."
"Sweetheart, we talked about this last night," Luis interjected calmly. "That was one of the possibilities of what could be wrong with me."
"And you have yet to find out what exactly is wrong with you. For all we know, you could be losing your hair and Dr. MacGraw wanted to tell you in person."
Startled by her words, he turned piercing eyes towards the doctor. "Please, tell me that's not what this is about. I'm losing my hair?" Luis released his hold on Sheridan, both hands going up to comb through his dark locks. "Not the hair," he whispered.
"If I may cut in," Dr. MacGraw spoke then, having been entertained enough by the couple. "It is not cancer. And it is not hair loss." It seemed that with those words alone, much of the tension held within both of their bodies faded out of the closed room. "My intent was not to get you all so worried out of your minds but I did need Luis to come in for some more tests."
"Wait a minute, so you don't know what's wrong with me?"
"The feratin levels in your blood work were high. Feratin counts are what we use to diagonose levels of iron in the body. With yours elevated as it was, I got concerned."
"So, what do I do?"
"Well," Dr. MacGraw began, pulling a bloodwork order he had picked up earlier closer to him, "I've already had you scheduled to give more blood so we can do further tests. I also want an ultrasound done to check your major organs, the kidneys, colon, and liver."
"I don't understand doctor."
"High levels of iron in the body can affect any of those organs as well as the heart and lungs. I just want to make sure there are no abnormalities with those organs while we continue with the bloodtests. Marcy will have take your blood and then show you out to Radiology where I've scheduled you for the ultrasound. You'll come back in a few days and I'll know more about what is wrong, if anything, and what we need to do about it."
Luis looked to Sheridan, uncertainty clear in his eyes. "Well...I suppose giving a little more blood won't hurt. And since you've said it isn't cancer, whatever it is can't be that bad."
"Let's just wait and see. I don't want to bring anyone's hopes up to have them crashed later. Give the blood. Have the ultrasound. And meet back here on Friday, say three o'clock."
"We'll be here doctor. Thank you." Sheridan stood, pulling Luis along with her. A lot of the worry and apprehension she had been feeling had dissipated when the doctor had said it wasn't cancer, yet now, some of it had returned. There might be something wrong with her husband and that caused her concern.
"Yeah Doc, thanks for keeping on the ball," Luis said, shaking the older man's hand.
"That's what I'm paid to do. Friday it is."
"Friday." Luis walked out behind Sheridan, surprised to see the nurse already waiting to take him to get the blood drawn. He wasn't nervous about any old little needle stick, but he was about whatever else was going on in his body. The sooner they found out what that was, the sooner they could take care of it. Hopefully, things would go back to normal within a matter of days.