A Dream of Angels
Part 7
The smile she beamed at her daughter betrayed nothing of her distress. Chloe leaned down and kissed Lena's forehead.
"Try again, mommy?"
"Of course, princess." Chloe gave the girl another kiss. "I'll be right back."
Chloe picked up her phone and dialled her first hot number. Lex's secretary answered the phone.
"Julia! Is Lex around?"
The voice on the other line was sympathetic. "Mr. Luthor left his mobile here in the office, Mrs. Luthor. He just upped and left. He did say he won't be back for the rest of the day."
Chloe hated to ask, because she didn't relish the thought of other knowing how little she knew about her husband. "Did he mention where he was headed?"
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Luthor. I thought he was going back home. I heard something about the castle."
"Oh." She hadn't seen Lex around. If he were in the castle, he would most likely head over to Lena's room. At least that's what he did until over a month ago, he stopped. Since then he had stayed away. Neither she nor Lena had seen him for a long time. "Alright. Do me a favor, Julia?"
"Anything, Mrs. Luthor."
"I'm going to leave a voice message in Lex's phone. I'll be calling this number again. Can you not answer it so I'll be prompted to voice mail?"
Chloe heard the smile in Julia's response. "That would be no problem at all. I'll see you soon?"
"Sure."
"Say hi to Lena for me. It was good talking to you."
"Bye, Julia."
Chloe hung up and immediately pressed redial.
"Lex," she said, as soon as the prompt told her to, "Lena's been asking for you for the last two weeks. Where are you?" She gulped in some air, believing it to be the source of courage. "I don't presume to lecture you. You're a grown man. But our daughter is," at this point her voice broke, "very sick. There's nothing more important for you to attend to. Let the plant explode for all I care. Just come over here. Lena's been asking me," she sniffed, "when she's going to travel with you." There was a long pause, and she hoped he wouldn't think the message was over when he listened to it. "Come home," she pleaded into the phone. "Don't leave me here alone to watch Lena go."
She hastily hung up. Chloe brushed the moisture from her eyes.
Her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and saw that it was from one of the other lines in the castle.
"Yes?" she answered breathlessly.
"Chlo," came Lex's clipped voice. "Can you bring Lena to the north wing?"
"Lex, have you been there the whole time?"
"Why?"
"Lena has been asking for you! What do you think you're doing?"
A harsh breath into the phone. "I'm tired, Chloe. Just bring Lena to the north wing and you'll see."
It would have been so easy to hang up on him. However, doing so would not be fair to her daughter. Any argument she had with Lex could be taken to him directly.
"Hey baby girl!" Chloe greeted.
Lena sat up, her eyes brighter than they had been for a long time. "Did you talk to daddy, mommy? Is he coming?"
"Even better!" she replied enthusiastically. "Daddy wants to see us in the north wing. Piggy back?"
Lena nodded happily and held up her arms. Chloe sat on the bed and arranged her daughter so that Lena hung from her neck. So that Lena would not have to exert any effort, Chloe placed her arms behind her to support the girl.
"Are you ready to see daddy?"
"Uhuh."
Chloe made her way from the left wind living quarters to the north. The trek was long and confusing, because she could not think of any reason Lex would want Lena in one of the unused areas of their home.
"Oh my God," Chloe whispered when she saw the place.
Lex had had the old walls taken down, and it was now one wide space. He stood at the center and walked forward, taking Lena from Chloe and carrying the girl himself.
Chloe looked around her. Painted on the far walls were images that Chloe recognized from experience and Lena's novelty shirts. There was the Ayres Rock, the Grand Canyon, the Highlands, the Great Wall, the Safari, Everest and Mayon. She covered her mouth to stifle any outburst of emotion that would only upset her happy daughter, who was now faintly clapping.
"Look, Lena," she heard Lex say. Her daughter and her husband were now beside the African Safari painting. Lex opened a door and in walked a small tiger cub.
Chloe would have protested when Lex placed Lena on te floor to play with the animal. Chloe rushed over, but Lex took her by her arm. "It's tamed," he assured her. Chloe relaxed only when Lena started ooohing.
"Mommy, it's prettier than my toys!"
"Of course, princess," Lex answered quickly. "It's alive."
Chloe closed her eyes and prayed Lena would not look at her. Lex stiffened beside her. He muttered an apology before moving away and kneeling next to Lena.
"I have a lot more surprises for you, princess," Lex told Lena.
He handed Lena a deep mahogany chest and a key. Lena gasped as she took them. "It's a treasure chest!''
Lena inserted the key into the lock and the lid popped open. She picked up what seemed to be a small piece of rock and showed it to Lex.
"That, Lena, was once a part of the Berlin Wall."
Lex looked inside the box and drew out a glass ball with sand inside. "This is ash from the explosion of Mount Pinatubo that covered several cities with lava." He took out a small replica of a temple. "And this is a carved imitation of the Taj Mahal." Lena took the wooden carving from Lex. "Do you know what the Taj Mahal is?"
Lena shook her head.
"It's a giant structure in India. One of the kings built it in memory of his wife, because he loved her so much and he always wanted to see a monument that would remind him of her."
Lena carefully ran her fingers over the replica. "It's pretty." Lena yawned. "I'm tired. Can we look at everything again tomorrow, daddy?"
"Of course, Lena."
Chloe bent to pick up the girl, but Lex waved her arms away. "I'll carry her." He lifted Lena into her arms and heard Chloe say thanks. "We're all headed to the left wing anyway."
Chloe shook her head. "Thanks for giving her a taste of the world. That's the only thing she wanted."
"She is my daughter."
Lex deposited Lena into the bed that the little girl had asked Chloe to share with her. He retreated from the room to look up other things that he could order so that Lena could see more items from around the world.
He fell asleep in front of his laptop and woke the next day to the ringing phone.
"Lex," came Chloe's voice, "are you at home? I didn't find you in your bed earlier. I'm in the hospital with Lena. You have to come."
He arrived in the special wing of the hospital that was specifically for the care of their daughter. The nurse rushed over to him.
"Where's my daughter?"
"She's in the bedroom, Mr. Luthor."
Lex wandered through the halls and imagined that this was what person caught in slow motion saw. Everything around him was blurred, and yet he could not seem to go to the end of the corridor soon enough. Finally, he stopped in front of the bedroom and saw the 'Silence' door hanger.
He pushed the door open and heard Chloe's soft voice. His wife sat on a rocking chair at the end of the room, facing the window. Lena was sprawled on her chest.
"If the stars could hear me, they would say to me, How beautiful's your baby. She is so lovely."
Lex walked into the room and knew, just from the smooth, calm voice of his wife, just from the silent, relaxed sleep of his daughter, that this was the day he had convinced himself would never arrive.
"If the stars could sing a song, I know it won't be long, Before they sing a lullaby, So my baby will not cry."
Lex knelt by the rocker, and Chloe placed her foot on the floor to stop the movement. She smiled tearfully at Lex. He placed his hand on Lena's back and swallowed the knot in his throat. Chloe smiled at him in encouragement. Lex shook his head and Chloe continued,
"Sleep tight, little princess. You're mommy's baby girl. Tonight and every night I'll give you, A gift of love, my heart."
Chloe looked down at Lena's pale face, then kissed the closed eyelids.
"Sleep tight, little princess. I thank God every day, That years ago He gave us, A miracle that's you."
Lex clutched Chloe's hand at those words, and decided that it was time he took part in the process, and escorted Lena into where she needed to go.
"Sleep tight, little princess," she softly sang. "You're daddy's pretty pride. I'll take care of you, every day, every hour."
He pressed a kiss on Lena's small dry hand. "My sweet Lena, close your eyes. Night has come; you are tired. Sleep, sleep sweet child. Daddy will stay with you through the night."
As any mother would know, Chloe felt the exact second when the heart beating next to hers stopped. She lay her head back on the chair and closed her eyes. Silently, her tears fell. Lex stood up and brushed the hair that fell over Lena's eyes. She heard his heavy breathing, and knew he tried so hard not to cry.
The soft sobs came from the bed after that. She didn't turn. She said nothing. To the world outside, Lex Luthor never cried.