Author Notes:
Italic print indicates thought.
WHR is still not mine…
Chapter 2: Phone Calls
Nagira leaned back in his chair. His feet were propped up on the edge of the desk and his hands folded behind his head while he waited for the phone to ring. He glanced again at the clock which now read 18:27. "Damn," he cursed softly. "I hope I remembered what Yurika told me about her friend correctly."
He could still see Robin the day she arrived at his office. Tear stained cheeks, heavy black dress hanging from her sad little frame, and a note in his little brother's handwriting extended toward him in a shaking hand. "He said to contact you," she whispered. He had taken the note from her then and kept it safe all this time, taking it out only when the memory threatened to fade from his grasp.
After reading the note sent to the STN-J from the Americans, he had jumped to a conclusion. Robert and Sarah MacLeary, he mused again, such an odd name combination. The light research he had done this afternoon showed a Robert MacLeary and Sarah Cantor first appearing in New York about two years ago, but nothing before that. The only thing I have to go on is a marriage license and a quarter column marriage announcement in a local paper.
He wished he had better connections at the immigration offices that could have looked into it further for him. Nagira was willing to lay money against those two being life time residents of that area, and wondered again why the paper hadn't run a picture with their announcement as they had with all the others. He closed his eyes and carefully visualized the mass card and phone number again. It looks so much like his hand writing, he bit the inside of his lip.
The shrill tones of his phone ringing called his attention back to the office. Predictably, his secretary appeared in the doorway with her coat on. "I'm on my way out," she said sulkily, "It's some woman calling herself Karasuma." She turned and stalked across the office.
Smiling for the first time all day, he answered the phone. "I see you got my message, what do you think?"
Sarah MacLeary lurched into consciousness when the phone began ringing near 5 am. Dawn had only just begun to break over the Catskills; just enough for her to see where the trees ended and the sky began without squinting. Her eyes struggled to focus on the caller ID display. "Who the h…" She mumbled incoherently before picking up the receiver with a groggy, "Yeah."
A man's voice introducing himself and asking for her in heavily accented English quickly brought her to full awareness. "Yes, this is she," she responded carefully, pushing a lock of light brown hair out of her face.
"I'm sorry to call at this hour, but I could not wait to thank you." Nagira hesitated, wondering if perhaps he'd been mistaken. He had been expecting a familiar voice, but aside from the formality in her voice this woman sounded nothing like Robin.
"Oh, please don't mention it, it was the least we could do," she paused for a moment. "It was actually Rob's idea, let me get him on the phone for you."
As she put the phone down she was careful to mute it so that Nagira wouldn't be able to hear her speaking. Sarah pulled the top sheet off her bed and wrapped it around herself quickly before opening the door leading to the hallway. She went to the head of the stairs, looking for the familiar glow of the TV that remained on until she rose each day. "It's for you," she called down the stairs, "You want me to stay on?"
His voice still made her heart flutter every time she heard it. "Yes, just don't take off the mute. Which one of them is it?"
"Shunji," she replied as she turned back to her room. At her door she waited, it wasn't in her nature to listen in on other people's conversations. Time was when she would do as he asked without question, but this time it felt wrong. She paced slowly back to her bed and sat down on the edge of it.
Sarah picked up her line as Nagira was saying, "…such a short time with you before then? Would you like to visit us here some time? There are quite a few people who would be happy to meet you."
Silence for a moment, and she could almost see the strong features of Rob's face subtly shifting the way they did before he told a lie he didn't want to. "That's very kind of you. I'll have to see if I can talk Sarah into flying though, she's terrified of traveling out of the country. If you could leave your number…"
Sarah put down the handset again, not quite believing her ears. He's actually considering it! Thoughts scurried around her brain, It's been so long since we went anywhere…
Her reverie was interrupted by the sound of Rob coming up the stairs. She glanced around for her robe, but settled for tightening her hold on the sheet when he tapped on the door. "Come in," she said quietly.
He padded over to her bed and sat down next to her, pulling her closer until her head rested on his shoulder. It was a rare thing for him to show her any affection, so she curled in closer to enjoy the moment while it lasted. When she had her face buried in his hair, she sighed and tried to ignore the garish shade of red he'd dyed it this month. "Do you think…?" She lifted her eyes to meethis pleadingly as her question trailed off unasked.
For the first time since they'd settled here, he smiled. Not the big fake grin he wore when they were invited to the neighbor's house for dinner or a party, but the tiny little smirk he used to sport when something had pleased him. "Go back to sleep, we'll talk more when I see you this afternoon."
