AN: I recently looked over the timeline I worked out, and realized that there were some slight errors and miscalculations in previous chapters, specifically about the age of Zack at certain points. But I've gone back and did some revising. Hopefully, this won't hurt the overall story of Emily's past, and will make it more tragic.
New York: 1961
Zeke jogged up the street to a small quilt shop, and walked in.
"Morning, Nana!" Zeke greeted the old woman cheerfully, noticing her in the corner of the room, crocheting a multi-colored blanket.
"What, no 'good', Zeke?" Nana smiled up at the young man.
"Nana, dear friend, how do I know if today is a 'good' morning? I haven't lived it yet."
"You sound more and more like Natalie every day."
"That has to be the best complement I've ever received."
"Zeke!" The two looked up as a glowing Natalie entered the room, flying into Zeke's waiting arms.
"I take it your morning is going well, my darling?" Zeke asked, kissing his wife tenderly. Smiling, Zeke then knelt down so his head was level with Natalie's swollen abdomen. "And how are you?" he cooed, placing a few quick kisses onto the peak of the mound. "Are you being a good boy or girl for Mommy? Don't stay in there longer then you need to. Daddy's dying to meet you."
"And he, or she, definitely wants to meet you, too." Nana chucked. "Poor Natalie can't enjoy five minutes without that little one trying to kick its way out. Zeke beamed as he took Natalie's hand.
"Come on. I've got a table waiting at an outside café I found last week. You must be hungry, now that you've got two stomachs to fill."
The two walked down the street, Zeke taking extra care to make sure Natalie didn't exert herself too much.
"So what do you think?" Natalie began, looking down at her large belly. "Boy or girl?"
"Couldn't care less," Zeke grinned. "You know why? Because no matter what this child is, I know it'll be absolutely beautiful, just like its mother."
"You'll never lose your ability to charm the whiskers of a cat, will you?"
"No. You're stuck with that." Zeke replied, as they came together for a kiss.
"Zeke!" The couple broke apart in shock. Looking over, they froze at the sight of Melrone, gawking in stunned silence at Natalie.
"Melrone," Zeke groaned as his brother raced off. "Oh, Go… this is bad. This is really bad. He'll be telling Father, there's no doubt of that."
"Zeke, it'll be okay," Natalie whispered.
"Natalie, you remember what he's like! He'll never understand."
"But he's still your father," Natalie pointed out. "He might be stubborn and snobbish, but he's still your father. Yes, he'll probably be miffed for a while, but surely he'll accept that you're his son eventually, and," Natalie rubbed and patted her round belly, "No man, rich or poor, can deny his grandchild forever."
"Oh, Natalie," Zeke began to smile gently, embracing his child's mother. "You know, that's one of the reasons I love you. You see good in everyone."
The next night, Zeke stood by tensely in the small apartment where Natalie lived, rubbing her shoulders. Melrone had indeed told his father about Zeke and Natalie, and Max, and Zeke's mother, Connie, were coming here tonight to, as Max had put it, to 'discuss things'.
"Hello, Father." Zeke nodded in greeting as his parents walked into the apartment.
"So this must be Natalie," Connie surmised, studying the very pregnant woman sitting on a nearby chair. "She really is quite lovely, Max."
"Yes, that's nice, Connie." Max replied carelessly, his attention solely on Zeke. "Could I speak to you for a moment, Son? Man to man?"
"Natalie, come into the kitchen with me," Connie invited, as if sensing a storm brewing. "We can talk over tea." Natalie and Connie left the room together, with Zeke giving his wife's cheek a loving stroke as she passed.
"Alright, Dad. What do you want?" Zeke turned to his father in time to see the older man remove a large stack of money from his pocket. "What's that for?" Zeke asked, eyeing the money.
"It's quite alright, Zeke," Max chuckled with an annoyingly smug smile. "I understand that this baby makes you feel as if you need to stay with this woman. But the solution is quite simple. Just take her down to one of the clinics, and this money will take care of the problem."
"Problem?" Zeke gaped at his father. "Dad, you can't be asking me… you actually want me to kill my own child?"
"There's no need to get excited, my boy!" Max continued to maintain his annoyingly confident air. "After all, we all know how those low class street urchins are. I mean, how do you even know that child is really…?"
"Don't you dare even finish that sentence!" Zeke demanded. "That's my wife you're talking about. Don't you dare judge her. You don't even know her. And I'm certainly not taking your money, not when you're intending me to use it for something like that."
"Zeke, we both know this little brat is the only reason you married her. But one we eliminate…" Zeke, seething with anger, slapped the money out of his father's hand.
"I love Natalie, Father! I married her because I love her!"
"Oh, posh, Zeke. She is not of your class. You were born to uphold certain obligations. It's nice that you had a bit off fun on the side, but for actual marriage material? I highly advise you to choose a woman that's more suitable for you."
"I think you mean, more suitable for your precious high society name and reputation," Zeke snarled. "Face it, Dad. That's all that matters to you. Your reputation and your money. You're so wrapped up in your stupid pride, you don't even have the decency to be happy for me and my new family."
"Honestly, Son. I thought I raised you better then this," Max growled.
"Better then what, Dad? Better then to fall in love? Better then to find a girl who means the world to me? Like it or not, Father, that's your daughter-in-law, and she's carrying your grandchild. But if you're too pig-headed to accept them, then you can't accept me!"
"I warn you, boy," Max spat. "You're making the biggest mistake of your life."
"Love is never a mistake, Dad," Zeke hissed out the word 'dad' with as much scorn and contempt as possible. The two men stood glaring at each other for a long time.
"Connie!" Max finally barked. "Get your coat! We're leaving." Before Max closed the door on his way out, he sent one final glare at his son.
"It's over, Zeke. Consider yourself disowned."
"No, sir," Zeke replied. "I'm the one that disowns you." Once Max had disappeared, Zeke punched the wall in frustration, leaving a large crack. Natalie, who had been watching tentatively, slowly walked over to her husband and placed a hand on his shoulder. Upon feeling the touch, Zeke raised his head, revealing a heavy flow of tears flowing down his cheeks. Choking back mixed sobs of anger, frustration, and fear, Zeke embraced his wife, his hand coming to rest on her swollen abdomen.
"It'll be alright," he whispered, more to himself then to Natalie and their unborn child. "Everything will be all right. We'll think of something….. We'll think of something."
Present Day
Nana let out a long sigh before continuing, rubbing her eyes with her wrinkled hand. "It was about two months later that Zack was born. I delivered him myself, since there wasn't time to get Natalie to a hospital. As for Zeke and Natalie, by pooling Natalie's poetry reading tips, and Zeke's paychecks from working at a loading dock in the harbor, they were always able to bring in enough money to provide for their family's needs. Together, they somehow managed to make ends meet."
"Then, I was conceived," Emily inputted, looking at the floor. "And when that happened, when I was born with my stinking diabetes, always needing expensive insulin…."
"Emily, they never blamed you," Nana assured. "It was just one of those things. Even if you weren't born with diabetes, things would still have been tight. But you have to remember that they both loved you. They never considered you a burden. You see," Nana looked back at the Bohemians. "The income they were making managed to provide for three people without much trouble. But it became much harder when a second child entered the picture. I remember, Natalie, without Zeke knowing, tried to visit Max, to ask him to help them, for the sake of his grandchildren. Max, however, was far more stubborn then an old mule, and dismissed her right off the back, even having security 'escort' her off the premises.
"Times were hard for both Zeke and Natalie. They were both desperate for money to provide for their family, and the jobs they held were not cutting it. So… when you're pushed up against the wall, sometimes the only option is to take the one you don't wish to take. Now, Emily already explained to me about some of your less-then-favorable past choices. So I do hope you won't judge Zeke and Natalie too harshly. What they ended up doing, it was done out of love for their children, Zack and Emily, and because they were at the end of their ropes."
"What… what did they do?" Joanne asked quietly.
"Zeke ended up joining the drug dealers on the street," Nana confessed. "And poor Natalie was reduced to selling herself." The Bohemians all glanced over at Emily, who was focusing her eyes up at the ceiling, as if determined not to cry. "I can assure you all that neither Zeke or Natalie were proud of what they did. In truth, it was killing them both. But, the fact remains that they loved each other, and their children, so much, that degrading themselves was a small price to pay. Roger, I believe you once asked Emily why she wouldn't judge you, Mimi, or any other person who once strayed down a bad path. I hope that answers your question. Because judging you would also mean judging her own parents, who both gave their lives for her and Zack."
"Then what happened?" Collins urged Nana to continue.
"Things continued the way they were for a few years. But then, the main kingpin of the drug ring Zeke was a part of began to plan out the creation of an all new drug, one that would most certainly be extremely lethal. What's more, he instructed all drug dealers under his jurisdiction to abduct young girls, to be used as guinea pigs in the production. Despite everything that had happened before, however, Zeke, unlike his fellow drug dealers, never sold his conscience, or his heart, to the trade. This new set of plans was going too far for his liking. Zeke was, first and forever, a good man. He couldn't follow through on these orders, nor could he let this new drug production continue. So, one night, Zeke, at great risk to his life, secretly stole the only existing plans for the drug's formula and, with Natalie and the children, fled the city. They went into hiding. I had no idea where they went; the letters they sent me never said. They always explained it was for my own safety. The drug ring Zeke had deserted was one of the largest in the city. Most of the other drug rings were branches off of this one. It was not inconceivable to assume that one of them could come to my home and try to question me. Zeke and Natalie never told me where they were hiding, so if that ever happened, I could honestly say I didn't know anything. Plausible deniability was essential." Nana got up at this point and began to pace for a moment before pausing to look at the group of avid listeners. "In case you haven't figured out by now, that drug ring in question was, in fact, an early incarnation of the Rat Fang Gang." As this information settled in, Nana returned to her seat and continued the story.
"What happened next was actually conveyed to me by Zack. He was the sole witness to this event. I was not there, naturally, and Emily was only four. Thus, her memories of this night are scattered, for good reason."
AN: And The Rat Fag Gang enters the picture. Bet you're starting to see why they'd be after Emily, now, huh?
Yeah, I really enjoyed writing the confrontation between Zeke and Max for some reason. It's quite fun creating a character that's so easy to hate. And if you thought this chapter was sad and tragic, with the paths Zeke and Natalie were forced into taking, I suggest you have tissues handy for the next chapter. Until next time...