"Ex Memoria"

8. Bleeding Out

Chicago, Illinois – in the year 2021

Missy Wyatt didn't want to go to the museum. But her best friend and roommate was an art major, and she'd begged her to come along, adding as incentive the promise that they could go to 'that nerd thing' over the summer.

So they'd gone, and it wasn't as though Missy was insensitive to art. She'd even lost track of time, staring at one of the paintings. Even then, she was glad when it was done. She needed to get to work, and her shift was starting soon.

She arrived at the bookstore and just barely clocked in on time. She'd only been on the floor for all of three minutes before being accosted by her first customer. The woman was looking for some comics for her son, and Missy had shown her the way, going so far as to make a few educated recommendations. The woman had left with a satisfied thanks.

Dana Epstein had wrapped each of the thin volumes individually. She was not enthused by the price she'd had to pay for them, but it was Danny's birthday, so how could she not splurge. Her boy was already turning ten…

She was getting a bit of a headache, and that might have turned her off to visiting her mother-in-law, who'd been laid out at the hospital for days following surgery, but she'd promised her husband she would go while he was out of town on business, and heaven knew his mother would make a point of telling him if she didn't go.

There was a young nurse already in Marian Epstein's room by the time Dana arrived, and by the look on the girl's face, it was clear she'd been trapped in that room for some time already, listening to Marian deconstruct everything that was wrong with the world according to her.

Lilah Nakamura had left the room as soon as she'd been liberated. She'd tried to explain to the old woman that she'd been called away – which she had – several times, but it was either that Mrs. Epstein hadn't heard her or didn't care, because she kept going. When her daughter-in-law had arrived, Lilah could have kissed her.

It took her a few minutes to get back on track. She'd been called to pediatrics to see one of her previous patients, who only felt properly at ease when she was there during his treatments, so off she went.

All the children in the ward loved Lilah. Whenever she came by, they would giddily flock to her. The doctors had nothing compared to her. So she went and saw them, talked with them, and it wasn't long that her run in with Marian Epstein was far behind. She could see her fiancée staring at her with a smirk, standing by the door. Sasha would air her 'frustration' that her patients liked Lilah better than her, but Lilah would comfort her, promising at least she loved her better than all others combined.

Josh Ingram's mother didn't like it that he would call Dr. Willis by her first name, but he would remind her that Sasha had been the one to tell him he could call her that. At least today, she didn't comment on it. She had a surprise for him. Mrs. Ingram's brother worked at the museum, and he'd given her a book of paintings for Josh to look at when they couldn't be at the hospital with him. Josh had only frowned a little bit. He was used to his uncle Chris talking to him about art and all that, and he liked some of it, he guessed.

"What's that?" Sasha asked, seeing the book propped open in the boy's lap after his mother had stepped out again.

"Art stuff," Josh had shrugged, turning a page. He smiled then, and Sasha came around to see what had brought it on. "You know, this reminds me of something."

"What's that?" Sasha asked, smiling. His inflection reminded her of Lilah for a moment.

"That time we went to Barcelona, two years ago? We got so sick, but I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

Sasha's smile faltered. Josh was oblivious, flipping to another page. The doctor left the room. She found Lilah at the nurses' station.

"You didn't tell Josh Ingram about our trip to Barcelona, did you?" Sasha asked. Lilah blinked.

"Barcelona?" she asked, but then with a gasp she startled. "Danny's present!"

"Who?" Sasha frowned, wondering why everyone was acting so strange on this day of all days.

"I was supposed to go to the bookstore, to get him comics, I won't have time," she looked at her watch.

"Comics? Who is Danny?" Sasha asked.

"My son," Lilah declared matter-of-factly.

"Your what?" Sasha blurted out, attracting some curious glances. "You don't have a son, we've been together for six years, I'd know, or…" she was trying not to get upset, but there was an endless supply of secret son scenarios already running through her head. Now Lilah was the one confused.

"I don't have a son."

"I know that, but you just said…"

"I don't know why I…" she paused, shaking her head. It didn't seem right. She knew she didn't have a son, or a daughter, and she never would, because of her condition, but even now there was some part of her that projected the image of a smiling blond boy who loved comic books. "I must have gotten mixed up, I… I'm sorry."

Even later, when Dana Epstein came once more, escorting her son to see his grandmother, Lilah felt a new beat to her heart, like she knew the boy. The Epsteins didn't notice. Danny was busy telling his grandmother about how his mother was taking him to San Diego over the summer. Dana Epstein looked like she wasn't entirely sure when she'd decided this, but then Lilah didn't stick around. If Marian Epstein saw her again, she'd never get to leave.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)