Chapter 61

Thursday, July 30, 1987

As the week went by, Sean slept in. Instead of rising early and playing his guitar, he stayed up late playing it until his father got home. Donovan set his alarm clock for eight-thirty, Thursday morning. After showering, he made the no longer dreaded phone call to Cathy.

"Are you ready for him?" He asked her.

"Mike, I've been telling you that for weeks," she said. "How is he?"

"Getting better each day. Do you think maybe I could bring him down on Friday? Let him spend the night with you?"

"Of course," she said. "Why are you so eager to let him stay here all of a sudden?"

"He's proven himself." He wasn't going to tell her of his interest in seeing Julie again. Cathy had met Julie only one time a few years ago, and questioned Donovan how a woman nine years younger than him would make Sean a suitable step-mother.

"How long do you want me to keep him for?"

"As long as he behaves, I don't see why he couldn't come home Sunday morning."

"That's fine. Does he know you're planning on bringing him?"

"Not yet." He wasn't certain Sean would take the news well. "When do you plan on bringing him?"

"Maybe noon."

"Good. I can't wait to see him."

Donovan pictured her smile. A few minutes later, he dialed Julie's number, not that he expected an answer this time of day. There was no answer. Realizing she was probably at work, he decided to call back on his dinner break.

#

After ten Thursday evening, Julie sat on the chaise lounge in her motel room, sipping complimentary wine left by the maid. She was pleased that after having spent two days inoculating infants who experienced no unfavorable reactions to the vaccine. Most of them were breathing on their own.

Knowing it was Maggie's night off from work, Julie decided to call and check in on things at home. The two women chatted a while, from topics like the weather to the various guests who'd visited Julie's party.

"Chris said Steve came by to see you," Maggie told her.

"Came by to see me? When?"

"When he and Donovan left to get the extra chairs."

Julie thought for a minute. There'd been no mention of Steve showing up prior to this, of course she'd had her disagreement with Donovan and maybe that was why he'd failed to inform her. She wondered what prevented Steve from coming to her directly, or was it a matter of whom? She'd ask Steve tomorrow.

"Have you by any chance heard from Donovan?"

"No," Maggie said. "Do you plan to call him? He sure seemed upset you took Sean without his permission."

"It's fine."

"Chris and I wondered if you and Donovan would reconcile. I mean… seriously. After you came back from his house all jumpy. Are you sure nothing happened between you two?"

"Maggie..."

"C'mon, Julie. It's been a long time since we've talked and I know you were pretty shaken up. I mean besides the obvious, you being shot and all."

"I asked him to reconcile, He said no. It's as simple as—"

"You asked him? Why would you want to do that when you're just getting your life back together? I thought you'd need time to recuperate and here you are working. And how would you even attempt to have a physical relationship with Donovan?" There was a long pause. "Did you?"

"No!" Julie gasped. "He's a nice guy. He's too nice, you know?"

"Nice isn't a bad quality. Not when it comes to your well-being, or your sanity. Speaking of which, how are things going with Steve?"

"As well as can be expected, I guess," Julie said, cradling her almost empty wine glass in her free hand.

"Is he still pursuing you?"

"Not as much as before, just little subtle things like telling me how good I am with babies, and how I should be a mom someday." She said it as though she had a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Mom to his kids?"

"He hasn't gone that far, thank God. But it's really tiring. I'll be so glad when I don't have to see him again."

"How soon do you think that will be?"

"Another month, maybe. I don't know."

#

When Donovan returned to work that afternoon, he noted Pierce's job posting on the bulletin board. Donovan didn't have to second guess whether he wanted the position or not. Although he'd always preferred field reporting, he knew in order to offer his best to Sean, and maybe to Julie, he should try to work normal hours.

Before the hustle and bustle of preparing for the evening show began, Donovan marched into Pierce's office and announced his desire to apply for the position. Pierce directed him to human resources to fill out a job application and advised him to update his resume. Donovan thought it was ridiculous that he needed to go through that again. After all, he'd worked here for a year and a half this time around, and almost a year the last time.

If they're not familiar with my work capacity by now…

Donovan spent part of his dinner break at his cubicle, filling out the job application, and the rest trying to contact Julie. There was no answer at her place again. He didn't leave a message on the answering machine. When he tried to call Maggie's, the line was busy. Over the next twenty minutes, he tried Maggie again and again. The line was still busy.

On his way home that night, Donovan decided to take a detour, and head south-west to Maitland's house. While Maitland's car was in the driveway, Julie's wasn't. When Donovan returned home, in spite of it being after midnight, he dialed Julie's number again. There was no answer. When he tried to call her early in the morning, there was still no answer which concerned him.