The Stolen Child

Let's Meet Up

"I'm SO glad Todd said yes!" I giggled as I grabbed a large box from the back of Cass' suv.

"I know!" She exclaimed, grabbing a smaller box and following me up the front steps. "This will give us enough time to find the perfect place."

"You're going to move in together again?" I inquired, leading her up the stairs to their room.

"Yes. It's been going so well, I think he's getting ready to ask me to marry him." She giggled like a giddy school girl as we set the boxes down on the floor of the large bedroom.

"No way!" I jumped up and down with her as we giggled excitedly. "That's amazing Cass."

"What's amazing?" Todd interrupted our party.

"Oh um, we're just excited that we're going to be staying together for a while." I quickly said as I watched Todd roll his eyes. Clearly he wasn't as excited about this situation as we were.

"Thank you for letting us stay." He wrapped me in a tight hug.

"No problem. Anything for my best friends!" I smiled as I pulled free of his grasp.

"Seriously Noe. We're very grateful. You're giving us the time we need to find the perfect place."

"Well, you're welcome here as long as you need." I turned to bring up more boxes from the car, leaving Cass and Todd to examine their new room.

My house was quite large. There were five bedrooms. I had the master, of course, then there was the nursery. We had one bedroom downstairs set up as an office and two spare bedrooms, one now occupied with Todd and Cass's extra things, and the other for the couple to reside in. It was a very big house and I was very happy to not be here alone.

—--

Everything has been going well lately. Todd and Cass were settling in nicely, and I was very content taking care of Cass. She was almost in her third month and the morning sickness had her down and out for most of the day.

"Cass." I softly knocked on her bedroom door.

"What?" I heard her moan. I slowly opened the door and made my way to the edge of her bed.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as I set a warm mug down on the nightstand.

"Sick. So sick." She groaned, pulling the blankets down off her face.

"I brought you some tea and more crackers. I also went to the store and got these losinges. They help with morning sickness. Want to try one?" I opened the clear, round plastic container and pulled out a bright red hard candy. Cass snatched it out of my hand and popped it in her mouth. She sighed and propped herself up in bed.

"I'm so sorry." I held her hand, gently caressing the top of her hand with my thumb.

"It's not your fault." She tried to console me.

"Well…" I chuckled.

"Okay, maybe it is a little." I relaxed a little as I heard her giggle.

I was beginning to feel really guilty for putting her through all of this. Having her in the house and seeing how miserable she was being sick was definitely starting to weigh on me. She kept insisting that I shouldn't feel bad, that she agreed to this, but I still couldn't help it. As guilty as I felt, I was overcome with jealousy. She was feeling things that I should be feeling. Experiencing things that I would never get to experience. She was carrying the child that I would never get to carry. She was building a bond with my baby that I would never be able to have. I wanted to feel the sickness, I wanted to feel the baby move and kick. I wanted to feel their hiccups and have that pregnant glow that everyone always talked about. I feel that my jealousy was healthy jealous, however. I wasn't upset with her at all. Maybe envy would have been the better word.

"These are actually pretty good." Cass said, grasping the case from off the nightstand. "Get more of these things." She smiled as she shook the container before placing it back on the nightstand.

"Yes ma'am." I saluted her playfully.

"Have you heard anything from Brody? He's coming back next month, right?"

"I haven't heard anything. Laura called me yesterday, actually." Laura is the government contact for Brody. She is the only one in contact with him and his team. She updates me as often as she can, and I am so thankful for her. Her sweet demeanor and professional conformation are very addictive.

"Oh yeah?" Cass furrowed her brow. "Good news or bad"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, hopefully it's to tell you he's coming home and you need to pick him up at the airport. We have an appointment in a few weeks that he better be at or I'm going to kick his butt personally." She snickered as she sipped her tea, an amused look plastered across her face.

"I don't doubt you will." I smiled.

"Okay, well, I have to go to the restaurant. Is there anything you need before I leave?"

"No. I'm good. I can get whatever I need."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Plus, Todd will be home in a few hours. I'll survive."

"Okay." I said as I stood up, pulling her body into a hug before I left.

—--

"Are you sure you want to meet here?" Laura asked as she sat down in the booth across from me. We sat in the back of the restaurant, close to the kitchen.

"Yeah. This is fine." I brushed my brown waves out of my face, tucking them nervously behind my ear.

"Okay." She sighed, entertained her fingers together on top of the table.

"Can I get you anything? Something to drink, or eat?"

"Um, coffee would be nice." I hopped up, rushing back to the kitchen and filled two ceramic white mugs with the dark, brown liquid. I placed them on a tray with a small cup of milk and a few packets of creamer and sugar. I tucked a small glass of ice water on the tray and brought them back out to the table.

"Thank you." She smiled as I set the cup down in front of her. I watched anxiously as she poured half of the milk into her coffee, following it up with a couple packets of sugar. I doctored up my drink as well as we sat in silence. My fingers were shaking nervously as the air thickened.

"I've been in contact with Brody." She began. "He's doing well. They are alright and the mission is going well." I let out the breath I had been unconsciously holding.

"That's good. So, he's coming home soon?" I looked at her, pleading for her to say the words I so desperately wanted to hear.

"Well, Noemi, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." My heart sank. I knew she was about to tell me he was going to stay longer. The question now was how much longer.

"How long." I asked, hiding back the tears that were fighting to break to the surface.

"I'm not sure." Lauren sighed. "Everything is going well, and they are so close to getting the information they need. They are so close, Noemi. If he comes home now, it could blow the whole mission. He's gotten close with the target. He's in the inner circle. We need him. I'm sorry Noemi." She reached across the table, taking my hands in hers. I stared down at my white mug. A perfect red imprint of my lips stained the rim. Insat silently, putting all of my concentration into holding my tears at bay.

"We are so close, Noemi. He will be home before the baby is born. I'm sure of it."

"He's safe though?" I managed to utter.

"He's safe." She nodded, her eyes searching mine apologetically. "I know this isn't what you wanted to hear." I rolled my eyes. It absolutely was not what I wanted to hear. He was supposed to be home in a few weeks. He was supposed to be at our next appointment. He was supposed to be here to help me put the baby's room together. He was supposed to be here with me. But he wasn't. I felt like he was abandoning me. He was abandoning our baby and our family. He was going to miss out on so much. My sadness began to muddle with anger. I couldn't fight the tears back any longer. They began streaming down my face. I slipped the napkin out from under the utensils on the table, dabbing it under my eyes, catching the salty water before it streamed down my face.

"Noemi." Lauren got up, sliding into the booth next to me. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, squeezing my tightly into her chest.

"He'll be home before you know it."