Into the Future: A Callahan Novel (5 page)

“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all night.”

Tristan was stumped.  Now what?  He was trying to keep it something, he hadn’t known what, but something.  Honesty never hurt, he mused.  “You know I mean it right?”

“Yes, Tristan,” she said softly.  “One thing I know about you is that if you say then it’s the truth.  Remember, when you broke up with me?  Every word you said was the absolute truth. It hurt, but it was the truth.”

He winced at the memory.  “Sorry, baby.  My only defense is that I was a confused man.  I have learned the error of my ways.”  He hoped that was enough to satisfy Lizzy.

“And what ways would that be?  You do realize this involves more than just us?”

“Yes, I know this is more than just about us.  I learned that normal is boring and even though I said I wanted an uncomplicated life, I have my share of baggage as well.  We just have to figure out what’s important to us.”

“And that is?”

“You and the kids are important to me.  And I’ll do anything to keep you guys safe.  There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”  His heart felt lighter with his admission. 

“You’re important to me, Tristan.  I love you.  I hadn’t wanted to get this deep this quick, but you make me feel like there’s nothing I can do.  When you came to our office to work last year, I thought you were the sexiest man I’d ever seen.   You treat my kids as if they were your own.  You don’t know how much I appreciate that.  PJ is looking for you at his next soccer game.”

“I had promised him, but after everything that happened, I didn’t think it would have been a good idea.  You might have thought I was stalking you.”

She actually laughed.  “No, I wouldn’t have thought that.  That’s not your style.  You’re not sneaky, or underhanded.  Your face trouble head-on.”

“And that’s what we’re going to do with Paul.”  He cleared his throat before he began.  “Tonight, Cam and I looked up your divorce decree.”

“Why?”

“We thought we’d find the answer to Paul’s harassing you.”

“Did you?”

“Not really.  You drew up a good settlement.  I can’t believe he didn’t contest anything.  He probably thought he was getting the deal of the century when you didn’t require him to pay health insurance, school tuition, and minimal child support.”

She chuckled.  “Yeah,” she said proudly.  “He was probably bragging to his buddies about how he got over on me.  He didn’t read the small print as they say.”

He could hear her sharp brain working on something so smooth, Paul wouldn’t see it coming. That was one of the reasons she was lead attorney for his office.  “What’s in the small print?”

“It’s in the custody agreement.  Each year, his visitation time is cut in half.  Like this year, he’s supposed to get them once during the week, and every other weekend.  Needless to say, he hardly ever gets them as it is.  He doesn’t get them for vacation, summers, etc.  He’s too irresponsible.  His mother is the one keeping them.”

He couldn’t resist.  “So what happens next year?”

“He gets them for one weekend in January, February, April, August, September, and October.  The next year he gets them four times a year.”

“You think he realized it and that’s why he’s trying to trump up charges against you?”  Tristan could see a plan forming.  Perhaps Paul wasn’t such an idiot.  “Maybe he’s decided that if he had custody, then the courts would revisit the custodial arrangement.”

“For any other man, I would say yes.  For Paul, this has little to do with the kids.  He didn’t spend time with them when we were married, so they’re not focus of his hatred.  He’s still mad that I divorced him.  He thought I loved him too much to let him go.  You see when we first met, I was a different person.”

He didn’t want to hear the story of Paul but knew he had no choice.  “Why don’t you tell me about when you guys met?”

“Another time.  It’s too long and boring.  In a nutshell, my marriage made me stronger.  I had to for the kids.  I grew emotionally, mentally, financially, and Paul seemed to be stuck in some gear for the last eight years.  He thought he should still be able to hang with the guys all the time, clubbing, taking trips.  In short, I divorced a child stuck in a man’s body.  Paul didn’t want any responsibilities.  After too many fights to count, and just as many broken promises, I had had all I could take.  So I figured if I was doing it all by myself, then I needed to be by myself.”

“I wished I had your courage when my marriage tanked,” Tristan said.

“Since you brought it up,” she said, “What happened?  I mean you were married for fifteen years.”

“I asked myself the same question almost daily.  During the course of our marriage, we were both into our careers, and were workaholics.  Months turned to years, and before I knew it, we hardly saw each other, and I didn’t care. The divorce wasn’t a surprise.  I didn’t love her, probably never did.”

“Oh, Tristan.”

“Hey don’t feel sorry for me.  Like you, I’ve grown since then.” And I found you, he mused.  He couldn’t imagine one day without this crafty attorney in his life.

“We’ve both grown,” Lizzy said.  “I’m so glad.”

SEVEN

Two days later, Lizzy was still floating on cloud Tristan.  After their confessions about their previous marriages, their feelings for each other, Lizzy figured the hard part was over.  The hard part was just beginning. 

Although she’d had no contact from her ex in the last forty-eight hours, she couldn’t help thinking the worst was yet to come.  Besides, Izzy had a doctor’s appointment that morning, Lizzy couldn’t shake that feeling of doom either.  To make matters worse, she couldn’t attend her sister’s doctor’s appointment due to the mayor calling an impromptu meeting.  She had to be at work, no excuses.

Her assistant announced she had an incoming call.  Lizzy hurriedly picked up the line and blurted into the phone, “Izzy?”

“No, honey,” her mother said.  “I was just wondering if you had heard from them.  We were getting worried.  Her appointment was over two hours ago. Normally, they don’t take this long.”

Her mother was seldom anxious.  Maybe years ago when Izzy rebelled and ended up in destructive affair with a drug dealer.  But fate had intervened and Izzy was set on the right path.  Nowadays, her mother was a picture of calm.  “I was thinking the same thing, Mom.  We just have to keep positive thoughts.  Cam is with her, so she’s in good hands.”

“I know, but she’s still my baby.”  She took a deep breath.  “I hope everything is all right.”

“I’m sure it is.  She’s twenty-one weeks, so maybe there’s more tests or something.”  She didn’t want to think about the fact that her sister was also in the high risk category since she was thirty-five.

Both she and her mother needed something to keep their minds off of the inevitable. Although Izzy was a doctor herself, even that couldn’t interfere with destiny.  Izzy had been on medical leave from the hospital since her marriage to Cam, because her blood pressure had skyrocketed, and she was having other issues as well.  Both families tried to help out as much as possible, but Izzy had fought long and hard for her independence.  It was always a battle of wills.

“Lizzy, I have a great idea.” Her mother interrupted her thoughts.  “Why don’t we plan a celebration for Izzy?  You know, her getting married and pregnant.  Providing it’s okay with Cam and she’s feeling okay.”

“That sounds like a great idea, Mom.  I can get started on it.  Why don’t we plan it for two months from now?  That way it will be about two months before the baby comes.”

“Sounds wonderful. And it will be close to her birthday, too.” 

“Well this is going to be one big celebration,” Lizzy said.  Tristan walked passed her office door with the mayor.  Drat. The meeting.  “Mom, I have to go to a meeting.  I’ll see you this evening.”

“Okay, baby.”

Lizzy placed the phone back in its holder, grabbed her notepad and headed down the hall to the conference room.  She took her seat across from Tristan.  They shared a smile as the mayor began the meeting. 

“Thank you for coming.  I know Campbell is out for the rest of the week. I’ve already touch on the highlights of this meeting with him on yesterday.  I wanted to talk about the Freedom Concert in DC.”  The concert had been just an ugly rumor for months. 

“I thought that was just a rumor?”  One of the attorneys asked.

The mayor nodded.  “The rumor has just been confirmed.  With Spring Break just over, the concert is scheduled for early June, just in time for tourist season. Since we’re only about an hour away, I’ve been asked to keep things on high alert.  We’ve only got about six weeks to coordinate security with other neighboring cities. ”

Lizzy knew instantly what the mayor wasn’t saying.  Homeland Security.  She had also heard the rumor of the Freedom Concert.  The top mainstream, rap, and hip hop artists were slated to appear.  The concert was in support of the slain victims at the hands of the police.  The latest case of a young African-American male dying at the hands of an over-zealous police officers had sparked national outrage and rightly so.  That meant there was going to be a lot of people converging on the nation’s capital.  The spill-over to Turners Point would be enormous, Lizzy didn’t know if her hometown could stand it.  If the concert did go as rumored then that would mean they would need more security.  More security meant more room for error as well. 

What Lizzy didn’t want was her city being on the news for making the same mistakes as the cities referenced on the nightly news almost daily.  

The mayor cleared his throat.  “Yes, this means that there will government agents underfoot trying to keep the peace.  The White House would prefer not to relive the fiasco in Colorado last month.”

Lizzy nodded.  No one wanted to relive that incident.  After the concert, the audience demolished the arena as well as most of the city.  There was millions of dollars of damage.  Luckily, no one was killed, but countless police officers were injured. “I agree.  Are you going to enlist Callahan Securities again like we did for the Independence Festival?”

“Most likely, since we have also received a grant from the Department of the Interior to cover security.”  He glanced in Lizzy’s direction.  “There’s a little paperwork involved and I was hoping you could look it over today.”

“Yes, sir.”  Drat! There went her hopes of leaving early and checking on Izzy.  She glanced across the table at Tristan.  He smiled at her as he shrugged those broad shoulders.  He mouthed the word ‘sorry’.  Lizzy smiled back.  Not even reading a boring document could ruin her day.  She was in love.

Later as the meeting broke up, Lizzy gathered her notes and headed to her office.  Tristan was right behind her and closed her door.  “Hey sorry, you got stuck reading that grant.  I know you’re dying to see Izzy.”
“Have you heard from Cam yet?”

He shook his head as he walked around her desk, standing next to her.  “No, I haven’t.  He texted when she first went in, but nothing since.  I’m a little worried.”

“Join the party,” Lizzy said dryly.  “Mom called just before the meeting. I think we’re all on pins and needles, especially since she’s been on medical leave.”

“I know, baby.  You just gotta keep good thoughts.”

“When did you get this optimism thing going on?”  She glanced up at him.  The urge to kiss him was very strong, but she knew that was definitely off limits during work hours. They had both agreed, especially with Tristan being the city manager and she was the lead attorney for the city, no office smooching.

“Since I met you.”  He caressed her face gently.  “Why don’t we have lunch before you delve into that document?  I just finished reading Kori’s divorce settlement, my eyes still hurt.   I think her ex’s lawyer used the smallest font possible to type that document.”

“A quick lunch.  I really want to get started on this for the mayor,” Lizzy said.

“Sure, baby.  Your wish is my command…Within reason.”

“Spoken like my man.”

After a quick bite of lunch with Tristan, Lizzy settled down at her desk.  In her absence, her assistant had placed the document on her desk.  It was more than fifty pages, she reasoned.  Better start now before someone drops something else on her already cluttered desk.

She had barely gotten through the first page when her private line rang.  This had to be Cam, she hoped, as she picked up the phone on the second ring.  “Lysette Carter-Hall,” she announced.

“Hey, Lizzy,” the caller said. 

“Izzy!” 

“Yes, I actually dialed the phone myself.”  She laughed.  “You know I can still function as a human being.  I’m just carrying a life, not losing all my brain cells.”

    “I know.  It’s just Cam always calls after a doctor’s appointment. Where is Cam?
     “Passed out.”

      “Say what?  What happened?”

      Izzy took a deep breath.  “Do you want the short story or the long one?”

Lizzy took one look at the thick document.  “The long one, of course.  Don’t you dare leave out one juicy detail.”

“Just remember that you asked,” Izzy reminded her sister.  “First of all, we’ll both be staying overnight at the hospital.  My blood pressure was high and I have a fever.  Cam will be staying because when he fell, his head hit the edge of the counter as he went down to the floor.  He just got back from X-ray and is still out.  Reminds me of how we met.”

“Oh, dear.  Why on earth did he pass out?”
    “The doctor was doing some tests on me and he got the curiosity bug.  She was getting ready to do an amniocentesis and that’s when he hit the floor.  They had a time reviving him. So to be on the safe side for both of us, we’re staying overnight.”

Lizzy tried so hard not to laugh, but it was impossible.  “I’m sorry, Izzy.  I can just imagine his face when they brought out that long needle and stuck it in your belly.  He can’t even watch you throw up.  He definitely doesn’t have the stomach for this.”

“You know those first few months of morning sickness, he was hovered over the toilet with me.  He might be a great district attorney, but he has a weak stomach.”

Lizzy agreed with her sister.  Although, she loved her brother-in-law dearly, Cam couldn’t stomach much.  In the few short months Izzy and Cam had been married, his weak stomach had become the family joke. “Back to you both being in the hospital, does his family know?”  Cam’s family was just as protective of both him and Izzy as the Carters were. 

“Yes, his parents are on their way up here.  You know when a Callahan is in the hospital it becomes a family reunion.  Aunt Amelia and Uncle Kieran are also on their way here.  We didn’t even get the chance to call her.  One of the nurses called and ratted us out. ”

“Wow and was I worried you’d be on your own with Cam being out of commission.  I kept forgetting how big Cam’s family is,” Lizzy said. Cam had five siblings, three still lived in Turners Point. Then there were the cousins, their wives, children, the list could go on forever.

“You got that right. I’m sure a few cousins and their wives will show up.  I called Mom and you know she freaked out about us having to stay overnight in the hospital. I tried to reassure her that everything was okay, but you know she doesn’t believe me.  I’m only a doctor,” Izzy said.  “Good thing she has to pick up PJ and Tatum from school or she’d be joining the party too, with Dad in tow.”

Lizzy shook her head as she imagined the chaos of the Callahan family.  There was no doubt that love ruled that family. There was a mixture of Irish and African-American, intelligence agents, nurses, lawyers, artists, and teachers.  They were definitely an all-around family.  She loved being a part of the large family. 

“I bet she’ll come up after I pick up the kids,” Lizzy said.  “Sorry, honey, but you’re going to have three sets of parents on your hands this afternoon.  I hope Cam wakes up by then.” Lizzy hoped he’d help fend of the parents, but with the force of the Callahan women, the newlyweds didn’t have a chance.  She felt sorry for the hospital staff.

“I’m sure he will.  He didn’t hit his head that hard.”

Lizzy laughed at her sister’s tone.  “Izabella Carter-Callahan, shame on you!  Cam was just curious.  I’ll bet he’ll stay on the other side the sheet from now on!”