My Future With Mr White (4 page)

“
Yeah, probably,” Cameron said. “But don’t worry, I got this covered. I will give you a call if anything comes up,” he said. Natasha smiled and walked toward the door, pushing the stroller in front of her. Mitchell stayed behind and had a few words with Cameron before he finally followed her out.

“
This is the worst thing that could ever happen. But at least she is alive, right? At least I think she is,”
Natasha thought as she looked down at Alexis.
“What happens if something happens? How will I tell Rita?”
she wondered as Mitchell walked towards her.

“
Hey,” he said softly as she strapped Alexis in the car seat once again.

“
Hey,” she said standing up.

“
You okay?” he asked. She nodded and looked into his eyes.

“
You know I am lucky to have you, your family, and my family,” Nathasha told him. “And this beautiful baby here, but Rita, she has no one. As much as her mom messed up, she was Rita’s whole world. She’s always been her whole world and I don’t even know what...” Her words trailed off yet again. He held her face in her hands and smiled.

“
This, right here, is one of the very many reasons I love you,” he said.

“
Me freaking out?” she asked.

“
No, you being caring and concerned. Just the wife and the mother for our baby that I need,” he said before giving her a long kiss. “Everything will be fine,” he said.

“
I hope so,” she said.

“
Don’t hope. It is going to be fine,” he said smiling at her. “What do you say I take my two favorite girls somewhere special?” he asked.

“
Babe, I love you but any time you take me and the baby somewhere, it is usually a place where curly fries and high chairs are the special offers,” Natasha said smiling.

“
Well, how about we do something else?” he asked.

“
Like what?” Natasha asked.

“
The last time we had a picnic was way back before we got married,” he said. She smiled and nodded.

“
Yeah, it has been a while, hasn’t it?” she asked.

“
So, what do you say we introduce the girl to our little tradition?” he asked. She smiled and nodded, then frowned. “What now?” he asked.

“
Well, I know you mean well but we can’t have a picnic without the essentials. Blanket, picnic basket, you know, the usual,” she said. 

“
I’ll handle it. I just want to take your mind off things for a few hours,” he said. She smiled and got in the car. She could not wait to see what he had planned.

When Mitchell began driving to the unknown location, Natasha once again found herself thinking about Rita and her misfortunes. She could not help but wonder what her life would have been like if she was the one in Rita’s shoes. She remembered what her father and Nan had told her about her own mother. How she left Natasha because she didn’t think she could give her daughter the life she deserved. And maybe her mother was right to do so, because the life she knew as Natasha Black, that was the best life she had ever known.

“What if my own mother was actually like Lydia or worse?”
she wondered. She would have never met Mitchell. She would have never known or even had Alexis because she would have probably turned out as terrible as her mother. She looked over at Alexis and brushed the curls off her face. She smiled when the baby took her index finger in her own little chubby hand.

“
Are you okay back there?” Mitchell asked, looking at Natasha in the rear view mirror. She smiled and nodded.

“
I’m fine. We both are” she said with a smile. “I love you, Mitchell,” she said, meeting his eyes in the mirror. He smiled as he held her gaze before returning his eyes to the road.

“
I don’t know what it is about you that makes a shiver go down my spine every time you tell me that,” he said.

“
I’m sure you say that to all your wives,” she said laughing.

“
Ouch. That’s just cold,” Mitchell said. “And no, my ex-wife never had this hold you have on me,”  he said.

“
Normally flattery would get you nowhere but today, we’ll see how it goes. There might be a little something, something for you when we get back home,” she said with a smile.

“
Mrs. Schmidt, you shouldn’t say that in front of the baby,” Mitchell said with a smile.

“
We can say a lot in front of the baby. That is, until she begins to talk,” she said with a smile.

“
And here I thought you were the world’s best mom not too long ago,” he said. She smiled.

“
I still am,” she said. “Being a good mom simply depends on knowing the right timing,” she added.

“
The right timing? What for?” he asked. She smiled as they pulled into the Pizza Hut.

“
I can’t let you in on everything. Some mystery is vital in our relationship,” she said. “And the Pizza Hut? Really?” she asked.

“
Just chill, woman,” he said as he got out. She smiled as she watched him disappear into the Pizza Hut. Moments later, he emerged with two pizza boxes and a picnic basket. She smiled. He must have planned this. There was no way he just left the house without having all this planned out. “Is your faith in me reaffirmed yet?” he asked as he climbed back into the driver’s seat.

“
I always had faith in you. It’s believing that all this was spontaneous I’m having a problem with,” she said. He smiled and started the car again.

“
Well, get ready, girls. I am about to rock your world,” he said as he drove away.

Tension was high as Mitchell and Natasha rode to the precinct. It had been a long afternoon for everyone, especially Rita. While they were on their family picnic, Natasha and Mitchell made a decision to talk to Rita and let her know everything they had done to find her mother. For Natasha, that would be the hardest conversation she would ever have if Rita reacted the way she thought she would.

“
So you all decided to keep this from me?” Rita had asked her, looking disappointed.

“
Yes. We had to. You had a lot on your plate and we felt it was for the best,” Natasha said.

“
Okay,” Rita had said, making Natasha surprised.

“
Okay?” Natasha asked her, still shocked at her reaction. Needless to say, she had expected a lot of fireworks and profanity, which was not happening right now.

“
Yeah okay. I can’t be mad at my best friend for trying to help me,” she said. “Right now, I just want to go and see what kind of mess she has got herself into this time,” she said. Natasha nodded and placed a reassuring arm around her shoulders. “Seattle? What the hell was she doing all the way in Seattle?” she asked looking at Natasha.

“
Beats me, Rita,” Natasha replied. She was dying to ask her what happened with Dave but she just didn’t have the heart to ask, at least not now.

When they got to the precinct, Rita was having a hard time getting herself to walk through the front door and Natasha understood. After all, no one could understand what she was going through.

“Hey Cameron. This is our friend Rita,” Mitchell said when they walked in. “Rita, this is my friend, Officer Cameron. He’s been looking into your mom’s case,” he said. Rita gave him a smile and then whispered, “Pleasure to meet you.”

“
Okay, guys. A woman was brought in by a couple from Seattle. One of them is the woman who recognized Lydia from the photos in the posters,” Cameron said. Rita nodded.

“
Where is she? Where is my mother?” Rita asked. Cameron looked at Mitchell and then at Rita. “What?” Rita asked when she noticed the look. Cameron was just about to answer when Dave came running in.

“
I was hoping I would find you here,” he said, panting.

“
Dave, hi!” Natasha said, surprised. “I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said, making it almost too obvious that she was fishing for information.

“
Yeah, I thought I had an emergency ACL but it turns out that the patient won’t be coming in until six in the evening,” he said. Natasha frowned. She had no idea what he was talking about and this was neither the place nor the time to get him talking. Dave looked at Rita and then slipped an arm around her waist. “You okay?” he asked, looking at her. Rita nodded. “Have you seen her?” he asked. Rita shook her head.

“
Actually, Officer Cameron was just about to tell us about Lydia right about the time you walked in,” Natasha said as she gave Mitchell a nudge in the ribs. Mitchell gave her the “grow up” look before he turned his attention to Cameron.

“
Yes, I was saying that the woman who was brought in is a bit off,” he said. Rita shook her head.

“
What do you mean, ‘off?’” she asked.

“
Well, she did not have any ID on her so we are guessing her wallet must have been stolen because we had tracked one of her credit cards to a motel but it was not Lydia. The woman who was brought in does not know her name or how she got to Seattle,” Cameron said.

“
What? Then how do you know that it’s her?” Rita asked.

“
Well, the lady who brought her in says she kept on calling her Rita. It is a long shot but....” Rita put her hand up.

“
I want to see her,” she said with finality. “I want to see her right now,” she said again. Cameron nodded.

“
Our medics are checking her out. She will be here in a minute,” he said as two people, a Caucasian man and an African American woman walked towards them. “Perfect timing, guys. This is the woman who brought Lydia in. She’s Desiree Young and this is her boyfriend, Taylor Ericson,” he said.

“
Nice to meet you. I hope she didn’t stress you out,” Rita said. Desiree shook her head.

“
She was cool. We wanted to send her here on a bus but she wouldn’t hear of it. So we just drove down here,” she said.

“
Well, thank you,” Rita said before giving Desiree a hug. “This is my boyfriend Dave, my best friend Natasha and her husband Mitchell,” she said when she pulled away. Mitchell and Natasha smiled at each other when she introduced Dave as her boyfriend.

“
Nice to meet you,” Natasha said with a smile.

“
Yes, we could never thank you enough,” Mitchell said warmly.

“
So, do you mind if I ask, how exactly was she acting?” Dave asked.

“
Apart from the obvious memory loss, there were also some times when she had difficulty in communication and her judgment was also a bit off sometimes,” Desiree said.

“
Yeah, she also had a hard time focusing and paying attention to the most minor details,” Taylor said. Rita shook her head.

“
I’m sorry. I don’t understand,” she said. “What do you mean she could not pay attention to detail?” she asked.

“
We stayed with her for four days and she almost burned the house down three times when making us dinner. She would just get started and then forget that she was cooking,” Taylor explained. Dave rubbed Rita’s back.

“
Babe, they just gave all the symptoms of dementia,” he said in a low voice.

“
But I don’t know anyone in our family who has dementia. At least the side of the family I know about,” she said.

“
Well, it is a possibility that the side of the family you don’t know about may have a history of dementia. But don’t worry. I’ll make sure she gets all the tests needed to confirm everything before we make any conclusions,” Dave said with a smile.

“
Yeah, Dave’s a doctor. I’m sure by now you have realized,” Mitchell said with a smile.

“
Yeah, we noticed,” Desiree said smiling.

“
Oh my God, Mama,” Rita said in a whisper as a medic holding Lydia’s arm walked towards them . “You’re okay,” she said as she hugged a confused Lydia.

“
Rita, who is this woman? What is going on?” Lydia asked, looking at Desiree. Rita pulled away and looked at her.

“
Mama, it’s me. It’s Rita,” she said, looking at Lydia.

“
Rita?” Lydia asked again, still looking at Desiree.

“
It’s okay,” Desiree said, walking towards Lydia. “See this lady, her name is Rita too, and you are her mother,” she said with a smile.

“
I had twins and named them the same?” Lydia asked, looking confused.

“
No, it’s...Ericson, help me,” Desiree said. Taylor took a step forward and then took Lydia’s hand in his.

“
Come on, Lydia. Why don’t we go down to the vending machine and see if they have those chips you like,” he said as the two of them walked off. Desiree looked at Rita, who was now fighting the tears that were threatening to roll down her cheeks.

“
I’m so sorry,” she said looking at Rita.

“
It’s fine. You were there for her when I wasn’t,” Rita said, smiling sadly. “Do you know what she was doing there? How she got there?” she asked. Desiree nodded.

“
Well, her memory comes back in flashes. She said something about meeting Zack. Does that mean anything to you?” she asked. Rita nodded as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“
The name on my birth certificate, my father’s name is Zachary Albert. Maybe they reconnected. Maybe she was going to see him or something,” she said as she brushed off a tear.

“
I’ll make a call to the hospital to get everything set up,” Dave said as he walked away. Rita walked to a nearby couch and sat down, and Natasha followed.

“
I never had a mom. I grew up in foster care and seeing someone’s mother like this...it’s hard,” Desiree said as she and Mitchell looked at Natasha, who was now holding a sobbing Rita in her arms.

“
I know. I can’t imagine this being easy on anyone,” Mitchell said.

“
But for us, the glass is half full. I mean, when she was not almost burning down the house, Lydia was quite a delight. Only we called her Meg. We had no idea what her name was or even the first letter of her name,” Desiree said. Mitchell laughed.

“
You guys are just the best,” he said as Dave walked up to them

“
I have an MMSE test scheduled for her beginning tomorrow. She has to be admitted today, though,” Dave said. Mitchell looked at him and shook his head.

“
MMSE?” he asked.

“
Sorry. Sometimes I forget I am not at the hospital all the time. MMSE is a mini mental state exam. The test will determine her concentration span, short and long term memory and ability to understand instructions. It’s pretty standard,” he explained. “After that, then we’ll have the CT and MRI and see how it goes,” he added. Mitchell nodded.

“
I’m just glad she is back. Rita can breathe again...but she is going to need all the help she can get,” Mitchell said.

“
Well, she is not alone. She has me and you guys,” Dave said. “And a new family,” he added as he looked at Desiree.

“
So, it’s official. You guys are back together?” Mitchell asked. Dave smiled and nodded.

“
What? You had let that gorgeous woman go?” Desiree asked.

“
It was just a misunderstanding,” Dave said quickly. Desiree laughed. “I would never let her go,” he added.

“
And did you...?” Mitchell asked. Dave shook his head.

“
There is too much going on right now. I’ll let it rest for a while,” he said with a smile as Taylor and Lydia walked back over to them. Natasha and Rita walked towards them and then Cameron followed.

“
So, what is going to happen now?” Cameron asked. Dave looked at Rita and smiled.

“
I have made arrangements for the necessary tests to be made. We can get her admitted to the hospital tonight,” he said. Rita looked at Natasha and then at Desiree and brushed off a tear. She looked at Taylor who was still walking towards them with her mother and then nodded.

“
Do it,” she said in a whisper before walking away. Dave looked at her and then at the group.

“
I better go after her,” he said before following her outside. Cameron went out after them, probably to discuss how Lydia would get to the hospital.

“
I guess Taylor and I had better get started. It’s a long drive back,” Desiree said. Natasha shook her head.

“
Are you kidding? You leave now, you’ll probably get there at two in the morning,” she said.

“
Well, yeah, but...”

“
Stay the night,” Natasha said cutting her short as she looked at Mitchell who was nodding. “You can stay at our place if you’d like. We have more than enough room,” she said, smiling.

“
So, what do you say?” Mitchell asked just as Taylor and Lydia approached them.

“
Ericson, it looks like we will be heading back home tomorrow because these two won’t take no for an answer,” Desiree said with a smile.

“
Okay,” Taylor said smiling. “I was about to suggest to you we get a motel because I am beat but their offer sounds better,” he said.

The six of them, Natasha, Mitchell, Taylor, Lydia, Desiree and Cameron waited until Dave had calmed Rita down. After that, Dave, Cameron and Rita took Lydia to hospital as the two couples drove to Eric’s and Estelle’s to pick up Alexis. Mitchell advised Taylor to leave his car at the station where he would pick it the next morning, to make the transit to Estelle’s and then back to his place easier. Once they were home, Natasha and Mitchell made dinner and when they sat down, they realized that their new friends were two of the best people they had ever met.

“You know the last time we met people, it was on our honeymoon,” Natasha said after putting Alexis down to sleep.

“
Yeah, the two of us lead a crazy lifestyle. She is lucky she got time off after having Alexis,” Mitchell said.

“
Time off? I would have swapped places with you if you would have asked me,” Natasha said.

“
Actually, maternity leave is not really a leave, per se,” Desiree said as she looked at Mitchell.

“
Of course you would take her side. But Taylor, you are on my side, right?” Mitchell asked. Taylor shook his head.