Synthetics (8 page)

Chapter 11

The morning light played tricks with the shadows, as I slowly walked up the drive. The house looked cozy. A little terrier sat on the porch, lazing in the sun. One eye opened as I limped closer.

“Hey boy,” I said, offering my hand.

The dog went mental. It must have been a girl and having had its gender questioned was intent on chewing my foot off and keeping it as a trophy. It was still happily mauling my leg, when it was rudely interrupted by a projectile shoe to the face.

“Boris, you leave that young man alone, you naughty dog.”

I looked up and saw a miniature woman who was bent over with age. Thick rimmed glasses sat on her pudgy nose and a squared off fringe framed her face.

“Hi,” I said, “Are you Mrs Sanders?”

“I certainly am,” she replied, “And who might you be? Are you here for the hot water cylinder?”

“Um no… Miss. My name is Fletcher Harris and…”

“Oh,” she said.

“Oh?”

“I know who you are. I’ll be back in a minute.”

I shrugged and sat down on the steps to wait. I had felt ashamed before, like when as a kid I mouthed swear words at a deaf girl in my class, but I had never felt more ashamed as when I sat on those steps. I was the cast off love interest crawling back to plead for another chance.

Boris watched me cautiously from the porch. I felt like being sick. It had been four months since I had seen Kate. She obviously didn’t want to see me, but I just needed to talk to her. Just once and then I would leave.

“Fletcher?”

It was Kate’s voice. I turned and was stunned to discover anew just how beautiful she was. I couldn’t speak and so got to my feet.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you.”

“Why?”

She said it with no emotion. Why do you think? Mrs Sanders, her Gran, was lurking behind her.

“You left without saying goodbye and…”

I stopped when I noticed it. It was a hard detail to miss.

“You’re pregnant?”

“You had better come inside,” said Mrs Sanders.

***

“Do you want a drink? Tea? Coffee?” Mrs Sanders was fretting around the place while Kate sat opposite me at a table, while I sat on a lazy chair.

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“You sure dear? We have orange juice.”

“Perhaps a water would be nice?”

“Same for me,” added Kate.

She was just sitting there watching me.

“I’m surprised you’re still here,” she said, “It must be a shock.”

Mrs Sanders returned with our waters.

“I’ll let you two be,” she said leaving the room, “Just call if you need me dear. Your Grandfather will be home soon.” Before closing the door she added, “He has the key to the gun cabinet.”

“Thanks Gran,” said Kate.

She took a sip of water, put her cup down, and then looked at me. Her eyes were sparkling.

“So what do you want to know?”

“How?” I asked.

She laughed. Not one of her laughs I adored. It was laden with derision.

“You took biology Fletcher, you know how.”

I grimaced.

“Is it mine?”

She took a breath and tapped the table with her slender fingers, like she was playing the piano.

“Yes, Fletcher, it’s yours.”

“Okay,” I said.

Inwardly, I was relieved and apprehensive at the same time.

“Okay?” she said incredulously, “Is that all?”

“Why did you leave, Kate? You weren’t even there when I got back from Russia. Weren’t you worried? I was in a plane crash, I nearly died!”

“Sasha told me you were safe,” she replied, “And I left because it is better this way.” She paused before adding softly, “To be honest, I panicked.”

“You didn’t have to leave, you could have finished the internship.”

“You still don’t get it Fletch.” I smiled when she called me Fletch. “It’s not an internship.”

“Um, are you sure? They do call us interns…”

“They’re recruiting you.”

I grimaced. I just found out I was going to be a father and we were talking about the stupid internship.

“What were the prerequisites for the internship Fletcher?”

“We had to do that test thing.”

“Exactly,” she said, “The only prerequisite was that you have a good mind. Don’t you find that odd? No experience, no references; they just wanted interns with a good mind.”

I shrugged.

“I had to leave the internship,” she said slowly, “Because I am no longer eligible for the internship.”

It clicked. CANA needed young, astute minds for their program. It was not an internship. It was a recruitment scheme. You couldn’t undergo the procedure if you were pregnant. They wanted young, erudite minds.

“They want us to become Synthetics?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Stuart is going to do it. He told me the other night.”

“Good on him,” said Kate, “He might be able to make a difference.”

“So you intended to go through with it all along?” I asked.

“Until this happened.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not a bad thing. It’s definitely not a bad thing.”

“Then why didn’t you just tell me? I don’t care about this twisted internship. I would have left with you. I still can. I’ll get a boring job in some lab; I’ve got the credentials. We can have a little house, with a garden, a dog.” I was getting excited. “A pug preferably; they’re good with kids. You won’t have to live with your grandparents. Why didn’t you just tell me?”

She stayed silent for a while.

“I wanted you to choose for yourself. I didn’t want to force you out of your future. You told me you believed in what Sasha was doing. And besides,” she added, “You told me you can’t stand kids.”

I stayed silent. I had said that I believed in what CANA was doing, but only because Kate had said it first. And the thing about the kids was just a joke. How was I to know?

“It’s my child too,” I said quietly.

Kate looked down. “And you can’t leave the internship anyway,” she said finally, “You’re on a student visa. You would have to return home. I doubt you’ll be able to get a working visa fast enough. The baby will be born by the time you get back. You may as well just stay on at the internship.”

I stood. For once I knew what I should do.

“There is one way for me to stay in America,” I said slowly.

“What do you…”

I put a finger to my lips and fell to one knee, grabbing her hand.

“Kate Sanders,” I said, holding on to her, as if for dear life, “Kate Sanders, I know I don’t deserve someone as amazing as you, but would you please make me the happiest man alive and do me the honour of becoming my wife?”

She stared at me with her mouth slightly open.

“I love you,” she whispered “and you’re a good man.”

I kept waiting, holding my breath.

“So, yes, I will.”

I exhaled in relief. With tears pooling in her eyes like viscous diamonds, she hugged me.

As we hugged I realized that I was happy.

***

We spent the rest of that day catching up. I told her how Frederick had saved my life, about Stuart, and about Julian and Mariana. We went for a walk to the park, rode the swings, and lay on the grass, arm in arm.

“Oh, I like your necklace.”

“Mariana gave it to me.”

“It suits you. It’s a bit feminine though.”

She nudged me playfully.

“So what are you going to do now?”

We were staring at the clouds, watching them drift lazily across the sky.

“I dunno,” I said, “I guess I have to go back to CANA and get my things. We’ll have to go and set a date for the wedding.”

Kate laughed.

“It’s all happening.”

“And I had better start searching for jobs. Do you think Sasha would give me a reference?”

“Yeah he probably still would. He’s like that. Never holds a grudge.”

“Was it hard telling him that you were leaving?” I asked.

“Yeah a little. But it wasn’t too bad.”

“Does he know that you’re pregnant?”

“Nope,” said Kate cheerfully, “Nobody knows except for my grandparents and now you.”

“But he’s family,” I said, “Why didn’t you tell him?”

“Because he didn’t need to know. And if he found out that you were the father he would have forced you to leave the internship. I didn’t want that. I wanted it to be your choice.”

“Well I choose you, not some stupid internship. You should have just told me straight away.”

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t know what to do,” said Kate as she rested her head on my chest.

“And I can’t believe I forgot to ask, when are you due?”

“Just after Christmas.”

“Perfect,” I said, “That will be a nice present.”

“It’s a girl by the way.”

“Even better,” I said kissing her on the cheek. “So when are you going to tell everyone?”

She shook her head. “I’m not going to tell anyone, they can just see for themselves at the wedding. I’ll take care of all the invitations. You had better get in touch with your family Fletch.”

***

“I’ll see you in two weeks,” I said, “And I’ll call you every night.”

I was going back to Washington to tell Sasha that I was leaving and to finish my lab work. I needed the paycheck.

I drew Kate close and kissed her.

“I love you Kate.”

Kate took my hand and placed it on her stomach.

“Be safe,” she said softly, “You don’t know how much I will miss you.”

“Well, I will miss you more,” I replied.

Even though she was smiling she looked so sad. “Just come home as soon as you can Fletch.”

“I will. I promise.”

***

When I arrived back in Washington, I didn’t go straight back to CANA. First I went to the jewelers and bought a big fat diamond ring on credit. I definitely needed that paycheck. I still hadn’t even told my parents that I was getting married. They might be able to help me out. Doubt it though. The business wasn’t going too well the last time I heard.

After getting the ring I snuck back into CANA and went to sleep. I slept all afternoon and all night. It was the most contented sleep I had had that year.

***

It took me almost a week before I summoned up the courage to knock on Sasha’s door. His receptionist was away.

“Come in, come in,” said a thin voice.

I shouldered open the doors to see an emaciated Sasha, dwarfed by his desk chair and flanked by the silent giant, Frederick.

“Fletcher,” he said with a grin. He tried to rise, but fell back to his seat. “It’s good to see you boy. Take a seat.”

He was on a breather, the slim tubes running up his neck and into his nose. Before sitting down I walked tentatively up to Frederick and thrust out my hand.

“Thank you again,” I said, “For saving my life.”

He stayed silent and didn’t take my hand. I shrugged and sat down.

“I apologize for Frederick,” said Sasha, “He is a man of few words.”

Man?

“So what brings you to my office?”

I tried unsuccessfully to get comfortable.

“I wanted to talk to you about the internship.”

“You wish to leave?”

“Yes.”

“For what reason?”

“Personal reasons.”

Sasha frowned.

“I had hopes for you Fletcher; first Kate and now you, both just leaving without explanation. I had hopes.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I guess you have already realized what the true purpose of this internship was.”

I nodded.

“And you don’t want any part of it?”

I nodded again.

“I think I would have done it. Perhaps. But in my current situation I just can’t.”

Sasha sighed.

“Then it must be done. Frederick, take him to operating room. If he will not do it by choice then he will do it by compulsion.”

My neck tingled. I stood and started looking for exits.

“It was a joke,” said Sasha. He laughed and then frowned. “You must think very poorly of me. I may be old but I can still attempt humor. Please, you are free to go. If you ever wish to return to CANA there will be a place for you. I am sorry that it did not work out.”