08

Thanks a lot to techsan who edited the story pretty quickly and turned it into a better one.

*

The next morning he met Mrs. Sanders at the reception area of the hospital, introduced her to staff he knew by then and explained her how Anna didn't know about his involvement in the preparation of the house and the need to buy her some clothes afterwards so she should try to get Anna's clothing sizes and that he would be paying Mrs. Sanders. She didn't need to know more than the hospital provided the housecare.

"How am I going to explain the house?" Mrs. Sanders asked unbelievingly.

"Tell her you think it is some kind of insurance that she had. I don't think she'll inquire more."

"What about the food in the fridge? Those haven't been there for a year for sure."

"Tell her that you bought them and you will expect her to pay once she gets her unemployment paycheck. Here is the receipt. You can show her that and buy new food with the money."

This man was doing everything he could to make life comfortable for this poor woman whose life was in a mess right now and Mrs. Sanders didn't quite understand why he didn't want the credits for that.

"Why don't you want her to know?"

"Because she will feel more in debt to me and is already thinking that I am some kind of freak who is obsessed with her, which scares the hell out of her after her last year."

"I still don't understand, I must admit, but I'll cooperate. I'd like to talk to Dr. Geoffrey. I'd like to get first hand information on her state of health."

Heather was at the desk in front of room 205 when they arrived.

"Hello, Mr. Taylor. I hear Nina has taken a promise for a dinner from you. I'm jealous."

"Don't worry. I'll call you, too. Do you know where Dr. Geoffrey is?"

"Yippee, thank you. I'll page him here. Who is this?"

"Mrs. Sanders will look after Ms. Collins once she is discharged."

"We'll miss you around here. Here's the doctor."

"Good morning, Mr. Taylor. Is there anything new?"

"Good morning, doctor. I have to ask you because I've been out for the most of the night."

"That's a change. I thought you were upstairs having our delicious hospital breakfast during my morning rounds. She seemed as depressed and reserved as she was before. Didn't say a word but her physical health is getting better."

"Good morning, Dr. Geoffrey. I am Melinda Sanders. I'll be taking care of Ms. Collins once she is discharged. Can you summarize the situation for me and when do you think you'll let her go?"

"Sure, nice to meet you, by the way. She has had a C-section eight days ago. Her left leg is broken but she will be able to walk with crutches once her broken ribs and arm get strong enough, which will not be at least for another week. That's why she cannot sit or stand up right now, is in need of constant help with her baby and her needs. I expect she'll be able to sit with support and hold her baby with her good arm in two to three days."

He continued without a pause, "The only medication I'll prescribe will be pain killers and sleeping pills once I discharge her and I have been keeping her here mainly because she wouldn't be able to survive on her own but I figure you two have created a team for her. So I can just let her go. I know the baby was an early comer but is doing well right now. I have to ask her doctor but I think it will be ok if you can bring her in for control when you take Ms. Collins in for control and I will discharge her now!"

"Wait, wait," Chris jumped in, "can we delay the discharge until tomorrow morning? There are things I have to coordinate. This was too quick. I was not expecting it to be for a couple of days more."

"Oh, ok. I'll get the paperwork done and hand it to Heather. You should deal with accounting. I don't know who is paying for her."

"I'll check but I hope she has some kind of insurance covering her situation. Otherwise I get to pay," Chris said.

He told Mrs. Sanders to go in and introduce herself to Anna and tell her that she'll come tomorrow morning to pick her up to take her to her house. He wasn't sure if she would like to see him and he wanted to go and check on the financial stuff.

What he found out was partly relieving. Her insurance paid for Anna's expenses but it didn't cover Angela, so he paid for Angela hoping his savings account would survive the month. When he went back Mrs. Sanders was out. She told him that Anna didn't really take her for granted but she knew she had to be content with what was offered, asked if Mr. Taylor would come. Mrs. Sanders had answered with a non-consoling, "I don't know."

The two teammates went shopping afterwards. A long skirt for Anna, a wool sweater and a nice coat, even some underwear, some make up and other stuff that Mrs. Sanders thought would be needed; some baby clothes other than what Chris already bought and placed at Angela's room, diapers, baby wipes, baby shampoo,... and sometime during the afternoon Chris started to think that he had really gone crazy. He even thought he had heard the little voice telling him about her favorite color and style a couple of times.

They packed the things in a suitcase which would be taken to Anna the next morning. They were to meet in front of room 205 the next morning at eight. The agreement was that Chris would be the driver to her house and leave Anna and Mrs. Sanders to settle. He gave her his mobile number in case they needed anything and remembering that they didn't have a baby seat for the car he went to buy one.

The next morning, Mrs. Sanders was on time but Chris had overslept. Around a quarter to nine he showed up at the end of the corridor with puffy eyes. He had on an unironed white cotton shirt, a pair of faded jeans and two days of moustache.

"Look at yourself. What happened? I've been waiting here for the good part of an hour!"

"Excuse me. I have overslept and don't even have the vaguest memory of shutting off the alarm clock. I practically ran here."

"Maybe you should at least wash your face before you show that pretty face of yours to Ms. Collins. She could wait for a few minutes more."

"Here, take this razor. We have them for patients," Heather interrupted, "and hand me the shirt. I'll get it ironed downstairs."

Chris took off his shirt and headed for the bathroom and, seeing what a mess he was in the mirror, he decided to shave after all. He was somewhat more presentable in ten minutes after he put on his pressed shirt.

Mrs. Sanders was with Anna, helping her to dress when Chris came in. "See, this is more like it." she said cheerfully. "Let's get our patient out of this gloomy place."

Chris spoke hesitatingly. He was afraid to be rejected.

"Good morning, Anna. I hope you won't be disappointed that I will be driving you home."

Anna was completely quiet. She had put on the clothes which Mrs. Sanders had brought. Her bruises were still not gone but Mrs. Sanders had managed to put some make-up on her face to cover most of them. Heather entered the room with a wheelchair. Mrs. Sanders and Chris helped Anna move to the wheelchair and Chris took Angela in his arms as Heather was wheeling Anna out. He loved holding and talking to the baby. They placed Angela in the baby seat and Anna in the rest of the back seat while Mrs. Sanders sat in the front. Angela didn't say a word until she saw her house then she burst into tears.

"I thought it would be in ruins. Did my uncle take care of this?" she managed in between sobs.

Mrs. Sanders looked at Chris and decided not to say anything until directly asked.

Chris held Anna in his arms carefully. He could see that she stiffened and fear settled in her eyes along with the pain but there was no other way of taking her inside. Mrs. Sanders took Angela and the group went into the sitting room on the first floor. Chris put Anna down on the sofa which was arranged by Mrs. Sanders to her comfort and Chris had stopped by and placed a cute swinging chair, which he had bought along with the car seat, next to the sofa last night.

Once everybody was placed Anna had a lot of questions in her mind but she couldn't get herself to talk. Mrs. Sanders excused herself to carry her luggage into her room and settle. Chris asked Anna if he could stay for a while and play with Angela and then he had to plan his class schedules for the next week.

"You cannot take her out of my sight," Anna commanded.

"I promise I won't leave this room. Would you like to watch TV? It must be boring not to be able to move although Dr. Geoffrey said that you'll sit without much pain in two days."

"He knows so much! I am the one in pain."

"Would you like to take a painkiller?"

"No!"

"Fine. Here's the remote for the TV and the stereo. Do whatever you want. Little angel, did you like the trip in the car? Yes, if we can persuade mama I can take you out sometime. What did you say? No, it won't be a problem for me but it might be a little disturbing for other women to see me with two beautiful women. Look, your chair rocks like this. Isn't it time for you to sleep? You know I have a terrible voice but let me try... silent night, holy night, all is warm and all is bright... Already asleep? I had just started singing. Anyway, I have to go now. See you in the evening. Take care of your mama."

Chris had talked and played with the baby as if Anna wasn't there. Leaving Angela asleep, he saw that neither the TV nor the stereo was on. He asked Anna if she'd like anything and went out. He met Mrs. Sanders in the kitchen preparing lunch.

"I have to go now but I'll be back in the evening to help you carry Anna upstairs to her room. Angela's asleep right now but she might need a change of diapers shortly. Try to get Anna to take over some of the tasks of the baby. The doctor said she should be able to sit in two days. We'll take them to the hospital for control on Wednesday. I'll arrange a couple of free hours in the morning. And beware that this Stephen guy is still out there somewhere. He might figure out that she is still alive. Call Sergeant Young and me at the smallest strange thing you see. Always lock the doors. I am trusting you to keep Anna occupied. Bye."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of both. Be back for dinner. See you in the evening."

Chris went to his hotel room and attacked his class preparation for the next week. He was finished by seven and was knocking on Anna's door at half past seven. He saw Mrs. Sanders look through the peephole and she let him in.

"How are we?" he asked.

"Well, I had to feed her lunch, had her watch some comedy movie on TV, even had her help with the preparation of dinner which took some time as she swore at me and the vegetables most of the time

and

had her change Angela's diaper a minute ago. I must admit she's a stubborn lady."

"What about Angela?"

"She was an angel all through."

They heard Angela start to cry and went into the sitting room.

"Good evening, Anna," Chris said. "Let me see what this little angel wants. Hello, did you miss me? Yes, I missed you a lot, too. I had to go to prepare my schedule for the next week."

The baby had gone quiet as if she really listened to him. He was talking to her like nobody else was in the room, "Yes, I am a teacher. Don't make a sour face at me. You are too small to hate teachers. Besides most of my students like me. There's this little Becky, for example,..."

"I hate to interrupt your sweet conversation but dinner is ready and my stomach is growling," Mrs. Sanders said. She had arranged a coffee table in front of Anna and another larger one in front of where they would sit.

"I am not hungry," Anna said. She was disturbed from all that was going on around her and wanted to sleep.

"You should eat at least this soup. You're breastfeeding, you need to put liquid in to produce milk. I am going to make sure of that even if it means I have to feed you by squeezing your stubborn nose," Mrs. Sanders answered.

Anna didn't want to be embarrassed in front of Chris so without another word she ate the soup and Chris noticed she was sitting on her own, too. The bruises were now a lighter shade of brown and the soft light in the room made them blend into her skin color more. The swelling was almost gone, too. She looked beautiful even when she was being pigheaded and angry.

Mrs. Sanders found a comedy show after dinner and they sat together and watched it with popcorn although Anna turned her back and didn't join them; Chris carried her upstairs to her room afterwards which she saw for the first time in a year. It was neat and clean and even her laundry was done. She had asked Mrs. Sanders about the situation of the house and received a vague, "It must be the insurance," answer. Chris noticed that she froze on being touched by him, her eyes turned blank, teeth clenched and her face showed that she was going through torture just to let him carry her.

Chris tucked her in bed, said good night, kissed Angela on her forehead as usual and went back to his hotel.

The next week passed more or less in a routine. He was stopping by Anna's house each morning before school to take her downstairs, even if she pretended to be asleep most of the time. But her body language told him that she didn't like to be touched. He went back for dinner and after dinner activities which included playing with Angela and Mrs. Sanders and telling them about his day at school. Anna never participated, mostly not even saying a word.

Chris carried the statue-like Anna to bed and went back to the lonely hotel room every night to prepare himself for the next day and hope that she would be in a better mood. As far as he knew Mrs. Sanders did all she could do to keep her occupied during the day. She had Anna solve crossword puzzles, read the newspaper to her if she didn't, made her help prepare food, and left most of the baby care to her. The visit to the doctor on Wednesday proved that she could sit and by the end of the week she would be able to walk with crutches, too if her broken arm permitted.

Chris planned to take the group out to a park on the weekend as the weather forecast was nice and hot. He even borrowed a wheelchair for a few hours from the elderly home on the next street, thinking Anna wouldn't be able to walk. By the time he got to Anna's on Saturday, she was being as obstinate as she could be. She didn't want to get dressed, she didn't want to eat, she didn't want to go out, she didn't want to sit, there was nothing that she wanted to do. Angela was restless because of all the negative energy surrounding her and Mrs. Sanders looked like she was about to give up.

Chris figured somewhere along the conversation that Anna was afraid to go out because Stephen could be there waiting for and watching her again. He called Sergeant Young to ask if they had anything new on the case. The sergeant reminded him that Anna should come to the station to give and sign her statement. It wasn't what he had planned but he thought they could as well be done with it and maybe Anna would recognize Stephen from the photo album. Leaving Angela back wasn't an option so the whole group including Mrs. Sanders drove to the police station.

Sergeant Young took Anna in the room alone. He asked her what she remembered about Stephen, what he wore, did he have a job, what time he went and came back to the house, if he cooked, was there any receipt or anything she saw that could be a clue to where he shops and his whereabouts, etc. It took them an hour and as Angela started to cry of hunger the door opened and the sergeant invited the rest of the group in. Mrs. Sanders gave Angela to Anna, threw a baby blanket over her shoulder and Angela and helped her feed the baby while the sergeant told them that they would evaluate the information to see if there was anything they could use and explained how they would go through the photo album after Anna described Stephen to a crime artist who would hopefully draw a picture of Stephen to be distributed to the stations and cops around the city.

Half an hour later the police had a robot photo of Stephen and Anna was sitting in front of a computer and clicking on pictures of known criminals and perverts in the state. An hour later she started crying. She was mumbling that they would never be able to find him. Chris took her hand, made her look at him.

"Look, Anna. The picture you helped them draw is pretty good. Let them do their job. This is enough for you today. We'll come back another day to look at more photos if you want. Meanwhile Mrs. Sanders or I will always be with you and I promise you that I won't let him do any harm to you or the baby. You see, I am quite stubborn in keeping my promises."

She wiped her tears with her hands and thanked Chris but kept the frightened look on her face. Chris decided to take them to the park after all. It was a lovely day, the sun was shining and there was a slight wind. Thank god the temperature was suitable for a walk by the lake. It was a short and quiet one. Chris bought hamburgers for the group as they sat down on a bench. Angela was in her pram.

Mrs. Sanders related stories from her youth when walking in the park hand in hand with a boy was something revolutionary and could mean that you had to marry the boy in question. Chris laughed a lot at the antics but Anna was again back in her own world. Neither the merry sounds of the children running around nor the romantic couple sitting hand in hand by the lakeside caught her attention. Chris tried to draw her into their conversation a few times but gave up.

On the way back she said she wouldn't be able to help Mrs. Sanders with dinner and fell asleep in the car. She was still scared of being touched by a man and avoided Chris whenever she could but as she was sleeping Chris held her in his arms and carried her to the sitting room once again. This time as he put her down he kissed her forehead just like he used to kiss Angela. The smell of her shampoo reached him as he did. The little voice inside wished things were different.

After the cast on her leg was cut off, he wasn't needed to take her to her room each day. He was disappointed. He still wanted to see her and Angela, who was becoming prettier each day. After three weeks of agony, he had only stopped by for a few dinners and a weekend trip along the river to the northern side of the city where it was untouched by the modern construction monster.

Mrs. Sanders had expressed that she missed him but Anna didn't say a word. She had wanted to go back to the station for more photos but he didn't have spare time as the holiday was coming in a month and he had to finish all the kinds of bureucracy which was on his tail so Mrs. Sanders, who was still there to look after the baby and Anna for one third of what she normally would have earned on a similar job, had gone with her. That was what Anna paid her; she was getting another one third from Chris and some support for other expenses, too.

Meanwhile Chris and Sergeant Young had become closer friends. Mark introduced Chris to his group of friends who went out for drinks twice a week. Chris was accepted immediately and became a regular in their meetings.

Chris's parents came back from their long Europe journey in the middle of May. He didn't get a chance to explain about Anna and Angela before they were off to Africa this time. When he told them about Lisa, they said they were happy that he broke up with Lisa though. They had never liked her anyway. He moved his things to their place after the hotel. It was cheaper and easier to live in his parents' house. He didn't need to do house chores as the housekeeper was dropping by every other day. She was even leaving cooked meals for him. He had phoned Sergeant Young to ask if there was any information about Stephen but so far the police couldn't find anything.