Chapter Six

The doctor was looking over the results of Stacey Montgomery’s lab work and it wasn’t good. Flipping through a few more pages he came to the blood work. “Damn.” He said under his breath. Rubbing his chin and mouth he closed the folder and headed to room 326 where he had left Stacey and what he thought was her boyfriend.
As the doctor approached the door he could hear raised voices, two males that sounded identically alike, arguing with each other. “Admit it, you hated Nicholas from the moment you saw the results from your secret DNA test! You’d do anything to get rid of any blemishes that make you and Stacey look like anything but the perfect family.” The first man was angry but still being calm.
“Alright fine, you want me to say it, I will! It’s not like you’re going to rat me out, and even if you do or have proof there’s no way that the head council would ever cross me. I founded this corporation and there’s no way they’d go against me. But if it’ll settle your little pathetic brain to hear me say it then fine. I did it.” The second man laughed “I had that bastard son of his kidnapped from his own bed, and gave the culprit their own key so no one would know how it happened.”
The doctor was in shock. Something really serious and illegal was going on in that room, but regardless he needed to find the patient’s boyfriend or a family member to tell them what’s going on with the patient. Whatever was going on in the room either one of the men should be able to direct him to a family member. He opened the door and saw a short, darker man holding his fist close to a tall, lighter man’s face.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, gentleman. But I need to find this young woman’s boyfriend that was in here earlier.”
“That spic is not her man!” The short one dropped his arms from the tall one and obviously had a temper and could easily tell that he was the one who had committed the crime. “I’m her fiancé, tell me what’s going on.”
“Oh, well, my apologies sir.” The doctor walked farther into the room and looked at the poor beautiful woman in the bed. He felt for her, having to deal with a crazy man as a partner in life and not even knowing just how evil he is. “Well there’s no permanent damage. A few scrapes, a couple bruises, and three cracked ribs.” He flipped through some paperwork, “Now when she arrived her-, I mean the man that was in here earlier, said she was three or four months pregnant.”
Chad nodded. “That’s right, how’s the baby?” Chazz stared at his brother in total shock. “You got her pregnant only a couple months after she had Nicholas? Why would you do that?” Chad gave Chazz a look of annoyance and looked back at the doctor waiting for his reply.
“I’m sorry, sir, but she lost the baby. There was too much trauma to the fetus, and she just wasn’t far enough along for us to save it.” He exchanged looks between the two men, the tall one’s disgust was very apparent on his face, the short one seemed to have frozen in time. “I’m sorry sir, but your wife’s not pregnant anymore.” With that he turned and left the room closing the door behind him.
As the doctor walked quickly away in search for the policeman that was here a few moments ago he could hear the two men start to argue once more. ‘Dear Lord, where ever that child is, please let him be ok. That woman deserves her son, and she deserves to be away from that monster.’ After his prayer he spotted the officer talking with two young girls. “Excuse me officer!” He turned towards the doctor. “But I think there’s something I should tell you about a conversation I just heard coming from room 326.”

* * * * * *

All the way across town in Central Phoenix a woman was fixing food over the stove in a tiny studio apartment that only a crack head or meth addict would ever feel comfortable living in. As she stirred the sauce for her spaghetti she shuddered. “I can’t wait till I get my damn money so I can get out of this hell hole.” She turned off the stove and poured the sauce into a bowl. Carefully she drained the pasta and placed that in a bigger bowl. As she started to set the table for two, there was a knock on the door, she froze and waited.
“It’s me bitch, open the damn door it’s hotter than hell out here!” The male’s voice was loud and mean. “Ugh… Great, the devil made it.” She mumbled under her breath as she unlocked three different locks and unbolted the door. As she opened it he stormed in and pushed her out of the way. “Hello to you too, boss.” She checked to make sure no one was watching from outside and then shut the door relocking the locks and turning the dead bolt.
“What crap are we eating tonight?” Chad flopped on the little love seat and flung his feet on the coffee table. The woman walked over and picked his feet up off of the coffee table and dropped them to the ground. “Keep your dirty shoes off of my furniture.” She stated as she walked a few feet back to the ‘kitchen’ and opened a drawer grabbing two serving utensils and placing one in the spaghetti bowl and one in the sauce bowl. Just then the oven beeped and she took garlic bread from the oven and carefully placed each slice in a bread basket.
“Where’s the boy?” He asked unconcerned. It almost sickened her how much he didn’t care about anyone in his life. In a way she was thankful she got the job, because this way she knows that baby is taken care of and won’t starve or be mistreated. “He’s in his crib two feet in front of you. You can get him out and play with him if you want; he needs to wake up from his nap about now anyway.”
He laughed, “I don’t want anything to do with that dead beat’s kid. Besides, we need to skip straight to the end of this. Chazz knows I’m behind this, and some nosey doctor almost got me arrested today. I had to high tail it out of there before any of those low life’s heard that they were looking for me. Any one of those dumb mechanic drones and their trashy women would gladly sell me out.”
‘So would I.’ She thought. There were so many times she had Stacey’s number dialed and ready to push send but could never get up the nerve. What was she supposed to say? ‘Hi, I kidnapped your son, but I’m tired of this game and don’t want to get arrested, want him back now?’ Right like that was going to keep her from going to jail.
Just then Nicholas started to whine for his bottle and dinner. “Well seeing as how you want nothing to do with him, come eat while I feed him.” The lady walked to the crib and lifted the beautiful light brown baby with chubby cheeks and chocolate brown eyes from the baby bed. When Nicholas saw Chad sitting on the couch he smiled and laughed at him. For a split second it made him feel the undeniable guilt and weight of the situation, but just for a second till he realized how much the baby looked like Ricky.
“Damn that man. He ruined Stacey for me.” The woman paused to give him a look and continued making the baby boy his dinner. “You know if you’re really that unhappy, I don’t know why you’re marrying her.”
He rolled his eyes as he piled spaghetti on his plate and drowned it in sauce. “I loved her once, Samantha, till I found out that she lied about ‘our son’ truly being our son. I’m telling you, once I got those test results back saying Michael wasn’t my son I went on a witch hunt trying to find who was. But in reality it wasn’t hard to figure out or guess. After all she gave ‘my son’ that low life’s last name.”
Samantha slammed the bottle down on the countertop. “Stop talking about them like that. They aren’t low life’s they’re people just like you and me, and just like baby boy here.” She looked down at the baby in his high chair and as always he smiled at her and laughed. Samantha smiled, and thought about how she couldn’t wait to have her own kids one day, well, that was if she wouldn’t get thrown into prison for kidnapping.
“Listen, Sam, the people with the money make the rules. Right now, I have the money, once you get yours then you can make your own rules.” He shoved a huge bite of spaghetti right into his mouth and didn’t even have manner enough to eat like a gentleman at her table, but instead ate like a pig who hadn’t eaten in two whole days.
“If this thing is almost over, then I’ll have my money soon enough.”

* * * * * *

Stacey opened her eyes and squinted at the brightness around her. Everything was silent for a few moments till she heard a man’s voice coming from another room. Slowly she sat up and looked around. ‘Where am I?’ she wondered.
As she scanned across the room it reminded her of something from the country. The bed was roomy but not huge, with a beautiful quilted blanket draped over her. The floor was hardwood, it seemed to be a mahogany or something similarly dark. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness and moved to the armoire across from her bed next to a matching dresser, both made of beautiful birch wood. There was a vintage vanity to her left and a small nightstand with a few books to her right.
Stacey threw off her quilt and padded to the window. She drew in a breath of surprise when she looked out of the paned window. What she was rolling green hills with fields of flowers sprinkled around as far as she could see. Through the middle of it all was a crystal clear river that stopped into a small lake close to the house.
She didn’t see a soul, no fences, no sign of civilization, nothing but beautiful landscape, clear blue sky with bright white clouds and a beaming sun that seemed nearly white.
Once again she heard a man’s muffled voice. Soft and gentle and she couldn’t help but feel at ease. Slowly she turned from the window and walked towards the door. Reaching out her hand she touched the knob but pulled her hand back, nervous to see what was on the other side. She had no clue where she was or how long she’d been here or who was taking care of her. But yet she felt like she was home, the sadness that she had been feeling for over a week had completely disappeared. She remembered Nicholas, loved him dearly, but somehow just knew she didn’t need to worry.
Finally she reached out and turned the knob. The door opened and she found herself in a quaint little hallway with two other doors off either side of the hallway and it wrapped around to the right in front of her. Step by step she walked to the end of the hall. She realized as she walked that she was wearing a beautiful white islet lace dress. It was a halter dress and had a silky smooth white sash just under her breast line and tied in the back.
Barefoot she stepped down the single step into a small living room that was definitely decorated country living style. Simple but beautiful all at once. There was a single sofa in front of her facing to her left towards a wonderfully made brick fire place. And there, sitting in the middle of the sofa sipping from a coffee mug and reading a newspaper, was the man she kept hearing.
“Excuse me?” The man slightly tilted his left ear in her direction as if waiting for her to say something else. “Um. I don’t mean to be rude, but who are you and where am I?” The man folded up his paper and set down his coffee cup on the small wooden table in front of him.
“Are you thirsty, Stacey? You’ve been resting for quite a while now.” The man began to walk towards the open kitchen about ten feet away. Took the kettle off of the stove and poured a black liquid into another mug, picked up a clear jar holding a white liquid assumable to be milk and scooped three spoonfuls of sugar from a tin next to the stove and stirred it for her. The entire time facing most of his back to her.
“Uh, a little, I suppose. How do you know how I like my coffee?” She walked toward the sofa and sat on the end closest to her waiting for the man to turn around. He seemed so familiar and so kind. Who was this mystery Samaritan?
As the man turned she finally got a good look at his face. It was older and well worn, a man that seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders but somehow found a way to keep laughing and enjoying his surroundings. His eyes were a beautiful blue and his hair was starting to turn grey from the deep brown it used to be. His hands seemed to be hands of a hard worker as if he’d worked all his life and had given his all every day he worked. He was a very sweet old man from what it seemed. But she had never seen him before.
The man handed her the mug full of coffee and said, “I know a lot more about you than you think Stacey. I’ve watched you grow from the moment you were created, and knew you before you were even thought of on earth.”
She stopped mid-sip of her steamy drink and stared at him. ‘Is he serious?’ She thought. ‘He doesn’t look like a crazy killer. And I sure don’t feel scared. But he can’t really be who he’s saying he is… can he?’
“I know it’s a lot to take in, but we are long over due for a heart to heart. You never spend any time with me anymore.” He leaned over and lifted his cup from the table and took a couple sips before setting it back down and turning towards her. “Stacey, this place, is a part of heaven. And I, as you have gathered correctly, am God.” He stopped and waited for her reaction.
Stacey stared down into her tan colored delicious smelling coffee. ‘I must be dreaming; this can’t be real… Unless-’ “Am I dead?” she asked as she looked up at this elderly man with a new fear in her eyes.
He simply smiled at her. “No, my dear, you’re simply in a coma. You took quite the fall and are in Banner Estrella’s ICU. I decided to use this opportunity to have a talk with you that is much anticipated by me, and much needed for you.”
Inch by inch she lowered her coffee till her arms rested on her knees as both of her hands cradled the mug holding the warm liquid she couldn’t seem to drink anymore. He reached over and rested the palm of his hand on her wrist. “Don’t be afraid, you’re not crazy, this is really happening Stacey.”
She looked into his eyes, and almost like a movie was playing on the screen she could see everything that he had endured for mankind. “So I’m in a coma?”
“Yes.” He answered removing his hand from her wrist allowing her to set her coffee down on the table in front of her.
“Well, what do we need to talk about… God? Is that what I call you, or should I call you something else?” She smiled sheepishly. “I’ve never talked to you before and I’m not sure.” She slightly shrugged her shoulders.
He let out a quiet laugh. “Call me Father, it’s more personal.”
“Well, um, Father…” she giggled to herself feeling a bit foolish for being so nervous. “What would you like to talk with me about?”
“The evil you keep over looking in your life.”

* * * * * *

Once again the doctor was searching for the short man that was unfortunately Stacey Montgomery’s future husband. ‘That poor lovely woman, how could she not see what kind of man he really was?’ He sighed and once more walked through the door of room 326. This time it wasn’t the two arguing men he came upon but the nice young man he had originally thought was the patient’s boyfriend to begin with. His fingers were entwined with hers and his other hand rested on the back of her hand he was holding. His forehead was on top of all three hands and the doctor could hear that he was praying and sobbing at the same time.
“God, please,” Ricky prayed. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’m begging you to take me instead of her. She’s a good woman, and needs to be here for our son when he finally shows up. I know he will. I can feel it. Please, God, please. She needs to be here. If not for me, then definitely for our son and her friends. They’d all be lost with out her here to be with them and care for them… Please… Please…” He became silent and his breathing was steady as if he had fallen asleep.
The doctor cleared his throat and Ricky raised his head and almost jumped from his chair when he saw it was the doctor. “Doc, how is she? Please tell me she’s going to be okay?”
“Well, I, uh…” This man obviously cared so much more about her than her actual fiancé. Something just didn’t seem right in this twisted triangle. “Legally I’m not supposed to discuss important matters with anyone other than family…” He explained gently, but he could tell he might as well have taken a scalpel and carved that young man’s heart right out of his chest and that would have been less painful than him hearing the sentence that the doctor had just said.
“Oh…” Ricky tried to keep it together. “I understand, it’s ok, really…” He sat back down and placed his hands in the same position they were a few moments ago and simply stared at her with obvious love in his eyes.
The doctor just couldn’t take it. “She’s slipping into a coma, son. I’m so sorry.” Ricky looked to the doctor and then looked back at Stacey and gave the top of her hand a few kisses. “Is there anything that can be done, doc?” He turned to the doctor with hope written on his face.
“Pray.” He simply stated and turned from the room.