Chapter 82

I

Almost as soon as Stefanie called Nico’s attention to the sergeant’s nameplate, Nico’s phone rang.

Stefanie answered Nico’s phone as Nico herself was still in shock over what her grandmother pointed out to her.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Nonna, it’s Chris; is Nico nearby?” asked her grandson from Washington, DC.

“Why, yes, Christopher, she is,” Stefanie said.

“Did you watch the coverage of Jacob Ross’ funeral today?”

“I just watched part of it with Nico,” Stefanie said; “Are you calling about the Army sergeant?”

“Yes, Nonna,” Chris replied; “It’s Bethie, I know it is!”

“I think your sister is coming to that realization.” Stefanie then handed the phone to Nico, saying, “It’s Chris.”

Nico gathered her thoughts together and took the phone from Stefanie; she then said to her brother, “Chris... that was Bethanie, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, Nico, it think it is,” Chris said; “Brittyn just called me and started talking about  how that woman looks just like her and Bethanie. She then asked me if I thought it was Beth. And unless I’m dead wrong, Nico, that woman is our sister.”

“Then why take a new name, why join the Army, why keep all this from all of us for all these years?” Nico asked. “Her ex is dead and has been for years. Bethie has nothing or no one to hide from now.”

“Only she can answer that,” said Chris; “look, I have to go. My phone is ringing off the hook here in the office. Caller ID says it’s Dannie. So she knows, too!”

“Go talk to your twin, Chris,” Nico said; “and I’ll deal with things from here. We have to find out if this Sgt. Travis is our sister.”

“Brittyn is going to try and contact her through her father in law,” Chris said; “I’ve got to go.”

Chris then ended the call before Nico could say goodbye.

Stefanie looked at her, then said, “Well, Nicoletta? What did Christopher tell you?”

“That he is sure that the Sergeant is Bethanie, and that Dannie was calling him as we were speaking. So most of us have seen who we think is Bethanie. Only Kaycee hasn’t chimed in.”

“Kaycee is in Japan, Nico,” Stefanie said; “It may have not been shown there.”

“True,” Nico said; “What a way to find out that Bethanie is still alive! She’s been someone else for damn near fourteen years!”

“If this is Bethanie,” Stefanie said; “She could just have the misfortune to look like her.”

“Nonna, please don’t take offense, but her fucking identical twin sister would know, wouldn’t she?” Nico exclaimed.

Stefanie sighed. She’d convinced herself that her long missing granddaughter was dead. It was the only thing that made sense. Bethanie hadn’t contacted anyone in the family in nearly fourteen years. And why use the name “Travis” if she was trying to hide from even us? she asked herself. We all knew of her relationship with Todd. We all approved of him. We all wish she had married him instead of that piece of merde she did marry.

For one of the few times in her long life, Stefanie Travetti was speechless.

===

II

The doctor came in to see Christine as Maj. Jennings had predicted. Christine knew this doctor well. He was a jerkoff of the first order. She knew she wouldn’t like anything he had to tell her.

Dr. Kenneth McCann got straight to the point.

“Sgt. Travis, how long have you known about your pregnancy?”

“I’m not pregnant, Doctor,” Christine said.

McCann looked at his patient, certain in his mind she was lying. “That is not what your tests indicate, Sgt. Travis. You are approximately thirteen weeks into it. How could you not know?”

“I know my body, Doctor,” Christine said; “Not that it’s any of your business, but I have had no cessation of my cycles. Are you certain your test results are for me, and not for someone else?”

“You are Sergeant Christine Mary Travis, born 11 September, 2001, are you not?” McCann said nastily.

“I am, Doctor,” Christine said, “and if you remember your gynecology well enough, in order to have a positive pregnancy test, hormone levels have to be at a certain point. Since I didn’t experience cessation of my cycles, I could reasonably assume I was not pregnant.”

“When was your last menstrual cycle?”

“September 12th,” Christine said; “And I can say that with certainty because it was the day after my birthday, which you have established as September eleventh. All I can do is request a repeat of the test.”

“You’re pregnant, Sergeant,” McCann said; “Just admit it. Next question is, since it’s known you have not been actively dating anyone, who is the father?”

“I do date, and I’m not celibate, but whom is really none of your business,” said Christine hotly. “If I am pregnant, then I will inform the probable father.”

“If the ‘probable father’ is a fellow servicemember, and since fraternization is not allowed here, then you realize that I could recommend you for court martial?” asked McCann, not caring if Sgt. Travis got upset.

Before Christine could get over her shock at the threat of a court martial, she heard Maj. Jennings say,

“All right, Dr. McCann, that is quite enough! That threat was uncalled for!”

McCann turned around to see the Major in the doorway.

“Major, I assure you that this enlisted woman could be if the father of her child is one of her superiors,” McCann said.

“Repeat the test as Sgt. Travis requests,” Jennings said. “That’s an order, Captain!”

“Yes, ma’am,” McCann gulped visibly.

That made Christine feel a little better, but not much.

After McCann left, Jennings remained behind.

“Sergeant, I’m sorry for that,” she said; “I had no idea he was going to give you the third degree about something so personal.”

“But, a court martial? I’ve done nothing wrong,” Christine said, allowing her emotions to get to her. “If the second test comes back positive, I can’t tell the father.”

Jennings looked at her. “Why not, Sergeant?”

“He’s deceased,” Christine said.

“Christine,” Jennings said, “is the father of this child who I think it is?”

“Yes, Jen,” Christine said, tears streaming down her face; “If I am pregnant, Jacob Ross is the father.”

Christine then turned away. It can’t be true, she thought. It just can’t be true.

Major Jennifer Jennings saw Christine’s body heave in great sobs. Poor girl, she thought; she’s been through so much. She finally finds someone to love and he dies. Now she could be carrying his child.

“Christine, it’s okay,” Jennings said, placing her hand on Christine’s arm; “Let it all out. I’ll be here if  you need me.”

===

There was a knock at Matt and Lisa’s hotel room door. Matt looked through the peephole and saw his parents on the other side.

“Who is it, Matt?” asked Lisa.

“My folks, Lis,” he said; “I wonder what they want.”

“Well open the door, silly, and find out,” Lisa said.

So Matt opened the door, and there stood his parents.

“Matthias,” KateLynn said, “May we come in?”

“Yeah,” Matt said, wondering briefly if they were going to give him and Lisa a lecture or something.

Once inside, Nik said, “Matt, you and I are going to a sandwich place Aunt Natasha recommends, while your mom stays here with Lisa.”

“What if I don’t want to go?” asked Matt.

Nik sighed, then said, “Look, kid, I’m not going to jump down your throat again if that’s what you’re afraid of. I haven’t seen you since your aunt’s wedding, and before that, last Christmas. I can’t spend time with my oldest son?”

“Well, yeah, Dad,” Matt said; “but why?”

“Because you’re my son?” Nik asked, wondering why Matt had such a suspicious mind.

“Just go, Matt,” Lisa said. “It’ll give me and your mom a chance to chat.”

Matt looked at Lisa, then said to Nik, “Okay, Dad, you win. Where is this great sandwich place? Is this the one Sandy and Danica talk about a lot?”

“Bagels and Brownies, or Baguettes and Brownies... something like that,” Nik said; “Anyway, Aunt Tash recommends it highly. Shit, boy, I’ll even treat!”

“I’ll pay for my own, thanks, Dad.”

“Oh, no,” said Nik. “You have to save your money for that little girl you have coming. Because from the moment you hold her for the first time, you’d sell your soul to make sure that little angel has everything she needs.”

“Did Sandy make you feel that way?” asked Matt as he blew Lisa a kiss and walked out the door with Nik.

“Sure did,” Nik said; “And because she came earlier than expected, I would have moved heaven, earth AND hell to make sure she was going to be okay.”

“And having us boys did...?” asked Matt.

“I had three heirs apparent, so at least my branch of the family tree would be assured for the next generation,” said Nik as they approached the car.

“Hell, Dad,” Matt said; “you’re the fucking trunk of the family tree!”

“No, son, that honor goes to the man who adopted me at age five and gave me his name to carry on,” Nik said.

The man who speaks to his namesake grandson in times of stress, Nik thought.

===

III

Lisa and KateLynn just sat and looked at each other for a moment longer than Lisa was comfortable with. Say something, KateLynn, Lisa thought; Anything!

This girl is carrying my first grandchild? KateLynn thought; My son is old enough to procreate? When the hell did this happen?

KateLynn broke the silence; “How have you been feeling, Lisa?” she asked; “Matt mentioned something about you being on partial bed rest.”

“From what my father tells me, my mother was prone to have gestational diabetes, so my doctor thinks that I should rest as much as I can,” Lisa said; “Obviously, I had to get his okay to attend my Great Uncle Jacob’s funeral. That’s why I’m here in bed and Matt and I aren’t taking in the sights.”

“Rest is good for you if you need it,” KateLynn said; “I do a lot of work with high risk Ob/Gyn patients, having been one myself. If premature birth can be avoided, your doctor is right to make sure you rest. I’m sure that was hard going to school.”

“It was,” Lisa said; “I almost withdrew from classes at Spring Break because of it. Fortunately, my profs were understanding and allowed me to do a lot of my class work online and via teleconferencing. I just missed making the dean’s list, but if a healthy baby is the result of taking it easy, then I can make that up in no time.”

“That’s good, because I know you’re a smart girl,” said KateLynn; “Not to change the subject, but do you have names picked out for the baby?”

“We were actually discussing this very thing on the way to the cemetery,” Lisa said, laughing; “I wanted to name her after my mother’s birthname, which was Carleen, but Matt didn’t like it. We saw the name Karina in a newspaper article, and we both liked that. We decided on Karina Kiera.”

“I think Nik will approve, not that we have any say in what her name is,” KateLynn said; “He was quite close to both his adoptive parents. Kiera is Sandy’s middle name.”

“I know,” Lisa said.

KateLynn and Lisa talked until Nik and Matt returned from their trip to the sandwich shop. Matt brought Lisa something to eat, and his parents took their cue and left them alone. Once in their own room in the same hotel, Nik said,

“Sometimes, I’m a real ass.”

“Why do you say that?” asked KateLynn.

“Because I jumped down my adult son’s throat about this business about our becoming grandparents,” he said; “I honestly thought I’d handle this much better than I did.”

“You’ve always had that hot button when it comes to the kids, Nik,” said KateLynn. “You just have to face it: they’re all growing up and finding partners of their own. Soon we’ll find out if what we’ve been teaching them all their lives actually stick with them.”

“Katie, when did we get old enough to become grandparents?” Nik asked his wife.

KateLynn smiled, saying, “When we weren’t looking.”

===

IV

There were two antsy nine year old girls and a eleven year old boy who was bored with their antics. Having to wait at the airport to board their flight back to Chicago wasn’t helping.

“Why aren’t Mom and Uncle Jere coming with us?” asked Rachel.

“They have business to take care of, Rach,” Miri said. “They’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Why can’t we stay, then?” this from Aaliyah. “It’s not like we have school to get back to. It’s the weekend.”

“That’s enough, Aaliyah,” Jasmine said; “You have lessons on the weekend, too, do you not?”

“Yes, ma’am, we do, but what are we going to learn by going to a funeral?”

“They’re being stupid, Aunt Jas,” Zach said; “I can’t wait to get out of here. No one else can die this year. I absolutely forbid it. I’m tired of going to funerals.”

“Zachary, enough,” Julia said; “Dying is a part of life. You’ll go home with Aunt Jasmine and you’ll behave yourselves until I come home tomorrow.”

“Even Miri?” asked Jaime.

“Yes, even me,” Miri said.

John Crossley looked on this scene with a small smile. This is what I want, he thought; a large family with aunts and uncles and cousins. With Miri. As soon as Julia says it’s okay.

“Penny for your thoughts, John?” Miri then asked, interrupting his thoughts.

“Just how you all get along and you know just how far to push each other,” John said; “I want a family like that someday.”

“You want lots of kids?”

“Yes,” John said; “lots of both boys and girls.”

“Really?!” Miri asked, wondering if John had read her mind.

John took her hand and said, “Yes, I really do. And you know something else?”

“What’s that?”

Leaning in close so none of her family could hear him, he said to Miri, “I’d like to have that family with you, Miri.”

“Are you proposing, John Aaron Crossley?” she asked. She was stunned.

“No, Miri, I’m not,” John said; “I’ll ask for permission to marry you first. For future reference, who would that be? One of your uncles? Your mom? Your grandfather?”

“I-I really don’t know, John,” Miri said; “Uncle Nik, I guess.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” John said; “I think they’ve just called our flight, honey.”

He called me ‘honey’, Miri thought. The smile on her face made John happy.

As they got up and went through the gate to get screened, and after Julia had said her goodbyes to everyone, she looked one last time at her oldest child and her friend, thinking, something’s happened between them. An understanding.

Which left Julia remembering the first time Ryan told her he loved her. She was about Miri’s age then.

Julia just stood there, not really seeing the scene in front of her, but trying very hard not to cry. My little girl is growing up, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it, she thought as the first tears fell.

===

V

The next morning, the pregnancy test Christine asked for was repeated.

It had the same result: positive.

How could I not know? Christine asked herself. Thirteen weeks. That means that I conceived in July. What am I going to do? How do I explain this to anyone?

Why must you explain, my darling Christine? she heard in the back of her head. This is my gift to you, my love. Proof that our love was real.

Christine shook her head. I’m hearing things, she thought. I can’t tell anyone that Jacob is the father! Who would believe me besides Jen?

“You believe me now, Sgt. Travis?” McCann said. “The next question is, who is the father of this child?”

“That’s none of your damn business, Doctor!” Christine exclaimed; “I keep my private life private.”

“Only if you have something to hide, Sergeant,” said McCann; “You will tell someone who this child’s father is, or you can do it in front of Courts Martial Board. Your choice.”

“Get out!” Christine said; “Get the hell out of my room!”

“Tut, tut, Sergeant,” McCann said as he prepared to take his leave; “Yelling at an officer doesn’t win you any brownie points, I’m afraid. Good day, Sgt. Travis.”

Christine actually heard McCann chuckle as he left her room and went down the corridor.

“Prick,” she said under her breath.

I guess I better invest in some maternity uniforms, Christine said to herself. God, this is going to be ridiculous!

Then she remembered that awful time when she was nineteen, the last time she was pregnant. The beating she got that made her lose that child.

I know advanced maternal age increases the risks of certain birth defects, Christine thought; I’ve missed my entire first trimester! I hope it’s not too late to catch anything major before it develops too far.

Jacob, I’m scared. I’m scared to do this without you! Christine thought.

She then realized she never told Jacob she loved him and she started to cry. As she started to fall asleep, she heard, I’ll be right here for you, Christine. For you and our little girl.

It’s a girl? Christine asked.

===

“Funeral was boring. Miss G-pa already. Bk on campus Sun. nite. John staying @ mil base nearby. Mom gave permissn for him to date me while he’s here. I’m freakn now!”

Wow, thought Kelly as she read Miri’s text message; this thing is serious!

“Wow, Mir, that’s cool! Can’t w8 to see ya! Fall brk plans r a GO! We lv Wed 10/17. Grandfather bought plane tix! He n Krysta realy want us there! Says they got plans 4 us LOL. Can’t w8 4 u to meet my lil half sisters! C u Sun!” was her reply.

Kelly’s phone beeped again with Miri’s reply:

“Awesome! Can’t w8 either! Just got bk to Chi-twn last night. Mom due home anytime. At airport. Fun times. NOT! My baby sister is drving me cra-zee! Thinks she’s chaperone or sumthn LOL! C-ya!”

Kelly laughed. I wonder if Lili is like that sometimes; watching out for her older sisters. Probably not.

I hope Kathryn’s okay, she thought; that flu she had really wore her down.

Kelly, and Miri, would soon find out it wasn’t the flu that was Kathryn Hope’s problem.

It would be Chastity, and she would pit herself, and Kathryn, against her own father. Only intervention by Kelly and her roommate would keep Kathryn alive.

Chastity wouldn’t be so lucky.

===