Summer instructed, “Give me your hand!”
Anthony nodded and obediently did so. A sweet encased in a shiny wrapper dropped into his outstretched palm.
I laughed in spite of myself. Children often derived joy from the most curious things.
Anthony swept her up in his hands and carried her over to the sofa. Patiently, he asked, “Why did you suddenly want to give me a sweet?”
Summer thought about this for a while, then proclaimed, “This isn’t any old sweet! My friend Dottie from school said that her uncle gave it to her aunt when they got married. It’s a lucky sweet! If you eat it, you can marry Mommy. Then I’ll have a Daddy as well.”
I’d originally been heading towards the kitchen. My ears pricked up at her last sentence and halted immediately, turning to look at the two of them.
Their happiness made a lovely picture.
Anthony held the sweet tightly in his hand. He looked at Summer and me in turn, his gaze unfathomable.
Then he turned to Summer and said firmly, “OK!”
I refused to give it more thought. I walked into the kitchen, my emotions in tumult.
Four years ago, I had indeed signed the divorce agreement. However, I left the papers behind before leaving.
Anthony insisted that he’d never even signed them, but that didn’t matter to me.
Wherever I went, wherever I turned, there he was. Nothing else mattered.
…
It was nighttime, and I’d gone to bed early. The shrill sound of my phone ringing, however, pierced through the fog of sleep. I awoke blearily to see that Anthony had already answered the call.
He was clutching some documents in his hand and seemed to have just emerged from the study.
When he saw that I was awake, he thrust the phone towards me, mouthing, “It’s Hannah!”
I hesitated, glancing at the clock. It was already midnight. I took over the phone.
Before I could speak, Hannah was panting heavily over the phone. She gasped, “Sienna, my stomach hurts like crazy! Can you come over? I think I’m going into labor.”
Alarm bells went off in my head. I sprang up from the bed, nearly tumbling off it in my frenzy.
Alert, Anthony caught me in his arms before I fell. “Be careful!” he admonished.
I nodded and took a deep breath. Having calmed down slightly, I asked Hannah, “Where are you now? Send me your address, and I’ll come over right away.”
“OK!’
After we’d ended the call, I found Anthony looking at me anxiously. “What’s going on?”
“I think Hannah’s going into labor. There’s no one with her right now, so I’m going over,” I said, already making a beeline to my wardrobe to change.
When I had finished, I saw Anthony waiting for me at the door with his car keys in hand.
I was startled but had no time to question him. We immediately got into the car and headed off towards the address Hannah had given.
On the way, I began dialing John. None of my calls were successful.
“Why isn’t John picking up?” I fretted.
Anthony continued driving, his eyes fixed serenely on the road. “Don’t get all flustered yet.”
I knew that I had to compose myself but couldn’t keep my hands from shaking. Hannah’s baby was only seven or eight months old. How can she suddenly be going into labor? Something must have gone wrong.
It was precisely at this crucial moment that John had chosen to go missing.
I considered briefly and decided to give Louis a call. It was quiet on his end of the line. Louis’ rich voice came through clearly. “Sienna, what’s up?”
“Uncle Louis, where’s John? I think Hannah’s going into labor now. Can you reach him?” I asked hurriedly.
Louis paused, then said, “I’ll look into it. How’s Hannah doing?”
I shook my head instinctively, then replied, “I’m still on my way over to her. I don’t know yet.”
“All right. Don’t fret, my dear. Let me worry about getting in touch with John. Focus on getting Hannah to the hospital as soon as you can. Don’t worry!” Louis said comfortingly.
I nodded. Anthony was speeding rather wildly down the roads. He wrinkled his brow as if he was ponding over something.
“What’s wrong?” I prompted.
“It says here that Hannah’s location is in the alley. My car won’t be able to enter. I’ll have to go down to take a look,” he said, immediately parking the car. He swung his legs out and headed straight towards the alley.
When we finally found Hannah, she was lying in the yard with a puddle of blood forming beneath her. She looked rather dazed and on the verge of passing out.
When Hannah saw us, she heaved a sigh of relief. Then she fainted dead away without saying a word.
Upon our arrival at the hospital, Hannah was quickly wheeled into the ER. It was only then that I let out the breath I’d been holding ever since the call came.
I turned back to look at Anthony, only to see streaks of blood all over his body. His hands seemed dipped in red.
When he saw my look of horror, he glanced down at his dreadful state. He then commented ruefully, “I’m fine! I’ll go back and take a shower soon.”
My legs were trembling slightly from the shock, and I crumpled onto a chair along the hallway. I quickly clung to Anthony once I’d partially recovered my wits.
The terror from the last time I experienced a miscarriage washed over me like a flood, leaving me floundering.
Anthony embraced me, consoling, “Don’t worry, nothing bad is going to happen.”
After the fear had subsided, I remembered my original mission. I took out my phone and called John again. It rang for ages before someone picked up.
It was a woman’s voice, however, that answered. “Hello, Mr. Stanhope is currently in the shower. Please call him again later.”
Yvonne? The voice sounded incredibly familiar.
“Get John on the line,” I replied coolly.
There was silence on the other end for a while. “Are you Ms. Stanhope?”
I was immensely annoyed, and my voice hardened. “Get John on the line,” I repeated.
Yvonne seemed to have discerned my displeasure. She stuttered, “Ms. Stanhope, Mr. Stanhope’s really in the shower right now. I’ll be sure to get him to call you back. Is that OK?”
I refused to dignify her with a response. I flung the phone away from me without even hanging up.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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