North on I-35 [Go to the Index of Writers]
Eighth section by Gloria Oren
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Plans were still on track as they headed to Amber's sister's place even
though Amber was quite anxious about it. Amber had always described her sister,
Jade, as somewhat flaky. Jade never sat down for a sisterly talk with Amber
so Amber never really got to know her well. Oh, sure, there were the usual
sibling rivalries when they were younger, but as they grew up things changed.
Jade went off to college and fell in with a bad crowd. She kept this hidden
from her family. Then she met this guy whom she loved at first sight. He
was a tall, friendly guy with a Texas accent. He claimed to be a doctor in
search of a hospital to do his residency with and seemed to take an interest
in her. Jade started dating him and before long they married in a civil ceremony.
A year later their daughter, Dream. was born. Amber and her family knew only
that Jade had given birth to a baby girl but not that she had married nor
to whom.
One day he came home, bursting in the door "Why didn't you tell me Amber was your sister!" he shouted. "Why should I have told you?" Jade said. "I didn't even tell my family I was married." "You good for nothing," he yelled and left. Two days later Jade was served the divorce papers. For the sake of their daughter Jade still invited him to her birthday parties, and other events which her daughter took part in. *** Amber, Jason and April arrived at Jade's place two days before Dream's birthday. Jade took them in and made them feel welcome. April and Dream hit it off right from the start and went off to play. "Can we sit down and talk over a cup of tea?" asked Amber. "Sure. I'll get the kettle going and we can sit in the kitchen and talk," said Jade. "Jade, we came here today for a reason. I don't know where else to go. Jason was almost killed today at the hospital. April saved his life by intercepting the bullet in her palm. It didn't hurt her and she was so proud of the courageous deed she had done. Can we stay with you for a while?" Amber began. "No problem. But who tried to shoot our sweet Jason?" Jade asked. "Some blond guy who was involved with the ring Jason delivered for. I think they got scared he might talk to the authorities and wanted to get rid of him before he had the chance. Hearing of his accident -- the hospital sounded like a good place to get him," explained Amber. "Have you ever seen him before? " asked Jade. "Yes," said Jason, "He was at the meeting when Amber and I went to propose our suggestion to the ring leader. He wasn't blonde at the time. But further thinking about what had happened in the hospital during our drive here I recalled that he looked and sounded very much like the doctor that was working on Amber and April when she was born." "A doctor? Worked on Amber and April?" repeated Jade in shock. "Could it be?" she thought about her first husband "Was that why he was so irate that day that he left her and Dream and took off?" "What is it?" Amber asked her sister when Jade seemed to be drifting from the conversation. "Oh, nothing," she said, "I'm okay." *** The day of Dream's birthday arrived and they all were preparing things for the party. Then it happened. The doorbell rang and Jade went to get it. As soon as they heard the voice of the man at the door Amber, Jason and April knew they had to get out at once. They escaped through the back door and took off as fast as they possibly could. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Jason asked Amber. "Perhaps. Are you thinking - what is a guy like Burnette doing at Jade's house on the day of Dream's birthday? Could it be? Was he possibly Dream's father?" asked Amber. "Mommy, when will I get my clothes and toys?" piped April from the back seat. "We''ll go back someday, but for now we will find a safe place to stay and we'll get you new clothes and toys," Amber told her. "Why don't you try to get some sleep, honey, we have a long ride ahead of us and Daddy and I need to talk. "Wouldn't you and your family had known if Jade was married?" asked Jason. "Knowing Jade, that would be totally possible. She was always secretive. She never spoke much about herself to the family. Let's drive east and go as far as we can get and then we'll decide the best way to confront her with this issue," said Amber. "How about Key West?" asked Jason. "Sounds good to me," said Amber. |
This is part 8 of a story
written by a 'committee' - writers from the Writing Workshop.
It will be gradually added to as each new section appears.
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