Where the Sun Sets (17 page)

“Thanks, but I am going to head over to the
spot where the house stood. Perhaps there is a clue there.”

“What if there isn’t? What if what you’re
looking for is up there with her?”

Harold looked up at the ceiling. He tapped
Chester in the chest with the rolled up paperwork. “Thanks Chester,
I appreciate your time and help. I will call you if I think of
anything else.” With that Harold excused himself. It was a long
walk from the main office to where his car was parked. Chester
followed him with his eyes until he was inside his car and pulling
away. Then Chester turned to walk back to the records room, where
he retrieved the finger football that lay abandoned in the corner
of webs.

Chapter 17

Josephine picked up her cell phone as she
pulled out of the hospital parking lot. The sun was peeking through
the clouds just enough to squeeze a squint from her eyes. A sharp
pain shot across her forehead. She didn’t need to see to dial the
number she needed. Speed dial number five connected her to Chloe.
The phone rang three times before it was answered. “Hello Ms.
Ferrero, how is she?”

“Anthony? Anthony is a tough cookie, she’ll
be just fine.” Oh how she really wanted to believe this. “Listen
Chloe I need to find a Doctor Carides, any idea where I might
look?”

“Yea, Carides, he’s Antonia’s Doctor,
right?”

Josephine had forgotten how annoyed she was
that everyone seemed to know about Anthony’s business, everyone
except her. She tried to keep her temper in check as she responded,
but the pain in her head seemed to expand and she held her teeth
tight in an attempt to control it. “Chloe, I need to know where to
find this Doctor, I need to know now!”

“Sure, sure, I’m sorry, let me run and grab
Antonia’s appointment card off the fridge. The phone number should
be on it, just a sec.” Josephine heard the phone being placed on
the table. ‘It’s a cell phone.’ she thought to herself, ‘why would
she put it down?

“Ms. Ferrero, are you still there? Hello?”
Josephine had been staring into the receiver without realizing
it.

“Yes, Chloe, I’m still here and still waiting
I might add, what the hell did you put the phone down for?”

“Well, I had...”

“Not now Chloe, the number dammit, give me
the number.”

Josephine wrote the number down and dialed
the phone again while driving down the main highway through town.
It wasn’t for another two miles before she realized she had no clue
as to where she was headed. She pulled the Benz to the side of the
road as the receptionist at Carides office picked up.

“Dr. Carides office, how may I help you?”

“Yes, hello, this is Josephine Ferrero, is
Dr. Carides available?”

“He is with patients at the moment, would you
like to hold or would you prefer to call back this afternoon?”

“No, what I would really like,” She halts
herself and calms her tone. “What I need to know right now is where
you are located.”

“Sure, we are located three blocks North of
St. Bartholomew’s. Do you know where the hospital is?” Josephine
stares at the receiver incredulously.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No ma’am, why would I joke about that? Three
blocks to the left. In the pavilions, Suite 308 B. Would you like
to make an app...” Josephine stabbed at the disconnect button with
her thumb and proceeded to throw the cell phone to the floor of the
Benz on the passenger side. Where the hell did she think she was
driving to anyway? She smacked the steering wheel with both hands
and threw her head back against the seat in disgust. Bringing her
left elbow up to the windows edge she ran her fingers through her
hair and looked out into traffic. Squinting from the sun, she
chased a sharp pain across her head.

The sound of a big rig’s horn honking drew
her attention to the far side of the road. Two, twenty-something
men were arguing over what looked like a fender bender. One of the
men, Josephine noticed, was wearing a “Rocky” T-shirt. ‘Boy was
that ages ago.’ Josephine thought to herself.

A breeze blew through the open window of the
Benz and she closed her eyes to enjoy the feel against her
face.

-------------------------------------------------------------

“Well, are ya coming or what?”

“No way dude, you’re on your own.”

“He won’t ask her, he ain’t got no balls”

“Yea? Just sit back and watch and I’ll show
you just what these here balls are for.” Grabbing his crotch, the
older of the four boys strutted his stuff over to where Josephine
and Antonia were window shopping. The girls had to get special
permission to go out to the mall to shop for Christmas. While they
were there, they couldn’t help but be attracted to the windows full
of the latest fashions. Antonia noticed the boy heading their way
from the reflection in the window. Immediately her guard went up
and she tried in vain to get Josephine to move away from the store
front.

“Come on Joe, we should really get busy or we
will end up going back empty handed.”

“I have to try it on Ant, come on, let’s go
inside for just a minute.”

“I don’t think it’s such a good idea.”
Antonia felt the boy standing behind her. She grabbed at
Josephine’s arm to pull her away. “Joe, please let’s get...”

“I think you should try it on.” Josephine
turned her head quickly at the strange voice. She smiled up at his
charming face and blushed.

“Really? You think I should? See Ant, he
thinks I should try it on.”

“I think you should, I would like to see you
in it, if you wouldn’t mind.” Josephine gave Antonia a back off
glance.

The boy let his index finger run through
Josephine’s hair.

“Hey, aren’t you the girl in that movie, what
was it called?”

“Yea, that’s me, how did you know?”

“Are you kidding me? A girl like you stands
out in a guy’s memory.” Antonia rolled her eyes and started to walk
away. She believed Josephine was going to follow her, but instead
Josephine walked off in the opposite direction, hopelessly lost in
conversation with the boy. Building her up with compliments, the
boy was able to totally misdirect Josephine. It was not long before
that they were heading down a forgotten hallway in the strip mall.
The three other boys were already waiting in the shadows. “I just
need to get a drink; there is a fountain down here by the
restrooms.”

“I should really get back to my friend.”
Josephine realized she had lost sight of Anthony. She felt a touch
of nerves but dismissed it.

“OK, I’ll hurry; it will only take a minute.”
The friends took positions across the corridor. They could see
everything from where they stood.

Looking up from the fountain, the boy smiled
at Josephine. She smiled back and once again was lost in his eyes.
“Can I kiss you?” he asked, pretending shyness. Josephine was not
sure what to say and he did not wait for a response. He placed his
left hand against the wall behind her head and pulled her face to
his with his right. He kissed her softly at first. She fell right
into his trap. “Wow, that was nice.” He said smoothly through a
smile. His second kiss was soft, but a bit longer. He looked into
her eyes cautiously as he brought his body in towards hers. His
third kiss was hard and controlling as he pushed her up against the
wall. He took his mouth off of hers as he whispered in her ear.
“Have you ever done it?” Panic took over and Josephine could not
answer. She could not breathe as she searched the hallway for help.
She saw the others standing guard across the corridor. They smiled
at her. One giggled like a child. Another was rubbing himself in a
manner that brought a blush to Josephine’s face. Her admirer
regained her attention as he pushed his hand up her shirt and
grabbed hungrily at her chest. She tried to scream but he covered
her mouth with his, and gagged her with his tongue. She was beating
at his chest as he unzipped his pants.

What happened next was still a blur to
Josephine. A lot of screaming from the boys as they were beaten
unmercifully to piles of crying flesh. Josephine’s attacker looked
up long enough to realize his mistake to late. Antonia had laid him
out with one blow to the center of his face, succeeding in both
breaking his nose and knocking out a front tooth. Josephine watched
in shock as he fell to the floor with a pop that had to require
stitches to the back of his head. Antonia never said a word as she
grabbed Josephine’s wrist and escorted her from the hallway, back
into the mall and straight outside to where Josephine’s car was
waiting for them. They drove back to school in silence and empty
handed. Once back at the school, Josephine headed straight for the
showers, Antonia headed straight for the chapel. Not a single word
about the subject was ever exchanged between the girls. It was as
if it had never happened.

---------------------------------------------------------------

“Ma`am? Ma`am, are you alright? Did you
witness the accident?”

Josephine snapped back to reality. “No, no
officer, no I didn’t see anything. I pulled over to make a phone
call.” They both glanced over at the cell phone, lying on the floor
on the passenger side off the Benz. “I am alright, really, I have
to go. Thanks for asking though.” Josephine pulled away and
pretended not to hear the arguing still going on across the
highway. She had forgotten about the mall incident, completely
wiped it out of her mind. Anthony had saved her from a certain
rape. She had never thanked her for that. Never thanked her for so
many things.

In a matter of minutes she was back where she
started and passing the hospital. Josephine never noticed the man
crossing the street as she made the left turn into the pavilions.
The man had to sidestep to avoid being run down. But he didn’t seem
to notice either and kept on walking as if nothing had happened.
Josephine circled the building completely before finding suite
308B.

Four women sat in the waiting room. An older
woman, perhaps sixtyish, another very tiny woman, who looked very
nervous and two twenty-something’s; one of which was ready to
explode with child. Josephine crossed the room as quietly as
possible. The receptionist recognized her immediately. “Ms.
Ferrero, how nice to see you. Do you think, would you mind...” She
thrust a pad into Josephine’s face. “To Arlene, I would really
appreciate it.” Josephine looked at the pad and pen. Reaching out
to take it from the receptionist, she looked at the woman.

“How about you get the doctor for me
first.”

“The doctor is with patients at the moment
ma’am.”

“Well why don’t you run back there and tell
him I am here to see him.” She held up both the pen and the pad and
gave Arlene a look that said ‘Do it or else.’ The receptionist
slowly stood and hesitated a moment before turning to relay the
message. Josephine fulfilled her part of the bargain, writing ‘To
Arlene, thanks for all your help.’ She withheld the signature until
the woman returned and allowed her entrance, through the door. She
then, much to the delight of Arlene, scribbled her signature
quickly as she was told to have a seat inside the doctor’s
office.

“He will be with you in a moment Ms. Ferrero,
thank you so much.” The receptionist waved the autograph back at
her.

Josephine watched the clock on the wall. She
watched as the second hand completed six full rotations before the
doctor entered his office. “Ms. Ferrero, good morning. I trust
everything is OK with Antonia. She is a strong and healthy woman. I
expect she will make a full and speedy recovery, although I am not
familiar with the details of all of her injuries as they relate
outside the womb. I am saddened at the loss of the child. Antonia
was very excited about the pregnancy and sharing such a special
gift with you. I am afraid I must tell you, she will not be able to
make another attempt. We had to perform a complete hysterectomy, I
am sure Luke mentioned this to you.”

Josephine just sat and stared at the doctor.
She was not at all sure what to say. He in turn was confused by her
silence. He looked at her questioningly. “Ms. Ferrero? Is there
something else? Perhaps something that I am not aware of?” He
reached for his coffee and took a sip. He got the impression that
she is mentally somewhere else. “Ms. Ferrero, ma`am, are you
alright?” Her attention was regained as he placed his cup back down
on the desk top.

“The baby, I need to know about the
baby.”

“Sure, what would you like to know?”

“Where did it come from?” The doctor sat up
straight in his chair and arched his eyebrow.

“Excuse me?”

“Anthony’s baby, who, how was she...”

“Ms. Ferrero, you are not questioning
paternity, are you?”

“I...I’m not sure.”

“I am sorry, I have patients to see. I am
sure you are in shock from your loss, and truly I wish there were
something that I could do to alleviate your distress. You are truly
blessed to have such a friend as Antonia. Someone willing put
herself through so much. She is going to need your support when she
is able to learn of the loss. This child may not have been hers but
the inability to ever carry a child again...the blow to her may be
two fold. She will undoubtedly be concerned for you and your loss,
but she will need to accept her loss as well. Although she is a
strong woman, she too easily overlooks her own feelings in order to
see to someone else’s needs.” With that said the doctor stood to
offer his goodbye. He told Josephine to take as long as she needed
and to stop back again any time, with or without an
appointment.

As the door closed behind him, Josephine
flinched at the sound, feeling as though she had just been slapped
in the face. She felt the tears well up in her eyes. What the hell
was wrong with her? It came back to her with the speed of a freight
train. It seemed like a lifetime ago but it had been less than a
year. The maternal instinct had come upon her. She wanted a child.
Her schedule never allowed for pregnancy. Fact was the whole idea
scared her to death and she did not like not being scared. She was
afraid she would not be any good at the whole pregnancy thing.
Afraid of how she might look, what people might say. She had
several of her eggs frozen, just in case.