VAULT

Chapter I

"Mister and Misses Pearce, I... I regret to inform you that your chances of conception are not exactly ideal," the doctor said, sympathy in his tired eyes as they finally met the young couple. He gripped his clipboard as tightly as they clutched one another's hands, defeat in the woman's eyes. The doctor looked down at the papers on his board to avert his gaze from theirs. The young man took his wife's head in his hand and held her to his chest as the tears that held strong to her eyes finally fell down her face, staining his earthy green sweater. He looked to their doctor, his appallingly white, apathetic coat stirring the bitter hurt as he erupted,
"Is there nothing you can do?!"
"Sir, anything we could have tried has been sent down to the-"
"Don't give me that bullshit! The war is a joke, we're wasting our time and resources! I know there is someone willing to be a surrogate!" he yelled desperately. His wife clung to his shirt with white knuckles, the rumble of his chest making her shrink.
"With all due respect, sir, I understand you're upset but if there were anything I could've done, I would have offered it."
"Right," he sneered, a hateful smile forced into his tearstained cheeks.
"I'm very sorry to have to give you such terrible news."
"We'll get out, you don't have to tell us twice."
"Keith, it's not his fault," she quavered. "I'm sorry, Dr. Feldman." She wiped her face and stood beside her husband.
"It's alright, it's nothing I've never done before, but it never gets easier, I'm afraid." He made his way to the door, gingerly grabbing the handle and bidding the despondent couple farewell. Keith ushered his wife by the small of her back, the unwelcoming smell of the bleached, grey hallway ushering their departure.

    The hum of the car rattled a loose piece in the dashboard as the car came to a stop at a light, to which Keith slammed his palm on a vent. His wife jumped.
    "Calm down!"
    "Aubrey, do not yell at me," he murmured tersely.
    "You're not the only one that's upset."
    "Obviously I am, considering you've been staring out the window this whole time."
    "What do you expect me to do, Keith?! I'm trying to hold myself together for you!"
    He gave her a confused look, then flipped off the man behind him who had honked. The light had turned green already, so he sped off, turning the corner sharply. Aubrey grabbed the handle above the window.
    "Would you stop?" Keith asked, frustrated and offended.
    "You are scaring me," she said, her voice shaking. He glanced down at the speedometer. He sighed, slowing down a bit. The silence made obvious Aubrey's faltering attempts at breaths as she stared up at the trees, the light beaming through each pine needle. The trees began to dissipate as they made their way to a small shopping center. The sun shone directly on her face, making her squint as the blinker's clicks steadily cracked away at the discomfort in the car.
    "Where are we going?" She asked softly. Keith pulled into the Food Lion parking lot. "Look, can we please just go home? I went grocery shopping not too long ago." Keith put the car in park and got out, then walked to the passenger side of the car.
    "He is so stubborn," she mumbled to herself just before he opened her door. He looked down at her, his deep brown eyes glinted with sincerity as he held out his calloused hand. She placed hers delicately in his and he pulled her out of the car and into a surprising and unapologetic embrace. She stood still, as if to let the cold, dry air whisper to her before finally wrapping her arms around her husband's neck. He held her tighter, gripping the back of her blouse in his fists and resting his forehead on her shoulder.
    "I'm sorry..." he apologized in a wavering, whispery voice.
    "I'm sorry. I'm not capable of doing something that women are built to do..."
He pulled away and looked at her with a pained expression."This is not your fault."
    "It isn't yours, either." She took his hands and smiled up at him, reassuringly. "Can we go home now?"
    "Well, I was going to buy you some ice cream, but if you just want to-"
    "Vanilla, please?" she interjected, smiling.
    "Plain Jane."
    "You married 'er." She let go of his hands and got back into the car. She turned the key and blasted the heat, rubbing her arms. She glanced out the window. A little boy bundled up in a black snow coat and oversized bookbag sat on the blue bench by the bus stop just a few feet from the store.
    Keith held his arms as he walked towards the store, the little boy eyeing him closely. An overcast blanket began to settle just above the trees. As Keith moved a bit more spritely to make way to the warmth of the grocery store, the little boy, looked in, then to his other side, as if to make sure no one was watching, then proceeded in afterward.
   
    Keith was welcomed by a friendly clerk, to which he nodded and proceeded on down his familiar path to the frozen aisles. A jazzy, corroded tape played from what sounded like the mid-70's over the intercom as the clerk welcomed the frantic little boy.
    "Good afternoon, Cody." The little boy stopped in his tracks and snuck over to the counter.
    "What can I do for you, son?" the warm voice of the old lady lifted his eyes to her.
    "Momma just needs a pack of smokes, but I wanted to get something for myself, too, since she ain't here."
    "Ah, well, you can pay for the cigarettes, but I can't give them to you. Momma's gotta come down here and get them for herself."
    "But Miss Pearl, she don't have the car this weekend, Dad does, that's why she made me walk down here'n get 'em."
    Pearl sighed and shook her head. "It really is a shame."
    "What?"
    "Nothin', sweetheart. What did you want to get for yourself?"
    The little boy turned his face down and kicked the ground bashfully. "Just a pack'a Oreos, or somethin' like that..."
    Pearl smiled. "You got it. You deserve it for havin' to walk down here all by yourself in the cold."
    "You think so?"
    "Yes sir." Pearl chuckled as she rang up a pack of Malboro 100's and placed them under the counter. Just then, a tall man placed two cartons of Ben and Jerry's on the belt; Cherry Garcia and Vanilla. Cody took off, his stealth diminished by the swish-swish of his heavy jacket as he ran.
    "Afternoon, sir, how are you?" she leaned against a padded button to move the belt's contents closer to her. He moved forward with a bittersweet smile.
    "I'm just fine, Pearl, just got back from the doctor."
    "Oh my lans! What were the results? If you don't mind my asking," she said in a hushed tone, leaning forward slightly.
    Keith sighed, shaking his head.
    "Oh, honey, I am so sorry... and y'all bought all the supplies months ago, too... Can I give you a hug?" she asked, already coming from behind the counter with outstretched arms.
He smiled, pushing his glasses back and let her wrap her arms around him in a motherly embrace. "Is there anything I can do for you too? Aubrey must be heartbroken."
"She's been taking it pretty well, on account of me, she says."
"What fighters y'all are. Wish my husband cared that much," she chuckled under her breath as they let go. She slid back behind the counter and ran the cartons over the scanner, the bright beep seeming to snap Keith back to life. He pulled out his wallet.
"$7.29," she said, bagging up the cartons. As Pearl held out her hand, she felt a tug from behind on her navy blue collared shirt. A pack of double-stuf Oreos rose just above the counter beside her.
"One second, darlin', I gotta finish ringing him up. Sorry, about that sir, I- God bless it, Cody hold your horses, son!" She took the pack of cookies and set them aside and gently pushed him out from behind the counter. Arms crossed, he pouted for a moment before he noticed Keith standing at the register, then hid behind the counter.
"Who's that?" he asked, smiling.
"This is Cody. He's not normally this shy, but... well now that I think about it, I've never really seen him talk to no one else." She looked down at him with a warm smile. "Go on and introduce yourself."
    Cody walked out from behind the counter sheepishly at first, then straightened his back, pushed his shoulders down and lifted his head, offering a polite hand to Keith.
    "Afternoon, sir. I'm Keith."
    Cody nodded, offering his own.
    "I like your jacket."
    Cody nodded.
    Keith looked to Pearl. "Here, add those too, I'll pay for them."
    "Oh, sweetheart, that's okay, he's got something that ain't the most discrete thing to-"
    "I won't look, if it'll make you feel better." Keith's charming wink made Pearl chuckle, and eventually she ceded and ran the cigarettes and the cookies over the scanner, as well as his two cartons of ice cream. Cody looked up at Keith, grateful yet uncomfortable.  Pearl handed Keith the bags, then Keith handed the boy his bag, which she had tied for him.
    "Are your parents here, bud?"
    "I walked here, sir."
    "In the cold? All for some Oreos?" he chuckled.
    Cody looked down at the ground bashfully. "Well, my momma needed somethin', too, awful bad."
    "And she made you walk all the way down here to get it when she could've driven?"
    "Well..."
    "His situation is a bit different, honey." She glanced down at the boy, trying to mask her pity with sympathy.
    "I'm sure I can handle it, Miss Pearl. You need a ride home, bud?" He looked at Cody, who stiffened up and looked away.
    "Alright, I'll rephrase. Are you comfortable with me giving you a ride home? It's gonna get really cold really quick if you decide to walk. It might even snow tonight, and I don't wanna leave knowing you'll be stuck here."
    "I would offer to take you home, honey, but I gotta close tonight," Pearl admitted. "Workin' double shifts as often as I can to save up for storage." Cody looked up at Keith, then at Pearl. He drew a hand into his shopping bag and opened up the pack of Oreos when Keith felt a buzz from his pocket. His screen showed a text from Aubrey.
    "Come on please" it read.
    "There's a kid here that might need a ride home."
    "He can pay for his own gas, Keith. Let's go home."
    "He's like, 10 Aubrey"
    Three little dots appeared for a moment, then disappeared.
    "Everything okay, sir?" Cody asked. Keith looked at him with a surprised smile and stuffed his phone back into his pocket.
    "Just fine. Here, sorry for the wait, Miss Pearl." Keith swiped his card on the reader in front of him. He felt a tug on his shirt.
    "Sir?"
    Keith looked down at Cody, cookie crumbs on his cheeks. "What's up?"
    "I don't want to go home."
    Keith's eyes widened and his neck snapped to Pearl, who looked down at Cody, heartbroken. He looked back down at Cody. "Well, where do you want to go?"
    "With you. But don't take me home."
    Keith took a knee so he was face to face with the boy. "Why don't you want to go home, son?"
    "There's nothing to do. I just wanna play in the snow with momma but she just sits on the couch all day, n'she tells me I'll get nemoonia if I go outside."
    Keith sighed, and he felt another buzz in his pocket. "Alright, well there isn't any snow right now, so how's about I take you to get a bite to eat? Some real food?"
    Cody looked down at his Oreos, a little guilty smile on his face.
    "You're doin' a mighty good thing, Keith," Miss Pearl said as she held out his debit card. "Now hurry up'n get out of here before that ice cream melts."
    "In this weather?" he joked as he stood. "Come on, champ. I'll take you down to Elmo's."
    Cody walked out beside him and took his hand.