Decrease

Wednesday - September 15

"That was never our intention, Dr. Bennett," as he grins with a snarky ass face.

"So, what now? You want Claire to give up her baby?" I stutter, as I'm about to break down into tears.

"Oh, Dr. Bennett, I see this grieves you. Wewill be in contact with you on what will be happening with your wife andchild." Stevens grunts as he raises himself from the chair, and stands ganglingin front of my desk. He begins to turn around to exit my office, but then he turnsback to me, and leans sternly tête-à-tête, and with agrowling tone between his teeth, says, "If you have any ideas on holding out onus, Dr. Bennett, you will all die by the end of the day. Capisce?" Stevens snatchesthe object and puts it back into the velvet bag."Capisce," as I wither a reply.Stevens stuffs the velvet bagback into his pocket, stands erect, and turns around to exit. When the door opens, he turns his head, andwith a condescending look, says, "We thank you, Dr. Bennett, for yourcooperation. Have a wonderful day." He exits in one step, and manages to closethe door in sync.Totally stunned by what just happened,I begin to feel panicky, wondering what I should do. What the hell do I do? Iclose my eyes and try to clear my head, hoping that I can come up withsomething to keep us safe. My mind is totally confused. What the hell do I do?I try to relax so I can thinkstraight. My thoughts become interrupted by the unexpected ringing of the phone,which causes me to jump from my seat in sheer terror. Oh, God! I hope nothing'shappened to Claire! As the phone begins its third ring, I begin to reach for itwith my hand shaking with great turbulence. I pick it up on the fourth ring,and calmly say, "This is Dr. Bennett. How can I help you?" I begin to feel weakin my knees, so I plummet into my chair, close my eyes as I wait for a responsefrom the caller. Not hearing any one speaking, I cautiously ask, "Is this you?"I close my eyes, swallow slowly, reopen my eyes, and then begin to feel queasyand nauseous. My breathing begins to labor. So much, it was obvious thatwhoever was on the other end definitely can hear me."John? Is this you, John?" thevoice asks on the other end."Yes, this is John Bennett. Whois this? Hello! Hello!"I wait a few more seconds, untilI hear the phone disconnect. I look at the caller identification, but thenumber is blocked. It has to be an inside call, since the outside lines aren'topened. It was a female's voice, but it wasn't Claire's. Whose voice was it?I get up from my chair, totallypissed off, and begin to swipe away the crap Stevens deposited on my desk ontothe floor. I place my hand on my head and spin around the room. I begin tosmack both sides of my head with my hands, and yell, "Damn! Damn!" I stomp myfeet in Hitlerian fashion, and walk frantically all around the room. What thehell am I going to do? My tantrum comes to a halt when I hear a knock on thedoor. I stand frozen, with my arms extending outward. I look at the door, andclose my eyes wishing for them to go away. Since the second knock appears to bedelayed, I begin to wonder if my wish came true. It didn't. Whoever it isknocks harder this time.Unfreezing from my position, Ilook around the office and see the terrible mess made by Stevens andmyself. Well, no time to clean it up now. As I step over pieces of brokenglass and other crap, I finally make it to the door. When I open it, I find Juliestanding quietly, alone. I motion for her to enter. She enters my office like anun entering a church, clasping her hands with a rosary swaying, pleading, "Oh,my God, help me!" I close the door without taking my eyes off of her. She looksdocile.I rush up behind her and pick upan overturned chair for her to sit. As I help her get seated, I look intoJulie's eyes and notice how dead they look. I don't mean dilated pupil dead. Imean dead, as if she was under a trance and is obedient to whatever controlsher. I place my hand on her shoulder, and ask, "Julie, what's wrong? Can I getyou some water... or... something?" Something! As I mentally kick my own ass. Don'tforget John, you are a doctor. I know!I remove my hand from hershoulder and go sit in my chair. I don't dare take my eyes off of her, fearingfor what she might do. Great! My damn boss has lost it! Okay, John, focus!Focus! I look at the clock and realize I have literally wasted a whole day onbullshit! I look at Julie as she continues to just stare blankly away intoinfinity. I turn my chair around and look out the window and decide to join herfor a moment, or two.