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Wednesday - September 15

"Okay, dear. I'll be in the kitchen."

"Okay, fine. I'll be there after I get dressed," Claire yells through the door.

When Aunt Ruth exits the bedroom, Claire leaves the bathroom and heads towards the closet to decide what to wear.

Rummaging through the closet, she finds an old pair of blue jeans she had habitually worn when she and I were dating ten years ago. Unfolding them, Claire lays them against her slim legs, and says, "Yeah, I can still fit into them." Excited to put them on, she slowly steps into the legs, bends down to grab the waist, and with a sleek, sensuous twist, turning her slender hips as she wraps the jeans around her waist and snaps them without any problem. She walks over to the full length mirror, and liking what she sees, says, "You still have it, Claire. You look hot!"

Admiring her figure some more, Claire realizes that while the jeans fit comfortably, the snapped jeans might be too tight for the baby. Immediately, she unsnaps the jeans and quickly gets out of them, and then kick tosses them over to the closet. Rubbing her tummy to assure herself that she hadn't done any harm to her baby, Claire picks up the jeans, refolds them, and places them back into the abyss of her past. Afterwards, she shuffles through her clothing and finds a pair of slacks that will allow her better movement and less pressure on her stomach.

At last, Claire finishes dressing. She brushes her hair back with her fingers, looks at the clock on the night stand and sees that it's nearly 9:00 a.m. She notices Aunt Ruth has already stripped the bed to wash the beddings and has also taken the breakfast tray. With a girlish giggle, Claire mumbles, "Having someone around to help me isn't so bad." Feeling as if she's been toiling for hours, Claire heads for the bedroom door to see if Aunt Ruth needs any help in the kitchen. While reaching for the doorknob, she hears a cell ringing. Checking the bedroom, she doesn't see her phone lying anywhere. The ring gets louder when Claire turns around and notices Aunt Ruth with the door ajar, holding Claire's phone, softly saying, "Claire, dear, it's your phone. Here you go."

"Thank you, Aunt Ruth," Claire replies, as she takes it from her. Aunt Ruth smiles, then returns to the kitchen.

Claire answers the call, but it was too late. She looks to see whose call she missed. "Damn it!" she says in disgust. Seeing that it was me, she hits redial, hoping that I'll pick up immediately. On the sixth ring, the call goes to voicemail. Not wanting to leave a message, she's about to hang up when she hears my voice.

"Claire, baby? Are you there?"

"John? John, yes, yes, I'm here!"

"Claire! Claire!" I expel wholeheartedly. "I tried calling you, but it went to voicemail. Claire, I don't have much time to talk, so you must listen to what I have to say. Understand? Listen to me."

Claire holds the phone tightly to her ears, and with a small disquieting tone, she says, "I will, John. Yes, I will. I love you, too. John, are you there?"

Seconds of silence are like an eternity for Claire and me, but I interrupt saying, "Do what I say, Claire! You and the... your life depends on it. Make sure you do what I say! Promise me, Claire!"

"I promise, John. I love you."

"I love you, too, Claire. I love you, too. Claire... I've, I've got to go now. Do what I say. Love you, my love. Love you always." The line goes dead.

In silence, Claire processes what I relayed to her.

Wondering how she's going to fulfill my wish, she looks out the bedroom door and sees Aunt Ruth cleaning up the kitchen.

Unsure if she can trust Aunt Ruth, Claire feels that she can't do what I asked of her on her own. She will need help. Taking a deep breath, she asks out loud, "Can I trust you, Aunt Ruth?" Knowing she has no other choice, she leaves the bedroom and hopes that she can do what I asked.