Chapter (4) THE OTHER WOMAN

Chapter (14) REALISATIONS.

 

“Good morning Mr Trent.” Maggie always tried to sound cheerful when she arrived to see Trent, although inside she was still as worried about him as ever, especially about the arm. Trent had made good progress in the last few days. His voice was still a little hoarse and he was still not allowed to move around too much. When she entered the room Trent was was wide awake.

“Hi Mags.” she loved the smile on his face when she walked in. Maggie moved quickly to the side of the bed, leaned in, and gently kissed him on the forehead. She smelled real nice thought Trent.

“How do you feel this morning?”  Trent turned his head a little to see her better.

“Doc says I'll live.” Just a hint of humour in his voice.  She wanted to sound positive too so she said.

“I made chicken broth this morning, I've brought it in a thermos for you. We'll soon have you strong and healthy again.” She'd seen what they were giving him to eat and decided he needed more nourishing food. Thin soup, Gelato and ice cream were not going to do it. “I'm going to the office today to get it tidied up, is there anything you need?” She said. Maggie wanted to get things back to normal, or at least as normal as things could be under these circumstances.

“Mags, you know where the dough is?”  She nodded.

“Okay, I want you to take a hundred bill and go get some new clothes.” she started to open her mouth to speak but Trent cut her short. “You'll need some day clothes and an evening suit. Get some good shoes too, stylish mind.” She wasn't going to argue with him, she didn't want to get him upset so she just nodded an acceptance. Trents face then changed as he got more serious. “What about your husband? What have you told him about all this?” Trents' head came up from the pillow a little and she saw the concern in his wrinkled brow, she needed to reassure him.

“Marty and I fine, at the moment. You don't have to worry about us Mr Trent.”  They weren't fine but she didn't want Trent to know that. Trent gasped a little then spoke again.

“You take a month’s wages too. NO arguments Mags I'm too sick to fight you.” She'd seen that determined look before so she just nodded and agreed to everything he'd asked her to do.

“Alright Mr Trent, thank you.”  Trent put his head back down onto the pillow and took a couple of deep breaths. Then, as if a thought suddenly caught him off guard, Trent reached out and grabbed her arm.

“Mags, what happened to the boy? Nobody will tell me anything. Is he alive?” She pulled the metal chair close to the bedside and sat down, checking to make sure no one else was close by she didn't want anything being overheard. Then she leaned in close to speak directly into his ear.

“It turns out that it was the wrong boy you tried to save. The Asimov lad was still in the building when you got shot.” Trent was still holding her arm and he squeezed it stronger now.

“ Ah-haaa” was all that came from Trents' lips. After a few seconds hesitation and a couple of heavy breaths Trent released Maggies' arm. “That's it. That explains it Mags.” Maggie didn't understand.

“Explains what?” she shrugged her shoulders, she didn't understand what he meant.

“That...that robot woman, she was there Mags.” Maggie recalled the woman walking away.

“Yes I know, I think I saw her leaving.”

“She wanted to help me Mags, she wanted to help me, don't you see.” Trent took several laboured breaths, then. “The time line, Mags, the time line, they tried to change it but it must have stayed the same.” Another laboured breath and Maggie noted the pleased look on his face as he said. “Nothing changed, the rules didn't change,  she ... it... it didn't change... Good.” Trent had told Maggie about the three rules and the android woman and she'd understood enough to know that the woman wanting to help was a good thing.

Maggie was pleased he was able to have even a short conversation, it was a good sign he was on the mend. Trent closed his eyes and sighed, that small effort had really tired him.

“Okay, you rest a little, I'll be here when you wake up.” Suddenly Trent opened his eyes wide, and his head turn to her with staring eyes.

“The other boy is he dead? The boy, is he dead Mags?”

The worry in his voice was very clear so she quickly put his mind at ease.

“No Mr Trent, he's alive.” Trent started to speak again but Maggie put her finger on his lips and stopped him. “The kid was lucky, the bullet hit the books on his chest and it was slowed right down before it hit him. It stopped at his breastbone. He's making a good recovery and he'll be home before you will.” Maggie watched as Trent again closed his eyes and lay there with a contented smile on his face. “Now you have a good rest, I'll tell you all about it later.” Trent gave her hand a feeble squeeze and drifted off. Maggie sat down still holding his hand. Within a few minutes her mind had begun to wander. In the last week she had seen Trent grow a little stronger every day. He wasn't out of the woods yet, but he was on the mend.  She had stayed at his bedside the first two days but then she had to go home and talk to her husband. That had not been pleasant for either of them. Marty had suspected for some time that she had some feelings for her employer, because as he said, she spoke about him too often. Marty was a gentle, somewhat shy person and wasn't one who would easily get angry, it wasn't in his nature, it was one of the many things Maggie realised, that she liked about him. Maggie always knew her husband was an older and more mature man than his years would have you believe.

 

They’d sat opposite each other at the small table by the window. A single electric bulb lit up their living area. Maggie rested her arms on the woven cloth covering. They talked for more than an hour.

Maggie explained how she was confused and didn't know what was happening to her and he'd admitted having thoughts about a girl at the store where he worked. He said it had made him feel guilty. It was clear to both of them that their marriage had become stale and she knew they’d started to grow apart some. She told him she was confused about her feelings. It was clear Maggie still had deep feelings for Marty and she told him so, he said he loved her and didn’t want it to change.

The subject of having a child came into the conversation at one point and Marty had not been able to look at her. As he told her, he felt ashamed that he couldn't give her a baby, the red-faced Marty didn't like to talk about adult bedroom stuff. Maggie explained to him that she knew there were things that could be done, and they should talk about it more when things were back to normal. She didn't know what was going to happen about the agency or what Mr Trent would do next. Maggie had doubts about a lot of things, not least about her feelings for Trent. Maggie was suddenly returned to the present when a female voice surprised her.

“Hello, may I come in?” When she looked up Maggie recognised the owner of the voice as the woman who'd been to see Mr. Trent with the story about her father’s dolls.

The woman in the doorway was elegant and wore a beautiful two-piece dress suit. Maggie unconsciously looked down at her shoes, Trent had said so many times 'always look at the shoes Mags, always look at the shoes. The woman was wearing a pair of expensive red leather high-heeled shoes.

“Err, you're the lady about the dolls, Mrs Duprey isn't it?” The lady gave a slight nod of her head.

“And if I remember my dear, you are Mrs Carmody. Mr Trent's assistant, yes?”

“Yes, please, please come in.” Maggie was surprised to see her here in the hospital and was wondering what she was doing here. Before she had time to ask anything the lady continued.

“How is Mr Trent?” She walked to the end of the bed and started to elegantly remove her white gloves. Mr Trent made no movement to show he knew someone had entered the room.

“He's recovering slowly but the doctors think he'll be okay in time.  Err, how did you know he was here?”  The lady made her way slowly farther up the bed, she bent forward slightly and stared intently at Mr. Trent. When she was sure he was alive she  turned her head sideways to look at Maggie.

“Oh...yes...sorry, I went to your office and the neighbour told me what had happened.”  The lady looked back at Trent as she spoke.

Her eyes examined Trents face for some time before turning her attention to the arm in plaster.

“Does he have another wound?” Maggie sensed a note of genuine concern in her voice.

“Yes he was shot twice. One hit the arm and the second went into his chest and made a hole in his lung. They don't yet know if he'll keep the arm.” The lady stood upright, her slender body silhouetted against the window.

“What happened ? My dear”

“Well that's a very involved story...” Maggie hesitated for a second, not sure how much to tell this stranger.

“...but he was trying to save the life of a young student and got shot in the process. It wasn't supposed to happen.” 

“No it wasn't Mrs Carmody.”  The lady looked knowingly at Maggie as she started to replace her gloves. Maggie was about to ask her what she’d meant by what she’d just said, when the woman spoke again.

“My dear I'm going to leave you now. I want you to telephone me the moment I can talk to Mr Trent. I have some information and I'm certain he will be very interested to hear.” With those words the lady smiled and, as she reached the door, she turned a little sideways and added. “Don't worry about the arm, he'll be fine Mrs Carmody, and so will you.” With those final words the woman smiled, turned and left the room. Maggie stood watching as the woman’s dress swirled and showed off her fine figure. Her final words had been delivered in a matter of fact manner, and with some authority, but their significance would not become clear to her until much later. Maggie sat back down trying to make sense of what had just taken place.

As she sat contemplating, and staring at the far wall of Trent's room, her thoughts were interrupted by the nurse coming into the room.

“Today the doctors will remove the plaster from his arm to see if it's healing.”  The nurse moved over to the drip and checked the flow into Trents arm. Maggie looked back at Trent and then at the nurse.

“That's good, right?” She asked. She didn't know what else to say.

The bullet that hit Trent’s arm had caused extensive bone damage and torn flesh. The surgeons had worked on him for more than three hours trying to rebuild his shattered arm. Maggie had been shown the bullet fragments they’d removed and she’d wondered how something so small could have caused so much damage. The Doctor had explained that when the bullet hit the big bone in his forearm, it broke up onto several tiny pieces each going off in a different direction.

“Yes, the Doctor thinks the arm has healed well so far, Mrs Trent...”  The nurses had just assumed she was Trent's wife so she'd gone along with it to save any further confusion. “...there haven't been any indications that the arm has become infected, and his fingers are a good colour and they respond when touched, but we won't know for sure if he will be able to use the arm until the doctor gets to look at it.”  The nurse smiled at Maggie, and Maggie smiled back.

“I have a good feeling about your husband Mrs Trent, I'm sure he'll make a good recovery, in time.” 

“He sleeps so much though, nurse, is that normal?” She'd never seen anyone so tired before, who slept so much.

“Oh yes, it's the medication you see. The doctors are giving him a low dose of sedative to help him to keep as still as possible so that he doesn't move about too much and tear open his stitches.” The information had helped Maggie to relax, just a little.

The nurse injected something into the little tube in Trent’s good arm. Even in his sedated state Trent had heard the two women talking. He opened his eyes as the nurse spoke again.

“It's just a pre op sedative before he goes down to surgery.” The nurse smiled and then left and Maggie sat alone again with Trent. Maggie held his hand.

“I have to go home now Mr Trent. The doctors are coming to look at your arm soon. I'll be back this evening to make sure you're okay.” Giving Trents good hand a final gentle squeeze she stood up and turned to leave.

“Mags...”  Trent's weak whispered voice brought her back to the moment.

“I'm still here, how do you feel?”  Trent slowly turned his head to look at her.

“Thought I heard voices. Did we have visitors?”

“Yes but don't think about that.” A little smile appeared on Trent’s face.

“We got any cake Mags?” She had to give a little laugh. It looked like her old Trent was coming back.

“If you want cake, I'll get you cake.” Trent's eyes had a little sparkle back in them, then they closed shut and he fell asleep. Maggie felt a great relief inside.

 

Reviews

[Kathy Van Kurin]

(hapter (4) the other woman)
MAD ENGLISHMAN,
This must of been a fun story to write, as the detailed characters can be refined more if you like as well as the balance of personalities. I enjoyed the way Trent and Maggie have become comfortable with one another. Trent will be needing someone to care for him. A friend and housekeeper in Maggie is pretty convenient I also found it an encouragement that Maggie does not want to necessarily see her marriage end. The lovely robot creature does bring about a certain amount of discomfort for me. She brings some friction into your story. Fun to read and good job!
Kathy

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

I'm so happy you are enjoying my story. I will have to knuckle down and get the middle chapters finished.

[Kathy Van Kurin]

Yes, the writing is enjoyable and the characters are so fun! Their is a nice balance of intrigue and suspense but just eneough. That is the trick I think. I have not written stories like yours but when I like something I just do. So I hope you will enjoy working on your craft a little bit more!
Bless you.
Kathy