Forever Young: Blessing or Curse (Always Young Trilogy) (19 page)

“I
can’t believe it,” Dorrie said in a whisper.

“Believe
it. It happened, and I blame it on that damn pill. I should never have listened
to you and risked Dad’s life. And Remington should have mentioned this possible
side effect, which he conveniently didn’t bother doing. I’m calling him right
now and giving him a piece of my mind.”

The
phone clicked, leaving Dorrie’s mind in a frenzy. This couldn’t be happening.
Mike was supposed to have reverted and become healthy.  How could he have
died? Was it the pill’s fault?  How could it not be? Out of all the
maladies Mike had suffered, a bad heart had not been one of them.

She
didn’t blame Jeanne for being mad. If there had been any danger involved, Roman
should have informed her. Maybe he didn’t know. Either way, he’d sure hear
about it now. Dorrie shivered, realizing that in her eagerness to share, she’d
been a party to Mike’s death. Wrapping the blanket tightly around her, she
tried to control her shakes. One thing for sure. She couldn’t go to work today.
She had to get out of bed and over to Jeanne’s as soon as she could to help her
in her time of need.

The
phone rang again, while she was dressing. “You heard what happened?” Roman
asked.

“Yes,
it’s awful. Jeanne blames it on the pill. Is heart trouble one of the side
effects?”

“No,
it’s an unfortunate coincidence, nothing more. I understand in the heat of the
moment your friend might think otherwise, but there’s no basis for her
suppositions. She’ll realize her error once she calms down.”

“But
she says her Dad never had heart problems.”

 “That
they knew of. He was old. Obviously his heart was bad and they didn’t realize
it. If he’d started the pill before, he’d have had an excellent chance of reverting,
but unfortunately in his case it was too late.”

“So
it doesn’t work every time.”

“For
enough people to make a huge difference. Take you for an example. Before taking
it, you were on your way to succumbing to the same disease as your mother. Now,
you have no such worries. Not only that, you were able to conceive, when before
you couldn’t. You’re young, vibrant and healthy.”

“The
verdict is still out about the baby, though.”

“That’s
something we’ve already discussed.”

His
voice sounded curt. Too bad. Her dear friend had lost her father. Plus, Mike
had been her friend as well. Whoever was at fault, the result was the same, and
she felt rotten. “I can’t come to work today. I’m going over to Jeanne’s.
She’ll need my support.”

“Of
course. While you’re there, do me a favor. Do your best to impress upon her the
pill is not at fault. Maybe she’ll listen to you.”

“I’ll
talk to her, but I can’t make any promises about what she might believe. I
better get going.”

Heartsick
and hands shaking, Dorrie drove to Jeanne’s house. Would her friend let her
in?  How mad was she? 

None
of the lights were on in the house. Jeanne was probably already out making
arrangements. The thought sent shivers up and down Dorrie’s spine. How could
what had seemed so right have gone so wrong?

Just
in case, she rang the doorbell, but no one answered. What should she do? If she
called Jeanne’s cell, she might disturb her at a bad time, like maybe in the
midst of deciding where to bury Mike. She wouldn’t be surprised if Jeanne were
to go back to Wisconsin right away and have her Dad shipped there. This place
couldn’t be a home after what had happened.

Dorrie
trudged back to her Hyundai by the curb, and sat inside waiting for her friend
to appear. Time dragged on. She didn’t know how long she sat staring into
space, wishing things had turned out differently, hoping her friend would
forgive her, before she finally heard a car pull into the driveway.

Heart
in her throat, she watched the garage door open and the car go inside. Her
friend got out. Hands on her hips, Jeanne approached Dorrie’s car. “Are you
coming in, or do you plan on sitting there all day?” 

Dorrie
stumbled out of her car and rushed up to her friend to embrace her. Her words
tumbled out. “Jeanne, I’m so sorry. You know I loved Mike like he was my own
father. I knew what bad shape he was in and he needed help. I thought I had an
answer. I never would have suggested the pill if I thought anything bad would
happen to him. Please forgive me.”

Jeanne
gave a short laugh and pulled away. “God preserve me from well meaning
friends.”

It
was such an ambiguous statement Dorrie didn’t know what to think. Sneaking a
glance at her friend’s red-rimmed eyes, it was hard to tell if they held
forgiveness.

“Come
on, girl, get your ass inside,” Jeanne said, heading toward the open door of
the garage. Dorrie gratefully followed.

In
the kitchen’s light, Dorrie took in the pale skin, bloodshot eyes and slumped
shoulders of her friend’s thin frame. “You need your strength, Jeanne. Let me
make you some coffee and fix some breakfast.”

The
corners of Jeanne’s mouth turned up slightly, as if against her will. “Big
sister, again, huh?”

“As
long as you need one. You mean a lot to me, and don’t you forget it. Now, I’m
going to cook you some food and I expect you to eat some of it.”

“It’s
no use, Dorrie. Food is the furthest thing from my mind. If I even look at an
egg or cereal, I’ll throw up.”

“Please,
don’t make this harder on yourself. A few bites, that’s all I ask, just to get your
strength up. You know I feel really bad about what happened. I recommended the
pill to you. I did it in good faith, but it backfired in the worst possible
way. That’s been eating at me and I haven’t been hungry either, but I ate
anyway for the baby’s sake.”

“Ah,
yes, the devil’s spawn.”

Dorrie
turned from the coffee maker and put her hands on her hips. “Don’t say that,
Jeanne. Whatever the father may or may not be, this is my child we’re talking
about.”

Jeanne
gave her a long look, then sighed. “You’re right. The sins of the father should
not be visited on the child, or something like that. Can I still feel like
strangling your boss?”

“As
long as you don’t carry it out. I’d hate to testify as a material witness, or
whatever they call it,” Dorrie said with a short laugh. “Now let me get on with
that breakfast.”

As
she suspected, she found the refrigerator well stocked with eggs, bacon and
tons of breakfast fixings. She could have predicted that, since Jeanne never
fussed over cholesterol or other such concerns.

Dorrie
frowned, wondering if the effects of a bad diet had caused Mike’s death. She
wouldn’t dare suggest that now with the relationship between her and Jeanne so
tenuous. Strange, his blood work before the regimen hadn’t picked up any
indication of heart disease.

She
wondered if Jeanne herself had gotten a yearly physical or blood test lately.
All too often the caretakers didn’t pay attention to their own needs.  In
her own case, she’d been fortunate to have Larry’s help.

Well,
now her friend was free to pay attention to herself, but at a heavy price.

After
the meal, which Jeanne partially ate, she turned to Dorrie. “Listen, don’t take
half of what I said to heart. We’re still buddies through thick and thin, and
all that.”

Dorrie
patted Jeanne’s hand. “It’s a tough time for you right now. I know exactly what
you’re going through, and how hard it is for you to think straight.”

“Yeah,
of course you do, how could I forget. First, your Mom, then Larry. And you
didn’t even have me around in Larry’s case.”

“I
knew you were with me in spirit.”

“Hey,
I am woman. I am strong. I’ll make it through.”

Dorrie
nodded. “You don’t have to go it alone. I’m here for you.”

“Yeah,
well, it’s so frustrating because that damn Angel-Devil Man got my hopes up. I
expected a miracle, and now I feel cheated. Before him, I was resigned to Dad’s
going downhill and watching him so he wouldn’t kill himself. Then Remington
made it sound so certain Dad could get better by taking one tiny pill a day. I
couldn’t help falling for his sell, especially since the pill worked so well on
you.

“Shit,
I’m sorry I blamed you for any of this. None of it’s your fault. You didn’t
make the pills, plus I know you’d never do anything to hurt me or Dad. You had
the best of intentions.”  

Jeanne’s
shoulders shook as her tears fell. Dorrie pulled back her chair to rush over
and comfort her friend, and they both ended up crying on each other’s
shoulders.

“Damn,
my nose is running. I need a tissue or something,” Jeanne said.

“Me,
too. I’ll get the box from the bathroom.” 

As
she rushed to grab it, she felt encouraged. Letting it all out had to help
Jeanne to accept Mike’s death and take the first step toward getting on with
her life.

Many
such outbursts were bound to follow, and may never end. Dorrie still couldn’t
think of Larry or Mom without tears welling up. She didn’t know how anyone
could ever get used to losing someone important in their life. You just had to
cope.

She
handed the box to Jeanne. “Here you go.”

Jeanne
blew her nose, and then looked across at Dorrie. “Don’t take this the wrong
way, Dorrie. You’re my friend and I love you dearly, but I can’t stick around
this accursed place. I’m getting the hell out as fast as I can, and Mike’s
coming with. He’ll be buried in Wisconsin, where the air is fresh and cool, not
so hot and dry where you can barely breathe.

“I
didn’t say anything before, since I thought being here would be good for Mike,
but ever since we arrived, I knew I didn’t fit in. I missed the woodsy look and
smell of Wisconsin, the deer coming into the yard, lots of other stuff I took
for granted. My house there isn’t sold yet, so Roman can have this bad luck
place back. I’m getting the hell out as fast as I can.”

Though
Dorrie had suspected her friend would feel this way, she still felt a pang at
hearing the words. Once again they’d live miles apart.

She
sighed. “I don’t blame you Jeanne, but let’s visit as often as possible. If you
can’t bear coming here, I’ll get over there somehow.”

“Think
your precious boss will cut you loose for the memorial service in Wisconsin?”

“He’s
got to. He can’t be that callous. By the way, he told me to tell you how sorry
he was, and that you’re wrong about the pill being the culprit. He insists it’s
perfectly safe, and Mike must have had a pre-existing condition, probably
congenital, which didn’t show up on the pre-testing.”

“Sure,
he’d say that. Think of the money involved. To my way of thinking, that pill is
dangerous and should not be on the market. Are you sure you don’t want to get
off of it and be normal, like me?”

“The
baby’s depending on it. I can’t.”

“Of
course, I forgot. Well, maybe later.”

“Who
knows, maybe.”

Dorrie
didn’t want to disappoint her friend by telling her she’d already decided not
to return to her normal age. Since she’d made the transition safely, why grow
old and suffer like Mom? The pill hadn’t worked for Mike, but for some lucky
reason, it did for her. Not only that, she looked forward to taking it each
day. It made her feel great. In fact, she wouldn’t feel right without it.

The
benefits far outweighed the risks and other factors. Painful separations would
follow when she’d live on and eventually lose the friends she held dear, like
Jeanne, Keith and maybe Kelly, but she’d forge new ones. Maybe her child would even
take the pill someday and keep her company. Dorrie stopped her pondering to
listen to Jeanne’s arrangements.

“Dad
told me a long time ago he thought wakes and autopsies were barbaric, so both
of those are out. Though I’d really like to know if that young pill did him in,
I’m respecting his wishes. He deserves to rest in peace. The service and burial
will be in Tomahawk, where we have plots next to my Mom. I want our stuff
packed and shipped out to my real home ASAP. In fact, I’m telling that turd right
now.”

Once
her friend got an idea into her head, Dorrie knew better than to try and
dissuade her.

Brave
as Jeanne’s words sounded, Dorrie saw her fingers shake as she dialed Roman’s number
from the landline. Apparently Roman did answer because Jeanne frowned and then
shouted, “I don’t want to hear it. Look, scumbag, your slick talk washes right
off of me. You can say whatever you want, but I know you’re the one responsible
for my Dad’s death. If it weren’t for the fact my good friend, Dorrie, and her
unborn child are hooked on your drug, the press would get an earful.”

More
words on the other end, probably protests, with Jeanne butting in. “You’re damn
right you’ll pay the travel expenses to my real home. And, you can keep the
stinking house here. The place is cursed, like you,” she said, banging the
phone down.

Dorrie’s
cell rang a few minutes later. She grabbed it out of her purse and shot a
knowing glance at Jeanne.