Forever Young: Blessing or Curse (Always Young Trilogy) (21 page)

***

Dorrie
tried calling Jeanne and Kelly on their cells to wish them a Merry Christmas,
but only got voice mail.

Sighing,
she settled down for a dull day. Her tiny, pre-lit Christmas tree twinkled from
the end table as she alternated between listening to Christmas carols on the
radio and watching holiday programming.

Finally,
she heard back from her friends, who’d been out and about before. She
considered calling Keith, but they hadn’t been on the best of terms the last
time they’d spoken. She’d wait for him to make the first move.

She
wished she could get into the Christmas spirit, but it was hard without Larry.
Over a year had passed, yet the pain hadn’t lessened. She still couldn’t
believe someone who’d been such a huge part of her life could disappear as if
he’d never existed. So much had happened since he’d left, some good, much not.

Maybe
next year would be better. If all turned out well, she’d be showering love onto
her child, and hanging one of those Baby’s First Ornament keepsakes on the
branch of a Christmas tree.  The thought comforted her.

***

When
she returned to work the next day, Roman had her strike various poses in photo
shoots, some highlighting her pregnancy, others not. By Friday afternoon,
Dorrie could barely function. What she most wanted was to get home and
vegetate. Unfortunately, she was still on the clock and had dictation to
finish.

After
a few pages, her eyes started to close, despite her efforts to keep them open.
From her last visit to Dr. Lewanthal, and from all the information she’d read,
sleepy feelings were a natural effect of pregnancy, and the vitamins could only
do so much. Realizing that after the baby was born she wouldn’t get much sleep
either, she smiled wryly.

Dorrie
broke off her thoughts and concentrated on what would go into the new brochure
alongside the digitalization poses masking her pregnancy. In the event it would
prove useful, as promised, Roman had begun a secret alternative campaign
highlighting her condition. She fervently hoped it would be used, because in
that scenario her child would be born healthy. The baby had to be all right. It
kicked and moved, and kept reminding her it was alive. Already she ached to
hold it in her arms.

As
she continued typing, the adjectives,
safe, fast, and effective,
seemed
to leap out at her, erasing her drowsiness, making her fingers stumble. Despite
Roman’s assurances, she couldn’t help wondering why Mike had died. An autopsy
might have erased her doubts, but she couldn’t fault Jeanne for respecting her
father’s wishes and refusing one.

So,
the question remained, how safe was the young pill? How could Forever Young,
even if taken according to directions, not contain any ill effects, at least
for a minority of users?

Nothing
could be that perfect. Even the pharmaceuticals advertised on TV mentioned
depression, insomnia, diarrhea, kidney problems, heart attacks, and other
possible side effects. Shouldn’t Roman be up front also? Was he hiding
something?

She
really should calm down. After all, nothing bad had happened to her and she’d been
on the pill since February. Still, she wouldn’t want to be responsible for
misleading anyone and causing ill health or a fatality. If only she had Larry’s
abilities to understand the pill’s effects.

Thoughts
of Larry brought to mind what he’d said about the iPhone that last evening.
“Dorrie, I want you to keep it. Something’s…on it.”

She’d
reassured him about the songs and photos, but he’d said, “No, more…Life is for
Living isn’t…Forever Young isn’t…”

Had
she misunderstood him? Had he tried to tell her something about the pill that
he’d documented on the iPhone? That was a wild stretch.  Her imagination
had to be working overtime. She really needed more sleep so she could think
clearly instead of coming up with outlandish ideas.

Once
she’d thought of the possibility, her mind stubbornly refused to dismiss it.
The iPhone had been synced to the Institute’s computer, which meant that
computer would hold whatever Larry had discovered. If the findings were
detrimental, it stood to reason Roman would be desperate to get the iPhone out
of circulation.

While
she’d placidly eaten breakfast at the café , waiting for the iPhone to charge,
could her time have been better spent investigating the apps? At thought of the
possible ramifications, she misspelled another word and had to backspace over
it.

“How’s
the brochure coming along?” Roman asked, bending over her desk, making her
jump.

“I
didn’t hear you,” she mumbled, keeping her eyes focused on the screen. She
could never keep a straight face, and knew if she looked up, her eyes would
reflect fear and doubt.

“You’re
speed’s increased so much since you started, I thought you’d be through typing
by now. Better hurry along. It’s four o’clock.”

She
gave a wry laugh. “Sorry, Roman. Blame our baby for making me dragged out like
a zombie. I’m afraid I don’t have as much energy as I used to, even with your
miracle pill inside of me.”   

“Hang
in there.”

The
words were probably meant to be encouraging, but in her present state of mind
they sounded ominous.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Anxious
to get to the iPhone and have her doubts dispelled, Dorrie kept waking during
the night, hoping it was time to get up.

Finally,
she heard the birds chirping from outside the window. Though tired from missing
a half night’s sleep, she got up and downed her young pill and vitamins.
 Her appetite had not diminished, but she didn’t have time to stop and
eat.

Don’t
worry, little one, we’ll get something good at the café,
she said, patting her stomach.
The child kicked as if it could understand.

After
showering, Dorrie grabbed her purse and stopped at the family room on the way
out. She set the purse down on the end table, then pulled the Bible from the
shelf. As she opened it, she deftly swiped her hand over the page containing
the key, and stopped for a few minutes to read a passage from the Holy Book. In
the process, she couldn’t get over the feeling of eyes watching her.

Though
she constantly checked the doors and windows, even the closets, and would know
if anyone had entered the house, she still felt jumpy. Maybe her paranoia had
something to do with pregnancy hormones, or the fact she’d already been robbed,
both good explanations, instead of anything bizarre.

As
she grabbed her purse from the end table, in the same motion, she dropped the
safe deposit key inside and pulled out the car keys. Soon her questions would
be answered, her worries would be resolved, and she’d sleep easy.

At
the bank, she removed the iPhone from the safe deposit box and hurried to the
café a few blocks over. With her breakfast beside her on the rectangular table,
she plugged the iPhone charger into the wall receptacle, pressed the start
button and slid her finger over the unlock bar. The screen sprang to life,
looking innocuous enough, with its usual array of icons.

While
holding a piece of toast in her left hand, she noticed the usual array of apps
for weather, news, calendar, some card games, even Farmville, which Larry had
used occasionally to relax. Nothing vital there. Where was that speech
recognition app he’d mentioned?  It stood to reason anything important
would be there.

In
the far corner of the screen she found the program her husband had been so excited
about buying a few weeks after they’d moved. As she tapped the app, she still
heard their conversation.

“Think
of the time I’ll save. My hands will be free, so I won’t have to stop and type.
The cool thing is I can sync it to the work computer and I’m done. It’s worth
the cost and then some.”

“If
it means less overtime and more home time, I approve.”

He’d
laughed. “Can’t count on it, hon. Until Forever Young is ready, my time isn’t
my own. Believe me, it’ll be worth the sacrifice. That pill is utterly
monumental, life changing, completely radical.”

“All
that? Sounds like a miracle.”

When
he’d explained the pill’s concept, her skepticism had grown. It sounded too
much like a fairy tale.

“Only
a few kinks to iron out, but so far, so good,” he’d said.

 “Let’s
hope it works.” She didn’t want to discourage him, yet doubted the pill would
perform as claimed.

Amazingly
it did work, at least for her.  The pill made her look and feel so great
she’d do almost anything to stay on it. It had to be all right. She hoped and
prayed her misgivings were wrong. Just in case, she’d skim some of the
documents to make sure.

Holding
the cup away from the computer, she took a sip of the now lukewarm coffee, and
looked down at the iPhone resting in her other hand.

The
articles were so technical she could barely read them, much less understand
their meaning. Frowning, she was about to give up in frustration when the
header of one entry caught her eye, making her hand shake and almost drop the
mug. With a splash, she set it on the table. She read more, then scrolled down
to earlier entries. The more she saw, the more the chills spread.

Oh
my God! Larry had tried to tell her something about the pill. In the urgency of
the situation, she’d misunderstood his message. The price for not comprehending
might prove high, not only for her, but others. Appetite lost, she stared
unseeing at the screen.

***

Dorrie
wasn’t sure how long she sat, scared stiff, feeling helpless, wondering what to
do. From what she gathered, Larry had completed his study of the Forever Young
pill the day before he’d died. In his post entitled Stop Production of This
Pill, he’d documented the formula for Forever Young, and underneath had
outlined its weaknesses.

Though
she couldn’t follow much of the technical language, the accompanying summary
written in laymen’s terms was concise enough for anyone with average
intelligence to understand.

A
frightening list of possibilities leapt out at her, as if in bold print:
Highly
addictive, producing insurmountable withdrawal symptoms. Can cause extreme
hyperthyroidism, a condition which, in the present form of the pill, is
guaranteed to elicit thyroid storms, with symptoms of fever, confusion,
disorientation, rapid and irregular heartbeat, heart failure and death.

Although
I don’t recommend distribution of this pill because of the abovementioned side
effects, if in some instance those issues could be resolved, a warning label
may suffice to emphasize that once begun, cessation would most likely prove
fatal if the original age of the individual is past normal life expectancy.

Another
instance must also be taken into account. If pills are stopped for even one
week, and the subject attempts to return to the regimen, certain death will
follow.

In
no instance should children ingest this drug.

Given
the above mentioned flaws, my recommendation is: Until a safe alternative is
found, cease production of the present formula, as it is not ready for a test
market.

A
possible exception might be subjects with defective thyroids, who might
potentially be disposed to withstand the continual onslaught of thyroid
hormones into the bloodstream. Since the only way to test this is by using
human guinea pigs, the loss of human lives is not worth the cost.

Another
possibility to clear the thyroid hurdle would be to administer enough
radioiodine to  thereby disable the subject’s thyroid. Unfortunately
again, the only way to test thyroid findings is to put human lives at risk.

As
already mentioned, the first issue of addiction would still remain, as well as
the consequences of deviating at any time from the recommended dosage.

At
this point, I’m unable to arrive at a viable alternative. Forever Young is a
great concept without safe or practical value.

 
Dorrie’s mind whirled at the
impact of what she’d read. She’d almost died. Fortunately, her thyroid
condition had saved her, but it might not have. What Larry had mentioned about
children was also a concern. She placed her hand on her stomach to confirm her
baby still moved. She’d already known of its uncertain future, but seeing it
spelled out directly made the prospect more terrifying.

Not
only that, according to Larry’s findings, it looked like Mike had not died from
a pre-existing condition, but from ingesting the young pill. Roman had known of
the findings beforehand, yet had been callous enough to not only talk her into
taking the pill, but also to start Mike on the regimen. Where was his
conscience?  

Her
fingers shook as she unplugged the iPhone, and slipped it into her purse. Now
that she knew why Roman had wanted the iPhone, the question was what to do with
its valuable information. It was her duty to preserve the findings, but
how? 

For
security sake, Larry had constantly changed his username and passwords, and she
had no idea what his last ones had been. She could try to get the iPhone
account turned back on in her own name, and email the documents to herself.
That might work, but what if the backup failed and the information got lost?
She couldn’t take that chance.