The Legacy (44 page)

Sadie turns over in the darkness and looks at the clock.
It is just past midnight. Getting up, she quietly dresses in the
jeans and sweater she had placed on the chair earlier. With
thoughts of what she'd planned running through her head
earlier, she had known she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but she’d
dressed for bed anyway. The last thing she had wanted to do
was give Gladys any cause for suspicion.

Sadie
had felt
Gladys
watching
her
throughout the
evening, and remembering the hateful way the woman looked
at her before she went to bed makes her shudder. She shakes
her head, still not able to believe she is having to plan an escape
from her own home.

She quickly puts on some socks and a pair of running
shoes, and locates her purse and jacket. Opening her dresser
drawer, she takes a large wad of cash from under the folded
clothes and stuffs it in the pocket of her jeans. Taking a deep
breath, she turns off the bedroom light and quickly moves
down the hall to Phillip’s room.

Sadie quietly opens the door and whispers Phillip’s name.
After shaking him gently, he sits up and rubs the sleep from his
eyes, trying to adjust them in the darkness.

“Come on, honey. I’m going to get you out of here.” She
unfolds a small blanket and wraps it around him, wishing she
had a coat that would fit him. She places her hand against his
cheek. “Everything is going to be okay. But we have to be really
quiet, all right?”

Phillip nods and grips her hand, anticipating being with
his parents again. Thoughts of seeing them and his brother had
made it hard for him to fall asleep.

“Are you ready?” she whispers and Phillip nods, holding
tightly to her hand. Sadie turns toward the door, and they begin
quietly making her way down the hallway when something hard
crashes against her head. The last thing she hears is Phillip’s
scream before losing consciousness.

I silently lay in bed next to Adagio and look through the
window at the moonlit forest. I don’t know why I have
awakened, and the harder I try to go back to sleep, the more
sleep eludes me. Not wanting to wake him, I quietly slip out of
bed and go to the kitchen, deciding a cup of chamomile tea
might help. I don't normally have a problem sleeping when I'm
pregnant, but staying awake is usually a challenge.

Taking my tea to the living room, I stretch out on the
sofa and try to relax. I sip my tea and mentally tally up all the
things I need to do to prepare for Thanksgiving. I am glad for
all the work because it keeps me busy and my mind occupied. It
would be so easy to dwell on the fact that our son won’t be
sharing the holiday with us, but I can’t allow myself to do that.
I want to make the day as special as I can for my family, and I
need to be emotionally in tact to do that.

I run a hand back through my shoulder-length hair, still
trying to get used to the new length. I got it cut last week after
years of wearing it down my back. The stylist I went to did a
good job and I am pleased with her new look. I still wear it
straight, but the layered ends are slightly turned under, softly
framing my face. I also have wispy bangs, which give me a
youthful appearance.
I smile,
remembering
the
look
on
Adagio’s face when I came home. He told her over and over
how beautiful I looked and couldn’t stop staring. Of course he
always thinks I am beautiful. I just felt like I needed a change.
And being pregnant, it will grow out again soon.

Rubbing my tired eyes, I look around the spacious living
room, sighing as I take it in. It truly is a beautiful condo and
I'm grateful to
finally
be
emotionally
whole
enough
to
appreciate its beauty. I remember how I often rode the bus
through this neighborhood when I was younger, gazing at the
elegant homes. I recall passing these very condos, trying to
imagine what the interior of one was like, and I ponder the
irony.

I could never have guessed I would again be living in the
town I grew up in. It hadn't been a part of my plans. But things
don't
always
go
quite
the
way
you
plan.
I am forever
discovering this fact the hard way, but I also know this life is a
learning process, and I am okay with that.

I am just finishing my tea when Adagio appears in the
doorway. He doesn't sleep well when I'm not beside him and I
am the same. He pushes a hand back through his disheveled
hair. “Can you not sleep,
amore
?”

“I’m having a hard time relaxing. Can you believe it? Me,
pregnant and not able to sleep?”
Joining me on the sofa, he begins to gently massage my
shoulders. “Things are different with this pregnancy. You are
going through so much right now. We all are.” He sighs
wearily. “And things are not the same without Phillip. How can
they be?”
I close my eyes against the burning tears, but they escape
anyway. “I miss him so much.” I press a hand against my
mouth as a muffled sob escapes.
Adagio turns me and pulls me against his chest as his own
tears come. “I miss him too, baby” he says pressing his lips into
my hair. “I miss him so much it hurts. But I know everything
will be all right.”
Drawing back a little, I look into his eyes. “Me too. But
thank you for reminding me and for being strong enough for
the both of us.”
“I draw a lot of my strength from you these days.” He
kisses my brow.
Smiling, I rest my head against his chest, basking in the
love we share. I finally close my eyes and try to clear my mind,
focusing only on positive things. I can’t dwell on the negative
and still keep my sanity.

When
Cisely’s
breathing
deepens
and she
is
asleep,
Adagio tilts her head back slightly and gazes down at her face.
Pulling her closer, he presses his lips to her brow, breathing in
the scent of her hair. How he loves this woman! She is in his
every thought, his every dream, and he needs her like he needs
air to breathe. He can’t even sleep unless she is within his
reach. Her presence fills him, and he can barely remember what
his life was like without her.

“I love you, baby,” he whispers against her brow. “
Il mio
bello angelo
.” His lips linger on her forehead a moment longer
before he stands, lifting her in his arms.

She
awakens
and smiles
sleepily
as
he
carries
her,
wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’re so good to me,”
she says softly.

Sadie presses her hand against the back of her throbbing
head, the pain growing worse with each movement. Though
she’d never been hit by a truck, she can’t imagine it feeling any
worse. Pushing herself up enough to reach the light switch, she
leans against the wall to keep from falling. Tears seep from her
closed eyes as she thinks about Phillip and the danger he is in.

It’s all my fault
.
How could I have been so careless?
Holding
the
back
of
her
head,
she
staggers
to
the
bathroom and turns on the light, not the least bit shocked to
see blood on her hand when she pulls it away from her head.
If
she did this to me, there’s no telling what she will do to Phillip.
She
moans as pain shoots through her whole head.
I have to get help.
Sadie presses a towel to the wound and winces. She picks
up the phone on the table near the bathroom door to call the
police, but the line is dead.
I should have known.
Pulling on the cord, she finds that it has been cut, certain
the other two probably are as well. Staggering back down the
hallway, she picks up her purse, futilely searching for her car
keys, then moves as quickly as she can to the front window
only to discover her car is no longer there.

It figures.
Sadie lives so far away from town, she will have to walk
two miles to get to the nearest bus stop, and there aren’t any
buses running this time of night. She realizes the remote
location of her home is probably one of the reasons Gladys
chose to stay there. Feeling her pocket, she sighs with relief,
grateful Gladys hadn’t thought to search them. She still has the
cash she’d stuffed in them earlier.
With a great deal of effort, Sadie puts on a heavier coat.
The walk will be hard, but she has no choice. She needs to get
to the police and tell them about Phillip. And she is determined
to make it to the station.
Even if it kills her.

Sadie collapses onto the bus stop bench. She is in so
much pain, she wonders if she can make it all the way into
town. Leaning forward, she holds her head in her hands, trying
to catch her breath and find some relief. She closes her eyes
and begins to cry, not able to believe her life has come to this.
For over two months now, she has been most likely harboring
a fugitive. She has housed an evil woman who kidnapped a
child and caused misery to a family.

Slowly lifting her head, Sadie takes a deep breath. She is
miserable
but
continues
to
fight
thoughts
of
her
own
discomfort. She has to, because there is a little boy out there
somewhere who needs her to fight for him. She is the only one
who can.

Biting
back
the
pain,
she
focuses
on
the
Christmas
advertisements posted on the acrylic shelter around the bench.
She has never taken the bus, because she’s always had reliable
transportation, and even if she didn’t, the prospect of a two
mile walk to the bus stop every day isn’t very appealing. Each
time she passes this stop on her way to work, she notices it is
covered with advertisements for one thing or another. She
wonders how many people in her neck of the woods ever
venture to any of the expensive stores advertised there. She
doubts many can afford it. She definitely can’t.

Turning and letting her eyes scan the various posters, her
heart literally stops for a second, her eyes growing large as
Phillip’s face stares back at her from a missing child poster next
to a photo of Gladys. Her voice catches as she reads the
information under the pictures.

Adagio Phillip St. John II
Age: 5
Race: Biracial – Black/Italian descent
Height: 4 feet 2 inches
Hair: brownish-black
Eyes: green
Last seen with : Gladys Baker
Age: 57
Race: Black
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Call if you have any information
Reward offered.
Closing her eyes, Sadie lifts her face heavenward as hot

tears spill down her cheeks, her hands forming fists. “How
could I have been so stupid? Because of my stupidity, Phillip
has been kept from his family, and now they might not ever see
him again.” Her voice breaks. “God, please help me. Help me
to help Phillip.”

She presses her face into her hands and cries helplessly,
feeling alone and hopeless. She will never be able to live with
herself if anything happens to Phillip, so she continues to plead
to the heavens for help. She needs to make it to the station, but
she is in so much pain, she can hardly move.