A Fresh Start

“Fourteen hours. We’ve been waiting for fourteen damn hours.”

“Relax, Micah,” Cherise sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I’m sure something will make sense.”

They were sitting in their living room. Two weeks ago Micah had moved in. Shortly afterward, Cherise finally decided to act on the website. They pretended to be interested in donating and were told they’d be “contacted shortly.”

“It is Paris after all,” she said. “Maybe it’s different there. Not to mention it’s illegal,” she added with a shrug.

Micah chuckled darkly and got up to get the some more to drink.

“Make some popcorn,” she called, curling up on the couch and keeping an eye on the computer screen.

“You’re morbid,” he laughed from the kitchen.

“But you love it.”

Soon the smell of popcorn filled the apartment and Lira lifted her nose. Micah tossed her a piece before settling back down. They had taken turns sleeping; each one watching for the email.

“What a way to spend a Sunday,” she said sarcastically.

“I could think of a lot of different things we could be doing,” he whispered in her ear and she laughed, goosebumps running up her neck.

Regardless of what he said, they hadn’t had sex since her miscarriage. They’d start to until one of them would get nervous and back out. Cherise wondered if they would ever get back to normal.

“Dr. Ditto called, by the way,” Micah said suddenly and she bit her lower lip. “We have an appointment Tuesday at 3.”

She nodded, suddenly losing her appetite for popcorn. He seemed to notice because he put an arm around her.

“So you still haven’t heard from Olivia?” he asked and she shook her head.

“I called her to tell her I was following the lead and she said that she would help. I think she’s trying to get out of it the best way she can.”

“It’s weird considering she was the one who talked you into it in the first place.”

Cherise nodded and put her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. She dozed off until Micah nudged her awake. His face was pale and he pointed at the computer.

We are very glad to hear of your donation. Unfortunately, we do not accept electronic currency. To make a donation, visit….

Below was an address and Cherise’s blood ran cold.

“What now?” she whispered, immediately deleting it. “This is making me sick.”

“Me, too,” he said. He sighed, running his hands through his hair. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.”

“Let’s turn this over to the police,” she said after some silence. “Just take it by there.”

He rubbed his cheek then nodded. “For once, I’ll agree with you. We’re getting in over our heads.”

Cherise wrote down the hateful numbers and way to find the website and put it in her work folder. She leaned back and put her feet up on the coffee table. Silence fell like a heavy blanket and she put her head on his shoulder again. As if unsure if he wanted to or not, he put his hand on her thigh.

“Micah,” she whispered, “do you want to talk about it?”

“I keep thinking about that day in the hospital,” he began but stopped when someone knocked on the door.

She stood up, Micah following nervously. She looked through the peephole and relaxed.

“It’s Harold,” she said and opened the door.

He grinned. “Well hello, love birds!” he said and held out a bottle of wine. “I was thinking we could celebrate.”

Cherise frowned, stepping aside to let him in. “Celebrate what?”

He laughed. “You didn’t hear the news?” They shook their heads. “We got a new client! A very wealthy client,” he added with a wink.

Micah opened the fridge to pull out some ground beef. “How do hamburgers sound?” he said and they all agreed. “Who is the new client?”

“His name is Peter Gabriel,” he answered.

“Like the singer?” Cherise asked, chopping an onion.

He laughed again. “That was my first thought,” he chuckled. “No but I’m sure he hears it a lot.”

“Are we the lucky recipients?” Micah asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve had an independent client,” Cherise observed once the burgers were done.

“Well, I figured you guys could use a break after Lido’s,” Harold said with a smile.

“Delicious,” Cherise complimented, kissing Micah on the cheek. “Your cooking has greatly improved.”

He stuck his tongue out at her. Harold was watching with a small smile.

“You know, it took you guys a long time,” he said.

“It was my fault,” she said but Micah shook his head.

“No. It was both of us.”

Harold cleared his throat, his face going somber. “When do you see the doctor?”

Cherise took another bite of her burger, avoiding the question. Thankfully, Micah answered for her and the topic left the table quickly. She wasn’t looking forward to the appointment but the hospital doctor insisted it would be good for the two of them.

-

Tuesday came sooner than Cherise wanted it to. They turned off their computers and logged off of their phones. They stopped in to wave bye to Harold then headed out, neither speaking much. When they got to Dr. Ditto’s office, they signed in and were given a thick packet of paper.

“Oh wonderful,” Cherise said, “the joys of new patient paperwork.”

Micah chuckled appreciatively before settling down to fill his out. Thirty minutes later, they turned it in and scanned their insurance cards. Cherise was used to long wait times but Micah wasn’t and soon he was playing with Lira, looking annoyed.

“This is normal,” she assured him and he grunted.

Finally, the door opened. Dr. Ditto was an older woman with long brown hair and sparkling green eyes. She was tall and thin and immediately bent down to say hello to Lira. Thankfully, Lira was very enthusiastic about the doctor and even jumped on her a little.

Dr. Ditto laughed. “Oh, she’s a sweetheart,” she said when Cherise apologized. “Come in, come in. Are you thirsty?” Without waiting for an answer, she handed each of them a water bottle. “So, my name is Sherry Ditto but I just want you to call me Sherry. This is a safe place for you two so don’t feel like you have to hold anything back.”

“Thank you,” Cherise whispered, sitting down on the leather loveseat with Micah.

He held her hand. “This is new to both of us,” he said.

Sherry nodded, her face grim. “So you lost a child?” Cherise’s throat closed up. The best she could do was nod. “I’m very sorry about that. How have you two been since the loss?”

“Fine,” Micah said but Sherry stared and he sighed heavily. “It feels like something has changed,” he admitted.

“In your relationship?” she asked.

“No,” he said quickly. “Not in the way I feel about her.”

“Nor me,” Cherise said. “But….”

“It’s hard to imagine having intercourse again,” Sherry said bluntly and the nodded, both blushing a little. “First of all, that is completely normal. Were you trying?”

“No,” she whispered. “In fact, I was told I couldn’t have children.”

Sherry consulted the list of her medication. “Yes, seeing all of these medications you’re on makes sense that you’ve been advised not to.”

“Yeah….”

Cherise had wanted kids when she was younger. It was a bit of a blow when she was told not to have kids.

“So it was an accident,” Sherry pressed and Cherise nodded, feeling tears prickle her eyes.

“One of those times passion just takes control,” Micah stepped in.

Sherry nodded. “I’m not judging. Just getting everything in one picture.” She pulled out an iPad and sighed. “Everything is going to electronics. I liked using papers but, it is the digital age.”

Cherise smiled.

“Now, for this appointment, just tell me about yourselves. The usual things: where did you meet, when did you fall in love, and so on and so forth.”

“Ladies first,” Micah said with a broad grin and she nudged him.

-

Two hours later, they left in higher spirits.

“She’s nice,” Micah observed. “Want to go to Macon’s?”

“You read my mind,” Cherise smiled and laced their fingers.

“What did you think of her?”

“I agree that she’s nice. I feel comfortable when I talk to her, too, which is a plus.”

“Especially considering why we’re seeing her.”

Cherise couldn’t help but feel the pang of guilt in her stomach. Micah seemed to sense it because, once they got out, he pulled her over to the patch of grass where Lira usually goes to relieve herself. He took her face in his hands and made her look at him.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said firmly and a tear leaked out of the corner of her right eye. He wiped it away with his thumb. “Please stop blaming herself.”

He kissed her and she sighed, leaning into it.

“On one condition,” she said when they pulled apart and he lifted an eyebrow. She smiled. “We get the soft pretzels.”

He grinned. “I guess we can do that,” he teased and kissed her lightly.