Chapter 19:explosion in Havenport
I shouldn't have been in any doubt anyway, but whatever might have been there in the recesses of my mind was swept away in the euphoria of the forthcoming melding of two families.
Nicole came home with me as she had been since her return. As I closed the door to my apartment and turned to her, she walked into my arms and held me tightly to her.
"This has been the best week of my life," she said into my coat.
"I know what you mean and it has been for me too. I couldn't get over what happened tonight with my parents. I guess I should have known how much they wanted a grandchild, but I was insensitive to it."
"No, Will. They suppressed it, just like your wife did. Just like you probably did too. It all came out tonight ... in a good way."
"Yeah. Jimmy is special. I can't think of him as anything but my son. I won't allow myself to."
"I won't let you, either, my love. He is our son. Always remember that."
***
We didn't attempt to go out on "Black Friday." We got together at the Carlisle home and ate leftover turkey sandwiches, played board games in the living room, and generally chilled out for the day. I was helping Mary with the kitchen dishes later in the afternoon when she decided she wanted to talk to me.
"Your mother and father are lovely people, Will. I can see where you get your manners and personality. You know Angus and I have been very protective of Nicole and Jimmy. She made a mistake when she was young and we've been very concerned that she not make another. I'm very pleased that she has chosen you and you have chosen her.
"I'm also relieved and happy that Jimmy thinks of you as his father-to-be. That was also a bit of worry for us. But after yesterday especially, I feel very confident now. Our daughter is in good hands and our grandson will finally have the father he needs. You are part of our family, Will."
"I feel privileged that you've made me so welcome," I told her. "I love your daughter and Jimmy will be the son I thought I would never have. I promise to protect and love them as long as I am alive."
Mary moved to me and hugged me closely to her.
"Thank you, Will. I know you will."
***
It had to come, but it came sooner than I was prepared for. We would be separated again for another two weeks at least. It was going to be even more difficult this time because of what had happened this past week. Our recognition of our love, the commitment to marry, the joining of the two families, and the special pleasure of making love to Nicole were all too new.
I was not in a happy state as I drove Nicole to the airport once again. This time, Jimmy came with us. Nicole had said goodbye to her parents at the house. Even though this separation would be slightly less than the first, it still seemed like an eternity to me.
We stopped in the parking area along side the now familiar black SUVs. It was a different man who came out to take Nicole's bags, but he was polite and efficient. We hugged and kissed and Jimmy joined us briefly, his attention torn from the sleek jet that awaited his mother.
It seemed like only seconds later that she was stepping into the aircraft and out of our sight with the door hissing shut. The engines spooled up and soon it turned and taxied out of sight to the end of the runway. The two of us stood silently, waiting for the jet to reappear, almost surprising us at how quickly it had risen and soared off into the distance. And just like that, she was gone again.
I drove Jimmy home and stayed only briefly before heading to my condominium. I wasn't in the mood for company. I sat in front of my computer waiting for her call and when it came it almost surprised me. She had a smooth, quick flight and all was normal at the compound. She was back in the same room and would be back to work early tomorrow morning. There wasn't much to say that we hadn't said yesterday, but I was happy to see her face and touch my finger to the screen where her lips were.
I returned to work the next day and resumed my conventional career. It seemed so ordinary when I thought of what Nicole might be involved in. But then, my career was safe. I wasn't totally sure about hers. I did some research on eco-terrorism and quickly learned that is was high up on the list of concerns of Homeland Security, the F.B.I., and local law enforcement. When I reviewed the list of suspected attacks, I was surprised at the number and frequency of them. Because they were so often in remote locations or not catastrophic events, they didn't get the publicity that they might have.
The days dragged by, brightened only briefly by our evening visits on Skype. I was yearning for Nicole's return and like her, counting the days. She would hold up the calendar and I could see not only the X's that marked the passage of days, but the red heart-shaped mark surrounding the days we were together. There was no mark on the calendar yet that would tell me when she would be home.
In the meantime, I had begun scouting for a home for us. I had promised Jimmy that I would try and keep it in the same school district and I was working with a real estate agent who had my "musts" and "wants" clearly marked for him. One Saturday afternoon when I couldn't think of anything better to do with Jimmy, I took him with me to look at some homes with our agent. Jimmy thought that was "awesome."
I had been doing a bit more work at the TV station in Saginaw during the past month. Most of it was writing for the early news at five o'clock, and updating for the six o'clock edition. If nothing else, I knew what was going on in the world. Some of the copy was lead-ins to syndicated news stories that we picked up day-to-day from all kinds of sources. Other material was network, since we had a now-and-then agreement with CBS. The station served the Saginaw, Bay City and Flint region.
I was skimming over the wire services to see if there was anything late-breaking that we might want to add to the late edition when I noticed a headline. Explosion Rocks New England Office Building. It was datelined Boston, but when I read the first couple of sentences, my blood ran cold. The explosion was at the headquarters of SOCK, in Havenport. The details were sketchy, with no indication if there were any casualties or what the cause might be. I checked all our services but couldn't find any footage on the story. All I had was the early report and nothing more.
I grabbed my directory and looked up the closest TV station that CBS had in the area. I picked up the phone and called WHAV, asking for the news desk.
"Hi, this is Will Travers from WSGM in Saginaw, Michigan. I'm trying to get some details on an explosion in Havenport at the headquarters of SOCK. Do you have anything on that?"
"Hey, yeah. We haven't had anything like this happen in a hundred years. Seems like the police think it was a bomb. Blew the hell out of an old building. There's bricks and rubble all over the place."
"Any report of injuries or deaths?" I asked, afraid of his answer.
"Yeah, five or six injured, two dead, two or three missing. They're still working on it. Like it said, it's a hell of a mess. They're going to be days cleaning it up."
"Do you have any names of the victims yet?" I asked, now becoming desperate.