Chapter 4
Theodora lay in the bed where she and Javier had created the baby in her womb, made love hundreds of times over the last few years, and discussed their future together while holding each other tight.
The sheets were now cold…and would be forever more.
The pillow, the one on her side, was damp with the tears that wouldn’t stop.
The last ten minutes of Theodora’s life rolled through her mind like a nightmare on a never-ending loop.
Javier was dead.
She thought that when he’d left the Army, he was safe.
No more dangerous missions with Delta. Although she never knew where he was going and what he was doing, she always knew he was in mortal danger.
Her greatest fear was that he’d be killed on a mission.
That was part of the reason she had refused to get pregnant while he was on active duty.
She’d never been so relieved in her life when he reached his twenty years in the military and took retirement.
She’d been excited when he’d suggested joining Captain Riggs’s team that he was building in Africa. Parts of Ethiopia didn’t look all that different from Texas. The home they were given on the compound was nicer than what they’d lived in on their last post.
And the money was unbelievable.
Javier had convinced her to finish her graphic arts degree online, then completely supported her as she built a steady business freelancing on the computer.
Because of the time difference to the USA, she could have client projects waiting for them when they woke up in the morning, giving them great satisfaction and building a reputation quickly.
What was going to happen to her now?
Javier was gone.
Technically, he was somewhere on the compound.
A part of her wanted to throw on clothes and go find him just to prove to herself that he was really gone.
That this wasn’t just a nightmare. Clint Riggs had really been there.
In their home. Delivering the dreaded news that constantly lived in the back of every military wife’s mind.
What was it that he had said? He’d promised Javier that he would take care of her and the baby. That meant Captain Riggs was going to be there for her and take care of her and the baby. Right?
He was so handsome. She’d always thought so. Javier had said he was a wonderful man, caring and thoughtful of everyone, especially his family. She would now be part of his family, so he’d be caring and thoughtful of her and the baby.
Her phone alarm went off. She’d set it the night before, planning to get up and make Javier breakfast when he got home from working all night.
Realization started to hit her.
Javier would never be coming home for breakfast again. She had no one to cook breakfast, lunch, or dinner for ever once more.
Her tears became uncontrolled sobbing. She couldn’t catch her breath.
The baby started to twist and turn inside her extended belly as though it knew something horrible had happened.
Theodora started to panic that something was wrong with the baby.
She picked up the phone from the nightstand and started to dial Javier.
She’d made it through the first few numbers when she realized he’d never pick up the phone and answer her again.
He’d never calm her frantic nerves again, reassuring her in his loving way that everything would be okay.
Theodora gasped and howled, what the hell was she going to do?
Who could she call? She truly knew no one in the compound.
As the equivalent of the senior noncommissioned officer of a unit on a post, she and Javier had not socialized with anyone, not that there were any other wives in the compound, except for a few graduate students working for Professor Riggs.
They came and went with every semester, so she’d never bothered to meet them.
Besides, she’d been so busy with her own studies and then starting her design career, she truly hadn’t had time.
The baby moved in ways that hurt like she’d never felt before.
She needed help. It was over three hundred and fifty miles to Addis Ababa and her OB/GYN.
Javier had always made arrangements for the helicopter to take them to the doctor.
She hadn’t a clue about how to do that. He’d always taken care of everything.
She rarely even walked into the small town outside the compound.
She never had a reason. A cook came into their house three days a week, who always made so much extra food that they had plenty left over for the other days.
Sometimes, she and Javier would be invited to the big house to eat with the Riggs family.
On rare occasions, they would join Javier’s team and eat in the large dining hall in the men’s barracks.
Theodora had never been to either place by herself. Her world in Ethiopia revolved around Javier.
And now he was gone.
The baby rolled against the bottom of her stomach. She leaped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, making it just in time to fall to her knees in front of the toilet and empty her stomach.
What was she going to do without Javier?
With nothing left inside her stomach, she rinsed her mouth out with water, wiped the most recent tears with the hand towel, and crawled back in bed.
The baby didn’t feel right. She was afraid she was going to lose it, the only thing she had left of her husband. She couldn’t do that. She gently rubbed her hand over her growing bump and made up her mind. There was only one person she could call.
“Clint Riggs.” His voice seemed almost angry.
“Clint,” she said just above a whisper. It took her a minute to control her breathing enough to speak.
“Who is this?” It was a harsh demand. Had she made a mistake calling him? She had no other choice.
She sniffed back her fear. “It’s me, Theodora. I’m so sorry to call you so soon.” She burst into tears. “I think there’s something wrong with the baby.”
“I’ll be right there,” he promised.
It only felt like a few minutes before there was a knock on the front door. She started to get out of bed, but her stomach rolled as though she was going to throw up again. Theodora decided she’d be better off staying where she was. “In the bedroom.” She hoped he could hear her weak voice.
As the front door opened, she heard Clint talking to someone. “Thanks for coming, Doc. I know you normally take care of our men’s bullet wounds and stabbing injuries, but I didn’t know who else to call.”
“I don’t know how much I can help. It’s been over ten years since I did my OB/GYN rotation.”
“I’m quite sure you can do a hell of a lot more than I could.” She heard boots on the tile in the foyer before Clint’s now-familiar voice called, “Theodora? I have Doctor Barnes with me. May we come in?”
“Yes, please, hurry,” she begged.
Clint entered first, the doctor on his heels. They both stopped and glanced around the bedroom.
What must they think? The room was rather dark.
She loved the red scarf that was draped over the nightstand lamp, the only light on in the room.
Theodora lay propped on half a dozen red and black pillows, one knee bent and the other leg straight.
Her red robe now missing, she only wore the black baby-doll pajamas laced with red.
She probably looked like she was posed for a sexy magazine shoot, but it was the only comfortable position.
“Oh, Clint, thank you for coming so quickly.” She rubbed her baby bump. That usually calmed their child, but this morning it was having no part of comforting its internal gymnastics.
Clint stopped two feet inside the door and stepped aside for the doctor, who went immediately to his patient, setting his bag on the end of the king-size bed.
“Hello, ma’am, I’m Doctor Joshua Barnes.
Everybody calls me Doc,” he said in the gentlest voice she’d ever heard a physician use.
“Tell me what’s happening.” He held out the round end of his stethoscope. “May I listen to the baby?”
“Sure.” She glanced over at Clint.
He turned to leave. “I’ll just step outside.”
“Clint, please don’t leave me,” she pleaded and held out her hand. “I’m afraid of more bad news. Please stay with me.”
He hesitated. Resignation washed over his face.
She somehow knew he was feeling responsible for her and her baby.
Clint moved out of the way of the doctor.
When she reached up and grabbed his hand, he started to jerk it away, but then allowed her to hold his hand during the excruciatingly long examination.
In truth, it probably only lasted a few minutes, but it felt like hours.
Each time before the doctor went to touch her, he first looked up at Clint, as though asking permission. What was with that?
Finally, Doc Barnes announced, “Everything sounds good to me. You and the baby both have good, strong heartbeats.” After giving her a reassuring smile, he glanced up at Clint with a wide grin.
Returning his gaze to her, he announced, “You need to make an appointment for an ultrasound and a thorough checkup. I take it your OB/GYN is down in Addis Ababa. In the meantime, you should rest.” He packed up his bag, and Clint tried to let go of Theodore’s hand as he walked toward the bedroom door.
“Clint, please don’t leave me.” She sounded desperate even to her own ears.
“Let me walk the doctor out. Then I’ll be back.” Halfway to the door, he turned his attention back to her. “Have you talked to your mother? What arrangements have been made?”
She heard the urgency in his voice about those decisions. “No, not yet. But I’ll call her right now.” She picked up her phone, but she hesitated when she heard them talking.
“I heard rumors that you got married, but I had no idea she was here in the compound…and pregnant. I’ll be discreet,” Doc swore. “Of course I won’t mention anything to your family.”
“No, Doc, you misunderstand,” Clint added quickly. “Theodora is the wife of the man in your morgue. Less than an hour ago, I had the unfortunate responsibility of telling her that her husband, the father of her child, is dead.”
“Oh, fuck,” the doctor said just before the front door closed. The house became completely quiet.
Theodora needed to use this time to call her mother. She had wallowed in self-pity long enough. It would be the middle of the night in Texas, but at least her mother would be home. She hoped.
“This had better be fucking important,” Lenoir Galen Walters Sheffield growled. “You know I need my beauty sleep.”
Theodora didn’t know whether to roll her eyes or burst into tears. Her body knew the answer. “Mama, he’s…he’s gone.” She couldn’t bring herself to say the D word.
“Baby girl,” her mother exclaimed with leashed anger, completely awake now. “Did that good-for-nothing husband of yours leave you? I told you not to marry him. But did you listen? No!”
“Mom,” Theodora tried to interrupt, but her mother was on a roll.
“I warned you that Latino men had rightfully earned the title of Latin lovers. They’re all alike. Not a one of them can keep their dick in their pants.”
“Mom,” she called out in a stronger voice, but knew this rant was not over. She’d heard it several times over the years. No matter how strongly she’d defended Javier, her mother refused to believe he had kept their vows sacred. In all the years of their marriage, he had never strayed.
“They all think they are God’s gift to women, and I should know, I’ve had enough of them as lovers.” Her mother finally took a breath.
“Mom. Stop.” Theodora swallowed hard. “Javier didn’t leave me. Not like that. He’s…he’s…” She still couldn’t bring herself to say the word dead. “He was killed on a mission last night.”
Her mother paused as though absorbing each word. “Are you telling me he’s dead?”
Sniffing back tears, she bobbed her head up and down. This wasn’t a video call. She knew her mother couldn’t see her. Finally, she squeaked out, “Yes.”
“Oh, my poor baby girl.” Her mother’s tone had completely changed into a caring, loving mother.
“I wish I were there to hold you through your ordeal. But you know I don’t work steady, and the rent is due next week.
I don’t got much left on my EBT card. I’m so sorry, baby girl, but I can’t see any way that I can go all the way to Ethiopia and help you through this. ”
Theodora suddenly remembered what Clint had said. “It’s okay, Mama. Clint said they would fly you over here so you could be with me.”
“Really?” Her mother paused before she asked, “So, I am to buy the tickets, and when I get there, they’ll reimburse me?”
She knew there was no way her mother could afford the thousands of dollars it would cost to buy the ticket, even knowing she would be reimbursed.
Her mother wasn’t good with money. More than once, she had maxed out multiple credit cards.
Their bank account had been overdrawn more often than it had actually contained money.
Her Uncle Larry had bailed her mother out of trouble so many times that he’d finally sat her down and created a budget.
A cash budget. They had closed her bank accounts, taken away all her credit cards, and forced her to deal in cash only.
Except for the welfare card, which was replenished once a month.
That system had been working for the past five years.
Her mother’s credit score was too damaged to ever be repaired at her age.
But watching her mother blow through money and men had taught Theodora a hard-learned lesson.
She and Javier had saved money, more than enough to buy her mother a plane ticket to Ethiopia. But Uncle Larry had warned her to never give money to her mother because she needed to learn to live on what cash was in her pocket.
“No, Mama. You pick out the flights and let me know all the details, and I’ll have the people here book them for you.
” Once her mother arrived at the compound, she wouldn’t have any need for money.
Theodora had plenty to cover food and whatever else her mother may need, at least while she was in Africa.
“Well, since I’m awake anyway, I might as well go ahead and look at flights. Let me grab my tablet.”
It was actually Theodora’s old tablet. Very old, but still functional.
When Javier was about to retire from the Army, the Post Exchange had an amazing sale on computers.
They had agreed to make the expensive purchase since they would need a new one in Ethiopia so she could finish her degree.
Before leaving the States, she had given her mother her old tablet.
“Mama, these international minutes are very expensive. When you choose your flights, email them to me.”