Page 188 of Always Us

He laughs. “Yes, I remember that feeling. But Garret.” He sounds serious now. “Don’t worry about things you don’t need to worry about anymore.”

He knows I still worry about the organization. He always tells me not to, but I still do. I probably always will, because I know it’ll never go away. You can’t defeat it. It’s too powerful and the members are embedded in every facet of society. Large corporations. Judicial systems. Law enforcement. Government. And they’ll do everything they can to stay in power, because they know if they don’t, another group just like them will take over. There will always be people who crave power. People who want to control the masses. Control the system. It’s always been that way. And that will never change.

Sometimes I wonder if the organization will come back for me when my dad and William are gone and I have no one left to protect me. I’m one of the few people who knows about them and that makes me think they’d want me back someday. I’ve told my dad this and he assures me it’ll never happen. He says that so much has changed there the past few years, that it’s nothing like it used to be. They recruit people now, instead of forcing people to be part of it. But I still worry.

“Garret, did you hear me?”

“Yeah. Sorry. It was a long day. I’m just tired.”

“Get used to it. You won’t be getting much sleep anymore.”

“Did you get the pictures I sent?”

“Yes. And she’s beautiful. Let me know when you want Lilly and me to come out there. We can’t wait to meet her.”

“Come out whenever you want. Jade was just asking when you guys would be here.”

“Then we’ll plan on being out there in a couple weeks.”

“Okay, I’ll tell Jade.”

“Is she there? I’d like to talk to her.”

“She’s sleeping. She’s really tired.”

“Well, call me tomorrow when she’s had time to rest.”

“I will. Bye, Dad.”

“And Garret?”

“Yeah?”

“Enjoy this time. It goes fast. And if you miss it, you’ll regret it.” He’s talking about himself and missing all my teen years. He still feels bad about that. He doesn’t need to. I’ve forgiven him. “I’ll let you go. Call me if you need anything. Goodbye, Garret.”

As I put my phone away, I see Frank and Karen getting off the elevator. They brought the small travel bag Jade packed for the hospital. They were in such a hurry to get Jade to the hospital this morning that they forgot to bring it.

They come up to me and Frank hands me the bag. “How’s she doing?”

“Good. She’s taking a nap right now.”

“It’s good she’s getting some rest,” Karen says. “She won’t be getting much sleep when she gets home.” She smiles. “You should be taking a nap, too. You won’t be getting much sleep either.”

I nod. “Yeah, that’s what everyone keeps saying. That’s okay. I don’t need much sleep.”

“Well, we don’t want to wake Jade up,” Frank says. “We just wanted to drop off her things.” Frank takes Karen’s hand. “You ready to go?”

She tugs him toward the nursery. “We have to go see the baby first.”

He looks back at me, laughing, as she pulls him down the hall. “I guess we’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, bye.” I wave him on.

The next day after lunch, the nurse stops by with the baby. It’s a different nurse than the one who was here yesterday. An older lady with gray hair. She gives the baby to me this time because Jade still has her lunch tray in front of her.

The nurse takes the tray away and says to Jade, “The doctor will be in to check on you later this afternoon. If all looks good, you’ll be discharged.”

“Really?” Jade glances up at the nurse. “That fast?”

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