FicWad

Chapter Fifteen - Heart

A woman and a man made their way through the house. It was late at night, with a monster of a storm advancing upon the city. Even though it pained them to leave their child this way, duty beckoned. She would wake in the morning with Ella, the babysitter, present, who would explain to her that her parents had urgent business to attend to. One day, the mother had promised, when her daughter was older, she would tell her the truth, and make up for the little time they spent with her as a child.

They were at the doorway when the woman stopped. Her husband took a few steps before he noticed. Turning around, he sighed. The limo was here; they had to leave quickly.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to keep the impatience from his voice.

"Oh, Charles," his wife sighed. She cast a glance up the stairs, to where the child's bedroom was. "I just can't bear to leave her this way - without so much as a goodbye."

As she glanced up the stairs again, Charles quickly checked his watch. They had to leave now, or the driver would go without them. "Come now, Rossi. We can say goodbye when we get back - or, hello, as it would be. If we leave now and get the job done quickly, we might be back before she's even up."

Rosalinda let out her breath, blowing a stray strand of her auburn hair from her eyes. "Fine, Charlie. Let's go, then."

The pair picked up their bags. As Charles opened the door, there was a small whimpering sound behind them. Rosalinda turned around. Behind her was her daughter, age five. She had her old, fraying blanket clutched in one hand, and the other with the thumb jammed into her mouth. Her short brunette hair was sticking out in odd places, courtesy of her pillow.

"Daddy. Mommy. Don't go." She yawned, removing her thumb and rubbing at her eyes. "I had a bad dream. Don't leave!"

Charles tried to hide a sigh. "Mommy and Daddy have to go, precious, or our boss will be very angry with us."

"But I had a bad dream!" the child wailed.

Rosalind turned to her husband. "Go out to the car, dear. I'm sure the driver will understand. I just need a few minutes to calm her down."

Nodding, he walked outside. The driver of the limo rolled down his window and called out, "Oy! What's the hold up, eh?"

"My daughter has had a nightmare, Bates." Charles explained. "Rossi just needs a few minutes to settle her."

The driver, Thomas Bates, smiled sadly. He too had a daughter at home, only a year older than Charlie's girl. It would pain him greatly to leave her with the nanny after a bad dream, while he hurried off to shuttle his special passengers.

"'Course I understand, Charlie. Take as long as you like. The plane's being fuelled, anyhow."

Charlie let out a sigh of relief, and began loading his and Rosalind's things into the trunk.

Inside, Rosalinda was still trying to calm her daughter. "There, there, my little Chickadee, what was the nasty dream about?"

Sniffling, the child spluttered out her answer. "I dreamed that you and Daddy's car crashed! But you was okay, so you got to the plane. But then the plane crashed, and I woked up before ... before ..."

"Oh, hun, it was just a dream. Just a silly old bad dream." Rosalinda glanced out of her daughter's window to the limo waiting in front of the house. "Now I have to run, dear. We'll be back by morning if we leave now."

"Okay." Her daughter said, in a voice barely above a whisper.

Rosalinda still felt awful about leaving her upset. "Here now. How about I sing you that song? You know, the song from the movie you liked so much."

Instantly, the girl's eyes lit up. "Yes, please!" She quickly snuggled into her bed and pulled her teddy to her chest. "I'm ready, Mommy."

Rosalinda cleared her throat and began.

"Come stop your crying
It will be all right
Just take my hand
Hold it tight

"I will protect you
from all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry


"'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more

"You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here
in my heart always,"

She whispered the last word as her daughter drifted off to sleep: "Always."

As Rosalinda walked out the door, she heard her child ask sleepily, "You promise you'll be back in the morning, Mommy?"

"I promise."

With that, Rosalinda Devonshire left her daughter's room, one last time.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Julius woke to the soft moaning coming from the room. His blue eyes snapped open, and began scanning the room for the source of the problem. Seconds later, he discovered it: Delilah! She was the one making the soft crying. Normally, that wouldn't be such a good thing, but this was different.

He raced to her side and grabbed her arm. "Dee? Delilah! Can you hear me?"

Her whimpering continued, and Julius found he could almost make out what she was saying: "Mommy ... said you'd come back ... lied ... alone ... never came ... why ... so alone ... Mommy ... promised ... 'always' ..."

He began whispering in her ear. "Delilah, I'm here. I came, Delilah, I came. You're not alone. I'm here and I love you. I still love you. Always."

A split second after his last word, her eyes slowly opened. As her gaze met his, she murmured, "I wanna see you ..."

Julius was in the middle of a whoop when she finished: "I wanna see you again ..."

The next second, the heart monitor went haywire.


Excerpt from "You'll Be in My Heart"
By Phil Collins

=============================================================

Synonyms for /Heart/: compassion, concern, humanity, love