Lane Assignments

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Daddy, I'm pregnant."

"Annie, José's back."

What? I whip around and peer into the living room, as if I'm expecting to see José sitting on our plaid couch. He isn't anywhere to be seen, of course, so I turn my attention back to Ray. He's standing there looking as shell-shocked as I feel. I'm not sure which one of is more surprised at this moment.

My eyes flick over to Christian, who's still standing just inside the door, the bag of food we brought for Ray at his feet. I see his hands curl into fists, as if ready to pummel José if given the chance. And then the oddest thing happens to the entryway. The walls start to close in, shimmering with black flecks, the air is thick and hard to breathe, and then the whole room gets dark and starts to rotate slowly around me.

The last thought that goes through my head is how funny I must look, standing there confused about what's happening to the room. And the last thing I feel is a pair of strong hands grabbing me before everything goes black.

=/=/=/=

"... think we should call an ambulance."

"... give her a minute, son..."

"She's been through so much... couldn't take..."

"... going to be a father? Not sure I agree with your timing... you love her... and I know she loves you."

The words are swirling around in my head, getting louder as I near the surface, until I break free and feel my eyes flutter open. The first thing I see is the little brown water stain in the ceiling. I had a pool party for my Barbies in the sink when I was seven, ended up flooding the bathroom. I smile at the memory and then turn my head to see my husband's beautiful profile and his head of copper curls. He's kneeling on the floor, holding my hand, but he's looking down and he doesn't look happy... not like the Christian who hasn't been able to wipe the grin off his face all week. He looks worried.

I reach up and run the fingers of my free hand through his curls, and his head immediately raises, gray eyes searching my face. "Anastasia... thank God," he breathes.

I pull myself into a sitting position on the couch, tucking my legs under me, getting my bearings. "I fainted? I've never fainted before. How long was I out?"

"Just a few minutes. How do you feel?"

"My head is pounding and I don't know... shaky?"

Christian turns to my dad, who I now see is perched at the edge of his recliner, also looking worried, and asks him for some juice and Tylenol.

No one speaks again until I've taken the pills and drained the glass of orange juice. Finally, I break the silence, willing myself not to panic again. It's not like José is here-here, my dad would never allow that to happen. "What's going on Daddy? What did you mean when you said that José is back? I thought he was in prison."

"I'm sorry, Annie... he is in prison. I probably should have led with that," he says, giving a nervous laugh. "He's in a federal prison in Lompoc, California. He's awaiting a trial date on the charges of fraud, of falsifying documents. Apparently, he had a nice little set-up down there... putting his photography to use, helping others with their papers as well."

Oh.

"Annie, you didn't know anything about it, did you?"

"No... no I didn't. I hardly ever left the apartment," I say. "I didn't know."