Plum Blossom | Completed

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Hello Mellisa," came the feeble voice of her boss when Mellisa stepped into the room with Agent Johnson. She stared at Dr. Perez, unsure of how to respond. This man had been like an uncle to her. Who his son was, bore no weight on how she felt about Dr. Perez, she realized.

Seeing his ghostly face and tube riddled body caused a surge of guilt to pass through Mellisa. Dr. Perez had been lying here, fighting for his life while she frolicked around Disneyland with her daughter.

Mellisa couldn't find any words to say to him, so she continued to stare at him instead.

"I can imagine you have a lot of questions to ask me. I will answer them all to the best of my abilities. I just want to apologize before we begin. I cannot begin to fathom the anger that must consume you. I truly thought I was going the right thing keeping you close. I didn't want to worry you by telling you what was going on, especially since you were already dealing with the death of your parents. I should have kept a stricter eye on you."

There was nothing but remorse in Dr. Perez' voice. Something about the way he spoke snapped Mellisa out of her daze.

"I have already been told everything I care to know about the past, and I would like to leave it there. I'm only here for my daughter." Mellisa's voice came out harsher than she intended for it to, but she couldn't find it in her to apologize.

"What would you like to know?" Dr. Perez' voice sounded resigned.

"I take it you've been told that my daughter is your grandchild?" Although her question was addressed to her boss, her gaze was fixed on Agent Johnson for confirmation, who simply nodded.

Turning back to Dr. Perez, she said, "I'm only concerned about the likelihood of Alex' illness being genetic. I want to know if my daughter could have it down the line as well."

"No one else in our family has ever been had Bipolar or any other neurological illness. Even if they weren't diagnosed, we would have been able to detect the symptoms. While there are genetic markers to Bipolar, Alex's condition wasn't genetic. It was the result of an unfortunate chemical imbalance in his brain, I am told. That's why it took us so long to diagnose and start treating. We never thought to check for it. We assumed it was typical teenager behavior."

"So, he started exhibiting symptoms only as a teenager?"

"No. He was twelve. We just thought he was going through puberty. He didn't get volatile till he turned fifteen."

"So, there is still a possibility that Amanda might have it?"

"Amanda?" He looked at her with a smile, perhaps grateful about being given some information about his grandchild.

"My daughter. She was named after my mother." Dr. Perez nodded in understanding. He had, after all, known her mother.

"Anyone can have a neurological disorder, Mellisa, you know that. But the likelihood that Amanda's will be genetic, if she gets it, is very unlikely."

"Only environmental," she breathed a sigh of relief. "That's all I wanted to know. Take care, Dr. Perez," Mellisa said, turning to leave.

"Wait! Can I see Amanda?" he asked.

Without turning around to look at her boss, Mellisa handed Agent Johnson her phone to show Dr. Perez a few photos. She continued to stand stiff facing the door while he committed his granddaughter's face to memory.

"She's beautiful. Looks just like you."

"Thank you."

"As much as I appreciate the photos, would you be generous enough to let me meet her?"