Thui went to the kitchen and brought a pitcher of iced water, poured two glasses for Jacob and Diana and then sat back on her former place.
Ed Felt that Jacob and Diana's pain was much greater than his pain earlier. The only true love that he had always felt without any corruption was for his children. He told himself that except special occasion the love for one's children was universal.
Tim, on the other hand, did not move, did not even blink. He was sitting on the edge of his chair, bending his head and resting his chin on his hand. Nevertheless, in his expressionless face, one could see a world of sadness. He looked like a man that was ready to leave but kept telling himself, another minute, ...
Moments passed. Jacob sat next to Diana. Then he gave a long glance to Rosa.
"I want to hate you, but I can't." He repeated that again and again, unable to resist the painful awareness of repeating himself. Suddenly he stopped, as though remembering something, as though a though entered his mind.
"She called us around the time you're talking about!"
"That is true. I insisted on her calling you." Rosa responded despondently.
"Wait a minute; this doesn't make sense. She asked for money. She gave us an address. Actually a post office box in Virginia. If she was in Dallas.... No, no, this doesn't make sense, no... " Jacob was outrageous. He was shaking all over his body
"I can explain. I know all about it. " Rosa said in despair.
"Well, she was over five months pregnant. She wasn't sure who the father was. She wanted to have an abortion. I told her that was too risky; I meant being five months pregnant. She said that she didn't care. She said that she rather die than having a baby under that condition. We talked a lot that night. I told her that she needed to contact you. She refused. But then she said she needed money for abortion. I told her if I couldn't stop her, I might as well help her financially. She said no. She was angry at me. But later she became friendly again. She said she was sorry for being upset with me. I couldn't tell her that she had every right to be angry at me. She said the only help she wanted from me was that her parents wouldn't find out that she was in Dallas.
"I have a friend in Virginia. We used to be roommates when I first moved here. She married and moved to Virginia with her husband. I called her and without giving her much information asked her to send me back the envelope she would receive in Vickie's name. Of course, she was puzzled, but she knew if I told her to not question me, I wasn't going to tell her anything. That is why you sent the money to Virginia."
"What happened to baby?" Diana stammered.
Rosa stared at the window. The splendid dawn was coming to life. It was lightening the stifling room. She inhaled a big sigh and then looked at Diana.
"I am so sorry to cause this much pain for you. I didn't know I could do this much damage. When I started, I just wanted to find Jacob and ask him why; but everything changed, everything went too fast, I just couldn't stop it. Tim wouldn't let me to stop.
"That night, seeing her like that, I was so ashamed of myself that a few times I decided to tell her the whole story, to ask her forgiveness, but I didn't. Not only we people always wouldn't want to admit what we have done; but I was all she had. If I turned her against me, I felt, by telling her the truth, I might ruin that chance she had. On the other hand, I needed her more than she needed me. I didn't want to lose that. I loved her and still do.
"I stayed with her that night. In the morning I took her with me. I didn't have a place of my own anymore, so she couldn't stay with me; you know I didn't want to take her to Tim's house. The least I could do for her was to get her a place and I did. I rented a small, one bedroom apartment. Her pride was injured. She didn't understand why I was so generous with her. I told her that I needed a place for an occasional getaway from Tim, and her place would be my getaway place, too.
"I swear, our main conversation that night was about me telling her to go home, to go to her parents. I thought that I just forget about having a relationship with my father if I could save her. She told me if I insisted on her going home, she would disappear and even I would never know where she was. she said she knew her parents well enough. They would never forgive her; they would criticize her. She said her life was messy as it was, and she didn't want to add more misery to it. My impression was that she was terrified to go home. She told me that she was not terrified, but the morality issue was such a big deal in her family; and because of that she didn't want to go home.
"The baby, she was very adamant to abort it. I could convince her otherwise. She wouldn't listen to me. I told her it would be dangerous for her sake, being over five months pregnant. She said that she didn't care. She said she'd preferred to die than to have this baby.
"I spent the whole day with her. I brought her some modest furniture and clothes. Her apartment was to be ready in two days. I went home that afternoon to bathe, change clothes and talk to Tim. I left her in the motel. Tim wasn't home. I left him a note and explained the situation. I told him in the note that I would spent that night with Vickie.
"Driving back to the motel, I felt there was no prosperity in my act, in what I'd done. I'd given her my word not to contact her parents. I almost stopped to call you guys. I felt that it just couldn't go like this anymore. I'd reached no contentment with my hard work to get there. I felt miserable. I was transformed... But how I could free myself from that guilt? How should I?
"As I reflecting, I noticed spring with all its way. All around, I observed green trees and grasses which shone by the warm breeze. Yes, it was spring with all its splendor.
"Two days after she was situated in her apartment, I took her to a private doctor. She bluntly told the doctor that she was raped and she wanted to abort. The doctor told us that he would not do it, no way. He said that the only way that any doctor would perform abortion on now almost six months pregnant woman, would be in a case of danger to the mother's life. We went to two more doctors, and the answers were the same. I hoped after hearing these doctors' opinion, she would change her mind, but she didn't.
"Somehow on her own, she was heard of this woman, I guess a midwife, who would do it illegally at her home. She lives in Lancaster, south of Dallas. I swear Vickie didn't tell me about this woman; I had no idea.
"It was only a week after her return that I had a call from Parkland Hospital. Yes, she had gone to that woman. I don't know something went wrong. The woman performed the abortion, and sent her home. Vickie waited two days and ignored her heavy bleeding. I was busy with my finals. This was the first time that I had not seen her for a few days. At the end of the second day, she just had enough energy left to call 911 before passing out.
"The reason they called me from Parkland Hospital was because they found only my name and telephone number in her apartment. They needed blood. She'd lost a lot of blood. When I got there, I couldn't even recognize her. Her face was white like the sheet that covering her. Her body and hand were cold. Her eyes were closed.
"They asked my what was my relation to her. I told them that I was her sister. Her blood type, A+ is just like mine. I lay next to her and gave her blood as much as I could. When they stopped drawing blood out of me, I told them to not stop. They said that I couldn't possibly give more blood. I said that I didn't care.
"My blood saved her. She was saved. She was rescued. I took her home a couple a days later. I took care of her. I nursed her to health, I pampered her, I...
"When she was well enough to stand on her feet again, one day she asked me: 'No friend has ever done what you've done for me. You almost killed yourself to save me, why?'
"I was caught. I was confused. What could I tell her? How should I tell her? 'I just love you. You're my friend, you're like a sister to me.' I told her. 'No. Rosa, it can't be only that. I'm not stupid. The way you take care of me, all the things you've done for Me. No, no, it can't be that. Just tell me, tell me the truth!'
"We were in the kitchen. I was cooking, she was helping me. I told her to sit down. I sat, too. 'You want the truth, I tell you the truth; but don't hate me when you know the truth.'
"I told her everything. I mean everything from the beginning to the end. She sat and listened without interrupting me. But I insisted on telling her that my motive at the beginning of this plot was to ruin her, now was only to save her and to love her and to help her.
"We both cried. Her tears fell on her skinny cheeks, but they burned my heart. I held her hands and kissed them. I asked her to forgive me. The only thing she told me was: 'Now you see why I don't want to contact my parents. If my father could do what he did to you, he is capable of doing it to me, too.'
"Our relationship got stronger and better as days passed. Always, always returning home after being with her, I felt my heart was overwhelmed by joyous yet painful torment of spirit. I didn't consider myself as a failure anymore.
"I helped her to get a job in a daycare center. She loves working with children. Now she is back in school. She wants to become a teacher, like her father and mother and sister. She is fine, very fine. Now she is ready to come home, to come to you, if you accept her. she knows I'm here tonight. She knows everything. And one more thing I should say, this last part, Tim didn't know about it. I know why he accepted your invitation. I knew about Ed and his son. I didn't know his son's death. He told me that tonight he would confront Ed and I would face Jacob. I said that this was our great opportunity. Now it is up to you. That is all I have to say."
To Be Continued
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