Chapter 13
You know that feeling you get on Christmas morning when it doesn’t feel like Christmas morning? Well, that was exactly what I felt when Raven shook me awake the next day.
“Joan, wake up. It‘s Christmas Day,” she said.
“Your present is back at Titans Tower,” I said, still half asleep as I dragged myself to a standing position to find myself staring at the same desert landscape. So this is what a warm Christmas is like.
It’s always hard to go to sleep on Christmas Eve, especially - since our whole team spends Christmas at my house in Chicago - when there are three teenage girls in one room. However, that was probably nothing compared to this past night. Bella and her friends went back to their apartment. Mortimer had gone to his house across the street to check on Anne. And Raven and I spent another night on the ground.
“What‘s up with the wake up call?” I asked.
“It‘s already 8:25,” she said. “We should probably head over to Cassandra‘s house and see what‘s going on.”
“Good idea,” I said, knowing that by the time we broke camp and got ready it would be 8:45. Everyone in the household would be up by then. Kids get up early on Christmas. I once got up at four in the morning.
Before we got there, we could see an ominous black cloud in the distance. Once we were closer, we found out that cloud was made up of news crews. There were reporters, camera workers, the people who hold the boom mikes and whoever else works on a news set from every possible network I could imagine. CNN, MSNBC, CBS - they were all here surrounding the Goth house like a moat surrounds a castle. I’ve seen some huge news reporter masses from time to time, but I hadn’t seen this many news crews since our trip to Tokyo in 2006.
There could only be one reason a mass of news reporters would be in the middle of nowhere on Christmas morning, and we didn’t need to guess what that reason was.
“How in the world do they find these things out so fast?” I asked, astonished.
“You know how these things go,” Raven said, “someone has a camera phone, they take a picture and five seconds later it‘s all over the Internet.”
“There is no way that could have happened.”
“Well, it could have been something like that.”
We were about two houses away from the huge mob when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around to see Joanna standing behind me, looking somewhat nervous.
“Hi Joanna,” I said. “Merry Christmas… and what’s wrong?”
“I need your help,” she said. “Randy came to my house this morning and told me that all these reporters want to talk to me because I found Bella Goth and I have no idea what to do. What if I go out there and look stupid or something on national T.V? Or what if…”
“Relax,” Raven told her, “It‘ll only be worse if you‘re tense.” Joanna took a deep breath.
“I just don‘t get it,” she said. “Why do they want to talk to me?”
“Joanna,” I said, “you do realize you just found the most famous missing person in the country.”
“I did?”
“Never mind that,” I said, “Let me help you out.” I’ve been interviewed by the press more times than I can count, so I know what to do during an interview. Joanna looked like she needed some pointers. “First thing, never circumvent. It makes you look like you‘re hiding something.”
“What‘s circumventing?” Joanna asked.
“Talking in a circle. If you don‘t have anything else to say, quit talking and they‘ll get the hint. And you don‘t have to be nervous. All you‘re doing is answering questions. It‘s as simple as that.”
“Thanks,” Joanna said.
“Joanna, what‘s taking you so long?” Randy appeared from the crowd and grabbed Joanna‘s arm. We watched as he dragged her into the group of reporters, who all flocked around her.
“Come on Raven,” I said, “we‘re going in.”
We weaved our way through the swarm of people unnoticed - which was weird. Normally when these groups assemble, we’re the center of attention. But this time, no one cared about our presence.
“Thank goodness you‘re here,” Cassandra said when we reached the center of the mob. She and her husband were the only ones there at the moment - everyone else must have been scattered throughout the crowd. “I really need you to watch Amanda again. As you can see we‘re a little tied up here.”
“We‘d be happy to,” I said.
Cassandra led us in the house where Amanda was staring out the window. She stopped looking when we entered and walked in our direction.
“Mom, can we open presents now?” she asked.
“Sorry honey,” Cassandra said, “I‘m afraid it‘s going to be a while before we can open anything. We’re just too busy right now. Why don’t you talk to Joan and Raven?”
“This stinks,” Amanda said as her mother went back outside. “Santa left lots of stuff under the tree and I can‘t even open them because of all the T.V. people outside.”
Amanda went back to staring out the window. I looked at the kitchen wondering if I should ask Amanda if I could have something to eat. I was about to speak when Anne entered the room.
“There‘s like a million people out there,” she said. Amanda took her gaze off the window to look at Anne.
“Anne, how‘d you get in here?” she asked.
“The back door.”
“Did you open presents yet?”
“No. Have you?”
“No.”
“Do you know what‘s going on?”
“Mom‘s getting interviewed for the news. She‘s gonna be on T.V.”
“Really?” Anne said. She looked disappointed. “I was hoping she could tell me what‘s going on.”
“You can ask my friends Joan and Raven. They know what‘s happening.
“Can I have some food first?”
“Yeah. I can‘t reach it though.”
“I‘ll help you,” I said. “Amanda, can I have some too?”
“Go ahead.”
After we ate, I pulled Anne aside so we could talk privately.
“I don‘t know what‘s going on,” she said. “Last night when Dad came home, he started yelling at Mom. Then he went to sleep on the couch. And this morning, he leaved when all the people showed up here.”
“Did they tell you anything?” I asked her.
“Dad said that he loves the woman who was here yesterday, and that they used to be married. He also said that he didn‘t know where she was before yesterday. I don‘t get it. Why doesn‘t he love Mom? I don‘t even know who this other person is!” Anne was on the verge of crying.
“Do you know that your sister and brother have a different mom than you?” I asked. Anne nodded.
“I once asked my sister why she didn‘t call Mom ‘Mom’ and she just said ‘because she’s not my mom.’ I wanted to know more but she told me not to talk about it. Why are you asking?”
“Because that‘s who that woman is - your sister‘s mom.”
“So why does Dad love her and not my mom?”
I got on my knees so I could look the little girl in the eye.
“Anne,” I said, “have you ever lost something you loved?”
“I lost my favorite teddy bear once.”
“How did you feel when you lost it?”
“I was sad.”
“Did you find it?”
“Yes.”
“How did you feel when you found it?”
“I was happy. Excited.”
“That‘s exactly how your dad feels right now. He lost someone he loves, and now she‘s back. It‘s just like you and your teddy bear.”
“Oh,” Anne said. She no longer looked like she wanted to cry. “Thank you, Joan,” she said, and she gave me a hug.
While Amanda and Anne were discussing what could be under the their Christmas trees, I turned on the T.V. looking for a show we could all watch. A picture came on the screen of the scene that was going on right outside the house. I looked at the remote for a guide button, but couldn’t find any. Great. Now I had to flip through the channels. The next channel showed almost the exact same thing as the one before it.
“Oh, come on!” I said to myself as I changed the channel again. This time the T.V. showed an ad for a fast food place, but the next channel had yet another version of what was going on outside.
“It was in this town in the desert…”
Flip!
“We come to you live from Strangetown, Arizona…”
Flip!
“As you can see it‘s bright and sunny here which reflects the mood…”
Flip!
Most of the channels were the same. The only ones that weren’t showing the scene outside were showing either a commercial or something that I wasn’t going to show a couple of five year-olds. I kept going. It was Christmas day - there had to be some kind of special on.
Low and behold, the next channel I changed to was showing A Christmas Story. Amanda and Anne burst out laughing when they saw the T.V.
“Why is that boy in a pink bunny suit?” Amanda asked. It was too much to keep me from laughing as well.
“That‘s the funniest thing I‘ve ever seen!” Anne exclaimed.
I have nothing against A Christmas Story, but I didn’t know if it was okay for the girls to watch a boy “shoot his eye out” so I waited until the bunny scene was over and changed the channel again.
“You can just use the guide,” Amanda said. She took the remote, pushed something on it and the T.V. guide came on the screen.
“Why didn‘t you show me that when I turned the T.V. on?” I asked her.
“I didn‘t know that the T.V. was on until I saw the house on it.”
I went through the guide, but the girls weren’t interested in anything that was on the kids channels.
“I can‘t believe this!” I said after going through the whole guide. “Over 300 channels and the only thing on is live coverage of what‘s going on right outside the house.”
Oh, well. It was more comfortable to watch what was going on while sitting on a sofa than standing outside in the mob, so I turned the T.V. to CNN. The “Breaking News” banner was on the screen and under that was the caption “Bella Goth Found After 10 Yr. Disappearance.” They had just come back from a commercial break, and the news anchor was sitting at her desk. I sat on the floor where Raven was setting up a game of Go Fish for us to play while we listened to the T.V. The anchor explained the facts we already knew, and then started talking about something we didn’t know as much about.
“When most people get abducted, they are quickly returned to the place they were taken from. In Bella Goth’s case, however, she was somehow placed in Strangetown by the aliens, where she’s lived ever since. So why did no one recognize her before now?”
The image switched to a guy standing in front of a satellite image of Arizona.
“This is the state of Arizona,” the guy said, stating the obvious. The satellite image zoomed in to reveal an image of Strangetown and the surrounding area. “And this is Strangetown. As you can see, it‘s a small town that‘s practically isolated in the desert. It only contains a few thousand people.” A population chart appeared on the screen. “Here we have the population of Strangetown over the last 10 years. In 1994, there were only 2,000 people living there. Now, a town of that size and location mostly focuses on local news, so while the news stations of the rest of the country were broadcasting about Bella‘s disappearance, the people in Strangetown weren’t informed. They couldn’t have known who Bella was.”
“Well, the town is a huge part of the scientific community, so why didn‘t that part of the town know that there had been an abduction where someone disappeared?” the anchor said.
“The answer is that Strangetown didn’t play that big of a role in science at the time of Bella‘s disappearance,” the guy responded. He pointed to a point on the graph where was a huge jump in population. “If you look here, you can see that there was a huge population increase in 1997, and that‘s because scientists and their families had moved here to accept the opportunities the town has to offer.”
The next person to be featured was a legal analyst who explained the legal aspects of alien abductions and then talked about the legal proceedings of Strangetown.
“Strangetown is a place where many paranormal events take place, so the legal system is designed to work around that. People can get divorced in a matter of days and the longest trials take about a week.”
Cassandra’s voice came through the house. “Amanda, is Anne with you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Amanda called back.
“The reporters are asking about you,” Cassandra said. “If you want to be on T.V. you should come out here.”
The girls dropped their cards like hotcakes and bolted out the door. Raven and I sat in front of the T.V.
“I don‘t know which is weirder,” I told her, “the fact that legal stuff here happens at the speed of light or the fact that there are tons of reporters outside and they want to interview everybody but us.”
The scene on the T.V. was now an image of Joanna.
“It‘s Joanna‘s interview,” Raven said.
“Let‘s see how she does,” I said.
“Joanna, you were only four years old when Bella disappeared,” the reporter said.
“Actually I was three and a half,” Joanna responded.
“Well, you were too young to remember anything about Bella‘s disappearance, so how did know about it?”
“Well, I moved to Strangetown a few days ago and met Randy. He invited me over to his house and I meet Cassandra, Randy’s adoptive mom, and she was the one who told me about her mother‘s disappearance.”
Maybe I should have told Joanna to tell the whole story to avoid making others look bad. The way she had put it, Cassandra had just randomly told her about Bella, and I didn’t think that was something Cassandra would do. The reporter didn’t care though. She just asked Joanna the next question.
“Why did you decide to search for Bella Goth?”
Joanna had a thoughtful look on her face. I hoped she didn’t answer the question with “I don‘t know.”
“I don‘t really know,” she said. I hit my head. “I guess I just put two and two together. I mean I…”
We heard someone enter the house. We turned to see Bella run from the front door to the stairs in tears. Raven and I exchanged a glance, and then followed her up the stairs.
Chapter 14
“Bella, what‘s wrong?” I said, knocking on the door to an upstairs bathroom.
She opened the door, and upon seeing it was Raven and me, asked us to come in. We sat down on the rim of the bathtub as Bella closed the door behind us. She then lowered the lid on the toilet and sat there.
“What happened?” I asked her. “Was it something with an interview?”
Bella nodded.
“They asked me how I felt about Mortimer being married and having a child with Dina,” she said through her tears. “And when I told them that I didn‘t want to talk about it, they wouldn‘t take no for an answer.”
“I‘m sorry that happened,” I said.
“Why would they do something like that?” Bella asked.
“I don‘t know,” I said as I got off the bathtub rim and headed in Bella’s direction. She didn’t object when I got closer. In fact, she needed someone close to her, and, because Raven’s more introverted, I was the only one available. I knelt down next to the toilet Bella was sitting on. “Were you being interviewed by yourself?” Bella shook her head.
“Mortimer was with me. Lauren and Jessica were being interviewed by someone else.”
“They‘re here too?” Raven asked. Bella nodded.
“How come they’re not at Lauren‘s parents‘ house?” I asked.
“We weren’t going to be over there until ten, so when we heard that reporters had gathered here, we all knew that I should be here and they came with me to help me out.”
“Do they know about the interview or that you‘re up here?”
“I don‘t think so.”
“You‘re gonna be fine, Bella,” I reassured her.
“I hope so.”
There was a knock on the door, followed by a boy saying “It’s Randy. Is there anyone in here?”
“Come in,” Bella said.
Randy opened the door and was startled to see Raven and me with Bella.
“Man, what is it with women and talking in the bathroom?” he asked. I stood up.
“Randy, there‘s like five other bathrooms in this house,” I said. “Go use one of them.”
“I don‘t have to go,” he said. Then he called over his shoulder, “I found her.”
Mortimer came up the stairs and into the bathroom, while speaking to someone over a cell phone.
“No. No. Not at all…. Okay. Okay…. Merry Christmas to you too. Bye.” He hung up the phone and entered the bathroom. Bella got up to talk to him and I moved out of their way. “Bella, the police department is sending a security detail to get the reporters to leave. They won‘t bother us anymore.”
“I‘ll go tell Cassandra,” Randy said as he went down the stairs.
Mortimer placed his arm around Bella’s waist, and she smiled as she got a tissue and wiped the tears away from her face. No new ones fell.
“I‘m sorry Bella. If I had known the reporters were going to be here, I would have gotten security set up sooner.”
“Don‘t apologize,” Bella said. “There‘s no way you could have known.” She turned to me. “Thank you for being a good friend,” she told me as we left the bathroom.
“You’re welcome,” I said, returning her smile.
Mortimer led her into another room, but Raven and I stayed back in the hall. We weren’t alone for long - Lauren and Jessica came running up the stairs. Once they got to where we were standing, they noticed the two in the next room and stopped to see what was happening through the open door.
Bella and Mortimer were sitting next to each other on the bed.
“I know it might be hard for you today,” he said. “After all, it is Christmas and we don‘t have anything for you due to the circumstances.”
“That‘s okay,” Bella said. She got closer to him and put her arm around him. “I already got what I wanted.”
“Well, I do have one thing to give you. It’s not the real gift - I‘ll have to get it tomorrow when the stores are open, but I did find a substitute to give to you today.”
“Do you want to give it to me now, or do you want to wait until everyone else opens their gifts?”
“Can I ask you something first?”
“Go ahead.”
“I was wondering, after my divorce is final, if you would like to renew our vows.”
Bella smiled.
“Of course I would.” She leaned in and kissed him. After a moment, they parted, but still remained close to each other.
“Is… is Anne going to be okay with this?” Bella asked softly. I could see tears welling in her eyes again. Mortimer wrapped his arms around her lovingly, and Bella relaxed in the comfort of his embrace.
“Honey, I know that this is hard on you,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect it any other way. I‘ve talked to her a little bit already. She won‘t have any negative influence from any of this, because it‘s better for all of us, including her, if I‘m with someone who I love, and loves me. It‘ll be fine.”
“I… it‘s just…” Bella said. Mortimer pulled her even closer to him and began to stroke her hair.
“I know, Honey. I know.”
Bella lifted her head and met her mouth with his. After she kissed him again, he held her for another minute or so.
“What will happen to her?” Bella asked. “She doesn‘t deserve having someone like Dina as a mother.”
“I‘m hoping I‘ll get custody,” Mortimer told her, “but to be honest, I think Dina might fight for it as well. And if she gets custody…” He took a deep breath. “I really don‘t want Anne to be living with Dina, but at the same time, I also don‘t want her to be the cause of a custody fight. I‘m not sure about what to do. What do you think?”
“Honey, she‘s your child,” Bella said. “You should do what you think is best for her.”
“Bella, I‘m not asking you for advice. This concerns you as much as it does me, and this is a decision we need to make together.” He kept one arm around her, and with the other one her took her hand.
“I think we should fight for her,” Bella said. “I don‘t want her to be with Dina any more than you do.”
“But I‘m afraid that will have a negative impact on her,” Mortimer said. “She‘s only five.”
“I know, but what if Dina drags the poor girl all the way across the country? There‘s no way we can help her then,” Bella replied.
“Then, we won’t have a choice,” Mortimer told her. “If that‘s the case, then Anne will be better off with us even if she is centered around a fight. But if Dina doesn‘t leave town, I think that a custody fight will have an overall negative impact on her.”
“This is so hard,” Bella told him. “I mean I don‘t even know the girl.”
“That‘ll change, honey,” Mortimer said as Bella rested her head on his shoulder. “I‘ll make sure you know each other before we renew our vows. She‘s over here playing with Amanda a lot anyway.”
“Does she spend most of her time here?” Bella asked him. Mortimer nodded. “Then she‘ll still come even if Dina gets custody, and Anne won‘t spend a lot of time with her at all.”
“That‘s what we should do,” Mortimer said. “If Dina gets custody, Anne will still live across the street, and we‘ll let her know that she can come and stay with us any time she wants.”
“That sounds good,” Bella said. “There‘s one more thing.” She lifted her head of Mortimer’s shoulder.
“What‘s that?” he asked.
“Where are we going to live?”
“We can live here,” Mortimer told her. “I‘m sure Cassandra will let us, and that way we‘ll be able to spend more time with her and help her with the kids.”
“I love that idea,” Bella said.
They both got off the bed. Mortimer reached in his pocket and pulled out a necklace chain with something gold hanging from the end of it.
“Oh my gosh, it‘s a ring!” Jessica exclaimed. Lauren, Raven, and I instantly clamped a hand around her mouth. I was certain that Mortimer and Bella had heard her, but if they did they ignored her.
Bella was speechless as she looked at the ring.
“I found it last night,” he said as he draped the necklace around her neck. “I figured it would be the perfect replacement until I can get you one after I‘m through with the divorce court hearing tomorrow.”
“It‘s perfect,” Bella said. “I couldn‘t have asked for anything better.” She pulled him into an embrace and when she let go, he took her hand and they started walking out of the room. Bella saw her friends in the doorway, and smiled at them.
“Congratulations,” Lauren said to her friend as the two entered the hallway.
“We came up here as soon as we heard about what happened with the reporters,” Jessica said, “and arrived just in time the hear the good news.”
“It was hilarious,” Lauren continued. “When we heard about what had happened, she tried to run out of the interview, and one of the reporters did a nose dive trying to grab her. And I‘m just like ‘yeah, our friend needs us right now’ and followed her.”
“Thanks,” Bella said, “I appreciate it.”
“Can I see the necklace?” Lauren asked.
“Sure.” Bella held the ring in her hand so her friends could see it. “It‘s actually Mortimer’s old wedding ring,” she explained.
We heard a noise outside and looked out the nearest window. On the ground below a bunch of security officers were dispersing the crowd of reporters. While we were watching a cell phone went off.
“Okay,” Jessica said, “who has a cell phone that sounds just like mine?”
“Jessica,” Lauren replied, “that is your phone.”
“No it‘s not,” Jessica said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. “I turned it… Oh.” She looked at the phone and flipped it open. “Hi.” After a pause, she turned to Bella. “Bella, my mom wants to know how you’re doing and when we‘ll leave for Lauren‘s parent‘s house.”
“I‘m fine right now,” Bella said, “but I‘m not comfortable leaving the secure space just yet. I‘m sorry.”
Jessica relayed that information into the phone.
“Who‘s gotten together at your parents house?” Mortimer asked Lauren.
“My parents, Jessica‘s parents, my sister and her family, Jessica‘s sister and brother, and I think that‘s it,” Lauren said.
“Well, why don‘t we invite them over here?” Mortimer asked.
“Really?” Bella responded with a hint of excitement in her voice.
“Sure, we have room,” Mortimer said. “And besides you said they‘ve become a family to you, so you should be with them today.”
Once the security team outside the house had gotten rid of all the reporters, we went outside to wait for the visitors. Mortimer and Bella stood near the road so Mortimer could inform the security team patrolling the property to let them in. Lauren and Jessica’s families arrived with gifts in tow and were greeted by Bella and Mortimer. Lauren and Jessica’s mothers each gave Bella a hug and then Bella introduced them to Mortimer, stopping in the middle because she didn’t exactly know how to introduce him to them. It didn’t matter. Mortimer finished for her and they both showed their guests into the house. Once inside, there was even more hugging and introductions and craziness caused by Lauren’s nieces and nephew running around the house with Amanda and Anne.
It wasn’t hard for everyone to figure out that Mortimer and Bella were, in fact, together. He was constantly next to her either with his arm around her or holding her hand. The real excitement started when Jessica’s sister noticed the ring. After Bella said that Mortimer had given it to her, it took about two seconds for everyone to figure out what it meant, and then the house was in an uproar.
Everyone was really comfortable with each other except for Cassandra, who was being completely reserved until Lauren’s sister started talking to her about the baby. It had been a few years since a baby was born into anyone‘s family, and Cassandra’s stomach was the source for more excitement. With the kids it kind of became the big attraction, especially for Lauren’s youngest niece who was fascinated with the idea that another person was inside someone’s tummy.
Joanna’s family was there as well. Her parents had come during the interviews and were invited to stay. I found out that another thing Joanna and I did not have in common was that Joanna is not an only child. Joanna’s little sister, who was the girl with Joanna and Randy the day they found Bella, was also playing with the other kids.
When the time came to open presents, we combined the presents under Joanna’s and Anne’s trees with the ones under the tree in the living room. The kids dove in, and paper went flying. Once that was done, they moved on to the gifts that were from other people. Joanna and her family had opened their presents from each other the previous night, but that didn’t stop them from having a good time. Joanna and her sister played with the other kids. Raven and I enjoyed watching everyone’s reactions as they opened their presents.
Bella agreed to be the last one to open gifts. When it was her turn, she took one from the pile in front of the couch where she and Mortimer were sitting. The present was from Lauren‘s sister, and Bella opened it to reveal a beautiful blue vase. It had a round bottom that thinned out at the top. The rim was cut into waves.
“This is amazing,” Bella said.
“I‘m glad you like it,” Lauren’s sister replied. “I made it myself.”
“If your name hadn‘t been on the package, I wouldn‘t have known,” Bella said. She looked at Mortimer. “What do you think?” she asked him.
“I think it‘s wonderful,” he said, “and it‘ll look great on the mantle.”
“I think so too,” Bella said. She took the vase and placed it on the decorative fireplace. The vase made the room look complete. The blue was the perfect accent color.
“Wow,” Lauren said to both her sister and Bella, “that really ties the room together.”
“I don‘t think we could have found anything better,” Bella said. “Thank you so much.”
She went on to open the rest of her gifts. They weren’t anything too exquisite, and she found something great in each one. The presents from Lauren and Jessica were last. Lauren had gotten her a pair of sandals with a small heel. They were red and the straps had white rhinestones glued on.
“I love these,” Bella said as she slipped the shoes on.
“Can you believe I found those in the clearance section?” Lauren asked.
“Yes,” Bella relied, “you always find great stuff in the clearance section. Thank you.”
She went on to open Jessica’s present. It was a gold colored personalized necklace that had sea shells on either side of the name.
“Thanks Jessica,” she said. “I love how the sea shells remind me of you.”
“That’s why I put them on there. I got it customized from one of the girls at work,” Jessica said as Bella put it on. Jessica gave Bella her pocket mirror. Bella looked at the reflection of the necklace hanging around her neck.
“I love how it looks,” Bella said.
“It looks great on you,” Mortimer said as he put his arm around her. “Merry Christmas, Bella.”
“Merry Christmas to you too.” Bella rested her head on his shoulder, and he kissed the top of it.