TCB Part 43: Sunday Afternoon (Cont)

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Montgomery practically ran through the halls of the hospital. He nearly collided with a patient on a gurney as he slid around a corner. “Where is Charlotte Avalon?” he shouted to anyone who cared to hear him. A nurse pointed toward a room near the end of the hallway. A Traditionalist guard was standing outside the door gripping a rifle menacingly.

“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t let you go in there.”

Montgomery glared at the soldier. “Son, do you have any idea who I am?”

The soldier shifted nervously, “Yes Sir, Mr. Lester, Sir. I am under strict orders not to allow any non-medical staff to enter this room.”

“Tell me, soldier: Do you know who provided the endowment for this hospital?”

“No, Sir.”

“My father’s foundation did, and he received a trustee designation in return. A title that has passed to me. So you’re going to let me in the room.”

The soldier was even more nervous now. “I’m very sorry sir. I can’t do that. The orders were quite clear, and did not make any allowance for a trustee.”

“You are a good soldier, son. You follow orders well. Do you know who is in that room?”

“No sir.”

“It’s a thief. You are here because she stole a great deal of money. She stole it from me.” Montgomery was getting impatient and angry. “You wear a uniform that represents a movement made possible by my family. You are standing in a hospital built by my family. You are guarding a room containing a thief who stole from me. Now understand that I’ve already wasted more time talking to you than I have to spare. I’m going into that room. If you have to shoot me, so be it. But you’ll be the one who has to explain to your superior why you just shot Montgomery Lester. I don’t think you want to be famous in that way, do you soldier?”

The soldier said nothing in response. He merely stood tall and continued clutching his rifle. Montgomery walked past him and into the room without incident. Once inside, he saw a young woman lying on a hospital bed. One leg was cast in plaster and suspended from the ceiling by a cable. Her face was bruised, with one eye badly swollen shut. The other eye looked ok but was, at present, closed peacefully. At the sight of her short, blonde curls, he began to feel emotion well up in his chest. 

Her good eye opened and blinked a few times. She scanned the room slowly before settling on Montgomery’s face. Her eyes were the same piercing blue as Alice’s. The resemblance was striking, and brought him to tears. Here she was, his daughter, his connection to the woman he’d loved.

“Hi.” She said. “You’re not a doctor, are you?”

He shook his head, unable to say more. He walked over to her bedside and put a hand on her shoulder. He touched his daughter for the first time. He felt a thrill travel up his arm and down his spine. Could this be real?

“Hey, I recognize you.” Charlotte said weakly, under the influence of some sedative that no doubt dulled the considerable pain. Then she laughed softly. “You’re that businessman. Lester, right?”

“Yes, that’s right, Charlotte.” He replied, wiping tears from his eyes.

“Look, I’m real sorry about the train. It was too good to pass up.”

“Don’t worry about the train.”

“Oh good.” She said quietly, smiling. “I spent some of it on a pretty dress, I’m sure you can sell it back to the shop.”

Montgomery smiled at his daughter. “Keep the dress.”

“Thanks, Mr. Lester. You’re being awful nice about this.” She blinked and reached for a cup of water at her bedside. She took a sip and set the glass back on the table. “Honestly, it was a lot of fun. Even if I don’t get to keep the money, it was worth it.”

“Yes, Charlotte, it was worth it.” He squeezed her shoulder, hoping he did not hurt her. “Charlotte, I need to tell you something very important.”

“Shoot.” She replied, giggling quietly.

Montgomery suspected her silliness was the effect of whatever drug was keeping her pain at bay. Then again, he didn’t know what she was like normally, he was meeting her for the first time. He reflected that it was a shame that he couldn’t do this when she was more lucid and could better grasp the importance of what he was about to say. He couldn’t wait any longer, she had to know.

“Charlotte, do you ever wonder about your parents?”

“Wow, this conversation got serious in a hurry.” It seemed to Montgomery that she had snapped out of whatever stupor she had been under. “Sure, I’ve wondered what happened to them. But you know, most of the kids at my school were there because their parents were arrested. I just assumed the same.”

“Well, you’re partly right.” He took a seat on the edge of her bed. “Your mother was arrested as a Technologist.”

“Huh…” Charlotte replied. “I’d always assumed that, but I never realized just how it would feel to know for sure.”

“But your mother was not some kind of criminal or terrorist. She believed in her cause, but she didn’t believe in violence as a means to accomplish it. She was arrested and imprisoned. Your mother was a young, beautiful woman; full of life. She lived every day to the fullest, and wasn’t afraid to stick her neck out if she thought it would do some good.”

Charlotte smiled. “Sounds like I would have liked her.”

Montgomery felt himself tearing up at the thought of Alice. “I think you would have. Her name was Alice Clarke. She died of a virus shortly after you were born.”

Charlotte wasn’t sad at that news; she just continued to stare into the distance in thought. Montgomery was disappointed at that reaction. He wanted her to mourn with him over the loss of Alice. But for Charlotte it was no loss. She’d never had her mother, so she would never mourn the loss. She looked up at him. “What about my dad, I suppose he was a handsome and brave freedom fighter like my mom?”

Montgomery shook his head. “No. Your father was a coward. He could have saved your mother and didn’t. He didn’t stand for anything, didn’t love an idea like your mother. In the end, he loved his status more than your mother. He’s had to live with that knowledge his whole life, and it’s robbed him of his soul. It wasn’t until later, when he couldn’t do anything about it that he realized how he’d been such a fool.”

Charlotte seemed sad. She looked down at her leg, propped up into the air. She slowly turned to make eye contact with Montgomery. “That’s you, isn’t it?”

Montgomery nodded, tears running down his cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Charlotte. I’m sorry for all you’ve been through. I’m sorry that you’ve had to live your life without knowing who you are. Most of all, I’m sorry for letting your mother be taken away from me. I lost a wife and a daughter that day, but you lost even more. I would do anything, give everything I have, if I thought that I could make it up to you.”

“Don’t be guilty, Mister. You did what you thought was right at the time. Ok, so you were wrong. But you can’t live the rest of your life regretting it. I mean, I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff; a LOT of stupid stuff. Some of it ended up hurting pretty bad.” She pointed at the cast on her leg. “But if I stopped taking risks, I wouldn’t enjoy the life I’ve got left. You could die tomorrow, you know. When I speak at your funeral, do you really want me to say that I met you for the first time, and you spent the rest of our time together groveling and apologizing?”

Montgomery laughed through the tears. “I think I’m going to enjoy getting to know you, Charlotte. There’s a smart, beautiful young woman in there, and I can’t wait to learn about her.”

Charlotte put out her arms to Montgomery and he leaned in to hug her. A shiver radiated from the back of his neck and through his body as he hugged his daughter for the first time, thirty years too late.

Part 44 >