Getting to the bottom of the mystery

“Today you’re going to tell me exactly what is going on or I will come back to Fatma with everything I have seen and heard,” I threaten Steve. For the first time in our rocky acquaintanceship, I can see fear in his eyes. I think I have caught him doing something significantly wrong.

As I am waiting for Steve to answer me, the nurse who has been with Louise all through her birth comes over to us.

“Can I see Louise and the baby? Is it a boy? A girl?” I ask. I have been so curious about this whole Steve thing that I haven’t even had time to ask how the baby is doing.

“It’s a girl. They are bonding right now but in a few minutes you should be able to go see them,” the nurse nods. Then she turns to Steve. “In the meantime I need you to come over and get help me out with some paperwork.” He nods and stands up quickly; I think he is relieved that he doesn’t have to talk to me anymore.

I watch him walk away and as soon as he is out of earshot, I pick up my cell phone and dial Fatma.

TENSION IN THE ROOM

“How are you?” I ask her. “Can you talk?”

“Not quite… I’m about to enter a meeting. Is it urgent? Is it about work?”

“No,” I reply, thinking to myself that perhaps this is a conversation best had face to face. “I have something I need to tell you but I think we should meet.”

“Ok,” she says, but she sounds distracted, like she is juggling our phone conversation with some other task she has to do. “Is tomorrow evening alright?”

“Yea, sure,” I say, but in my head I am wondering how I will be able to keep from exploding with all this curiosity. “You sound busy right now so I’ll let you get back to work.”

With nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs until the nurse lets me know that I can go see Louise, I decide to call the office and find out if everything is alright. Ciru tells me that there’s been no incidents in the time that Louise and I have been gone. Next, I dial Chris and let him know the good news of Louise’s daughter.

“Oh, we should get the department together to fundraise and buy her a gift,” he says. I agree and say that I’ll organize it. Just as I am hanging up, the nurse comes over and beckons me to follow her into the private room where a glowing but exhausted Louise is lying in her bed.

“So? Where is the little girl? What’s her name?” I ask enthusiastically. Steve is nowhere to be seen at this point in time so Louise and I can have a private chat and maybe she’ll be able to answer all the questions I have.

“I haven’t given her a name yet, I’m still deciding,” Louise says shyly.

“What?” I yelp. “Isn’t that something people do before the baby comes?”

“I didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl otherwise I would have named her,” Louise says. “I refused to find out the sex of the baby before birth. I wanted to be surprised.”

I nod, and then we discuss her choice of names for a few minutes. I am trying to find a way to introduce the subject of Steve to the discussion without looking like I am prying too hard when the door opens and Steve walks back in.

Louise reaches a hand out in his direction, beckoning for him to come over to her. “Oh, Liz you should meet my partner Steve. Steve this is Liz. We work together.”

VICIOUS PREDATOR

“Yes,” he says through gritted teeth.

“We’ve met,” I add, a slightly amused look on my face. Louise looks at each of us alternately, puzzled.

“Is everything alright? I am sensing some tension here.”

“Yes, everything is just fine,” I say, looking Steve directly in the eye. He looks like he’s been cornered by a vicious predator.

“Hmm,” Louise frowns.

“So I think Louise really needs to rest, giving birth was not easy,” he says a little sternly.

“I certainly am tired…” she says. Her head sinks back into her pillow. “I could use a short nap.”

“Let me take you to the nursery so you can take a look at the baby,” Steve says to me. He sounds quite helpful but I know he’s avoiding having this conversation in front of Louise. I suppose it will be difficult to lie to me about her if she’s within earshot.

“At some point you will have to explain all of this,” I say when we are standing outside Louise’s room.

“And I will,” he says. “In fact, let me fill you in right now.”