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In the evenings, after dinner, he contrived reasons for leaving the house. He drove to the duplex. He parked near enough for the receiver to pick up any transmissions from the bug, but not so close that he risked being spotted by either Albright or Crystal.
Only once did he hit pay dirt. He heard Crystal asking Albright what he was doing next door. Why was it such a big secret? Why couldn't she go in there? If the landlord found out that he was using it for extra storage, they'd be kicked out of the apartment. She asked if he was dealing drugs. If so, she threatened to move out.
Albright told her that she would move out when he ordered her out and not before. Then he shouted for her to shut the hell up and not to meddle in his business.
Having heard that exchange, Dodge returned home pumped, only to become alarmed when he caught Caroline sitting on the edge of their bed, stroking her mounded stomach with one hand and massaging her lower back with the other.
He rushed to her side. "Oh, God. Is the baby coming?"
She affectionately ruffled his hair. "Not for another couple of weeks at least. I'm having Braxton Hicks contractions."
"What the hell is a ... what you said?"
"They
're perfectly normal. Really just twinges."
"Looks like more than twinges to me."
"The doctor says to expect these contractions until the real thing comes along."
"How will you know it's the real thing?"
She laughed lightly. "Oh, he says I'll know."
For the rest of the night, even while she slept, he kept his hand on her belly, wondering how she could possibly sleep with so much activity going on inside her womb.
Worry gnawed at him. If her uterus was in proportion to the rest of her, it was tiny. He thought it was a miracle that a frame as small as hers could carry a child of any size, but what if their baby was extraordinarily large? He couldn't remember if he'd ever been told how much he'd weighed at birth, but even if he had been told, he didn't know what the standard was. He'd have no gauge of comparison. What if he and Caroline had conceived a giant? His offspring could bust something up inside her. She could be ripped apart.
He lay awake all night, fearing an anatomical catastrophe. Consequently, he was out of sorts the next morning when he reported for work at the tire plant. His mood didn't improve when he realized Crystal hadn't clocked in that day. Was she sick? Had Albright made her leave the job because of her friend and co-worker Marvin? Had he started thinking about the plumbing episode, got angry all over again, and taken his abuse to a new level?
At the end of his shift, Dodge quickly made his way toward the employee exit. He was anxious to get home, reassure himself that Caroline was all right, and then see if he could pick up anything untoward going on in the household of Franklin Albright. He practically mowed down a female co-worker who planted herself in his path.
"Hi, Marvin."
"Hi. Excuse me. I'm in a hurry."
"I have a message for you from Crystal."
He stopped in his tracks.
Crystal's friend passed him a slip of paper. "She wants you to call her at this number."
"Is she okay?"
Either the co-worker didn't know or she wasn't saying. "First chance you get, she said."
"Okay. Thanks."
He called from a pay phone. Crystal answered on the second ring. Her hello was faint, hesitant. "It's Marvin. Are you all right?"
At the sound of his voice, she began wailing. "No, no, I'm not! I'm scared."
Dodge cooed and consoled and finally got out of her that she'd left Albright.
"More like escaped," she sobbed. "He's ... he's..."
"Where are you?"
