CHAPTER 6: RAYNE
7:07pm – Wednesday, May 14th, 2003
Wade is sitting in a chair beside Julia, who is in a hospital bed. She is reading a book to Tao. Tao asks, “Mom? When are you going to have the baby?” Wade rubs Tao back, and Julia smiles and answers, “Hopefully soon, my love.” Tao says, “We’ve been sitting here forever. Can’t you just, tell the doctors to get her out?” Julia laughs and says, “Oh honey. That’s not how it works. You are adorable. I love you.” Wade says, “I wish Mommy could do that too, buddy. We were in the hospital a VERY long time with you. We thought you were never going to come out of mommy’s belly.” Julia smiles. She puts her hand on Tao’s face and says, “But you did, and you were the most handsome baby ever.” Tao says, “I’m bored.” Julia looks at Wade and says, “Hunny, can you go check on Sparky? You can drop Tao off at my mom’s.” Tao says, “I’m going to Grandmas?! Yay!” Wade stands up and picks up Tao. “Alright, I’ll be back as soon as I can. Say bye to mommy, buddy.” Tao says, “Bye, mommy.” “Goodbye, sweetie. I love you.” Wade smiles at Julia. He says, “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t have that baby without me!” She smiles and looks down at her belly, “I don’t think she’s coming anytime soon.” Wade chuckles and says, “Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
Outside of the room is Wade’s brother, William. He looks over to Wade and Tao and says, “Hey you! Is your mommy ready to have her baby yet?” Wade replies, “Not yet. I’m taking Tao to Grandma’s house ’cause he’s getting bored.” William says, “I don’t blame you, Tao. I’m bored too!” Wade says, “Thanks for being here, man. I’ll be back soon. Call me if anything happens, okay?” William says, “No problem brother. I’ll see you later, Tao!” Tao stares down the hallway at the TV. Wade says, “Say goodbye to your uncle, Tao.” Tao remains focused on the TV. William smiles and says, “It’s cool. I’ll see you when ya get back.” Wade nods his head and walks to the elevators.
Getting to the car, Wade straps Tao into his car seat and says, “Are you excited, buddy? You’re going to have a baby sister soon!” Tao nods his head yes. Wade gets in his seat and starts the car. “Alright, let’s get you to grandma’s house.”
When he arrives at her house, Lucetta asks, “How is she doing?” Wade replies, “Oh, she’s still waiting. I’m going home to let the dog out, and then I’m sure I’ll be there all night again.” Lucetta laughs and says, “Alright, well, call me if you need anything. Me and Tao are going to watch some movies and eat some cake!” Tao says, “Alright! I love cake!” Wade pats his belly and says, “Oh, to be 4 years old again!” Lucetta smirks and says, “Okay, well call me if anything happens!” Wade replies, “I will. You guys have fun!” Wade waves goodbye and heads back into his car.
When he arrives home, he walks in the front door of their new apartment and sees ripped-up pieces of paper scattered across the kitchen floor. Wade gets instantly angry and yells, “SPARKY! You little, fucking, ASSHOLE! WHERE ARE YOU?” Wade looks into the living room to see him ripping up one of Tao’s favourite stuffed animals. He runs over to him and kicks him in the side. The dog whines and runs scared into the bedroom. Wade picks up the stuffy and looks at the dog hiding under his bed. He yells, “YOU ARE A FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT DOG! I HATE YOU!” Wade walks into the kitchen and puts the stuffed animal up on the kitchen table. He bends down to pick up the pieces of paper and notices that the dog ripped up all of his lottery tickets. Wade goes into a panic, thinking about how broke he is and how these tickets mean a lot to him. He screams in rage and runs into the bedroom. He grabs the dog from its back legs and throws him across the living room into the laundry room door. The dog yelps and lays there wounded. Wade runs at Sparky and kicks him in his side, yelling, “YOU’RE A BAD DOG!” The dog cries and falls limp on the ventilation grate beside the door. Wade screams out into the air and looks back down at the dog. He bends over to see that the dog isn’t moving, and his limp body is showing no signs of life. Wade starts to shake and whispers, “Oh no.. Oh no..” He backs away from the dog and puts his hands over his mouth. “No, please. No..” Wade walks back over to the dog and lifts him up off of the ground. The dog is completely limp, and Wade realizes he just killed it. “Oh my God.. WHAT HAVE I DONE?”
In a panic, Wade looks at the window to see the blinds are closed. The phone by the window starts to ring. His heartbeat races, and he walks over to the phone to see who it is. The call display reads ‘WILLIAM RUSSEL’ Wade drops the dog onto the floor and answers the phone. Wade doesn’t say anything, and William asks, “Hello? Wade? Are you there? Julia is going into labour, man.” Wade drops the phone in a scatter and picks it back up. “Hey, sorry. She’s in labour? Are you sure?” William replies, “Yes, I’m sure! The doctors said she’s starting to contract.” Wade says, “Okay, I’m on my way!” he hangs up the phone.
Looking down at the dead dog at his feet, Wade wonders if he should just leave him there and pretend he didn’t know or if he should do something about it. He whispers to himself, “Oh man, what do I do?” He paces around the living room. He decides to bury the dog in the backyard and tell Julia about it in a few days. He tells himself, “I’ll just tell her I came home, and the dog was dead. It got into something, or something, I don’t know.. Whatever, I have to get to the hospital.” Wade picks up the limp, dead dog and takes it to the backyard. Looking around to see no one is watching him, he lays the dog at the end of the yard by the fence. It starts to rain as he grabs a shovel from the shed and starts to dig a hole in the grass.
Moments later, after he buries the dog, he feels sick to his stomach. He runs inside and vomits into the toilet. He looks at the clock on the wall above the sink, which reads ‘10:10pm’. Finally, he says, “Oh god, I’ve been here for over an hour. Okay, let’s go.” Wade rushes to his car and drives to the hospital.
Arriving around 11:00pm, he runs up to the room to see Julia holding a baby in her arms. She turns to him and says, “Wade! Where were you?” He walks over to her slowly and says, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. The dog wouldn’t come back inside.. and the rain was.. oh my god, she’s beautiful!” Wade leans down to pick her up. Julia smiles at him and says, “I want to name her Rayne.” Wade says, “Rayne? Hmm.” He looks down at her face and wells up with emotion. Wade starts to cry and kisses her forehead. He looks back at Julia, who is smiling and says, “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.” Julia says calmly, “It’s okay. William helped through it.” She smiles at William who is sitting in the chair at the end of the bed, and Wade says, “Thank you, brother.” William smiles back at him and says, “Congratulations, Dad. She’s beautiful, eh?” Wade looks down at Rayne with a big smile at says, “Well, Rayne.. It’s nice to meet you. I’m your Daddy.”
11:11pm – Wednesday, May 14th/2003
