Once Again for Old Time's Sake

Chapter 3 - After the Call

Immediately after Carmen went down

"I'm on with 911. Police and ambulance are on their way." Nic spoke calmly. "Get her laying down. Elevate her legs and grab a tablecloth to cover her. We don't want her to go into further shock."

"I've got her phone. We need to call her daughter." Riley said as he slipped it out of her hands and read the open chat. "Guys, we gotta problem here. I think Carmen has a stalker."

Just then, a series of texts came through. Opening them, the guys saw pictures of Carmen taken through a telephoto lens.

Carmen sitting by the fountain downtown

Nicholas driving Carmen and Evan to the restaurant

Tim's kiss at the restaurant

Riley emerging from the hotel with her

Maria, Cora, and Carmen laughing in her yard, a copy of the one taken by Jackie

Aidan sitting beside her at breakfast

Riley showed the guys the pictures. "Whoever it is, they were watching while we were eating just now. Scoped us out from a distance." Aidan and Paul ran outside to see if they could locate anyone. The other guys jumped up to scan the crowd in the dining room. Unable to find a suspicious photographer, they returned to Carmen.

Steve asked Nic, "What do you need?"

"We need to make room for them to work. Someone get Maria in here." Chaz jumped up and ran to the back, calling out. Maria saw his wide eyes, rapid breathing, and the beckoning hand. Following him quickly, Maria rushed to Carmen's side, kneeling and digging a phone out of her apron pocket. Thumbing through her contacts, Maria called Jackie.

Bradley and Martin began moving tables around to accommodate the gurney the ambulance would need to use to get her out of the restaurant. Jim went outside to direct the emergency crews to the guys waiting with Carmen.

"Hey, honey. It's Maria. Your mom went down at my..."

Nic interrupted, "Does she have any medical conditions? Put it on speaker." He massaged Carmen's hand as he spoke.

Complying with Nic' request to use the speaker, Maria brushed the hair from Carmen's face. "Just hold on, Jackie. EMTs are on their way. What medical conditions does she have? Any idea why she might pass out?"

"She sometimes has episodes of tachycardia during extreme stress. I think that's it. Did something happen?"

Riley answered her. "Your mom got some texts, jumped out of her seat, got white as a sheet, muttered 'not again', and passed out. She hasn't come to yet."

"Maria, hold on. I'm getting on skype and calling Dad."

The men went silent. Maria spoke first. "Jackie, your Dad's still alive? I thought he passed away."

"No, he's been on some sort of research expedition for a while now. Not sure when he'll be back. Why?"

Maria continued, "Honey, I thought she wasn't coming back because your Dad didn't want her here."

"No, that's why I need to call Dad. There is someone. I don't know the details. Hold on, it's ringing."

While they waited, Maria walked around to ensure the extra folding doors were closed to give the room even more privacy.

"Hi, Munchkin. I thought you weren't calling till the weekend. Everything ok?"

The room could hear Jackie's trembling voice. "Mom went to see Evan and her PR team. She met up with her friends from high school. Something's happened. Maria is on the phone right now because Mom passed out."