Caught In A Name

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

For the second time in under 15 minutes, Nicomaine felt another panic attack coming on. She kept staring at the newspaper clipping, willing it to go away, hoping that she was just dreaming. But the more she wanted the piece of paper to disappear, the more it seemed to mock her in the face.

Yes, she is staring at her picture, taken a week before Hanna and Anton died, in a family get together, hosted by her oldest brother, in his house.

As she kept looking at her own face, she began to realize how much she had changed since that picture was taken. How much she's been through. How different she'd become. She's not the same person anymore.

Then as she stood there, she heard someone calling her name. Faintly at first, then it became louder and louder until she realized that Richard must've been calling her for quite some time now from the look on his face. Daniel was standing beside his brother, also wearing an identical expression.

"Nicomaine!"

"Huh? Stop yelling. I'm right here" Nicomaine answered faintly, still staring at the clipping.

"I wouldn't be yelling if you answered me when I called you the first few times" Richard answered.

"I'm sorry. Oh hey Daniel. How are you?" She asked as if she was just asking about the weather.

"Uuhhhh I'm fine?" Daniel answered with a perplexed expression on his face.

"Oh that's good. Thank you for the bassinet by the way. It was a very nice surprise. I'm sure Charmaine loves it too cause she didn't complain one bit when she was in it."

"Uuhhh Maine?" Richard asked, a little unsure of what to do with Maine's odd behaviour.

"Yes Richard?"

"Well, is there something you want to tell us?"

In response, Nicomaine walked over to the bedside table, picked up the clipping and with a thoughtful expression, just stared at the carefree version of herself, immortalized by a picture. 

MENDOZA HEIRESS DECLARED MISSING!

Nicomaine Dei Mendoza, the fourth child of Theo and Marriane Mendoza, the founders and owners of Sippy Cup, has been declared missing yesterday. Sippy Cup is a chain of coffee shops locally and around the world. It is the only coffee shop chain that toppled Starbucks from the top spot (again locally and internationally) since it was established in 2001.
According to our sources, Ms. Mendoza was actually presumed dead when her friend and business partner, Hanna Waynecroft, was found dead in her own home, together with an unidentified body. Foul play was suspected since the bodies were already dead before the house was burnt to the ground. However, as of yesterday morning, after an extensive autopsy, the identity of the other victim was confirmed and it wasn't Ms. Mendoza. Her family then released a statement, asking for the public's help in locating the whereabouts of the heiress.  A reward of unidentifiable amount will be awarded to whoever will help in locating Ms. Mendoza's whereabouts.

"Nicomaine? Maine!"

"Oh right. You asked if there was something I wanted to tell you, right?"

"Well, yeah" Richard answered, a little irritated.

Meanwhile, Daniel was pacing back and forth, stopping every once in a while to check if Nicomaine really have lost her sanity or what.

"Well. Now that you ask, there is something. Mamita told me earlier that you were planning on taking me and Charmaine shopping sometime today. I would really appreciate that since I thought I was okay with wearing somebody else's clothes but it turns out I'm not" Nicomaine shrugged nonchalantly. "Especially if the clothes belonged to your other wife. Oh what was her name again, Elizabeth" she coolly remarked with a sneer as if the name was poison to her lips.

"Whoa! You didn't tell her about Liz?" Daniel asked, dumbfounded.

"There wasn't a right time to tell her" Richard retorted.

"What the fuck bro!" Daniel exclaimed with his arms waving to and fro.

"Language!" Both Nicomaine and Richard exclaimed back.

"Oh shiiiiitake mushrooms! I'm sorry. Sorry little one. Uncle Daniel didn't mean to swear like that" Daniel whispered, not realizing that his face softened and he just referred to himself as the uncle, while talking to the sleeping Charmaine on the crib. Then he faced his younger brother again, this time with a stern expression. "RJ! When were you planning on telling her? Because to me, only to me, might I add, my ex wife is kinda an important topic to talk about before I decide to bring someone into what used to be our family home! But that's just me!" Daniel huffed while resuming his pacing.

Richard was looking at Nicomaine the whole time while his brother was irritatedly delivering his monologue, fearing the fact that she might actually react to his brother's words. But then she didn't. Not once did she blink from staring at the piece of paper in her hand. In fact, he'll bet his balls that she didn't hear a single word that came out of his brother's mouth. Not one.

Daniel, after realizing that nobody responded to him, stopped his pacing and looked at the other two adults in the room. Richard was busy staring at Nicomaine while Nicomaine was busy staring at the piece of paper in her hand.

"RJ? Richard!" The last one he said a little too loud to get his brother's attention.

Richard turned to his brother with a defeated sigh. Because with all of the things happening right now, all he wants to do is run! Again! Run and never look back! But then, one look at the blank face of Nicomaine and the irritated one of his brother's, he accepted the hard fact that he brought this all onto himself. That he actually made this choice. To help Nicomaine and her baby. To bring them home to this house that he essentially abandoned a year ago. To make a difference once more. In his life and the life of the woman he loves! Holy shit! I love her! I'm in love with this woman standing in front of me! I'm fuckin in love with Nicomaine!Holy shitballs! How the fuck did that happen? I've known her for what? Four days? Four fuckin days and I already love her! Oh fuck my life! I am in deep shit!

As the minutes passed and Daniel didn't get any kind of response, he cleared his throat loudly, many times, before he finally got the attention of the other two.

"Okay. Since you two seem to choose to ignore this huge, no, this humongous elephant in the room, then may I suggest that we all go downstairs for now. Let's pretend that we didn't see that piece of paper, and that we didn't bring Elizabeth's name into the equation. Let's head down there and entertain our family before they all decide to chase me up here, one by one. Is that a good plan, for now?" Daniel asked.

"RJ? Nicomaine?"

Both looked at Daniel, and both nodded after a few seconds passed, their faces both unreadable. Nicomaine slowly picked up Charmaine and meekly followed the brothers as they started to pile out of the nursery. But before they could reach the top of the stairs, Nicomaine softly spoke.

"Richard. My full name is Nicomaine Dei Mendoza. I am the daughter of Theo and Marriane Mendoza. If that information on that piece of paper became public yesterday, then everyone associated with me is now in grave danger!