Page 38 of The Liar I Married
It’s true. The relationship between me and my dad had never been the same since we discussed the second family he supported. I’d been sad that he hadn’t come and seen me. My mother had been by and shown me videos of the girls she’d taken before school. I’d told her everything and she assured me that I should put things behind me and move forward which I intend to do. When I’d mentioned my dad, she shook her head. He didn’t want to see me. I’d never discussed the other family with her as I’m still unsure how much she knows.
I nod. “Sure, we need to mend bridges.”
My father looks tanned and healthy; the reduction in work and living in Florida obviously suits him. I smile as he walks toward me. “Hi Dad. I’m really glad you’re here.”
“Me too.” He hugs me. “I’m so sorry I put you through all this. I couldn’t forgive myself when you had the accident.I figured we’d lost you. When your mom told me you had recovered, I couldn’t wait to see you.”
I lead him to the sofa and sit down. “It’s been tough since I woke from the coma.”
“I hear that Michael is giving you a hard time.” He sits beside me on the sofa. “I’ve been concerned about him for a long time. He came to me a month before your grandmother died, asking for a loan. It was substantial and I couldn’t get it out of him what he wanted it for. I told him if he needed that amount of money, he needed to go through the bank. Now John tells me that the audit on his clients’ books isn’t looking good.”
I stare at him uncomprehending. “What does this mean?”
“Simply, your brother’s a crook, and a liar, and I’ve been covering his ass for years.” He shakes his head in obvious despair. “Well, I should have told your mother about Andrea Long and her daughter Michelle but then I would have needed to explain and, in your mother’s eyes, Michael can do no wrong. The truth is, Andrea was underage when she became pregnant. She was living with her grandmother months into the pregnancy and then her grandmother passed, leaving Andrea homeless. She has no other living relatives and when she went to Michael, he denied absolutely that it was his child. She hunted me down and her story made a lot of sense to me. The timing of where she met him, and the fact she knows about the birthmark on his right hip, made me, let’s say, more than a little suspicious.”
I feel that if my eyes get any wider they’ll fall out and roll across the floor. I can’t believe my ears. “I figured that Michael preferred older women.”
“He does now.” Dad rolls his eyes. “When Andrea told me she was going to the cops, I needed to do something. I couldn’t tell your mom; she is a valued member of the community and a scandal like that, in this close environment would have ruined her.”
I wave a hand at him. “Anyway, so Michael was in trouble and you decided to bail him out?”
“Yes, I contacted Andrea again and set her up in an apartment. I supported her until she had the baby and then we conducted a DNA test. I used my own DNA for a comparison and, being Michael’s father, it came back as a grand paternal match. Michelle is my granddaughter, although Michael still denies he even met Andrea.” He meets my gaze. “I feel obliged to support Andrea. Now, since she finished college and has a job, it’s not the same. I help out when necessary, like any grandparent, and I set up a trust fund for college for Michelle.”
I can’t believe my ears. “What else has Michael lied about?”
“Too many things to list.” Dad sets his weary eyes on me. “I must tell your mom. I know Michael has a gambling problem. It was only a matter of time before he started embezzling from the firm. If he has, I won’t be able to buy him out of trouble again.”
I blink, trying to make sense of it all. “He just inherited a lot of money; he can’t be broke.”
“I’m not sure, but from what John told me about the audit, he’s been running some type of Ponzi scam, where he takes money from investors and pays them with other investors’ money. It’s doomed to fail because if one person wants to cash in, it causes a problem. He had four clients cash in this year. He needed to pay them or he’d be caught. He negotiates million dollar deals daily…well, he did. He’s suspended right now.” He holds my hand, linking our fingers. “I figure he knew about the will and was so desperate for money, he tried to kill you. He borrowed money from some shady characters and they don’t like not being paid on time. I’d say they threatened him and might just do that if he doesn’t pay them.”
Sorrow engulfs me. “Why didn’t he tell me the truth? Once the estate came into my hands, I’d have helped him.”
“There is no helping him, Jessie.” Dad shook his head, his face suddenly older. “Trust me, I’ve tried. He’d have taken every cent you own. John will call the cops if the books prove he embezzled from the company. He’ll go away for a long time.”
FORTY-ONE
It’s the end of summer when the leaves start to turn golden and roses rush to spread their final blooms to the sun before fall arrives. The heavy perfume wafting from surrounding gardens invigorates me as I take my first steps into the garden unaided. The physical therapist who’s been coming daily has helped me immensely but I’m still waiting to see my girls. Although we’ve been talking on FaceTime, it’s not the same as hugging them and smelling their freshly washed hair. My mom comes by to see me often. She’s caring for my girls and explained the difficulties in getting child protection to give me access. My case needs to go before a magistrate, so it might take a little longer.
Alex has been amazingly patient, I’m sure he didn’t expect to have me as a visitor for so long. It’s Sunday and John will be arriving soon. We have things to talk about. I’ve been bouncing a few ideas off Alex. The amount of research he does for his books gives him a good insight into crime and the way criminals think.
I can understand why John is a little hesitant toward me. In my mind I’ve been away from him for a few weeks but to him it’s been over a year. I’m practically a stranger to him all over again. When he comes to visit me it’s like being on a date and we’re taking baby steps toward reigniting our relationship. I’mglad we’re taking it slowly because, although I’ve never stopped loving him, trust needs to be earned. My stomach fills with butterflies when I hear a knock on the door. I push to my feet and he walks into the room and embraces me tenderly. I look at his immaculate blue shirt and gray chinos, so unusually casual I have the urge to ruffle his hair. He smiles as he pulls two crumpled pieces of paper from his pocket and hands them to me. “What’s this?”
“Open them.” He grins and his eyes twinkle. “The girls painted you pictures.”
I hold them to my heart, feeling the tears spilling down my cheeks. “Oh, that’s wonderful, thank you.”
I open them and both of them are pictures of us as a family, all holding hands and in one is a little dog. “You have a dog?”
“Nope.” John peers at the brightly painted pictures. “It’s just wishful thinking on their part.”
I laugh and suddenly we’re a family again, with a bright future. I remember why I asked John to come around this morning. There are a few things we need to talk about. “Come into the kitchen. Alex has just put on a pot of coffee. I want an update on what’s been happening.”
“Okay, I’ll tell you what I know but before I start, one question.” John takes my hand and looks into my eyes. “When do you plan to come home?”
I get that squishy feeling in my stomach again. My heart races and I fall into his eyes. I want so much to go home with him. “The moment child protection tells me I can see my kids. I spoke to them on Friday and they said the case is still pending. They actually have no reason not to believe Michael.” I head for the kitchen, still holding his hand.
We sit around the kitchen table, hot coffee steaming before us. I look at John. “I was talking to Alex earlier about how we can get around the problems I’m having with child protection. Itall comes down to what happened after I woke from the coma. The police will establish that Michael was involved in the wreck when they discover his fingerprints but I figure it goes much further than that. I have no doubt in my mind that Michael was conspiring with Dolly to make me appear insane. Too many weird things happened when I woke up. Trust me, I was having trouble deciding what was real and what wasn’t. Some of the things have already been explained, for instance, Mom told me you’d taken the girls’ photographs and they are on our mantle.”
