THE CHECK PART 9

THE CHECK PART 9

Jared Thompson had ruined us.

Natalie hadn't cooked dinner in weeks. It's not that I expected her to cook my meals it was the participation in the 'us' I missed.

Her friends, always important, became critical. I was shoved somewhere behind the math teacher she hated.

I didn't pursue charges against Jared. He had kept his word and put the house up for sale. The sign went up a week after he was arrested. There were no bites yet, even though the asking price was well below market. Some movers showed up one day and cleared out all the furniture, his clothes and whatever else wasn't tied down.

My life was empty. The hole Jared bored into me had filled with hate. Natalie's disgust changed it to shame. I hadn't cried in days. It would have been better if I could. Betty talked me into a new haircut, shorter than I was used to. She thought it would give me a new outlook. It gave me nothing but less hair to wash.

At least my walk to the mailbox wasn't misery. It was Saturday. I was home alone since
Natalie had spent the night at a friend's.

She was doing that a lot. I was losing her. The mailbox contained bills and ads. Normal bills nothing to cry about. I half thought I would get a letter someday stating all my debts had been reinstated. So far, Jared showed no retaliation. Not that he had any moral grounds to retaliate.

Mixed in the bills was a letter from some law firm. I sat down at the kitchen counter and opened it. The letter was filled with legalese. It seemed official so I spent some time deciphering it. A medical labs system had been compromised. By law, they were notifying all patients of the breech. Percy Labs was the name of the company. The name rang a bell, but I couldn't place it right away. Tom had so many doctors and so much lab work done.

The letter continued to say that a breach had been contained, and, to the best of their knowledge, no personal data was used for illicit purposes. There was a number to call for more information, and free credit monitoring was offered. It was the bottom of the letter that confused me.

Patients Affected: Linda Henderson
I couldn't remember using Percy Labs. My current doctor sent a pap smear to Tri-County Labs. I started back tracking my history. All our medical stuff seemed tied to Tom. I would have remembered if it was the second round of cancer. I wouldn't have paid it and would have received many late notices. Maybe I did pay them if the charge was small enough. But it was my name, not Tom's.

Natalie chose the moment to walk in. She looked at me, her eyes still happy from her night out. Maybe she would talk, I desperately hoped.
Hi, have a good time? I asked. Natalie smiled. My heart lifted.
Yep, Natalie said as she set her bag next to the door. You wouldn't believe who Candice likes. She moved to the other side of the counter and sat down. Gossip normal everyday gossip!

Not David again, I smiled. I remembered Candice had an on and off thing with him.

Natalie nodded and became animated. Her face lit up as she shared her night with the girls. I was in heaven. My daughter was a human again. Her eyes were looking at me, comfortable with what they saw. I hadn't seen eyes like that since Jared...

Thoughts slammed into me. Memories flooded back. My hands started shaking. I looked back down to the letter. I looked back up at Natalie. She had stopped speaking in mid sentence, looking at me with concern.

Oh, God was all that came out of my mouth. I tried to undo the thoughts. There had to be another explanation. No, it all fit. I stared at Natalie's eyes. What have I done?

Mom, what's wrong? Natalie expressed concern. I had never told her. We had always thought it best. I needed Tom. Oh, God, I needed Jared.

I...we...," I stumbled, looking at my baby. Natalie grabbed the letter out of my hand and began reading. I could tell she couldn't make sense of it.

What is this?

I...I think that the company Jared hacked, I said. My voice was getting weaker. Natalie's eyes narrowed.

Percy Labs? Natalie asked, what's that? My throat tightened. I knew what had to follow. I sat up straighter.

You know how much your father loved you? I started slowly. You were everything to him. Please forgive me, Tom. Natalie shifted in her seat. She sensed something was coming.

Mom, what's going on? Natalie asked, trying to be an adult. She handed the letter back to me as if this would be no big thing.
Your father and I couldn't wait to have child, I continued, you should have seen his face when he cut the umbilical cord. I felt a tear running down my face. I could still remember that day. I had forgotten the pain, but not the little baby they put in my arms.

Natalie's eyes watered in sympathy with mine.

Mom Natalie tied to urge me on. Her voice was choking.

Your father survived his first bout with cancer, right after we were married, I went on. I took a deep breath. The chemo and radiation made him sterile. Natalie looked down at the letter in my hands. I could see her mind working.

Then Daddy Natalie didn't know how to say it. My heart hurt.

Percy Labs was used by the fertility clinic, I said, softly reaching for her hand, they provided the donor. Natalie's hand was shaking in mine.

Daddy wasn't my real father? Tears rolled down Natalie’s cheeks.

No, I said strongly, don't ever say that. He loved you beyond reason. He is the one who changed your diapers and kissed you goodnight. No one can ever take that away.

That's not what I meant, Natalie said, wiping her eyes, why didn't you tell me?

Because it didn't matter, I answered, with as much love as I could render, you were always our daughter. It didn't matter how that came about.

Why would Jared want to Oh, God! Natalie's hand covered her mouth. She wasn't stupid. Not like her mother.

You have his eyes, I cried. The floodgates opened. I had called him a sick fuck. I threatened to buy a gun. I had ruined myself.

Now that makes sense, Betty commented. I had told her everything. You've talked with him, right?

We can't find him, I replied, seems if you have a lot of money, you can disappear. I even went to the police. That detective knew.

Jared confessed everything to her, but the feds demanded secrecy.

Why the hell would they do that?

Tom and I checked a box, I answered, something about the in-vitro being kept private.

No contact between the donor and us.

They wouldn't let him say anything. The feds considered it like profiting from the crime.

I looked at Betty and sadness entered my voice. I said terrible things. I chased away the second man I ever loved. Betty smiled, completely out of place.

He'll find you, Betty said confidently.

He's prohibited Betty shook her head, her smile increasing.

He broke laws to find his daughter, Betty continued, he will do it again. She grabbed my hands. He hacked into a company, broke into your house and spent huge sums of money to ease his daughter's life. Do you really think he is going to stop now?

But!

But nothing, Betty said, there was a scheme behind her eyes, you just need to tell him where to meet you. Her confidence was overpowering. For once, I listened to her.

I walked through the mall slowly. It was almost three. If Betty was right, Jared had to be around here somewhere. I looked the fool wearing sunglasses and a floppy hat inside the mall. I completed the picture with arms full of shopping bags. I wondered if spies felt ridiculous when they tried to hide in plain sight. The mall was packed, mostly families and a lot of teenagers. I was moving slowly around the food court, looking at every man who was even close to Jared's height. Maybe Betty was wrong.

At exactly three, a bunch of teenagers leapt from their chairs and went into a synchronized flash mob sequence. It was sloppy, but humorous. Natalie had asked her friends to help and advertised it well in advance on Face book.

I saw an arm snap up, camera in hand. Jared had been sharing a table with a family. He had dyed his hair dark. A better disguise than I had employed. I was more nervous than I thought I would be. I walked to the table Natalie's eyes were following me. I put my hat and sunglasses in one of the shopping bags and boldly sat next to him.

Jared didn't notice me at first. His eyes had locked on Natalie's. She was the only one not moving in sync anymore.

She knows, I said softly. Jared blanched when he saw me. His eyes, Natalie's eyes, showed fear. He started to stand. I grabbed his hand to hold him there. I am so sorry, I pleaded, I was a fool. He settled back into the seat.

You were a mother, he stuttered.

The mother of your daughter, I cried. I didn't want the tears. They ignored me.

You set me up, he stated. I nodded afraid I couldn't form a coherent sentence. His smile was glorious. It held all the forgiveness in the world. I didn't cry alone, I cried in his arms, on his shoulder. I had him, my boy was back.

The family Jared had shared the table with had fled. I suspect the scene was confusing and more than the mother would allow her kids to digest. When I broke the embrace,
Jared wasn't looking at me. He was staring at Natalie who now sat across the table.

Your father was a good man, Jared said. Natalie nodded.

So is my other father, Natalie's tears were slower than mine. They came all the same. Jared was the only one with dry eyes. His smile must have forced the tear ducts closed.

Jared's lawyers were good. Very good with my permission, Percy Labs was threatened with a lawsuit for failure to adequately protect personal data. The lawyers hinted there were possible class action ramifications. Tom and I did check that box. Jared was able to find his biological daughter. Facts were facts. The lawyers failed to mention that Jared asked me to marry him, and I said yes.

Percy Labs dropped all charges in the end.

Jared had never intended falling in love with me. He moved close to keep his eye on Natalie. Content at the time to remain separate but watchful it was after the accident, the one that took his wife, he felt alone and became thoughtful.

He remembered working his way through college, the odd jobs sperm donor being the oddest. An expert in Internet security the servers at Percy Labs were child's play. He had made five donations, only Natalie's took. He broke into the house, took some hair from Natalie's brush, material for a DNA paternity test. That's when he ran across the dearth of unpaid bills.

They held risk for Natalie's future. He eliminated them. He couldn't find it in himself to throw away the rest of her hair. Bagged, he stored it in what became Natalie's baby book.

I spent every day apologizing for my words and actions. Jared spent every day kissing them away. He never held them against me, unlike what I did to myself. I am sure his initial attraction to me was being Natalie's mother. We quickly traveled well beyond that. Some place special of our very own. He was mine and I was his.

Jared came into the great room, straight from the shower after his yard work. A billionaire who cuts his own grass go figure I smiled from behind the counter. Find us a movie or something, we can eat in front of the TV, I said while cutting the pizza into even slices. The cheese was still bubbling from the oven. Jared sat down, grabbed the remote and started traversing the online channel guide.

Where's Natalie? Jared asked.

She's spending the night at Traci's, I responded. I watched his expression tighten. His knuckles on the remote started turning white. I knew he wasn't reading what was written on the screen. I smiled, deciding he had suffered enough.

I called Traci's mother, I added, nonchalantly, she and her husband will be there. Traci is having four girls over for a sleepover.

Color returned to Jared's knuckles. I could see him release the breath he was holding. I couldn't suppress the giggle.

What?

You were worried, I stated, smile in full bloom. Jared still didn't feel like he had a right to interfere with Natalie's upbringing. It didn't stop him from becoming sick with worry.

He loved her as much as I did.

I was not. I let him have his lie.

What do you want to drink?

Let’s go wild, Jared said, beer goes well with pizza. I grabbed a couple of bottles from the fridge and popped the caps. I came around the counter and sauntered toward the couch.

How about Star War Jared's mouth dropped open. His eyes filled with me.

Skirt - $24.95 at Wal-Mart and only twenty minutes to raise the hem. The look on my kinky boy's face was priceless. It wasn't the last time we ate cold pizza.

By nutbuster