Felicity Ch. 15

My life changed as the result of a court ordered paternity test. Every guy that had attended a party at a fraternity house had been summoned but since I was not a member of the fraternity I was one of the last ones tested. I vaguely remembered attending the party but I did not remember getting laid. The party had taken place nearly a year before.

I figured that whoever they were looking for it was not me.

It was me.

The photograph of the girl I had impregnated meant nothing to me and even though I conceded the validity of the test I could not remember having sex that night. I admitted to probably being very drunk.

It soon became a matter for lawyers. The girl's family seemed to think they had won the lottery. Whatever the child won in court they thought it would be theirs to share.

When my Dad died Mom and I inherited a large amount of money. He had been a shrewd investor. As soon as the girl's family and lawyers learned that piece of information threats and accusations came flying in my direction.

Our family lawyer hired a private investigator to check on the girl and her family and when it came into our hands Mom and I spent an evening poring over the report. We debated the details of the report at length but eventually came to the conclusion that the girl was a good and honest person that with one exception was born into a family of slime-balls.

The exception was the girl's older sister who was also her lawyer. She had put herself through school in spite of her family. She had been working since she was a sophomore in high school.

The mother of my child had been attempting to do the same thing.

I had derailed her plans.

Mom's original thought was to fight the whole process to a standstill, she was positive I had fallen into a trap. She now conceded that a naive girl had simply been caught up in a situation well over her head and I had been too.

The next day Mom called the girls lawyer and asked her to join us for dinner that Wednesday night. She told her that our lawyer would not be present and that she wanted her to bring her sister and her new niece. It was to be an informal get together just so we got to know each other. To Mom's great surprise she readily agreed.

The next evening changed everything. The girl suing me for paternity was Miss Victoria Russell. She was small, maybe five two, one hundred pounds. She had dark hair and wore glasses. She was plain looking although a bit on the cute side. Her body was excellent.

She did look familiar but not sex partner familiar. We may have had a class together and may have been someone I nodded to in passing. She was very nervous and apprehensive.

Her older sister, the lawyer, looked vaguely like Victoria was three inches taller, maybe as many as ten years older, no glasses, and a blonde. Her name was Fay.

She seemed to be quietly confident in a non-adversarial way. She had a genuinely friendly smile. Mom seemed to like her immediately and allowed some of her defensiveness to drain away.

My daughter was in a carrier and was all bundled up so I could not see her until she was taken out it.

Fay handed her to me without speaking and my world changed.

As soon as I had her in my arms I was a father madly in love with his baby daughter.

Fay and Mom saw that of course and the entire tone of our meeting changed.

Fay said, "Everything I am going to say is off the record and I will deny we ever had this conservation or that I was ever here if I have to. My family wants to share in what they expect to be a large settlement. Vicky and I would prefer to keep the family out of it.

I apologize for all of the veiled threats hurled at you; they have come from the family and my firm. None have come from Vicky or me.

Vicky has always known who the father was but thought the pregnancy was completely her fault and intended to raise the child by herself. Our mother thinks that fraternity people are rich people and wanted the money so demanded the discovery."

Mom asked Vicky, "You knew who that father was all the time?"

"Yes. He is in fact the only one I have had sex with in three years. I had seen him often and knew he was smart and polite. He does not remember but often he has held a door for me as I entered or left a building. We had a class together once but he would not remember me from that. There were over fifty people in that class. I admired him from a distance.

"At the frat party I was an easy conquest for him and I was sober. I do not drink.

He seemed to think I was gorgeous so I knew he was drunk. He had his choice of girls that night so I was very flattered that he was spending time with me. We laughed a lot. We played a video game and I beat him easily, he could barely handle the controllers.

He asked me what he owed me. I said a kiss. That kiss led to another and another until a couple interrupted us and asked to play the video game. We gave way to them and headed for a couch to continue our kissing but by then every part of the room had couples having sex. I decided to let him have me and took us to a small space between the back of a couch and a wall.

I expected him to simply take me and brag about his easy conquest.

I expected to brag about getting laid at a fraternity party to my girlfriends.

Neither happened.

He made love to me; he made me feel like I was the most important girl in his life. He never hurried, he waited for me.

He made me faint.

When I recovered he was gone. I dressed and went home."

"Do you remember any of that?' Mom asked me.

"A bit more now than I did before. I remember getting trounced in the video game and I remember the kiss. The only part I remembered before tonight was going to the couch with a glass of water to give to someone on the floor behind it.

Since there was no one there I thought I was too drunk to think straight and I came back home. I am kind of glad I had not been hallucinating."

"You came back to find me?" Vicky asked with surprise.

I nodded yes as I gave her a closer look. I briefly closed my eyes and remembered the kisses. I had eaten them up.

Mom asked Vicky, "When did you learn you were pregnant?"

"Fay does not believe me but I knew before I stepped out of the back of the couch. One missed period later I got confirmation. I was on the pill but I was not very consistent in taking them.

I am too plain even for horny college guys and most of my sex was with a nice toy Fay gave me when I started college," she said and immediately regretted it.

She blushed a deep red.

I could see that Vicky could not believe she had said that. Fay was blushing too. Mom had a knowing smile on her lips.

Vicky stuttered a bit before she added; "I can tell you that I was not a bit upset over the pregnancy.

I kept the condition to myself until I began to show. My parents insisted I tell them who the father was but I told them I had been to a fraternity party and was too drunk to remember. They heard the word fraternity and they saw dollar signs.

I knew you did not belong to the fraternity and did not expect them to summon you but apparently someone remembered you were there. Sorry."

"Thank you for trying," Mom said to Vicky. "That was brave of you."

"I just wanted to cause the least amount of trouble," Vicky said.

"Life at home had been difficult at best; after my condition became obvious it became a living hell. Fay made a bit of room for me in her small condo and I have been spending most of each day there.

She was the only member of the family with me when the baby was born."

"Had I known I would have been there," I said.

Three sets of female eyes looked at me in astonishment.

I wanted Mom to understand so I gave her the baby to hold. She knew what was going to happen and was reluctant to hold my daughter, her granddaughter.

A minute later she said, "Had I known I would have been there too."

I saw a tear slide down Vicky's cheek.

Fay was barely containing her own tears but managed to say, "Vicky is dead set against my even bringing this up. In fact I had to promise her I would not call you and I was ecstatic when you called me.

I have a proposal," Fay said.

"Fay don't," Vicky said.

Fay continued, "The goal here is to do the best for the baby. Having her grow up in our family does not guarantee fair treatment or loving care. It did not for Vicky or me.

There is however one solution to the problem, a way to make sure your daughter gets every advantage we never had and keeps our family out of it for good."

Fay looked at me and said, "Marry Vicky."

Mom and I were stunned by the idea. As we mulled it over in our heads Vicky scrambled to say to me, "It does not need to be a real marriage, we do not have to live together or anything. Fay thinks that it would only need to last one year. We would then divorce and you would have to provide child support but it would be a lot less than you would have to pay on a court order now and you would know where the money was going."

I looked at Vicky and saw that she was borderline terrified. I looked at Mom and saw conflicting emotions as she looked at me then looked at the baby in her arms. Fay however was confidently calm; she knew her plan was the best solution.

I quickly found myself agreeing with Fay.

"What is my daughters name?" I asked.

"Fay," Vicky answered.

"No it's not," said Fay

"Actually right now it is baby Russell. We have not filed the papers as they were missing a last name."

"Her name is Fay Marie Chapman." I said.

"Marie?" Vicky asked.

"It's the name of the old woman that won't let go of our daughter."

"Fay Marie Chapman it is," Vicky said in confirmation.

Mom and Fay seemed to be on the verge of tears.

I asked Vicky to join me in the kitchen since the best chance of eating supper was going to be if we served it ourselves.

"You two figure out how the wedding part is going to work," I said to Mom and Fay.

I had already decided that I needed to have ready access to my daughter.

Fay had a big grin on her face. Mom had a worried smile but I could see she was not going to object to my decision. We had a deal.

Vicky and I served dinner on the kitchen table. The original plan was to eat in the formal dining room but that was for dining with strangers. Vicky assisted me the best she could although she was in a complete state of shock. I kissed her on the cheek and that seemed to help some but she was pretty much out of it all through dinner.

Mom only released Fay Marie to return her to her carrier as we ate.

The wedding plan was simple; we were going to elope to Vegas as soon as possible. Fay did not want her family or her firm to have an opportunity to gum up the works. Vicky was twenty years old but as a student living at home her parents held considerable clout.

Fay knew that if her parents put full pressure on Vicky she would do as they wanted.

Fay had a prenuptial agreement already drawn up. She confessed that after she had run a check on me she was confident that I would approve of her proposal. She though I was a good guy, (a real boy scout she said), and would probably maintain a relationship with my daughter even after Vicky and I divorced. It took her two minutes in my house to see that she was right.

Mom led Fay to the dining room and they went over the document as Vicky and I cleared the dishes before returning to the living room.

After a few minutes Mom came to the living room and asked Vicky to stand up. As soon as Vicky did Mom hugged her.

Vicky seemed to hesitate but I soon saw her close her eyes and return Mom's hug.

Vicky needed that hug; she fought back tears.

Mom whispered something into Vicky's ear that may have been a question. Vicky did not say anything but her eyes widened and she blushed and that may have told Mom what she wanted to know. Mom kissed her cheek and hugged her again then without another word returned to the dining room.

Shortly after she rejoined Fay in the dining room we heard a squeal of delight from Fay and a loud kiss.

"I think they are getting along nicely," I said in a major understatement.

Vicky nodded with a smile and as she did a tear slid from an eye. Apparently our treatment of her had been completely opposite of what she had expected.

Mom called Harry, our family lawyer, and he came over in about thirty minutes. While he and Fay went over the papers with Mom in the formal dining room Vicky and I became better acquainted.

I held my daughter in my arms and asked Vicky if my daughter was dating anyone, had any speeding tickets and so on. Talking to Vicky was easy; she enjoyed my outrageous statements and had the sense of humor to extend the jokes.

She told me that I needed to talk our daughter out of getting a tattoo on her butt.

We laughed at everything with a sense of relief as we felt the dark cloud over us acquire a silver lining. I now somewhat remembered that on the night of Fay Marries conception Vicky and I did laugh a lot, that we shared a droll sense of humor.

When Mom returned to the living room Vicky and I saw a lipstick imprint of a kiss on her cheek and I asked her why Fay had kissed her.

"Because I am a fine looking old broad, why else?" she said.

Vicky and I smiled and waited her out and Mom finally said, "OK. Fay really liked some suggestions I made. That's all. Harry seemed to think they would be fine.

Fay kissed him too. Your sister is a pushover," Mom said to Vicky.

"Yes, I know. That is how I ended up invading her condo."

When Mom began to kid us about proper fraternity party behavior she got Vicky to confess that she had wanted to kiss me long before the fraternity party.

I was flattered.

Mom confiscated my daughter away from me. She did not ask, say please, nothing. She just took my baby out of my arms. My protest was cheerfully ignored.

I could see we were going to have a running battle over Fay Marie.

Mom finally gave up control of baby Fay when she took coffee to the lawyers in the dining room. When she returned to the living room she said, "The agreement is done, has apparently been for some time."

"When do we get to sign it?" I asked her.

"As soon as they come out.

Vicky, your sister does not realize it yet but she is in the middle of a job interview.

It's hard to believe isn't it? Harry, our lawyer, was positive we would have dirty a war because your sister works for a company of shysters."

"Yes, she does," Vicky said. "She is always complaining about them. She was very embarrassed by what they said about him."

"Well with any luck that is about to change. Harry obviously likes her."

Suddenly Fay Marie let the world know that she was wet and hungry. Mom took Vicky and the baby to my sister's room and helped with the diaper change.

It had never occurred to me they might have wanted privacy so I had followed and watched the diaper change proceedings.

I left the room when the breastfeeding began but quickly returned with my camera. I took a picture of Fay Marie at her mother's breast as Mom placed her head on Vicky's shoulder and watched with a radiant smile.

It would become my favorite photo of all time.

Mom burped her granddaughter.

Harry and Fay were waiting for us in the living room when we returned and the legal papers where on the coffee table ready for us. Vicky and I were shown where to sign and we did so without as much as a glance at the details.

I figured that if Harry was OK with it I was too.

Vicky figured that if Fay was OK with it she was too.

Fay and Harry each put the originals in their briefcases and copies on the table then the conversation immediately turned to how adorable my daughter was.

Harry asked to hold her claiming her as his new client, which brought an immediate challenge from Fay.

We saw that her indignant reaction was a complete sham; her big smile gave it away. I saw that Harry was already one of her heroes.

Harry gently said to Fay, "No need to get uppity young lady. We are on the same side." Harry gave Mom a wink then formally introduced himself to Fay Marie as her back-up lawyer.

Fay did not catch the wink or the implication of Harry's remark but when Vicky saw the smile on Mom's face she got it and flew to her sister and gave her a big hug and kiss then gave Harry a big kiss on the cheek.

As Harry was leaving he told Fay that he would leave some papers for her at our house on Monday. He kissed Mom and Fay on the cheek and said goodnight.

Fay then turned to me and gave me a lung-squeezing hug as she said, "I knew you would not disappoint us. I just knew it." She kissed me on the cheek then repeated the act with Mom except that the kiss for Mom was enthusiastic and on the lips.

Fay returned to the coffee table and pulled out a paper from her briefcase and placed it on the table.

When Fay turned to look at us she saw three big smiles for her.

"What?" she asked.

Fay was still clueless.

Mom asked her, "What do you know about Harry's firm."

"Completely first rate, the most important firm in the city. I expected a war. My firm expected a war we could not outlast. They were hoping for an offer to settle.

I was terrified.

I am so shocked and so pleased at how well it went. Harry even pointed out some errors I had made that would have cost Vicky in the long run and showed me how to rephrase some passages to make them clearer.

Thanks again for your suggestions," Fay said to Mom and kissed her again, this time it was a soft kiss on the lips.

It apparently suddenly dawned on Fay that it was the second kiss on the lips she had given Mom in less than five minutes. Fay quickly became embarrassed at her boldness but before she had the chance to apologize Mom kissed her back.

Fay gave Mom a hug then continued, "The entire negotiation took twenty minutes. Harry did not object to a thing. I was very flattered over that.

Doing the changes you wanted took ten minutes and we had printed copies with our signatures in just over thirty minutes. We were just shooting the breeze the rest of the time."

"No you were not," Mom said. "You were in a job interview.

You have been hired."

Fay was shaking as she sat on the couch, on the verge of tears. "Oh no, I can't. It's out of my league," she sobbed.

Mom sat with Fay and hugged her. She said, "That nice old man you just talked to is the shrewdest judge of character in the world. He is also the managing senior partner in the firm. If he thinks you will be an asset then you will be an asset.

Anyway, for what you did tonight you are certainly going to be fired on Monday. Just think about how nice it is that you already have another job."

Mom helped a stunned Fay stand then led her to her bedroom as she caressed Fay's shoulder and back.

"You are apparently spending the night," I said to Vicky. Lets go back to my sisters bedroom, I will bring you something to wear in bed."

As we walked to my sister's room Vicky asked, "Where is your sister?"

"Married and living in Luxembourg. You will meet her Thanksgiving."

"She is coming home?"

"No, we are going to Luxembourg. I will be right back with a t-shirt."

I searched for my more comfortable t-shirts and brought her a couple.

"I don't have a passport," was the first thing she said when I returned.

"Then make sure Fay brings your birth certificate when she goes to your parents house next time. We will need it for the wedding anyway.

"Fay already has my birth certificate. She was convinced that you would accept her proposal and we would be married.

I though you and your mom would get mad and throw us out. Fay is a lot better at reading people than I am."

"I am glad you came over. I did not expect to say yes to a marriage proposal tonight but as they say in one word, youneverknow."