It's Time to Let Go Now, Daddy

The mike the minister was wearing picked up her voice, "It's really him, Michael, I'm so glad he could come." That simple statement rang through the church. My eyes filled with tears. One of the hard guys handed me a hanky and whispered, "Wimp," and then started laughing. He then put his arm across my shoulders and hugged me. "You're a very lucky man to have a daughter like that."

The minister calmed down the throng by continuing the ceremony. Before I knew it, they were married and walking down the aisle. I also started to stand up, when I realized that I never sat down after my little speech at the beginning.

My daughter and her new husband stopped for a moment beside my pew, "Daddy, this is Michael. You two can get acquainted at the reception. Save me a dance." And they walked away down to the front doors and out into the stunning June afternoon.

I guess I was invited to the reception.

The bridal party had the traditional white limos waiting out front of the church. At the end of the line was a black Rolls Royce. My guys walked me to it."It's not proper etiquette to upstage the bride."I thought as the rear door opened.

Out popped Maria. She was all smiles as she ran up to me and planted a right proper kiss on my lips. When she came up for air, she said, "My plane was late. I wanted to see our daughter get married."

"Our daughter?"

"Yes I said 'our daughter'. What else should I call the child of the man I plan to marry? Now shut up and get in the car. We're upstaging the bride."

I got in the car. More or less on automatic pilot than with any conscience thought. As soon as we were settled, the driver whisked us out of the line and off to what I found out later was a large hall hired for the reception. We beat the bridal party there. Maria and I got reacquainted while we waited for the rest of the guests to arrive. After 10 minutes, we forgot the 8 years we were apart. It's was as if we were never separated.

The bridal party arrived and set up the receiving line. Maria handed me an envelope representing a gift for the bride and groom, "I took the liberty of signing it from both of us." She said as I dropped it in the box.

"I know it's impolite to ask, but if my daughter inquires, how much?"

"$100,000. Is that too little?"

"Maria, you shouldn't have. I'll give you a check for that amount."

"Tommy, I guess no one told you. Your ex and her husband contributed nothing toward this affair. Everything was either paid by the bride and groom or his parents. Will you be picking up any of the cost of this reception? Jonathan's parents contributed near $20,000 just for this reception. They don't have that kind of money to throw around."

"Maria, I had no idea. Of course I'll reimburse them as soon as I get to my check book."

"Tommy, I knew you'd say that. I already have the check made out for the parents in my purse. You give it to them at dinner."

We reached the bridal party and were introduced to all the members except my ex and her husband. For some reason they got out of the reception line when we approached. I introduced Maria as my wife to all of them.

My daughter said sarcastically, "Gee Dad, we'd have never believed Maria was your wife by the way you never let her hand go."

She continued, "Maria, how do you put up with his constant pawing?"

"Sheila, I love it. Your father is one of the kindest men I ever met. I think I loved him the first time I met him. If you are only 25% as much in love with Michael as I am with your father, then you'll be one lucky lady."

"So Dad, Do you live close enough for Michael and I to visit?"

Maris answered, "We're still trying to decide where we want to live. Your Dad is on the east coast and I'm in South America. I want to wake up in his arms every morning, not just some of them. Maybe now that you're married and living out here we have another possible place to put down our roots."

"Michael and I would love you near us. We plan on having a lot of kids and need babysitters."

"All you need do is pick up the phone and we'll come running. Of course you might never get the kids back until they're adults," Maria joked.

I finally felt that Maria and I had spent too much time holding up the line, so we moved into the dining room to find our seats. The tables were arranged seating. There were little name tags by each place setting. Since Maria and I were not "invited" guests there were no places for us.

While we were milling around the rear of the room a woman, who later turned out to be the hostess, walked up, "Mr. and Mrs. Migdol? Please follow me. We are making some changes to the head table to accommodate both of you. The two gentlemen with you explained to me that they are your security and will not be eating. Is that correct?"

"They take their jobs very seriously. But I still would like them to join us. I'll leave it to you to find a way to accommodate them," I said.

I wish you could have seen the expression on my ex-wife Sharon's face when she saw Maria and me sitting at the head table. To add insult to injury, we were right next to the bride. Sharon and Ass Hole were delegated to the end two places. For anyone sitting in the dining area it appeared that they were added as an afterthought. I couldn't have been happier at her embarrassment.

The hostess noticed Maria and I gloating over our seats and whispered, "The groom's father requested you have these seats and the bride agreed. Since the groom's father is paying for all this, I quickly agreed."

Maria squeezed my arm at the "groom's father is paying" comment. I interrupted, "I don't think so. Please do not let him pay. Could you put this reception on my Gold Card?"

The hostess gave me a funny look, "I guess so."

"Miss, my wife and I are very, very rich. Please make this an evening my daughter will remember the rest of her life. Money is not a problem."

She smiled, "Sir, we need about an hour longer so we can upgrade to a full sit down dinner. I can have appetizers and a full bar started in about 10 minutes. They should provide us with the cushion we need."

Maria said, "Thank you. We appreciate your effort." Later that evening, I showed my appreciation by handing her ten $100 bills and another ten for the kitchen staff. This was in addition to the 15% gratuity added to the bill.

I had to like Michael's mother. She noticed right away the unplanned extras that were showing up. She immediately started looking for the hostess, a worried expression on her face. Before I could get over to her, Maria was whispering in her ear.

When Maria returned to me she said, "It's OK now. She was just worried about the cost. They could not afford the cost of this reception and had planned on a home equity loan to pay for it. Your ex never once offered to pay for a thing but she sure demanded stuff. I told Mrs. Worthington that we were able to afford the cost of this affair and would be covering all the expenses."

"They accepted without offense?" I asked.

"She invited us to dinner next week to get acquainted. Is that proof enough?" my love teased.

The reception went on perfectly. The buffet lines never appeared. Instead there were waitresses serving everyone at their seats. The bar never collected any money for drinks. I'd like to say that there was a concert orchestra playing the music, but alas there was only a DJ. But he was great.

The best man gave a very funny toast. He was another detective working with Michael. While I listened to his tribute, my face must have reflected the revulsion at another "cop" in my family.

"Stop it! "Admonished Maria. You'll need to get used to police in "our" family."

I almost said something back to her when "our family" sunk in. I gave her a funny look.

She just smiled back and said, "That's right. I'm not letting you get away again."

After the best man finished his speech, someone put a mike in my hand. I had not prepared any sort of a speech. I never expected to be at the reception.

"Hi, I'm Tommy Migdol, the bride's real father. Today, this wedding marks the second most important day in my life. The first was when she was born. I'd tell you how long ago that birth was, but then she'd make me kill everyone here." That brought a chuckle from the seated throng.

"When Sheila was 12 years old. Her mother took off with her and that ass...cripple who has been pretending to be her father. They disappeared. Sheila's mother started using her lover's last name and forced Sheila to do the same. Sheila was lied to by the two of them. She was told that I didn't want anything to do with her and later told I had died."

"I never stopped looking for her. Now that I've found her, I realize that she comes with a husband. Her own personal police officer, and now I have a sure fire method of getting tickets fixed." This brought an even greater laugh, especially from a couple of tables that appeared to be Michael's co-workers.

About this point in my speech Maris poked me in the ribs. She then whispered in my ear, "Either get off this subject or shut up."

I changed my speech on the fly, "I have only one word of advice for these two newlyweds. Talk! Discuss everything! Let your feelings show. You two have entered into a partnership for life. It will be rocky at first so discussing everything up front is the only way to make your marriage succeed. That old adage about 'never going to bed mad' is truer than you know. Always talk out your disagreements right then and there. Do not let those feelings fester and grow. When you have a disagreement, there is no winner or loser, just two people in love working out an accommodation. The key to a successful marriage is just loving each other.

"Sheila's mother left me before I even knew there was a problem. I guess she felt I wasn't good enough for her and wanted to trade up. And you all can see what she ended up with a fat bigoted cripple with no money and no desire to work. Sharon was forced to step up and provide for her family."

It got very quiet in the hall. Sharon was piercing me with "the look".

I took Maria's hand and pulled her to her feet. "Sharon, thank you for leaving me. I guess I was the one who ended up improving my position in life. I'm a very rich man who has a beautiful woman for my soul mate. On this the most important day in your daughter's life, you look like a woman who life has beaten down. You look as if you are 20 years older than you are. I overheard you telling one of your friends how much this wedding was costing you. Well let's set the record straight. Michael's parents were the ones actually footing the bill, not you and the fat man. "

Maria poked me again, but I continued ignoring the look in her eyes,

"Sharon before you take credit for all this, we have already informed Michael's parents that we are paying for everything. I could never let Michael's folks accept the costs of this affair. I have already informed the management of that."

I saw Michael's mother start to cry at my revelation. His father just looked at me in shock.

I continued, "A little bird told me that these two newlyweds are living in a small apartment trying to save the down payment for a house. When the two of you return from your honeymoon, I..." whack! I felt a sharp pain in my side. "Maria and I will be helping you with the down payment on a house as she just reminded me."

The crowd loved it. My ex looked at down at her place setting in both embarrassment and growing anger.

I couldn't shut up, "To my ex, I'd like to say thank you. Although you kept me from watching my daughter grow and mature, you gave me the opportunity to demonstrate the love a father can exhibit for his child. I hope this negates your demonstrations of greed and selfishness to her."

At that point Sharon broke. She screamed, "You bastard!" and charged at me with the knife used to cut the wedding cake. My bodyguard did his job and stopped her. I remembered thinking, "OOO, that's got to hurt." as he hit her.

Maria looked at me, "You just made a mess of your daughter's wedding. You'd better start apologizing now!"

The police were called and she was placed in a squad car heading for jail, charged with "Assault with a Deadly Weapon".

Jonathan started running his mouth. He was demanding all sorts of ridiculous things and started calling the cops in attendance all sorts of nasty names. My second bodyguard bent over and whispered something in his ear. I never found out what was said, but Jonathan turned white and shut up.

I guess he got the message because he left in his handicapped van a few minutes later.

Sheila was upset but between Michael and their friends she was soon calmed down. I guess the upcoming dances helped her recover.

At one point as I was dancing with Maria, Michael cut in. Suddenly I found I was holding my "little" girl and dancing to "Daddy's Little Girl." In the middle of the floor all alone just the two of us, I got a lump in my throat and my eyes started watering. My baby was all grown up.

Michael and I switched partners. "Ok tough guy, why the red eyes?" Maria asked.

"Allergies," I responded.

Maria just pulled me closer and whispered, "Liar."

+++++++++++++++++++

It was a pretty good year. Frank Russo retired from the "business". The organized crime task force was getting too close to him for comfort. He and his wife retired to Italy near the coast. Maria and I bought his house in the Hollywood Hills. We gave the house to Sheila and Michael. They were to watch over it so that Maria and I would have somewhere to live when we came north.

Yes I said north. Maria and I bought an ocean front villa in Belize. I turned most of my "business" interests over to my 2nd in command, Gino. I kept most of the legitimate business interests. They generated a nice income and did not require me to do "hands on" management.

Maria's brothers assumed control of her father's empire from her. She could never openly control it because of the South American macho attitude of the men. She still guided her brothers, but her involvement decreased rapidly as the brothers learned. Her father continued his decline into darkness as his dementia slowly destroyed is mind.

Every time Maria and I visited him, she cried for a week. She took it hard seeing her father reduced to what he had become. It really affected her. There wasn't really anything I could say to lessen her pain. All I could do was hold her in my arms as she cried herself to sleep.

++++++++++++++++

Awareness came to me again at the hospital. I was still completely paralyzed. This time I was able to piece together a time line. I was out this time for three days. I managed to get my radar back functioning and I realized that there were a few people entering my room.

I recognized the voice of my nurse. She was lecturing whoever was with her about my care. One voice I recognized as my daughters.

She was telling someone, "I know he just lays there but I believe with all my heart that he can hear us. So just talk to him as if he's awake."

I recognized my granddaughter's voice, "Grand dad, I'd like to introduce you to your great grandson, Thomas H. Pulaski."

She leaned over and whispered in my ear, "The 'H' stands for Hammer. I named him after you."

The last thing I remembered was hearing, "Mom hand me some Kleenex. One of his eyes is watering."

+++++++++++++++++++

This time when I awoke I remembered my ex-wife Sharon. She was declared unfit to stand trail for her attempted assault of me. She was committed to a mental institution for treatment.

I wanted to have her whacked for trying to kill me. Hey, "The Hammer" needed to send a message. She got lucky; Maria would not let me harm her. Maria's logic said that my daughter needed her birth mother even though she was as loony as could be.

I bitched and moaned to Maria about how unfair not killing her was. But she persisted in the end. Of course there were no protections for Jonathan. He died when his electric wheelchair malfunctioned and he plunged to his death off a 4th floor balcony.

It's interesting to note that when Sharon was informed of his accident, she actually started improving. She improved for the next 10 months and was released into Michael and Sheila's care. The kids set her up in an in-law apartment at their home. They tell me that she was improving all the time, but you can't prove it by me. Whenever I came over to visit the kids, she hid in her room until I left.

Sheila explained her mother felt guilty for everything she had done to me over the years and could not face me. Maria on the other hand became her best buddy. Any time Maria visited Sheila and Michael, she also visited Sharon. Maria usually brought Sharon a small gift on these visits.

Sharon was not mentally stable enough to be exposed to a real job so she could not earn a living. The kids provided her with everything she needed as well as a small amount of spending money. On night as Maria and I were cuddling in bed, Maria started explaining Sharon's financial plight. I knew what was coming but played stupid. I let Maria use her feminine wiles to convince me. I swear it was some of the best sex I ever had.

The next morning I set up an automatic funds transfer into Sharon's account every month. It was only for $2000. I could well afford that amount. It took a couple of months but someone finally let slip that I was behind the transfers.

Sharon approached me one day at the kid's house. "Tommy, thank you for...."

I interrupted, "Sharon, you are my daughter's mother. If you suffer or go without, my daughter is upset. I will not accept anything that upsets Sheila. I still don't like what you did to me but I will overlook everything to keep the peace."

Sharon nodded her acceptance and left the room.

Maria had overheard the whole conversation. That night in bed, she called me an ass hole. To be exact she called me "her ass hole." But she told me she was working on that small fault.

It was almost two years later that Maria and I were presented with our first grandchild, Michael Thomas Gallagher. Those allergies acted up again the first time I saw him in the hospital.

"My tough guy with a marshmallow center," was what Maria whispered to me.

++++++++++++++++++++++

The tape was off my eyes again. This time the head of my bed was raised and my head was turned toward my right side. I saw my daughter sitting there looking at me. She was crying her heart out.

"It's time to let go now, Daddy. Maria is waiting for you."

The End.