The Father of My Daughters

Alan Taylor was sitting alone in his office working. He normally worked alone; he was a loner by nature. At school he was regarded as a geek. He was no good at sports or art or music, but he was good at academic subjects; maths and English were his forte. He had a few friends but none really close. At twenty seven years old he had only had two girl friends neither of whom were impressed enough to stay with him. Anyway, he had been given a company scholarship to university and had done well. He was now moving up through the company hierarchy and within ten years hoped to be near the top, as long as his social skills were up to it.

There was a sudden hush in the outer office as a director showed a new female colleague into the room. Alan's door was opened and the lady stood in front of him. He stood up.

"Good Morning, I'm Alan Taylor," he introduced himself, "I'm in charge of this section." He did not know why but he felt a bit fazed. It seemed the appropriate thing to say.

She smiled at him and said, "I'm Laura Deacon. Pleased meet you".

He held out his hand and shook hers, "And I'm pleased to meet you too. I hope you will be OK with us and it's not all too different from what you expected."

He was trying to get an overall impression of her while at the same time looking into her eyes. She certainly looked very attractive, a pretty face and well groomed hair.

"Oh, I worked for this company years ago, before I left to have my children. I think I'll soon settle in."

And she had a good figure for a mother, of what, thirty years old at most.

She continued, "My girls are at school now and I need to get out of the house and meet people." She gave a little sigh.

Laura Deacon was to be the new assistant in his department. Alan thought back, yes he vaguely remembered her. He had been a lowly trainee and a part time student while she worked on a different floor as an office junior. He could not remember why she left, it must have happened while he was at college. He briefly wondered why a director showing her round and guessed it must be because he knew her from her previous time here.

Laura Deacon, Alan thought again, that was her name then. So no husband?

The following Monday morning she arrived and came straight to Alan. He showed her to her desk and the tasks to be done. Alan had a note saying that Laura would be having one Wednesday each month off work as part of her employment terms. Through the next week she asked him questions on how various things worked and they build up a good rapport between themselves.

Alan had not had so much contact with any new employee for some time and even less with a woman. He had felt a little embarrassed at times but she was a quick learner and very amiable. He began to feel relaxed with her; in fact he was more comfortable with her than with many of the others in his office.

He noticed that Laura brought a gym bag with her two or three days a week and disappeared at lunch times, presumably to a nearby gym. One Friday he plucked up courage to ask her if she would like to have lunch with him and she accepted. Over the typical Friday beer and a ploughman's lunch she told him that she was getting back into shape after being at home for so long and she was going to a ladies' only gym in the next street. He confided that he cycled and swam, the exercises he could do alone, he did not do team sports.

She told him she had no family nearby but she did have an infirm aunt that she had to visit each month. The aunt had made some provision for financial support for her children. Alan had his parents living on the other side of town and he regularly took his father to football matches, normally every other Saturday in the season. He did not ask about the father of her children and she did not say anything.

After the first lunch together they seemed to work better as a team and with each subsequent Friday lunch they got even closer. Alan would have liked to take her out somewhere but did not know what to say or where to go with a woman with two children. Laura took the lead; she asked if he would go with her to a new exhibition at a local gallery. She could get a sitter for the children on Sunday afternoon; they could be at a school friends' home for a couple of hours, if he would go with her. This sounded fairly non-threatening to Alan and he was free on Sunday so he accepted, saying he would be pleased to go with her.

Well, they enjoyed each other's company but Laura had to be home early to be with her girls. Three weeks later there was an historical pageant in the park. A more confident Alan asked Laura if she and the girls would like to go with him. The girls were seven and five years old and at a local school. Meeting Laura's children had a greater significance than he realised, it was an introduction to the family, similar to meeting future in-laws. Alan collected them, spent the day with them and took them home. It was only natural that he was invited in for supper. After the meal the girls wanted to show him what they did at school, so he stayed a little longer. The girls went to bed; Laura offered him a drink so he sat on the sofa with her in front of the TV. He felt her shift a bit closer until she was snuggled up to his hip and his shoulder. He looked down at her and she immediately put a hand on his neck. At least he knew what this meant and kissed her.

They kissed for some time. Alan had not kissed like this for years. His hand fumbled under her clothing, it seemed looser than he thought it ought to be. He squeezed her breasts; she responded by moving onto his knee. Now he was in new territory, he was unsure what to do next. Laura knew; her hands were inside his shirt then down inside his trousers. In no time it seemed clothes were lost and they were writhing on the sofa together. Alan was not a virgin but did not have much experience, however Laura could show him what was required and she did.

An hour or so later they rested and she lay in his arms and asked if he wanted more. He replied, "Yes please."

"Well you'll have to come back again soon and we'll make a more comfortable arrangement."

So within a few weeks Alan and Laura were, in effect, an item. Six months after that, on a Saturday evening when the girls were already in bed, Laura cuddled up to Alan. "Alan, do you know what the girls asked me today?"

"Tell me."

"They came up together and asked if you were going to be their Daddy." She thought that would be a good enough of a hint for him to get the message.

It had Alan crossed his mind in the previous week that he could live with her.

"Laura, will you marry me?"

She jumped on him and answered, "Yes, yes of course I will!"

On Sunday evening Alan returned to his place a drained but happy man. As soon as he was out of the door, Laura got her phone and dialled. When it was picked up she said elatedly, "He's done it, he asked me yesterday and I accepted." A short conversation followed. She told her daughters the next day.

A little under a year later they married and bought a house to make a home for them all together. Alan had absolutely no experience of actually living with a woman and now he had to accommodate a wife and family. She guided him through the routines of married life, including what was to be required in bed. Regular sex was also new to Alan. He did not know how much or how little to expect. So for him three or four times a month was sufficient. He did not expect more but accepted it when offered.

Soon Alan received a promotion and pay rise due to his increased self reliance and new found confidence. One thing Laura would never talk about was the girls' father. She always said he was someone she did not want to think about when she had him to care for them all. He assumed there was a unhappy experience and did not pursue the subject.

Laura could give up work to care for her family and home. Of course she still went to her gym and visited her aunt once a month in accordance with the conditions for the girls' money.

Another thing that Alan had no experience of was shopping with a woman. Laura suggested that at the end of each month she and the girls would go shopping in town without him. Then every so often she would shop alone on Saturday and Alan would look after the girls. He was more than pleased with this idea and arranged to take them to visit his parents while she went into town. This would give her most of the day out to do whatever she wanted and not have to rush.

His parents now thought of themselves as grandparents to the girls and his mother always had something for them all to do together. Alan and his father would go to local football matches or sit together and watch games on the TV.

Not quite two years after Alan and Laura married, the Monday morning after she had her solo shopping expedition, Mary, a secretary in the sales office tackled Alan in the corridor.

"Hey Alan, well you are moving up a bit aren't you?"

"Why?"

"You and Laura having lunch with Mr. Fisher."

"No. Mary, not us."

"Yes, I saw you in the Manor Hotel restaurant on Saturday lunchtime. John's parents took us there."

"No, Mary, I was at my Dad's place with the girls."

"Oh," Mary hesitated, "I must have been mistaken, I'm sure I saw Laura sitting with Mr. Fisher."

Mary sat at her desk; obviously Alan had not taken on board what she meant.

Mr. Fisher, Thomas Fisher, was the Chairman of the board and he and his wife were both major share holders in the company. The Fishers had regarded themselves as big wheels in the county; as individuals both of them were rich and influential locally. His wife once was a county council member and had served on various government committees. She had resigned and now took no part in politics and did not appear in public at all. The Manor Hotel had the very best restaurant for miles around. Alan could rarely afford go to the Manor.

Laura had been shopping the previous Saturday but she was home when Alan and the girls got back at half past six. She had showered and changed into her casuals for the evening. Alan had no clue whether she had been to the Manor or not.

That Monday evening he tackled her about last Saturday. "Laura, Mary said she saw you last Saturday with Tom Fisher."

"Could have done. He called me about the sponsorship he gives to the school. We had coffee together."

"What sponsorship, I don't know about that?" queried Alan.

"Oh, he sponsors lots of things that the girls do, that's how I know him."

"So he knows you and the girls?"

"Yes," Laura answered, "I thought you knew that. I often see him here and there. He remembers me from when I used to work for him."

"I didn't know you worked for him."

"Of course you did, I was the junior for his secretary, I was always in his office." Laura said emphatically. "He liked me to do stuff for him."

The girls were put to bed and later they went up. Laura pulled Alan on top of her and demanded sex. He obliged vigorously.

On Tuesday Alan met Mary in the corridor, she smiled at him. "Mary, I talked to Laura, she had coffee with Mr. Fisher chatted about some sponsorship for the school." Alan was in a good mood; he had just been told he would be in line for an extra bonus this year. He would treat Laura to something special.

Mary grabbed Alan and pushed him into her room. "Alan, I've got to tell you now, I hoped I wouldn't have to. Laura left the restaurant arm in arm with Fisher and I thought they went to the bedrooms. Alan is she messing you about? I've known you longer than her and I like you. I don't want you hurt." Mary knew Alan could be a little naive when it came to women.

That night Alan found Laura's mobile and down loaded a phone tracker app for it. He could now trace calls and locate the phone remotely and secretly from his laptop. She would not know he was doing it.

Next day was the Wednesday she visited her aunt. He intended to follow her and see what she did. He went off work and she left home after him. He checked his post and then took the rest of the day out. The phone tracker showed she had gone about twenty miles and was stopped at a train station car park. He drove towards it.

When he got there he quickly found her car but she was gone. He checked on his laptop, luckily a local wifi spot let him connect. Her phone was now thirty miles further along on the road. He followed again, hoping that she was not on a train. After half an hour he stopped at a McDonalds and checked again. She was on the roadside ten miles further on and not moving. He drove along slowly. On the left hand side there was a nursing home but nothing else he could see. "That must be where the aunt is," Alan said to himself. A glance in the car park revealed only a couple of visitors. He drove a quarter mile further and tried his laptop, but got no wifi signal. A little further on there was a pub and he got a signal there. Sure enough her phone was back along the road, she must be in the nursing home. He called her.

"Hi Alan," she answered, "Did you want anything important, I'm busy at the moment with auntie. Can I call you back when I've finished here?" She sounded breathless.

"Oh, I had to go to a client this morning I thought we might meet for lunch?" He asked. "What's up? You sound out of breath?"

"I had to hurry outside to take the call. Er, sorry no Alan I must stay with auntie a bit longer today, see you tonight. Bye, love you." She shut the phone off.

"Bye. " Said Alan to no one, she had gone. "Funny," he thought "I am sure she was not outside, you can generally tell."

He checked the phone location again, it was on the move. He drove back to the nursing home. At the reception desk he asked if Mrs. Taylor, Laura Taylor was still there, explaining he was her husband. The receptionist looked blank and told him she did not recognise the name. Alan asked again saying she probably came with Mr. Fisher.

At this, a second lady popped up and asked if he meant Laura Deacon, adding she often came with him when he visited his wife. Turning to the first receptionist she asked if Thomas Fisher was alone today. No, he had a woman with him, would that be her? They looked in the visitors' book; yes there was Laura Deacon's name. She signed in and out. He was told he had missed them, but he knew that.

Why had she used her maiden name? Why did they come here together? The questions mounted up. Alan found another wifi spot and checked where she was. It seemed she was less than a mile away along the road and off to the right somewhere. He drove in that direction and found a secluded, and expensive, hotel. He rolled down to the visitors' car park. A car with a personalised plate, registration number TF1SHR, was in at the side. That must be Thomas Fisher's car.

"Time to face them," he thought aloud as he parked his car.

Alan strode into the foyer and up to the desk. "Mr Fisher please, I have to see him immediately."

The receptionist looked at the register, "I'm sorry sir, but Mr. Fisher is not registered at the hotel."

"Well he is here somewhere I have an appointment with him," Alan lied.

"He could still be in the restaurant, sir."

Alan was becoming agitated as he stepped through the doorway, the Maître'D approached. "I'm looking for Thomas Fisher, is he here?"

"Mr. Fisher is not dining here today, sir," he answered in the tone of voice reserved for unwelcome intruders.

"Have you any idea where he could be, I need to see him," explained Alan.

"He's most likely in the club, sir, he has an apartment there."

"Can you show me where that is, please," Alan was getting exasperated.

"It's accessed from the rear of the conference area, sir. It's a private club; one must be a member to go in there."

Alan was even more annoyed. "I'll wait for him."

"You certainly can, sir. The bar is over there." The man indicated still keeping up the tone of voice.

Alan went to the bar and ordered a long drink. It may be a long wait. He noticed the Maitre'D make a quick phone call. Alan was certain this was to warn Fisher that he was at the front door and was now even more determined to wait. He realised they could not be too long because Laura had to be back home for the girls. It was not yet two o'clock but she would have to be on the road by three o'clock at the latest. He could sit and keep an eye on Fisher's car.

Five minutes later the parking valet came to the car and moved it further down so that Alan could not now see it. Alan went to his car and followed round the building, there was a barrier across the driveway and he guessed there was another exit somewhere. He left his car and walked around the barrier. The parking valet stepped from a door and asked what he was doing saying this was a private area and not for the public. Alan strode by, telling the man to stop where he was. The man went to his phone.

Alan found Fisher's car and stood beside it. Thomas Fisher came out of a doorway opposite followed by Laura. Alan ignored him. He pointed at Laura.

"Get into my car, it's over there." He grabbed her arm and dragged her along.

Thomas tried to hold onto her and the valet ran across to help him. "Mr. Taylor please, Alan, let me explain."

"Let her go, Fisher. You keep out of this for now. I'll be dealing with you later." Alan carried on walking.

The valet stood in front of Alan and Laura. "Are you OK, miss," he asked.

"Yes, I want to go with my husband," she whispered and now held Alan's arm.

The valet looked at Thomas Fisher; he did not know which one was her husband.

"It's OK, let him take her," Thomas spoke dejectedly and dropped his head.

Alan put Laura in his car, sat behind the wheel and locked the doors. "Well, tell me what's going on. Tell me all of it or I'll throw out here and now."

He drove round to a place where they would not be seen. "Have you been fucking him?"

"Yes. Well, I was, but not recently," she spoke very softly, "I was obliged to."

"How often?"

"Very often. In the past, at least once a week, maybe. Not much since you and I got together though. I still see him, but no fucking now."

"Huh huh, how long?" Alan was losing it.

"Ten years, something like that."

"What!" shouted Alan, "Ten years? Is that why the girls' father dumped you? God, I fell for you, I had sympathy for your girls. I married you because I fell in love with you. What are you up to?"

"Alan, " Laura spoke very quietly now, "Thomas is the girls' father. But I stay with you because I'm in love with you."

"Oh, bloody hell. So you have this arrangement where you two meet up every now and again, for whatever, and yet live me. Is that it?"

"More or less, yes, that's it."

"I ought to kick you out right now, oughtn't I? Go on then tell me the rest." By now Alan could see Thomas hanging about in the distance.

Laura spoke louder now, "No, please Alan, you can't kick me out, think of your daughters."

"My daughters? They're his daughters Laura, not mine!" Alan was shouting again.

"No Alan they call you their Daddy. That's what we all wanted. We wanted the girls to have a Daddy that they could look to for everything a father should give to them. Listen to what I'm going to tell you. Please just listen.

"Elizabeth Fisher, Thomas's wife is my mother's cousin, they were close as children and my mother cared for Elizabeth's mother when she became ill. Elizabeth felt she owed something to my mother so she got her husband to take me on as an office junior, to train in secretarial work, OK with that?

"Elizabeth did not want babies; she wanted to go into politics. Thomas wanted children but he also liked the idea of his wife being at the centre of things, so they had me as his girl friend or mistress to use an old fashioned term. They made me a good offer to have children that they then could adopt, so I did it. They bought me. Elizabeth pays me for the girls. When the girls started school we felt they needed a Dad, to be like the other children at school and to give them the family life they deserved.