Double or Nothing Pt. 05

"Carol, what I have come to understand is that just like the gambling term those words are based on, you left me with nothing. I walked away with nothing, but when Melody and Harmony came into my life, I took a punt even though it hurt to open myself up and doubled down.

"You pointed out that I have everything now, and you're right. I have money. I have two wives that are infinitely better than you were, and I have four children that I adore." Carol was beginning to splutter, but I wasn't finished.

"I have an amazing house, and despite the circumstances, I have an opportunity to see if I can restore a lost relationship with Mackenzie. I can help save her life. But, if that means that I have to exclude you from the process if your feelings get hurt, you need to understand something."

Carol looked at me.

"I'm perfectly fine with hurting your feelings!"

Mackenzie laughed beside me before Carol could find her tongue.

"Listen, Mum, you might not like this, but it will happen. Dad is taking me to Sydney tonight, and we're going to go through the procedure tomorrow evening. I think Dad was right in what he said earlier. It's better if you drive back up home. He can take care of me for a while."

Carol continued to protest. I guess she just couldn't see past everything said to her. Then, finally, our conversation turned into a decent argument. And the more she protested, the further the gulf between her and her daughter became.

From the story Mackenzie told, and others I have heard since that first weekend of restoration, I have come to understand that what Carol and Dickhead did was close to abuse.

And trust me, I get some of it. Families fight and disagree. I had two stunning redheaded wives with Irish tempers that could bring you to your knees. But my point is that families don't always get along. However, even when you disagree, you need to be responsible. You don't leave your child alone for hours in a strange city without supervision and limits, in a hotel room. But Carol couldn't see that, and that was where things started falling apart when it wasn't about her.

Later that evening, Melody, Mackenzie, and I headed for the airport and Sydney. Harmony wanted to come, but someone needed to stay with the kids, and it sounds like she lost rock, paper, scissors, two to three against her sister.

The procedure itself was straightforward for me. They put me under a general anesthetic, extracted some marrow and then grafted the marrow into Mackenzie's system, hoping that her body would accept it. I would also be giving regular blood donations not long after each of her Chemo sessions. The idea was that my blood would restore her system quicker than it could recover independently. Honestly, I don't know the science behind it, but it had worked with three other patients in the US with this type of cancer, so we went for it.

After the procedure, Mackenzie chose to come back with us to Bathurst, much to her mother's dismay. Carol had gone home thinking that Mackenzie would return to Maitland after the initial procedure.

The next few months were sometimes awkward, Mackenzie had moved into the house, and it took some time to adjust to having her there. She got most of her stuff shipped by friends, not trusting Carol to send it. She spent a lot of time with the kids during the day and would often sit with my girls and I in the evenings. We spoke a lot about her time with her mother and Dickhead. Melody, Harmony and myself became appalled at some of her stories. Mackenzie and I spent a lot of time crying and reconnecting.

Overall, though, I was happy having her back in my life. But everything changed again on the day of my birthday.

I woke up early on my birthday to the feeling of lips on cock and another set of lower lips on my face. Melody was straddling my face, and I dove into her pussy, my half-waking brain still getting what was happening. I pulled her to me, my tongue slipping into her folds and juice leaking over my tastebuds. I looked up and saw her breasts and hard nipples. She looked down at me and grinned.

"Happy birthday, our love!" she moaned.

Harmony, meanwhile, was positioned and sucking my cock and holding my balls. Another finger had made its way to tease my rosebud, no penetration, just the feeling of pressure. It didn't take long for me to fire a load off, and Harmony swallowed like a champion. But before I could even think about softening, Harmony's mouth came off my cock, and Melody took her pussy off my face and quickly slid her pussy onto my hard cock and started riding me.

Harmony moved up and kissed me, "Happy birthday, Sweetie." She said, then did what her sister did and climbed on my face having me lick her pussy. For the next half hour, both sisters swapped places, letting me lay there as they fucked me like a birthday wake up in bed should be done.

After a shower and getting dressed, the three of us stumbled out to our kids having breakfast and William, Martha, and even Mackenzie gave very knowing looks.

"Happy birthday, Daddy!" all four of my young kids said together. Then, for the next twenty minutes, I got the focus of four ferocious kids as I opened their gifts, socks and card covered in crayons.

From Melody, I got a brand-new Remington .308 bolt action rifle. I had taken up target shooting around a year ago. From Harmony, I got a very lovely 16x50 scope that must have cost almost as much as the gun. William and Martha had bought me a spotter's scope for the range, and I don't know where she got the money, but Mackenzie had bought me a top-of-the-line bipod stand. So, I now had a complete set of gear for long-range target shooting.

I sat on the couch about to start opening boxes when Mackenzie approached. She was apprehensive as she sat down on the coffee table beside my gifts.

"What's wrong Pumpkin?" I asked.

Without saying anything, she brought out another present. This one looked years old. The wrapping paper was ratty and threatened to tear open in a few places. I blinked.

There were tears in her eyes, and she handed it to me, and her voice croaked, "This is for you, Dad."

I opened the card. And she told me, "I wrote this the week before your birthday over seven years ago." The card was plain, a golf ball on the cover. On the inside was a note.

Dad,

I don't know what I have done to make you not want to see us these last few months. I really miss you, but Mum says we can't talk to you because soon Stephen will be my new dad. I'm not sure I want a new dad. I miss my old one.

I hope that you have a happy birthday.

I love you Dad

Your daughter

Mackenzie -- xoxoxo

I put the card down gently and looked up at Mackenzie, then down at the present. The room was silent. Even Mackenzie's four tiny half-siblings were watching quietly. I carefully unwrapped the gift, and inside were three items.

The first was a plain black cotton shirt. Back then, I wanted a shirt to wear after a shower, something light and comfy in the evening, and I guess that Mackenzie had overheard me talking with her mother. The second was a pair of cotton boxer shorts with love hearts. The third was a small pocket knife, a Leatherman, one of those utility knives with many gadgets. On the side was written.

My Dad, Terry Other, love Mackenzie

I looked up at Mackenzie again, then back down at the gifts, then back up at Mackenzie.

"Thank you," I croaked out, then I almost yanked her off the coffee table she was sitting on and into my arms. We were both crying. I whispered, "I love you, Pumpkin."

Melody picked up the card, read the inscription on the knife, and joined the hug. Harmony soon followed. Over seven years, Mackenzie held onto that gift, never knowing if she could ever give it. Then, finally, little Beth came over to us as we sat on the couch and gave me one of her little hugs. First, she looked up at me, then over to Mackenzie, then over to Melody.

"Mummy, did Dad not like Sister Mac's present?" she asked.

"No, Sweetie," Melody said, "I think he likes Sister Mackenzie's gift best of all!"

"Better than mine?" John asked.

We all laughed, "I love all your presents the same, but daddy has been waiting for that gift for a long time, and your big sister was finally able to give it to me." I told them.

We got the kids sorted out, and Martha volunteered to take them to daycare today, giving Melody, Harmony and myself the day off usual parenting duties. So along with Mackenzie, we decided to head into town and have a birthday brunch, then perhaps do some shopping. As we were getting ready, the next surprise of the day arrived.

"Terry, there is a man at the front door with a package you have to sign for?" Melody said, questions in her eyes.

I laughed, "Most likely another birthday present. I hope this one is cash." I signed accepting an A4 sized envelope, and the guy said thanks but stood there. "Is there something else?"

"Yes, sir, I need you to read the paper inside and give me a response to one of the times listed on the letter." The courier said.

I broke the seal, wondering what the gag was and started reading the letter inside.

"You have to be shitting me!" I exclaimed, and not in a good way.

"What is it, Baby?" Harmony said, holding some shoes as she walked down the hall from our bedroom.

"The dickhead, is requesting a video conference today. He notes that he has something important to talk to me about." I re-read the details, "He's given me three times, ten-thirty, twelve-thirty or three-thirty today that we can video conference, something called Microsoft Teams."

I looked at the courier, "You're not a courier, are you?"

"No sir," The man replied, "I am actually with the Department of Corrections. Should you accept one of these times, I am to give you instructions on connecting and talking with the person in question." He looked embarrassed, "I'm sorry it looked like you were about to head out."

"We were. It's his birthday," Melody replied, taking the document from my hands and reading it.

I looked at the guy standing there waiting for our reply. "Fuck it, just like this twat to know how to ruin what was looking to be a good day." I looked at the guy from corrections closer, "I got laid this morning, got an amazing set of presents and was going to have a great brunch with my wives and my reconnected daughter, and now the dickhead wants to talk; on a matter of urgency."

"I'm sorry, Sir, I can understand the poor timing, but I need a response?" the man said, blushing at my honesty.

I looked at Melody, and she nodded. "Make it the first one, ten-thirty, let's get it over and done with, at least that way we can still do lunch. What do I need to do?"

The guy was leafing through a folder, "Do you have a computer with Internet access and a webcam?" he asked.

"He does. Just give that to me." Melody said, "I'll get it sorted."

He gave us the details and a number to call if we had any issues and left.

I informed Harmony and Mackenzie that we would be delayed and why. They were both dismayed, but like me, intrigued. Why would the dickhead want to talk?

Melody worked her magic. She set the laptop with Microsoft Teams up for me then 'cast' the screen to the TV so that the three girls could also see dickhead without appearing on the screen with me.

At the appointed time, we connected and waited. Then, there were two people on the screen. The first was the dickhead, Stephen Morrison; the second was a Department of Corrections officer. The officer spoke first.

"Mr Other, thank you for agreeing to meet with Mr. Morrison today. I am here to lay out some ground rules. First, while this call is private, just the same as an actual visit, the department retains the right to monitor the call if any sensitive or incriminating information is discussed. Do you agree to this condition, Mr Other?"

"I do," I replied.

"Then I'll leave you to it. This call has a duration of thirty minutes. Should you require longer, a new call will need to be scheduled." Then he upped and walked out of the room.

I looked at the dickhead.

"So..." I asked.

"You know I hate you, right." The fat man wheezed; his voice had a rasp that, while always annoying, just screamed, look at me, I'm a self-pretentious idiot. He also looked like he had put on weight. Before prison, he was pudgy, or I would have embellished on the fact that he was a little overweight, but now he had ballooned out like the kid in Willy Wonka's factory that turned into a blueberry. What can I say, prison is a bitch!

I laughed, "The feeling is mutual, Dickhead, the feeling is most certainly mutual. You are the singular cause of pretty much every negative thing that has ever happened in my life!" I responded.

Before he could jump in, I started counting off, "First, you seduce my wife and have an eighteen-month affair with her.

"Second, you convince her that she should leave me for the oh so superior specimen that is you."

I scoffed. I kept ticking off fingers. 'Third, you coerce my daughter to abandon me."

He was smiling. "Fourth, you threatened me in a public place when my mother had just been diagnosed with cancer."

He lost a bit of his smile, "And, last but not least, you tried to kill me. Like a boil on the ass of society and life in general, I can't understand how you keep breathing, let alone have anything to say that I am remotely interested interested in... So?" I concluded.

I will give him one thing; he didn't just react to my verbal baiting. He thought for a minute before responding.

"You know," he began. "When Carol and I first started our affair, we tried to be discreet, she did hold affection for you, and I was happy to have a piece of ass as nice as hers. Boy, as we can both fondly recall, she could suck a load." He smiled. I shrugged.

"Then, over time, I found that she was unhappy with being married to someone like a plumber, someone who waded in other people's shit for a few dollars an hour." He was trying to bait me in return, but I wasn't rising to it.

"I could offer her the finer things in life. I was one of the surgeons at Maitland Central Hospital. I had money and a great house that we got to fuck in regularly. Did I mention that she had a great ass?" he raised his eyebrows at me. "The first time Carol let me fuck her ass, I knew she was mine. You never got her ass, did you?" He had a smug smile on his face.

I shrugged, "No, but I never really wanted her ass. My cock was too large for that opening. I would have bet that only something tiny could get into that hole."

The dickhead lost his composure. I could hear some stifled giggles coming from the other room as the girls watched. Then, in a moment, he dismissed the comment.

"Yes, once her ass was mine, she was mine. It didn't take too much more to get her to leave you. But my masterstroke was convincing her to get Mackenzie to let me adopt her. Depriving you of any parental affection." He grinned. "Even now, while I am here in jail, Mackenzie is mine. I've spoilt her with trips, jewellery, clothes, and things you never could. Even now, your daughter is living the high-life, your ex-wife sobs for me, waiting for my release so that we can be a family again."

It was my turn to raise a questioning eyebrow but kept my face neutral. He wasn't keeping up on recent events and still believed that I knew nothing of him and Carol divorcing or that I was assisting Mackenzie in her cancer treatment and that she was, of course, in the other room watching this call. Nevertheless, he took my expression that I was interested in, and was on the hook for his discussion.

"Oh yes, Carol can't get enough of me, my body and my intellectual brain. Mackenzie likewise hangs on my every word, seeking advice on the right investments and university courses. Your move granting her the university money was gratefully received. Both of them were so grateful to have the money and be rid of you out of their lives. Mackenzie, in particular, celebrated that night with friends then commiserated with me a month later as I had to come here." He gestured around him, making out that he was there by choice, not because of a guilty plea.

I sighed, getting a little tired of his self-aggrandizing lies. I could also hear some muffled cursing in the other room where no doubt Mackenzie, despite her illness, would be raging. I had come to understand how much she loathed the man I was looking at on-screen.

"So, again, we're here. What is it that you want?" I asked.

"I want to grant you access." He stated simply.

"Access?" I replied.

He affected a sigh, then spread his hands like a televangelist preacher offering Sunday morning salvation. I recall the gesture from our meeting in Maitland Central. It wasn't effective then, nor was it now.

"Yes, access, Terry." I paused. He caught me simply by using my name, not an insult. And he knew he got my attention. He continued, "Because you are not in your former family's life anymore, you would not be aware of a few things that have happened." He paused, trying to let that sink in.

"I'm offering you access to your ex-wife and former daughter in return for some assistance if you follow me..."

I snorted, "And why do you think I would be interested in talking to my ex-wife or my former daughter at all? They threw me under the bus for, as you put it, fancy trips, kick-nacks and some type of intellectual superiority. So, forgive me if I don't see anything superior in the fuckwit I see before me. But my question still stands. Why would I want access to see them?"

He leant forward, like a man about to tell a secret.

"Because despite everything you hold against Carol, against me and more importantly against Mackenzie. She is your flesh and blood, and when I tell you this, you will want to see her more than anything in the world. But I have a price to allow it."

By now, it was pretty obvious the direction he was going. He wanted to extort something from me to tell me Mackenzie had cancer. So, I decided to play dumb just a little longer.

"I still don't know why I would be interested in talking to them, let alone wanting to help one of the few people in this world that I have justifiable cause to want to beat the living shit out of if we were in the same room. How's the glass jaw, by the way?" I returned his early smirk.

He smiled and shook his head, "Terry, Terry, Terry. My stupid ignorant and poor shit shovelling plumbing cuckold. My jaw is nothing, and when I tell you my secret and that the only way you will get access to Mackenzie is through me, my jaw will mean nothing, and you will beg me to help you."

"For fucks sake, Dickhead, enough with the fucking dramatics. You're a loser, a criminal and from what I understand, fucking pathetic in bed. So, get with the program!" I spat at him.

He laughed. He thought he had me.

"We're almost there, dumb plumber, first my price."

"Ok, Fuckwit, I'll bite. Let's hear it."

He laughed, "First off, I want you to commit to paying me one hundred thousand dollars. It doesn't need to be upfront. I've got a few years to collect. But I want some money for my trouble. Capeesh?"

I wanted to laugh, but I held my tongue, "It sounds like you have more than one condition?"

"I do. I also want you to have your bitch of a sister talk to the DA and convince them on your behalf to reduce my sentence."

"Hmmm, ok, you want money, and a commitment to reduce your sentence for some earth-shattering information on my estranged daughter that you think will have me fawning all over you. Let's not talk about why both of those could be illegal. But it must be some terrible secret."

"It is," he replied. His smile was massive, thinking he had me over a barrel.

"Well, first off, I can easily bypass you and just call Carol or Mackenzie myself. Did you think of that?"