Epiphany Pt. 04

Stasis

The break was complete. Sam stopped the investigation into Linda and Charlie. He just didn't really care anymore. Linda called him periodically to let him know how she was doing. Charlie sold his house and car and moved in with Linda. Sam had not put any restriction on what she did with the house so he didn't even make a comment about his old friend moving into his old bedroom. Linda seemed disappointed that Sam didn't make any kind of fuss about it.

Charlie took over taking care of the lawn and the pool which saved Linda a good sum of money. Reportedly Charlie also started his own office and had a few clients. Linda took on a job as the bookkeeper for one of the charities she had previously been on the board of.

Somehow her marital woes had become common knowledge and some of the charities, especially the ones associated with fundamentalist churches, severed their official connections with Linda and Charlie. After hearing that Sam had volunteered to take Linda's place on those boards since he had a lot more free time these days.

Yes, Sam had officially retired. He had more money that he would possibly spend in his lifetime and he had good people hired to make sure that the business continued. He served as chairman of the board and the board only met quarterly.

Temperance and Delight had come to Sam just before his official last day and had invited him to go with them on the European tour. At first Sam had declined believing that they were not serious but just being kind to an old man but when Temperance came into the office one morning she pulled open her blouse and popped her bra up to expose her nicely formed breasts. "Sam, Delight and I are a couple and are committed to each other. Sometimes, though, we like to experiment with others. Occasionally that other person may have a cock. I am not promising constant sex but I believe she and I will make your trip memorable on many levels and we really want you to join us. We have booked an extra room at each and every stop so that you can have your privacy when you want but you will take all the tours with us, just like the larger groups do."

Sam just sat there with an erection that he had not experienced in some time. "But I am fat and old. I don't excite women and probably never will again."

Temperance just smiled at her boss. "Sam you haven't been looking at yourself in the mirror lately. Yes, you are older but you are definitely not fat. You have slimmed down and gained some definition. You need a complete new wardrobe to take advantage of that new body. I believe you will do nicely, and, you soon won't be our boss anymore. So why don't you just enjoy your status as man-toy and come with us."

Sam finally capitulated and joined them on the trip. It was wonderful. Days of touring old castles, cities, farms, vineyards and shipyards and nights where, on occasion, he would entertain one or the other of the pair. On a rare night they would engage in a threesome. They became fast friends instead of co-workers.

After returning from the memorable trip Sam started to go to his new office. He had leased a small office space in a strip mall close to the condo. Even though he wasn't running the day-to-day activities anymore he was more than busy as the chairman of the board of directors.

He needed to meet with various business and civic leaders so an office was good to have. He made an arrangement with Harry to use Delight as his off-site coordinator. He would fax notes to her for transcribing as needed. All appointments went through her for scheduling. When Sam got to his office he would enter and then relock the door so he didn't need a receptionist. He would just unlock the door just before appointments would arrive.

He would then lock the door again while meeting with different clients and leaders. He wasn't afraid of being attacked. More it was a way to keep from being interrupted when he didn't want to be.

About three weeks after returning from his vacation there was a knock on his office door. Sam was not expecting a delivery of anything so he was a little curious as to whom it could be. He didn't even have a name on the door or the directory out by the street.

It was Cindy and Cinda. Sam opened the door but didn't invite them in. "What can I do for you?"

Cindy was a little hesitant as she began her conversation. "I want Cinda to have a relationship with her grandfather. Can you forgive me enough for that?"

Sam kept his face impassive. "How do you propose to accomplish that task?"

"I would like to see you and her go out together regularly. Maybe start with visits to the park and the zoo again. She loved to go with you." Cindy didn't say the "before" part of her prepared statement. She was trying to repair fences without direct references to the break she and her family had created.

"One of the reasons I chose this location was the large park across the street. It lets me go walk anytime I desire without having to drive anywhere. We could go there for a visit."

Sam looked his estranged daughter in the eye. "If Cinda and I go for a walk in the park what will you do in the meantime?"

Cindy almost started to cry. Sam had just let her know in no uncertain terms that a relationship with Cinda did not include her and probably not Doug. She held her head up and sniffed. "I will find something to do for an hour or so or would you like more time than that?"

"No, I think that we will not be too long. Do you still have the same number if she wants to return to you any sooner?"

Cindy nodded. Sam returned the nod with his own and he carefully and deliberately locked his office door before taking his granddaughter's hand in his own and carefully escorting her across the busy street to the park.

Cindy went and sat in her car and watched for as long as she could. Cinda seemed to be hesitant to stay with her natural grandfather for a few minutes until they got to the playground area. Then she was off running to the slide. Now she was yelling for him to catch her as she slid down. He would catch her at the bottom of the slide, swing her in the air and then set her down so she could run and climb the steps and do the whole thing again.

Cindy sat there and watched through tears as she remembered her father doing the same thing when she was so young also. How had she forgotten how much he had tried to be there at all stages of her life? Now she was on the outside trying to reestablish some kind of relationship with her father.

Somehow Charlie Wink, with her mother's help, had insinuated himself into her and her family's life. Her grandmother had not even made a token resistance to easing Sam out of her family life. Now that she had taken the time to reflect on what her mother, her mother's lover, and her grandmother had said, implied, alluded to, and just outright insulted Sam she could see that she had easily been brainwashed into making Sam the villain instead of Linda.

It had continued after Sam had retired and left the country on his vacation. Linda had ramped it up with her version of why she was not going with Sam on, what should have been, their second honeymoon. She had started to call Sam extremely vile names and had said that he had never understood her or supported her. Cindy sat and shook her head as she realized how delusional her mother was.

Sam had supported Linda's every whim. While the early days of the business were less than profitable Sam had fully supported Linda in her need to serve on charity boards instead of insisting she use her accounting degree to help support their small family.

Sam had also wanted more children but Linda had always said no to more siblings for Cindy. Linda had confessed to Cindy, when she was a teen, that it took too long to regain her body shape after her pregnancy to ever go through that again. Of course this was when Cindy was in high school and enjoying her tight young body. She had agreed with Linda then. Now she wanted Cinda to have more siblings and was ready to do the work to get back into shape after each pregnancy. Others had done it so could she.

When Linda had wanted the larger house so the Morse's could entertain more often Sam had swallowed his argument against the expense and just doubled down and made the money needed. Cindy had loved moving to the larger house with the pool and hot tub but had resented the time her daddy had to be away from home to provide the luxury she so enjoyed.

Cindy had passively allowed her mother to enter into the relationship with Charlie. She never once asked herself or her mother if what Linda was doing was proper or not. She just allowed it.

When Cinda was born Linda started to take Cindy and Cinda to Charlie's house for visits. Cindy had thought it was cute that Charlie would call Cinda his granddaughter. Cindy was pre-programmed to allow that liberty as Charlie and his late wife had not had any children. Charlie had made the comment many times that he wished he had fathered children so that he could call a child his grandchild.

Cindy had just gone along with the assassination of her father's character. Now she was ashamed of herself and didn't know how she could even begin to apologize to Sam without sounding like she was a gold digger trying to get back into his will.

There was a tap on her window that startled her out of her wallowing in misery. Sam had brought Cinda back. It was actually late afternoon and the little girl had missed her nap and was drooping. She was a little fussy but still tried to cling to her grandpa's neck.

Cindy quickly dried her eyes and pasted a smile on her face before jumping out to take her daughter and place her in her car seat in the back seat of her SUV. Cinda fussed a little as she was a little cranky from being tired but allowed herself to be buckled into the seat.

When Cindy stood up and closed the door she turned to see Sam almost back to his office door. He paused, "Thank you for allowing me time with Cinda. I appreciate it more than you could ever know."

He turned and unlocked the door. Cindy didn't know if he heard her but she tried anyhow. "Dad, I do know and I am sorry for what I did and allowed to be done to you." Sam didn't stop or flinch as he went inside and relocked the door.

Cindy stopped and just stared for a long while. She wanted to go and pound on the door and demand that her father love her again but she had Cinda to think about. She couldn't leave her daughter in the car as she tried to restart her relationship with her father.

Her shoulders slumped as she admitted defeat and returned to her SUV. After a few minutes she backed out of the parking stall and left the area. She couldn't see Sam standing back in the shadows watching her actions. She didn't see the look of terminal sadness on his face as he mulled over her apology.

A few days later Delight forwarded a phone call to Sam's office. When he answered he was surprised to hear his former mother on the phone. He paused as he considered how to treat Mary. Finally he spoke. "What can I do for you, Missus Morse?"

"Sam, is that any way to speak to your mother? Come on, I understand you are unhappy with me but I carried you for nine months, nursed you, and changed your diaper whenever you needed it. I am your mother and you will address me as such."

"Sorry, Missus Morse but my mother is dead as far as I am concerned. Now, back to the original question, what can I do for you?"

"Damn it, Sam, stop this BS. I need you to fix the roof on the house. It is leaking again."

"I am sorry but I believe you have called the wrong son. Please call the man I used to call my brother, James. He can help you." Sam hung up with that comment.

He called Delight. "Please do not forward any more calls from Mary Morse to me. I have no need to speak to her again since we do not have her as a client."

Delight surprised him. "Actually, Sam, she is a client again. Since you stepped down she talked to Harry personally and got him to allow her to invest with us again. She made the statement that she liked the ethical stand you had put into effect and that she felt confident that we would treat her account with the respect it deserved. She even invested a significantly larger amount than she had invested with us previously."

"I guess I will have to play nice for the firm's sake. I will just have to endure whatever she cooks up." Sam hung up. He was disappointed that Harry had taken on Mary as a client again but, he was no longer in direct control. Harry would have to make his own mistakes, if there was one to be made here.

The next surprise was a visit from James. James stopped early one morning as Sam was arriving at his office. "Wait a moment, Sam. I need to talk with you for a minute."

Sam was surprised as James had come up from behind him. Sam supposed this was so that he couldn't avoid close contact with is former brother. He stopped and waited for whatever bullshit was to come from James' mouth. "It is Deena's birthday on Saturday. We would love to have you come for the celebration. We will be going out to dinner and then have a small party back at the house, just family and a few friends. Will you join us?"

Sam didn't dance around the subject. "Why?"

James gave him a strange look. "Because you are my brother and Deena's brother-in-law. Darla will be there."

"Again, why? I see no need to share any time with you. I miss Deena as she was always gracious and friendly to me but you are a jack-ass. You have never made any attempt to hide how you feel about me. Why the change now?"

James actually looked a little subdued. "Since your marriage imploded and how we treated you became public knowledge there have been no end of the people who have come forward and told Mom and me what they think of us. Deena gives me grief all the time about how we treated you. I don't know the last time we actually sat down to eat a meal where she smiled at me."

Sam had a quizzical look on his face. "What do you mean by 'public knowledge' of how you treated me? I have not told anyone except Linda and Cindy what you all were saying about me. I never even told my closest associates."

James shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know either but I can't tell you how many people have come up and told us what they think of us calling you a wimp, a bastard child, and all the other names we have called you since Linda and Charlie became an open couple. I know Linda doesn't have any female friends anymore. Charlie barely has one or two clients and those are just wills and advanced directives only. No one calls him for estate planning or anything that might get to court where he could make the big bucks."

He paused. "Mom really regrets what she has done to you. Her entire social circle ostracized her. It wasn't even covertly done. Many of her former friends called her up and told her off before hanging up on her. I heard that your firm has enjoyed a big influx of money from those same biddies as they wanted to show their support of you."

"So, Mrs. Morse just wants to seem to have me forgive her so her old social group will accept her again."

"I don't really know. Mom has always been kind of cold to all of us, but you in particular. That might be all she wants. I do know she struggles to make decisions about upkeep on the house and car. All she used to have to do was call you and, wah la, it was done."

James looked at his brother hopefully. "So, will you please come to Deena's party? She would love to see you and visit with you."

Sam watched as his brother's face fell. "No, sorry, but no. Please give Deena my regards and my regrets. I have another pressing appointment that day that I cannot change. I also cannot think of any reason I wish to be in the same room with either you or my late mother, let alone have to share the same city with the two of you. A lifetime of belittling and neglect isn't fixed in a couple of months."

He unlocked his door. "Tell Deena to call me and we can meet for a lunch sometime soon and celebrate her birthday. I have absolutely nothing against her."

He didn't wait for an answer. He left James standing on the sidewalk.

Of course Sam really didn't have any pressing appointment that Saturday night but he did go ahead and ask Temperance and Delight out for supper. They had an early supper and attended a new play that had gotten great reviews. It turned out to be a raucous comedy and was just the thing to help Sam regain his equilibrium.

On Sunday he received a call from Cindy. "Mr. Morse, would you consider joining us in taking Cinda to the zoo? We have not been there in a long time. Cinda wants to go badly but won't consider going unless you come along."

Sam had misgivings but couldn't disappoint his granddaughter so he agreed to meet them at the zoo after lunch.

They all had a good time. Cindy made sure to not discuss anything family oriented unless it had to do directly with Cinda. Sam found out how Cinda was doing in preschool, her new friends, learning her numbers and alphabet and what her favorite food, outside of cotton candy and ice cream, was this week.

Sam had a smile on his face as he remembered Cindy at that age and going through those same things. He didn't voice those memories. Doug was kind of distant but did acknowledge that he was doing well in his new job and thanked Sam for his recommendation. Sam replied, "I didn't lie. You are very good at your job and I knew you would be successful."

All in all it was a good afternoon. Cinda was calling Sam "Paw-Paw" instead of Grandpa but Sam didn't try to change her. She would just get confused and this whole pile of crap was not her fault in any way.

He was pleased to see Cindy cringe a little every time Cinda pointed out something to Paw-Paw. He just held his tongue.

At the end of the afternoon Cinda was dozing in Sam's arms as the foursome made their way to the respective cars. Sam handed off Cinda to her daddy so he could secure her in her car seat. He was then standing next to Cindy.

Cindy took the opportunity presented. She suddenly turned and grabbed Sam in a fierce embrace and buried her face in his shirt. "Daddy, I am so sorry. Please forgive me for being such a bitch. I should have never allowed them to demean you. You are the best daddy and the best Paw-Paw any girl could have."

Sam initially froze up and then went to push her away but she grabbed as hard as she could as she cried and begged his forgiveness. He relented and held her tight as she bawled at the feel of his strong embrace. She felt like she was his little girl again, even for such a short time.

Doug had a smile on his face as he watched them embrace. He actually had no animosity towards his father-in-law concerning how he had been treated at the firm. He understood he had betrayed his employer and father-in-law by being silent about the affair and how the rest of the family was treating Sam. He was in a good place now and earning his own way. There was certainly no gossip about nepotism at his new place of employment.

They parted with plans on getting together more often to rebuild their lives.

Sam felt good. His daughter had come to her senses. While not being called Grandpa by his granddaughter she had come up with a term of endearment that was acceptable. Doug didn't seem to hold a grudge. Sam had a family again.

Sam was true to his word to James. He had not attended Deena's official birthday party but did ask her out for lunch. If there was any potential disruption at the lunch it might have been caused by the inclusion of James at the last minute.

James, though, went out of his way to be pleasant. He didn't try to act like everything was great but he made sure not to discuss their mother or Linda during their date. Deena even looked at her husband with a quizzical look as they parted with Sam after the lunch. Where was the pompous ass who used to put down his brother at every opportunity?