House of Lies Pt. 02

"AHHHHH!!!! Look who's finally HERE!!!"

Kayla wished she could have grabbed a hold of her brother's arm. She could've used his strength at the moment she saw her ex husband stand up and announce their arrival. Her fingers blanched as she clutched her purse tighter. Wishing against wisdom that she could just turn and run out of there. As if by magic, the strong hand of Sean lay itself in the middle of her back. A spark of strength flowed like a fine wine throughout her soul.

"David." Kayla said as the siblings approached the table.

Another woman sat at the table, idly swirling a snifter of dark liquor in her hand. Lite mocha skinned wearing a mask of total irritation, she finally cleared her throat; "Well I see SOME things haven't changed. You still not even going to say 'Hi' to me Sean?!"

"Diana." came the clipped remark. His hands currently full of the chair he had pulled out for his sister.

"It's so GOOD to finally have all of us back together again!!!" David chimed. His ear to ear grin making Kayla's insides flip over. "I think this meeting deserves a TOAST!!!" He finished.

"Yeah...right." Remarked Sean. Raising his hand, he was looking to get the waitress' attention, although she seemed currently too busy to pay him any mind. Within seconds, the waitress did appear at the table. Quickly placing down two glasses in front of the new comers.

"David...what the fu..."

"I hope you don't mind...I ordered ahead for the both of you. I'm just so excited!"

Taking a quick sniff of the glass in front of her...Kayla almost threw up in her seat.

"DAVID!!! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!!!"

"It's 'Montagna Siciliana, champagne alla pesca (Sicilian Mountain, peach champagne)! 1955! A great year!!! I remember how much you loved it when we went to Sicily."

Kayla's eyes held daggers. If arrogance were an Olympic sport, her ex husband would easily place gold in all the events. It was only when she cut her eyes to her side, that the threat of an explosion was abated as Sean had grabbed a hold of the waitresses sleeve and was already giving new instructions for orders.

"You know David...I know it's only been two years since the divorce, but often times I truly wonder how in the hell you keep yourself in business as a lawyer...because your memory is SHIT!!!"

"What?! I thought you loved CHAMPAGNE?!!! I clearly remember..."

"You CLEARLY remember one of your other HARLOTS David!!! First of all...you and I NEVER went to Sicily!!! I have never been to Italy PERIOD!!! Second of all; since you remember so well...you remember that I am deathly ALLERGIC to PEACHES!!! One sip of that stuff and I would be in the hospital for DAYS!!! Furthermore...Sean HATES light colored liquor...OF ANY TYPE!!! Vodka, Gin, it doesn't matter!"

Just then the waitress returned with another glass of champagne for Kayla and a large snifter for Sean.

Taking a quick sip of the alcohol, Sean savored the liquid as it burned a smooth, fiery path down his throat. "Ahhh....straight Scotch for me thanks." He quipped.

"Humph...since WHEN?!!" Diana scoffed.

"Since the day after our divorce was final dear."

"You know what..."

"ENOUGH!!!" Kayla interjected. She knew her brother enough to know that simply being in the same room as his ex wife was a strain on his nerves. Not that her own was doing any better.

"Look David...I may not know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING! But I KNOW when YOU of all people are up to something!!! It's been two years since the judge placed the death knell to our marriage. What is it you want that had you fly across country, look up this THING! And call me and my brother down here for this little get together that couldn't have been handled with a PHONE CALL?!!!"

David Maclemore sat back in his seat. It was a position he was all to accustomed to. All too often, he had sat in the driver's seat looking across the table at other powerful attorneys and their monied clients. Their fates in the palm of his hand. He savored it. Worked hard for it. Relished it. And at that moment...he had two of the biggest fish in his sights. And he couldn't wait to swoop in and land the fatal blow.

"You're right my dear. I DO have a little something up my sleeve, and I'm soooo happy you drug your favorite brother along! Because oh yes my dear sir...it concerns you too."

Kayla didn't like the smug tone that her ex husband was taking. It was worse than his normal. And it was putting her on edge. Taking a big gulp of her drink, she waited. But in his usual fashion, David was dragging the wait out. Her nerves were beginning to morph into...something else.

"GO ON!!!"

"You know my dear WIFE...I admit, the divorce took a toll on me. I wasn't the same for a long while. It was so bad...I actually did as you griped about and took a little time off. Eventually, I thought I would take some more of your advice and reshape that attic into another study. And you know what I found?"

"We're all dying of anticipation David." Sean remarked.

"I found a box of all of YOUR daughter's old things!!! You see, in your HASTE to beat feet from our happy marital home, you LEFT a big box of Sydnee's old stuff. Including a couple of her children's books, her tiny little ballet slippers, her old diary, and one, big, misbegotten, teddy bear I bought her."

"Don't you take that tone concerning my..."

"OH NO YOU DON'T YOU LITTLE TRAMP!!!" David almost shouted. "You see...THAT BOX gave up ALL the dirty little secrets! Because in the diary was Diana's and Sean's old telephone number. But the bear? You know...the one your precious little Sydnee couldn't STAND that I bought for her...? That bear held on to one of her old, tiny, little hairs from her head. Well...being the SENSIBLE man that I am...I went and had it analyzed for DNA...do you know what it said?!!!!"

The faces of the siblings dropped. No smugness. No happiness. No more love. Just pain and terror. The terror of the TRUTH finally coming to light.

"That's RIGHT!!! That itty, bitty, teeny, tiny, little hair told me that Sydnee is NOT MINE!!! But more importantly...that she was in fact YOUR BROTHER'S KID!!! All those millions of DNA strands collected together, and many of them repeating over and over again. Strands that in a NORMAL CHILD would NEVER repeat! Not unless they were RELATED in some way!!! All that time...you were sitting there throwing that kid up in my face! Making me feel BAD cause I wasn't THERE like YOU wanted me too be!!! All the while knowing full and damn well that she belonged to your BROTHER this WHOLE TIME!!! Playing me for a FOOL!!! Well NOW it's MY TURN to RUB YOUR NOSES in the shit!!! See....in California where we got married...you remember that day right?! Divorces can be reopened and relegated under such circumstances as INCEST!!! So I thought why not see about getting in touch with your 'oh so precious brother's' ex wife and see if we couldn't go half-ses on a NEW DIVORCE!!! One that sees she and I getting a much BETTER cut of you two degenerates future earnings!!! And...I would LOVE to see the faces of those those two INBRED WELPS you call CHILDREN'S FACES when they find out that MOMMY and DADDY been Playing House and making BABIES!!! Not to mention what your new playmates in prison will think of you!!!"

Kayla's head slumped. Her chin thudding loudly against her chest. The room seemed to spin. Reaching across her brother's chest, Kayla grabbed his glass, turned it upside down and drained the fire water in one clean, swift gulp. Within seconds, she began to tremble. Shake. To emanate a sound that could only be construed as a soft cry. No doubt tears running down her cheeks.

Sean leaned back in his chair staring across the expanse of the table. Silently giving a thankful prayer to the universe that the two conspirators were separated from his fearsome grasp because he certainly wanted to end both of their lives if he could. As if to make the situation that much worse, he watched in muted awe as his ex-wife leaned over and gave his ex piece-of-shit brother-in-law a quick smooch right on the lips. Bile wanted to erupt from his bowels. No two more worthless people deserved each other so much. The thoughts of homicide subsided when Kayla's hand grasped his. He could feel the tremors ripple through his flesh. Boring a hole in his very soul. Then; he heard it. It was tiny. Almost imperceptible to the untrained ear. A snicker...a giggle. A chortle that he knew all too well. The shoe was about to drop.

Kayla's belly laugh rolled through the restaurant like thunder! She had indeed been shedding tears. But not those of shame or degradation. No...these were tears of relief. Tears of joy. Tears...of the utterly triumphant!!!

"HA! HA! HA! HA! HAAAAAAA!!!!! OH MY GOD!!! DAVID!!! PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE KIDDING!!!" Kayla guffawed, her histrionics drawing attention from the sparse crowd of the other patrons who looked up from their meals, trying vainly to mask not overhearing the conversation of the four black people in their midst. "OH MY GOD! I'm sorry Sean...I need another drink like yours! This champagne just WON'T cut it for what I have to say!!!"

Sean smiled as he motioned for the waitress to bring two more glasses of the aged brown liquor.

"I don't see what's so funny!" Diana finally cut in.

Diana Laughlin (nay Thompson), had never been a woman who relished NOT being in the spotlight. Moreover, nothing made her happier than when she felt as if she had the drop on someone else...at THEIR expense. And being in the presence of the two people who she felt had robbed her of the cushy lifestyle of the 3 years of chasing after Sean to get him to marry her; was wearing thin on her nerves. Compounded with the news that apparently the siblings had been sleeping together since before they got married, made her skin itch!!!

The waitress returned promptly with the drinks. Holding her glass high, Kayla clinked her glass to her brother's before she took a quick sip.

"I'm sure you don't Diana." Sean stated flatly.

"Shall I darling?!" Kayla cooed.

"Please...be my guest."

Her smile was as wide as the Grand Canyon. Her ebony skin glowed like the sun. Then...she spoke.

"I must raise a toast to you my dear Ex! You are everything I knew you to be...and more. You are the lowest, scum sucking, addle brained, deadbeat, piece of shit I have ever met in my lifetime!!! I already said that I was "surprised that you even make it as a lawyer" before. Thank you ever so much for proving me right."

"It was YOU that begged, pleaded and sobbed to me all those years ago that you wanted to be a Daddy. It was You that was sniffing my panties and trying to fuck me raw in order to have a kid. But what happened?! Your little "nose candy" issue made all your little 'swimmers' drown before they crossed the finish line. We spent almost $60,000 of MY MONEY to get me pregnant. And as the dutiful wife...I took all the shots. I made all the appointments. I did ALL the damage to my body and psyche...just to give you what you CLAIMED you wanted."

"But I loved you soooo much. I wanted to be your happiness soooo much...I did what I promised I would NEVER do again. I called the one person in the entire world to help me. I hated myself for even asking him. For going against my word...to you, him, and the entire WORLD to make you happy. And instead of beating on me...berating me..or making me feel guilty...it was my love. My companion...my lovely brother, that gave me what YOU couldn't; aside from a baby. He made me hot...sizzle...my brother made me see colors and stars with all the orgasms he gave me! And for that...I will ALWAYS love him"

Kayla's countenance grew cold. Her voice dipped to levels of menace reserved for the damned. And the two people in Kayla's sights at that moment...definitely fit the description.

"But...of all the things my brother has ever done...do you know what made me love him even more? After I presented you the baby you asked for, begged for, and whined like a spoiled child for....YOU disappeared! You made every excuse in the world to NOT be in her life!! From feeding, to playtime, to even putting her to bed...you wanted NOTHING to DO with her!!! You were NEVER THERE for her AT ALL!! But you know who WAS there for her? Her UNCLE! The man who was REALLY her father!! Not because I asked...or even that he was the man that gave her life!! But because he TRULY loves and cares for her!! And you should be so lucky as to have a daughter like her!!! Do you even know anything about her?!!"

"Do you know her birthday? How about her favorite color? Her favorite food as a child? Or even what activities she participated in?!!!"

"How the FUCK am I supposed to know Kayla!!! I was busy working!!!"

Sean spoke just above a whisper...but his words hit like a heavyweight punch to the body every time..

"July 9th, Sea Foam Green, Top Ramon Beef flavor, and she ran track in the third grade, had gymnastics in the 5th, and was in 3 ballet recitals...until her accident in the 7th grade."

"AH HA!!! I remember that!!! She was out of school for a few days because she had that cast on her leg!!" David spit back.

Kayla only shook her head at the absolutely incredulous stupidity of the man she used to love. She was about to ream him a good one, when her brother did it for her.

"How amazingly sad...you do realize that Sydnee DIDN'T wear a cast for 3 weeks after her accident! You know..the one where one of her ballet dancing friends tripped her off the stage and she fell? But she wanted so much to be strong. She didn't want to miss any ballet...it was her life. Her wish...her dream. She didn't actually break her leg fully until she tried to spin again and her leg broke all the way. She got the cast AFTER she had surgery to fuse the bones back together. Or did you even care that she spent the entire summer crushed because her dreams of being in the ballet were ruined forever?!"

"Why should I HAVE GIVEN A FUCK?!!! That was YOUR KID!!! I didn't have time to go to all them stupid things! I was..."

"Working. Yes...you mentioned that already. But Sydnee lived under YOUR ROOF!!! And Sean...he lived clear across the country that WHOLE time!!! He stopped his job to bring his son to see HIS CHILD live her life. Then when she was broken...he came back and cared for her the whole time after her surgery. He took her on a summer trip she STILL speaks of to this day!!! If Sydnee hadn't turned out to be such a warm, loving, intelligent, beautiful child...I would wish I had never wanted to give you such a beautiful gift."

"SO THE FUCK WHAT!!!" Diana finally chimed in, "That doesn't clear the fact that you two disgusting people have been FUCKING! KNOWING that you are BROTHER and SISTER!!! You will still BOTH go to prison JUST FOR THAT!!!"

"Uh uh..." Sean countered. It was now his time to drop the hammer on a woman he despised the day he met. "You REALLY ought to keep as quiet as you can Diana. See...you have a nasty habit of TOUCHING PEOPLE the WRONG WAY!"

"What the FUCK are you goin..."

"Do you remember Reshida? You know...your little sister?!"

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR CRACKHEADS!!!"

"No..you don't apparently. But I sure do. Reshida fell into a deep hole of depression and suicidal thoughts. She actually attempted it twice. The hospital tried to call you 14 times to tell you. But you were just too busy. So they called me, and I became her conservator, and I have not only paid her bills, but I have been to see her several times. And it's amazing the stories she tells."

"So what if my crackhead sister said some stuff...what's THAT got to do with..."

Sean continued. His voice lifting in octave showing his superiority.

"She has spoken quite a few times about those visits to "Good Ole" Uncle Joe's house in North Carolina. All those summers you DRUG her there to 'play' in the creek with Uncle Joe and your cousins Trey and Stevie. You remember those two right? The ones that are currently in jail for drug possession with intent to distribute?! And how about Uncle Joe?! You know, I hear he's not doing so well these days. I'm sure Johnny Law would LOVE to have a nice long chat with all of you. Oh yeah...she has told ALL the good stuff. I'm sure you are just BUBBLING OVER to talk to the cops about Kayla and I. But you might want to slow down...because not only do I have HER WORD...but she also has EVIDENCE against all FOUR OF YOU that will put you away in PRISON for a very looooong time."

He turned to his former brother-in-law, the grin on his face creasing his lips from ear to ear.

"You know David...I was never a big fan of yours anyway. But as a medical professional it is my moral duty to inform you that IF IN FACT you HAVE been sexually active with my ex-wife; you need to get checked out immediately, as her little trysts as a young lady, left her with a permanent and contagious 'gift' that can further damage any future sexual activity you might want to have. Hope you don't mind taking pills and shots for the rest of your life. Thankfully she never passed it on to me."

Diana shrank. It was supposed to be her little secret. The one no one else was supposed to know. The truth never to be shared. Her shame that haunted her everyday.

"Annnnd...." Kayla added. "I too have kept up with certain people David. Especially that little incident that got you suspended from your first law firm. Does the name Dillon McCaffrey mean anything to you?!"

The color from David's face vanished. All the blood in his body disappeared to parts unknown. The name McCaffrey struck too many nerves at once.

"Oh yeah...I have kept up with Cheryl. The little intern that you impregnated that you fought for me not to find out about? Yeah...Dillon is about 14 now. He plays baseball and really likes cars; especially the Pantera line. It's a slow process, but even his white grandparents are starting to come around to liking the boy. The only thing is; he's at the age where he's starting to ask questions about his father. Questions that due to the little gag order you put out there as part of your company's settlement, she can't answer. But I can. And as far as I remember....your income has been substantial since he was born and I'm certain the state of California would LOVE to investigate all 14 years of back child support you were SUPPOSED to be giving to his mother. Which you haven't by the way. Why...the numbers must EASILY be in the low MILLIONS by now."

"But what of your daughter huh? You still think she would be so kind as to forgive YOU for not telling her..."

"David...rest your mind. You never concerned yourself with MY daughter since she was born and really DON'T give a shit about her now. But as far s your little 'threat' to tell her about where she really comes from and who her father really is....what makes you think she doesn't ALREADY KNOW?!! Besides...her REAL FATHER has been there by her side since day 1, and I know she would PERSONALLY castrate you for trying to talk badly about the man she loves more than life itself. So go ahead. See if that little 'threat' will get you any further in your disgusting little scheme. I triple dog dare you...that little girl is a true MONSTER when she wants to be."

Kayla drained her drink in an eye blink, grabbed her purse and stood. Triumphant. Defiant. Victorious. Holding her hand out to the man she loved and simply stated...

"Let's go love. There is nothing here that can hurt us. There is nothing here but pain, sadness and sorrow, from two people who know nothing else but destruction. And they are no longer worth our time."

Sean threw a $100 on the table as he stood. Taking his sister's hand in a way that showed he cared less about anyone around him knowing...

"Yes my love. There's absolutely nothing here."

With that, the two siblings walked hand in hand out of the restaurant like the couple they were. Companions for life. In love to the end. The valet drove the Pantera to a silent halt in front of the two. A picture of silent exultation as Sean helped his sister into the car. A look passed between the two men as Sean and Dennis moved passed each other. Dennis smiled. And Sean returned it with a wink. The knowledge that he was leaving with what could only be described between them...as a "dime."