Little Child

I explained to the kids what their grandfather had told me and what I was thinking. Angie insisted that she go with me when I stopped to see Frank's lawyer the next day. This mess was causing her to grow up fast. I agreed to take her with me.

"Mr. Jackson, I have a proposal that your father-in-law has authorized me to make," began the barrister as soon as Angie and I sat down. "He's willing to offer Mr. Richards one hundred thousand dollars to sign a document stating he will abandon the paternity claim of the child, and will never make his assertion that the child is his public. He would also agree to forever surrender any parental rights he may have. This would end this situation and protect your position as Marisa's father. It would also avoid any embarrassment to you, your wife, and the members of your family."

"Dad! Grandpa is willing to give this man all that money to keep quiet?" asked an amazed Angie.

"So it seems, Sweetheart. That way your mom would never have the humiliation of a lawsuit and exposure of a possible affair. We'd keep Marisa without a fight or any embarrassment," I explained without emotion as I tried to gauge Angie's reaction.

"I'm embarrassed that anyone would even consider that Mom was unfaithful to you, Dad! I'm embarrassed that Grandpa would consider paying some loser blackmail," continued Angie. "I'd be especially embarrassed if you believed that Marisa isn't your baby!"

For the first time since the accident, I smiled. This daughter of mine was truly her mother's daughter! She wasn't going to buy into the shit that was being floated by her grandfather's lawyer. Paying the bastard would cost us far more in self respect than we could ever gain from any agreement. Angie and I were seeing this the same way. I hadn't wanted to influence her thinking when the lawyer explained the possible deal. I wanted her to form her own thoughts and express them to me. She did exactly that.

"Did you say "Richards", Attorney Baskins?" I asked. "Would that be the Richards that works at the same bank as Liz? Would he be the man that claims to have had an affair with Liz and fathered Marisa?"

"Yes, he claims that they became close at work and had a brief affair that resulted in the child's conception. I strongly recommend that you consider letting Frank make this offer. I also suggest you do not speak with this man without consul," offered Baskins.

"Dad, I'm going with you, so don't even think about getting rid of me!" warned Angie.

"Go where, Sweetheart?" I asked my daughter.

"Go with you when you kick this guy's ass!" answered Angie passionately.

"Have you inherited your mother's ability to read my mind? What makes you think I'd try something like that?" I questioned.

"I guess because I know you. I know how you feel about Mom, and Marisa. Because that's what men do in a situation like this, isn't it, Dad?"

Twenty minutes later, Angie and I walked into the main branch of the Second Citizens' Bank and Trust. Everyone recognized us immediately. Liz was very popular at work and her plight was well known.

I nodded to people as they offered us greetings, but I was looking for Richards. Part of me heard friends of Liz express their love and concern for her, but most of my mind was focused on the task at hand. Then I saw Richards back as he headed for a side door.

"Richards!" I shouted. "Don't try to leave yet. I want to talk to you! Here and now!"

He froze in his tracks. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't eager to speak with me. He slowly turned around to face us. His face was red and sweat beaded on his brow.

"I have to get some documents to a branch, J, J, Jackson," he stuttered. "Maybe another time?"

"No, I'll have my say now. Then you'll have your say. Then we'll have a debate, Richards," I laughed, but without mirth.

By now, a crowd was gathering. Angie stood by my shoulder and bank clients and employees began to move closer, sensing that something was about to happen.

"You've made the claim that you had an affair with Liz, my wife. You've even gone so far as to claim that our newborn baby, Marisa, is in fact, your child. Is that an accurate summation of your position, Richards?"

I heard more than a few gasps when I mentioned Liz's name and Marisa's. I waited for Richards to respond. He had the deer in the headlights look as he struggled to form an answer. He glanced around the lobby, seeing well over a dozen pairs of eyes watching him, waiting for his answer.

"I don't think we should discuss a delicate subject like this in public," he finally managed to utter in little more than a whisper. "My lawyer will represent me in this matter."

"Does anyone here believe this little weasel had an affair with Liz?" I asked the assembled crowd. "Can anyone vouch for this bastard's story?"

"Liz wouldn't have given this miserable shit the time of day!" asserted Bonnie Dern, one of the senior tellers. "She didn't even like the little prick!"

"That's right!" agreed Jack Bailey. "Liz had him written up for inappropriate behavior the day of the accident. She told me he had suggested she might want to have another baby....his. I heard that he was being transferred to a branch in Bradford County."

"So, Richards, it doesn't sound like you're going to get anyone here to support your claim. I have an idea. Let's have a paternity test. If you are Marisa's father, I won't kill you. If it turns out that you aren't the father, I'll simply have to kill you as a matter of honor. Better yet, let's have a duel!" I offered. "Either you tell me the truth right now, or we get some pistols and have a duel. That seems fair. I like that idea, don't you?"

I marveled at how calm I felt. I was serious as a heart attack. I wanted to kill the bastard and it seemed like a semi legal way to accomplish it. I actually wanted him to take me up on it!

Richards didn't appear to share my resolve. He couldn't doubt my anger and that I fully intended to take his life. I don't think anyone in the room believed I was bluffing.

"No! I knew Liz's father was rich. I thought he'd pay me off to keep her name out of the gutter. We never had an affair. She treated me alright until that day I made that stupid comment," admitted Richards. "When I heard she was in a coma, I thought I could get some cash and go back to Texas before she either woke up or died. I didn't want to hurt anybody. Her old man has all kinds of money. I've seen his accounts and I thought he'd part with some of his cash to protect his daughter's reputation."

When Richards suggested that Liz would die, I lost my cool entirely. I decided I'd go to jail if I had to, just get my hands on him. I was so enraged; I wanted to bash his skull in with my bare hands. I balled my fists up and lunged for him. Richards realized my intent and wailed like a baby as I cocked my arm.

Suddenly, I was grabbed and lifted off my feet and carried back. Stan Putsky, the security guard at the bank had intervened. He was at least six and a half feet tall and around 250 pounds. I had never heard of him having to do more than stand near an irate customer to calm them down.

"Sorry, Tim," he apologized. "Personally, I'd love to see you pound the guy, but it's my job to see that you don't. You've got your plate full already, so just forget that piece of dog shit."

"Stan! Please escort Mr. Richards out of this bank immediately," boomed Henry Nillson, the bank president. Then he added, "You are terminated, Richards. I will have any personal belongings sent to you. Leave with Stan right now!"

As Stan turned his attention to Richards, Nillson walked up to Angie and me and shook our hands and ushered us into his office. He spent the next half hour apologizing. I knew he was worried about any adverse publicity or legal fallout, as well as genuinely feeling concern for Liz. I assured him that we harbored no ill will toward the bank. As we were leaving his office, my cell phone rang.

It was the hospital. Liz had blinked her eyes and moved an arm! Angie and I ran out the door and to the car. The drive to the hospital seemed to take forever. When we got there, Liz was sleeping, or unconscious. Angie and I settled in to wait. We were joined by Steve and my father a few minutes later.

Liz didn't come around that day, or even that night. But she did the next day! I had hoped that she would sit up and talk. She didn't. She did squeeze my hand. She did open her eyes. The doctors warned us that it would take time for Liz to recover and we had to be patient. We brought Marisa in the next day for a few minutes and that seemed to jump start Liz' recovery.

It was two weeks later and I was sitting with Liz in her hospital room. She was scheduled to be released in a couple days. She would need months of therapy, but the doctors could find no evidence of any lasting loss of brain functions. It was their prognosis that Liz would make a full recovery.

"Mary Harper stopped in to visit with me earlier today, Tim. You remember her, don't you? She started as a teller the same time I did. She's in the commercial loan department now?" prodded Liz.

"Yeah, Sweetheart, I remember her," I admitted. "I didn't know you were allowed visitors before two, and I was here by then.

"If your son is the chief cardiologist in the hospital, you get special privileges," laughed Liz. "Does it worry you that Mary visited me? Are you afraid she told me all about how you and Angie marched into the bank? How you challenged Richards? Are you afraid I'd hear those vile lies he told? Are you afraid that I'd know that I have the best husband in the world?"

"Well, I wanted to tell you when you were feeling better, Liz. I didn't want to upset you. I don't think it was Mary's place to break that bit of sordid news to you," I confessed.

"Then rest easy, Tim. Mary didn't break it to me. Dad told me everything yesterday. He apologized for lacking the faith in me, and the courage, that you and Angie had. He couldn't say enough good things about you, Tim," revealed Liz. "Dad's always been a stuffed shirt and has trouble trusting anyone, even his daughter. That's just his nature and I can accept that, especially when I have the husband and daughter that I do."

"I want you to accept Dad's apology when he offers it, and he'll offer it soon," promised Liz. "I'm sure of that. He's beginning to understand that we love each other, Tim, and that you'll do whatever you feel you must for your family, as a man should."