Lovers, Losers, and Liars

"Dad... Jesus, this is too much."

"Nonsense, now get in there and marry that lovely young lady."

Derek timed it perfectly and slid into the front pew next to his ex-wife only moments before the wedding march started. He ignored the first words she'd said to him in eighteen years, "Cutting it close, aren't you?"

While Derek sat, almost popping the buttons on his shirt from pride and focusing on the ceremony, Anne's mind was elsewhere. She was feeling sorry for herself. She'd sacrificed, worked, did everything she could to raise her son the best she could, and her ex-husband enters the picture eighteen years later and steals him from her. It wasn't fair.

After the ceremony, Scott and Sandy insisted his dad be a member of the receiving line as everyone exited the church. Derek had to keep from laughing as he introduced himself and watched everyone's reaction.

Everybody, with the possible exception of Scott's mother, was enjoying themselves at the reception. The food was excellent, the DJ was great and it was all being recorded for posterity by a photographer who was shooting with a Leica, a prerequisite insisted on by Scott.

After the dinner came the speeches. Scott's best man was a lifelong friend of his who was hilarious and ended his brilliant soliloquy with a toast to the bride and groom.

Scott was the last to speak. He thanked his beautiful wife for her love, he thanked his mother for all she'd done, then came to his father. "As most of you know, I had no contact with my dad for the first eighteen years of my life and was just able to connect with him only a few months ago. Other than having my bride say yes, meeting my dad has been the most rewarding experience of my life. He taught me about hardship, and how not only to move past it but how to recover and thrive in its wake.

"He taught me a skill and gave me a career that will serve me well every day of my life. He taught me that a man, a real man, can overcome the worst that life can throw at you and he taught me to be generous and to share with those you love.

"For those of you who don't know, my dad paid for this wedding, he paid for everything. He also--and Sandy is learning about this the same time you are--paid for our honeymoon, a wonderful Caribbean cruise."

Sandy gasped as she looked up at her new husband then over to Derek and mouthed, "Thank you." Derek just smiled and nodded.

"So," Scott continued, "please join me in a toast to my father, the man who taught me so much and made all of this possible." Everyone held their glasses high and took a sip of champagne, compliments of Derek Haynes.

As the festivities started, Derek was a big hit as he mingled with the guests. Anne also mingled, but always had one eye on her ex. This was all too much for her and Scott's tribute to his father was the coup de grâce.

With the help of some liquid courage, the first chance she had to get Derek alone she would get the last laugh. She was going to tell him the truth, the whole truth. She surmised she'd already lost her son, so it really didn't make any difference anymore. She needed her revenge.

She got her chance when she saw him sitting alone at one of the tables watching his son and daughter-in-law dance. Derek gave a small sigh when she invited herself to sit down. "How can you afford all this?" she asked.

"I make a lot of money," he simply replied.

She hesitated only for a second before going for the jugular. "It was all for nothing, you know; Scott's not even your son," she said with malice.

Derek just looked at her. "I beg your pardon."

"He's not your son, Derek. Jack and I had been having an affair for a few months before I got pregnant, but we always used condoms. Remember when you went to that big camera seminar for a week? Well, Jack was on a business trip at the same time, so Linda and I went out for a few drinks one night. You remember Linda?"

"Yeah, I remember her," he acknowledged.

"Well, it wasn't planned, but we met two guys that night and went to her place. We switched partners off and on, all night long. A few weeks later, I knew I was pregnant the first time I got morning sickness. I prayed it was yours, but when I did the math I realized it couldn't be. I got pregnant that night in Linda's apartment. I didn't even remember their names.

"By that time, I knew you were getting suspicious. I knew you thought I had a boyfriend and was afraid you'd have a DNA test done when the baby was born. You'd find out it wasn't yours and divorce me.

"If my folks knew I cheated and got pregnant by another man, well, you know my dad, he would have disowned me and I'd been out on my own. I was scared to death. I thought the only chance I had was to try and convince Jack the baby was his. He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and believed me when I told him you and I hadn't had sex in a while, so one of the condoms must have had a hole in it.

"For some reason, he was scared to death of you. It was his idea we just take off. I was going to leave you a note, but he didn't want me to. We went to my folks in Florida and told them that you beat me up and made it sound like Jack was rescuing me.

"Things were okay until Scott needed vaccinations to start school. Jack saw Scott's blood type listed on one of the forms, realized Scott wasn't his and took off. I stayed with Mom and Dad until they both passed away. I sold their mobile home and some other things and moved to Indiana because it was cheaper to live there.

"So, you see, you're not even Scott's real dad. You spent all that money on someone who was conceived during a one-night stand." Out of all the reactions she imagined he might have after learning the truth, laughing wasn't one of them.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Okay, let me get this straight: you left because you thought you'd have to raise Scott by yourself, which you wound up doing anyway, right?"

"Yeah, but..."

"And after finding out you were pregnant, you counted backwards and figured Scott was conceived during your little foursome."

"Exactly," she replied.

"When Scott showed up at that restaurant again to find me that day, the manager called to tell me he was there. I still wasn't sure he was my son so I asked him to do me a favor and save the glass Scott was drinking from. I had a DNA test done on it. Scott IS my son."

Anne couldn't hide her shock, "You're lying!"

"I still have the test at home. I'll send you a copy," he chuckled. "You always were terrible at math," he laughed again, then he got serious.

"You're right, I did have my suspicions, but I had no proof. If you had stopped seeing Jack when you found out you were pregnant, I would have never known. I doubt that I would have had a DNA test done, but even if I did, it would have shown Scott to be my son and we could have lived happily ever after. You're right, Anne, It was all for nothing.

"You know what they say about living well being the best revenge? I make in the high six figures doing something I love. Last year I toured Europe for a month, the year before that, I rented a villa overlooking Kawela Bay on Oahu. You could have been a part of all that, instead, in each case, I took a young lady friend with me."

It almost looked as if Anne had a neon sign flashing "regret, regret," across her forehead. Tears flooded her eyes and she jumped up and headed for the lady's room for a good cry.

Derek spent the night in a motel and started home the next morning. He smiled, knowing his son and daughter-in-law would soon be enjoying their cruise. Maybe next year, he thought, they can join Demi and me and we'll all go on vacation together.

Demi was a beautiful lady he'd been seeing a lot recently. He was going to bring her to the wedding, but she, unfortunately, worked Saturdays and couldn't get off. She was intelligent, a lot of fun, and loved life as much as he did. For the first time since his ex deserted him, he found himself having real feelings for someone. Who knows, he thought, maybe my son will be coming to my wedding next.

As Derek pulled into his driveway, he realized how at ease he felt. He went inside, poured himself two fingers of Blue Label and sat in his favorite chair. With a little introspectiveness, he discovered he had let go of the hate he'd had for his ex-wife.

From the moment he'd run into them at DeMar's that day and knew she hadn't been kidnapped or harmed, he'd hated her with a passion, but after their talk, the hate was gone. How can you hate someone, he told himself, who has hurt themselves so much more than any kind of revenge you could think of? She'll live out the rest of her days having to watch from the sidelines while our son and his family join me in living life to its fullest, knowing she would have been a part of it if only she'd been faithful. He couldn't help but grin from ear to ear with the thought.

The End.