Mother Road Ch. 05 - One For The Road

Laura walked up next to me, grabbing my arm for stability. I could tell she needed to be back in bed immediately, but she wasn't about to walk away from this. I could feel her using every ounce of energy as she continued, "Mr. and Mrs. Reed, Tom and I understand your situation more than you know. First, let me assure you we will handle Natalie's doctor bills, and she'll be well-cared for.

Secondly, we'll either get Eli to sit down and work through this, or he'll be thrown out of the family, that is if his sisters and I don't kill him first.

Third, that's our grandchild as well as yours she's carrying. There's nothing we won't do for that little treasure." Laura stopped, leaning on me now, her energy definitely starting to fade. I asked the Reeds to wait for a second while I took her back to the cabin bed.

I tucked her in and gave her a kiss. "Rest, sweetheart. I'll deal with this."

She grasped my forearm and squeezed it tightly, tears in her eyes. This was hitting her on so many levels, I was worried her anxiety might affect the baby. She pleaded with me, "Tom, take care of her. You know what to do."

"Yes, my love, I do. Don't you worry, you just rest and take care of our baby, OK? I love you." I kissed her hand, and she mumbled something else I couldn't hear, then fell asleep again.

I walked back out and spoke to all three Reeds. "Laura and I have a proposal. All of us are in a state of shock right now, but one thing's for sure, that baby Natty's carrying means she's family. We have a big house with plenty of room. We'd like to invite Natty to stay with us for a while so we can get to know her, and she can get to know us. Would that be acceptable? If you want to go home and think about it, that's fine too. Just keep in mind, as of right now we all want what's best for Natty."

Joshua walked up to me and shook my hand. He looked a lot happier than when they'd arrived. "Tom," he began, "I can tell you're a good man. Arlene and I appreciate what you're doing, taking care of Natty and all. We got two other children and we're stretched about as far as we can go. Her staying with you is a fine idea. We can leave her here and pick her up when you're ready, I guess."

"That will be great, Joshua, I'm sure our other kids will adore her."

"I do have a favor to ask, if you don't mind."

"Sure, name it."

"Could I borrow some money for gas to get home? That Buick's a good old car, but with that big V8, she's awful thirsty." I pulled out my wallet and gave him all the cash that I had, about $80. That would be enough to fill the Buick's tank, and I figured anything left over would still be put to good use. Joshua and I walked back over to the car, and I formally introduced myself to Natalie.

"Hello, Natalie, I'm Tom McFarland, Elijah's father. His mother Laura and I would like to get to know you a little better, so if it's acceptable to you, you're going to stay with us for a while. Your daddy and I have talked, and I've promised him we'll take good care of you, OK?" I extended my hand, and nodding her head 'yes', she shook it. Her handshake was soft and gentle. I got the impression everything about her was soft and gentle, and my anger at Eli was rising.

It was then I got an idea. "Natty, since you don't have your things with you, how about when they get home from school, I grab my girls and take you shopping for some clothes?" She nodded in agreement. "OK, say goodbye to your Mom and Dad while I get things ready."

Just then the school bus dropped Amelia, Pearl, Lucas, and TJ off. They came running up the driveway for their after-school snack; I waved them over and introduced Natalie. "Kids, this is Natalie. She's a friend of Elijah's, and she'll be staying with us for a few days. Natty, the boys are Lucas and TJ, the girls are Pearl and Amelia. Boys, go on have your snacks, I need to talk to the girls."

Not needing me to ask them twice, my always-ravenous boys ran off for their food. I turned to the girls. "Pearl, Amelia, I need your help. We need to go shop for clothes. Natty will need some toiletries, jeans and t-shirts, maybe a sweatshirt and a dress to wear. Oh, and shoes....and whatever stuff girls your age wear underneath. You two are my fashion consultants. If I take Natty by myself, she'll end up dressing like a 43-year-old man, and we don't want that, do we?"

All three girls giggled, "Daddy," Amelia asked, "can Pearl and I get new outfits, too?" Wow. As a child, Olivia was my shy daughter; Ava and Pearl were always my chatty birds, but my nickname for Amelia was 'Sphinxy' because like the sphinx, she seldom said anything.

I was delighted to answer her, "Of course, baby! You're going to need to be well-dressed if you're my fashion consultants!" When it came to being talkative, though, my quiet Amelia was a motormouth compared to Natty. The poor girl must have been overwhelmed.

When Laura and I were first together, one of my favorite things to do with the kids was take them to the mall and spoil the shit out of them. The word 'no' literally disappeared from my vocabulary for a few hours. Laura would get mad and scold me in private, but it never stopped me.

Some men liked playing golf, some liked to play cards or watch sports, but my hobby was spoiling the children. I'd worked hard to get Laura to marry me and making these kids happy was one of the reasons why. I loved being their dad. The older ones had already had a father, and a stepdad that abandoned them. The younger ones only knew the father that ran away from them. I was going to be the dad that stayed.

Today was like going back in time 15 years. By the time we headed back home, the sun was going down, and I had three happy giggling girls in the back of the Ford, bellies full of junk food and arms full of clothes. The only missing piece that would have made it perfect was Laura beside me.

When we got home, we all went upstairs. Lucas and TJ had made Laura some soup for dinner, so she was in our bedroom reading. I sent the girls into Ava's room to change, while I went in and sat on the bed. Laura sat up and threw her arms around me, giving me a nice warm kiss.

"Hey, stud husband," she murmured, "I missed you." Unable to resist, I rubbed my hands up and down her body, making sure those thighs and breasts got properly caressed as I returned her affectionate kiss. Oh, yeah, I wanted to taste that sweet stuff tonight! Inhaling her scent to tide me over, I refocused.

"Baby, I know you disapprove but I took the girls to the mall and spoiled the shit out of them," I told her gleefully, "now, the three beauties are going to put on a fashion show for you. OKAY, ladies, let the pageant begin!"

Pearl strutted in wearing tight new jeans and a pretty pink polo shirt with ruffles around the edge of the buttons, and open-toed sandals with sparkles. Laura whooped and applauded. Not to be outdone, Amelia flounced in with a yellow summer midi dress with a skirt that ended at her knees, and a pair of 4" heeled cork-wedge sandals. If she wore that on her date Saturday night, I'm sure her boyfriend Hank's jaw would drop. Laura cheered and applauded again.

Then, very timidly, Natty stepped into the room. Pearl and Amelia had outdone themselves. The tall girl was wearing a floral-print dark green midi-dress with a modest sweetheart neckline and a pleated skirt. Her shoes were dark green flats. "Natalie, you look so pretty," Laura said, then turned to Pearl and Amelia, "in fact you all look wonderful. I guess I should let Daddy take you to the mall more often." The two girls giggled and clapped. Natty, however, stood silent.

Being an extraordinary mother, Laura could sense if a child was upset, and deftly dismissed Pearl and Amelia to go get ready for bed because it was a school night. I quietly closed the door and stood by.

I could hear the mothering instincts on full alert in Laura's voice, "Natty, are you OK, baby?"

Natty didn't say anything but silent tears rolled down her face. Laura got up and embraced her, and that's when the dam broke. She sobbed uncontrollably for a good five minutes, until finally it ended. Laura sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Natty with her, keeping her arm around the sad girl.

Finally, Natty spoke quietly, "I'm grateful to you folks for being so good to me, you bought me all these nice things, and you all told me I'm pretty. But there must be something wrong with me that Elijah don't like me no more. Is it because I'm dumb? Is it because I got a baby in me now? I prayed and prayed and prayed like my Momma said to, but it ain't helped. I'm scared!"

I knew Laura's feelings were really stirred up now, so I took Natalie's hand and squeezed it. "Natty, you are a beautiful woman, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you. There's something wrong with Elijah, though, and I'm going to do my best to figure out what it is. I know things are very scary right now but try to be brave, OK? You're not alone. Your parents love you; Laura and I love you; Pearl and Amelia love you, and we all love your baby. You're safe here."

Tears in her eyes, Laura took her other hand, and whispered, "Natalie, I have a baby in me, too. I have to be super careful, or I might lose it, and that's very frightening. So, you and I, we'll be pregnant and scared together, how's that sound?"

Throwing her arms around Laura's neck, Natalie began to sob again, in between sobs whispering, "Thank you, Mrs. McFarland."

Laura kissed her on the side of the head and whispered back, "Natty, you're carrying our grandchild, I think it's OK for you to call Tom and I 'Papa' and 'Mama' now."

Laura decided that, at least for tonight, Natty should share our bed with her. As much as I hated the idea of sleeping apart, I agreed, and was relegated to Ava's old room. Since the sex I was hoping for was now off the table, for the first time in years I had to masturbate to memories of past exploits with my sexy trophy wife, specifically the first time we slept together.

I recalled the lust in her voice as she admitted that in spite of having three husbands, I was the first man to ever eat her pussy. I remembered how when she rode me, in spite of having seven children, her vaginal muscles clamped down on my cock like a warm, wet pair of vice grip pliers. I also remember how in spite of not using a condom, she wouldn't let me pull out of her and I released my first cumload into that hyper-fertile womb of hers.

I filled three tissues thinking about those things as I masturbated, but I finally fell asleep to my sweetest memory -- the first time she kissed me in front of the children as we were coming home from the mall. That kiss was a real turning point in our relationship. Up until then, I didn't think I had much chance with her, but after that kiss, I thought maybe I did after all.

I felt a hand shaking me awake. Blinking, I looked up into Natty's sweet face. "Papa, Mama needs you," she whispered.

Now that I was getting a closer look, I realized what a beauty Natalie really was -- and what a fucking idiot Elijah was being. "Sure, Natty, I must have overslept, tell her I'm going to make breakfast."

"I already done that, Papa. I may not be good at math, but I'm a fair cook. Mama needs you to help her shower." I was slightly jealous that my role as breakfast maker had been usurped, but the prospect of washing a naked Laura in the shower perked me right up.

I waited until Natty walked out before getting out of bed, as I didn't want to traumatize her by the sight of my cock tent-poling my pajama bottoms. When I went into the master bedroom, Laura was finishing up her breakfast, it looked like it had been an omelet. "Tom, this girl can really cook," she exclaimed, "not that your cooking is bad, but Natalie has a gift!"

I picked up her napkin and dabbed at the bits of food remaining on corners of her mouth, then kissed her lightly. "I missed you last night."

"It was worth it, I had to hold her quite a bit, the poor girl cried off and on all night. Tom, she may be 18 physically, but inside she's still a scared child. I could just kill Elijah right now." Laura's eyes were red-rimmed, apparently Natalie wasn't the only one that had been crying.

I kissed the top of her head, "My love, you gave birth to Elijah, I understand how hard this is," I took her chin and looked into her eyes, "but what Eli has done to Natalie is fucking heartless. That girl is sweet and innocent and overwhelmed. I swear to you that what I did to make Brad see the light about Olivia will be nothing in comparison to what I'll do if Elijah won't see the error of his ways."

Laura nodded, then whispered, "Thank you, Tom. You won't hurt him, will you?"

I sighed, "No sweetheart. Despite him treating me like shit, he's my son too. I made a commitment to him 15 years ago, and I intend to stick to it." I gently pulled her to her feet. "Now let me help you shower." She followed me into the master suite bathroom. I undressed, then removed her robe and underwear. Looking at her naked, I could feel my little soldier standing at attention.

There was a small stool in the shower stall, and I held her steady as she sat on it. Seated, her head was at the same level as my semirigid manhood. I turned on the shower and began to soap her up. I made sure her chest got clean, taking extra time to lather up her tits and nipples, then taking a washcloth and wiping them off slowly to make sure I got every last bit of soap off.

Laura chuckled, "Tom, why is it when you shower with me, I end up with the cleanest boobs in Oklahoma?"

I kissed the top of her head, and began to shampoo her hair, "Sorry, darling, it's a compliance issue. State law requires all trophy wives have extra clean tits."

As I rinsed her hair, I felt her little hand fondling my scrotum. "This is where the trouble started," she said mockingly.

"I beg to differ, my love. I maintain it was your magic ovaries urging on my balls every time we made love, 'Just one more baby, you can do it!' My nuts had no choice!"

She then wrapped her other hand around my quickly growing erection. "Damn you and this irresistible baby-maker, Mr. Tom McFarland," she murmured, taking me into her mouth. After running my hands over every inch of her body while cleaning her I was in a high state of excitement, so it didn't take long for me to release my load into her welcoming mouth.

Good thing, too, because we'd just about used up all the hot water; when the cold water hit, my dick immediately shrank. God, I loved this woman. Even in poor health, she was still my trophy wife.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

With Laura needing more and more rest, I had to step up and do more. That included cleaning up the mess Eli had created. I checked, and he hadn't come home after school. He was 18 and an adult, so he had the right to go wherever he damned well pleased, but that didn't mean I was without tools.

This might sound self-serving, but Elijah seriously underestimated me. One way or another, I'd make sure he'd be back. If necessary, I could call in reinforcements from Quiet Sal. That would be bringing out the really big guns, though; first, I started small by cancelling his ATM access and the cell phone plan I was still paying for, since he'd turned 18 earlier in the year. He might not have liked me, but he had no issue with me paying for his shit. It was payback time.

Sure enough, five hours later we heard someone walking up the driveway. Our prodigal son had come home. He'd grabbed a few of his things and gone into Wellston to live at a friend's apartment. Now that he had no money, we'd forced his hand. I walked out to meet Eli and pulled him into my cabin office before Natalie could see him.

I wasted no time with small talk, I went right at him, "What were you thinking, Eli? Why would you abandon this poor girl?"

"Because...it's what my dad did to us." Wow, that was powerful. "He walked out and left us. If it was good enough for him, I figured why not?"

I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to demonstrate paternal empathy which I definitely did NOT feel at the moment. "Listen son, when I married your mother, you were maybe 4 years old. I adopted you and your siblings because I wanted all of you as my family. Everything was great for a while; you and Amelia were my little shadows most of the time. When you turned 11, something happened. You started to act like you resented me. I could never figure it out. What exactly did I do to you?"

"I was mad because you made me take your name. I'm a Palermo, not a McFarland." Ouch, that stung, but OK.

"You were little, it was a decision that your mom and I made together. But fine, if you want to be a Palermo, we can change your name, no problem. One call to the lawyer, boom, done. But what else? Was I mean to you? Did I ever beat you, or curse you out or call you bad names?"

"Well, no."

"Then help me out, Eli. Why am I such a fucking bad guy?"

"YOU'RE JUST NOT MY DAD, OK?" Ouch. The hurt locker had just been opened. I was trying to be empathetic, but Eli wasn't making it easy.

I allowed a little of my resentment to slip out. "Eli, I wiped your ass and changed your diapers for a couple of years, I bought you toys, went to all your baseball games, and took you places with me, so tell me, exactly why did I suddenly stop being your dad?"

The boy snapped back, "Because my real dad is Chris Palermo. I look like him, and Mom says sometimes I even act like him."

I wanted to say, 'Yeah, like now when you're turning your back on a girl you impregnated', but I didn't. That could wait. For now.

I took a deep breath, and spoke slowly, "Eli, let's make one thing clear, you are NOT your father. You keep acting like an asshole, but it's a front. I watched you grow up, you're a good kid." Eli didn't respond, but he didn't look away, either. I had his attention. It was time to drop the atomic bomb on him.

"Listen to me carefully, Eli. You were barely 4 when your dad deserted your mother and your brothers and sisters. I'm just spit-balling here, but I think you've developed a fictional ideal of your biological father. Believe me, the real guy is nowhere nearly as perfect as you're imagining him. He was a crook, a philanderer, a bigamist, and a lot more. Plus, he really sucked at being a father."

I could see the fire in Eli's eyes, rearing up to do battle. I cut him off. "Before you blow up on me, I can prove it to you. I know where your dad's at."

Eli was stunned; it took a few seconds for my words to sink in. "I thought he'd left town! How do you know where he's at?" I couldn't help it, I had to brag on myself just a bit.

"Eli, what do you think I do in that cabin every day? I've been a safety and construction consultant for over twenty fucking years. I have a lot of connections, including some that frankly, you don't want to know. If I want to find a guy, he gets found, understand?" I could see Eli looking at me with new eyes now, a little respect was creeping in behind them. It was time for some tough love.

"This dirtbag you admire is the biological father to three of my children. For their sake, you better believe I keep track of what that fucker's up to. As of right now, Christopher Palermo is doing 18 years for fraud and embezzlement at the State Prison in Norman, about an hour away. Inmate 24601. You want to see him? I can arrange a visit."

A few phone calls to the right people and three days later, Elijah was walking up to the visitor's entrance. I waited in the parking lot, relaxing in the Gulf Stream. I'd driven the motorhome, figuring if the father/son reunion were to be a long one, I may as well be comfortable while I waited.

I'd started reading an article about architects and the market economy which highlighted the new trend of people in the architectural profession valuing profit over beauty in design -- riveting stuff, let me tell you -- and was about halfway through the article when Elijah opened the door and got back in the RV.