Special Day Ch. 02

I had put Jennifer in the care of the day care center in the hospital while we waited since I knew the lady in charge from visiting when Molly was still working. I also knew where the nurses' lounge was and that they had the best coffee in the hospital. After dropping Jennifer off, I still had about 20 minutes before her appointment so I slipped down for a cup of java. I found a cup, poured myself a cup and leaned against the counter next to the coffee maker and just enjoyed. I was aware of two nurses that were setting in the lounge when I came in but they couldn't see me where I was sipping my coffee. I wasn't looking for any company. They began to speak to each other about that "beautiful baby girl". I perked up since they could be talking about my Jennifer. As a proud papa, I liked to hear favorable comments about my girl.

"Hey, Peggy, did you see Molly's little girl?" the first nurse said.

"I sure did. She is a real beauty. I guess she takes after her daddy. And you know which one I mean."

Sally said, "You mean Ron, don't you? I didn't think anybody else knew. Molly had me check the blood type when she was here during her recovery. It wasn't compatible with her husband so she asked me to change the record that they were given to take home."

"What did she say when you told her?"

"She didn't say much except that it was an accident and she wasn't going to tell her husband. He would probably kill Ron if he found out. You know he is a motorcycle jockey and knows all kinds of people that would do that sort of thing."

"I hear he is a sweetie! I can't believe he would hurt her."

"I don't think so either, but you never know."

I had stopped breathing during this conversation. I think my heart stopped and my legs began to get weak and I had to leave the lounge as quickly as I could before I threw up my breakfast and the coffee I had just drunk. As a matter of fact, I just made it to the restroom when my stomach emptied everything in it. I sat on my knees on the piss-covered floor in that stall and heaved my guts out. I wished I could just die there on the spot and not have to face what I had just heard. The only thing that stopped me from putting my head in the john and drowning myself was my daughter. She was waiting for me and I couldn't let her down.

My daughter? Suddenly, I was not sure of anything. Who was the woman I was married to? What the hell did she do to me and to us? Who the hell was Ron and why was he the father of my baby? Was any of this true? I had to find out the truth and I had to find out as soon as I could figure out how to do it. The first thing I had to do was find out if Jennifer was truly mine. I began to see a plan forming.

I took Jennifer from the day care to her appointment with John Simpson, the pediatrician and a friend. He welcomed me and we talked shop for a few minutes while he looked Jennifer over. He was generally pleased with her progress and told me that she was developing as expected, maybe even a little faster than normal.

He smiled as he said, "Well papa, how are things going with the family? I know you and Molly have to be proud of this little bundle of joy."

I just looked at him while I considered what I was about to do.

"John, let me ask you a question. If I asked you to do a favor for me, one that involves a medical question, could you treat it as a doctor/patient thing?"

He looked at me with a strange look on his face and said "Sure, if that's what you want. I can't even tell Molly if you tell me not to."

I nodded and hesitated. Finally, I said, "I want you to test me and Jennifer and tell me whether she is my daughter."

John looked totally shocked. "Why in the world would you doubt that? I can't believe Molly would ever be unfaithful to you. She loves you and this child as much as anyone I have ever met." He shook his head and said that he couldn't believe this was something I would ever ask. "You and Molly and great together and everyone I know consider you to be the perfect couple. I've known you for all the time you have been married and I am totally confused!"

"John, please just do this for me and if I'm wrong, we'll forget that I ever mentioned it. I can assure you that I will be the first one to say I was an idiot."

John stared at the wall and finally said, "OK, the quickest way to tell is to do a blood test for type. Do you know what your blood type is?"

I answered, "My blood type is AB- and Molly is Type O-. I know her type cause she told me she was what they called a universal donor."

John said that was a perfect place to start since Jennifer could only have a negative blood type factor. He said that we could at least determine if I could be the father, which would be a positive. If that were true, he would then submit the tests for DNA, a definitive test. I asked him how long the blood test would take and he said he would call me this evening at home.

He took the samples and we left to go back home. I admit I wasn't too comfortable to be going home feeling the way I was; I was angry, scared, determined and confused. I didn't know what I would say to Molly. I knew I had to be cool and together. I couldn't let her know something was wrong or that I had something bothering me. I steeled myself when I walked in the door.

"Hi, you two. What took you so long? Was everything perfect as I predicted?"

Sally was in the kitchen fixing lunch for us. I put Jennifer in her playpen and walked into the kitchen.

"Everything was perfect. John said that he thought Jen was developing as expected and maybe faster than normal." He took blood to be safe but didn't expect any problems. I grabbed a coke out of the fridge and said,

"He may call later tonight to talk about a cycle he wants to try. If he calls let me know."

With that I walked into the den we used as an office and called Tiny.

"Tiny, it's me. I need to talk to you as soon as possible. Can you come by?"

"Sure thing, boss man. I'll be there in about an hour."

I hung up and decided to work in the garage for an hour or so until Tiny arrived. I had forgotten about lunch till Molly called to come to eat. I dreaded going in to make small talk while we ate.

I walked into the kitchen and said, "I was sick to my stomach at the hospital this morning and I think I'll skip lunch if you don't mind. I think I just have a slight cold, nothing serious. John said to just drink as much water as I could and let it pass. He said I didn't have a temp."

I was amazed that I could lie so easily to someone I loved as much as I loved Molly. But, I thought, it seems that she can do it even better. I reminded myself that I didn't yet know if that were true, but I really didn't have many doubts. I knew Sally was Molly's best friend and what she told the other nurse was probably true. Molly had never given me the slightest hint that she had cheated on me, but that was probably because she was so very good at hiding it. I was the dumb one, not even suspecting that something like this could be true.

When Tiny arrived, I took him into my office and told him the whole story, leaving out nothing and spilling my guts to one of the only persons left in this world that I could trust with my life and my family. The one I thought I could trust with anything had betrayed me. That thought was tearing me apart.

Tiny listened, didn't react until I was finished with my story.

He surprised me by saying "We can't do nothing until doctor John calls. Even then, we may not know enough. Boss man, you have to be dead sure before you do something."

He looked at me with a sad look and continued "You can't do nothing to Molly even if you find out that this is true. If you even think about it, you'll have to answer to me. OK?"

"I couldn't hurt Molly regardless of what she has done. She is still my life and my love."

"OK. She is good people and may have just screwed up once. We don't know. We have to find out though and I know just how to start. I have a good friend that is a PI. He's a good one, too. He can keep his mouth shut and he'll do the job for me if I ask. Give me everything you can about Molly, her job, this guy Ron and the dates she worked at the hospital and when she quit. I know Jennifer's birthday so I got that much. I'll get him started today. We can at least learn what we can about this Ron guy."

I felt better after Tiny left with the information I gave him. He had the ball and I could at least forget for a while, at least until John's call came in. With that, I went into the house to be with my family. It was easier to do than I had expected. I loved both of my girls, in spite of what I feared may be true. Jennifer was my daughter, regardless of what the blood test showed and Molly was my wife, even if she had cheated on me. I needed to know more, but I wasn't ready to give up on my family, my life!

John called about 6:30 that evening. Molly talked with him for about 5 minutes and then asked if he wanted to talk to me about a new cycle. John must have said the right thing because Molly laughed and signaled that she was done. I took the call in the office.

"What's the answer?" I asked, as I picked up the extension. "Are you interested in that new cycle? I listened until I heard the phone click as Molly hung up the kitchen phone.

"OK, she is off. What's the verdict?" I waited for his answer.

He said, "I'm afraid I have very bad news, Jim. The baby's blood type is type A+. You can't possibly be the biological father."

With that statement, I knew all I had believed in was a lie.