Taking Back My Family

Allen Stinson is very simple man with strong family ties. He has 3 sisters and one brother who he stays in constant contact with. They had a traumatic childhood but came thru it alright. He joined the military at 18 and stayed in for 6 years. Most of his job was classified.

When he got out he started a security and information company. Nobody asked where he got his startup money. He believed in using the latest technology as well as using information he got from people who a lot of people would consider invisible: maids, janitors and airhead office assistants. (At least airheads to their employers.)

He provided both personal security (body guards) and security guards for local businesses. His main business was gathering information for various clients. If manufacturer A wanted information on manufacturer B, he would hire Allen to get that information. He would advise either client whether he was hired by the other, but not reveal what he reported to the other. He had informants everywhere. He treated everybody with respect and with discretion.

Every six months he would be gone for 2 weeks. He was paid $ 75,000 to go and was paid 500 a day. If he went to the Middle East, he was paid 5000. A day. After 5 years, the pay went up to 100,000 and 1000 per day. 10,000 for the Middle East. This was done twice a year. These trips ended 2 years before the mall incident. The first year he paid cash for a 4-bedroom house. He wired the house for video and audio. As technology got better he utilized the latest and the best. He had at least 2 systems, on obvious one, the other less obvious.

One day as he was talking to Personnel, a guard assigned to the local mall called in and reported a family emergency and asked and received emergency leave. A member of Personnel started to call in a replacement. Allen said he would take his shift. He called Alice and told her he had to work late. During his shift at the mall, he saw most of his friends and family. Forever after, he was referred to as the Mall Guard in a negative and demeaning way.

He met and married Alice Johnson after he got out of the military. She knew he was military, but not what he did. They had 3 Children: Alice Mae, Allen Jr and Lila. He decided he would be the best father and husband he could be. Except for the 4 weeks a year he traveled, he was always home by 6PM. He got involved with the kid's activities. He let them choose what they wanted to do and supported them. Every month the family would go somewhere for the weekend. Every year they would take a weeks' vacation. He and his wife would go out to lunch or dinner at least once a week.

His wife worked as an RN in the emergency room at the hospital. She had progressed to emergency room nurse supervisor. Things seemed to be good on the home front for 15 years. The last 2 years (after the mall duty), the kids seemed to be withdrawing from him, and going closer to their mother, who had never been involved much with their activities. He also noticed they were dropping their lifelong friends for newer and more rebellious friends, it seems with their mother's support. He was losing his family and was not sure what to do.

At least once a month, one parent would take the kids on an outing while the other would have "me" time. On this day Alice was home alone thinking about her current lover, a new doctor at the hospital they worked at. She thought about her lovers over the years. She was not sure how she felt about her husband, she knew she did not respect him. He was a good father and husband but was only an average lover. That is why she had affairs. They were all younger and better hung than her husband. The sex was amazing. She had been able to turn the kids against him. That was not easy. She was even considering divorcing and taking him to the cleaners. She knew things were coming to a head soon.

Alice and the kids met him when he got home. They were all in the living room.

Alice said, "Sit down we want to talk to you."

Allen "What is this about"

She replied. "You are smothering us, we want you to back off from us and let us live our lives without you. We are tired of being ridiculed for being the family of a MALL GUARD. You let people walk all over you, including us, you never stand up to anybody. I have been having an affair for 6 months and others before him and you never noticed. I am ashamed now to be seen with you. I want you to move into the garage apartment. We will be leaving for the night and will return tomorrow night."

He replied, "Do you all feel this way?"

They all said yes and then got up and left.

As soon as they got out the door. He got on the phone to his company and asked for a dozen volunteers to come to his house. He also requested a mother of teenage girls to come over. When they all got there, he told them to go thru the house and to remove every TV except the one in the bedroom. Every piece of electronic device was removed from the kid's room. The mother was assigned the task of going thru the girls closet and removing all the designer clothes and replacing them with off the rack from Walmart. He then got on line and transferred all the money from his paycheck into an account in his name only. He left in the account money deposited from his wife's check, which was a nice sum.

When the family got back, their first reaction was they had been robbed. Allen told them to sit down. They started to ignore him and go to bed.

Allen said. "SIT TOUR ASSES DOWN NOW. My turn to talk. I listened to you earlier and let you have your say, give me the same courtesy. I have removed every computer in the house, cut off all cell phones, removed every piece of electronics from your rooms except the house phones, all joint credit cards are cancelled, my paycheck will no longer be going into a joint account, all extra-curricular activities will stop, no parties. If you want more get it from your mother. I have tried to be a good and devoted father and get you what you wanted. I was not trying to buy your love, but just trying to be a good provider. Alice, you forgot what I do for a living. I have known about your affairs and hookups from the beginning. I was hoping you would come back to me. I will still be around if you need me, but not as often. You have hurt me, but I am still your husband and father. The door is always open. Alice, you will be moving into the garage apartment." With that Allen was gone. Alice and the kids were shocked, he had never talked to them like that. Alice recovered first. "We do not need him, we can do better without him." The kids were not so sure.

Allen's family did not notice he was not home every night anymore. He had decided he was going to leave the door open for his family to return but was preparing if they did not.

A couple of months after the confrontation. Allen was at a bar with some of his employees, though he did not drink, he did not mind if his employees did as long it was in moderation and after work hours. He had just stopped by to say hello and was on his way out when he noticed 2 guys harassing this woman. They did not know the meaning of the word no. He walked up and said.

"I believe the woman said she was not interested" Both guys had 4 inches and 40 pounds on him. They decided to be macho and go after him. Within seconds they were incapacitated.

"Are you ok" he asked the woman. He then noticed she is a very good-looking woman about 35-40.

"Allen"

"Lynn, thank you, they would not leave me alone. That was amazing, where did you learn that.?" He ignored the question. He turned to the table he had just left.

"Nancy (his PA) will you assist me in getting her to the office and call the on-duty medic to meet me in my office to check her out."

A couple of hours later she went home refreshed and relaxed.

Over the next couple of months several events happened that made the family see him in a different light.

Event One:

Allen was in a staff meeting when his PA Nancy interrupted. "Your son's school is on the phone and request a parent to come pick him up. They could not reach your wife." she whispered in his ear.

He told his staff a family emergency had come up and had to leave. They returned to their offices.

Allen arrived at the principal's office to see his son sitting in front of the principal.

Principal Jones "Your son attacked another student and he will be sent home till we can decide the appropriate punishment. Now take your son and leave" Allen was furious at the way he was dismissed. His son thought the anger was aimed at him without even hearing his side. They were quiet till they reached his office. Allen told his assistant to call the medic and bring his camera. He then turned to his assistant "Is your brother still with the State Board of Education?"

"Yes"

"Sit in and then give him a call if we need to." When the medic got there, they told him to check out Jr. He checked him out and noticed several bruises on his torso and on his arms as if he was held while getting punched.

Allen then turned to his son and asked him in a calm and soothing voice.

"Take your time and tell me what happened."

"James Steven Worthington, a rich spoiled brat who thinks lesser people should cater to his every whim, even the faculty at school. I stood up to him, so he had a couple of jocks hold me while he punched me. He then told the principal I attacked him. I was not believed when I told him I was the one that was attacked. That is when they called you."

"I believe you, your bruises back up your story. Get those pictures in a file and keep the originals in a file in the safe, make several copies, Nancy give your brother a call and see what we can do. I will take Jr home and then go see our lawyer.",

Jr had a new-found respect for his father.

Event Two.

Allen decided to allow some after school activities. Lila was in a martial arts class. The instructor decided to spar with Lila. He seemed to be extra brutal without hurting her too much. Allen had had enough. "Want to spar with me"

The instructor was 5th degree black belt. He was also bigger than Allen. Within seconds the instructor was out cold.

Lila "Where did you learn to do that. He enjoys embarrassing parents, especially fathers." They chatted the rest of the way home.

Event 3.

Allen had relented a little and returned some of her clothes. One day Alice Mae and Lila were at the mall. At the food court they ran into some classmates and their siblings. The topic of fathers come up, Alice Mae started in complaining about how her father smothered her and up till a couple of years ago was always around. One of the older girls had enough.

"Let me get this straight, you are complaining because your father attended your school and after school events, helped you with your homework and was always around if you needed him, so you all decided to tell him to stay away from you. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MINDS, you have the type of father most teenagers in this mall would kill for, us included. We never see our father, he is always working.

You say you are ashamed of your father because he is a mall guard, someone lookup how much a mall guard earns." Someone told her. "you have on designer clothes; your car is last year's model. I heard you take outing once a month and a vacation once a year. My sister tells me you brag about them in class, and I bet your house is paid for. You had better get your head out of your ass, before you lose him."

The girls were in shock as they drove home in silence.

Event 4.

Allen was at the bar where he met with some of his co-workers when he saw his wife with some of her friends. He walked over to his wife's table, gave a kiss on her forehead and told her to have a good time and would see her at home. He walked away.

Alice said "what a wimp"

One of her friends was the same woman who her husband had helped.

She said, "That is your husband? believe me he is no wimp, trust me."

"He is a wimp, he never stands up to anyone he lets people walk all over him."

"He lets you walk all over him, not everyone else."

At the other table Nancy noticed Lynn at the table her boss had stopped by. She decided to go over and ask how she was doing. As she approached she heard one of the women talking about wanting to hook with a doctor to get escape from her boring husband if only for a little while. She recognized her but had never met her. Lynn recognized Nancy.

Nancy said. "I wanted to stop by and see how you are doing."

"Thank you I am doing well."

Nancy then turned to Alice and said: "You want to throw away your husband go ahead, there are plenty of women willing to comfort him."

With that she got up and returned to her table.

Lynn turned to Alice "you don't know your husband very well, do you. You had better get to know him soon or you will lose him and as she said he will not be lonely long."

They stayed for a few more minutes and then everyone went home.

Alice had a lot on her mind.

Event 5

The hospital was holding a get together for the new hospital administrator. All spouses were invited. Soon after arriving, a younger doctor asked Alice to dance, she accepted. Allen knew who he was an, arrogant egotistical bastard, Dr. Jack Reynolds. (Alice's latest lover) After a few dances Allen tried to cut in. The good doctor decided to put him in his place.

Dr. Reynolds "So if it isn't the wimpy mall guard."

Several people close by laughed, Alice looked embarrassed.

Allen said, "Well if isn't Dr. Death, wasn't that your nickname at your last job, and did you get over that Sexual Harassment suit and STD scare."

The people had stopped laughing and was paying close attention.

"Those records were sealed."

"The proper response probably should have been, what suit and what scare. This reminds me of the joke, what do you call a medical student who graduates last in his class; Doctor. I bet you got rave reviews when they called your last hospital. That was because they wanted to get rid of you., Let me tell you about the good doctor. He made a habit of seducing the wives of other doctors and then blackmailing them into continuing, he especially delighted in seducing wives of the administrators to help him with his career. He was named in several divorces and ruined many families."

Jack was getting furious.

Alice "careful Allen, Jack boxed in college, he was a golden glove."

Allen "please try something you have 6 inches and 50 pounds on me, what could a wimp like me do against a big golden glove."

Jack noticed the sarcasm and started hearing whispers around the room. He decided to go home. Allen and Alice also went home.

A couple of weeks later Allen came home to find his family waiting for him.

Alice Mae "What do you do for a living, I have checked and found you own this house, we have always had money and all our bills are paid automatically, all the money in your checks is spending money. I researched, the clothes in my closet are worth thousands. Lila told me about her martial arts instructor. Who are you and what are you?"

Jr. "I was called back to school 2 days after I was in your office. 2 weeks later, the principal was fired, and James was removed from school. I remember you telling your assistant to call her brother who is on the state school board. What gives?"

Alice "You told me you knew about my affairs. but you never said anything. Dr Reynolds was fired and lost his license to practice medicine. Did you have anything to do with that. Also, Lynn told me about you taking on 2 tough looking guys without breaking a sweat. Who are you."

Allen said "I am the same man I always was, let me start at the beginning. When I was 6, my father walked off from us and my mother left for NY soon after. We were put in a Baptist children's home for 7 years. My father then got us out and we moved in with our step-mother and her children. They left a couple of years later. After high school I joined the army. I was in the special forces. Army version of SEALS, but better and tougher. Our specialty was intelligence gathering, we used every available resource. We found human assets were the best, so we used them, we were very successful. We also trained the natives to fight the insurgents and helped build an infrastructure. Some of those assets were wealthy and showed their appreciation. When I got out, the government sent me back, but never longer than 2 weeks and never more than twice a year. I was paid very well for those trips. When I got out, I applied the same practices at my job here. I have assets everywhere. Alice you asked why I didn't say, anything. I don't own you. you can do what you want, I had hoped by being a good husband you would stop. Maybe I should have.

I brought these brochures home, what do you think."

The brochures contained information about traveling thru Europe by train. The main decision was where to go and what to do. They were looking forward to the family vacation. Allen was happy, he seemed to have his family back. He knew there would be challenges, but he felt they could face them together.

Epilogue:

Alice's mother had an identical twin sister. Her daughter Alexandra looked more like Alice's sister than a first cousin. Alex was 10 years younger than Alice. She seemed to never date, but lately she was a lot happier even though she had a 3-year-old daughter . There were lots of theories on who the father was or even if she had adopted her.

One day Alice Mae and Lila were at the mall when they saw a little girl who looked familiar, but they could not place her. When her mother come out, they could have sworn the woman looked exactly like their mother but younger. The girls had picture of their grandmother they were going to buy a frame for the photo. The little girl saw it and said: NANA. That is when Alice Mae remembered where she saw the little girl before, on her dresser. The girl was a spitting image of her at that age.