The Clint Cartwright Story

"They've seen what a shitstain-absolute-nothing of a man you are. Not even a man really. Just a meat sack disguised as a man.

"Wisdom chases you, but you're a fast runner," Clint said, shaking his head as Kent looked confused. Wait, what...? Did his little brother the mechanic just insult him?

"This will be the last time that I see or talk to any of you. I'm done. The three of you can rot in hell." Clint had turned and walked out of the hospital as the names Kent called him echoed down the hospital corridor.

Kent would disappear upon his release from the hospital and leave the USA. He was later rumored to be teaching English at a school in Cambodia. His parents were devastated when he cut off all contact with him.

+++

The British F&I company that Fenix had acquired was now, if not fully integrated, then at least integrated enough so that the operation was running smoothly. Clint had to be brought up to speed on the differences in laws and customs between American and British automobile dealerships and their financing and insurance departments.

Assigned to assist Clint was an attorney employed by the firm's new Fenix, UK division. They worked closely with Fenix's American law firm of Bonham, McLeod, and Garcia. Caroline Khan was a statuesque blonde with a regal bearing and skin that could have been tanned, but given her last name, was likely due to parentage.

There was an instant attraction between the Englishwoman and the American. The first two days, saw them confined to a conference room as Caroline discussed British law with him regarding financing and insurance. It was a lot to take in, but there were more similarities than differences so Clint was able to keep up. They ordered sandwiches delivered in for lunch both days and after the finish of their second full day of being isolated in the conference room, Clint was ready for a break.

"Let me take you to dinner," he asked Caroline.

Caroline shook her head. "No, I'm going to take you out," she said. "I want to show off my city to the Texan."

Caroline flagged down a cab and directed the driver to take them to the George Club on Mount Street in Mayfair. Clint's first thought as the cab pulled to the front was, 'Man, that's a lot of blue." Oversized blue doors gave entrance, and blue awnings above the windows ran the length of the building.             

They were seated almost immediately upon arriving. Clint saw the artwork on the walls and was suitably impressed. Fallon's background was firmly rooted in art she had given Clint an appreciation for art and culture. He wasn't positive, but he was pretty sure that was a David Hockney hanging on the wall a couple of feet away from their table.

The waiter took their order (Macallan 18 for Clint, G&T for Caroline) and Caroline gave Clint a brief rundown on the George Club and its recent multi-million-pound facelift. As she was speaking, a heavily pregnant beautiful blonde woman approached their table with a smile.

Caroline rose to greet her and Clint followed suit.

"Clint, this is Patricia Caring. Patricia and her husband Richard own the George."

Clint shook Patricia's hand as she looked with slight amusement at his Americanisms. She had a distinctive accent that Clint could not place. Patricia and Caroline spoke for a minute more before Patricia took her leave.

"Patricia is from Brazil. Richard left his first wife for Patricia and now he is about to be a father at the age of seventy-three." Caroline shook her head. "Patricia is a friend, but I am not at all happy about how she ended up with Richard. Fidelity is important to me. As I am sure it is to you."

Clint gave Caroline an appraising look. "I'm guessing that you had a background check performed on me?"

Caroline smiled and gave him a small toast with her G&T. "We wanted to know what sort of a person was being sent over. An American from Texas..." She gave a mock shudder.

Clint laughed. "That would worry me too."

They chatted for several hours as Clint told Caroline the story of his life. She reached over and grasped his hand in sympathy.

"I cannot even imagine being blind-sided by such horror. And your ex-wife? How much longer will she be imprisoned?"

"Another seven years unless she's released early."

"Do you think she will want to join you in London?"

Clint shook his head. "Even if she wanted to, she would not be able to come over. She'll most likely be on parole for several years after her release."

They had long finished dinner and coffee and were just enjoying each other's company. Clint glanced at his watch and noticed the time.

"They are probably wanting to close so I'll call for the check."

Caroline smiled. "They close at 1:00 AM and the check has already been settled."

Clint stood and assisted Caroline with her chair. "This has been a delightful evening. I have not had a dinner out with someone since the last time my ex-wife and I had a date night. I would really like to do this again."

As they approached the entrance, the doorman said, "Shall I flag you a taxi, Lady Caroline?"

Clint looked at Caroline and opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off with a wagging finger and a smile.

"Yes, I glossed over some of my life. It will give us something to speak about next time."

She gave Clint a quick kiss on the cheek, stepped into her taxi, and was off. Clint's taxi came along a minute later.

+++

Fallon was excited about seeing her parents. They had recently arrived back home after spending two weeks in London visiting with their granddaughters. They had assured Fallon that they had taken plenty of photographs to share with her.

Fallon swiped through the photos of Chloe and Emily and was amazed at how much they had grown. In the two years that Fallon had been in prison, they had been to see her twice on visits with their father to the US. Fallon knew that if it were not for her, they would not come to the US at all. They would be seeing Europe and the world. She felt bad about being the reason her daughters had to come back to Texas, but on the other hand, she was not the one who dragged them off to London.

Mixed in with the photos of the girls, was the occasional picture of Clint. God, he looked good, she thought. In one of the photographs, Clint was standing next to a tall blonde woman with a dusky rose skin tone. The woman was extraordinarily beautiful and seemed to be standing quite close to Clint.

"Who is the woman," Fallon asked quietly.

Her parents glanced at each other before her mother answered. "That's Caroline. Lady Caroline Khan. She and Clint are engaged."

Fallon felt her whole field of vision tunnel in on itself and she started to hyperventilate. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths to calm herself. After a few minutes, she was able to speak.

"Clint is too good of a man not to be with a good woman. Is she? Is she a good woman?"

Her mother put her hand gently on top of Fallon's hands as they were clasped together on the table in front of her.

"Yes, she's a very good woman. The girls love her and she adores the girls." She went on to explain that Caroline's great-grandfather was Indian but had received a baronetcy from King George VI as a reward for his service in the Muslim League supporting the British Raj during WWII. A wealthy merchant, he had immigrated to England in 1947, after the Raj was dissolved, and purchased an estate from a cash-strapped viscount. His eldest son, who would eventually inherit his title, had married an English girl, herself the daughter of a viscount. Their son, Caroline's father, had married an art gallery owner, and expectations were that Caroline would marry someone of a suitable background. What they got was Clint Cartwright.

Karen rubbed her daughter's back. She hated to tell her this next part.

"They are also expecting a child. Caroline is four months along."

Fallon gave forth with the most wretched, soul-wrenching wail that any of them had ever heard. The guards rushed toward her with concern on their faces. Fallon was a model prisoner and well-liked. No one liked to see her in pain. The guards escorted Fallon back to her cell, her wails echoing around the visitor's yard.

+++

Fallon requested that Clint no longer bring Chloe and Emily to visit her. Their life was in London and there was no point in dragging them halfway around the world once a year to see their mother in prison. She told Clint that if he disregarded her request, she would refuse to leave her cell. Her parents however continued to make a yearly pilgrimage to London to see their granddaughters.

The girls regularly wrote letters to Fallon, but she did not respond. They would ask their father why he made them write to her if she would not answer but he insisted that she was reading their letters and they meant a lot to her.

Fallon was paroled after five years of imprisonment. She had not seen her daughters in three years. Her parole was set at twenty-four months. She could not leave the state and had to check in weekly with her parole officer. As long as she stayed out of trouble for that period of time, her debt to the state of Texas would be paid in full. Her request to Clint to not bring her daughters to visit remained in effect for the period of her parole. By the time her parole ended, it had been five years since Chloe and Emily had seen their mother.

Both girls were in secondary school which is the equivalent of high school in the US. They had developed accents that were a combination of a Texas twang and the posh, upper-class British accent with its clipped tones. With their looks, smarts, and manner of speaking, British schoolboys were falling over themselves to be noticed by the Cartwright sisters.

Clint had also been somewhat dismayed by the sport that the girls had taken up.

Dressage? What the hell was Dressage?

As it turned out, Dressage was a way to turn a large pile of money into a very small pile of money. Caroline had been an Olympic bronze medalist for England in Dressage. When the girls found this out, they went to YouTube and watched every video of Caroline they could find (and there were a lot) and were absolutely enthralled by the sport.

Both girls demanded to be allowed to participate. With Caroline's assistance in finding horses and coaches, the girls excelled at the sport. Chloe was the current British junior champion and Emily had a good chance of winning the title in the future. Both girls also had their eyes on the Olympics.

Even though he was drawing an excellent paycheck as President of Fenix International's (as they were now known) European office, he could not have afforded the dressage expense for two girls without the substantial coffers of his wife. Being married to a titled person who was also extremely wealthy made Clint deeply uncomfortable. He had achieved everything in life through hard work and perseverance. He still thought of himself as a mechanic, although he had not picked up a spanner in years.

Howard Harper had phoned Clint to finalize details about the Harper's upcoming visit.

"Will it just be you and Karen?" Clint asked.

"As always," Howard replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I know Fallon is off parole and can travel. I thought she might come with you. The girls have missed their mother."

"Didn't you replace their mother?" Howard asked with a hint of anger.

"That's not fair and you know it. I've tried to be as good a person as I could be for the last eight years. I didn't ask for any of this! And she's the one that refused to see her daughters. Do you know what that did to them?"

"I know, Clint. And I'm an ass for making that comment." Howard exhaled deeply. "Clint, she's changed. She's not the same person you knew."

"Howard, she's their mother. If she doesn't want to come, then fine. I'm not going to beg. The invitation is there. Use it or don't use it."

+++

Christmas in London, England is a world apart from Christmas in Austin, Texas. It's not just the weather. The blaring commercialization is not as prevalent (although the Brits were doing their best to catch up) on television, billboards, and stores. The limo ride to the hotel brought a look of wonder to Fallon's face. Christmas time in London seemed so much more, well...Christmassy than Christmas in Texas.

They had reserved a suite at the Chesterfield Mayfair on Charles Street. Actually, it was Clint's wife that had made the arrangements. Caroline had flown Fallon and her parents first-class on British Airways directly to Heathrow. A limousine awaited them at Heathrow and deposited them at the Chesterfield Mayfair where they were again given first-class treatment thanks to Lady Caroline.

Fallon was prepared to despise Clint's wife, but she was charming, funny, self-deprecating, and not at all pretentious. She was also stunningly beautiful.

Their son, Henry was the most mature, well-behaved four-year-old that she had ever seen. And his older sisters absolutely adored him, just as he worshipped his sisters.

They met for dinner at Caroline's Mayfair townhome which was just a few blocks from their hotel. Tomorrow, everyone would be making the trek to Caroline's country estate to spend Christmas.

Fallon looked at Clint and remembered the Fastrock store manager who had assisted her so long ago when she was beginning her employment at Engstrom's; a place she sorely missed. Clint looked like the well-to-do British country gentleman that he had become. She had to leave the room for a bit as her emotions overcame her.

Her reunion with her daughters had been bittersweet. They were angry with her for refusing their visits. She had tried to convey to them the depth of the emotional pain she felt when they left after each visit, knowing that it would be a year before she would see them again. She was able to convince them that her love for them never faltered. She loved them as much today as she did on the day she went to prison.

And that everything that happened to their family was solely due to her bad choices.

But after that, things normalized. Fallon was intensely aware that she was a visitor in the home of her ex-husband and his new wife. She knew that she would never be a part of his life in that way again. All she could do was try to remain in the lives of her daughters and try to be a better mother now than she had been in the past.

On Christmas morning, as they rose and made their way downstairs to the family room of Caroline's country estate, Fallon realized that she was grateful. Grateful that her husband and daughters had come through the horrific experiences to which she had subjected them. And grateful that she had come out on the other side in one piece. She still had the love of her parents and (it appeared) the love of her daughters. She had a lot of work to do, but she would put in that work.

As everyone exchanged gifts in front of the roaring fireplace, Fallon was surprised when Caroline handed her a card.

"I didn't get you anything," Fallon said apologetically.

"I should bloody well hope not," Caroline laughed. "This is something from all of us," she said making a circular hand motion that included Clint, Henry, Chloe, and Emily.

Fallon opened the card and was surprised to see a credit card-sized object with the words British Airways AirPass on it.

Fallon looked up with a puzzled look on her face.

"BA no longer officially has the AirPass, but my father is a director for them so exceptions can be made. That card allows you to fly from the US to London whenever you like. You can come over once a year or once a month; it is up to you. You can stay with us. That is our gift to you. We want you to see Chloe and Emily as often as you like."

Fallon broke down and cried great, heaving sobs. Chloe and Emily rushed to their mother and Henry rushed to Caroline, afraid of the crying woman.

Fallon looked at the woman who had replaced her in Clint's life. The woman who wished only the best for her.

"Thank you, Caroline. Thank you for being there for Clint and thank you for being there for Chloe and Emily. And thank you for this."

Fallon sat cuddled with her daughters and her parents as Clint sat with his wife and son as they all watched the log fire pop and crackle, the flames reaching ever upwards.