The Nuclear Family Pt. 04

It helped that we never tried to act famous, but it was nice to be called friends by some actors and celebrities worldwide.

As we travelled, Amy continued to work with ALRO clients and investments. Still, she worked more as the spokesperson waving the flag than approving projects and with an excellent executive team at the helm and gracious media exposure, ALRO continued to grow.

ALRO Homes also continued to expand. Within two years of the shooting at the fight, we had branches along the east coast of Australia and a new office in New Zealand. I was resisting the urge to go into Asia, I knew we could leverage our fame to do that, and our management team had brought it up more than once, but Amy and I agreed it was a greedy move. We did quality work in Australia and made more than enough profit from the venture, so we kept business in the local market.

Darren and Toni are still the most amazing couple that Amy and I know. They are our closest friends, and not long after the shooting, Darren opened a mixed martial arts dojo that was always at capacity once the media caught wind of it.

[:::: - ::::]

It's been three years since that life-changing moment. Amy and I still get stopped in the street, though a lot of the initial manic status of being a celebrity had worn off. We still had a team of two security with us whenever we were out in public. Both were amateur fighters that trained with Darren and I, so it was good to be protected by friends. They were always alert and proud to be seen with us.

It was a beautiful spring afternoon. Amy and I were sitting at a lovely little café down on the bay outside of Brisbane with Peter and Rayne. The kids were colouring, making a mess of their lunch, and enjoying milkshakes. I was enjoying what the café called the Bayside Burger. Double meat, double cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, mustard and chilli jam. Amazing burger all around.

I was also finishing off a great chocolate-thick shake. You know, when you have one that takes just a little effort to work up the straw but instantly melts in your mouth. Amy was beside me, sitting back, giving a small burp, and then smiled as she finished her thick shake. She smiled, and I smiled back, but Peter and Rayne were looking a little worried. Amy and I were perplexed until I felt the presence standing behind mine and Amy's shoulders.

Turning three people were standing there, well it was a mother with her two children. The kids were pulling on their mother's hands, but the mother stopped and stared at us.

Georgia.

My ex-wife was dressed conservatively, a modest skirt and blouse, it wasn't quite threadbare, but it did look worn. Her now-coloured, dirty blonde hair was cut short in the way that a mother with young children does to stop their hair from being caught up.

Georgia's kids had stopped now, noticing that their grandparents. While they didn't have much to do with Peter and Rayne, Rayne had made some effort to visit semi-regularly. The kids quickly let go of Georgia's hands, running to Rayne and screaming, "Grandma!" Rayne hugged them while Georgia looked like a deer in the headlights.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Georgia said after recovering. "Barrie, Sophia, let's keep going."

I felt Amy kick me under the table. Dammit, why me? Why did I have to do this?

I stood. Our security looked over at us. I waved them away.

"It's alright, Georgia," I told my former wife. "Let the kids chat with Rayne for a few minutes. Where were you going?"

Georgia looked at me with an inscrutable expression on her face. She then looked over at Amy, who smiled at her; Georgia sighed. She held up her arms with a paper-wrapped package from the fish and chip shop just down the road.

"I was taking the kids to play in the park and a little lunch for a treat. I'm sorry, Robbie, I didn't know you would be here." She told us apologetically.

I smiled, "That's fine. We didn't know you would be here either." I got another kick under the table. "Why don't you join us?"

Georiga shook her head. I think I noticed a tear escape the corner of her eye.

"Sorry Robbie, I don't think I can." She looked at Rayne, "Mum could you bring Barrie and Sophia over to the park once you're done."

Rayne nodded sadly. Georgia turned and walked off without saying another word.

"Go after her, you idiot," Amy whispered, suddenly standing beside me as we watched Georgia quickly make her way over the road. "I think it's time we forgave my sister."

I looked at my wife like she had grown an extra head. Here she was asking me to go after my ex-wife, her sister, to forgive her for all the pain she had caused.

I quickly made my way over to the park across the road. One of our security team was following me at a distance. I found Georgia sitting on one of the benches across from the beachside playground, her back to me, sobbing with her head in her hands. As I sat beside her, I handed her one of the napkins from the café. She took it and wiped her eyes.

"Why Robbie, why?" she asked. I wasn't sure if she was asking why we were all there, why she cheated on me all those years ago, or why our lives were overly dramatic.

I leaned beside her, placed my arms on my knees and looked out at the oceans on the other side of the park.

"Because your sister is smarter than us," I replied, speaking to none of the above thoughts.

I heard a short snort from my ex-wife, and then she loudly blew her nose on the napkin.

"Sorry," she said simply.

"I know," I replied to the statement for more than just blowing her nose.

She didn't follow my meaning for a moment; her shoulders slumped again.

"I am sorry, Robbie. I truly am sorry for everything." She said.

"It's alright Georiga, it's..." I started to say.

Georgia took a page from my book and held up her hand.

"Robbie, could I talk for a minute?" she asked.

I smiled and nodded.

Georgia took a couple of deep breaths and then looked at me.

"Robbie, we know each other's stories; hell, the world knows our story thanks to your parents." I chucked. But let her keep talking.

"And while I said I was sorry before, I don't think I understood what I was saying. Perhaps our marriage was doomed before it began. But before your brother or your father. I need to tell you that I was really happy with you. You were an amazing husband, and you never ever did anything wrong. That I got seduced and swept up by your family is no excuse for my behaviour or a reflection on you. I am well and truly sorry for how I treated you. I apologise, Robbie, for my words back then and what you saw. Can you accept that?"

I looked at Georgia, a woman I had loved, a woman I had hated, who had betrayed me and been part of a family that tried to destroy me. She had been used and abused by that same family, and for the last couple of years, she had lived a quiet life, quietly trying to raise her two children.

I nodded, "I can accept that, Georgia and..." I paused. "I'm sorry too."

Her eyes went wide, "You're sorry Robbie? What for? You have nothing to be sorry about; it was all my fault."

I shook my head, "No, it wasn't Georgia; sure, you were one of the main actors, but the person directing was my father. Somehow along the way, he got twisted by the business, by commonplace success and took us all for a ride. Both you and I were collateral damage along the way."

Georgia looked at me as it was my turn to hold my hand up. "Don't get me wrong; you still let yourself cheat on me. You still lied to me, tried to pass your son off as mine. But..." I looked back out at the ocean. "But, I could have handled things down the line better. I could have had a little more compassion. I hated you.. all of you, for years. That anger, my rage towards you and my family, didn't help me. I could have let it go when Mum passed away, but I didn't."

I took a moment, glancing across the road, seeing everyone slowly making their way from the café to the crossing. Georgia looked back over at my security.

"Do they follow you everywhere?" she asked, changing the topic, gesturing towards Harold, the security that followed me to the park.

I laughed, "Yeah, whenever we are out in public, there are always two of them. Since the shooting, they help keep the more... aggressive fans away."

"You and Amy did well on the late-night shows," Georgia said timidly, happy for the topic change while looking at Harold with a critical eye. "And thank you for not portraying me as the bitch I truly was when you spoke. It was appreciated." She said quietly.

The next we knew, our families had joined us. Peter and Rayne took the kids for a play. I think Rayne was ecstatic to have four of her five grandkids together at once. Her fifth grandkid was Ruth's son Connor. I wasn't sure how I felt about William running around with my half-brother, and Georgia noted the frown.

"I'll ask Barrie to leave your son alone if it makes you uncomfortable?" she told me.

Amy sat on my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. The subtle claim of her hold on me in front of my ex-wife wasn't lost on Georgia.

"Ignore him, Georgia. He just needs to get over it." As I received a slap in the back of the head, "Serious baby, get over it, that boy is not your asshole of a father or dimwitt of a brother."

I sighed, "I know, I'm sorry, Georgia, I know it's not fair."

Georgia shook her head. "I understand, but Barrie doesn't recall Brad as his father, and I've never corrected him about his true parentage."

"Barrie?" Amy and I asked simultaneously. I had heard her call him that a few times now.

Georgia smiled, "Barrie, after everything that happened, I didn't want to be reminded of a son with a name like Brad Jr the second. So I changed his name to Barrie."

"Barrie," I said slowly, Amy and Georgia looked at me, and I smiled for the first time in Georgia's presence in years. "Well, I like it much more than that other name."

The three of us sat awkwardly for a few moments, and then Amy asked. "How are you, Georgia?"

She looked at us for a moment before replying, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well enough, I suppose," she told us. "I'm a broken single woman now. I have two kids from two different fathers, and thanks to my ex-father-in-law, the only guys interested in me are creeps that want to sleep with the whore who betrayed Robbie Other. It's not a glamorous love life."

"Sorry," I said automatically.

Georgia laughed. "Robbie, we have hardly spoken in years, and in the space of one conversation, I have apologised once, and you have said sorry three times. I feel like I am in the twilight zone."

The three of us laughed.

"Seriously though, I haven't tried to date much. The family kind of broke me, so I'm just staying true to me and trying to raise my kids as best I can." She looked at us, trying to judge a way to say something.

"At least you didn't get a crone to play me in the mini-series. That actress was rather attractive." She said and smiled.

Amy jumped in before I could put my foot in my mouth. "We didn't have much say in the actors once we approved the story, though we tried to ensure that even our evil villainess was worthy of Robbie in the beginning."

I thought Georgia would cry then, her sister throwing her into the pot for being evil, but she smiled.

"I also have to thank you for the royalties, I never expected any money, but it was nice." Georgia smiled.

In negotiating the mini-series of our lives, Amy, with the help of George, made sure that everyone who was portrayed in the series got a check for a certain amount of money, which included my father and brother in prison. They had to sign a release, but once they did, they got a certain amount of money for being able to use their names. My father and brother each got a check for five thousand dollars, while most everyone else, including my sister and Georgia, got a cheque for twenty thousand or more.

"I put the money into buying school supplies for the kids. It came at a good time. I still have a little of it in a savings account. It helped." Georgia sighed.

Georgia looked at us, Amy sitting on my lap, arms still around my neck.

"Amy..." Georgia started.

"It's okay sis," Amy replied, feeling a serious comment coming.

"No, I need to say this," Georgia said.

"Amy, I have been a horrible sister. I cheated on your husband and let you pick up the mess. You didn't know it, but I ridiculed you as lame and pathetic for thinking that you were taking my cast-offs." Georgia had started crying again.

"And behind your back, I treated you like dirt. As much as you hated me for what I did to Robbie, I hated myself more. But now I have to say I'm proud of you, Amy. None of us knew back then that you were already successful. None of us knew about ALRO. And I am proud of you for picking up what I lost. Robbie was the best of us, he made me better, and none of us has been worthy human beings since he walked away from us."

Both Amy and I now had tears in our eyes. But Georgia kept going.

"For so many years, I was stupid. I just went with what they all wanted me to do. I was broken but never saw it. I meant what I said in that letter: I have been burnt for what I did and will likely never fully recover. But I need to live for my children, despite the disgrace of how both of them were conceived. They should not have to atone for my sins. They are innocent.

"I am so sorry to both of you, I don't deserve forgiveness, but I want to tell you how sorry I am," Georgia concluded, putting her hands in her lap. She looked smaller and more fragile than I had ever seen her.

I felt Amy draw in a breath to respond as Georgia fell silent, but I squeezed her thigh before she said anything. It was my turn.

"Georgia," I said quietly. She looked at me. "Georgia, this is the hardest thing I have ever had to say. In my life, I have only ever opened my heart to two women, and you both sit here with me today, but you are right; Amy found me picking me up from what would have been a horrid life without her. My family were royal pricks deserving everything that happened to them, but you gave me a mortal wound because of how much I loved you. If it had not been for Amy, I don't know I would have survived."

Georgia nodded, understanding my words. Amy squeezed my arm. She had lived it with me.

"But Georgia, Amy picked me up and healed me. She helped me find myself and loved me without question. We have been through things together that never made it into our public story where she could have broken me as you did, but she never betrayed me as you did."

I paused. With tears in her eyes, Georgia looked at Amy, who nodded solemnly. I am sure Amy was thinking of the New Zealand incident with Kurt and a handful of others that had occurred throughout the years.

"But because of Amy, those scars you gave me have healed and ever since your letter, my hatred towards you, in particular, has faded a lot. I don't love you, Georgia, but I no longer hate you."

I paused again. These words were hard to say, both women looking at me, waiting for my next words.

"I guess I am trying to say, Georgia, I forgive you."

As the words left my mouth, all three of us said nothing, But Georgia suddenly broke down, crying and sobbing, almost wailing in release. Little Barrie must have noticed and came running over asking if she was alright. William wasn't far behind him.

"It's alright, baby," Georgia said to her son, finding her voice after a couple of minutes. "Uncle Robbie just did something for me that made me very happy."

"What, Mum?" the boy asked.

She looked at the boy for a minute, my brother, a child I never wanted to meet and responded.

"He forgave me," was her simple reply to the boy.

We spent the next half hour talking, trying to explain to both boys that when someone hurts you, it's important to forgive them. Georgia again stepped in when Barrie asked why I needed to forgive his Mum.

"Because many years ago," Georgia said quietly but in a firm voice. "Before you were born, I was very mean to your uncle, I did some terrible things, and neither your uncle nor your auntie here liked me very much. I can now love you more because they forgave me."

"What did you do?" my son William asked of Georgia.

None of us knew what to say until Barrie jumped in.

"He was supposed to be my Dad," my young nephew stated. "But his family were mean to him and drove him away."

We all looked at the boy. He looked at his mother, then shrugged his shoulders in a very grown-up fashion.

"I don't remember my father very well," still thinking of Brad Jnr as his father. "But I recall a few fights you had with him. He wasn't very nice to any of us. And I remember him blaming you for things I shouldn't say because I am a kid."

He smirked at that last part. I laughed.

After that, the serious air cleared a little, and I decided to shout everyone to an ice cream back across the road.

I'm sure at this point you are all thinking that I let Georgia back into our lives, I mean, I had forgiven her, and she was Amy's older sister. Well, you're sort of right. What Georgia had done all those years ago was something that I forgave, but as for having her in our lives, that wasn't going to work. First, I had a very jealous wife who would not put up with her sister, who was still carrying a torch for me.

Amy knew I would never be romantic with Georgia again, but Amy would not tempt fate. The second was even forgiving Georgia. I still didn't like her. Sure I could be nice to her at family events, but she had hurt me too much to want to be friendly with her.

In the end, Georgia never remarried. Once her kids became teenagers, she did start dating again. I met the guy she settled down with a few times. He didn't come across as too bad of a guy, even though he knew the family history. But Georgia and he settled into a relationship even if she would never walk down the aisle for him.

My Brother got out of prison about a year after I forgave Georgia. He never tried to reach out to me and I never tried to talk with him. He did try a couple of times to get back together with Georgia but was rebuffed by her. When he started demanding, she got a restraining order, which was quickly granted. Brad Jr found work as a used car salesman. However, within two years was back in prison for fraud, it turned out he was buying cars on behalf of the dealer and selling them for cash, yet the dealer never received them or had them on their books. When he got out again, he couldn't find work, and last I heard, he was an alcoholic, living on government handouts in a tiny one-bedroom apartment. He also got roughed up once people found out who he was. Too bad for him.

My father, well, he never made it out of prison. Inside, he didn't have it easy, a lot of the inmates loved their sports, and Robbie Other was very popular. The guards had to keep him in isolation a lot of the time. Even then, he spent regular time in the infirmary. Ultimately it wasn't an inmate that did him in, but rather himself. About five years into his sentence, after all his appeals had come to nothing, he was found in his cell having hung himself from the light in his room, that was almost impossible to do, but he figured out a way to unscrew the fixture enough to fix the sheet. There was a single piece of paper at his feet with three words written on it.

[ Fuck you Robert ]

There was no funeral; honestly, no one cared, and while it was reported in the news due to his infamy in his connection to me, no one mourned his passing.

Our kids were in primary school when I next had contact with Joanna. She contacted me asking if I would walk her down the aisle. Joanna had met a man in Melbourne, he was divorced due to a cheating wife, and somehow Joanna convinced him to marry her. I hesitated for a few days until Amy gave me what for, so I told Joanna yes.