The rest of the Black Velcro Choker

I read the Black Velcro Choker a bit ago and felt that the story was very unfinished. I saw a rewrite and wondered...you see, I don't like to change what has been originally written. Which put me in a bind because I felt badly for Charlie and hated to see Mary come out of this unscathed. But I also don't like changing "canon". So, long story just a bit longer, this is my attempt to bring some justice to the Black Velcro Choker world without using a Time Stone to make Charlie a ninja.

To understand where this story is coming from, you'll need to read the original. I did write the author to ask if he would mind my follow on but heard nothing back. Hope Murphy is well and lets me know his thoughts on this. Unlike the original, there is no sex in this.

*

"I'm sorry, Dad, she did what?" I sat there, staring at my father, unable to believe what he just said. I looked over at Jodie, her mouth hanging open, her head pivoting between Dad and me, as though she was watching a tennis match.

"She's on a cruise with another man," he repeated, "asked me for permission, I told her no, and she went anyway."

Jodie stammered "It's a joke, it's gotta be. She'll be home in an hour or..." wild eyes bouncing between us, "...or, you heard wrong, or WHAT DID YOU DO TO MAKE HER DO THAT?" She was screaming, crying, as something in her head told her that no, it was no joke, and yes, he had heard correctly.

Dad blinked twice, thinking. "I can't imagine. I've never cheated on her, never hit her, never..." He trailed off, realizing that his list of nevers was probably infinite. Deep breath in, he lightly slapped his hands on his knees. "Doesn't matter in the short run, we still need to eat dinner." We decided on take out because no one was in the mood to cook. We ate, Jodie constantly looking at the door to see if Mom would come through it. The mahogany table seemed fantastically large, with Mom's empty seat silently screaming for attention.

The hours passed and she never came through the door, never called, no emails, no text messages. I think that's when Jodie realized that this had nothing to do with Dad.

"She's forgotten us," Jodie muttered. She had always been closest to Mom. I was, by nature and by choice, a daddy's girl. He taught me how to drive, and how to balance spreadsheets. Dad isn't the most physical of guys, but he took me to Aikido classes since I was first allowed in. He told me that he wished he had learned when he was younger but Grandmom and Grandpop couldn't afford it. Jodie was signed up, also, but begged off, with Mom's blessing. Dad came to every practice, every competition, every tournament.

When I entered high school, I already had a head for numbers, thanks to sitting with Dad and watching him work. Because of that affinity, I also had a love of science. I wasn't going to be in chorus, was never going to be the lead in the school play; that was going to be Jodie's world, with Mom by her side. I think Jodie was realizing that, if this was all as Dad said, it was not going to happen the way it originally appeared.

"Hey, come on," I said, putting my arm around her. "Maybe she'll come to her senses and walk in the front door tomorrow morning. We'll have pancakes, and we'll make her apologize and take us shopping or a movie..."

"Yeah?" Her face said she wasn't buying a line of my bullshit, but I had to keep up appearances.

"Yeah, it could happen. Let's get to bed, and see what tomorrow looks like."

Tomorrow, as it turned out, looked a hell of a lot like the day before. No Mom. Dad made pancakes, gave us both kisses, and asked what we wanted to do today. I looked at Jodie, then at him -- it seemed a little...off?

"Look," he sighed, sitting down at the table. "I'm not going to lie to you two. The marriage is over. The fact that she left me..."

"US" Jodie interrupted.

"Us" Dad said, with a slight smile and nod of his head, "doesn't change that we still have our lives to lead. Today is the first day of your summer break. You" tilting his head to Jodie, "are starting high school in the fall. This is the last middle school break you get. And you," smiling my way, "have just two years left and will be running off with my car every chance you get. I don't know what's going to happen or what the situation is going to be, but I'll be damned if we're going to sit around moping because your mother decided to detonate our marriage. So, let's get our heads right and figure out what we want to do for this week without her."

Jodie started crying as he finished speaking, crying that became outright heart rending sobs. Dad and I wrapped her up in our arms, holding her, petting her, just trying to get her to breathe. When she seemed a little more together, Dad squatted next to her chair, looking into her eyes. "Baby, what?"

"She promised me that today was going to be our day, that she knew you two would take this first day and probably go to the dojo or play catch or one of the things you two love to do. But we were...she promised..." her breathing starting to catch, tears starting again.

"What did she promise," I asked.

Jodie looked up at the ceiling, trying to get her wind, tears rolling down her face. "You'll think it's dumb, but it was a spa day. She joked that you two would smell like sweat, dirt, and ink, and she and I would smell like cucumber, vanilla, and eucalyptus."

Dad straightened up. He looked at me and I nodded. I knew what he was thinking and what we wanted could wait. "A spa day, huh? Well, I could use a nail treatment. What about you?"

I grinned at him "You see these eyebrows? Hell yes, I want a spa day." Jodie was looking at both of us. "Well, come on, we don't have all day. Dad needs a facial and maybe a pedicure." She got a slight smile on her face, jumped up and hugged us both. She ran up the stairs, paused maybe halfway up, and ran back down, full speed, and plowed into Dad. "Thank you, Daddy" she whispered, before turning around again, and ran back up the stairs.

"You sure you're okay with this," Dad asked.

"Oh, yeah. More than okay. But I have to tell you," I turned and looked at my father, "I hate her. For what she's done to you, to our family, and to Jodie."

Dad came over, put his arm around my shoulder, and kissed the top of my head. "Right there with you."

******************

Spa day was a resounding success. Jodie seemed happier, although there was this undercurrent I couldn't put my finger on. Dad, of course, demanded we post selfies on FB, so there we were, three green masked faces, grinning at the camera. To this day, I have that photo hanging on the wall by my dining room table.

Sunday came and we got down to business. Dad set about changing the locks, so off we went to Home Depot to buy all new knobs and deadbolts. When we got home, Dad said that he was going to do it on his own, but Jodie insisted on helping. We hadn't heard from our mother since Thursday night and knew we were the farthest thing from her mind. I think Jodie looked at this as her way of cutting ties with the woman who abandoned her to get laid.

Monday arrived and Dad left us after breakfast to take care of the banking and credit card issues. He was back by lunchtime and we went out to get ice cream after. On Tuesday, Dad went to see an attorney about divorcing Mom. The results didn't look good -- at best, we could expect a 50/50 split, but if Mom got the right judge, she would get custody and the house and most of the money.

Dinner was quiet and solemn. We knew what we wanted but were worried about the worst possible. Dad tried to put a brave face on, but we knew he was scared about being a part time dad. We all trudged upstairs after dinner, going to our respective rooms. It was early, but I knew each of us was in our own head.

A few hours later, I was getting ready to sleep, when I heard a tapping at the door. Jodie popped the door open. "Can I come in?" I nodded and she came in and sat on my bed. I plopped down beside her and we both lay back, shoulder to shoulder. We hadn't done this in years.

"What are we going to do," she asked, looking up at the ceiling. I still had those plastic glow in the dark stars up there. If I could, I would go out in the yard at night and look at the stars. If not, I had them in my room.

"About what?"

"Us. Dad. That bitch."

I sighed. "I don't know. Dad has always been a planner, a logical thinker. And there is nothing logical about this. It's so..."

"Crazy."

Crazy. That summed up the entire situation. I had no idea what was coming next, and if I didn't know what was coming, how would I know how to prepare for it?

Jodie asked me "What if what the lawyer said is right? That Mom can end up with us and the house and his money..."

"But what if he's not right?" I thought for a second. "Maybe everything turns out for the best."

Jodie rolled, looking right at me. "You don't believe that."

"No, not really."

"What if it's the worst? What will we do?"

I paused again. What if it is the worst? You don't buy car insurance for all the days you drive safely to and from work. You don't have health insurance for the days you feel fine and ready to go. So why am I trying to plan for every contingency? How about if I assume the worst and plan from that? I rolled to Jodie.

"Okay, what if it's the worst. What does that mean and how do we fix it? And those things that can't be fixed, what do we do about them?"

That planning session lasted into the small hours of the morning.

******************

Mom came home, only to find herself locked out. Dad had cut her off, both physically and financially, but she somehow had enough money to not only have a place to stay but to hire a cutthroat attorney. By the end of the week, she was back in the house with us.

To say that things were tense in the house doesn't begin to describe it. While Mom was allowed back in the house, Dad refused to help her bring her things back in the house. Dad went and stayed at a friend's house while looking for his own place, and Mom spent every possible minute trying to win us back to her side. That isn't to say that I was making it easy on her.

One night, a few months after Dad had moved out, Mom came to talk to us. We were both in my room, which was quickly becoming our room.

"Girls," she started, "you have to understand, I don't want to divorce your father. He's the one driving this, not me. I love him..."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I said. "If that's love, I'd hate to see what you do to someone you hate."

"Watch your mouth..." Mom started, "...or what," I finished. "What, are you going to fuck around on me? Destroy my family? Become known as the town whore?"

Mom's eyes got wide. "What, who...no one thinks that of me..." she stammered.

"Not yet, but they will" my mouth growing to a large grin.

I could feel Jodie get tense beside me. I glanced at her and gave a slight shake of my head. "Don't," I whispered.

"She's gonna ruin you!" she yelled, jumping to her feet, running to Mom. "She said that she was going to get pictures of the two of you if you brought him over, and she was going to tell everyone that he was touching her."

"Jodie, what the fuck..."

Mom's eyes narrowed at me. "You would do that? You would lie under oath, send an innocent..."

"Innocent," my voice louder and probably an octave higher.

"...man to prison, ruin my reputation, for something your father is doing?" Mom's eyes teared up. "Do you hate me that much?

I looked at her. One breath. Two breaths. "Yep."

******************

As the divorce rolled through the courts, Mom put on the full court press. Spa days...

"Don't you get enough facials from strangers as is," I threw back at her.

Shopping trips

"No thanks. I like underwear I plan on wearing for more than 40 minutes."

Ice skating

"I'm good. I'm waiting until Hell also freezes over."

Finally, Mom had had it. "Why can't you be like Jodie? She understands. She knows that I still love your father -- all he has to do is stop the divorce..."

"And stand aside while you fuck half the town?" I'll be honest, I didn't see the slap coming. I certainly felt it, and it made me determined to spend even more time at the dojo. Mom, to her credit, looked devastated when she realized what she had done. "Is that something Miles taught you," I asked, having heard her extol his virtues ad nauseum. "Does he now insist on child abuse? Nice, Mom." I looked at Jodie, who had gone white at the sound of the slap. "Make you wonder what she's going to do to you someday," my hand touching my cheek. I slowly walked off to my room, hearing Mom sob on the hallway floor.

From that day forward, she never again asked me to go along with her and Jodie. I get the feeling that I would have been welcomed, but she focused -- no, redoubled -- her efforts on keeping Jodie in the fold. I think she understood that I would never think of her as anything more than the slut my father had the misfortune of marrying, and gave me up as a lost cause.

After more than a year, the divorce was granted. I was under the impression that my age would have granted me the ability to say which parent I was to live with, but this judge apparently didn't see it that way. Mom was granted custody, which meant Dad had to pay child support for Jodie and me, as well as pay for the house and alimony. The worst had, in fact, come to pass.

******************

Time rolled on. I turned 18, which meant Dad's child support for me had ended. I enrolled in community college, to get the prerequisites out of the way, and started teaching classes at the dojo to make money. Dad had a spare room in his apartment, so I moved in there, both to keep my living expenses down, and to help with his living expenses. He wasn't dating, he said he didn't really trust women.

"Present company excepted," he would add with a grin.

He had quit his job with H&R block, so tax time was no longer such a big deal. His new office had an on site gym so, in addition to his stepped up Aikido practices, he was lifting and doing a lot more cardio. The man was ripped, and I was soon going to need to get him back in the dating pool. Both for his own sanity and because I had met a guy, a really sweet guy, and I could easily see an "us" one day. Leaving my father all alone.

Winter turned to spring, spring to summer. I was working harder than ever, teaching multiple classes of large groups of kids. Sensei estimated I was teaching 150 kids and broached the subject of me taking over the dojo. I talked it over with Dad -- he knew I always wanted to teach and this was a great way to get my foot in that door, to see if teaching little ones was something that fit. And I got to teach something I loved, he pointed out.

We thought more on the subject and I agreed to do it. Sensei caught the hesitation, smiled broadly, and asked what was still on my mind. I stammered a little bit and asked about actually buying it outright. He grinned.

"You have been my prize student for years," he said. Letting out a sigh, his head dropped a bit. "You know I married young, years...decades...ago. And she passed just five years into our marriage, a stroke, no warning, just" and he snapped his fingers. "I loved her with all I had, and never wanted another. For the past 60 years, this has been my life. And now...I can't do this any longer, not like I used to. My health won't allow it, my soul won't allow it. You don't need to worry about buying it, I have planned on signing it over to you for a while now. I mean, who else would I trust it to?" A smile reappeared on his face.

"You're signing it over...wait, are you..." I could feel my eyes tearing up at the thought.

"Six months, maybe less." Another sigh. "I would have loved to have had children. To have a part of me carry on." He looked toward the window, seeing something not there, another world where strokes don't take your loved ones away. "A daughter, maybe, who looked like her mother." His gaze refocused. "But she would have your spirit, your soul." He looked me in the eyes. "I know what's been going on these past three years. Finish what you're doing. Don't let it consume you. Use that energy on Billy..."

"William," I corrected, gently, knowing he was teasing.

"...and grow your own family." A pause. "And try to keep an old man in your thoughts, every now and again."

"Will you still teach, so long as you are able?"

"Beats watching Wheel of Fortune," he replied.

And he did, teaching another five months, his final weeks in a chair, instructing in a voice growing weaker by the second. He beat the six month estimate but not by much. I changed the name of the dojo, but kept a large framed photo of Sensei in the main room. So everyone could keep an old man in their thoughts.

***********

Jodie turned 18 and I invited her out to dinner at a local bar and grill the following Friday. She was too young to drink, obviously, but I knew the management and the most of the people who ate there and no one was worried about her underage drinking.

I had told her a week before that I had some dirt on Miles and was going to share it with her at dinner. She came in promptly at 6, with an entourage behind her.

"I'm sorry..." she started.

"You told them," my voice rising, my gaze shooting from Mom to Miles, his bald head gleaming, to some skinny older guy following behind, trailing like a servant awaiting his orders.

"I had to," Jodie said.

Miles and Mom sat in the chairs across the table, Miles directly in front of me, Mom on his right. Jodie sat to my left, and the geek was standing a few steps back, fidgeting from one foot to the other. He looked miserably out of place, and every head was turned in our direction.

"You actually think you can threaten me," Miles started. He stared into my eyes, trying his Svengali act on me. "Tell me what it is that you think you know."

I smirked at him. "Bitch, please. I'm not some cheap slut" -- I heard Mom gasp at that -- "whose panties are going to soak themselves because you looked her way. Now, go away boy, you bother me." I turned to Jodie. "Ready to order?"

"Don't you dare ignore me." I glanced at him, smirked, then turned back to Jodie.

"The burgers here are to die for."

He stood up, and leaned over the table. "What. Do. You. Think. You. Have. ON. ME?" As his voice got louder, I saw some of the other people in the building start to move our way. I made a subtle wave, letting them know it was under control.

I stood up, looked him in the eyes, and calmly said "Fuck off, dickless." Now, this time? I saw the slap coming. I was prepared and with a few moves, had him face down on the floor. Usually, in Aikido, you would twist and hold the attacker, but I quickly stepped back. Miles was up and on his feet in seconds and charged at me.

Until he noticed the guns pointed at him by the off duty police officers. They had witnessed everything and asked if I wanted to press charges. I told them I would, and an on duty police officers showed up and away he went.

Needless to say, dinner didn't quite go as planned. Mom was yelling at the top of her lungs to let Miles go and followed the police and a frog marched Miles out the door.

Miles was inprocessed into the local jail. His lawyer had been contacted but there was no weekend court, so Miles was going to have to spend the weekend in jail. At 11PM, he was taken from his cell and brought to one of the interview rooms, where he was cuffed to the table...and then I was brought in. I could feel his eyes on me as I slowly strolled into the well lit gray room. I pulled out the chair across from him and watched him take a breath in, preparing to start speaking. I held up one finger, in the universal sign for "Wait for it."