Two Daughters

"What you are telling me is that Doctor Dick bought your love pretty much as he did with your mother's..."

"No, Dad, please... Don't ever think that. I am and always will be your daughter."

I could see how much she was suffering from this decision so I decided to back off. She'd made up her mind and there was nothing I could say or do to change her decision.

"I'm not trying to give you a hard time, Eli. I'm just trying to let you see my side of the situation. If you don't want to see me every other weekend, fine. I have to accept your decision, no matter how much it hurts."

My daughter didn't say anything. She just looked at me with tears in her eyes.

"Allow your poor father to teach you one last lesson and then I'll be out of your life for good and let you enjoy your time with your new family and your new friends."

Elise looked at me.

"One day you're going to meet a boy that will rock your world. You'll be head over heels in love with him, and you won't be able to wait for him to propose so you can be together all the time."

My daughter nodded.

"The day he proposes you, take a good look at the ring on your finger. Think what accepting his ring means. Accepting an engagement ring means that your heart, body, and soul belong exclusively to your man. It means that you're now putting all your efforts into building a life that involves the two of you. Only the two of you. From that moment on, you're a team. You trust each other with your lives."

I paused to let my words sink in.

"But if you feel that you are only accepting the ring till a better man comes along. If you want to be with your man only till a wealthier man comes along, then he deserves to know what he's getting into. Tell him 'I'll be with you and I'll be faithful to you as long as you earn enough money to provide for the life I deserve'. Don't make promises like 'forsake all others" or to stay at his side 'for richer, for poorer' if you are not willing to keep your word. The choices you make show your morals and standards. When you say you will do something and don't do it, you teach others, and yourself, that you can't be trusted. And love can't survive without trust. I pray and hope you'll remember my words and do the right thing on the day of your engagement."

My daughter was listening to me carefully, tears now rolling down her cheeks.

"May I have one last hug?"

Elise nodded through her tears. My own eyes were shining, tears finally running down my cheeks.

"I'll see you on Christmas, Dad," my daughter said between sobs.

I nodded.

When the hug was over I spun around and walked away without looking back.

I was expecting to hear Elise's voice calling me, saying that she still wanted me to be part of her life, but it never happened.

I climbed on my truck and cried my heart out. I cried a lot, the sort of agonizing tears where you feel paralyzed and helpless.

The moon was shining in the sky when I finally started the engine and drove back to my place.

CHAPTER 3

In the month leading up to Christmas, I went through every emotion possible. Hurt, sadness, anger, grief. I texted my daughter and she texted back, but I could feel her heart wasn't in it.

I spent the whole of December with an iron pit in my stomach, feeling a lump rise in my throat each time I thought of celebrating Christmas without my daughter.

I didn't get a Christmas tree because I knew every time I saw the fir smugly sparkling at me I'd remember and feel bereft once more.

On Christmas Eve, I waited in vain for a call or a text from my daughter. I never got any. I called but my calls went straight to voicemail. I went to their house, but the guard at the gate told me that they had left on a trip. I went to the pub and necked beer like I was twenty again. I went back to my place tipsy, ready to wake up alone on Christmas day for the first time in my life.

Spending Christmas alone forced me to realize I had lost my daughter for good.

The only thing keeping me in town was Elise, and now she'd turned her back on me too. Maybe one day she'd change her mind. Or maybe she'd embrace harder her new way of life and she'd forget completely about me. One thing was sure, I was not going to die every day waiting for her call.

My sense of self was destroyed. I had been completely emasculated. I felt like I'd been taken out with the trash. After the Christmas fiasco, I didn't bother to call or text my daughter anymore. She had my number if she wanted to reach me.

I needed a change of scenery and I needed it now! Things weren't the same and I didn't want to stay in town anymore.

Then, as a sign from Heaven, I got a call from the realtor saying the house had finally been sold. Since it was just my name on the deed and Ohio is not a community property state, I didn't need the whore's signature to sell it. She didn't ask for anything in the divorce, except the 30% she took from our savings, so I didn't feel the need to inform her about it.

As soon as I got the money from the house, I quit my job and cashed my 401k. Even after paying the penalty and taxes, I got a nice sum of money.

I sat down and calculated how much money I could leave my daughter to help her with her college. I didn't care that doctor Dick was paying for it. She was still my daughter.

I made the check and paid a cheap lawyer to give it to my daughter only after she read the letter that I enclosed with it.

Dear Elise:

There is too much to say and I have mixed feelings about what I even want to say.

I never thought that making good money meant so much to you. I never thought that your mother cared about it either. I was obviously clueless about you two. I always taught you that greatness is in the heart, not in the wallet.

Be careful how you live your life, because life is about learning to put principles into practice.

I want to thank you for telling me in my face when you decided that your life was better without me in it. It took guts to look me in the eyes while you were breaking my heart. I respect you for that.

I want you to know that I love you very, very much. That's why your decision ripped my heart out of my chest. You have no idea how much you hurt me. Spending Christmas alone without even a text from you just killed me. Maybe one day our relationship can be healed, but right now I need to move away from here and do my best to put my life back on track.

Now I'm sure you are not in my corner.

I'm happy you found a new exciting life and a future full of opportunities. I'm sad I no longer have a place in it.

Money can buy lots of things. I never thought your love was one of them.

Have a good life.

Dad

I sold everything I had except my tools and bought a second-hand camper. I paid in cash.

Before leaving town I took my delayed revenge on Doctor Dick and the slut.

I sat on the computer and designed a flyer. It looked like one of those old WANTED signs.

Doctor Dick Cavanaugh. Surgeon at Ohio Health Mansfield Hospital.

He cheated on his first wife and she divorced him.

He went after my wife and seduced her with gifts and presents. They cheated on me for months before she asked me for a divorce.

He also used his money to buy my daughter away from me.

You can congratulate him on his newly bought family at this number...

I added the asshole's phone numbers in big characters.

You can also call the good doctor at the hospital. The receptionists are waiting for your call.

Just be careful, if he likes your family he might want an upgrade and buy it away from you.

In the lower half of the poster, I added a photo of the whore that I knew she hated and wrote:

WIFE FOR SALE.

Louise Olson aka Louise Cavanaugh. She cheated on me and had sex with Doctor Dick Cavanaugh for months.

If you make more money than a surgeon you might be able to buy her. Ask for a test drive before buying. She comes with a high-maintenance daughter.

You can congratulate Louise for trading up at this number.

I added the whore's number in big black characters.

Louise was in such a hurry to get rid of me that she only took Doctor Dick's presents into her new life. One of the things she left behind was the family computer. It was a pleasant surprise to realize that I was able to access my ex-wife's and my daughter's email accounts.

I sent a digital version of the poster to all their contacts and every other person I could think of. I also printed 5000 copies of the poster and for an extra fee, they added them to Sunday's edition of the Columbus Dispatch.

I also got access to the email exchanges between the whore and doctor Dick. I copied them into a flash drive. They might be useful if they decided to sue me.

To prevail in a civil lawsuit for defamation, you must prove to the court that the defamatory statement made against them was false. Any good lawyer would tell them that a trial would only attract more attention to them and their actions.

When I finished my tasks, the sun was rising. I was exhausted but satisfied.

On the way out, I bought a new phone with a new number.

I climbed in my camper and drove away from my past life.

CHAPTER 4

The camper became my home during the next weeks. The first miles of the drive was quiet with me in deep thought, and I didn't register a thing in my mind. There were a lot of things I had missed because I had to work hard to provide for my family. Now that I was free, I was determined to check all the squares on my wish list. I had never been more than a hundred miles away from my hometown since I got married. My last years had been devoted to working and being a husband and a father. Not anymore.

My original plan was to drive from Ohio to Wyoming and find a steady job there. But once I got there, I decided to keep traveling west. I drove on back roads discovering the small towns of America.

Wherever I found an opportunity to weld something for cash, I stayed a few days. I never stuck around in one place for more than a few weeks unless I found a nice view or a nice community.

Over the next months, I worked my way through America, driving at the speed of life.

I didn't try to pretend all was well. The grief and the anger were still there. Some days I was moody and cried myself to sleep. The future I had envisioned had been shattered. The people I had loved and devoted myself to had deeply hurt me and then deserted me. Even when the loss was devastating, even though my path had taken a twist, I still believed that I could have a good future. You know what they say, "the best revenge is a life well-lived."

Of course, I wanted to show my ex-wife and my ex-daughter that I succeeded despite what they did to me. This might be a part of it, but I believed that the most important aspect was that I proved myself that I was capable of moving on without dwelling on the past and obsessing about balancing the ledger.

I had been three months on the road when I decided to call my mom. She and my sister were the only ones who had my new number. I'd asked them not to share it with anyone.

Mom told me she had been getting some really angry calls and threats from the whore because of the WANTED poster. She had dropped words such as libel and defamation. However, no one had come looking for me at her home.

My daughter had also called wanting to get in touch with me. I suppose she was angry with me too.

"How are you holding up, Paul?"

"Some days are better than others, but I'm okay, mom. I made the right choice leaving town. I feel much better being on the road. I still can't stop seeing myself as a loser and keep asking myself what I did wrong."

"Don't do this to yourself, son. Why are you seeing the world through your ex-wife's and Dr. Douchebag's value system? You wanted a loving wife; she wanted a stepping stone to something better. You were never compatible. It could well be she was your stepping stone to something much better, a future partner who values you. By my standards, you're a much better person than any of them."

"I think you might be a bit biased when it comes to me, but thanks for saying it, mom."

"I really mean it, Paul. You're a great father and an amazing husband. You worked lots of hours to give your family the best life you could. You sacrificed college for them. You were always there for your daughter. You also stayed faithful to your marriage. This makes you a good person. You can keep your head high, you did nothing wrong. What about them? Two shallow people caring only about material things. Louise was a really awful woman who cheated on the person who loved her deeply and stabbed him in the back. Your ex-wife and that doctor are not, and never will be, better than you. It doesn't matter how good they look on Facebook, or how much money they make. Your flyer forced them to look at themselves in the mirror. And they didn't like the reflection. Once the fantasy and sparkles fade, they'll cheat on each other as well. I bet Elise is wondering if she made the right choice siding with them. Elise is a smart girl. You raised her well. She'll figure it out sooner or later."

"Too bad I won't be there to see it."

"Never say never, Paul."

"I don't think so. Last time we spoke Eli was thrilled by the excitement of the new lifestyle Doctor Dick was providing her."

"Well, Son, not all that glitters is gold. I heard their membership at the club is under review. Their circle of friends is not as big as it used to be. Most of the people don't like cheaters. People at the hospital are not happy with them either."

"Not my problem anymore, Mom. I love you. Tell Sis I said hi."

"I love you too, Paul. Thanks for calling."

CHAPTER 5

I called my daughter using a public phone and she started lashing me out as soon as she heard my voice. I wished I would have been wrong about her reason to call me.

"I'm mad at you, Dad. That horrible poster ruined my life. Why couldn't you leave us alone?"

"I didn't ruin your life. Your mother's cheating did. Goodbye Elise. Don't ask me to call you again."

I hung up on her.

I was driving through a nice city in the northwest called Middletown when I saw a mini-complex which included a food court and a multi-purpose center that accommodated passenger vehicles, trucks, and vans. After some months on the road, my camper deserved a bath. When my wheeled home disappeared through the various stages of a high-tech computerized assembly line, I walked around and I stood at a nearby school playground to watch the kids playing.

The school grounds seemed to be open to the community. I saw some people walking their dogs.

A child walked fast in front of me. She was short, skinny, with scraped knees, and her clothes were old, used, ragged.

A bunch of loud girls was coming after her.

"Hey, Sabrina! Where is your dad?" a fat blonde bully shouted.

Laughter broke out on the playground.

I had been in her situation when I was a kid. I never had new sneakers and my clothes were always clean but they weren't new. There was something in the girl's black eyes I recognized. It was a mix of shame and fear, but also pride. This mouse could roar if they pushed her enough.

"I have a dad," she said in a small voice. "Everybody has one."

"Is his name on your birth certificate, dim bulb?" the blonde sneered.

Sabrina winced and tried to walk away, but the bully wasn't the kind of girl you turn your back on

"Only losers don't have dads." The fat blonde grinned and grabbed Sabrina's arm and spun her around.

"Do you even have a birth certificate? I hear you and your mother eat garbage. They say that your dad hated you and your mom so much he dumped you both in an alley and took off."

It never ceases to amaze me how cruel some kids can be. My mind was now flooded with old unpleasant memories of my own childhood. Growing up in a family where money was tight had placed a bulls-eye on my back too.

Sabrina tightened her lips along with her fists.

I stood up and approached the group ready to put a stop to things if they got out of control.

The group of girls continued bothering her, calling her names, and so on, while Sabrina was doing her best to ignore them. Then the blonde tossed one final taunt, "Everyone says your mother is a whore. I bet right now she is having sex with someone to buy your lunch."

The group erupted in laughter.

"What did you say?"

The group went silent.

The blonde bully stood an inch away from Sabrina's face, wearing a nasty grin that said she'd been waiting for this. "I said your mom is a whore. The only job she could get is letting other men fuck her."

Sabrina socked the blonde as hard as she could in the soft belly.

While the blonde writhed on the ground, Sabrina said quietly, "Don't ever talk about my mom again."

The blonde jumped at her and hit her in the face giving her a bloody nose. I thought it was time to stop being just a spectator.

"Enough!" I shouted. I lifted my gaze and the group of mean girls shrank back. I'm 6'2" so from the perspective of a group of sixth-grade girls, I was a towering monster.

The bunch of girls looked at me and ran away carrying the fat blonde with them who was grabbing her stomach and cussing.

As I approached Sabrina, she stared at me with a resigned look in her eyes. I tried to calm her.

"I know how it feels to be bullied. I was bullied myself when I was around your age," I confessed. I stood a few inches away from her to show her I had no intention of hurting her.

"I'd be scared if I were you. Here have this." I offered her a tissue to clean her nose.

Sabrina took a seat on a bench and dabbed at her nose with the tissue.

"Someone is going to come and take me to the Principal's office. They always do." She informed me.

"I'd like to go with you and tell them what happened here," I offered sitting at her side but still keeping my distance.

She didn't nod, but something changed behind her eyes as if she were reassessing me. She watched me, her eyes taking in everything from the unflinching gray of my eyes to the tips of my dusty sneakers.

As Sabrina predicted, someone came looking for her. She introduced herself as the Principal's secretary and asked me who I was. I informed her that I was passing by and I had witnessed the whole scene.

She guided us through some hallways and finally stood at the closed door that read Principal and knocked.

"Come in," a female voice invited from the inside.

"There's been a fight on the playground." The Secretary said.

The principal of Middletown Elementary looked as if Fräulein Rottenmeier and Lord Voldemort had produced a child.

"What happened?"

"We've got one in the nurse's office with a bellyache the size of the Sears Tower." She pointed at me and said, "This man says he saw what happened."

"Call the parents," The Principal ordered.

"Already done."

Sabrina winced.

"Do you want to tell me what happened out there, Mr...?" The Principal asked. She glanced at my wrinkled shirt and worn-out jeans which I hadn't had time to change.

"Paul Olson." I extended my hand she shook it. She had a tight grip. Her eyes never left mine.

She offered me a seat and I told her everything that had transpired in the playground, adding a few personal comments about bullies.

At that moment, a woman entered the Principal's office. She was in her thirties and wearing a waitress uniform.

"What happened?" asked the woman, whom I supposed was Sabrina's mother.

"I messed up," Sabrina said.

"What the hell?" her mother's mouth tightened.

Sabrina held out her hand. Without missing a beat, her mother reached into the pocket of her uniform and pulled out a quarter.