Chapter 22

I wheeled myself across the floor waiting for I knew not what. Was I being unreasonable? I supposed that on any number of levels I was. But, all of that being true, it was also true that I was right! I was going to be relegated to second class citizenship; and while I was willing to accept the truth of that, I was not willing to accept any pretense that such was not the case.

They’d done so much for me that I was willing to accept my status. Yes I was. But I was going to demand that I be tendered at least the respect of them openly acknowledging that I was in fact right, and that no pretenses were to be entertained that, again, such was not the case. I was going to insist on it. I was going to make that point more than plain to the man once he arrived.

The baby was still down by the time my rival arrived with the twins.

“Well, it’s good you could finally see your way clear to make it up here,” said Owen.

The children, the twins, had greeted me formally and actually given me kisses on my cheek, my left cheek upon arriving.

“Yes, well, I’ve been super busy, and I’ve had some medical stuff to deal with, my legs actually,” I said. Lying to the man came easy, not sure how I felt about that.

“Hmm okay, I guess if you couldn’t make it. But Sam, you need to move up here and sooner rather than later,” said Owen.

“Yeah, that’s what your woman said. And, I may actually consider it at some point, but only if we can all deal with each other on a realistic and truthful level,” I said. “And truth being an absolute.”

“Not sure what you mean,” said Owen.

“I will not allow myself to be disrespected or treated like a child, like I didn’t know anything. I will not,” I said.

“Huh?” he said. “I mean of course not. We would never do that not even by accident.”

“Owen, tell me with a straight face, that if I moved back here in order to be close to the children, that I could ever possibly hope to be the children’s number one daddy, the decision maker as it were,” I said. “And I do mean in all important matters regarding them.”

“We’ve been over this, Sam. You and I would share that duty. The one thing I can assure you of is that you will not be relegated to any second class citizenship per your fatherhood. I promise you that,” he said.

“Hmm, and if I moved back here, and had a decent place to live, and maybe eventually have a woman to share my bed and everything; would I be ‘allowed’ to have the children stay with me half of the time?” I said.

“Well, I’m sure Abigail and I would consider such an arrangement,” he said.

“You’d consider it? You’d ‘maybe’ allow it?” I said.

“Well yes. I mean the children would have some say in arrangement like the one you’re proposing here of course,” he said. “They’re ten years-old now, Sam. I mean...”

“The children? My son is a baby, and yes the twins are older, but still too young to be making those kinds of choices. Especially if it’s between some poor guy like me and a rich guy like you. I mean, well, you can imagine who they’ll chose, what they’ll choose. And you’re saying they’d have the choice to stay with you or with me?” I said, “I mean at their ages.”

“Well, I mean we’d need to consider their feelings, Sam. I mean don’t you think?” he said.

I’d clearly stopped him cold. He had to realize, as I certainly did, that the middle class hovel that at best that I’d be able to afford would pale by comparison to castle Cord.

“You see why I am so sure that I will never be daddy number one, nor even equal daddy. I will always be sucking hind titty because you can simply out spend me. This is a waste of time. I should never have come up here. You two are liars. I’ll be leaving now. You and my ex have a nice life, yuh hear!” I said.

I didn’t exactly storm out, well I was in a wheelchair, but I did almost knock Abigail down who’d finally brought the baby out of the back room to meet me. I didn’t even look at him as I headed for the door.

“Sam! Where are you going!” she said.

“Ask your man,” I said. And then I was gone.

And then it was 2011. After the fact, they didn’t even try to call me on the phone. We were done. We were for sure done. Phoenix might never see my face again. And certainly not castle Cord regardless.

But there was Lana, and there was the VFW, and there was our future. And our future, if not exactly bright, at least it had purpose, something that had been sorely lacking since my return to the states after my stint in the brown dirt country.

Lana and I had a lot in common, and we needed each other. Apart from our more or less satisfying love life, there was the confluence of prime attributes: she had legs, and I could see. I had a truck that I could drive us places in. And she had the movie start looks, well in my opinion, and I had the good luck to be her consort.

We often got looks from the locals. The gawking was a problem, but more so for me than for her, since she couldn’t see them, and I could. I was so damn ugly that I’m sure the gawkers were also jokers. Well, I had to allow that a woman that looked like Lana would never even come near a guy that looked like me. Hell, if I made Abigail’s skin crawl to be near me how would any other woman react. Kind of a given that—badly.

I was thirty-five years-old and Lana was thirty-four, and we, the two of us finally had a life worth living. In spite of being blind, Lana turned out to be an excellent homemaker. It did take some getting used to how to do things and that mostly by me. But once we’d gotten our routine established: what went where, and when we did whatever, and those without exception; life in hovel Bradshaw-Meacham went smoothly. It should be noted here, that we did not marry. She was a bit skittish because she couldn’t see me. And me because of the reality that she couldn’t see me. Well, there was always the possibility that she could find a surgeon willing and able to somehow someway give her back her sight. At any rate we were happy, at least relatively so.

And what of the family Cord. Did I think about them now that I had a woman? Yes, of course I did, well the children. And, okay, my super beautiful ex-wife too: the one whose skin I made crawl. But as to that, I could relate; hell, I made my skin crawl too. I had gotten used to, well, me; but there was no way I was ever going to ‘like’ me; so maybe I was being too hard on the woman.

And the upshot of my unceremoniously leaving that day? They had apparently written me off. It would be a long time before I would see any of them again, seven years actually. Still...

2012

“Mom,” said Mia, now fifteen years-old, out of a clear blue sky, “why is it that we never see our other dad anymore?” Her mother smiled.

“Your dad, your other dad, Mister Bradshaw, decided that he wanted to live somewhere else and not be a part of this family. But maybe one day we’ll all see each other again. Who knows,” said Abigail Cord.

“He sure was ugly,” said Mia. “But, I still kind of miss him, mom.”

“Well, so do we all,” said Abigail, “but the man has to want to be here, and well, he doesn’t. But, like I say, maybe someday.” Her daughter nodded and it was a questioning nod.

The two women looked toward the front toward the of home’s atrium where a commotion was suddenly underway.

“Daddy, I want to go!” demanded Sarah coming into the room.