Chapter 4: Crying Time Again

On the way back home I stopped over in San Francisco for a couple of days. Alice had given me the address of an old school friend whom she suspected knew a little more than she was saying about Erica. To be honest I didn't blame her. Alice was relying on the Internet. It could be anyone using Alice's name. Who can tell who is on the other end of an e-mail?

Sheila Carter, or Greenbay as she was now, had been one of our crowd at college. She had visions of being a famous actress. I must say she had the looks and figure for it but we all thought her voice would be her downfall. She had taken off for Hollywood straight from college whilst Erica and I were together. But like most of the hopefuls, she hadn't made it and had finished up marrying an American guy and settling down just outside San Francisco.

As my taxi turned into the quiet suburban road she lived in, I was struck once again as I always was over there that so many of these lovely houses appeared to be made of wood. Wooden houses are rare in England.

As we slowly cruised down the street looking for Sheila's house, I suddenly saw her working in her front garden. The years had taken their toll but she was beautiful as she ever was. Sheila looked up as I opened the taxi's door and instantly recognised me.

"My god, David, you don't look a day older."

"Well, I am girl, but you're just as beautiful as you always were. I've got a damn sight older in the last few years."

"Yes, I was sorry to hear about your wife, but I get the feeling Erica will not be too upset."

"You know where she is then?" I asked.

"Not exactly, But I can give you the address of someone in England who knows where she is. She brought Otterley over here a few years back. Hey, would you like to see some photos of them? You can't have seen either of them since --.

Sheila's sentence dropped off; it was obvious she didn't know how to finish it.

"Not only see them, I'd like to get some copies of them if I can."

"Come inside and meet my husband Milt, I'm sure he can scan them into the computer for you."

With that we went inside and Sheila had showed me the photographs. God, if you had stood Otterley along side my other daughters, I doubt whether anyone could pick her out. Sheila and I talked about Erica and the old times at college. It was apparent that in her efforts to persuade Sheila to part up with some information about Erica and her whereabouts, Alice had filled Sheila in on my recent troubles.

Sheila did say that someone who was acting for Erica's parents had a habit of showing up at regular intervals, asking if Sheila had heard from her. That's why Sheila had been shy about telling Alice what she knew.

I stayed the night at Sheila and her husband's house; the following day She drove me to the airport. For the rest of the flight to London I sat and studied the pictures of Erica and Otterley that Milt had printed out for me.

Abigail met me at Heathrow and took me to where I had left my car. I declined the offer to stay with them at the flat. I told her that Margaret was her mother. If I moved in with the girls it might look as if I was trying to influence them and drive a wedge between them and their mother. Although I would never be able to forgive, Maggie I was acutely aware that the girls needed her.

A strange way to think, I know, considering that I had so recently planned to kill Margaret and myself. But then the human brain is a funny thing. If it is working rationally, what you would like to do and what you actually do are two entirely different things. Thinking back, maybe I always knew I wouldn't be able to take their mother from them.

I checked into a small hotel I knew. It was close to a friend's house and he offered me easy access to the Internet.

The next few days were spent getting my bio clock back in sync and tracking down a couple of people who I thought would be useful to me when I finally confronted the two lovers. Although from what Abigail had told me, Robert had not even tried to contact Margaret, but he was pestering the girls claiming to be their real father.

I thought when it came to it, I had better have some people around to make sure I didn't 'lose it' when it came to the showdown. To be more honest I didn't want my girls seeing Robert and I coming to blows. There would be plenty of time for that later.

It was the Saturday after I had returned to England. The night before I had tied one on a bit with my friend whose computer I had been using. I was awakened by someone knocking on my hotel room door.

"Come in, its open." I yelled, figuring it was room service with my breakfast. I wasn't in the mood to actually get up yet. All that happened was there was another knock on the door.

"Come in, its not locked." I yelled again. 'What the hell, don't the staff here understand English' I thought.

Knock. Knock.

'For Christ's sake' I thought as I dragged myself out of my bed. I strode over to the door; pulling it open, I said "Don't you bloody understand English? Oh! Shit, Erica, what the hell are you doing here?"

"That's a nice way to say hello and do you expect me to just go walking into some strange man's room?"

"Sorry, you took me by surprise. Anyway I know it's been a long time but you can't really call me a strange man. After all we did know each other rather intimately at one time."

Erica ignored my attempt at humour and rushed into an attempt at an explanation of her actions all those years ago.

"Dave! I don't really know what to say to you. I! I was such a fool to believe them. Sheila said you have seen those pictures. Honestly I did think it was you in them with Alice."

"They were good. But you could have asked me about it before you went running off. Look, we can't stand out here all day, I've got to get dressed. Do you want to come in or would you prefer to wait in the lounge? I can be down in a couple of minutes."

"I'd love to come in, but I think it better if I wait in the lounge with Ottie. She can't wait to meet her father, and to be frank I'm not too sure I could control myself if I came into your room."

"That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me in years. Give me five minutes."

I went to give her a kiss but she stopped me.

"Later, Dave, lets not start anything you might not want to finish. I told you I don't trust myself."

She turned and walked down the hall. I dashed back inside and dived into the shower room. I don't think I have ever got shaved, showered and dressed that fast in my life. All right, two small nicks, but I was in a bit of a hurry. Oh! And I buttoned my shirt twice; one button out the first time. The stairs were quicker than the lift and I took them three at a time, with just a little tumble.

As I walked into the lounge, both Erica and Otterley stood up as I entered. A waiter followed me in carrying a tray with coffee and teapots on it, which he placed on the table by the girls. Then he made a point of closing the doors as he left. It appeared Erica had arranged us some privacy.

"David, I'd like to introduce you to your daughter, Otterley."

Otterley did not wait for me to respond. She came rushing over, threw her arms around me and kissed me on the cheek.

"Um, hello, Otterley, I must say you appear to be somewhat larger and a lot more beautiful than you were when I last saw you."

"Thank you, Daddy" She replied with tears in her eyes, "You don't know how long I've waited to be able to call you that. I have been so jealous of the others."

"You know about my other daughters?"

"I not only know about them, I've met some of them."

"Met them, when?"

"Sorry, daddy, I've been a bit of a stalker. I've watched you for years. I even went to night-school with Ashley."

"Oh, God, of course Ottie. Ashley said there was a girl who looked just like her at the college. And you didn't tell her who you were?"

"Come on, father, how could I? What do you think Ashley would have said if I suddenly announced to her that I was her half-sister? I know that you never told her I existed. It was up to you to tell her first."

"Good point. I had always thought you were on the other side of the world and would never meet. But I think it could well have put the cat among the pigeons if your existence had become common knowledge."

"Sorry, I don't understand what you mean."

"Never mind, just a little twisted and somewhat sick private joke of mine. You might understand it one day." I turned to Erica, "Well, Erica, what have you got to say for yourself."

"You will never know how sorry I am about what I did to you, Dave!"

"God, girl I didn't mean that. I've seen those bloody pictures; Christ, Alice had to remind me that we had never got together. But why have you hidden from me all these years?"

"You were married. I couldn't interfere in your marriage."

"A marriage. Is that what it was? A pity my wife never realised."

"If Robert was involved, she might not have been to blame."

"It takes two to tango girl, you know that."

"You've still got that annoying habit."

"Pardon."

"When you're angry you always called me Girl."

"Shit, sorry, have I always done that?"

"Yes, you have. But I'm not a girl. I'm a married woman."

"Oh shit, who's the lucky man?"

"You are, you idiot! But you died!"

"That's news to me. Er, just when did we get married and how did I die?"

"I found it easier to be the grieving widow than the unmarried mother. So you died in a car crash."

"Why not just play the divorcee?"

"Oh, the gay divorcee. That would have been good. I was trying to keep the wolves at bay not encourage them."

"I see and what about this wolf. Are you going to chase him away?"

"I don't know. If he plays his cards right and after he gets his divorce sorted out, he could well find himself getting resurrected. But it is going to confuse a lot of my friends."

With very few words Erica and I appeared to be almost back where we were twenty five years ago. At complete ease with one another, as it had been when we first met. We didn't have to say much because we both knew what the other was thinking and feeling.

"We've made a bit of a mess of it, haven't we." I said to Erica.

"You didn't. I did; I should have trusted you."

"Hey, that isn't what I meant. But from here on we have got to do things right."

"I haven't got the faintest idea what you two are on about." Otterley commented.

"We should have said 'sod them', and got married in the first place," I said. "But then I wouldn't have my other daughters."

"And why not? I wasn't worn out you know."

"Shit, I didn't mean that."

Erica started laughing. And I realised she was taking the rise out of me.

"I'm sorry, Dave, but you walked into that. I hope your girls will accept me as their stepmother. That's providing you'll have me."

"They won't have much choice, that is providing you find you can put up with me. I must have some pretty big faults to drive Margaret into Robert's arms."

"If you don't mind we'll take things slowly, or as slowly as I can manage. I'll tell you now we'll have none of your funny stuff until you've sorted things out with your wife. Otterley will act as our chaperone."

"My ex-wife you mean. But tell me how the hell did you find me here?"

"The Internet. I think Alice must have e-mailed everyone in the world. My e-mail was swamped with reports that you were looking for me. But we didn't trust my dad. He's tried some real slimy tricks in the past to find me. It was only when I heard you had turned up at Sheila's that I dared to believe it was really you who was trying to find me."

"We could only have missed you at the airport by minutes. Then we had to wait until Alice could get the hotel's address out of Yvonne. What with the time difference and everything it's taken us ages."

"You dashed all the way up from Dorset to meet me at the airport?"

"Dorset? We don't live in Dorset. We live in Reading; Dorset was a smoke screen for my folks. I've got a friend down there who sends post on for me and then of course Sheila sends some on as well and you remember Gary Anderson, he does the same from Montreal. I think it's kept my parents confused."

"Well, when you decide to marry me, I think we should put an announcement in the paper down there. That should piss them off royally."

Just then we were disturbed when someone knocked on the door. It opened and the hotel porter stuck his head around it. "Excuse me, sir, but there is a young lady out here who wishes to see you."

I was just about to say 'send her in' when I thought I had better see who it was first. I didn't know how 'old' this old codger called 'young', if it was Margaret it was going to mess up my plans if she saw Erica and Otterley. It turned out to be Abigail so I gestured for her to enter the lounge.