Chapter 19: Fatherhood

"Can you drive us to the boat club at five?" Pat asked over the noise of the wind.

She sat on the left hand front seat while Megan had claimed the rear bench. With a well-timed push on the accelerator, Henry was able to shift to a lower gear. The gear box of the ancient Bentley was not synchronised and shifting involved the practised use of engine speeds. Since he had received the Bentley back from the body shop, the twins preferred Henry over Chris to pick them up from school. Climbing into the ancient 4 & 1⁄2 Litre Bentley in front of their classmates was great fun and gave them extra standing. With the weather as nice as it was currently, they could even drive without the canvas roof.

"Sure. Josie will call this afternoon, but after that I'm free," he shouted back.

He and the twins had returned from Barbados on January 4th – much too early for Henry's taste. He and Josie had made the most out of the remainder of their stay. In other words, they had fucked like bunnies for three days straight. Now, three months later, he was missing her like crazy.

Returning to Oxford Manor alone had been anticlimactic. For a few days he had been depressed but Josie had called every evening. She had felt his mood and had tried to lighten it. Gradually, he came out of his funk and their daily phone conversations turned towards their future plans. He knew Josie to be in the negotiations for the merger. These involved her American distribution partners and suppliers, the pension funds and negotiations with the IRS. Roger and his attorney had flown to Atlanta a few times and Andrew was involved at several fronts. From what Henry heard, everything was moving along just fine. He and Josie were planning a wedding in June.

Henry slowed down on the gravel path to the house fearing damage to the new paint from flying stones.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed.

A shiny new BMW 325 was standing in the circular drive way. A woman was waiting beside it, a woman he did not know. He parked the Bentley behind the Beemer and jackknifed out of the driver's seat. The woman was already approaching him.

"Sir, are you Colonel Henry Ruiz-Costa?"

"The same. And, if I may ask, with whom do I have the pleasure?"

"Margaret Fitzsimmons."

She held out a laminated card and Henry read something about the City of Exeter Youth Service. This was confirmed immediately.

"Colonel, I'm a volunteer for Youth Services in Exeter and I came about one of our charges."

Henry was nonplussed. "I don't have living relatives, Miss Fitzsimmons..."

"Mrs. Fitzsimmons!" she corrected him succinctly.

"I'm most sorry. Mrs. Fitzsimmons it is. As I said, I have no living relatives that I am aware of."

"Would you nevertheless give me a few minutes of your time?"

"Certainly, Madam! Girls, please ask Milena to come to the garden room. I hope you won't mind having coffee whilst we talk, Mrs. Fitzsimmons?"

"Not at all, Colonel! Are these your daughters?" she asked watching the twins as they entered the house.

"No, not yet," Henry smiled, already leading the way up the front stairs and into the house. "I plan to marry their mother this summer but they are already staying with me to attend school in Maidenhead. My fiancée is busy selling her American business interests before she'll relocate to England."

"I take it you will file for adoption?"

"Yes, I have no own offspring so far."

He was leading the way to the garden salon. Mrs. Fitzsimmons cleared her throat.

"Actually, that's something to discuss."

Henry looked at her with surprise and a little amusement. "I pride myself as having an excellent memory."

"Colonel, do you happen to know this woman?" She showed him a photograph, a Polaroid snapshot, taken a long time ago and with a pink hue due to age.

Henry looked at the photograph. It showed a young Asian woman with a friendly smile on her face and laughing eyes. He squinted his eyes. The photograph was not a good one, but he knew her at once. He had called her Susie, the name she preferred. Her real name had been somewhat difficult but he remembered it anyway.

"Chien-Mei!" he exclaimed and looked at his visitor. "Chien-Mei Wu! Yes, I knew her about fifteen years ago."

Mrs. Fitzsimmons nodded. "Miss Wu claims that you and she had an intimate relationship in 1991 whilst you were posted in Lympstone, Devon. Is that correct?"

Henry nodded whilst a flood of memories came back to him.

"Yes," he answered. "She was a waitress in a pub in Exmouth where we used to go on weekends." He blushed. "Chien-Mei and I, we became good friends and we dated for a while." He remembered her friendliness and her tenderness. "I hope that she's okay?"

"You broke off the contact?"

"We had to when I was transferred, but we parted as friends. When I visited Lympstone two years later, she was gone and nobody knew whereto."

Mrs. Fitzsimmons looked sad. "After you left, Miss Wu found out that she was pregnant."

"Say what?" To say Henry was shocked was an understatement.

"I'm afraid you understood me correctly. She tried to find out about your whereabouts, but your regiment refused to give her any information."

"I was doing duty overseas. They are not allowed to give addresses to civilians."

"Anyway, she gave birth to a girl and you are listed as the father in her birth certificate. Miss Wu found it hard to support herself and her daughter. She worked as a prostitute on the side to supplement her income."

She stopped when Henry buried his face in his hands. He looked up when no further information came forth.

"Sometime in the late 1990s, she must have become infected with the HIV. The health authorities found out in 1999. She was assisted in finding a job in a social project to get her out of the sex trade. The illness broke out in 2002 in spite of her receiving proper therapy. Her health has been declining ever since, and she is now unable to look after her daughter who has become a temporary ward of Youth Services."

"Where is she now?" Henry asked with a shaky voice.

"She is hospitalised. Her bouts of pneumonia are getting worse."

"I would like to visit her if that's possible."

"You would do that?" Margaret Fitzsimmon's view of Henry Ruiz-Costa improved at an exponential rate. Before the visit, she had assumed that he would roundly deny any contact with the woman and she had come armed with a judge's order for the man to give a DNA sample. Perhaps she could avoid its use.

"Of course! What about the girl? What's her name? Where is she now? How is she coping?"

"Her name is Tamara, Tammy for short. She is with foster parents at the moment, but I'm afraid that she isn't coping well. She is hurt and she's rebellious. She has had a difficult youth trying to cope with the way her mother earned her living. Now her mother has become ill and she feels left alone. Colonel, we need to establish whether you are indeed her father. I would ask you to come to Exeter and deliver a blood sample."

Henry thought quickly. The last thing he could afford was his DNA fingerprint floating around in government databases. He also knew that the Youth Service could get a judge's order to establish parenthood. There was only one way to fend this off and it would also be the right thing to do. He fervently hoped that Josie would see it his way too.

"Mrs. Fitzsimmons, let me talk to Chien-Mei. I trusted her and I'll trust her now. If she tells me that the girl is my daughter, I'll accept it as a fact. I suppose you want me to either take custody of the girl or to support her upbringing. I would like to meet her and get to know her. She should have a say too in what we'll do. I take it that I am on file as her father?"

Margaret Fitzsimmons was surprised and elated. He was indeed named as father on the girl's birth certificate. If Chien-Mei Wu signed over her parental rights and the girl was agreeable, he could take custody immediately, reducing the work for Youth Services dramatically.

"Are you really prepared to accept fatherhood?" she asked to make sure she had heard him correctly.

"I would like to speak to Chien-Mei and I would like to meet Tammy. If I am convinced that she is my daughter, I will not contest Chien-Mei's claims. If I am in doubt, we shall have that DNA test for confirmation. When can you arrange a visit?"

Margaret Fitzsimmons was slightly worried. He might still change his mind. He might talk to his lawyer and file a petition against the blood test. He might even skip the country. She had seen it all. It was best to bring the affair to a conclusion as soon as possible.

"Let me make a phone call if that's all right with you?"

Henry left her alone on the terrace to give her privacy. In the garden salon, he found Milena and the twins.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Pat asked him taking his hand.

"You guys listened in?"

Pat nodded. "We were afraid she was here because of us. We're sorry."

"Never mind," Henry answered. "This is obviously something I won't be able to hide."

"They have you in a bind with that DNA test, haven't they?" Pat mused, once again proving her quickness of mind.

"I have to call your mother. Will you keep Mrs. Fitzsimmons company for a few minutes? Milena, will you bring us coffee? Thanks."

Josie was already awake and she picked up the call after just two rings.

"Hi, Darling!"

Her voice calmed him somewhat.

"Josie, do you remember our talk about possibly having another child in the future?" he started without preamble.

Josie was on guard immediately. "Yes, I remember. What's up?"

"It may just happen faster than we thought. Plus, the child is fourteen years old."

"What?"

"You heard me. I was just informed that I fathered a child back in '91. I had no idea."

"Uh-oh, a one-night stand?"

"No, a little more. She was a waitress at a pub where I used to go. We dated for three months until I was transferred. I never heard of her again until today. I had no clue she was expecting a child either."

"What happened?"

"She is very ill, obviously in the terminal stages, and she can't take care of her daughter anymore. Somebody has to take the girl in."

"Henry, are you worried about my reaction? Honestly?"

"Yes, I guess I am," he sighed.

"Don't be, Darling! I would think less of you if you were to shirk responsibilities. You have taken care of my girls for me and I will do nothing less."

"You take a load off my soul, Josie."

"That's my job, isn't it?" He could almost hear the warm smile. "After all, I love you."

"I love you too," he said with conviction.

"When will you see the girl? What's her name, by the way?"

"Tammy. I don't know when I'll meet her. The caseworker is just now trying to set up a date. I have the feeling she wants to speed things up. She's got to be afraid that I'll bow out when the shock has worn off. You know, skip the country never to be seen again."

Josie laughed.

"She doesn't know you as I do."

"Thanks for the good opinion. What are you doing today?"

"We're meeting with the technical services people. They have to expand to be able to cover the West Coast too. We are making good progress. We are still set to marry in June, never worry."

"I am the luckiest guy in the world!"

"Yes, you are. At least, you are the luckiest you-know-what ever." They were too careful on the telephone to speak openly about their first encounter.

"Okay, Darling. Mrs. Youth Services is waiting on the terrace. I better get back to her. I love you!"

"Love you back!"

When Henry returned to the terrace, Mrs. Fitzsimmons had a determined look on her face.

"I could take you to Exeter this afternoon."

Henry nodded. "I'll drive myself if you don't mind, but we should indeed move ahead. I just talked to my fiancée on the phone and she supports my decision."

"Mr. Ruiz-Costa, you are a very lucky man!"

"I know, believe me! Will you have lunch with us? Milena has already set the table and we should really have a bite before we hit the road."

Mrs. Fitzsimmons accepted and during lunch, Henry told the girls about the development. Milena grinned openly but held back her comments. Megan, by contrast, voiced her reservations.

"Will that change anything between us, Harry?" she could not help but ask.

"Why should it, Megan?" Henry asked, slightly bewildered.

"With your own daughter around we'll be just step-children."

"Don't be silly, Megan!" Pat answered instead of Henry. "We'll just be a bigger family. That's all."

"Pat, as always, you took the words right out of my mouth," Henry concurred taking Megan's hand in his. "Megan, as soon as Josie and I are married, I will file for adoption. That means, you'll be my real daughters too. Okay?"

Meg blushed a little, but she nodded.

"Of course I hope that the two of you will make Tammy feel welcome, if and when she comes to live with us. She did not have a happy youth. She's probably worried sick about her mother and then she has to be worried about what will become of her. So you will be able to help her, give her advice and be a big sister to her. Will you try to do that?"

Megan made big eyes at that, her responsibility dawning upon her. She looked at her sister who gave her an affirmative nod. Megan turned to Henry again.

"But she's got to listen to me! I'll not put up with another know-it-all like Pat!"

Margaret Fitzsimmons had watched the interplay and she felt it was time to add her own five pennies.

"You will have to be patient with her. As your father said, she's been through a lot. Right now, she's angry and confused and she feels betrayed by her mother and by the world. She is not adjusting well with her foster parents and I fear she will need some time to accept her new family, too."

Pat grinned openly. "How very astute of you to call Harry our father to sugar coat the whole thing. Don't worry, we'll be patient, but she won't get away with just any shit either."

After lunch, Henry drove off trailing the BMW. He had to take the new Defender for the long trip. Milena had called Christina at work who would drive the girls to the club later.

They followed the M4 to Bristol and then changed onto the M5. It was after five o'clock when they arrived at Nuffield Hospital.

Chien-Mei looked up when they entered the room. She looked terribly emaciated and her hair was thin, but her warm smile was still there. Henry rushed to the bed and held her hand.

"May I kiss you, Chien-Mei?" he asked and her smile deepened. He took this as a yes and bent down to kiss her cold lips.

"You came, Harry!" she stated.

"Of course I came! Believe me, I had no idea! I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am for what you had to go through."

"It wasn't all bad, Harry. I have a good daughter."

"So I heard. I hope she won't hate me, Chien-Mei."

"Mrs. Fitzsimmons told me on the phone that you will accept my word?"

"Yes, Chien-Mei. Is Tamara our daughter?"

The huge eyes in the skinny head locked into his.

"Harry, I swear to it! You were the only man I slept with back then. You must believe me!"

She became agitated and Henry placed his hand on her arm.

"Ssh! I accept your word. I will go to the Youth Service office tomorrow. I can file for custody or take care of her in any other way."

"Would you take her in? She's really a good girl in spite of what those foster parents claim. She was a good student too, but she is so confused and afraid!"

"Chien-Mei, I talked to my fiancée. We are to marry in June and she will bring her two daughters into the marriage. She has no problems with having a third daughter. We can give Tamara a good home and a fine upbringing if you and she can accept our offer. But let's wait what she says herself. She must be wary of me."

"Thank you," the woman whispered.

"Chien-Mei, if Tamara will live with me it will be hard for her to visit you here in Exeter. I thought about it on the way here. Would you be willing to be transferred to a hospital close to where I live? That way we could take care of you and if you get better, we'll find something close by for you to live."

Her dark eyes conveyed her gratitude. "I'd love that. I don't see my Tammy often, just twice a month when Mrs. Fitzsimmons can bring her. But Henry, I won't get better. I know it and I have accepted it."

A knock on the door interrupted them and Henry looked up. The door opened and a woman he did not know pushed a girl into the room. The girl stared at him. She was rather tall for her age, gangly and skinny. Henry held his breath.

"Come here, Tammy," Chien-Mei said with a surprisingly strong voice and the girl obediently came over to the bed.

Henry stared at her. The dimmed light in the room did not allow for a complete assessment, but he recognised her as his child immediately. She had his mother's nose and lips! Her hair was an unruly mop and her clothes were borderline punk. At least he saw no piercings or tattoos.

"Hi, Mum. I couldn't come last week. The Rawlings didn't have time to drive me."

"That's okay, Darling. Tammy, do you know who this is?"

The girl stared at Henry with distrust written over her face. Henry cleared his throat.

"Tamara, I just had to learn that I'm your father."

Her eyes widened and then her expression changed into anger.

"You have a lot of nerve to come here!"

"Tammy! Behave!" her mother commanded. The exertion made her cough and wheeze and Tammy was all concern immediately.

"I'm sorry, Mum. I'm sorry, but what is he doing here after all those years?"

"Tammy," Henry started another attempt, "maybe you will not believe this" – the girl snorted derisively – "but I it was quite a shock when I learned that I've had a daughter all those years. I really had no idea. Sometimes, fate is cruel. I always wanted to have a family and now I have to learn that I had one all along. I can offer you a home, a real home this time. I won't be your stepfather or foster parent. If we do this, if you want it, I will be your father from now on. We will have to get to know each other of course. I will be patient with you and I must ask you to be patient with me. I will have to learn how to be your father, and I may screw up from time to time."

"Henry will have me moved close to where he lives so you can visit me more often," Chien-Mei whispered, her strength clearly waning. She put her hand on Henry's arm. "I need to sleep a little. I'm getting tired easily these days. Why don't you two get to know each other? Tammy loves Indian food. There's a Curry House around the corner where we used to go when I came here as an outpatient."

Henry nodded and looked at the girl. "What do you say? We can take Mrs. Fitzsimmons along if you want."

He could see that Mrs. Fitzsimmons was not too enthusiastic about that suggestion and Tammy saw it too.

"Nah, let her go home. How do I get back?"

"I can drive you if I have an address."

"I know the way," Tammy assured him. "Okay, Mum. We'll let you sleep."

She bent down and whispered into the woman's ear and Chien-Mei whispered back. Tammy stared at Henry for a moment before she announced that she was ready. Her eyes grew big when she saw Henry bending low to kiss her mother good-bye. Where did this man come from? Her mother had fucking AIDS! Nobody kissed AIDS patients! Well, maybe Princess Diana had done it, but that was when a dozen cameras were pointed at her. Her mother nodded at her and Tammy swallowed hard.

Outside, Mrs. Fitzsimmons gave Henry a card.

"Call me if there is a problem. Please have the girl at her foster parents' before eleven. They are not the most agreeable people as you will find. No need to get her into trouble in her last days with them."

Henry's eyebrow shot up but he stifled his comment. He also observed that Tammy had become distant at the mention of her foster parents. They watched as Mrs. Fitzsimmons drove off.

"So where's that Curry Palace?" he asked.

"Three blocks down here and then left."

"No need to walk back here to pick up the car. Let's drive," Henry said.

Tammy made big eyes seeing the Defender. "Are you some kind of a forester?"

He smiled. "No. I'm just an ex-soldier and I like cars like this."

"My foster father, Horace, was a sergeant. Are you like him?"

"What's he like?"

"Always yelling."

Henry grinned. "No, I'm not like him. But that gives me an idea to make your last days with them easier."

Tammy looked at him shrewdly. "You'll order him to ease up? Were you higher than a sergeant? Turn left here!"

"Not if you listen to sergeants," Henry laughed. "But yes, I retired as Lieutenant-Colonel."

He saw the curry house on the left and stopped at the curb. They got out and Henry steered the girl in. It was a small place, a little smelly but cosy. The owner served them in person and he seemed to know Tammy.