Chapter 36: Carla, Penny, Tasha, and Veronica

March 3, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

Carla Rizzi stood on the sidewalk, holding the hand of a little girl beside her. Carla looked more or less the same as she had the last time I'd seen her, and the little girl, who had to be Rachel, was the spitting image of her mother. In a sense, that was a relief, because if she'd looked anything like my mom or my sister, I'd have been worried.

"Steve, this is Rachel. Rachel, this is my friend Mr. Adams."

"Hi, Mr. Adams," she said.

I almost gave my reflexive response to ask her to call me 'Steve', but I decided at the last second to bite my tongue and let that go.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I heard from my lawyer today. I don't know anything about DNA testing, but Rachel is yours, Steve. There's no way she can be anyone else's."

"I don't see how that's possible. The testing method they used is better than 99.99% accurate with just one parent's sample, and they had samples from all three of us, which makes it 99.99999%. They've done the test twice now, and each time in a different lab. Rachel has no markers that match me, but not you. The science is sound."

"Well, then Rachel was conceived by the Holy Spirit, because after you, I wasn't with anyone until she was almost two-years old."

"I'm not sure what you want me to do," I said. "I don't believe she's mine. If she is, why wait four years, and then sue me? Why not tell me immediately?"

"I was afraid at first. And then when I decided I needed to tell you, I talked to a lawyer who advised me not to see you. I'm breaking his rule right now."

"And I'm going against the advice of my attorney just by talking to you. I really shouldn't be."

"She's your daughter, Steve. I don't know what else to say. I've been with two guys. You, and then three years later my fiancé."

"I don't know what to say other than that the DNA test was conclusive, and that really has to be the end of it."

"You'd cast off your daughter, just like that?" she asked.

"She's not my daughter, Carla. That's the bottom line. Now I need to go."

I started down the street, ignoring Carla's pleas to stop and come back. The entire situation really made no sense to me at all. She could just marry her guy, and they could raise her daughter together. Gwen had said that Carla had a comfortable salary at a photography agency, though she'd moved on from working for Dustin. Supposedly, her fiancé was a shift supervisor at a warehouse and made a comfortable salary as well. Winning 20% of my salary in child support wasn't going to change their lifestyle in any significant way, assuming that they could get that much. It simply made no sense.

When I arrived home, I greeted Jessica, Kara, and Birgit, and went straight to my study. I dialed Gwen's after-hours number and her service promised that she'd call me right back. Less than five minutes later, the phone rang, and when Gwen identified herself, I told her what had happened.

"You admitted nothing?"

"Correct. I said that the DNA tests were conclusive, and that Rachel is not my daughter. I do agree with you, though. Carla is convinced that I'm Rachel's father, and that has me thoroughly confused."

"That's what has all of us confused. You, me, Jamie, and the attorney at his firm I use as co-counsel for appeals. We all agree that her deposition indicated that she really believes that you're the little girl's father. But all the evidence weighs against it."

"Except that I slept with her at around the right time."

"Yes, except for that. But that's not conclusive and has no real probative value with the DNA tests weighing against her. So you had sex with her? That just makes you a potential parent. The DNA says that you aren't."

"OK. What do I do if she shows up again?"

"Deny it again, the same way you did. And ask her to leave you alone. If she doesn't, then I'll likely need to file for a restraining order. You don't want this woman messing up your life, harassing you, your family, your business, or your children."

"No, I don't. I'll keep you posted. Thanks, Gwen."

"You're welcome. Have a good night and a good weekend."

We hung up, and I went to the kitchen to check on dinner. Veronica was cooking, and Jesse was doing his best to help. Or get in the way. Or a combination of both, which was fit for a three-year-old.

"Want me to take him?" I asked.

"No! Jesse help!" he insisted, climbing onto the step-stool so he could reach the counter.

"He's fine, Steve," Veronica said. "I'm watching him and keeping the sharp objects away from his grubby little paws."

"If I'm going to eat that," I said with a small laugh, "I'm hoping he at least washed those 'grubby little paws'."

"He did!"

"OK. I'm going to go find the rest of the crew. I assume Kara and Elyse have the other two?"

"Yes, they took them when they came home."

"Thanks!" I said, then went to find my wives and kids.

They were in the sunroom with Jessica. After I kissed the girls, I sat down and Matthew toddled over for a kiss, and Birgit crawled in my direction. When she got to the chair, she pulled herself up standing with a bit of help from Matthew and I scooped her into my arms.

"How's my big girl?" I asked, kissing her forehead. "And Matthew is a good brother to help you!"

"B'igit not walk," Matthew said.

"No, she can't. Not yet anyway. Can you, Pumpkin?"

"Dada!" she gurgled.

"Your adoring fans!" Jessica teased.

"I saw Carla and Rachel today," I said. "They were waiting when I came out of the office at 5:30pm."

"Wait!" Elyse said. "That dark-haired woman with the little girl who looked like her? They were at the bus stop when I left the office just after 5:00pm. I had forgotten what she looked like."

"I suspect so," I said. "She told me that Rachel is mine and can't be anyone else's."

"DNA tests are conclusive," Kara said. "And they did two of them with all three samples. And the results matched. The margin of error is so small across two tests that it's simply not possible. It really is simple biochemistry and statistics; ask Kurt if you need confirmation."

"No, I trust you. Kurt said the same thing back when this all started. And so have the articles in The Economist and other things I read. But she swears she wasn't with anyone until Rachel was two. The strange part is, I think she really believes that."

"Something happened to her," Elyse said. "Think about it. She's blocking it out. Talk to Bethany if you need to. That's the only thing that makes sense. It more or less happened with Jennifer blocking out memories from when she was younger."

"I suppose that's possible, but from everything I've seen and heard, Carla's a normal, well-adjusted, single mom with a good job that pays a decent wage, and is engaged to a guy who has a good job that pays a decent wage. She doesn't strike me as the victim of some kind of abuse or rape or whatever. Jennifer had ALL the signs; I just didn't know enough to recognize them. Bethany told me about it, so it was easier to relate her behavior to the assault. If she hadn't, I might have just thought she was nervous and shy."

"So now what?" Jessica asked.

"Now nothing. As I said to Elyse at the office earlier today, it's over except for any appeals, and Gwen and Jamie both think those are going nowhere, and there's nothing for me to do. I just spoke to Gwen, and she instructed me to tell Carla to leave me alone if she happens to come back. If she doesn't give up, then Gwen will obtain a restraining order. Rachel is a cute kid, by the way. The spitting image of Carla."

"Before I forget, your tickets for the Penguins game at the Chicago Stadium arrived," Kara said. "I put them on your desk. Who's going?"

"You, me, Jess, Dave, Julia, Terry, Penny, and Elyse. Don't forget that Penny and Terry are coming to dinner this Sunday evening. Zeke and Tasha will be here, too; Penny said it was OK."

"Has she behaved?" Jessica asked.

"Yes, about as well as Penny can ever behave. She loves her innuendo and her double entendres."

"I bet," Jessica laughed.

"How was work today?" I asked.

"I think every kid in the city of Chicago has influenza, that's what I think!" she laughed. "Other than one broken finger from ice hockey practice, it was all sick kids. How was your karate today?"

"Good. These classes will be pretty easy to lead. It's just taking up time in the middle of the day. It also means I really can't visit customers except on Tuesdays and Thursdays, unless it can be done first thing in the morning. I double-checked and Jolene can't cover lunch, even in an emergency."

"What did Sensei Jim do?"

"Canceled class. But other than Stephie's funeral and his vacation, I don't recall him ever doing that. But then again, I didn't pay close attention to these classes."

"Dinner is ready," Veronica announced.

We gathered up the kids and headed to the dining room.

March 5, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

Jessica, Kara, Birgit, and I were cuddled in bed on Sunday morning. It was really nice to have the day off, and for Jessica to be on a regular schedule.

"Did you two do your homework for Doctor Green yet?" Kara asked.

"I did," Jessica said.

"Not yet," I answered. "Writing down what I want out of life is a tough proposition. The marriage question was pretty easy."

Jessica laughed, "A mutually satisfactory sex life. I swear, Tiger, did you even need to write that?"

"He told us to be thorough and not leave anything out!"

"So why is this week's question more difficult?"

"Because other than children and grandchildren, which are kind of trite answers, I don't know for sure. Part of the problem is that life so far has taught me that things, and even people, are ephemeral and transient. Sometimes I wonder if it really matters. If I really can make a meaningful difference."

"You do in the lives of other people — your wives, your kids, your friends, your employees," Kara interjected.

"Yes, but does it matter in the long run? Because in the long run, we're all dead."

"I think we need to cut him off from the goth music, Kara," Jessica laughed. "It seems to really be weighing on him."

I'd bought the albums that Abbie had suggested, as well as a couple more that the clerk in the record store had recommended.

"I'm not going off the deep end," I protested. "No all-black clothing, no black lipstick and eye shadow. Though come to think of it, that's our Halloween costumes!"

"I am NOT dyeing my hair black," Jessica protested.

"They have theatrical dye that washes out in the shower," I said. "My drama teacher used it in High School. Your lovely strawberry-blonde tresses are not in mortal danger. Though I certainly wouldn't mind a snake tattoo like Abbie had!"

"You wish, Tiger!" Jessica laughed. "I think we could go for Henna tattoos for the party, but nobody is getting a tattoo needle anywhere near my groin! And besides, you don't like shaved girls."

"Not true! I don't like KATHY being shaved," I chuckled. "Other girls aren't that big of a deal one way or the other. Anyway, I'm not going down the 'goth' path, but you have to admit that my experience does kind of confirm what they're saying. I just don't accept it."

"No, you don't," Jessica said. "And right now, you're in the business of creating life, not death."

"When's your next ultrasound, Jess?" Kara asked.

"Thursday. I have the afternoon off to go to the OB. You guys could come with me if you want to see our baby!"

"Yes!" Kara said excitedly.

"I'd like that," I said.

We had a lazy day around the house and watched the Goodwrench 500 race from Rockingham. Bill needed relief from Jody Ridley again, because he still had a cast on his hand from the broken wrist he'd suffered in the practice crash at Daytona. That didn't help his chances, and Ridley brought the #9 car home in 19th. It was a good day for Alan Kulwicki, who finished 2nd, just behind Rusty Wallace, who was on a tear again, after having narrowly lost the championship to Bill the previous year.

The 'Gang of Four', as I'd taken to calling them, arrived about 4:30pm. As she usually did, Penny scooped up Birgit in her arms and held her while we sat and talked. When one of the girls raised the issue of Penny's impending bundle of joy, Penny took Birgit's hands and put them on her belly.

"Aunt Penny is going to have a baby!" Penny said.

"Baba?" Birgit said.

"Bay-bee," Matthew corrected his little sister. "A boy?"

"I don't know," Penny said. "We'll have to wait until Summer to find out. What about Aunt Jessica?"

"I don't know. I want a brother!"

"I see Jesse has been working on him," Jessica laughed.

"Non stop!" I chuckled. "Penny, did you guys pick out names yet?"

"Amber, if it's a girl. I wanted to name the baby after you if it's a boy, but Terry said 'no'. We agreed on Edward, but we'd call him Eddie."

"I'm flattered," I said. "But I have to agree with Terry."

He smiled and nodded his thanks to me.

"How was Hawaiߴi, Zeke?" Jessica asked. "I heard from Steve you went there at the end of January."

"I wanted to stay, but I can't convince Cindi to open an office there!" he said with a grin. "Of course, if I know what's good for me, I'd have to take Tasha and that creates a problem because all our programmers work here in Chicago."

"You're darn right you would have to take me!" Tasha said fiercely, but then she broke into a laugh. "When are you due, Jessica?"

"The beginning of July. Elyse is due in the beginning of June. Penny, you're at the end of July, right?"

"Yes," she said. "That's what Doctor Robertson said. I had a lot of fun with her when I went for my first checkup."

"You didn't?!" I said, shaking my head ruefully.

"Oh yes, I did! Terry didn't go to the first appointment. I told her I was your next-door neighbor and that we'd dated. I thought she was going to lose it!"

"So THAT explains the cryptic remark Sally made to me about you giving her a bit of a scare!" Jessica laughed.

"I thought she was going to have a stroke!" Penny giggled. "But then I told her about Terry and her blood pressure dropped in half!"

"This place is going to be insane by the end of the Summer," Zeke said.

"Aw, you can't handle seven or eight kids?" Tasha cooed. "I might have to find a new future husband!"

"We are NOT having seven or eight kids!" Zeke laughed. "Our boss may be crazy, but I'm not!"

"Are you two trying to tell us something?" Elyse grinned.