Chapter 13

The man had indeed set up a celebration in Selena’s honor, and it was, I was sure, certain to be elaborate. Of course, my tacked-on engagement announcement was an afterthought, and through no fault of Nathan’s, kind of complicated things and that awkwardly. But that was just too damn bad. I’d done it, made my unexpected, and that unexpected even by me, announcement to register my only slightly less than outright anger at Selena’s slighting of me when she greeted the other guy as her daddy and actually and actively and consciously, as I saw things, ignored me and my woman.

We’d come in separate cars. That fact turned out to be fortuitous. They’d gone ahead of us, maybe by a minute and that put us in a position to hear part of a conversation that we were clearly not supposed to hear but would.

The place where Henrietta and I had parked was in the regular parking lot and it was kind shadowy. The Grimes had driven up to the valet station to park and were standing out front of the main entrance waiting for us. We heard them talking and I put a hand on Henrietta’s arm holding her back. I wanted to hear what they might be saying.

“Selena, I think your bio-dad was a little bummed by the way you didn’t greet them when you came over to us after the graduation ceremonies ended,” said Nathan.”

“Yes, and I think he made up that engagement story to kind of get even,” said Victoria. “It was clear to me that the woman did not know what he was talking about.”

“Dad, Mom, I’ve been thinking about things. The man is not really my dad, not in any real sense. You are Daddy. He’s okay, he’s my father I guess; but not my daddy. I can be around him; I’m good with that. I know he sacrificed for you momma, and for that he gets some attention. It’ll be okay; I’ll be good.

“But Dad, Mom, I am not going to be pretending to be his daughter. I mean the man has got himself an ex-convict girlfriend, fiancé now I guess. A woman who is also at best an ex-prostitute. He’s a killer, good intentions or no. I mean how am I supposed to deal with all of that and pretend, and that’s what I’d be doing, that he’s a dad, my dad, in the same sense you are, Daddy? I mean really!” said Selena. The looks her parents gave her went appreciated by her.

Her mother swallowed and made to change the direction of the conversation. She turned her attention to her husband.

“Nathan, regardless of anything else. I do not think the woman should be allowed into the mix period; I’m with Selena in that regard: John Michael, yes, but not the woman. I mean really! She’s a prostitute as well as an ex-convict, as Selena correctly points out. It’s bad enough that we have to figure out ways to include John Michael in the circle of our friends. And don’t get me wrong, I am personally so grateful to that man for all he did for me, including fathering you, Selena; but to compound things by including this Henrietta woman...” said Victoria.

Nathan Grimes gave his wife a hard look. “Vic, the man has had no woman since you. We are going to do what we can to help him out including accepting his new woman into the mix, as you term it. Do you understand me!” said Nathan. “And Selena...”

“Dad, I just don’t want to be playing any games with the man, you know, pretending to love him like a daddy. I don’t love him like a daddy, and I never will. He and I will get along; I can do that, but more than that ain’t happening. I mean it Dad!”

“Nathan, Selena is right about you being her daddy, her real daddy. The guy does get credit for helping me out of a bad situation and for being our girl’s sperm donor, oh my yes he does; but that should be enough even for him. And if he ever gets his head out of his ass and accepts the help you’ve offered him, and that more than once; well, he can be doing real good, him and yes his whore too,” said Victoria.

“She may be an ex-whore, but that’s between him and her and none of our business,” said Nathan. “The guy is for sure seriously hard up after twenty years of celibacy; I mean the woman’s a foot taller than him and not real good looking. But for a man with his baggage, well...” The two women started to giggle.

My woman, my Henrietta, was beginning to sob. I decided to save everybody a lot of time and nonsense.

I walked up to the little group, they’d been maybe 15 feet from us but separated from us by an artificial tree and hadn’t noticed us. They would now.

Victoria was the first to notice me coming toward them. It was clear she realized that we’d heard them talking.

“Don’t worry about us anymore, any of you scum, and that especially means you Victoria; you are really too far beyond the pale to be believed! We’re opting to be out and away from low class scum like yourselves,” I said. “And, again, that especially means you Victoria. Have bad lives the lot of you!”

Victoria’s mouth was wide open but producing no sound. But, then it did. “John Michael ... I’m sorry okay. Really, please!” she begged. I turned back to consciously sneer at her, her in particular.

“Not ever Missus Grimes, and I do mean not ever. I hate the very sight of you. Oh, and I want to thank you and my lucky stars for divorcing me,” I said. I turned back to my new woman, took her hand, and led her off and away from the bad people.

We heard the babble among them as we strode off to Henrietta’s car, the one we’d come in.

“Oh my God!” said Victoria as the three of them stared at each other.

“Dad, Mom, what?” said Selena. “The man has solved the problem for us. We should be thanking him.”

“Hi folks, Selena,” said a young man coming up to them.

“Jack!” said Selena. “You, you, made it.”

“Of course. If I hadn’t had to work, I would’ve been at the ceremony too; I told you,” said Jack Sizemore.

She was driving; well, it was her car. “Do not concern yourself with anything that you heard the woman say or the new grad either. We’re done with the lot of them. I mean we are both done with them. You and I are a team, and unless you tell me to go to hell; I want you to be my wife and I am not at all kidding about that one. Whaddya say?”

“Are you sure? I mean I know you just threw that out there because of what your daughter said and did and didn’t do,” said Henrietta.

“Yes, but the truth is that I’d been kind of half way hoping and planning it anyway,” I said. She nodded.

“Okay then, yes,” she said. I smiled, and it was a big smile.

“Finally, a woman, my own woman!” I said, and I said it loud. My woman snorted.

Mother was staring at daughter and daughter was staring at mother. Neither had said anything for the past little while. They had, regardless, been paying more than usual attention to the cups of coffee in front of the each of them.