Chapter 16

“Yes, Zoey, it was your other daddy that saved you that day, and your daddy here too,” said Penelope, nodding toward her husband.

“You need to be very nice to him, okay?” said her mom.

“Okay, momma. I’ll be nice,” said the six-year-old, and she was smiling.

It was September and it was very warm. Things would likely be cooling off in the not too distant future even here in the desert, but not yet, thought Grant Hardy.

“Erwin, I need a favor,” said Grant, sitting across from his friend.

“Okay, you know you got it,” said Dr. Erwin Frazier.

His guest passed him a newspaper. Dr. Frazier. Looked at his friend. He looked at the paper.

“Okay, Grant, it’s a newspaper,” he said.

“Yes, from the day after the accident,” he said. Dr. Frazier nodded.

“Okay,” he said.

“I need you to just hand it to Mister Wyatt, if you will,” said Grant.

“Okay, I can do that,” he said. “But so could you. He can have visitors.”

“Well, this is kinda of a delicate situation,” said Grant. “I would take it as a personal favor if you would not let him know that I was the one who gave it to you, him,” he said.

“Okay,” said Erwin.

“Then after a while, I will return and visit the man if that’s all right,” he said. “And my wife will be with me.”

“Delicate situation, you say,” said Erwin.

“Yes, very. He and we, have had kind of a rocky relationship,” said Grant. His friend was nodding.

“Okay, Grant. Consider it done. Hope things work out the way you hope,” he said.

“Me too, Erwin, me too.”

September 23rd, it was early, maybe 8:00 a.m. I was supposed to see the doctor today. I’d been inside for eighteen days. Three more to go if everything goes according to plan.

“Mister Wyatt,” he said, and he was smiling. That had to mean good news.

“You, sir, are going to be getting out two days early. Tomorrow’s the big day,” he said. “And oh, I found this. You might want to keep it. Kind of a souvenir.” He handed me a newspaper, one that somebody had already read for sure. The date on it was the 6th.

“Kinda old news,” I said.

“Yes, it’s from the day after you saved all of those kids and their parents,” he said. “The story’s in there.”

“Oh yes, the 6th,” I said. “Thanks. I’ll give it a look see.” He nodded, and left.

The nurses followed him in and fed me. The good news was that the food wasn’t all that bad. The Harrington it was not, but okay.

I was eating and reading at the same time. Then I saw it. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t believe it. This had to be a set up. Lance ... one of the others ... or...

I wanted to talk to the doctor again. I wanted to talk to him now! I rang for the nurse.

The nurse didn’t come. But the doctor did. But not my doctor; I didn’t need a nose job!

“Yes, and before you go off on me. There is someone here to see you. He waved to someone near the door. Zoe Hardy came in, came to me! I was so stunned that for a long minute I couldn’t talk.

“Thank you, daddy,” she said. She’d been coached. The man had stood back and watched the proceedings. He did not smile.

“So?” I said, turning my attention to him.

“She wants to talk to you,” he said. “She’s desperate.”

“No, don’t you dare, or her. I know what she thinks of me. There is nothing that she can say that will ever make me believe that she thinks differently now just because I happened to be there that day,” I said.

“She really has changed, Lee. She has,” he said.

“You’re a liar. Oh, and it was nice to see my baby one last time,” I said. “Now, I need you to leave. She can write me out of my baby’s life now. I know that’s what she really wants. Now she’s got it.”

“She owes you and so do I,” he said.

“Yes, you do. And I need you to pay up now,” I said.

“Anything,” he said.

“Good. Stay away from me forever all of you. You owe me that. She especially owes me that. Now get out. And I threw the newspaper at him,” he started to say something, thought better of it, and left. The baby had already walked out into the hall. I knew the bitch was out there to intercept her.

At least it hadn’t been one of my friends that set me up.

I heard some arguing and maybe some crying that grew fainter by the second. They were gone, and I was angrier than I had ever been. Shit!

It was getting to be the end of September. I’d been home fuming for almost a week. I knew I was going to be harassed. There was no doubt about it. She had to do it now, harass me. She could rationalize letting me rot before, but not anymore and that reality was killing me. The man? I didn’t care about him. But her...

It was the 29th. I’d wondered how long it would be before she assaulted me. Well, and then I knew. But it wasn’t her, yet, it was him, again. I saw him coming toward my door. I left it ajar, as had become my habit. I was hoping the message I sent, via him, would strike home and in the long haul actually get through to the bitch. He knocked and the door nudged open.

“Lee?” he said, more or less quietly.

“Unwelcome, come in,” I said. He did. He saw me sitting at my dinette table and motioned asking if he could. I nodded.

“Lee, last week. I know you were angry. And you had reason to be. But, we need, I especially need to ask you to accept our apologies for everything we’ve done to you,” he said.

“No,” I said. “Anything else?” He ignored my answer and my question.

“But why not. Believe me, we’re sincere,” he said, and he actually sounded desperate. I stared at him for a long moment. He waited me out.

“Mister Hardy, I’m glad it’s you and not her that came today, and yes I expected that at some point I was going to be harassed by you people. I’m going to explain why I don’t want to see you, any of you, but especially her; and you need to finally respect me enough to let me have what I need from you—which is nothing. Am I getting through to you?” I said.

“Maybe,” he said.

“I’ll settle for that for the next few. But kindly shut up while I lay it out for you. Okay?” I said.

“Yes, sir,” he said. Another long moment of me staring and gathering my thoughts.

“To begin, it was pure chance that I was there on the fifth. I was on my way to work. I pass that school, my old school, every day going there. That said...

“I did not know it was you and Zoe in that crosswalk. It wouldn’t have made any difference if I had, but I didn’t know.

“Okay?” he said. “I, we, understand that.”

“Please,” I said. He shut up.

“I know what the woman thinks of me. She made that clear that night that I overheard the two of you dissing me at the Pasture.” He started to interrupt yet again, but my raised hand stopped him.

“She has absolutely no respect for me, and for damn sure she doesn’t love me, never did; and the two things are not the same. I could understand her not loving me. Short, even when I had legs, not especially handsome; well, you get the picture. But the total lack of respect! That hurt—a lot,” I said.