Chapter 3

Dana’s turn:

You know, I watched the expansion of the Community ever since I’ve known about us. I was part of some of that expansion.

Now this part’s my fault.

When we first moved here I was fascinated with the things people did for fun. One of them was flying. I’d never given a bit of thought to flying as a personal thing. I knew it to be a part of the transportation spectrum – to get from here to some unspecified ‘there’. When I got here, though...

Munchkins – the ones here, not the ones in those movies – fly. Singly, in groups, random times, loud, somewhat prehistoric-looking craft leave the company airport to go play.

“You can do this,” Terri told me.

“Easy for YOU to say,” I snorted. “Pterodactyls have been flying for millions of years.”

She snickered. “Oh, come on! Derek flies and he’s so in love with Rachel he can’t see straight sometimes.”

“How do I get started?”

“Ask Cindy. She’ll get you checked out in the two-seater, watch you solo, then you’re good to go.”

“But I don’t have one of these...”

“Ask anybody. They’re, uh, I guess, OURS, but sort of community property. Use mine or one of the others. If you get a taste for it, get Ed to buy you one.”

So that’s how I got my first wings. That’s why, one day, I was buzzing around the area, no goals to my action other than to feel the breeze in my face and feel the Gs as the little craft carried me through a regimen of turns. Sightseeing. (Community Three Sigma – Chapter 13). I located and, by somebody’s definition, ‘rescued’ a lost little girl.

The phrase heard often around here is “No good deed goes unpunished.”

Little Tara (not to be confused with Tara Helton Kettler – Derek’s big sister) was five. Now she’s almost ten and her family situation – loopy mom, hard-driving banking business dad, deteriorated. A divorce happened before I met little Tara, and her mom slipped herself right out of a finely feathered nest – a home in an upscale neighborhood, to being jailed for drug-related activities.

Tara’s dad, though, was eyeball-deep in the banking biz, a segment with increasing problems with upgrading legacy information technology systems, some in place since computers required a special room in a big building. 3Sigma Digital, with my Ed, was filling needs and dragging in loads of money, and Tara’s dad was constantly dealing with us.

Tom Jamison’s turn:

I’d have to look it up, but there’s a Bible phrase (Proverbs, maybe?): “There is none so blind as him who will not see.” That was me. Actually, I DID look it up. It’s a paraphrase of Jeremiah 5:21 which is as follows,

‘Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not’.

I’m at the ‘sad story’ stage of a dead marriage. I should have seen, but didn’t. Tanya was beautiful, and is still very pretty. Somewhere in there is a nasty personality, and I never suspected it.

Initially, Tanya was delighted with my prestige and money, and the caliber of my associates in the banking world. Nice parties, nice society, wonderful house on a golf course. Beautiful daughter, all that. But she grew bored of my “boring life.” She wanted adventure, and I didn’t.

She divorced me, citing “irreconcilable differences.” She kept the house, and primary custody of Tara. We had shared custody, and one weekend when I had Tara, I got a call just after I had put Tara to bed — probably 9 pm or so. Opelika police, saying “Mr. Jamison, we’re calling to notify you that we have Tanya in custody, pending charges. We’re not permitted to give details, but it’s serious, and we’d suggest that you contact legal counsel for her.”

I called my lawyer the next morning. Hate that asshole, but he’s good at what he does, and he called me about four hours later with the bad news. Possession of drugs, with intent to distribute. This is a mess, and I HATE to fund her defense. My first thought was, “She made her bed...”

Then I had another thought: After all, she IS Tara’s mother, but what if she can’t afford a lawyer? She gets a public defender, I suppose, but all that takes time. Hmm. I called the lawyer back, and we had a discussion. The gist is: I’ll fund his efforts for a quick release, plea bargain or whatever. BUT, I get sole custody. We’ll see what happens.

Now what? Tara’s school is becoming a mess, and I have to travel, quite a bit, lately. Hmm. That bunch of engineers, 3Sigma. I wonder? I can ask. Not likely, but you never know.

I got Tara up, fed her breakfast, got her dressed, and she asked: “What about Mom? Why didn’t you take me to her last night? Is she going to pick me up today?” And, “I don’t like her new boyfriend. He doesn’t smell good, and he’s giving me some looks that I don’t like.”

I said, “Tara, I’m told that your mom is in some sort of trouble. I know that she’s not hurt, but there’s something else going on. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll pick you up after school, and we’ll figure it out, OK?”

I hate to be the one who takes the smile off that face. I mean, I AM a dad and I sometimes have to say ‘no’ and I get the sad, disappointed looks, but that’s different than having to bring her bad news like this.

She’s growing up, though, and somewhere there’s some toughness coming in with it. “OK, Dad. Let’s go.” And off to the school.

Dropped her off, then a trip to the best donut shop I know about. And a phone call to Ed Allen. Jesus, this is a trip into the abyss. You don’t know these people, but I do. “Peculiar” doesn’t even describe them. I dunno, but (taking a deep breath) I’m gonna ask. I’m a little, no, a LOT scared.

And now, Ed Allen. Gracious as always, and GOOD coffee here. His girls, though. Damn! They’re both smart and cute. Somehow, that happens a lot, around here. Dunno why, but in any case, Ed is encouraging. We’ll see.

Ed Allen’s turn:

More problems, but I’ll ask people who know. First call, Jack Haggarty. He answered: “Good morning, Ed. How’s your day going?”

“Morning to you, sir. And I don’t quite know yet.,” I answered. I never expected a twist in my life that would have me this familiar with a lawyer, but Jack’s gotten himself entwined in the vines of the 3Sigma world.

I continued, “But we may have an issue, and I’m hoping you can help figure it out. It relates to a young girl, daughter of one of our clients. He’s asking for our help, and I’m not sure how to handle it.”

Jack said, “Good Lord. Ed, I’d have no idea, but we have a family law specialist here, and she’d probably have some notion. Her name is Heather Jacobs, and while your issue isn’t quite in your family, it’s kinda related. Would you mind if I have her call you?”

I said, “I’d be grateful, sir. I’m pretty sure about how we’d handle the mechanics, but I worry about the liabilities, some.”

He said, “You’re a wise man, Ed. Other than Dana, of course. What the hell were you thinking?”

I chuckled and said, “Jack, it didn’t matter what I was thinking. It was all about what SHE was thinking.”

He laughed and said, “Don’t that say it all? Anyway, I’ll have Heather call you in a few minutes. She’s the expert.”

I said, “Thank you, sir.” Went to get another cup of coffee. We’ll see.

My phone buzzed and I answered, “Ed Allen, good morning.”

Female answer: “Good morning, sir. Heather Jacobs here, and Jack Haggarty asked me to call. How may I help?”

I said, “Thank you for calling, Heather. I’m not sure how you can help, but maybe you have some ideas. The situation is that one of my clients has a very young daughter. My client is divorced, but has shared custody of his daughter. The problem is that his ex-wife has been arrested, and is out of the picture for a while. He’s asking for our assistance in caring for his daughter. We’re willing to help, but we’re not sure how to proceed.”

“OK, Ed. I understand a bit more.,” Heather said, “But with this information, I have to tell you that I cannot represent only you. I have to represent HIM, and he has to initiate the contact with me. I’m pretty sure I know how to proceed, but it has to be at HIS request.”

Then, she continued “It’s probably best for us to meet somewhere — maybe the IHOP for breakfast? Also, there are probably occasions when you have to travel, so think about any others in your community who may be available to act on behalf of your client.”

“OK, Heather. Now, to mechanics, does seven AM work for you? Kinda early, I guess, but I can bring Dana — she LIKES breakfast. I’ll have to call Tom and see if it works for him. If there’s a problem, I’ll let you know, but otherwise, I won’t. Schedule is tight around here.”

Heather laughed and said, “Sounds good, Ed, and I’ll bring Jack. Thinking about it, you may want to get Mizz Beck involved. See you in the morning. Oh, and bring a dollar bill with you, please. Same for your client.”

Call to Tom Jamison’s cell, and he answered, “Tom here, Ed. What’s up?”

I said, “Tom, I just got in contact with a lawyer, and I described the situation. She’s a family law specialist, and she’s in the same firm as our corporate attorney. She’s good, and she has a couple of ideas in mind, but she has to meet with you and me. I’m going set up a breakfast meeting at the IHOP here in town for tomorrow at seven am. Will that work for you? And I’m bringing Dana, so you can bring Tara if that makes things easier.”

He asked, “Did you already ask Dana? What did she say?”

I said, “I can’t contact her right now, Tom. She’s in the air, somewhere between here and Oklahoma. So, I made an executive decision, but she’ll be happy with it. I know, because she LIKES breakfast, and she likes Tara.”

“Got it, Ed, and thanks. We’ll be there.”

Now, down the hall to Mizz Beck. I knocked on her open door frame. She looked up, annoyed. She said, “What now, Ed?”

I said, “Mizz Beck, I apologize, but I may need some help. Could you go to breakfast with me tomorrow morning? The IHOP at seven AM?”

She said, “Something to do with lawyers, I suppose. What’s up?”

I sighed, “We may be acquiring a pseudo-daughter, or a sister for Dana. Dunno, yet. We have to talk to her dad, and some lawyers. I think you know them.”

She took her glasses off and sighed. She said, “Got it, Ed. To save trouble, reserve the party room. Do I need my notary stamp? And what the hell is it with you people? Always stirring up trouble.”

I grinned and smiled, and she said, “OK, now get out of my office, please.”

Tom Jamison’s turn:

OK, 3Sigma to the rescue, again, looks like. Now, to wait on the call from my land-shark of a lawyer. Jeff Moore is his name. First time I saw him I thought, “Bad Dog.” You know the kind: Scruffy beard, crooked smile (when he smiles at all), and his prices are NOT nice. He has exactly ONE redeeming quality: he gets what he wants. Or in this case, what I want, I suppose. BHTP, you might say. “Bankers Have Their Privileges.” Yeah, but we pay for it.

Back to the office, and work. Explained to the staff that my work schedule would be erratic over the next few days — family issues, and all that. They nodded in sympathy. I sprung for deli sandwiches from a favorite (theirs) restaurant. Shouldn’t do that, but I’ve learned something from Ed Allen.

Got a call from Jeff Moore, who said, “Ed, she agreed to sign whatever I put in front of her. Seems like she don’t appreciate the fine jail cuisine, I guess. I’ll have the documents recorded with the county clerk first thing in the morning. You want an unofficial copy?”

I said, “Thank you, Jeff. And if you can bring it to the office, or have it sent here, I’d be grateful. And when you get her sprung, send me an invoice, and it’ll be paid right away.”

He chuckled, and clicked off. Now, over to the private school, a few minutes early, to collect Tara. I had words with the office staff, explained that Tara would be out for the next few days. They weren’t happy, but piss on ‘em.

Beck’s turn:

Sometimes you have to peek into the void to realize what you have in the way of blessings.

Sitting through a meeting with Jack Haggarty, Ed and Dana, Tom Jamison and his daughter Tara (now we have TWO Taras. How do you handle that? I mean, “Little Tara” is cute, but “Big Tara” is just wrong for Tara Kettler. She’s adult, but hardly ‘big’) and a new face, Heather Jacobs, late twenties maybe, and by introduction an attorney practicing family law.