Chapter 2: What next?

I found a room to stay at in a rooming house in the old neighborhood. I figured I better go see my old boss if he was still alive and see if Rita ever found out about my 401k retirement plan. I had never told her about it. I might have a few bucks other than the couple hundred I earned at the prison. Hell, with nobody giving me money I was earning it and spending it. Lucky to have anything left.

I walked into the store; it sure looked different. I asked the counter guy if Jim still owned the place and he said he did and was in the back office. I told the guy I was a very old friend and asked if it would it be alright to surprise him. The guy looked me up and down a few times and told me to go on in.

As I entered the office an elderly man looked up at me and screamed out, "Jesus Christ, Dan, I was told that you were dead."

I looked up at my old friend and said, "No, I'm very much alive as you can see. How's business been, Jim? It's sure good to see you. You're the first friendly face I've seen in fifteen years."

I stayed there for a good hour and we talked. He told me about all the business changes and about his family growing up. He even offered me a job in the store. He said no man was as good at selling hardware as I was. He wished he could offer me a field job but because of my past, I probably couldn't get bonded right then.

I asked him about my 401k and he said no one ever asked about it and it had been sitting there for the last fifteen years gaining interest. He said he was going to let it sit there and contact my kids at my retirement age and give them the money. I told him to find out what it was worth because I would need funds to get back on my feet. He asked me to stop in Monday of next week when he would have my information for me and also I could start my new sales position. He liked to say that rather then the word job. We shook hands and I headed out of the store.

I was wondering why he thought I was dead. I would have to ask my parole officer about it next week. He would be glad to hear I got a job so quickly. He was a pretty nice guy but I hear he is pretty stern when it comes to parolees.

It was time to face the music as I headed to the last known address of Thelma. Damn, she was such a nice woman. I was wondering if Rita was still living with her and what about my kids. I was really nervous as I took the bus over to their street. The area didn't look like it had changed at all. Some of the houses were a little run down while others had facelifts. New siding and windows. I could see Thelma's place and had to stop before getting there. I wasn't sure how to approach her. What if Rita answer the door? Boy, was I nervous as I climbed the few stairs and knocked on the door.

From inside the house I could hear a female voice saying, "Hold on, I'll be right there." It sounded like Thelma. I was turned around with my back to the door looking down the street when I heard a voice behind me say, "Can I help you?" through the screen door.

I turned around and looked at Thelma looking back at me. "Oh, my God, my God, Danny, is it really you? My God, my God," as she opened the screen door. She came out and put her arms around me. She started crying. Other than being a little older she looked just as good as she always did. I know I shouldn't say this but having those big soft breasts pressing against me was starting to get me a little warmed up.

"My God, Danny, they said you were killed in prison. God, I'm so happy to see you," as she kept hugging me. "Come on in, Danny, please come in." She seemed to calm down a little.

Before I stepped in, I asked her about Rita. I didn't want to go in if she was there. "Danny, Rita died two years ago from MS. Please come in and we can talk about everything."

I felt saddened when I heard that. Even though I hated what she did she was my wife for ten years and mother of my children. Hmm? My children what about them. I had lots of questions when I entered into Thelma's house. As soon as I entered the living room Thelma turned around and hugged me again. She put her head on my chest and cried. For the next few moments, I just held her.

God, she was so soft, so warm, my eyes were starting to tear up. "Danny," she always called me Danny, "Would you like something to eat or something to drink?"

"Thelma, I'm not hungry at the moment but coffee would be good. I have so many questions and I would love to just sit with you over coffee and talk." She poured each of us a cup; she remembered I took mine black, and said we would be more comfortable in the living room.

As we set our coffee down, she asked me to wait for a minute because she had to check on Danni. I thought for a second and said, "Danni? Who is Danni, Thelma?"

Thelma looked at me and said, "Oh, my God, I forgot you didn't know. Danielle is your granddaughter. We call her Danni. Beth named her after you." I got up and followed Thelma into a bedroom where there laid sleeping the cutest little girl I had ever seen. Tears immediately came into my eyes. This was my granddaughter. My little girl who I last saw when she was seven had gotten married and now had a daughter of her own. Thelma said she was my daughter, Beth, and her husband's child. Danni was about two and a half years old. God, I wanted to hold her so bad. Thelma whispered that I could hold her later but right then we have a lot of catching up to do. She took me by the arm and we headed back into the living room to start our talk.

"Where do you want to begin, Danny?

"Maybe you should tell me all you can about Rita and then we can go from there to happier things," I said.

"Rita started having an affair after that fellow, Allen, started working there. I suspected there might be a problem of some kind because, whenever you were going out of town, the kids came to visit me. The first few times I didn't think much about it until it became a habit. I would never deny having your kids here. I love them as though I was their mother."

"Thelma, excuse me for saying so but you are a very beautiful woman. Why didn't you ever get married and have a family? You're so great with kids."

"First off, wise guy," she smiled at me. "I've had a lot of offers for marriage. I always thought I should love the man if I were to have his kids. I was in love with one man so much but he was taken. I never found a man that could meet my standards of the man of my dreams. I dated and yes, Danny, I had sex with men I liked a lot but the love wasn't there. I had your kids here all the time so it wasn't as though I was childless. I just never met another man that met the high standard I had set. I've had a happy and good life so far. Who knows what the future holds?"

"I wish Rita thought like you. She married me and lived with me for ten years and I guess I didn't meet her standards."

Thelma butted in. "I'm sorry, Danny, Rita was a fool. I know she's dead and I miss her as a sister. She gave up a dream life and for what? A fucking cock? I'm sorry, Danny, maybe I shouldn't feel that way but she was wrong, totally wrong. She had it all and threw it away and by doing so ruined your life and deeply hurt her kids. I lost respect for her when I found out about Allen that dreadful night. I loved her as a sister but felt like killing her myself. We argued and argued about what she did till the day she died." Thelma started crying, so I moved over to the couch next to her and held her.

After she regained her composure she continued. "Rita kept dating. I guess it was her way of getting even with you. I had the kids about half the time. After a couple of years, Rita was starting to get sick. Her muscles were giving out. She went to the doctor and that's when she found out she had MS, Multiple Sclerosis. She was able to work for about two more years and then it became too much for her. That's when I suggested she sell the house and move in with me. She was on medical leave and then Social Security. I kept my job as a cashier at the local market. We did all right financially, using the income from selling your house and our jobs. About two years ago, Rita passed away. The kids had already gone out on their own and it was just me and Rita living here at the time."

"What a wonderful sister you are. You took in your sister and her two kids and took care of them. What about your life, Thelma? You've brought all these problems into your life and took care of others."

"It was family, Danny. I did it for family. Hell, my life isn't over, I'm only in my early forties and, if you don't mind me saying so, I still look pretty damn good." She smiled again.

"I don't know of a prettier sight unless it's that little girl in the other room," I replied. "What about my kids, Thelma? What can you tell me about them?"

"They're great, Danny. At first Rita tried to turn them against you but they were spending so much time here and kept asking questions about you and when they got older I told them the truth. Their mom had an affair and you thought she was being attacked and tried to protect her. They broke down and cried. They love you Danny or I should say loved you. They think you're dead also. What happened, Danny? How come you showed up dead?"

"Tell me exactly what you did. Maybe we can figure this out."

"Well, I was writing to you in Mansfield and then one day your letter came back and said you were no longer there. After a lot of telephone calls we - that's the kids and I - found out that you were transferred to Lucasville."

"Wait, Thelma, I never went to Lucasville. I was transferred to the Orient facility. Go on with what you did."

"We called the Lucasville facility and they asked you're number. We didn't have it. We didn't know if it was the same as your old one or not, so the guy told us to give him your name. We told him Dan Jones and that the Mansfield facility said you were transferred there. He said he would check into it and call us back. He called back the next day and said, 'I'm, sorry to inform you that Dan Jones who was transferred in from Mansfield was killed last week in a prisoner uprising.' He was sorry but the body was cremated and he would send us any records if we liked. We told him that wouldn't be necessary and hung up. The kids and I cried. We told Rita later but she didn't have a lot of expression at the time."

"So that's what happened, The other Dan Jones was transferred to Lucasville and was killed and I went on to Orient. I sure missed not receiving your letters. That was the only thing that held me together for eight years. Seeing the pictures of the kids and the great stories you always told me. If I didn't know any better I would have thought you were in love with me." As I looked at Thelma, it looked like she was going to reply but didn't.

"Well, anyway, Danny, let me tell you a little about your family. I'll began with Beth and Ed or Eddie, were high school sweethearts. They dated ever since the tenth grade. Ed is a good man, Danny. He reminds me a lot of you. He's hard working, always puts his family first and is in love with his wife."