Chapter 16

The next day was interesting, to say the least. It started out somewhat unusual with Amy and Cindi both up relatively early. I took a close look at Amy, but she seemed over her demons from last night. She was still a little quiet, but I thought that was more due to the effects of her intimacy with Megan the night before. Both Amy and Cindi had always been adamant about not being interested in sex with girls. They had implied a couple of times by unfinished sentences that they had tried it once with each other and agreed not to do it again. I thought maybe Amy was a little stunned that it was much better than she thought. Maybe it was just the right time last night and might never be right again. I think she was worried, though, about whether it meant she was gay or bi. That was always a big worry in their minds. I had no doubt that she and Megan would be having a talk about it later.

The first interesting thing that happened concerned that very subject. I was replacing some light bulbs and doing general cleaning and maintenance on the hot tub in the sitting room between Amy and Cindi's room when I heard the two of then walk into Amy's room. They closed the door, as usual, but I guess they didn't think of anyone being in the sitting room, as they left that door open. It was an understandable oversight, as we were all very conscious of each other's privacy and usually wouldn't go into someone else's room without permission. I swear I was not eavesdropping, but once I heard them start talking and what the subject was about, I didn't dare announce my presence. It was better just to keep quiet. Of course, I couldn't help but listen, right? I could see them reflected in the mirror on the wall.

"I'm so sorry, Amy, I didn't know. I'm sorry," Cindi started out. She looked about ready to cry. Of course, the moon was in the sky, somewhere, there were clouds outside, or not, and it was one of the days listed on the Gregorian calendar; all of these could also make Cindi cry.

"What do you mean, Cin?" Amy looked and sounded confused.

"Well... um... I kinda peaked in Daddy's room last night and watched you guys. I'm sorry! Please don't be mad! I couldn't help it! I didn't know you really liked doing things with girls. You said you didn't. I would have tried harder to like it if I had known you liked it. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disappoint you or let you down." At first, Amy looked embarrassed, but it is hard to be embarrassed with someone you share everything with. Then she giggled and leaned over to give Cindi a big hug.

"Don't be silly, Cin. I don't normally like it with girls. For some reason it just worked last night. Besides, we really didn't do anything much together. I don't expect it to ever happen again. It was just special that time with her. It might have been because Daddy was there, too. I don't know. It's ok, Cin, you have never let me down." Amy was trying to comfort her sister and friend.

"Cause we could try it again if you wanted and I could try harder this time to enjoy it because I want you to be happy and if it is something you want to try again, I would, honest I would, cause I love you Amy and I want you to be happy!" I wondered if Amy picked up what I did; run-on sentences from Cindi was usually a sure sign she was real nervous. Amy did pick it up.

"No, it's ok. It's really nothing I really want to do. It just happened, and was nice, but not something I have to do again. Besides, you and I are so close, I can't imagine something like that would make us closer. I love us just the way we are, Cin." She reached over rand kissed her sister. Cindi slipped her hand behind Amy's head and then kissed her for real, slipping her tongue into Amy's mouth as she opened it in surprise. They kissed for a little while, then broke apart, giggling and hugging each other. Amy looked at Cindi, then expressed it for both of them.

"Nope! Definitely nothing there. We're way beyond that." Amy reached over to pick up something that had fallen on the floor and I saw Cindi give a big sigh of relief. What a precious little girl, willing to do something she didn't like just to make her sister happy! Amy walked out of the room and down the hall. I cringed as I watched Cindi walk into the sitting room, right past me. She didn't even break stride, just looked up at me, smiled, and went into her room. I finished up what I was doing and got out of there as fast as I could, before Amy came back.

The second interesting thing that happened that day was about mid afternoon, when Rebecca, one of the girl's friends that lived just down the street before we moved called and asked if she and Emily, her sister, and their parents could come over for awhile. After checking with me, Amy told them ok. They said they would be over early evening, after dinner time. I knew Rebecca, and Emily, as well as their mother, quite well. Karen, their mother, often ferried the girls places if we could not. That had happened less in recent years, as Victoria and I worked from home, but the girls still saw each other all the time. I knew Karen as a nice person, a good mother, divorced with two children. Rebecca was our girl's age, and Emily was a year younger. I thought it was interesting that Amy said their parents were coming also, as I was sure Karen was divorced. Maybe she was getting remarried and wanted us to meet the new man.

Curious as to who would show up, I was waiting by the window when they showed up. As soon as the car emptied, I called Megan out to answer the door and grabbed Samantha and Julie, taking them into the back kitchen. I asked them to prepare a snack for our guests. Julie looked at me with big, sad, slightly frightened eyes. Of course she knew what was going on; she was Megan's daughter! Samantha was none the wiser, happily preparing treats. I knew I could count on Julie to keep Sammi back there until I was ready for her.

I'm sure you have figured out by now who the father was. Imagine my surprise when I looked out the window and saw the man that had abused Samantha for so many months! It had been about three months, the time period Julie had set for him to revert back to normal. I hadn't expected him to have the guts to show up here, though!

I went back out to the front room just as Megan was welcoming our guests into the house. I played the perfect host, chatting amiably with our guests. I looked the man straight in the eyes, and was surprised at what I saw. The sorrow and grief was there for me to see, begging for forgiveness, while there was happiness there too. Finally, they got around to why they had come. The man spoke for all of them.

"I wanted to bring my family by, Patrick, to thank you in their presence for what you have done for me, for us. I have not been a good or even acceptable parent for my little girls for many years. Three months ago, you showed me the error of my ways, when I was able to see the interaction between you and two of your daughter's friends, and was able to talk to you about it. I cannot thank you enough for how you have turned my life around." He had tears in his eyes as his wife squeezed his hand supportively.

"Are you remarried now?" I asked.

"Not just yet," he answered. "I think it is only fair that Karen and the girls get some time for me to prove to them that I have really changed. I spent years making their lives hell, and I don't expect them to believe that in three months I have changed so much. I am willing to give them all the time they need. I am just grateful that they are allowing me to spend time with them in the meantime."

I know what you are thinking. This guy sounds like a soap box character, a used car salesman. It was almost sickening all the right, gushy things he was saying. I looked into his eyes again and I was convinced he was sincere. I looked at Megan and read the same message there. Of course, only Sammi, Julie and I knew who he was, as the others hadn't seen him that day, and Julie had just told me he was the father of two of their friends, not which friends. But I read in Julie's eyes that this man was sincere. I addressed Rebecca and Emily.

"Is he treating you right? Are you happy?" I didn't even need to hear their answer when I saw the beaming smiles and the happiness in their eyes. Apparently he had never abused his own children, or they would not have forgiven him that fast. Their answers confirmed what their eyes said.

"Where are Samantha and Julie?" He asked. "I wanted to thank them also, as they were very instrumental in your getting the message across to me." I was afraid this would come up. I answered before Megan could unwittingly cause a major scene.

"They are preparing drinks and snacks. While we wait, let me show you my garage," I suggested. I saw by the look in his eyes he knew what I was doing, and I recognized the gratitude to me as I avoided a scene.

I took him into another room, where I stopped to talk to him.

"Why are you here? Are you crazy?" I asked him bluntly.

"Probably," he answered with a huge sigh. "But I owe it to Samantha. First, to tell her how sorry I am and to beg her forgiveness. If I get married to Karen again, we are bound to come into contact occasionally, and I do not want her avoiding contact with my girls because of me if I can help it. Secondly, I hurt her so bad. She deserves the right to hurt me back. If she wants to kill me, I will let her. If she wants to tell my family what I did, so be it; I will live with the consequences. I am putting myself in her hands. I have to; to be able to forgive myself, I need either her forgiveness, or at least her chance to extract her revenge." He looked me straight in the eyes as he said his piece. I saw the fear there, but I also saw the resolve to do what he thought was right. It convinced me that he was serious. I had to admire his guts.

"I have to tell you, I have no idea how Samantha is going to react to you. She has not mentioned you since that day. She may react badly." I wanted to warn him; he deserved that for the bravery he was showing.

"I know. I suspect it won't be pretty. It doesn't matter. It cannot be bad enough that it would be more than I deserve."

I told him to give me thirty seconds with the girls and then come on in. I had no intentions of trying to prepare Samantha for this. I didn't think there was any preparation possible for this. I just wanted to be in a position to control her if I needed to.

I went into the kitchen and sat down in a chair, calling Sammi over to me. I lifted her up on my lap and put my arms around her, holding her. She smiled at me tentatively. She knew something was up. These girls sensed emotions like moths smelled pheromones; five miles away (I think these girls also smelled pheromones that far away too!). She knew Julie was worried and upset about something. I looked at Julie and she nodded once slightly, letting me know he had passed the test. Then, he walked in.

Sammi looked up, saw him, and went tense all over. Her face turned white as a sheet and I swear she stopped breathing for a moment. Then she started fighting me to get away. When I wouldn't let her go, I felt her energy start to ramp up.

"Samantha! No!" Julie commanded. I saw Sammi blink, then her energy dropped back down to baseline. She stopped fighting and held my arms as she leaned into me, digging her fingers into my flesh.

"Hi Samantha," he said.

"What the fuck do you want? What are you doing here?" Samantha snarled. Her eyes almost flashed fire in her anger. I could feel her heart going a mile a minute.

"I just came to tell you I'm sorry for what I did to you, and to ask for your forgiveness." He looked at her, tears in his eyes. She was unmoved. I knew this was not going to be pretty.

"You can let me go now, Daddy," Sammi told me. "I'm ok; I'm not going to hurt him." She smiled at me in reassurance as I slowly let her go. She stood up and faced him.

"What makes you think I want to forgive you? Have you changed? What proof do you offer? Even if you have, why should I care?" Sammi has always been a sarcastic, blunt person. I had never heard her speak so venomously before.

"Ask for anything you want as proof. I will do anything you say, whatever it is. I only ask that you believe me then."

"Anything? You will do anything I tell you to do?" I had a bad feeling about this. Sammi was giving in too soon.

"Anything."

"Ok. What I want you to do is fucking DIE!" Sammi hissed at him. Julie and I looked at her in shock.

"Samantha!"

"He said anything, Daddy! Let's see how sincere he really is! He made me wish I was dead!" I had never seen hatred in her eyes like I did now. She absolutely loved Amy, and always had, by comparison.

I saw a look of sadness and fear in Julie's eyes. She started to move towards the man. I saw the man look at Samantha and nod his head, briefly.

"I thought that's what you would want," he said. He turned to me. "Please tell Karen, Rebecca and Emily that I love them very much, but I cannot escape the consequences of what I have done." Then he pulled a .38 automatic out of his pocket, put it up to his head, and pulled the trigger.

As he pulled the automatic out, I saw Julie's eyes get big, then go flat and devoid of all expression. She started to move towards him as fast as she could. I saw Samantha's eyes get even bigger, then they went flat and devoid of all expression also. I remember thinking how interesting that was, that their eyes changed. I had always related that to anger when a family member was in danger. Now I wondered if it was a preparation for action.

I have seen Victoria, Megan and Amy move so fast it was almost a blur before. I even saw Samantha move fast in the non-fight with Amy. But I had never seen anyone move as fast as I saw Samantha move then. One minute she was beside me as he put the gun to his head. The next millisecond, she was next to him, slamming the slide of the automatic back towards the hammer with her hand, holding it there to keep it from going off. I don't know where she learned that trick. That came almost simultaneously with the click of the trigger. Sammi ripped the gun out of his hand, opened the back door, and threw it as far as she could into the backyard. Then she started crying.

"What the fuck is the matter with you? Are you fucking crazy?" She hissed. He looked at her, a determined look on his face.

"It doesn't matter, Samantha. You have told me what you need for forgiveness, and I will just find another way to do it. After taking so much from you forcefully, I will give you what you want this time." His eyes were clear and determined. There was no fear there now. I believed him. Apparently, so did Sammi. She looked at him, eyes wide in horror.

"No! Please. Don't kill yourself. Please. I withdraw my request. I forgive you, I promise. I'm sorry. Please don't. I don't want you to. Besides, you can't do that to Rebecca and Emily. Please." Sammi was practically hysterical.

"Then you must tell me what I can do to prove it to you. I must make amends, Samantha. Tell me what you want."

"What I want is for you to be the best father you can be to your little girls. Do that, for the rest of your life, and I have the proof I want. When I see you pick them up at the games, and they hug you, and look happy to see you there, then the debt will be repaid. That is what I want. You have showed me you are serious about what you would do for me; now I want to see what you will do for them." Sammi was trying her best not to sob, but one escaped.

He looked at her, then nodded to all of us.

"You are a good person, Samantha. I knew that when I first met you. I am ever so thankful that I didn't destroy that in you. Thank you. Anything you ever want or need from me, all you have to do is ask. The debt will never be repaid for me, but I will gladly do as you ask." He turned around and walked out of the room.