Chapter 4

My work days lengthened from my usual seven to ten and sometimes even eleven hours. I always made sure that I took a break to call Aileen. Gail and I said hi, but we didn't mention our up-coming date. We did talk about what Aileen and the gang were up to. She did say they were secretive about some of their activities but found out where Miss Tenny lived and the whole gang descended on her one Saturday morning asking if there were any chores they could do for her.

Gail said Miss Tenny was pretty hesitant at first, but succumbed when Aileen assured her that they were really serious. So Miss Tenny got her garage organized and her attic cleaned out. Randy went up a ladder and washed the window in a dormer that couldn't be cleaned from the inside. God I was proud of my girl--and yes, proud of her gang too.

The weekend of the fourth came and I couldn't get into Hartford so I flew into Manchester, NH, reaching there about three in the afternoon. It was a bit more difficult to reach Manchester for Gail to pick me up, but she assured me she didn't mind. Aileen had been playing all morning in Lena's aunt's pool and was tired, so for the journey home she slept in the back seat of Gail's car. This gave Gail and I a chance to talk.

"Gail, I know we don't know each other that well yet. We have had about two weeks together and we have talked on the phone several times in the last ten days, but we were unable to say anything personal. I've just been informed that my position has been terminated. This means I am free to go anywhere I want to. I would like to come back to Brattleboro to watch my daughter grow into a young lady. It is not necessary, however, for I'll always be a part of her life now.

"I am thirty-five, soon to be thirty-six, and my outlook on life has changed since I was reunited with Aileen. I would like to find someone to love and cherish and marry. I would very much like to seriously start dating you. I guess you know more about me than I do you. What I'm trying to say is, I would like to get to know you better."

"I'd like to have you know me better too. I've had a few reservations about you, though. I know you've said that you have dated several women in the last few years. What concerns me is this, did you break off with one woman you dated before you took up with the next one or did you have two going at once?"

"I suppose you'll have to trust me in this, but usually it was at least a year between women I slept with. The one exception was Bella Sweet, the black woman I dated. Bella found me after only four months, but she was the last woman I dated and that was more than a year ago.

"I haven't found anyone since then that I was the least bit interested in until I met you and that, I think, is a tribute to you. She is a wonderful person and somehow before I return here to Vermont, I want you to meet her. She was a wonderful experience for me and when you do meet her, you will feel the same way."

I wanted to get away from the subject of me and other women so I said, "You agreed to go out with me this weekend, do you have any place special you would like to go or something special you would like to do?"

"Yes, I'd like to go out to dinner and I anticipated that you would ask me, so I purchased tickets at the Weston Playhouse to see a play that played on Broadway. I was never able to see it in NY. Would that be okay?"

"I think you are going to be a fun date. It sounds like an enjoyable evening. On a different subject, what's with the gang? You said they were being secretive about something. Tell me about it."

"It may be nothing really, but several times at both Steve's pool and Stella's sister's, I have seen all the gang with their heads together, and they shut up and act so innocent when I or Stella come near. Cindy hasn't a clue either, because I have asked her. Another strange thing, Lena, small and the youngest of the bunch, has kind of taken over as leader. Even Aileen and Rob defer to her. It is a good thing she is in the gang and the focus has changed from pure trouble to helping others, for she has the brain to be a strong leader. She appears to be capable of anything. Better good than evil!"

I think I'm going to have a talk with this little pint-sized emerging leader.

Steve and Cindy invited me and Gail in for the evening meal. I told them that I thought by the end of September I would be closing out my home in Ohio and moving back into town. I should be permanently located here by sometime in October. As I never was one to collect stuff, I'd just sell my furniture to a second-hand dealer and pack a few personal items and clothes. I would stay at a motel until I found something to settle into.

Steve raised an objection to this, saying I was more than welcome to stay with them, but I said I didn't think it would look too good for them to have an ex-husband living with them. Steve said then how about moving into Gail's house? I had stayed there before.

I said no, first of all I hadn't been asked and second I wouldn't anyway because I wouldn't want to compromise her good name if all of a sudden she had a man living in her house. However, I would love it if I could feel welcome in either home. After all I had a daughter I wanted to stay close to. Sweety just twitched and smiled all over when I said this.

I announced that I had a date for tomorrow night and would be going with Gail to see a play in Weston. Sunday morning I promised to cook pancakes for breakfast so Sweety, Cindy and Steve were invited to pass judgment on my culinary skills. Monday I wanted to watch the fourth of July parade from the hospital grounds. Tuesday I had to fly back to Ohio and be there for work Wednesday morning.

I asked everyone what they had for vacation plans. Cindy and Steve said they were on vacation now and for the next two weeks. Gail had the third week of July. I said I had the third and fourth off if I wanted, but had considered not taking them which would move my termination up by that much time.

I had a thought. "Gail do you have any specific plans?" She didn't, and was just going to lie around and soak up sun.

"Would you consider escorting Aileen out to visit me? If you could get the next week, we could fly out and visit my Mom and Dad. I want them to see Aileen and get to know her a little bit. It would be an all-expense paid vacation for you."

"Well I don't know, it might be possible. I'll have to see about the second week. The first one is a definite possibility."

"Oh Aunt Gail, please, I want to meet my Grampa and Grandma so bad, please, please."

"Okay, okay, I'll see what I can do."

Cindy said, "I wish I could see Tom Sr. again. He was so much help to me when I first went into the bank. Now I have his old job. He always said I had it in me."

"Call him. He would love to hear from you. I guess you didn't know, but it was my talk with him about you that made me decide to marry you and save my Sweety. Pop is never judgmental, but he was so sad when we got divorced. He'd be so thrilled to hear from you. Really!"

"I am going to do that, I really am."

I slept in Gail's bed-- but she wasn't in it. She was in the other room where she and Sweety occupied the twin beds that Gail had put in so when Aileen stayed she could have a friend over. Damn!

Saturday morning I asked Aileen what the gang had been up to lately. She said they had reinforced her start of goodwill with Miss Tenny. They all found out that Miss Tenny wasn't so bad after all, just strict in class. In fact she was going to show the girls how to make cookies on Tuesday. She had pointed out an elderly couple at the end of her street that needed a hand. The gang was going to be on the street all day. She was sorry she was going to miss being there, but they all understood her wanting to be with her father when he went to the airport.

The date with Gail was wonderful. We seemed to get along so well together. I knew that unless something happened to spoil my feelings, sometime soon I was going to propose to this woman. And the evening after we got home there was no tension between us at all. Gail invited me into her bed as she did before. There were no uncertainties this time. We were dating and it was certain we would be dating more in the future.

I did crawl into the other room and into one of the twin beds. It was a good thing for Aileen showed up at five-thirty to help prepare the breakfast I promised to cook. It was a thrill for me to be shaken and open my eyes to have my Sweety saying, "I love you daddy." I suppose she was a little old for this, but it was something she had missed saying. I had missed it too. Oh well, we were making up for it now.

Steve had a barbecue that afternoon. Cindy sat down beside me telling me how much Aileen had changed since I had come back into her life. She said the best thing was how she treated Steve. It was like she really was his daughter now. Did I mind? No, of course not!

Lena plopped down beside me on Monday as I was waiting for the parade to begin. "Hi, how's the gang going?" I asked.

"Good. We are having so much fun helping people. Did you notice we got rid of those old junky clothes. It's jeans and red tops or shirts now. We all got hair cuts too. What do you think?"

"I think you guys are doing great and I hear you are kind of the leader now. How come?"

"I guess because I think things through to keep us busy and have fun. I don't want to get into trouble either. Sometimes I have to get right up in one of their faces, but so far it works."

"Some of the parents are a little concerned that you guys are planning something diabolical."

"What's that mean? I never heard that word before."

"It means evil. This wouldn't be something to do with Billy Parsons, would it?"

"It could be, but don't worry. When it goes down Aileen won't be involved."

"Okay, but I worry about you guys, too. Would you like to share your plans with me?"

"No, I can't as everybody is sworn to secrecy. I promise we won't hurt him, just do as you said--humiliate him--and maybe blackmail him a little. Okay?"

"I guess. Just don't get in trouble, please? I couldn't stand it if you did."

"We won't 'cause I'm doing the planning. Trust me."

Gail and Stella were climbing up the bank and Lena ran down and helped pull them up to where I was sitting. Stella and Lena went on looking for Charlie and Gail sat down beside me. "What was all of that about--you talking with Lena? Did she tell you what is going on? I wouldn't be surprised if she did. Kids always talk to you."

"I didn't find out anything specific, but they are just trying to right a wrong that was done to someone. There is no way to stop it and somehow with Lena in charge, I'm not going to worry too much. The parade is about to start. Let's enjoy it."

Tuesday my flight left Manchester at noon. I hated leaving from there--Hartford was much more convenient. Now I had to wait to see if Gail would get the second week off so we could all fly to Arizona. Two days later when I was talking to Aileen, Gail said, "We're coming, start preparing."

Gail and Aileen arrived on the sixteenth of July. Gail said she had ten days, not the two weeks she was hoping for. She had to be in court on the twenty-seventh. Still time enough to do what was planned. In a spare minute when Aileen was out of the room, Gail handed me a well taped packet. "This is from Lena. She said to tell you everything was cool. What is this all about?"

"I have an idea and I probably can tell you after I get a chance to read the letter. It feels like there are some photographs in here too. We'll see what happened as well as read about it."

I was a little apprehensive about how what I was going to say next would be received. "We have a supper date tonight with a very good friend of mine. Bella Sweet, her live-in and kids are having us over and serving a gumbo that has come down through her family since slave days. Now the supper is going to be hot, I mean like pepper hot and it is going to be noisy, because everybody talks at once and some of it will be in dialect, I guess you can say.

"It won't be long before you will catch on and join in the fun. This is going to be a new experience, so Sweety and you may be nervous. The middle boy, Jamal, belongs to a gang just like you do so why don't you talk to him and see how much different and how much the same your gangs are.

"Gail, you're going to find Bella somewhat intimidating at first, because she is a massive person. She is three inches taller than my five-foot-eleven and has a forty-four inch bust. The only reason I'm telling you this is because I didn't want you to be too startled when you first meet her. I have told her you are a lawyer, so be prepared to get your brain picked. The woman has an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Her common-law husband Pete is a scientist in the energy field. You'll like him too, I think, although you will laugh at how cowed he is by Bella. So this is no time to be bashful or shy even though their culture is a little different than ours."

We turned into the street Bella lived on. I pointed out how well kept the houses and lawns were. I said that Bella ruled the whole section. I called her a beloved tyrant because everyone liked her. I didn't knock, I just walked in. The three boys started a chant of "Uncle Tom, Uncle Tom" as I shook Pete's hand and introduced Gail and Aileen. I pointed out the boys by name. The oldest Tyrone, the middle Jamal and little Billy. Billy was coal black which was several shades darker than the rest of the family. You knew he had a different father than Pete, but Pete had his arm around the little fellow as Billy clung to his leg.

Bella made her entrance from the kitchen and headed straight for Aileen. "You must be Sweety. Your daddy talks about you all the time. And you're the cutest, prettiest little thing too. Come give Anty Bella a hug." Aileen was about smothered in Bella's massive chest.

Aileen surprised me by saying to her, "My daddy likes you an awful lot and he talks about you telling us how wonderful you are. He says you are big, black and beautiful. I think you are too."

"Well, bless you child, you are well named, little Sweety." Bella then turned to Gail, asking, "And who is this pretty lady?"

"This is Aileen's aunt, Gail Simpson. She is just about my favorite person after Aileen." I went on to explain how Gail had come for me when the family at home was so worried about Aileen and how I stayed at her house when I visited. "We had a date over the fourth and we came to the conclusion that we enjoyed each other's company. We are dating for real now."

Supper was fun! Bella warned us that the fish gumbo was hot and to take real small bites until our mouths became acclimated to the spicy hot portions. The kids enjoyed Aileen's first expression when she took the first bite. She soon was taking the same mouthfuls as the rest and asked for seconds. It was good!

I got into a conversation with Pete while Bella and Gail cleaned up the dishes. Pete wanted to know what my plans for the future were and I admitted I didn't have any, just that I would be going on to Vermont to be with my daughter. He kept telling me I would be sorely missed in this town. I said I know, but things never stay the same.

Bella came in and I had pretty much the same conversation with her that I had just had with Pete. I said we couldn't stay late as we would soon be traveling to Arizona and I had some things to attend to. I got a big hug from Bella and just the body heat from this woman brought back fond memories of when I was her lover. How true, nothing stays the same!

When Gail and I came out, Sweety was surrounded by a whole raft of black kids. Uncle Tom, Uncle Tom, the chant went up and the kids followed us to the end of the street rapping on the side of the car. Sweety was glowing and said she had a lot of fun and the kids were pretty much the same as her gang, just louder and noisier.

Aileen was tired from her long day so she went to bed as I opened the packet of notes from Lena. Three photos were in there and fell out as I spread out the pages of writing. I glanced at them and decided to read the letter first before studying them closer.

The letter: Mr. Wells we got even with Billy Parsons about ten days ago when Aileen was taking you to the airport and she still don't know what we did. I will explain what we did. I planned this when I found out that Miss Tenny lived one street over fom Billy's house and we did some work for some people named Allen that lived at the end of the street. We could go through the woods without being seen back of his garage. The day Miss Tenny made cookies we said we were working for the Allens in case somebody asked. Mindy got to know Billy and said she would let Billy kiss her if he ever was home alone. this is what we were waiting for and it happened the day Aileen wasn't there. Mindy went to his house and weall followed her in and the guys all held him and made him take off his clothes and then we stood around and laughed at him. I had my camera and was going to take a picture of him naked, but Kathy said lets really fix him really good and she went and found some of his mom's panties in the dirty clothes basket and made him hold them up and look at them and I took a picture and then we made him put them on and I took a picture. I said that if he bothered anymore girls we would catch him again and smear dog poop all over his face. He was real scared and even cryied and begged us not to show anyone the pictures and he would be good. we fixed him good and I will send this to you when Aileen gives me your address. Lena

The second letter: Mr. Wells I didn't get your address and heard that Aileen's ant was going to see you so am going to give these to her for you. The pictures are of billy and thats all there is as i took them off my computer. I am beginning to worry that maybe we went to far as Billy won't come out of his house and a friend of his says he sits in his room all day and nobody knows what is wroing with him. Mindy is mad cause she kind of liked him even tho he tried to hurt Aileen. My gang is fighting and nobody is happy because some think we should have done more to Billy and some feel sorry for him. I don't have control anymore and I kind of feel sorry for what we did myself so if you can tell me what to do would you call me when you read this. I don't want to be diabolicul again Lena

Christ, I had planted the idea in Lena's mind and now things were all screwed up. Gail had been watching me and saw that what I read had not set well. "You want to tell me about it?" She was very curious. I handed the pictures over to her. It was pretty obvious what the boy was doing. "Why that little pervert. Who is he?"

"That's the boy that attempted to rape my daughter and those are blackmail pictures after the gang got through getting even. Christ, what a mess! I put the idea in their heads too. I was just so mad when I was told about it. Here read the letters."

"What did this boy do to her? When did it happen?" She never told me about anything like this. Does Cindy know? What's his name anyway? How come you know about this and we didn't?"

"Let me answer, first, his name is Billy Parsons. His mother was the foster care person where Aileen stayed the last time the social services took her. The only one that knew was Lena and she told me at the pool party. The reason she wanted into the gang was to have the gang help her get even for Aileen.

"I said it was okay to get even, but there should be no physical violence, or they would be really in trouble if they got caught. I said the secret was not to get caught. I said humiliation was the most effective without violence. What did he do to Aileen?--He tried to penetrate her. That was one day. I don't doubt that if the social worker hadn't come and returned her to Cindy, he would have gone after and raped her.