Chapter 13: Home is Where the Heart Is

To the Harris family's credit there was no explosion in the room, but there was an awkward silence that followed Cheri's statement. Rebecca squeezed Tony's hand that was wrapped around her waist. He could almost hear her mind racing.

"Oh god," Cheri said, tears beginning to flow freely. "I feel like an ungrateful bitch." With that she fled to Tony's side and awkwardly tried to bury her head in Tony's shoulder.

"Unh-uh," Tony said, pushing her upright. "Rebecca can you get some tissues?" Rebecca stood up and moved toward the hallway, returning a few seconds later with a box of Kleenex. She reclaimed her position on Tony's lap.

Tony handed Cheri a tissue and set the box on her lap. Everyone else in the room was waiting patiently and more than just a little confused.

"Cheri you understand this is part of it right? You need to get it out. Remember these are the good guys. Everyone in this house and everyone in mine, we love you and we want you to be happy. Now come right out and say it, because I know you understand it. Pick your head up and talk to them and I bet we can make everyone understand. I promise you no one will feel less about you because of who you are and how you feel. Go back to the beginning and tell the story OK? From the time you got to Savannah. Tell them what I wanted you to do."

Cheri looked up at Marj and Chris and finally at Rebecca and saw nothing but concern.

"OK, maybe it helps, from the beginning I mean. Well my beginning I guess, when I realized that something was wrong. It took me a while to understand. I'm smart. People tell me I'm smart. Everyone around me does. I get good grades; not good grades, perfect grades, it's easy for me. Most of the time I've read the chapter in the text book in class when the teacher starts and ten minutes later I know what they are teaching and they've only gotten to page three.

"Tony tells me that's part of it. I know I'm smart so I think things like this shouldn't affect me; things like this are for people who aren't smart. Well that's not right. It's something I've realized recently." She actually managed a smile before saying, "I'm one screwed up smart chick, I'll tell you that."

Everyone in the room got at least a smile out of that.

"Tony wanted me to go to counseling, which is kind of funny. Tony thinks the psychiatrists are the ones that are nuts. He told me that they couldn't exactly help me, that they couldn't fix me, but that they could at least make me understand. I didn't want to go, mainly because I'm too smart to be screwed up in the head right?

"He didn't make me go. Tony's been to them; when Tammy died he saw them a lot. He saw them until he understood. They didn't fix him. Tony has this hero complex, or whatever they call it, a mile wide. He can't see a kid in trouble, especially a girl, and not go crashing off after her. I mean there are worse things to be screwed up in the head about and it's a good thing for me. He sure didn't hesitate to take me in and do everything he could to help me.

"So, I escaped one psycho and ended up right with another one. The good thing is that Tony's psychosis isn't the worst thing in the world. He's just like me in another way too, right Tony?"

"Oh I think you are going to open at least two sets of eyes here, and maybe three. Go ahead; I'm pretty sure I know where you're going with this."

"My problem," Cheri continued, "is with authority figures, but we'll go into that more in a minute. Tony, growing up, who was the most important authority figure in your life? It wasn't either one of your parents was it?"

Tony shook his head. She had figured that one out, not that he really tried to hide it. "Grandpa," he stated simply.

"Yep, that damn boat. It's not a boat to him, it's not Kalliste, it's not a status symbol though that's what most people who don't really know Tony think. Nope, when the most important authority figure in Tony's life died he latched onto that boat like a lifeline. As long as he has that boat, and he can tinker with it, sail it around, or even just go sit in it and think for a while the world gets a little better right Tony?"

Tony smiled at her. "You really are smart for a screwed up chick aren't you? It's not a huge thing, my parents know, kind of. They just know the shrinks told them there was nothing really wrong with my 'obsession' with Kalliste. In fact they said as long as it didn't cause a financial hardship on the family, like it would most families, it was actually a healthy thing; an outlet for one of your issues right baby-girl?"

"Yeah. We're going to go, to counseling I mean, and that one is gonna leap right out at the shrinks isn't it? They're going to tell me I have 'abandonment issues' right?"

"Yep, no doubt about that one, but hey that's only one of the things rattling around that whacky noggin of yours. Explain number two."

"Oh boy, Uncle Chris, Aunt Marj please don't get upset, but yeah. Tony thinks he already knows the words but we'll let them tell us he's right. I have an irrational fear of authority figures; mostly, of course, male authority figures."

Cheri instinctually understood that now was the time that discussion would begin in earnest and looked at her Uncle Chris.

"Cheri," he began, "I think I'm actually beginning to understand this. Don't be afraid to tell us how you feel. I know that you know I won't hurt you. But what you're telling us is that you can't control that fear, right?"

"Right, and that's what makes me uncomfortable. Tony says it's normal. What's happening is that the irrational nuts and bolts in my head are overriding the rational ones."

"Normal?" Marj asked.

"Sure," Tony replied. "People have irrational fears of a lot of things. Some of them are so commonplace that we absolutely think they're normal. Fear of heights, fear of flying, fear of allowing your daughter to travel a couple of thousand miles in a boat." Tony paused and grinned at Chris then continued, "fear of enclosed spaces, there's hundreds of them we think are pretty normal. Are you afraid of mice Marj?"

"OK, OK, I think I'm starting to get it now."

Tony certainly hoped so because Marj had the biggest and most life-impacting irrational fear of them all and he didn't want to bring that up. There was a reason Rebecca was an only child.

"We all know that statistically the drive to the airport is actually more dangerous than the flight itself, but there are far more people afraid of flying than of driving. Most people just shrug and think that's pretty normal right?

"That's not how the shrinks make money though. They make money when someone is afraid of something that's not normal or have unusual reactions to things that society doesn't think are normal. Is Cheri normal? I think she is. Her father died and was replaced by that monster. That's a pretty good double-whammy if I've ever heard of one. She's not going to pop in a piece of bubble-gum and go skipping down the street after that.

"Is she normal? What's normal? Am I normal? Are you?"

"OK," Chris said, "but let's get back to the subject. I guess, Cheri, what you're telling us that staying with us permanently would make you uncomfortable?"

"Yes and no. I mean, this is fine, it should be perfect for me. Like everyone in the world says, except for Uncle Mori, it's the best place for me. There's only one place that I'd feel safer, with less fear. But it really isn't a place is it Tony?"

"No baby-girl, it isn't, is it?" Tony gave her an affectionate smile.

And then the one person who never ceased to wonder and amaze him spoke up. "The only place she feels absolutely safe is wherever Tony is."

Tony bent slightly and kissed the redhead on the cheek. "You do know I love you for your brains as well don't you?"

"You'd better buster," she said and turned her face up a bit farther and kissed him on the lips.

"Something just happened there that summed this whole thing up and I have no idea what it is. It seemed to involve some jealousy on Rebecca's part though," Marj said.

"The eight hundred pound gorilla got in before we got the story out," Tony said. "Go ahead sweetie."

"It's simple, when you think of it. They just had dinner with Scott-the-magic-lawyer. Cheri doesn't want us to adopt her because she wants Tony to adopt her. We wouldn't be having this conversation if Scott didn't tell them he could do it.

"That means when Tony goes off to Athens he takes his daughter with him. I'm not ashamed to say that most certainly does make me jealous. Before you think that goes any further, you can get it out of your mind. The chances of Cheri and Tony becoming romantically involved are zero. She really does think of him as her dad, so no, otherwise it doesn't bother me."

"So you really think the Judge will allow that Tony?" Chris asked.

"Scott said Judge Cauthan said it could be done, but would feel better after I turned 18. After that he was sure it couldn't be challenged on appeal. In the meantime the judge issued me a new custody order, this time for no less than 180 days and no more than a year. Let's just say and he, Rupert, and Scott were not very happy when we reported Mr. Yakimoto's meddling," Tony replied.

"And long before that runs out, you will be legally an adult? It sounds to me like they almost expected this," Chris said.

"Rupert's been doing this a long time. He took Scott for two hundred dollars on a bet over it actually," Tony said with a smile.

"So that's that then? We simply withdraw the petition. There is no injunction because there is no longer anything to delay. Tony has an ironclad custody order until he's 18. Mori Yakimoto actually wins the legal battle, but loses the war, right?"

"That's the idea. I know you want to talk about this some more, but I really need to get home and explain this to my mom. Not too sure how keen she is on grandchildren at this stage. Cheri, are you staying here tonight or coming with me?"

"I'm fine here Tony. Can I come to the meeting tomorrow? I mean everyone's going to be talking about my future, even the judge let me speak."

"If you're comfortable with it baby-girl, gonna be all kinds of those male authority figure types there though."

"As long as you're there I'll be fine."

"OK, dress nice, like a business meeting kind of thing. Rebecca's been in enough money-begging meetings with me she'll know if you have any questions." Tony stood and hugged Marj then Cheri. Rebecca walked him to the door and kissed him passionately.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing you big lug."

"Now when have I ever let that stop me before?" he said with a big grin.

Tony was playing a game that he had neither the experience to play, nor even knew the rules of. It was to be a painful lesson of money, corruption, and power that would eventually cost him a part of his very moral fiber when events spiraled out of his control.

Christopher Harris knew. He had every confidence that Tony and his mother would win any legal confrontation. While Tony had an investigative report on Mori Yakimoto, Chris Harris knew just what that file meant. Mori Yakimoto was as dirty as they come. He was a dangerous man who was used to getting what he wanted. If Tony was any match for him he wouldn't be allowed in the same state as Rebecca let alone be, for all intents and purposes, his future son-in-law.

Tony would need help, and the International Brotherhood of Longshoremen took care of its own. He distanced himself from such things normally, but he certainly knew that there was an unofficial grievance system that one could contact when unofficial help was needed.

Mori Yakimoto was surprised and more than a little annoyed to see not only Tony Smith but also his niece when he walked into the conference room at Carol Smith's law firm the next day. His annoyance increased when he realized that Tony was sitting at the head of the table and at the other end sat a man that he knew from photographs must be Christopher Harris.

"Please everyone take a seat. Mr. Yakimoto, if you and your counselors could sit on my left and mine and Mr. Harris's on my right, we will proceed shortly."

As Mr. Yakimoto was taking his seat he couldn't help but take a shot at Tony. "Mr. Smith this is no place for a child. My niece has no business at this meeting."

"Your objection is duly noted sir and I will move it to the top of the agenda.

"It seems to surprise some that I am heading this meeting today. I will say that I actually called for it and it was arranged by my counsel at my behest. That being said I have a list of names but I think we'd all like to put faces to them. I'll start with myself.