Chapter 6

I went through all the adoption processes for Marilyn, without letting Gae know beforehand. I eventually presented her with the adoption papers to be accredited and signed by her. She was ecstatic.

The shit really hit the fan when I tracked Doris down at her new home in Sutherland, and her husband, the GM of the company where she was originally a secretary. It turns out that it took him less than a week to get into her pants but two years to divorce his first wife. By then, Doris had already borne two kids to him. I confronted her at the door, with the clear objective of persuading her to let me adopt Kim. I hadn't told Kim, as I didn't want to have her disappointed, even though I had discussed it with Gae.

This led to a major, full-family confrontation. She was pregnant, huge even. She'd already had two kids: nine and seven years of age. Her husband was standing beside her in the doorway. I hadn't been invited in, and the husband had no knowledge of Kim, or for that matter myself, or any late husband. Husband became combative, Doris hysterical, and husband, Gary or George or something, as I hadn't actually been introduced, slapped Doris for lying to him and the hysterics.

Although I was quite on the husband's side, as I considered my cousin of being somewhere between the human equivalents of genital herpes and the bubonic plague, I laid him out with one punch to the chin. The husband flew from the front door to half way across the large lounge room into an untidy pile on the carpeted lounge room floor. I didn't believe in hitting women, least of all pregnant bitches. I made damned sure I let the husband know this, although Doris could fit into a very narrow grey area. Doris was going to ring the cops and I reminded her of what happened last time.

The husband regained consciousness ten minutes later. The only things hurt were his chin and his pride. He apologised to both Doris and me, as he also didn't believe in violence to women. We actually warmed to each other. The husband's name was Gary and he was one of the last call-up victims, though was in too late to be sent to Nam and was demobbed almost immediately.

That's when everything clicked with him. He realised who I was, and saluted me. He also recognised Greg's name, but Doris hadn't told him she had been married previously, least of all to the late Greg White, or about their daughter.

This was the time when things became awkward. I wanted to adopt Kim, but Gary wanted to meet his step daughter, even though I had solely reared Kim almost her complete life. This put them at odds, but with complete and utter empathy with the other's situation. Gary was an SDA (Seventh Day Adventist), who are real family-oriented people. He wanted Kim in their life. Doris had gone past that stage of her life. I made sure that they understood Kim wanted nothing whatsoever to do with Doris. Kim, and seemingly also Doris, had denied any emotional attachment of any kind with each other.

I looked at Gary with my one eye, held my right hand out and told him, "I would cut that hand off before I would let this deserting bitch ever have any contact with my little girl again. I only want to make official what is already reality."

It's doubtful if Doris ever felt more alone in her whole life than she felt that evening, in her own house, with her own family.

Doris was ignored from then on, until her waters broke at about seven that night when I was preparing to leave. I became babysitter, as Gary took Doris to the Hospital. Gary wanted to ring his mum to take over from me until I asked him if he wanted to explain things to his mum. Gary had already had one large rift stemming from a similar problem within his own family. His mum knowing would only make things worse, and spread the disruption around again.

It turned out that Doris's cervix was only two centimetres dilated, so they expected nothing for another eight hours or more at the earliest. I still thought that the brothel idea was more appropriate for my cousin. Now I was sorry that I hadn't carried on with it, but I didn't mention that point to Gary.

Gary arrived home to find me feeding both kids with what leftovers I had found in the fridge. Gary said that he was going to take the kids to his mum's place; in Hurstville, funnily enough. He also asked me if he could meet Kim, not to make trouble, but so that he would at least know. He would also make sure that Doris signed the adoption papers.

I rang home to tell Gae and the family that I was bringing someone home within the next hour or so. I considered doing the Woronora road. It may have been quicker at this time of night, but the vehicular ferry at Laguna was a pain and 'That Fucking Bridge Over the Woronora'* was a nightmare in peak hour. They crossed the Georges River over Tom Ugly's Bridge, which had the one lane of the three going north because they were heading against peak hour traffic.

(*Read 'Due Some Love', by this same author, which will be posted later this year. Plug plug.)

Gary's mum's place was only a street away from ours, and she was a close friend of the late Mrs Allen. She'd known Gae since she was a baby. She used to be at her friend's house when she minded Marilyn and Kim as babies. Gae met us in the lounge. Kim, Marilyn, Tammy and Veronica were all around the kitchen table doing homework, or studying together. I introduced Gae to Gary, and called Kimbo over. We all sat at the kitchen table together. I told Kim who Gary was, what he was here for, and what I was attempting to do.

Kim threw herself at me covering my face with sloppy kisses. She discussed her half brother and sister with Gary, and was quite interested in him, and he in her. I told her about Gary's mother and Gae suddenly realised she knew his mum and had met Gary before, though of course Kim didn't remember them. After a couple of cups of coffee, he headed off to Sutherland Hospital, expecting a long night.

Kim said she wasn't interested in seeing her mother - she may be tempted to become violent - though would one day like to meet the children, and eventually all three of them.

Gary, later (much later, after the new baby was baptised) told his mum what the situation was and that it was not to go any further, as it would only cause more conflict within their family. He also told his mum that Kim was, at one and the same time, one of the most beautiful and the ugliest females he had ever met. If it had been an option, he would have been proud to call her his daughter.

Our family, and Gary and his children, met every few months. We gathered at either Gary's Mother's place, or Gary brought his children to our place. Gary and his children were always welcome, and the three kids stayed with us for a time when Doris and Gary had a 'making amends' South Seas Island boat cruise. Gary was on very cool terms with Doris, as was his family. The news of the affair, of course, quickly got out. Doris had well and truly 'screwed the pooch', and it would be difficult for her to make it good, again.

Eventually ... too late, really ... she told her husband, honestly, what had happened when her life fell apart. He told her he understood where she was coming from, but it was really inexcusable how she treated her own child. Her major problem was that she had married an SDA devotee, and they are true believers. Gary never passed this information on, the same as she had never explained her actions to us.

Late on the night that Gary visited us, Kim came into our bedroom. Tammy was dead to the world at the foot of the bed, both nipples stapled to the timber bed end and she was looking extremely uncomfortable although enjoying one of her deeper sleeps. Gae and I had just kissed her and each other goodnight, and were snuggling together when Gae bought up the idea of us having a baby. It's not really that big a step, yet even at everything going right we would need a new house. Her mum's house was the same size as ours but had been renovated in the late fifties to improve its retail value. Then Gae's father had died, and it was never put on the market.

Kim climbed in between us, and pushed us forcibly apart. "Mum and Pop, I need you both to do me a favour." We waited and she didn't say anything, then I realised that my Kimbo was embarrassed. Whatever this was, it was very important to her and very personal. "I love you both very much," she enunciated with extreme exactitude, "and before you become my legal Mummy and Daddy," another long hesitation, "I-want-you-to-take-my-virginity-for-me-please-and-to-be-my-lovers! Ohpleaseplease! I really want this."

It was all said in a rush, in one word and one breath, which I had to sit for a moment to translate.

I put my arms around her and clutched her to me; then Gae worked it out too and held her from the other side. "Oh, my poor baby girl, do you think it will have to be me?"

"Pop, I have understood for a long time that no boy will want me. Even Marilyn likes it that I look like an ugly man. I have got to be realistic, as boys are following her around now because she really is past being very cute, she is beautiful. It won't be that long a time away before I won't have her any more and she will leave what we have behind, just like the song said. Even I'm not as interested in girls as I once was."

"I still need sex though, everyone needs someone and you are mine. I only have you. I will only ever have you. You know that. I know that. Gae, you're like a big Marilyn; you make me horny like she does and I know that's wrong, too."