by JH Terry
XII: A Horrible Truth Revealed
“Mr. Reed, your son, Tom, is impertinent, rude, and obnoxious,” said the robust Mrs. Wilson. Andrew looked at her trying to retain the smile his lips yearned for heartily. “It is with this finiteness upon the subject that I say to you that Tom must be sedated in some way. He leads on Peter into believing that he is such a lovable character, as shown by their lateness in returning home this afternoon, the car incident, the egg incident of earlier this morning, the food fight incident at school, and other such incidents that I find to be highly inappropriate. In reality, though, he is usurper upon society and its founding foundations.”
“Which foundations would those be?” asked Andrew.
“Why, discipline, encouragement, and beauty of course.”
“That is strange. I always thought that they were liberty and the freedom that it entails. Things like the Constitution and Bill of Rights. That is why a anyone cannot cut off our heads because they feel bad or have a slight belief that they are right.”
Then, Tom came into the room. “There he is!” shouted Mrs. Wilson at Tom. “The next time you and Peter do something wrong, then you shall not speak to each other ever again!”
“How do you hope to do that when they are at the same school?” asked Andrew with a smile.
“Andrew Reed, you shall only speak when you are spoken to!” said Mrs. Wilson.
“This has gone far enough,” said Andrew angrily. “This is my home, Margaret Wilson, and I will not have you speak in such a tone or manner at my wife, son or me. If you cannot calm your raging hormones, then I suggest you do us a great favor and leave at once!”
“Andrew?” said June as she came into the house behind Tom.
“June, I thought you were coming home later in the evening?” asked Andrew.
“We finished early,” said June concerned with what was before her. “What is going on?”
“June, when I came home she just barged on over from her house into ours. She has been telling me how bad of an influence Tom is upon Peter, of all the….”
“Andrew, stop it, you are behaving like a child,” said June. “Margaret, you also should know better. Tom and Peter are wonderful friends, as we once were and are. At least they get themselves into the good type of mischief.” Andrew and Margaret seemed to agree with June’s uncanny wisdom. “Now, make-up, the both of you, and end this childishness.”
Reluctantly, Andrew and Margaret shook hands as June said. “I’m sorry,” said Andrew.
“Me, too, I mean about being sorry,” said Margaret.
“Now, let’s get on with our lives!” said June with a smile.
Margaret left from the house through the back door into her own rambunctious one. June went into her bedroom as Andrew started to cook some spaghetti. Tom went into his room and changed his clothing. He then went downstairs to see Andrew contemplating whether or not the spaghetti was ready or not.
Tom then stood near Andrew. Andrew said, “Oh I spoke to that doctor friend of mine. He will be able to see you tomorrow after school. Do you think you can make it for then?” Tom nodded his head. There was so much that he wanted to say to his father, and yet he did not know the best way to say it to him. “You are quiet today, Tom. Anything troubling you, other than those dreams?”
“Yes, there is one thing. What was the O’Peter case?”
For what seemed to be a long time Andrew was quiet, until he asked, “Why do you ask about so specific a thing Tom? Perhaps I could tell you about the Smith case, or the Varistor case I am working on now. The Varistor case is amazing, but I think that due to his old age they may give him leniency.”
“No, Dad, I want to hear about the O’Peter case. Everyone seems to know about it, and not me. If you do not tell me yourself, then I shall hear it sooner or later from someone who may be biased.”
Pondering, Andrew told Tom, “Sit down Tom. Let me just finish this spaghetti and let it set for a while. The sauce is already ready, and it can wait while we talk.” Tom sat down at the kitchen table unsure of what was to come. Andrew finished with the noodles and sat next to Tom. “When I was younger, right out of Law School and I had already met and married your mother, I quickly became a well-known lawyer. Everyone knew that with me they were sure to win. I could detect any discrepancy in the logistics of any legal case, allowing my client to win. I was rich, successful, and had fame. I cannot apologize for my behavior. Unfortunately I had turned my back from my Black roots and heritage and instead lusted for money. It’s strange what money will do to a man - integrity to one’s name discarded to the wind. I had grown up poor with my father abandoning my mother and I when I was young. I worked hard at school to provide, just as hard as my mother worked to keep a roof over our heads and lights on in our home. Whereas some of my friends went to drugs or gangs, I got a scholarship to college and then to law school. Before I graduated my mother died. You would have loved her, and her you Tom. She was a rock in my life and when she died I changed. Call it blindly looking for a reason to go on, but make no excuse for my behavior. Everyone has a choice and I chose selfishly money and fame. One time they called my form of law practice the Reed Effect. Like it was some type of philosophy, or something like that. Of course it was all nonsense but I just lapped it up like some voracious dog.
“Your mother almost left me at that time.” Tom looked at his father shocked. “Yes, it was that bad. Fights, arguments and tears were treated with cold arrogance and inconsideration. She had moved out of the house back to her parents. You have to understand Tom that I was so into my publicity that I changed into some kind of Paleolithic animal. She couldn’t take it most of the time, but stayed with me because she knew it was just a phase and I would change to my normal self, but she did not know how long it would take. It was the O’Peter case that changed my attitude.
“There came a time when a man called William O’Peter had a case of killing some child. Looking to the case, I noticed some flaws by the police, so I took the case for him. For the first few days of the proceedings, everything was fine and I shone like a star in court, basking in the publicity I received, acting like an utter fool. Then, one afternoon I had a conversation with O’Peter when he went over what he was to say in court. However, as you know I had a particular astuteness when it came to flaws, and O’Peter’s statements had huge flaws. At the time I thought that it was all right, every once in a while someone forgets what they do and one’s memory degenerates. However, I received a phone call from someone at my offices. It was a person who had crucial evidence for me at the police station, an informant of mine.
“Coming there, he showed me an article he had swiped at the scene of the crime that was evidence against my client. It was a tape showing the entire event occur, a memento for O’Peter for his evil deeds. Standing there, seeing this evidence, what would you have done, Tom?”
“I would have submitted it to the court to provide a fair hearing.”
“Yes,” said Andrew with a smile, “I knew that you would, you are better than I have ever been. However, at this time I loved to win, greedy was I in my soul. I bought the tape from my informant for an exorbitant price, and I returned with it to my office. For two hours I sat at my desk pondering upon what to do. Then, I did the only thing a greedy, evil, and wanton man can do, I burned the evidence, leading the informant to have no proof of its legitimacy.” Tom sat shocked at what he had heard, his father had let go a man who would go on to hurt others. What shocked Tom more was somehow deep in his eyes he could see that there was a glimmer in his father’s soul that was still ignited by that heinous action. That somehow doing wrong was an enticing game of getting away with it. Yet just as quickly the glimmer showed Tom could see his father’s face grimace in shame at his thoughts and the glow recede from his eyes. It was at that moment that Tom could understand why his mother still clung onto and loved his father. Despite the dark thoughts that subconsciously oozed at intervals from his mind, which h
e could not help, there was still an overpowering conscience recognized them for what they were and let them go.
“If I talked against my client then I would be disbarred. If I had given over the evidence, then my position as a lawyer would have been lowered. I would have been considered inferior by everyone, and, as I believed at that time, lost the love of your mother. As extremely irrational as it was I held my self-esteem in my ability to win. That night I did not return home, because I knew she would figure out my deeds as all women know of such circumstances. The next day I continued with the court case as usual, but O’Peter noticed a change in my manner. I was no longer the lovable cad that I had portrayed, but a sulking schoolboy, tired of his own self-image.”
“Did you win?” asked Tom.
“Of course,” said Andrew. “I stopped practicing law and went with your mother to France for some time. During that time I received news that O’Peter was dead. He died in a police encounter in which he was holding a child he had harassed hostage. He shot the child and himself in the end. At that time I felt dirty, and your mother knew it. One night, I finally gave into her pleas and she and I talked of my deed. She seemed for a second cold to me, causing me to believe that she hated me for my deeds. Childish I became defensive and began to argue. I was about to leave when she asked me why I was going arguing like a nut. I told her that if she wanted to leave me I understood. I was not worth the trouble at all. Then she smiled, saying that the human within had finally shone, and she knew that my former days were over with. Seeing her laugh made me happy, and I finally knew what to do with my life.
“Tom, I have been very evil in my life, hurting others for my own financial and public gain. However, I did not know until after O’Peter’s death how lucky I was with a wife like your mother. The little things in life began to matter for me, and I finally was able to live that happy life that I have always wanted to live.
“When you were born I knew what I had to do. I would teach you to have those values that make a person great in mind, not great in the minds of others. That is why when I see you Tom, I see a great person who was created from a horrible person like me.”
“There is one thing I do not understand, did anyone know of this?”
“Yes, some do, as talk of course. That informant told everyone once his money ran out. However, there is no proof. Luckily I am still practicing, but I am more into the detail of the truth than into the detail of any flaws. No life is worth destroying, and I have the responsibility to make sure that no criminal is allowed to do that to another innocent.”
Andrew looked to Tom intently. “Now knowing the truth, what do you think of me now?”
Tom looked at his father and realized that he was seeing him clearly for the first time. Just like anyone else he was a human with flaws. “I think you are an even better person than I once knew.”
Andrew placed his hand on Tom’s shoulder. “Thank you son.”
Suddenly, June came down the stairs. “What are you two boys doing? I smelled something burning so I came down stairs.”
Looking to the stove, Andrew noticed that the sauce was still cooking. “My goodness,” said Andrew as he hurried to the stove, turning it off. “I’m sorry June, I was just talking to Tom and forgot to turn it off.” Looking into the pot and back at June and Tom, Andrew said, “Perhaps we could just take a can of sauce from the cupboard and warm it up?”
Tom and June laughed, followed by Andrew.