A couple of days passed and as we cuddled on the couch, Matt commented, “You know, sometimes the most precious gifts are the ones you find out about long after they were given, don’t you agree?” I pressed my head against his chest and held him tight and sighed. He then asked, “On the issue of Maria and Lilith, I wonder, what do you suppose a DNA test would reveal?” I answered, “That their father is the most wonderful man alive.” He laughed, “How did you accomplish it, without my knowing I mean?” I replied, “Can you let a girl have some secrets?” We held each other tightly in a moment of special togetherness – one of those moments one could never, ever forget no matter how long they lived.
It had not taken long for me to re-capture the level of physical fitness I had attained prior to being taken captive. I never touched alcohol, cigarettes or even coffee anymore; and I was vigorous in my exercises to get my body in shape again. In fact, when I looked in the mirror I could not tell any difference between how I looked then, and prior to my abduction, well, except for the navel ring and tattoo.
With running for office Nicole and I had to be a bit more careful in our displays of affection away from home, which bothered her way more than it bothered me. However, she actually liked my more relaxed attitude towards dress styles when we were together. She even tried to adopt some of the styles Bethany had introduced me to until her pregnancy had made that a bit inappropriate. And while she absolutely loved the tattoo I had, she was reluctant to consider getting one. Gone was her desire for us to be “butch and femme” when we were alone together, or when out on the town. I suppose her yearnings for masculinity were satisfied with Matt.
I knew I had a public persona, a mask or fake image if you will once I had chosen to run for office. That was only a minor inconvenience except that Matt and I had to travel far away from Portland to experience hot springs together. And of course when we convinced his sister to watch our kids for a week, Nicole was in her third trimester and we did not want her to watch all five children alone, we figured that we could easily be anonymous at our clothing optional resort in California.
I hated to be judged by anyone but the precautions were probably a good idea. The only time I did run into any problem was when I agreed to accompany the teenage girls at church to a swimming party at one of the community pools. The only other adult there was the wife of the guy who had made himself such a pain and had caused the confrontation just before Vincent kidnapped me. I had chosen to wear the bikini that Bethany had bought for me, partially because I knew this woman was quite judgmental, and I was feeling provocative. And sure enough, after the swim party was over, and we all exited the pool I jumped into the bathroom before changing. As I sat there I overheard some of the girls by the door making comments about my bikini and tattoo being so “awesome.” They were interrupted by the judgmental woman who chastised them and said, “Look, Mrs. Lindberg is not a member of our religion so she doesn’t understand issues of modesty like we do.” I was furious but kept my cool. I snuck out of the bathroom a moment later without her noticing and when the girls were all talking with each other I asked, “Mrs. Martin could I see you over here for a second?” She came around the corner to the shower area and I asked, “Do you think I should wear a one-piece swimming suit from now on.” She nodded, “It might be more appropriate. “ I then unsnapped my top, tossed it onto the floor and took on a model’s pose while I reached out and touched her arm. I commented in a seductive voice, “I thought you might like the more European one-piece beach look, I find it far more alluring, don’t you agree?” Her face turned bright red and she did not say a word. She turned and began to walk away as I asked, careful not to raise my voice and let anyone else hear, “Mr. Martin was there anything you would like to see again?” Not surprisingly she made sure to avoid talking with me at church, which was perfectly fine with me. Her daughter, Britney, who seemed to have a natural talent at singing, never missed an opportunity to greet me and ask me about my senate race or volunteer to sit with one of my children; or Nicole’s as Matt and I would take them with us every Sunday and sometimes they were unable to sit still during the service. One day Britney even asked me once if it hurt much to get a tattoo. I was happy to see that such a beautiful personality could be produced even if the parents were dull and self-righteous.
Life for the most part had treated me quite well that year. I had the family I wanted and I was ahead in the polls. The only problem was my sadness watching Nicole during her pregnancy and my failing to get pregnant despite all my efforts. So imagine my excitement when I finally missed my cycle just before the election! I cautiously waited a couple of weeks. When the election night came and I was announced the winner I went into the bathroom at my celebration party and finally took the test. Sure enough it came out positive! I was incredibly happy, but then, just to make my life a bit more complicated, I checked the mail the next day and I had received another letter from my father. I sat down and decided to open it up and read it. He apologized for not being there for me when I was growing up and understood why I had not written him back the last year. He said he had been successful in life but had failed miserably in regards to what was really important, and now he felt the need to reach out and make amends for his past wrongs to me. He said he understood if I never wanted to see him, but that maybe he and I could at least write to each other since he regretted all the lost years.
I was not sure what to do but then I felt a warm feeling… a slight feeling of empathy for the loneliness that seemed to flow out of his letter. Then again I felt as if Bethany was with me, standing over my shoulder and urging me to put my past behind me and try to move past my lifelong resentments. At that point I sat down, took out a piece of paper and started writing, “Dear Father…I…” I stopped and tore up the paper, sat there for a moment, pondered my options, took out another piece of paper and started to write, “Dear Daddy, I have missed you as well…”
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Deliverance from Evil Page 36