Family Portraits

by JoAnn Aitken

  They shared a shot and a line, and the friend prudently said goodbye. “Now, you hide that away and make it last, Gordie. Just a little now and then to cure the blues.” Gordie drank and snorted the lot during the rest of the afternoon.

  The front door crashed open. “Finn, Dennis, come quick! Gordie’s killing Theresa!” Sharon was in a panic. “Hurry, hurry!”

  The two men tore out of the house and down the street and rushed in the door. They were completely unprepared for what they saw.

  The floor and walls of the foyer were covered in blood spatters. Theresa lay, naked, on the floor, her face unrecognizable. She was lying on her side, trying to protect her unborn child, but she was bleeding profusely from her lower regions. What had gone on was apparent as Gordie, who was crouched beside her, fumbled to do up his bloody jeans.

  Rage such as he had never known rushed to Finn’s head. He lifted Gordie and threw him towards the stairs. Finn wanted to kill him.

  “Hold him down until the police get here,” Finn ordered Din. Sharon appeared in the doorway. “The police and EMS are on their way.”

  Finn knelt beside Theresa. He had taken off his shirt to cover her as much as he could. She was moaning softly and holding tight to his hand. He wanted to carry her to the couch, but he was afraid to move her. “Sharon,” he said, "get me that blanket off the couch.

  “Now go back to Molly. Get her away from the kids and tell her what has happened. Gordie’s going to jail, and Theresa to the hospital. Try to soften it a bit, but she’s going to know the truth soon enough,” he told Sharon.

  “Finn, she’s my sister. I want to stay with her.”

  "Sharon, I will stay with Theresa now. Please talk to my wife and call Katharine. I will phone you from the hospital when you should come over.

  “And, darlin’, it will be okay in the end.” Unexpectedly, an unusually emotional Sharon put her arms around him and said, shakily, “I love you, Finn.”

  Finn put his free hand out to give her a comforting pat. Both of them stared at his hand; it was dripping blood. “Finn,” Theresa whispered. “Don’t leave me.” Sharon took off running to Molly.

  The sounds of the sirens outside seemed to bring Gordie around. His brother had tied his hands to the stair railing. He was starting to struggle and spew venom at his wife and his father. His face was paper-white; his eyes were like flaming coals. He seemed to have the strength of three men, and Dennis feared he would pull the railing from the stairs.

  The police arrived first and got Gordie out of the house and into the police car. One officer stayed behind. “Who are you, sir?” he asked Finn.

  “I am Finnegan Gallagher, and this is my daughter-in-law, Theresa. She is thirty-three weeks pregnant.” And then he could speak no more because of the huge lump in his throat.

  “Come on, sir,” one of the paramedics said kindly, helping Finn to his feet. “Let us get this young lady to the hospital.”

  Theresa whispered through her broken lips, “Finn…don’t leave me…”

  “You can ride with Theresa in the bus,” the paramedic said. It was hard to imagine what these people had seen and experienced. The victim was horribly injured. She had been hit in the face, breaking her nose and brutally sexually assaulted. She was bleeding profusely, but the baby’s heart was still beating.

  In the ambulance, Finn sat on one side of Theresa and the paramedic on the other, monitoring.

  “Finn…” It was becoming increasingly difficult to hear her.

  “Yes, sweetheart?”

  “Is Gordie okay?”

  “He’s going to get some help, and then he can come home to us,” Although he thought he would strangle on the words, Finn somehow managed to get them out. His eyes met those of the paramedic who nodded at him ever so slightly.

  When Finn got home after midnight, he was walking slowly. His face was gray. He laid his hand on Molly’s shoulder, but did not kiss her. He went directly to the liquor cabinet and poured a stiff shot of Irish whiskey which he downed.

  He turned to Molly and took her hand. They sat together at the table, and at last he spoke. "The baby is alive and is being closely monitored. Theresa will be in the hospital for a while, I think. She is in awful pain.

  “Sharon and Katherine came to the Emergency, and we were with Theresa when they moved her into Intensive Care. The staff said it would be best if we left now and came back tomorrow. Kathy drove me home.”

  Finn slowly looked around for the first time. “Where is Din?”

  “He went to Patrick’s to tell him what happened, and they called John, Gordie’s lawyer. Gordie is in no condition to talk to anyone, but Dennis, Pat, and John went down to the police station. I’m sorry, Finn, but I can’t remember anything else he said. He was crying, and Patrick insisted that he stay with them overnight.”

  “God knows what tomorrow will bring,” Finn said. “Let’s go to bed and try to at least rest a bit.”

  They walked silently upstairs. When they lay down, Finn kissed her tenderly and said, “I hope you can doze off, my love.” And in a few minutes, exhausted and overwrought, she did.

  Sometime later – five minutes? an hour? – Molly opened her eyes. Finn was sitting on the edge of the bed, his face in his hands, his body wracked with sobs. “My son. My beautiful son.” Molly pulled him back down beside her and held him in her arms until dawn.

  Dennis was heartsick. In his mind, he went over and over the past two years of the band. There had been so many girls, often more than one at a time.

  Lying in bed one night, it came to him. He sat bolt upright. The Palladium. He had footage from that gig. It was the very last he had shot before walking away from it all. He remembered it well and the beyond-disgusting after-party. He got out of bed and rummaged through his stuff.

  He found the video, and he scanned through it. Gordie was in fairly good form, and the drunken crowd loved it. In the front row was a girl dressed in an extremely short and otherwise revealing mini-dress, dancing provocatively. At the end of the last song, she whipped up her dress revealing her naked body upon which was written in green glitter: “FUCK ME, GORDIE.”

  Gordie threw back his head and laughed, pointing at her and calling to one of the roadies, “Bring that one to the party!”

  Dennis fast-forwarded to the party. He remembered everything now and pushed on to what he was looking for. On a cot lay Gordie naked with the girl from the front row riding him. Dennis shot them straight on and then moved around and crouched behind Gordie’s head. He shot the girl with her fuck-me message as he leaned in and said to Gordie, audibly on tape, “What are you doing, man? Fucking this pig and then going home to Theresa?”

  “Who are you? Finn?” Gordie said contemptuously. “This has got nothing to do with Theresa.” The girl was bothered.

  “Go away,” she said to Dennis. “Come on, Gordie. Pay attention to me!”

  Dennis moved on and the tape ended abruptly soon afterward.

  Next morning, he called Gordie’s lawyer.

  John Peterson, Gordie’s lawyer, knew The Palladium as a, relatively speaking, straight arrow establishment. He knew the owners were two serious guys, and he wondered how a fifteen-year-old could have been admitted even with the snazzy new computer-generated fake IDs available. He was working on the idea that the band would have had a reasonable expectation that everyone in the crowd would be of age.

  Dennis’ video could be of value. The girl certainly didn’t look fifteen – far from it. And she knew exactly what she wanted. Gordie was just a wasted jackass who thought everything was cool. The Palladium had already screened all the groupies.

  There was no question that Gordie had had sex with a minor. It was right there on tape, but a judge just might go easier on him under the circumstances. On the other hand, a judge might be so disgusted by the tape that Gordie would have the book thrown at him.

  When Gordie had completed detox at the psychiatric hospital, he was returned to the city jail. Other than meetings with h
is lawyer, he lay miserably on his bed. His grief and remorse were so extreme that the guards kept a close eye on him.

  He would see no visitors other than Dennis. Din tried to give him little pep talks which were ignored, so he gave up. The only thing he said that made any impression was that he should at least send Theresa a note, some acknowledgment of his love and sorrow over what had happened. He said Gordie owed her something, anything other than just shutting her out.

  For the first time in his life, Gordie’s easy words failed him. He could say nothing or write an encyclopedia which he knew wasn’t right. The last thing Theresa needed was to read a delineation of his sins. After a long time, he wrote her three lines.

  The envelope was addressed in Gordie’s draftsman’s hand to Mrs. Gordon Gallagher. The note read:

  My precious T

  How can I say I’m sorry after the pain I’ve caused you?

  How can I say I love you after everything I’ve done?

  I pray we will meet again someday.

  Gordie had decided to plead guilty to all charges in the interests of sparing his family a trial and more disgrace. His lawyer couldn’t really disagree. The outcome looked very serious, but Gordie might catch a break on the rape charge. It was a small hope.

  The lawyer and Gordie met with Dennis who showed them the relevant sections of the video. They amounted to less than five minutes. Gordie watched and hung his head. “My brother says our father is insisting on coming to the sentencing. I can’t have him see this. I just can’t do it to him.”

  John said, “Gordie, think it over very carefully. Making this case to the judge could shave some time, maybe a year or so, off your sentence. Don’t you want to get back to your wife and family as fast as you can?”

  “I don’t know if my wife will ever speak to me again, and I don’t want to break my father’s heart. What am I supposed to do?”

  “Finn is a tough guy. It will hurt him, but you know he will get past it. And if it will help you, he will take it. I can’t ask the judge to look at it privately because it will have to go in the hearing transcript. The judge can suggest that Finn take a break when it is shown, but we all know how that will go.”

  Gordie was left to think it over. Ultimately, under pressure from John and Dennis, he agreed to the presentation of the reasonable expectation argument and the tape. He begged Din to somehow prepare their father and keep the video a secret from everyone else.

  October 2001

  On their way to the sentencing, Dennis said to Finn, “There will be things revealed today, Daddy, that will be very painful. Nobody comes off looking very good.”

  “I wouldn’t expect so,” said Finn stoically.

  Present at the hearing were the judge, a court reporter, John, Gordie, Dennis, and Finn. Gordie’s guilty plea on the fraud under $5,000 charge was accepted. He was sentenced to six months.

  The Seminuks and their lawyer were present only for the statutory rape charge. Gordie pleaded guilty with extenuating circumstances. John made an effective case for reasonable expectation that everyone present at The Palladium would be over nineteen. Then the clips from the video were shown. They had to be viewed by the Seminuks and go on the record.

  They were even more shocking in the sterile environment of the hearing room. Gordie sat with his hand blocking his eyes. Finn sat ramrod straight and looked directly at the screen. Darlene Seminuk’s father, crimson-faced, seemed to sink into his chair. The judge maintained a neutral expression as he sentenced Gordie to time served.

  Gordie’s guilty plea on the domestic assault charge resulted in a sentence of five and a half years.

  “Mr. Gallagher, please rise,” the judge said, “I see before me another example of the evils of drugs. You will have plenty of time to think about your actions and how you have hurt yourself and others. I hope you will take advantage of the opportunities for self-improvement at the facility where you will spend the next few years. I am going to order regular psychological counselling for you in the hope that you can come to terms with yourself and make the most of your future following your release.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor,” Gordie said as the bailiff handcuffed him. Before he was led away, he turned slightly toward Finn and said, “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

  “I know,” replied Finn, not looking at him.

  Dennis and Finn walked to the parking lot. “What do you want to do now, Daddy?” Dennis asked.

  “I want to be with my wife,” Finn replied. He looked very tired, and they drove in silence.

  Dennis pulled up in front of the house. “I have to go to school now,” he said.

  Finn looked at him and said, “You’re a good boy, Dennis.” And he got out of the car.

  After he left the band, Dennis had been accepted in the film program at York University. He had started that September and was doing exceptionally well. Almost immediately, his prodigious talent brought him to the attention of his professors and promised him a bright future.

  It wasn’t easy traveling back and forth, but he had made friends and often stayed over in Toronto. At last, the fact that he was Finn’s son was apparent. He was obsessively hardworking, meticulous, and totally focused. His grades were outstanding, and he won several honors during his first year.

  Not even the pain and distraction of his brother’s troubles shook his resolve. And through it all, he lived with his secret love for Sharon.

  In June before Gordie’s sentencing, Sharon had graduated as a nurse at the top of her class. She had several job offers and accepted one at the Children’s Hospital. The hard work continued as she worked shifts and faced a steep learning curve. She was happy living with Katherine.

  After her graduation and Gordie’s incarceration, Dennis was in the second year of his program. He wanted to move forward with Sharon. In the spirit of the last five years, he was patient, treasuring their great friendship and waiting for the right time to try to advance to something more.

  He didn’t see her much because of their busy schedules, but around the beginning of December, he was at Finn and Molly’s when she was visiting Theresa and the children. He drove her home and gave her the present he had been carrying in the trunk of his car for a couple of months. On Kathy’s veranda, he told her that he would see her at Barbara’s open house on the 24th and dared to give her a loving little kiss on the lips.

  Sharon was startled. Inside, she opened the gift which was wrapped in gold paper with a handmade bow. It was a framed picture taken the day of her graduation. Dennis was a superb photographer and had captured her as she was rarely seen, dressed in a yellow dress, twirling on an expanse of grass, her arms extended, a glorious smile on her face.

  Tucked in the frame was a small white card with gold writing in Dennis’ beautiful hand. It said: “My Sharona.” Sharon looked at the picture and the card.

  She was bewildered and said to Katherine, “What does it mean?”

  “I’d say it means he loves you,” Kathy answered.

  It seemed like a long time until the open house. Plenty of time for Sharon to think things over. Finn and Molly were bringing Theresa and the baby, and Dennis was bringing Mary Francis and the other children. They traveled in tandem so that they would arrive at the same time. Finn and Dennis had agreed that someone from the family would stay with Theresa for the duration of the visit. “I’ll not have those nosey old biddies from town asking her a bunch of questions,” declared Finn.

  Ordinarily, Theresa and the children would stay overnight at Maple Lane and join the rest of the family for Christmas dinner. This year, however, she specifically asked to stay with Finn and Molly where she felt most comfortable.

  Theresa didn’t want to go to the open house but went for Barbara’s sake. She was a sad shadow of her former self, dressed in a plain gray dress, her beautiful hair pulled back in a bun. Her only adornment was a gold locket containing pictures of herself and Gordie. She clung to her baby.

  The family rallied around her and hovered close
by. It was to be a short stay.

  Sharon and Dennis were only able to speak briefly away from the group. She thanked him for the special gift, and he asked when he would see her again. She was staying at the farm overnight but would come to Finn and Molly’s for Theresa’s birthday on December 28. “I’ll see you on the 28th,” Dennis said.

  And then he pointed upward. “Look.” They were standing in a doorway under some mistletoe.

  “What can we do?” Sharon smiled, and she put her arms up around his neck and kissed him soundly.

  “Merry Christmas, Sharona,” he said. Right at that crucial moment, they were interrupted by Little Molly who led Uncle Din away to sing The Christmas Song in which he did the voices of all the Chipmunks.

  “What’s going on there?” asked Eddie who was standing nearby with Finn, Molly, and Katherine. “I think he’s wooing her like a tiny fawn,” said Katherine. The tiny fawn story had become family legend.

  “But they’ve known each other for years,” said Molly. She turned to Finn. “You were on me like a panther long, long before that.”

  Finn actually blushed. “Molly, my love, how much have you had to drink?” he asked amidst Katherine and Eddie’s laughter. “Almost exactly enough, my love,” she looked flirtatiously up at her husband.

  December 28 wasn’t just Theresa’s birthday, it was also her and Gordie’s sixth wedding anniversary. Molly was planning a subdued dinner, and no one was looking forward to attending.

  Dennis arrived late but was very excited. “The documentary’s all set for the polishing touches,” he announced as he came through the door. “It will be ready to deliver it to the prof first thing on the second. That means he’ll see it first, and we’ll get his reaction soon!”

  “Congratulations, son,” said Finn, and his mother hugged him.

  “I’m sorry for being late for your dinner, sweetie,” Dennis said to Theresa and kissed her.