by Jamela
She went to bed and had a long restless night. The next morning, She drove past her house when she thought Eric was at work. She don’t see the car, but she parked around the corner and walked to the house. She went to the bedroom window and saw her husband sitting on the bed looking at the TV. She suspected he would do something sneaky like this. He knew she’d come home to cook for the family and “he’s trying to trick me into talking with him. I don’t want to say anything to him until I’ve sorted out my feelings.” She walked back to the car and went back to the hotel. When it was almost time for the girls to get out of school, she went by and picked them up. Teresa took them to dinner and ordered a takeout plate for Eric. Even though she was angry and disappointed in him, she couldn’t help but do what she had been doing all along. Take care of her family. What Eric didn’t realize is that she could do that and never see him.
After two and a half weeks of not seeing the children as they slept, Teresa decided to go back home. When Eric got home from work, she had dinner on the table. Once dinner was finished and the children went to bed, Eric and she talked.
“Do you understand Adrianne was playing games with you?” She calmly questioned.
“What do you mean, playing games. Teresa, she said the child is mine. She said the only reason she never told me is because she knew what happened was wrong. The only reason she even said anything is because I commented on how cute she was when I saw her and she knows our girls don’t have any other siblings. She only said something out of concern.” Eric retorted.
“Eric, that bitch is playing you.”
“Hold on a minute. Don’t call her that. She is the mother of my child. And I want…”
“No you hold on a minute. She is a bitch and a slut. If she were really concerned about you, she would never have said anything, under any circumstances. She would have taken it to her grave with her. But that wasn’t the case, now was it? In fact, how do you know for sure the baby is yours? When was she born?” She inquired.
“She was born in April. Why?”
“Count back, Eric. Men are so gullible. Did you see her after she stopped keeping our children?”
“No. But I believe the child is mine. Teresa she looks just like me.”
“Yeah, and there is a girl who lives in Washington who looks like my twin, but she is no relation to me or either one of my parents. Looking like someone doesn’t make you his or her parent. Have you asked her about a paternity test?”
“Not yet. She called the other day and asked if I wanted to come visit her. Teresa, I don’t wanna push the wrong buttons. She’s not asking for any child support, but I’ll do what I can to take care of this child, just like I do my other children. The point is, I don’t wanna make her angry. I know how women can be when they wanna be vindictive. So far she’s being really nice about everything?
“Oh, so you think this is gonna continue? See what you don’t realize, is that this child is a means to an end for her. She’s using this child to get to you. Why didn’t you just listen to me when I warned you? I told you what she wanted. Anyway, give me her number, I need to talk to her.”
“I’m not gonna give you her number, but I’ll call her and you can speak with her.”
“Fine.”
He got his cell phone and called Adrianne. She answered and he told her Teresa wanted to talk to her. She said okay and Eric passed the phone to Teresa. “Hello. Yes, but the question is not how I’m doing. I want to find out if you’re willing to go half on a paternity test for this child. What is her name? Okay Amanda. Yes. I already have the forms. And we also need a copy of her birth certificate and her social security number so we can add her on Eric’s health insurance. Excuse me. You don’t wanna…..why? Oh really? Well you should have thought about that when you were screwing my husband you slut. Yes you are a slut and I’m not gonna change my opinion of you until you prove otherwise to me. I have the right to call you that for what you’ve done. If I saw you dying on the street, I’d step over you like you weren’t even there. That is how little I think of you as a human being. The only reason I’m not beating your ass right now is because your children need their mother, no matter what kind of person she is. So, “hell no” is your answer to making sure your child will be included in the will and entitled to any other benefits of being Eric’s child. Okay, but this isn’t over. No, you can’t. Goodbye.” Teresa said and disconnected the call.
“Teresa, I told you I didn’t wanna upset her and make her do anything spiteful. I don’t have thousand’s of dollars to pay in back child support or are you just so angry that you aren’t thinking about that?” Eric asked with pain.
“That’s not the case at all. I think she’s lying. I don’t know of any woman who wouldn’t wanna make sure their child got all it is entitled to from its father. By the way, the reason I asked about the birth certificate and social security card is because that’s what our attorney said we needed to be able to include her in the will. Just because she’s not my daughter, there is no reason she shouldn’t be treated fairly if she is indeed your child. You are so blind. She is playing games and when you finally realize it, you’re gonna be just as angry. Watch and see. I keep telling you that you can’t look at every female as a sister. But you never listen. You can’t help every female. But you never listen. You’ll learn one day.” She said patting her foot in agitation.
“Oh. Well thank you for taking care of that for me. I didn’t even think about stuff like that. But I know when her birthday is.”
“Good, I’ll go get a copy of her birth certificate and we’ll worry about everything else depending on what I find out at vital statistics.”
“Teresa, I’m sorry to have put all of this on you. You don’t deserve this and I’ll probably never be able to make it up to you. I’ve done some things I’m not proud of in my life. But this is in the top five. I should have told you sooner. I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to get over this.”
“You’re right, I don’t deserve this and you probably won’t be able to make it up to me. But you’re definitely gonna try. And just so you’re clear on things I don’t have anything against Amanda. My problem is with Adrianne. She is the one who did something wrong. The child didn’t choose to be born to you and her. I’m sure the child is probably really sweet. She’s cute, but that doesn’t make her your daughter. You need to realize Adrianne has a history of lying to you to get what she wants. So what on earth makes you think she’s not doing the same thing again? That’s just something you need to think about. I’m tired and I’m going to bed. Don’t call her back. The next time you speak to her, it needs to be on speaker and I have to be present. I don’t trust her at all and this is why.” She said and spun on her heels to leave the room.
Eric sat up for a while thinking. “Is she playing games again? Teresa is right she has lied to me before.” He decided to check his email. He signs onto online and immediately received an Instant Message from Adrianne’s sister.
“Tell your wife not to call my sister upsetting her the way she did a while ago. This doesn’t have anything to do with her. This is between you and Adrianne.”
Eric was shocked. Pam had never said anything to him about the child being his or anything else. But, she must know something since she was Adrianne’s sister. So he typed back, “Sorry, she’s upset and she has every reason to feel the way she does. But I wonder if you could talk to Adrianne and get her to give me a copy of the birth certificate. I wanna include Amanda in the will, but I can’t without that information.”
Pam replied, “I’ll talk to her, but you really don’t need to be concerned with all of that. All you need to know is the child is yours. That is the only thing that matters.”
“To some extent. But I’ve missed so many years of her life as it is, so I wanna make up for it. I wanna know how she’s doing in school and what kinds of things she likes. The circumstances surrounding her birth, you know. All the things I know about my other daughters. I feel I should know those
things about her, too.” Eric typed.
“That’s nice and I guess you’re right on that. But Adrianne doesn’t like to talk about those times. I wasn’t communicating with her much during then, so I don’t have any answers for you. But, like I said, you shouldn’t worry about it. All you need to know is you have another daughter to take care of.” Came Pam’s message.
“Pam, you are missing the point. I’m trying to take care of my responsibility, but not knowing certain things will make it impossible. I really need some help on this.” He pleaded.
“No you don’t! Just take care of your child. Go by and see her and spend time with her. She doesn’t know you’re her father. She thinks the man Adrianne is married to is her father. You just spend time with your child.” Pam said.
“No, that’s not fair. I want her to know I’m her father. She has a right to know who I am. I’m not some friend of the family. I’m gonna have to talk to Adrianne about this.”
“No you don’t! Trust me, you don’t need to say anything to her about it. She just wants you to come by and see the child, that’s all. She’s being taken care of by her stepfather.” Pam responded.
“I won’t allow that. I can’t.”
“Listen Eric. Stop being an idiot! The child isn’t yo…” Pam started.
“What?” Eric said. “Adrianne said the child is mine. What are you talking about? Of course she’s mine. Why would she lie about something like that?
“Sorry, my baby’s crying. I’ve gotta go.” Pam said and signed off. Eric saved the messages and read them again. Pam didn’t seem to be excited about his wanting to take care of his responsibility. “Maybe Teresa is right. Maybe Adrianne is playing games.”
He knew better than to climb into bed with her, so he slept on the sofa in the den. When she woke up the next morning, he had already left for work. She waited until the kids had left for school then I drove to the vital statistics office. Teresa want to get a copy of Amanda’s birth certificate. Amazingly she was looking forward to discovering the truth, even if the child was his. Maybe it would give Eric a new sense of responsibility where family was concerned. Lord knows, he could use some of that. These late nights out and the other signs all point to him having another affair. “I can’t go through this again with him. It’s not worth it to my heart and definitely not my children. He can either shape up or ship out.”
She walked into the office and took an application to complete. Eric had left a note with Amanda’s birthday, hospital and Adrianne’s full name. Teresa completed the application and sat back to be called. In a few moments the clerk asked her to come forward. She fully expected to pay the money and receive a copy of the birth certificate. However the clerk said, “I’m sorry Mrs. Huntington, I can’t give you a copy of this document.”
“What? Why not? Do I have some information completed incorrectly?” She asked with minor concern.
“No ma’am.”
“Oh, because I’m not the mother. Okay. My husband is the father of the child and he needs a copy of the certificate.” She explained.
“Mrs. Huntington, we have thoroughly checked our records and your husband’s name only comes up for two children. Those certificates also have your name on them.”
“What are you saying his name isn’t on the certificate? So how can I get a copy of it?” She inquired.
“You’ll have to get it from the mother or the father listed on the certificate.”
“I beg your pardon? You mean there is a father’s name listed on the certificate but it’s not Eric Huntington?” Teresa interrupted.
“Yes and for that reason we cannot release a copy to you. This is the certificate done at the hospital so it was right after the baby was born. I’m sorry. Please have a good day.” She said in dismissal and slid the glass shut.
She slowly walked out of the office in a mental fog. Something was not right. She decided to do a little more checking. Teresa went straight to City Hall. She searched public records and found a divorce decree between Adrianne and Vincent Cunningham. She also found custody of Amanda given to Adrianne. She was the only child produced from the union of the two. No wonder she didn’t wanna have a paternity test or give up the birth certificate. The child isn’t Eric’s. She made copies of the necessary documents and returned home.
The rest of her day was uneventful. She called their attorney to notify him of the new developments. He advised her to keep the documents for future use. Teresa painstakingly wrote a nice letter to Adrianne concerning the events surrounding her husband. It helped her think clearly. Eric came home from work early.
“Teresa, please sit down. I need to talk with you about this mess with Adrianne.” He said patting the sofa. “Last night before I went to bed, I checked my email. Adrianne’s sister, Pam sent me an IM. I thought I might be able to get her to talk Adrianne into giving us a copy of Amanda’s birth certificate. But she was acting funny. She told me not to worry about that stuff. I explained we wanted to make sure the child gets everything she’s entitled to. She stressed to me my only concern should be spending time with the child and if Adrianne needed me, she’d let me know. She said she’s being taken care of by her stepfather and that’s good. The child doesn’t know she has a different father.
I got upset. I don’t think it’s fair to mislead a child that way. She has a right to know who her biological father is and have a relationship with him. I shouldn’t be some friend of the family. I’m her father. So I pressed Pam for information and I pressed her about talking to Adrianne. She caved in and said the child wasn’t mine. Teresa, what if you’re right? I saved the messages for you to read. I want to get your opinion on the conversation and what we should do next. I’ll go get it.” He said rising.
“Eric” She said. “I also have some information about Amanda. While you go get yours, I’ll get mine.” She called over her shoulder as she went to her desk. They meet back on the sofa. Teresa read his printout first then told him about what happened at the vital statistics office. He looked at her in surprise. Then she showed him a copy of the divorce decree. She had never seen a reaction like this from him. He stood up and began pacing the floor clinching his fist. He repeatedly looked at all of the documents mumbling curse words. She heard Adrianne’s name a few times. Then he sat down beside her.
“Teresa, I’m sorry. I’ve made a mess of things. You have been great through all of this. Most women would be filing for divorce. They wouldn’t bother to help me deal with this. I know I messed up. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to make it up to you. But I’m gonna try. I love you so much and I want you in my life always. I should have listened to you years ago. I see that you were right then and you’re right now. Damn, I feel so stupid.
So, how are we gonna handle this? There must be some way to make her pay for this.” He questioned.
“I talked to Scott, our attorney and he said if you haven’t given her any money and she’s not telling everyone the child is yours, we just have to wait and see what happens. After I talked to him, I sat down and wrote her a nice letter. You know how writing clears my head. Anyway, here’s a copy of the letter. I was going to have you mail it to her. It’s from both of us. Read it and tell me what you think.” Eric sat there reading the letter and a slow grin spread across his face.
“I think you’ve addressed everything. I like the mention of the attorney. But the “thank you” to Pam is the best touch. You make it clear if she’s not willing to have a paternity test done and pay half of it, that she can’t have any contact with either of us. And any contact will be considered harassment and handled accordingly. I agree with you. I never should have had conversations with her online or otherwise. I’m sure that’s when she got this idea. I can’t believe she’s so devious. I was so stupid to fall for this. But thank goodness you saw through all of it.” Eric said giving me a big hug.
Eric held on to Teresa so tight that it hurt. But it also felt good. She was worried about him wanting to leave her and going to start a relat
ionship with Adrianne. That would have killed her. She knew that years earlier that Adrianne was a threat, not because of beauty or brains, but because of evilness. This whole situation was proof that she was right. She also realized that this did not put an end to things. She knew that once the child was an adult and started asking questions based on things her mother said, that this issue would come up again. The good thing would be that she and Eric could stand united on the issue. That is if they were still together. If he kept up his recent patterns, they wouldn’t be and she didn’t care what happened as long as her children were taken care of. Maybe one day he would learn.