by Patricia Fry
“Sure, I can do that. I’ll be away this morning—Lily has a play date with one of her little friends—but I could come over this afternoon or anytime tomorrow. Just let me know when.”
“Okay, it’ll have to be when my teenagers and my husband are gone from this chaotic house, so maybe tomorrow sometime, if Rochelle can do it then.”
“Yeah. Let me know.”
****
“Sorry I’m late,” Savannah said, as she slipped in through Iris’s front door the following afternoon. “I got a little sidetracked when I dropped Rags and Lily off at Colbi’s. Dolly and Rags are having a sleepover tonight. Did you know that?”
“What?” Iris said, frowning. “Why?”
“Well, Dolly misses him. You know they spent quite a bit of time together at the cabin and then in the mountains. I keep telling Colbi she needs to get Dolly a kitten.”
“Yeah, like that girl needs another complication,” Iris said sarcastically. “She’s not handling things very well, these days, do you think?”
“No. I agree. At least she’s decided on a dress. Now to get her to actually purchase it.” Savannah looked around the room. “Okay, where’s the Skype connection?”
“In here,” Iris motioned, leading her down the hallway.
As the two women stepped into one of the boys’ bedroom, Savannah was drawn to the bed. “Well, hi there, Tommy Kitty. Aren’t you a big boy? And handsome.” She said, smiling when the fluffy grey-and-white cat, responded enthusiastically to her cheek-scratches. “Oh, Iris, he’s yummy.”
“Yes, he’s quite a good cat and really attached to Chris and to Craig. He waits here most of the day for Chris to come home from school. Then he helps him do his homework. If the boys are out someplace, he’s in Craig’s lap.” She chuckled. “The two of them like to watch sports together.”
“It’s hard to think of how small and malnourished he was just a year or so ago when we found him all alone in Big Sur.”
Iris gazed at the cat, then quickly changed the subject. “By the way, thanks for coming over. I’m so nervous you’d think I was having a tooth pulled.”
Savannah laughed. “Sometimes hypnosis can be like pulling teeth. You never know what will come out.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“Are you sure you want me here?”
“I have no secrets from you. Of course, I want you here. Come on; I’m supposed to call when I’m ready.” Sitting down at the computer, she said, “Now, let’s see if I remember what Brett told me about how to work this thing.”
A little while later, Iris said into a microphone, “Hi, Rochelle. Hey, it works. I can see you. Can you see me?”
“You sound like a child playing peek-a-boo,” Savannah said, giggling a little.
Iris and Rochelle laughed. “Hi Iris. Hi Savannah,” Rochelle said. “You two look well this afternoon.”
“So do you,” Savannah said. “Hey, I’m going to slip out of sight and sit quietly over here with the cat while the two of you work. Iris wants me here, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure—good seeing you, Savannah. Okay, Iris, are you ready?”
It didn’t take long for Rochelle to talk Iris into a relaxed state and then she began asking questions: “Iris, I want you to go back in your memory to the day you married Eugene Jackson. What do you see happening on that day?”
Savannah noticed a slight smile dancing on Iris’s lips. “He was so handsome. It was a lovely day.” She giggled. “We ran away together—just wanted it to be the two of us.”
“How old were you, Iris?”
“Thirty-two.”
“Where did you meet Eugene Jackson?”
“At a party.”
“What do you remember about that party, Iris?”
“Dancing. Everyone wants to dance with me. I love to dance.”
“Is Eugene at the party?”
She hesitated. “Yes, I see him staring at me. Oh my God, here he comes. He’s cutting in.” Iris frowned. “George Patterson is not happy. But I’m dancing with the stranger anyway. He’s so good-looking in a kind of rugged way. And a good dancer.”
“This stranger, is he Eugene Jackson?”
“Yes.”
“Iris, what happens after you dance with Eugene?”
She hesitated before saying, “He wants to drive me home.”
“Did you go home with him?”
“Yes.”
“Then what happens?”
Iris thought for a moment. “We talk and talk. All night long we talk about anything and everything. I wanted to stay with him forever.” She smiled and said coyly, “He’s kissing me.”
“What are you feeling, Iris?”
“There are sparks. Lots of sparks.”
“What happens next?” Rochelle asked.
“We start dating.” She paused. “We go to the movies and take long rides.” She smiled. “Sometimes we stay at my house and…”
Rochelle interrupted. “Fast-forward, Iris, to the day you and Eugene Jackson get married.
“A beautiful day. Just the two of us. We are so in love.”
“And after your wedding day?” Rochelle said. “Go to a time a few months after your wedding. What is happening now?”
After pausing, Iris began to cry. “A mistake. It was an awful mistake. I’m pregnant and he’s mad.” She sobbed. “Fighting. Lots of fighting.”
“Okay, Iris,” Rochelle said, “let’s fast-forward to the day you have the baby.”
Iris sat quietly for a few moments.
“Iris. Where are you?”
“In the hospital holding my baby,” she said, smiling.
“Who’s with you?”
She hesitated. “I’m alone.”
“Where’s your husband?”
“Gone.”
“When is the next time you see Eugene Jackson?”
She thought for a while. “Monday.”
“What Monday?”
“This past Monday.”
“Did you have any communication with Eugene after your child was born until Monday?”
Iris shook her head.
“You never spoke to him again or saw him?”
“No.”
“Iris, did you receive any mail from him during the years your son was growing up?”
“No.”
“Did you receive any money from him during that time?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Okay, Iris, I want you to wake up now at the count of three. One, two, three. You’re fully awake and you remember everything you experienced during the session.” She paused. “Iris how do you feel?”
“Good. Now I know. There was no money at all coming from him, not a phone call, nothing. But his mother was there for us.”
“His mother?”
“Yes, she was awfully nice. When she learned she had a grandson, she started visiting. She helped me a lot. She told me once that Eugene was in prison. She felt really bad about the way he had treated me and the fact that he had abandoned us. She tried in so many ways to make it up—to help cover her son’s tracks.”
“Did she give you money toward Damon’s care?” Savannah asked. When Iris looked at her, she said, “I’m just thinking maybe he believes he gave his mother money for the baby’s support. Is that where your ex-husband is coming from?”
“I don’t think so,” Iris said. “The paperwork Eugene’s attorney gave us shows money coming out of his own bank account directly to me. No,” she said, shaking her head, “they didn’t bring up his mother at all.” She paused. “She did help financially a couple of times and she brought Damon clothes and toys. She gave him his first tricycle.” She gazed into space. “I wonder if he remembers his Grammy Jackson.”
“Is she still living?” Savannah asked.
“I don’t know. I lost touch with her years ago.”
“I wonder what she knows about her son’s child-support habits—or lack thereof,” Sava
nnah suggested. “Maybe she would testify on your behalf.”
“I wonder.” Iris said. “Might be worth a try to find her.”
“Well, ladies,” Rochelle said, “if you don’t need me any more today, I’d better get back to the gallery. Peter has a shipment of prints coming in and I said I’d help him display them.”
“Thank you, Rochelle,” Iris said. “I feel so much better. I’m sure now that there were no child-support payments. I should have been secure in my memory. I’ve pinched pennies for as long as I can remember and I’ve kept good records. I’m also a ninny.”
“A ninny?” Rochelle questioned.
“Yeah, I’m so afraid of making a mistake and being audited by the IRS that I’ve kept detailed records since the nineteen eighties.”
“Sounds like you’ve covered all your bases, Iris. So glad you’re feeling more confident now.” Rochelle waved. “See you all.”
“’Bye, Rochelle,” Savannah said. “Stay in touch.”
“Thank you, Savannah, for setting this up,” Iris said, once the Internet communication had ceased. “Whew! I really do feel lots better.”
Savannah put her hand on her friend’s arm. “So glad to hear it. We need you strong. Don’t want you falling apart.”
“Yeah, now if only I can maintain this surge of confidence I suddenly feel.” She faced Savannah. “Hey, I think I’ll see if I can contact Ellen.”
“Who?” Savannah asked.
“Ellen Jackson. Damon’s grandmother. Last I heard from her, she was living in a small town along the coast, not far from Eureka.” She typed something into the computer. “Hey, that’s her daughter,” she said, when a name popped up. “She ran a quilting shop back in the day. Looks like her shop’s still there. I’m going to contact her.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to your good memories. I need to get back. Michael and I are going on date night this evening and I have to go rescue Colbi from my daughter and get her ready to visit her great aunt and uncle.”
****
“This is so nice,” Savannah said, reaching for Michael’s hand as he drove toward their favorite Italian restaurant.
He gently rubbed her fingers. “Yes, I love our life and our little family, but I sure look forward to date night—just you and me.”
“Me, too.”
“You look beautiful tonight,” he said.
“Thank you, kind sir. You’re dapper this evening, too.”
“Dapper?” He laughed. “What does that actually mean?”
“I don’t exactly know, but I think it’s a good thing. You look good. Nice. Handsome.”
He winked at her. “Here we are. Ready?”
“Just about,” she said.
“What do you mean, just about?”
“This,” she said, unbuckling her seatbelt, leaning over, and kissing him.” She then sat straight in her seat and pressed the creases out of her skirt with her hands. “Okay, all ready now.”
“You are, are you?” Michael said in a teasing manner, pulling her to him and kissing her again.
“Michael,” she squealed, “you’ll muss me all up.”
“I like you mussed up.”
“I thought you liked me dressed up.”
“That, too. Come on. I’m hungry,” he insisted.
The couple stepped out of the car and began walking hand-in-hand toward the restaurant entrance, when Savannah stopped.
“What?” Michael asked, looking at her.
She pointed. “Isn’t that Damon coming out of the newspaper office?”
“Yeah.” Michael started to call out to him when he suddenly stopped. “Who’s that?”
“Who?” Savannah asked. “Oh no, I think that’s…yeah, Michael,” she whispered, “that’s his deadbeat father. She put her hands up to her mouth. “Oh no, did you see that? He just pushed Damon. Do you think we should call someone?”
“Stay here,” he said, taking a step in Damon’s direction. He turned back. “Go get us a table. I’ll be right there.”
“Michael, no.”
“Go on,” he hissed. As Michael headed toward the two men, Savannah moved stealthily behind him, her cell phone at the ready. Before Michael reached them, however, a slightly plump bleached-blond woman of about fifty stepped out of a nearby car and joined the pair. When he saw her, Michael stopped and Savannah nearly ran into him. “I told you to stay back there,” he whispered.
Concerned about being seen, Michael pulled Savannah into the shadow of a building, where they stood silently, watching and listening. They heard the woman say, “Well, you’d better darn well find a way to come up with the money, because we’re not leaving town without it. If we go to court, it’ll cost you and you know it. No court in the world would rule against the documents we have.”
“Those phony documents?” Damon said. “I doubt it. I think you’ll be the one paying the price. We’re not going to let you extort money from this family.”
“Oh yes, we’ll get what’s due us young man,” the woman said. “Mr. Jackson is a victim of your lying, cheating mother.”
Eugene Jackson grinned at Damon. “Yeah, I plan to get proof that I’m not even related to you and somebody had better pay me back all that money I laid out for you.”
“Why, you damn liar,” Damon said, his temper soaring. “I’ll see you dead first!” he shouted before stepping into his car.
After watching Damon drive off in his sedan going south and seeing Eugene and his attorney heading in the opposite direction, Savannah shivered. “Oh my gosh, that was disturbing. Poor Damon and Iris.” She grabbed Michael’s arm. “Look Michael!” she whispered loudly. “There’s that other man.”
“What other man?” he asked, glancing around the area where she pointed.
“He just drove off behind Eugene Jackson. He was parked across the street there. He’s the one who was hassling Damon out in the parking lot behind the office that day. I’m sure of it—the one who claimed to be his father. What is going on?” she asked, frowning.
He shook his head. “Darned if I know. Are they working together or separately?” he said. He turned to Savannah. “Does Craig know about this other dude?”
Savannah nodded. “Yes.”
He thinned his lips and stared for a moment in the direction the three possible crooks had driven. “I have a hunch I should let Craig know about what we just witnessed.” After making the call, he took Savannah’s arm and they walked back up the sidewalk.
“What did he say?” she asked.
“He didn’t seem too concerned about it. He said he can’t tell me anything except to say it’s under control, whatever that means.”
Savannah glanced around the area. “Maybe he has a tail on them or something.”
“I don’t know. But what I do know is that it doesn’t concern us. We’ve done our duty and now it’s time to focus on what’s really important.”
“And what’s that?” she asked.
“Us,” he said, putting his arm around her and pulling her close. “Two for a romantic dinner,” he said, walking up to the hostess stand once inside the restaurant.
“Right this way, sir,” she said, leading them into an alcove and seating them at a table next to a fireplace.
After accepting a menu and eyeing it briefly, Savannah leaned toward Michael. “Well, that certainly was disturbing. I just hope Damon…”
“Shhh,” he said, placing his fingertips gently over Savannah’s lips. “Us. Remember, it’s just us tonight.”
She smiled. “I’m sorry. You’re so right. Just us,” she said, blowing him a kiss.
****
“Colbi, what’s wrong?” Savannah asked, her voice raspy after being awakened later that night by her phone.
“I don’t know, but I’m scared. Savannah, it’s the cats. They’re upset about something and I can’t get them to settle down, especially Rags.”
“Is he sick?”
“I don’t think
so. He’s just really wound up—you know—excited or maybe worried.”
“Oh darn, I shouldn’t have left him there this afternoon. I was afraid he’d cause some sort of trouble.”
“No trouble, he’s helped to calm Dolly considerably—they’ve had a blast playing. It’s just that they have me a little concerned.”
“About what?” Savannah asked, yawning.
Colbi hissed, “I think there’s something outside. Oh Savannah, could you come over and go with me to check it out?”
“Colbi, I’m sleeping!”
“Oh, I thought you and Michael stayed up late. It’s only ten, isn’t it?”
“Um…” Savannah said, trying to focus her eyes on the bedside clock. “Ten forty-five.”
“I’m sorry, Savannah. I shouldn’t have… I’ll just…”
“Wait, Colbi. I’m awake now. Where’s Harrison? Isn’t he there this week?”
“He went back to the school a couple of nights ago, remember? And I believe Craig’s out of town…”
“Oh, that’s right; he went to the city to see what he can dig up about Damon’s not-a-father,” she said, laughing. “So where’s Damon?”
“Um, I think on assignment. It was a last-minute thing. The boss sent him over to the east side to do some snooping. He was going to his place afterward.”
“Gads, you really are all alone, aren’t you?”
“Yes, and living out here in the boonies like I do, I’m just rattled.” She hissed, “There they go again!”
“Who?”
“The cats. It’s like they’re high on something. Rags is really frantic. He just keeps looking out the dining room window with his fur all puffed up.” Her tone changed. “But I don’t want to bother you if you’re sleeping. I’ll just make sure the doors are locked and I’ll go out and look in the morning. It’s probably a coyote passing through.”
“Yeah, don’t go out there.” Savannah paused. “Hey listen, I’m wide awake now—and curious. How about if I drive over and we can take a look together. Otherwise, you’ll never get any sleep. Will you fix me a cup of tea? Make it something soothing; I don’t want to be up all night.”
“Sure. Oh yes, I sure will. Thank you, Savannah. I really appreciate this. I’ll see you in a few.”