by Combs, Sasha
“Daddy, daddy, daddy...” she said, while running full speed ahead. When she rounded the car, wrapping her arms like ropes around his waist, she nearly knocked William backwards into Pamela. The two had just stepped out of the SUV but Morgan had not adjusted her speed.
Her arms coiled around him like an octopus. William smiled while returning her hug with one of his own. They rocked back and forth, happy to be together again.
“Poppy and nanny are playing chess. They said that they’ll wait until you come inside to greet you. But I couldn’t wait daddy. I’m so happy that you’re finally here.”
William kissed his daughter on her cheek. It had not escaped his notice that Morgan had not greeted Pamela. William felt examining gazes coming from Michael and LaShawn but he tried not to allow their presence to dictate his actions. They were on his turf now and he wanted them to witness his promises firsthand. He would do whatever it took to protect Pam’s physical and mental wellbeing.
“Morgan...have you forgotten your manners?”
Morgan’s arms were still possessively wrapped around her father. She looked to his right to address Pamela.
“Hi Pamela. Welcome to Barn Wood Hudson. We’re happy to have you here as our guest.”
William could have taken his thirteen year old daughter to his knee at that very second; spanking her as if she were only two. When she spoke, her tone lacked any sincerity and she came close to being down right rude. But he didn’t want to call attention to her behavior. He looked in the rear, directing her to welcome the others.
It was clear by her expression that no one had bothered to tell Morgan about Pamela’s parents joining them on their vacation. Morgan had been eagerly anticipating her time alone with her father and her grandparents in this rustic setting. At Barn Wood Hudson, she would have them all to herself, without the interference's normally found in the city.
This time when she spoke, much of the mocking tone that she’d given Pamela wasn’t there in her voice.
“Welcome to Barn Wood Hudson Mr. and Mrs. Dawson.”
William corrected his daughter because even though she really didn’t know Pamela all that well, Morgan had been taught to address his friends as if they were a part of their family. He could only guess she was acting this way to be spiteful.
“Morgan...you’ve never called them Mr. and Mrs. Dawson. They are our guest sweetheart but there’s no need to be so formal.”
William was surprised when she pealed away from him, running in LaShawn and Michael’s direction. She hugged and kissed them both expressing genuine excitement; the exact opposite of Pamela’s greeting and none of her actions went unnoticed. All the same, Pamela maintained a neutral air, not showing her disappointment. Like the wind up of a pitch, it was ready, set, go time; and Pamela was all in for this particular game.
After the greetings, Frederick announced that their luggage had been taken inside of the house. Before he disappeared for a few seconds, he gave William a look that reminded him of what needed to be done. William nodded, then laced his fingers with his daughter.
“Let’s go inside and find your poppy and nanny.” he said and all at once, the greetings ended.
When Morgan led her father in the direction of the house, the others milled around looking at the grounds and lavish gardens, pretending as if they didn’t feel neglected. William’s campaign manager was the only one not appearing to be affected. Frederick had a way about him that was mysterious. He could be seen and not seen; it all depended on his role and if his services were needed.
In this case, when William held hands, walking with his daughter towards the house, Frederick looked to the others. He smiled while addressing them as if he would be their personal tour guide.
“I can show you all the rest of the property later, but for now I think we should go inside to get settled.” Frederick said. William had been right. Fred had studied the houses floor plans and he knew exactly where every one of the hunting cabins was located.
“Thank you Frederick. That sounds like a marvelous idea.” said LaShawn. When she looked at Pamela, she noticed the flat expression on her face. Pamela looked frozen, stung by the acts of a teenage girl. LaShawn touched her arm to gain her attention.
“Pam, lets go inside. I’m sure William will call for us when he’s ready.”
She nodded and watched how her father’s expression grew angry the longer he stared at her. She knew the only way to keep her father tame would be if he believed that she wasn’t being emotionally hurt. So to avoid any arguments, she would pretend, if that’s what this situation called for.
Putting on a brave face, she looked to her parents, then confidently said...
“After we get settled in our rooms, I’d really like to take a stroll around the property. If we can find ways to occupy our time, then William won’t have to worry about us. The added distraction could be a problem and I don’t want that. He should feel free to talk to his family without having to worry about us.”
Pamela didn’t wait for her parents to respond. She turned then headed towards the house. In the rear, she could hear the sound of feet walking over pea size gravel. Later, she would mark this as her first successful hurdle at Barn Wood Hudson, next she would have to deal with William’s family. As they neared the porch, Pam spotted Frederick. He had been waiting for them on the top landing, a few feet from the door. When they joined him, he smiled while leading them into the large three story foyer. Pamela couldn’t believe how ornate the space was and she couldn’t wait to see the rest of the house. Thinking about the house, allowed her not to worry about William or his family.
Morgan led the way to her grandparents as if this was William’s first time at the house and he stood the chance of getting lost without her assistance. When they reached the game room, it wasn’t until then that she released her hold. Seated in two plush chairs covered with a tapestry fabric were Williams parents, Mildred and Wallace Hudson. Their concentration was narrowed in on the black and white pieces positioned on the chess board inlay patterned table. He didn’t dare break their focus for fear of being blamed by one of them for causing a poorly thought out move.
“Let’s sit over here daddy and you can tell me what you’ve been up to in Washington.” Again, Morgan captured his hand, holding his fingers with a tight grip while whispering in a low tone of voice. She led him to a chair not far from where her poppy and nanny were playing their game of chess. It was Mildred’s turn, and William watched his mother as her hand hovered above the board. She was weighing the odds over making more than just one move; thinking ahead while trying to anticipate which move her opponent might take. Once she’d settled on one of her choices, Mildred’s hand lifted her bishop moving it across the board, taking his fathers rook. By the look on his father’s face, he had not anticipated this move, which meant he would need time to work out another strategy. Whenever they visited this house, their chess games could go on for days. Which is the reason his father relaxed back in his chair to gain a better look at his son.
“So...you finally made it. I almost thought we might have to write you off as a no show.” His father picked up a pipe that he had not lit yet. He only smoked his tobacco when he took long walks in the woods. He never smoked in the house and never around Morgan...even outdoors.
“Dad, Frederick talked to you before I left Washington. I know that he gave you my arrival time because we spoke about the change in plans.”
“Yes, yes, I know but you’re campaigning and your mother and I would have understood if you couldn’t get away.”
“But I wouldn’t have understood.” Chimed in Morgan.
“Now, now dear, that isn’t very lady like.” Her grandmother reminded her.
“Your father has a very important job. We can’t have him all to ourselves on every vacation.”
“I know.” Morgan said, while absentmindedly rolling the hem of her shirt. William watched as his daughter sunk back into her chair to sulk. As she did this, he heard his mother
say...
“Morgan told us that you would be bringing a guest. Pamela Dawson right? Michael’s daughters.”
He nodded. “Yes,...that’s right.”
“He also brought Michael, LaShawn and Fred.” Morgan said in a depressed voice.
William watched the expressions on his parents face and he wondered which of the two would be asking the next question first. He’d rightly assumed that the query would come from his father. He placed his pipe on the table, then furrowed his thick white eyebrows.
“I thought this was supposed to be a family outing. It is the anniversary of...” Wallace looked first at his granddaughter. Since arriving at the house, she’d been in such high spirits. They had not talked about their reason for gathering. No one had marked the one year anniversary on the calendar. Yet, they all knew what this season meant, even though the words went unspoken.
William cleared his throat, before talking. He understood fully why his father didn’t want to test the waters with his daughter in the room.
“I know dad...the idea was to be together and out of the public eye while we quietly remember Bianca undisturbed. I haven’t forgotten that.”
“Then son, why have you invited so many other people?” his mother added. William saw no need to delay telling the truth.
With his fingers laced together, he spoke the words that he’d rehearsed in his head while riding in the SUV up to his home. He’d come to terms with the fact that there was no delicate way to tell them. So the only other choice would be for him to speak plain and honestly.
“When Frederick first came up with the idea of this vacation, my life was headed in a completely different direction. In truth, my life has been moving in another direction for nearly a year. Some time after the funeral, when Morgan left to return to school; I began seeing someone. At first, we were just friends but the relationship changed.”
William could see the morphed expression on Morgan’s face out the corner of his eyes; making him want to stop. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. They had a right to know about the secrets that he’d held back from them.
“I had not planned to date someone so soon after losing Bianca but looking back on that period, it wasn’t something that I thought out. The relationship bloomed like a flower and I didn’t want it to ever stop blossoming. Even so, I knew we couldn’t tell anyone about us...for a number of reasons.”
He paused to take a breath because up to this point, the story had been easy; now it was time to tell the hard part.
“The person that I fell in love with...she is someone that I’ve known for a very long time.”
“Who William...” his mother asked.
“Before I tell you, I want you to know how hard this past year has been for us because we never intended to hurt anyone due to our love.”
“Enough of this suspense.” His father quipped. He wanted to know because he’d seen the disturbed look on Morgan’s face. She was holding back her emotions and her grandparents had begun fearing for her.
“Dad...please let me tell you the way that I think is best. This isn’t as straight forward as you might think and I want you all to understand how and why this happened.”
“Wallace, let him talk. If we’re all quiet maybe he’ll tell us who this woman is.”
Wallace huffed, clearly perturbed because he didn’t think saying a name required so much puff and fluff.
William continued, trying his best to get to the end of his story without the added interruptions.
“On the day that I was to decide if I would be joining you all here, I got a visit from this special person in my life. After talking to her, I knew that we couldn’t continue on as we had during this last year. Not only would we have to tell our families about our relationship, we would also have to tell them that we were getting married.”
“Married!!!” his father yelped. Mildred placed her hand on her husband’s knee. Morgan still had not said a word, but her face had begun to turn red. William hurried along because he desperately wanted to hold his daughter in his arms to comfort her.
“Yes, dad...married. I’ve wanted to marry her for some months now and that’s exactly what we’d been talking about. However, after her visit to me in Washington, I learned that we couldn’t delay getting married because we are expecting a baby.”
Like two shooting rockets, his parents sprung up from their chairs. William turned to look at Morgan while his parents ranted and yelled their disapproval.
“How could this have happened?” his mother said.
“Gold digger...that’s how it happened.” His father added. While they gave their assessments of the situation, William touched Morgan’s hands, while leaning in her direction. He was trying to place himself in a position that would allow his voice to be heard over his parents.
“Morgan...honey, are you okay?” he said, soothingly.
Morgan’s eyes began to water. Her lower lip trembled, while her shoulders began to shake. William stood from his chair to kneel in front of his daughter. When he did this his parents finally stopped talking. They watched as Morgan dabbed at her eyes, while listening to her father.
“Honey, I’m so sorry that you had to learn about this news in this way. Believe me, I didn’t plan this. I would never do anything to hurt you sweetheart.”
“You should have thought about that before getting that woman pregnant.” His father said.
William was furious with his dad but for now, his concern for Morgan came first. He still had more to share with her and he knew her crying would get worse, once she learned that he was already married.
“Morgan...this lady that I’ve been seeing. She is a wonderful person and I know you will like her. Sweetie, I was so sure of this, I made a difficult decision without discussing it with you first.”
“Oh my dear lord...” he heard his dad say from behind. Without him saying the words, his father was already two steps ahead of him.
Ignoring the rantings of his father, William squeezed Morgan’s hand while saying... “Morgan, your daddy got married this morning to Pamela Dawson. She’s the person that I’ve been talking about. She’s made me a very happy man and she’s also going to give you a new baby brother or sister.”
Before he could say another word, Morgan pushed William back, causing him to lose his balance, falling to the floor on his backside. She raced pass her grandparents out the door of the game room and ramming smack dab into Michael Dawson. After unpacking and settling down in his bedroom suite, Michael had declined the tour of the house with everyone else. He’d led them to believe that he would remain in his bedroom. But that had been a lie. Michael wanted to be in the vicinity when William broke the news to his family about him being married to his daughter.
Due to his height, when Morgan slammed into him, it felt pretty much like a small push. Morgan had begun to develop but her height and weight were no match for a man of Michael’s stature. To keep her from falling, he grabbed her shoulders, to steady her on her feet. Not much time had passed, giving William the chance to get back on his feet. He and his parents had already left the room to pursue the girl. When they rounded the corner to see Michael steadying Morgan; in that instant Michael knew exactly what had just occurred.
When William and his parents finally caught up to Morgan she was trying to tear herself free from Michael. She wanted no parts of her father and she wanted to get as far away from them all if she possibly could.
“Morgan...sweetheart...” her nanny pleaded with her. “Come back into the game room. Lets sit down as a family and talk this through.”
“What more is there to be said? Daddy said it all. He did what he wanted to do without talking to any of us. Least of all me...his only daughter.”
William was just about to speak, when his father spoke without giving him the opportunity to calm his daughter.
“Morgan, if you don’t want to talk to your father, then at least talk to your nanny and me. We understand and we’re here to listen.”
&
nbsp; “Dad...you’re not helping.” William said, clearly annoyed.
While they talk loudly amongst themselves, no one paid much attention to Michael. Morgan was inching away while her father and grandparents disagreed on how best to handle her and the mess he’d created. Morgan turned to look at Michael, and in an instant she knew in him she would find an ally.
So as not to block her way, Michael stepped aside, giving Morgan the room she needed to run down the hall. Her steps were slow paces at first, then her stride turned into a jog. Once a great deal of distance separated them, Morgan sprinted until she was no longer in that part of the house. She had used the disagreement to make her hasty escape while her grandparents voiced their opinions. William had turned his attention on his parents; attacking every objection hurled at him. He had been so focused on trying to state his point. By the time he finally looked back in her direction, his daughter was no longer in the area.
Turning around to face his parents, William spoke candidly, not choosing to mince his words.
“You couldn’t just agreed to be supportive until we had a private moment alone to talk in another part of the house without upsetting Morgan.”
“You shouldn’t have sprung your news on us without any warning.” His father spat back.
“Hmmm. Now you know how we felt.” Michael added without anyone asking.
William shot him an angry glare, his expression etched with a transparent warning. The black look didn’t unnerve Michael, but he knew when to cut his losses, especially in this situation. With his sentiment conveyed, William turned his attention back to his parents while choosing to ignore his best friend.
“Dad, I didn’t know any other way to tell you. Besides, I didn’t want Morgan to feel as if she’d been left out of the loop. I wanted her to see your true reaction and not something fake that she’d easily be able to detect. I wanted her to see her grandparents supporting her father’s decision. Even if later, you told me how much of a fool you apparently think I am.”