Finding David Chandler

by Charles Ayer

  “Jesus,” said Doreen.

  “David, make him stop,” said Allie.

  “You were staring at David. David was the one you wanted all along, but you couldn’t have him. So you took what you could get, right? At least that way you had a built in excuse to be around David all the time.”

  “Well,” said Allie, “if Miss Prom Queen here hadn’t been standing in the way, maybe none of this ever would have happened.”

  “Dammit, Allie!” said David, “What the hell are you saying?”

  “I’m sorry, David,” she said, reddening.

  “It’s okay,” said David. “It’s just the four of us. Just don’t say it again, okay?”

  “Okay,” said Allie, but she was rattled, and I knew it would get easier from there.

  “And remember that rumor about the abortion our senior year?” I said. I was only guessing, but I knew I was right.

  “Matt, don’t,” said Allie.

  “We always believed it was a lie because Kenny swore that you two had never had sex. And he was telling the truth, wasn’t he?”

  “Yes, he was,” said Allie.

  “But you did have that abortion, didn’t you?”

  “Oh, my God,” murmured Doreen.

  “Goddammit, Matt, cut it out!” David once again rose from the sofa.

  “Sit down, David,” I said. “We’re not finished here.”

  “I think we are!”

  “Oh, no we’re not,” I said, glaring at him. “Oh, no we’re not, not by a long shot, and you know it, David.”

  “Matt,” said Doreen, “what are you talking about?”

  “I don’t know,” said David, “but I do know that Allie and I shouldn’t have to listen to another word of this nonsense.”

  “Yes, you do,” said a voice from the stairway.

  We all turned in the direction of the voice.

  It was Kenny Cooper, Junior.

  ******

  “KENNETH!” cried his mother. “How long have you been here?”

  “I was upstairs in my room when you came in. I started to come down to say ‘hi,’ but once I heard what you were talking about, I stopped. I didn’t know what to do, so I just stood here.”

  “I’m sorry you had to hear all this, sweetheart,” said Allie. “You must be terribly upset. We’ll talk it over, I promise.”

  “It’s all right, Mom,” said Kenny. “I pretty much knew about everything anyway.”

  “What?!” said Allie, her face paling as she looked up at her son, who slowly walked down the stairs and into the living room. He made no attempt to sit down.

  “Like I said, it’s all right, Mom,” he said, and then he turned to me. “Mr. Hunter, could you please finish what you were starting to say? I’ve been waiting for someone to help me with this for a long time.”

  I stared at him for a long moment.

  “How did you know, Kenny?” I said.

  “Matt,” said Doreen, “what’s going on here?”

  “I’m really sorry, Doreen,” I said, “but you were going to have to find out about this one way or another.”

  “Remember, Mr. Hunter,” said Kenny, “how I told you that I wanted to be a doctor?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I took AP Biology last year, a year ahead of most of the other kids. Early in the first semester we did a section on genetics, and we did studies of genotypes and phenotypes, and dominant and recessive genes and all that stuff.”

  “What are you talking about?” said Allie, but David had turned white.

  “So, we did blood typing on ourselves. It turned out I was type AB positive. But I also knew that you have type B blood Mom, and Dad has type O.”

  “How did you know that?” I asked.

  “I asked Dad,” said Kenny.

  “So he doesn’t know,” I said.

  “Naw. And you know Dad. I knew he’d never want to know why I asked. I just told him I was doing something for school and he told me.”

  “Doesn’t know what?” said Doreen. Allie and David were now both frozen solid.

  “You see, Mrs. Chandler,” said Kenny, “we all have two genes for blood type. If Mom is type B, she can either have two “B” genes or one “B” gene and one “O” gene. There are no other possibilities. And since the “O” gene is recessive, Dad had to have two “O” genes to have type O blood.”

  “I’m sorry, Kenny,” said Doreen. “I was never any good at this stuff. What are you getting at?”

  “Like I said, I’m type AB positive, Mrs. Chandler. One of my parents had to give me an “A” gene, but neither one of my parents could have done that. So one of my parents is not one of my parents.”

  “And then what did you do?” I said.

  “I was with Laura one day and I asked her if she knew what her parents’ blood types were. She was taking the same course I was, so I figured she’d know.”

  “And what did she tell you?” I said.

  “She told me that you, Mrs. Chandler, are type O, and you, Mr. Chandler, are type A.” I couldn’t help noticing that he’d dropped the whole “Uncle David” and “Aunt Doreen” thing.

  Doreen looked like she was going to faint, and I put my arm around her. She was shivering.

  “Oh, come on, Kenny,” said David, sinking lower than I thought was possible, even for him, “there are millions of people with type A blood out there.”

  “Oh, David,” said Allie. The scales were starting to fall from her eyes, but she had too much to lose at this point.

  “Are you going to deny that you’re my father? Are you, Mr. Chandler?”

  “Kenny, it’s just that…”

  “Look at me, Mr. Chandler. Look at me!”

  “I’m not denying anything, Kenneth,” said David, without making eye contact. “I’ve helped support you all these years, for Heaven’s sake. The reason I got myself into all this trouble is because I knew your Mom needed money for your college education, and I wasn’t going to let either of you down.”

  “I practically had to beg you, for God’s sake,” said Allie.

  “Allie,” said David, “I’ve already explained this to you…”

  “I’m betting that you didn’t have to beg, Allie,” I said. “You needed that money. You needed it badly, because you were desperate to send Kenny to college out of state, away from this whole mess and, particularly, away from Laura before he found out that any relationship with her would be against the law in all fifty states. Kenny’s going into his senior year, so he has to start applying to colleges soon, and that means filling out all those financial aid forms. You had to be able to show where the money was going to come from, because that’s all the colleges are really interested in, especially those expensive, out-of-state schools, and they are very interested. So I’m betting that you told David that you’d have to tell Doreen about all of this if you didn’t get the money. And once Doreen knew, the cat would be out of the bag one way or another, and he wouldn’t be David Chandler, Mr. Squeaky Clean Local Hero anymore. People would still want to meet him at the bank, but for all the wrong reasons. Right, David?”

  “Matt, you’ve got this all wrong,” said David.

  “No, I don’t. And then what would you be? All you’ve ever been all your life is what you were in high school. You’ve got nothing else. Yeah, you’ve been in love with Allie since high school, and you wanted to do right by Kenny Junior, but only so long as David Chandler, Hometown Hero, was protected, because that’s all you are. So you took your chances and borrowed the money from crooks, figuring that you’d worry about the repayment later. Something or someone would come along to bail you out, because that’s how everything always worked for David Chandler. You were just desperate to buy time.”

  “I was just trying to do the right thing, dammit!”

  “But,” said Kenny, staring calmly at his father.

  “But what?” said David.

  “But you’re ashamed of me. As long as you could keep everything a secret you were gl
ad to help out. But you’ll never acknowledge me publicly, will you?”

  “You have to understand how complicated this whole thing is, Kenneth. I love you, you’re my son, and you mean as much to me as my other children. I mean, look what I’ve done for you. But I have my reputation to think about. My standing in the community.”

  “You son of a bitch,” came a quiet voice. It was Doreen. Her face was white, but her voice was calm.

  David looked at her, but said nothing.

  “You son of a bitch,” said Doreen again. “No wonder you came home from college every weekend. You were coming to see Allie while I was away, weren’t you?”

  “Doreen, I…”

  “You what, you son of a bitch? You married me because it fit the image that you wanted for yourself. In a really perverse way, I almost understand that. I remember the pressure on us; I remember the expectations. But you know what I don’t get?” said Doreen, turning to face Allison Cooper. “What I don’t get is you, Allie. How could you have let yourself be treated like that? My God, how could you have ever done that to your husband? What did he ever do to you to deserve that kind of betrayal?”

  “That’s all easy for you to say, isn’t it, Princess Doreen of Devon?” replied Allie, almost snarling. “Look at you. You had everything. You had the brains, you had the looks, you had the popularity. You had everything, and I had nothing. You were the cheerleading captain; I was the last girl picked. You were the valedictorian of your class; I graduated in the bottom half of mine. You were the prom queen, while I went with Kenny, who ignored me all night and then got sick in the back of the car from drinking two six-packs beer with his buddies out on the football field. You went off to a fancy college and I stayed home and took a job with the phone company. And you had David.” Her snarl turned into a sneer. “But, oh, you didn’t have David, did you? The joke was on you, wasn’t it, your highness? Because David wanted me, me, not you. And David loved me, not you. And that made everything worth it.”

  “But what good did it do you, Allie?” I said. “David married Doreen, not you. And even after you had his baby, he stayed with Doreen, not you.”

  “David always told me that he had a plan, that what he was doing was for the best for us. He said once he established himself in his job and in the community, there would come a time when he could quietly divorce Doreen and we could have our life together.”

  “But that never happened,” I said, “did it.”

  “I could be patient,” said Allie. “I had Kenny Junior, and I knew David would never betray the two of us. And now the time has come, hasn’t it, thanks to you, Matt, and Princess Doreen, getting caught with your pants down. Jesus, it just makes me want to laugh. Now David will be my husband, and I’ll have the big house, and I’ll have the big bank account. And now my son can know who his true father is, not that loser Kenny, and…”

  “Allie,” said David, cutting her off, “let’s slow down here.”

  “What do you mean?” said Allie, turning to David, suddenly looking stunned.

  “I mean, we have to be careful for a while longer, that’s all.”

  “What do you mean, ‘careful’? I thought you said we could get married right away now, as soon as your divorce was final.”

  “And we will, we will, I promise.”

  “Then what do you mean?” said Allie, but I could see by the look on her face that she starting to figure it out for herself.

  “Look,” said David, giving Kenny Junior a furtive look, “now’s probably not the right time to talk about it.”

  “I don’t understand, David,” said Allie, almost whispering.

  “Allie, please,” said David, “just not now.”

  “No, David, now,” said Allie, her voice becoming a growl.

  “Look, Allie,” said David, starting to look like a trapped animal, “I just think we have to be careful about acknowledging Kenneth Junior as my son.”

  “What?”

  “Allie, please, calm down,” said David. “Isn’t it clear? We have the perfect justification for divorcing our spouses and marrying each other and keeping my reputation intact. These two,” said David, waving his hand in the direction of Doreen and me, “gave us the perfect justification. But acknowledging Kenneth would make that all, you know, problematic. It ruins the entire scenario, don’t you see?”

  “But David,” said Allie, “he’s not a ‘scenario’, he’s your son.”

  “I know that, Allie, but…”

  “So, if you’re not going to acknowledge him now, if now’s not the right time, when will the right time be, David?”

  “I just think that’s something we’re going to have to manage in the future, Allie. Once you give it some thought I’m sure you’ll understand.”

  Allie suddenly stood up. It was her turn now.

  “You son of a bitch.”

  “God, Allie, please…”

  “You’re never going to acknowledge him, are you?”

  “I didn’t exactly say that, Allie.”

  Allie didn’t reply right away. She was making up her mind. She was making a decision. It didn’t take her long.

  “David, I want you to leave,” she said when she finally spoke. “Now, David.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Now, David.”

  “But, Allie. We can finally have what we’ve wanted for all these years! We can be together, and no one will ever be able to accuse us of doing anything wrong.”

  “As long as you never have to acknowledge me as your son, right Dad?” said Kenny Junior.

  “Do you really think that’s what’s going to happen, David?” said Doreen, like she was talking to a stubborn child. “Do you really think that I’m just going to sit back and let you humiliate me and our children just so your precious reputation can be protected?”

  “And do you really think I’m going to let you do that to our son?” said Allie.

  “Look,” he said, “can’t we all sit down and talk about this like adults?”

  “Oh, David,” said Doreen, “that’s so sad.”

  “What do you mean?” said David.

  “You passed on your chance to be an adult a long time ago, David. I mean, look at you. You actually believe that the paltry little salary you earn at the bank to perform your dog and pony show whenever they tell you to actually pays our bills, don’t you.”

  “David, what’s she talking about?” said Allie, her eyes widening.

  “I have no idea,” said David, looking equally astonished.

  “That’s the pathetic thing,” said Doreen, turning to Allie. “He actually doesn’t know what he really is. So I’ll tell you: David’s just a third rate gofer at the bank, that’s all, Allie. All that money he gave you over all those years? That was my money. I earned it. David makes less money at the bank than Kenny makes as Athletic Director. What, you thought you were going to run off with a rich banker? Is that what he’s been telling you?”

  “Doreen, you’re going to have to explain all this to me,” said David, his expression turning baffled.

  “Don’t worry, David,” said Doreen, “you’ll have it all explained to you during the divorce proceedings.”

  Allie turned to David, her face ashen but her voice calm.

  “I don’t understand any of this money talk, but right now, I’m not sure any of that matters. I would’ve stuck with you, David, no matter how the money stuff works out. I can get a job. I’ve lived modestly all my life, and I can keep doing that. But how can you betray your own son? That’s what I can’t ever forgive. Please, leave. I never want to see you again.”

  And David Chandler, my childhood friend, my teammate, stood up and walked out of the house without uttering a word, and without making eye contact with anyone. He didn’t look back.

  ******

  “Mr. Hunter?” said Kenny Junior. He was pale, but he was holding it together.

  “Yes, Kenny?” I said. Doreen looked like she’d just tripped over a corpse, and I badly wanted
to get her out of there; but I wasn’t going to leave Kenny until I was sure he was okay. Allie looked like she’d withdrawn into a catatonic state, and I didn’t think she’d be any help.

  “I told you how I figured it out. Now I want to know how you figured it out.”

  “I guess I do, too,” said Doreen, her voice surprisingly steady. Allie didn’t react at all.

  “I guess it was a few things that finally came together,” I said. “I remembered running those routes with you, and when I thought back on it, I realized how much it reminded me of running routes with David.”

  “You mean, how my arm was so strong?”

  “Yes, there was that, but it was more. It was your footwork; the way you moved, the way you cocked your head when you threw. It was all pure David. And then I remembered how your Dad told me that you’d suddenly quit football last year. That was about the time you found out, right?”

  Kenny nodded. “Yeah, it was.”

  “But the oddest thing was when we talked at McDonald’s that day, and you were so accepting of your Mom’s rule that you couldn’t date Laura Chandler. I mean, I was a teenager once, too, Kenny. When you’ve got the hots for a girl, you don’t let much get in your way, you know? Especially not parental rules.”

  “Except when you’ve just found out the girl is your half-sister,” said Kenny.

  “Oh, God, Kenny,” said Doreen, “I’m so sorry.”

  “It wasn’t your fault, Mrs. Chandler,” said the most mature kid I’d ever met. “I’m sorry this had to happen to you, too.”

  “But Matt,” said Doreen, “I still don’t understand what Lacey was talking about. How did she figure all this out?”

  “That bugged me for a long time, too. But then I went back over the conversation we’d had. We’d talked a lot about how much David’s reputation mattered to him, and how much he cared for his kids, and we just couldn’t figure out what would drive him to disappear on them, and do something as stupid as borrow money from mobsters.”

  Doreen’s eyes widened in recognition. “Another child,” she said.

  “And another woman he was in love with, obsessed with is more like it, for all these years. Suddenly, all the pieces fell in place for me. I’m just sorry it took me so long.”