Ch 106: What to do about the kid

“Damn her!” Jeffery snarled, tossing his cell phone onto the counter.

He had tried more than a dozen times and Karen would never take his call. Well, he did avail himself of her voice mail--several times, in fact--and let her know exactly what he thought of her.

“Damn me,” he muttered, hiding his face in his hands, willing himself not to scream in frustration.

He knew full well he ought not to have done that. He shouldn’t have lost his temper and said half of what he did, but he was too angry. He couldn’t keep it in anymore, not if what Janet discovered was true, and it was sounding more and more like it was. Surely now he lost any shot he had of getting Karen to tell Wendy the truth about what she did, and more importantly, what he didn’t do. 

“Oh, Wendy,” he mumbled, his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I’m never gonna get you back now and it’s all my stupid-ass fault.”

Ch105 Best Buds

“Hello, Tristan,” Donny said, lowering the poster board he had made with the boy’s picture and name. “Remember talking to me?”

Still clinging to the flight attendant’s hand, the small, blond headed boy stared up with honestly appraising eyes. He pushed his too-long hair out of his eyes and then smiled. 

“Are you gonna be my new daddy?”

Taken completely aback, Donny gaped at him in stunned silence for half a minute then stammered for the other half. He was rescued by the motherly woman who tried her best not to laugh.

Ch 104: Popular Guy

Popular guy

Janet stood in shock as everyone at the party knew her dad—or at least knew of him-- even before she got the chance to introduce him. Who knew he was such a popular guy?

What was even more strange, however, was that no one cared that he was there at Wes' house—except for Jasmine it seemed. Janet couldn’t believe it. Jeff was, after all, an intruding adult at a kids’ party so nobody should have wanted him there. He should have been…well, not exactly persona grata.

“You probably don’t remember me,” Peter said to Jeff.

He stared at him in concentration. “You do look familiar. Are you related to Mike Chandler?”

“Uh…dunno him, so I’m guessing not,” Peter replied with his easy, crooked grin.

Ch 103: What Tangled Webs We Weave

“Let’s try this one,” Luke said, sitting down at the piano and only then letting go of Janet’s hand. 

He had forced her to sit beside him on the bench much to her dismay. Were they really going to sing here at the party in front of everyone, before they were even ready? Janet looked up at Alana who grinned at her and gave her the thumbs up. She must know exactly what was going through Janet’s head.

Peter leaned on the piano staring at Luke’s fingers as they played around the keys and nodded when he recognized the song. “One of my mom’s favorites. Clapton. Sounds better on the guitar, of course, but this will do for now.”

“Do you know this, Janet?” Luke said and he started singing the slow ballad. 

 ♪ ♫…It’s late in the evening; she’s wondering what clothes to wear. She puts on her makeup and brushes her long, long hair…♩ ♬ 

“Blonde…it’s long blonde hair,” Alana interjected.

Luke grinned and shook his head. “Not when I sing it for you, babe,” he said and returned to singing while Alana blushed scarlet.

Ch102 Whether she wants to or not

“Bye, Daddy,” Janet said, holding her father in a semi-death grip. Whether she wants to or not, she had to go now.

Jeff chuckled. “Honey, you’re just going to the movies, right? Not a trip to the moon.”

“Um…yeah, just…” Janet said, biting her lip.

“She’s going to miss you, Mr. Fummel, that’s all,” Wes said, taking her hand and tugging her outside before she changed her mind about going at all. “We’ll see you later.”

“She’s getting so weird,” Stevie said, shaking his head in exasperation as the door closed.

“So, what do you two want to do? Bowling okay?” Jeff asked.

“Oh, please! I haven’t been bowling in so long,” Cindy said. “Wes gave me money and everything, so I can pay for all of us.”

Ch101 When first we practice to deceive

When Janet and Wes showed up in the late afternoon, Jasmine accosted them before they came into the house.

“About time you got home!” Jasmine said, barring them from the house.

“Gotta problem?” Janet said.

“Well, yeah, the party tonight?” Jasmine said.

“We can’t have the party anymore, Jazzy,” Janet said. 

“Why not?”

“Cuz Dad’s here,” Janet said.

“Well, we’re not having it here, remember? We’re going to Wes’ place.”

“I assumed it was off, too. Your dad’s not going to just let us go have an unsupervised party at my house, is he?” Wes said.

“Troy thought of a way to sneak away and Dad’ll never know where we are,” Jasmine said gleefully.

“I dunno, Jazzy. I don’t wanna leave Dad alone,” Janet said, making a face. 

Ch100 The Pessimist and the Optimist

“Good Morn…”

Wes couldn’t finish his greeting because Janet grabbed his face with both hands, pulled him down to her level and kissed him heartily. After the shock wore off, he slid his arms about her and pulled her closer. 

This was some greeting!

“You really know how to get a guy’s motor running, baby,” he said somewhat breathless, pressing his forehead to hers. “Glad to see me?”

She giggled. “Maybe. I made breakfast. Come eat,” she said. She tried to step away, but he resisted and pulled her back against him. “Not hungry?”

“Not for anything in the kitchen,” he said, kissing her again.

“Good morning, Wes,” Jeff said, showing up entirely too soon to please either of them.

Ch99 Making Up For Lost Time

“Good morning, Daddy,” Janet said, giving him a great big hug, a kiss on the cheek and even a butterfly kiss which made him laugh. 

“Boy, I’ve missed this,” he said, giving her an extra squeeze.

“I made breakfast,” she said, pulling away from him.

“I can see that,” Jeff said, eying the mess on the counter. “You’re just like your mother.”

Janet shrugged. “Maybe a little,” she said, going to the coffee maker and pouring some for him.

As she handed the cup to him, he smiled and caressed her cheek. “You didn’t have to go to so much trouble for me, especially on a Saturday. Most teens sleep til noon.”

“Well, I never do,” she said, going to the stove, taking a few bacon strips out of the pan and dishing up scrambled eggs. 

Ch98 Two Favorite Guys

“Wendy, are you sure?”

Good question, but one she didn’t care to address just now. It felt too good to be in Donny’s arms. She so missed being held like this. She didn’t want to think. She only wanted to feel. 

Instead of answering, she kissed him—it was an answer of its own. She pulled off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt.

Donny pulled her to him in an endless kiss and slowly unzipped her dress. With only the city lights coming in from the windows, he could just make out her form as he slipped it off her shoulders, allowing it to puddle at their feet. Ever-so-carefully he lowered her to the bed, caressing and kissing her mindless.

At precisely the same time, however, they both spoke. Unfortunately, the names they spoke were of two people not physically present.

Ch97 Wendy Does Boston

“You’re very quiet.”

Wendy roused herself and forced a smile. “I’m sorry, Donny,” she said, looking away from the window of their cab.

“You could go back home if you’d rather, you know. I won’t blame you.”

“No! Of course not,” she said. 

“I won’t be mad,” he said.

She bit her lip and looked out of the window again. “I’m just…”

“Missing your kids something awful, I know,” he said grinning at her. “You should go back home.”