His Daddy's Car

Kirby phoned in his instructions for a background and profile report to be put together on Francis Reid, and that he wanted it on his desk by the time he arrived in his office. Forty-five minutes later, Kirby was sitting at his desk reviewing the report.

Francis Reid married Jason Reid ten years ago, but her maiden name was redacted in the report. She had received her nursing degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, but once again, her maiden name on all of her school records was redacted out, as was any information on her history prior to starting college.

"What the hell!" Kirby thought as he picked up his phone.

"Why is this report censored?" screamed Kirby into the phone.

"All the records in the State of Texas Vital Records department related to Francis Reid, as well as those at UTSA have been classified secret for purposes of national security," he was told. "The same is true with the IRS and every other database we have queried. We're trying to find out the reason and who authorized it, but it will take a day or two at least."

"I don't like the feeling of this," said Kirby as he hung up the phone.

He picked up another phone and gave a pre-arranged and clearly understood command, "Tighten up on the Freemans."

***

Bobby was just saying his goodbyes to Francis and Jason when his cell phone vibrated and gave off a single tone. He glanced at the screen and noticed the icon indicating that there was a Wi-Fi network available was blinking. This was a surprise, because not only were there no wireless networks in the immediate area -- including Francis and Jason's house -- but the flashing icon combined with the particular tone indicated something much more interesting.

Someone was looking for him through one or more government databases and he had just received notice that he was on somebody's radar.

"Look, it's only Tuesday and I have some more settling in to do before I have to start instructing next week. Can you use some help with the practices, Jason?" asked Bobby.

"Oh man, that would be a great help. Even if I can make it to all of them without work getting in the way, having you to help would allow us to give more attention to the boys and maybe make up for some of the fundamentals they need to get caught up on before the last game. If you can be at the field by 3PM, then count on dinner here afterwards. Okay?"

"Count on it," Bobby said as he finished folding the car cover and placing it into his trunk.

"Do me a favor and grab my glove and bring it with you for tomorrow. I left it on the coffee table in the living room."

"You've got it," Jason said. "I'll throw it into the SUV tonight so that if I don't make it to practice, Joey or Francis can give it to you."

Jason and Bobby shook hands and Francis gave her little brother a passionate hug, whispering in his ear, "You don't know what you being here today meant to me."

Bobby has a puzzled look on his face as she released him, and upon seeing his expression, she playfully slapped his arm and told him to drive safely.

As Jason and Francis walked back to their house, Bobby started the Corvair and headed up the road to the cul-de-sac to turn around rather than using one of the neighbors' driveways. He wanted to see the rest of the houses, but in particular the house where the Freemans lived.

As he reached the cul-de-sac, Bobby noticed a different black Suburban positioned across the gated driveway to the Freeman's house with the driver watching him, and there were at least two men visibly patrolling the perimeter of the house itself.

Bobby completed his turn without slowing any further and proceeded back to the highway and the return trip to his rental house.

Since driving with the convertible top down, especially at highway speeds made talking on his cell phone challenging due to the noise, Bobby waited until he got home to start his own inquiries. He did however send an e-mail to the person who signed his checks informing him of his plans.

His vehicle registration request on the license number for Kirby Wallace's Suburban, as well as the one he saw blocking the driveway at the Freeman house hit some initial roadblocks, but the authorization level of his contacts within the Department of Homeland Security quickly overcame these.

He learned almost immediately that the vehicles were registered to a shell corporation based in Boise, Idaho, and it took only a few minutes more to determine that the ruse of the shell corporation was there to protect the identity of federal government vehicles, usually for undercover law enforcement activities.

Now that he could assume that Kirby Wallace was a federal government employee, his next inquiry focused on determining which agency he worked for. Within the hour Bobby had learned that Kirby Wallace was not only a Deputy United States Marshal, but also that it was Kirby Wallace who had initiated the inquiries into Bobby which had tripped the alert he had received.

So, Katie and JR were obviously being protected by the U.S. Marshals, but why? It appears that Jason wasn't aware of the reason, which meant it likely wasn't due to anything local to the area where they now lived.

How long had they been under protection? Jason had mentioned Wallace showing up a couple of years ago, but is that when the protection started, or was he just a more recent addition to the team already in place? Did this have anything to do with what happened to JR's father? Bobby had no idea, and this was all a mostly pointless exercise.

Bobby had found out who was researching him, and now that he knew it was a U.S. Marshal, it made some degree of sense that a stranger showing up in close proximity to someone they were protecting would trigger them wanting to find out something about him, even as a mere precaution.

Bobby also knew that the inquiries would reveal little or nothing about him, and he would probably have to deal with the questions that THIS would raise, but if the questioning got too intrusive, he had mechanisms that could put an end to them real quick.

Bobby knew that he could initiate an inquiry into Katie Freeman and her parents, but while he would definitely be able to gain access to everything that existed, it would freak out the Justice Department and the U.S. Marshals for what appeared to be no good reason right now.

Bobby decided to let the matter drop for the time being and set about unpacking linens to make his bed for the night. He'd focus on the rest of his unpacking tomorrow, so he could draft his report tonight.

***

Kirby Wallace had left Katie and JR on their driveway. He had asked Katie if she knew what had caused her to faint and she had told him that her ears had been feeling clogged lately and now she was wondering if she may have an ear infection. She said she would get them checked while in San Antonio tomorrow visiting her parents.

Kirby left them standing on the drive of their home and didn't push the issue further.

Katie made grill cheese sandwiches for JR, realizing these were a poor substitute for him having to leave the barbeque early, but this was his favorite sandwich, and allowing him to have chocolate milk for dinner further pacified him.

After dinner, JR asked his mom to show him the pictures of his dad's car again. For some reason, Katie wasn't surprised by this request.

As she brought JR into her bedroom where the 10 watercolor paintings and one photograph of a 1965 red Corvair Monza convertible were hung on the wall, JR took her hand and looked at them with her. For ten years she had used the single photo that she had of Bobby's car to add to her collection. Each painting showed the car in a different pose and in a different setting.

She vividly remembered sitting on a bench across from the Alamo, using her pastels to capture the beauty of the building in the afternoon light. She then used that drawing to paint the first watercolor of Bobby's car sitting proudly in front of a building it had never actually been to. Subsequent years had her painting the car against different backdrops and inserting different props which were symbolic of some event that had occurred that year. JR's baby bottle sitting on the hood of the car while it was parked on the old bridge spanning Cibilo Creek was the second year. There was an easel sitting next to the car with an unfinished painting of a red Corvair obvious on it that she had painted the year she had graduated from Art School. Each painting told a story -- stories she longed to share with Bobby someday.

"Did you know that the engine is in the back and the trunk is in the front?" JR asked her.

"Yes I do know that, JR. How do you know that?"

"Bobby has a car that looks almost just like this, and he showed me."

"Oh, is that the car that was under the cover along the street at Joey's house?" Katie asked,

"Yep, and I helped Bobby put the cover on it in case it rained."

JR then stepped closer to the pictures and studied them more closely. "These look almost the same as Bobby's car, except for the name."

"What do you mean by the name? The car is a Chevrolet Corvair Monza, which is what these pictures have on them as well. See the emblem and the name along the front?" Katie was proud of the detail that she had brought to each of these paintings.

JR studied the paintings again and said, "Bobby's car has another name that is on his license plates. The cars in the painting don't have that."

"What name is on Bobby's car that is different from these?" Katie asked her son.

JR looked up at her and explained what Bobby had told her, "Just like boats are named after women, Bobby named his car after a special girl. His car is named "PattyKat".

Katie's legs almost gave way as she gasped. She had to sit down on the edge of her bed to keep from falling to the floor. JR looked concerned and asked her if she was alright. She assured him that she was just a little dizzy, but she was fine.

"Go take your shower and get ready for bed now," she told him. "I'll be in to kiss you good night in a few minutes."

JR quietly complied, looking over his shoulder at his mom as he left her room. He had noticed that she hadn't cried, but then realized that he really hadn't brought up the subject of his dad, just the paintings of the cars. Maybe the cars made her feel better about his dad, and that thought gave him an idea.

Katie absentmindedly played with Bobby's class ring on the chain around her neck and she continued to stare at the pictures while she listened to JR in his bathroom.

When had Bobby named his car after her?

God how she had loved being in that car with him. Whether they were parked in the high school parking lot, driving along the 405 freeway, or cruising down PCH -- she was so proud to be in HIS car, to be HIS girl, to share HIS life. She thought back to the day they had met...

Patty had never changed schools before. From the time she started Kindergarten, she had attended the local public schools with her friends from the same neighborhood. Sure there were new schools as she progressed from elementary to junior high, and then high school. But she had made these transitions with the same kids she had grown up with, so it never seemed really like a change.

As she approached the office of this new school, she was apprehensive, but committed to making the best of the situation for the benefit of her parents. They knew what moving away from her friends had cost Patty. From a social perspective she was now a non-entity. While she had been on a few dates, Patty hadn't ever had a boyfriend per se, but at least the boys knew who she was. Now she was a nobody in the truest sense of the word.

She positioned herself to pull the office door open just as someone on the inside decided to push. Stumbling back with the momentum of the door, she avoided falling down, but her legs got twisted and she had to keep her hand on the door knob in order to maintain her balance. The boy on the other side spoke to her, and he was so genuine. That's the first impression Patty had of Bobby Brandt, even though she didn't yet know his name, it was that he was REAL. He was a little over six feet, and had a very appealing athletic build that was as natural as the rest of him. Her quick glimpse into his green-hazel eyes made her think that she wanted to know him better.

After Patty was given a printed copy of her new schedule, she began the search for her first class. She found the room and squeezed around some big guy standing in the doorway and scooted around a few other people to find herself almost in the middle of the room.

Looking around for a place to sit, she saw him. He was sitting alone at one of the tables, pleasantly greeting other students as they came up to him. He didn't seek others out, or ignore anyone who spoke with him. He was friendly without demanding attention for being so.

Just like every other girl in the room, Patty was drawn to him, so she approached him and asked, "Is this seat taken?" With the other girls, he had been polite and friendly, but at the same time dismissive. She was elated when he welcomed HER.

That turned out to be the first of four classes that she shared with Bobby that semester. When he offered her a ride to school in his car the next day, Patty sensed that she was already falling for this boy. He was not "popular" by any stretch of the imagination, but everyone seemed to know him. More than that, Patty saw very quickly that everyone honestly respected Bobby Brandt. Patty knew that popularity came and went in high school, but it was really rare for someone to be respected by so many different groups and individuals at a single school. Bobby was one of the smartest kids in school, yet he wasn't considered a 'nerd' or 'geek'. He had been the captain and starting third baseman on the varsity baseball team since he was a sophomore, but he wasn't considered a 'jock'.

She remembered when at lunch the week after they had met, Bobby saw some bullies harassing a younger student. Bobby excused himself from their table, walked up to the younger student and put his arm around his shoulder. The bullies immediately turned and walked away. Bobby spoke to the boy for a while and then returned to the table and finished his lunch.

During her PE class later that day, Patty had mentioned the event to another girl.

"That sounds just like Bobby," she had said

"But why would the bullies just back down? Bobby didn't say a thing to them," replied Patty.

"You may be new here, but anyone who has been here for a month knows that you don't mess with Bobby Brandt."

"Is he a tough fighter?" asked Patty.

"I don't know anyone who has ever seen him fight," said the girl. "It's just known. Kinda like you know the sun will rise in the east and set in the west. Everyone just seems to know that messing with Bobby Brandt would not be a good idea."

Bobby was very cute, but he was comfortable with himself and confident enough not to worry about whether he was constantly 'spit shined and polished'. He had wavy blonde hair that touched his collar, and other than when he dressed in the morning or after he showered in PE, his fingers were his only comb. Bobby smiled generously, laughed heartily and willing bestowed his positive attitude on anyone around him. Bobby worked hard at everything he did, and tried to never disappoint anyone. Patty was always so proud of him, proud to be seen with him, but especially proud to be loved by him. Patty also loved that everyone else recognized Bobby's devotion to her and assigned 'couple' status to them months before they acknowledged it themselves.

What drew Patty to Bobby more than anything else was the way he could get inside her. Almost from the very first time they spoke, Patty sensed that Bobby knew her better than she knew herself. He knew her like he knew he had to breathe. As they started dating, then becoming boyfriend and girlfriend, and then finally lovers, Patty came to cherish the safety and security that came from Bobby always being there for her. Spiritually, physically, and emotionally... Bobby fulfilled her every need.

And then there was his beautiful, wonderful, magical car. THEIR car.

She had loved him so much that even though she had to leave so many mementoes of their times together behind, the absence of material items only seemed to strengthen her mental memories of what they shared.

Having JR was the icing on the cake. He had Bobby's blonde hair and green-hazel eyes. After JR was born, when prompted to change her appearance, the decision was easy for Katie, she would get contact lenses that matched the color of Bobby's eyes and bleach her hair blonde. This would provide the appearance that their son took after her side of the family rather than the father he had never known.

When Katie went into JR's room to kiss him good night, he said, "Mom, Bobby said he would take me for a ride in his car sometime if my parents gave permission. I told him that I didn't know where my dad was and he said your permission would be good enough. Can I mom? Maybe Bobby would take you for a ride with us too if I asked him. Please mom!"

Katie fought back her tears as she told him, "I think it would be wonderful for you to get a chance to ride in his car. Please don't ask him to invite me, however. If he invites me on his own, I'll consider it, but it would be rude for you to ask him to. Understand?"

"Yes mom," JR said. "Thanks."

"Good night JR."

"Good night mom. I hope you feel better tomorrow."

Chapter Two - Wednesday

Bobby chose a different route to get to the baseball practice the next day. Avoiding the chance of getting that song into his mind again was one reason; trying to avoid the trip down memory lane that started yesterday was another. He needn't have worried about the song - other thoughts distracted him.

Other than singular events like baseball practice or work, Bobby couldn't remember having, or even wanting an individual identity once he had met Patty. Everything that mattered to him was centered on "Us"; being the two of them together, usually in his car..

Bobby remembered how the remainder of their junior year, he and Patty grew as a couple. Their combined studies resulted in them being the top two students in their class, with Patty edging Bobby by a fraction of a percentage in their GPA because she got an A+ in her elective, Choir, and he only got an A in Keyboarding.

Bobby taught Patty how to drive in his car. When Patty was ready to get her driver's license, she asked Bobby to take her to the DMV. When she returned to the lot after the driving test with a beaming smile on her face, Bobby walked around to the passenger seat to join her. Patty was aghast, and screamed before Bobby could even open the door, "Don't you dare!"

Bobby froze in his tracks and just stared at her. He said, "You passed didn't you? I thought you would like to drive us home now that you're legal." He handed her the spare key that he had made as a reward for getting her license.

Patty said, "Bobby, I love that you trust me to drive your car. If I ever need to borrow it, I would have no reservations about asking you to let me use it. That being said, I will only drive this car if you are not in it. If you are in it, then you will be driving, and I will be sitting happily in my seat beside you. That is the only place I want to be when you and I are in this car together."

Bobby nodded, walked around to the driver's door, opened it and held his hand out for Patty. "In that case, please allow me to escort you to your seat, PattyKat."