Reconnecting the Dots

Her hand still in his, he grasped it with both of his own, raised it to his mouth, and gave it a kiss in thanks. She gave him a small smile in return. Any worry she had her mother's personality ended right there. Yes, she might have her mother's looks, but she was his daughter. She had a kind heart, which was saying something, considering who she was raised by.

Jake sighed again, then trudged on: "I was so angry and hurt that I stormed out, grabbed you with some of your clothes, and went to my mom's house."

"Where was I when mom and Kevin were...um...in bed?" she suddenly asked with suspicion.

"In your room."

Ashley scowled at that. "What happened next?"

"I don't really remember. Everything was a blur. But the next day the police showed up and arrested me for assault and battery and suspicion of kidnapping." Jake shivered, thinking back to that day. Finding his wife in his bed with another man was bad enough, but being that it was with Kevin made it that much worse. He never suspected a thing. Up until that day, he thought things were great.

"That bitch!" Ashley hissed, snapping him from his reverie.

Jake shot Ashley a questioning look. She was still lost in her own contemplations.

"Ashley?" Jake said, trying to get her attention.

Coming back from wherever she was, Ashley said,"She lied to me! She freaking lied to me!"

This time it was Jake who reached across the table to take hold of her hand in comfort. It broke his heart to see the state she was in. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart," was all he could think to say.

She was angry. He had an idea of what was behind her anger. He knew his ex's version of events from the court documents, and from her reaction it was obvious this was the version she'd been told. But what he found amazing was how quickly she was accepting his story as the truth. Only a short while ago she was showing some skepticism towards him. But now, he could see the gears turning in her head, filling the holes in her memories, or rather replacing lies with truth. Slowly but surely the dots were starting to be reconnected. He was still curious, though, as to what had caused her to question everything she'd been told. He'd have to get her side of the story, but first he had to finish his own.

"You OK?" he asked gently. "Do you want to stop for now?"

"No. I need to know. She lied to me. She said that you beat her and threatened to take me away if she told anybody." She paused to gauge his reaction to this. Jake kept his face impassive. It was as he suspected. This was his ex's version. "She told me Kevin found out the truth and tried to help her. When you found out she told Kevin, you beat him up and kidnapped me like you had threatened to do."

He grimaced. "Yup, that's definitely your mother's version."

"You knew that!?"

"Yup, read it the court documents. You can imagine how shocked I was when I read them."

"Court documents?"

Jake sighed again, for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "Yes, court documents. After I was arrested, your mom, with Kevin's encouragement, filed a bunch of bogus claims. On top of the assault and battery charges, she filed for divorce claiming cruelty." Tears started filling his eyes. "And if that wasn't bad enough, she filed to have my parental rights taken away, claiming I molested you."

"How could she do that?" hissed Ashley. "Don't you need proof to make claims like that?"

He wiped his eyes. "Well, she had bruises on her." That caused Ashley's eyebrows to raise. Seeing her expression, Jake carried on to ease her suspicion: "I've never been able to verify it, but I think one of two things happened. She either got the bruises when she jumped in trying to help Kevin when I caught them, or they were self-inflicted to help her claims along."

Jake watched Ashley's face for her reaction to his suspicions. Her eyes were narrowed and he could see her mind working as if she was contemplating something. When she didn't say anything, he carried on: "As for the molestation claims, you were coached." Now, that did shock her.

"WHAT!?"

Her reaction caused him to flinch. He quickly looked around, remembering they were in his place of business. Luckily the place was almost empty. They were in that window between lunch and happy hour all food establishment owners hated. He looked back at her and was shocked to see how angry she was. Yes, she had shown some anger during their talk, but now she was pissed.

"What do you mean I was coached?" she asked through clenched teeth.

As gently as possible, he said, "There's no other way to say it. You were coached. My mom bailed me out a few days later. I was immediately served divorce papers. There was also an order of protection barring me from going anywhere near you, your mom, or the house. I was in such a state of shock that I went directly to the house thinking it had to be a mistake. 'There was no way she would do this to me,' I said to myself. The claims of spousal abuse were bad enough, but the fact that she claimed I molested you almost killed me." Jake paused to gauge Ashley's reaction. She seemed impatient for him to get on with it, so he continued: "Well, I showed up and all hell broke loose. Kevin was there; your mom started yelling all this nonsense. I wanted to see you but they refused, so I started freaking out, and the next thing I knew the cops were there and I was back in jail. Since I broke the order of protection, I was denied bail and had to sit in jail until my trial date."

"But how was I coached?" Ashley interrupted impatiently. She was still angry and wanted answers.

"I'm getting there, sweetheart. It's easier if I go through the story this way. Is that OK?" He wanted to get through this story as quickly as possible because it still hurt to talk about it.

Ashley nodded.

"Now where was I?" Jake asked rhetorically. He had to think a moment to get back on track. "Oh right," he said, remembering where he left off. "My lawyer talked me into taking a plea deal. Honestly, though, I wasn't really that concerned with the assault charge. I knew I was guilty. I did beat him pretty bad. It was the other charges I was worried about. So, I took the deal and was sentenced to six months and had to pay a fine. I was looking at a year in jail, but the judge was sympathetic. Money was tight—your mom and Kevin cleaned me out. Luckily my lawyer agreed to help me out even though I couldn't pay him a lot."

"Did you try fighting the divorce?" asked Ashley.

Jake shook his head. "No. The second she cheated on me, the marriage was over. My only concern was you."

That caused Ashley to smirk. His smirk.

Taking a sip of water, he carried on: "While I was in jail, your mom kept trying to get me to sign the divorce papers. But I refused to sign if she didn't agree to share custody. When I got out, the judge ruled that I could see you under supervision." Jake paused. He was about to answer the question that had been bugging her. He knew she wasn't going to like it. In a quavering voice, he said, "You walked in with a social worker, took one look at me, screamed, and then started crying."

Ashley was shocked. "Bu...bu...but, I don't remember that!"

"You weren't even four years old yet, sweetheart."

But Ashley looked horrified at this revelation. She looked as if she blamed herself for her mother's despicable act. He knew he had to put an end to it immediately.

"Ashley, please look at me." She looked directly at him. "This is not your fault. Do you hear me?"

"But wh...why don't I remember any of this?" she asked in a small voice, eyes dropping to the table.

Jake reached over to take hold of her hand again. "It's not your fault," he said firmly. "Do you hear me? Your mother did this. Not you. We're both victims here."

She raised her head and looked at him. Her bottom lip trembled. After a few moments, she hesitantly nodded, but Jake wasn't sure if she was convinced yet.

Ashley cleared her throat, and said, "The last memory I have of you is right before we moved. I don't remember much but there was a red teddy bear. I remember being scared but not knowing why."

"That was right after your fifth birthday. I remember it like it was yesterday," he said with a faraway look in his eyes.

Probably the worst day of them all.

Coming back to himself, he continued: "After that first meeting where you freaked, the social worker reported your behavior, and I was about to lose you for good. But I wasn't giving up that easily, so I had my lawyer request for you to be questioned by an expert. Your mother fought against it, but the judge finally agreed. It was pretty obvious to the expert you were coached, and it said so in her report, but the damage had been done. You were deathly afraid of me."

Ashley looked back with tears streaming down her face. Jake let go of her hand, raised both of his own to her cheeks, and wiped the tears away. His little girl was upset and he needed to comfort her.

"What happened next?" she tentatively asked, as if she was afraid of the answer.

"Another year and a half of hell," he stated flatly. "We fought back and forth regarding you; money; everything. It was surreal. When I looked at your mother during that period, it was like I was looking at a stranger. She went from a woman who I loved and who loved me to such a vindictive and hateful person."

"You don't know what went wrong?" Ashley asked desperately. It seemed she was having difficulty believing her mother's actions. Jake knew that feeling.

"It's obvious Kevin was behind it. Like I said earlier, we kind of knew each other, but there was something about him that turned me off. Up until the day I found them in bed, I never even suspected a thing. I was such an idiot," he said, with a shake of his head. Taking another sip of water, Jake continued with a sad look on his face. "Well, long story short, even though I didn't abuse you, your mother had corrupted you against me so completely that they felt it was in the best interest of the child to give her full custody."

"But why? That's so unfair."

"Yes, it was. It sucks, but the mother usually gets custody of the child in these types of cases, and you were so terrified of me that they felt it was best if I didn't see you anymore. The last time I saw you was the day after your fifth birthday. I brought you a red teddy bear, hoping beyond hope for a miracle—some way to get you back. But like I said, the damage had been done. You didn't want to come within ten feet of me." Tears started falling down his cheeks. "A few days later, even though it killed me, I signed the divorce papers, finally losing you once and for all."

Silence ensued. They both sat with tears running down their cheeks, taking in what had just been said. Jake hadn't talked about these events in years. He still thought about them occasionally, but rehashing the whole story brought all of those emotions to the forefront. He'd only ever told two people the entire story: Garrett and his wife—the woman who saved him and brought him back from the abyss. But that was years ago. Thinking of his wife brought a smile to his face. She was going to be as surprised as he was by Ashley's appearance.

My wife. He needed to call her back, remembering the missed phone call from before.

He looked at Ashley. She was staring off into space. "Ashley," he said gently.

"Hm." She snapped back from wherever she was. She had a haunted look on her face.

"Are you OK?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I've been trying to fill in the gaps, and you've helped, but it just seems so unfair. Mom lied to me for years and I still don't know why?"

Jake sighed again. He could empathize. He'd felt that way for years. "I don't know what to tell you, sweetheart. Your mother did what she did, but what matters now is that you're here."

Ashley didn't respond right away. This time she was the one trying to gauge his reaction. He had just touched on something they'd been avoiding—the real reason why she was here. If his side of the story was the eight hundred pound gorilla in the room, her side was the five hundred pound gorilla. What did she want? Did she want to stay? Was she moving on after she got the answers she came looking for? What led her to come to seek him out after all this time? Did her mother know where she was? Did she ever receive the letters he'd sent? The questions were endless. Jake knew what he wanted. But what did she want?

He decided to give both of them time to process everything. He knew how difficult it was to have someone who claimed to love you lie to your face. He was lied to by his ex for a short time, but Ashley had been lied to almost her entire life. It must've been exponentially worse.

"I think it's time we take a break," Jake said. "I know I need one. I have to go to the bathroom and make a phone call. Is that OK with you?"

"Yeah. I think that's a good idea. I have to use the bathroom, too."

"OK, follow me. I'll show you where they are."

They both knew the conversation wasn't over, though. They still had a lot to cover, but Jake was a little hesitant to push. She'd just gone through a lot and his protective side wanted to prevent her from experiencing any more pain. But he was curious. He wanted to help, but wouldn't know how until he knew her story.

Jake and Ashley stood and walked towards the back. They were just taking a well-deserved break before they continued trying to reconnect the dots.

-----

Entering his office, Jake pulled out his cell phone, sat down at his desk, and dialed his wife.

"Hey, baby," came Claire's voice through the ear piece.

"Hi, honey." He tried keeping his voice normal. Apparently, though, he wasn't successful. His wife picked up on it immediately.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Jake grinned and shook his head. His wife could read him like a book. That's why he loved her so much. "I had an unexpected visitor today."

"Oh. Who?"

Jake paused for a moment. He knew he was about to shock her. Then said, "Ashley."

Silence rang out. It lasted long enough he thought they'd been disconnected.

"Ashley?" Claire asked, breaking the silence. "You mean, The Ashley?" There was surprise in her voice, but also something else. It sounded like disbelief.

"Yup."

"Oh my gosh! What!? How!?"

"She just showed up."

"And it went just like that?" She was so excited it made Jake smile. He knew she would respond this way.

"I'll tell you the whole story later, honey," he said. "I just wanted to return your call. When you called before, we were in the middle of it."

"But what did you talk about!?" Her excitement was palpable even through the phone. "What did she say!? What did you say!? Did you tell her about the letters!? Or your tattoo!? Or how about the trus—"

"Honey, honey, calm down for a sec." God, he loved her. "I promise you I'll tell you everything later, OK?"

"That's not fair, Jake," she whined cutely. "I need to know. I can't believe it. At least give me something. I won't be able to last until tonight. Pleeease?"

He chuckled. She was rambling and purposefully using that cutesy voice she knew always got to him. Damn, he loved her.

"Fine," he conceded, deciding to give her the brief version. He knew she wouldn't let up if he kept her totally in the dark. "She came in, it took me almost two hours to recognize her, and we talked."

"But what did you talk about?"

He grinned at her impatience. "I told her my side of the story. We didn't get to her side yet." Jake paused here. He needed to find the right words for what he was about to say next. "But," he continued in a more serious tone, "it's obvious she's had it rough recently. Her clothes and hair are a mess. And even though she hasn't admitted it yet, I'm pretty sure she's tight on cash. I was thinking I should bri—"

Claire's gasped. "But she has to come home with you." She said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We have to help her."

Jake grinned. She had read his mind. "I know, honey. I was about to say the same thing. But the question is: Does she want to?"

Claire gasped again. "You mean you haven't invited her yet? What were you thinking?"

"Well, we haven't gotten that far."

"Well, you march right over there Jake Martin and invite her. She's your daughter and it's your job to help her. And don't take no for an answer."

Jake didn't answer immediately. She was right. They'd been avoiding Ashley's side of the story, but he was running out of excuses. It was time to shit or get off the pot.

"Jake," came Claire's voice, interrupting his thoughts.

"I'm here. I was just thinking for a second and you're right. I was avoiding bringing up certain things because I didn't want to upset her anymore." He paused for a second, thinking back to their talk. His eyes teared up. Voice cracking, he said. "It was breaking my heart seeing what she was going through."

"Oh Jake," came Claire's voice full of sympathy. "I'm sorry if I was a little harsh there. I didn't mean it. You're a good man and a good father. Just do what's right and everything will work out."

Jake wiped his eyes and cleared his throat. "I'm not mad at you. You're right. She is my daughter and I will help her."

"I love you, baby." He could hear the love in her voice. "Just make sure you get her to come home. We have plenty of room and I want to meet her."

"I'll do my best"

"Good."

"What time will you be home?" he asked, changing the subject.

"A little after five."

"How about the kids?"

"5:30ish."

"OK. Can you pick up something to eat on the way home? Chinese or pizza, maybe?"

"I'll get Chinese. Pizza's a bit out of the way."

"OK, sounds good. I'll see you later."

"Love you. Oh, and tell Ashley I can't wait to meet her."

"I will. Love you, too." Jake said, pressing the end call button.

-----

Leaving the back office, Jake had his mind made up. He was going to do as Claire suggested. Ashley needed him, but they failed to touch on one important point. He needed his daughter as well. Yes, he loved his step kids and could never replace them, but Ashley was his blood. He lost her all those years ago and now he had a chance to fill the hole in his heart. No matter how great his life had become, there was always something missing. He needed his little girl and was going to do whatever it took to help her.

When he reached the table, he smiled at the scene before him: Ashley and Sophie hysterically laughing at something an animated Garrett was saying.

"...and then, your dad looks over his shoulder with this confused look on his face and has no idea why everyone's laughin'." Garrett paused, noticing Jake's appearance for the first time. Jake knew the story Garrett was telling. Jake grinned and shook his head. It was one of the most embarrassing, yet hysterical things to ever happen to him. Chuckling, Garrett continued: "Nobody says a thing for about an hour until this guy who's wasted, walks up to your dad, slaps him on the ass and says, 'Dude, your ass is showin'.' " Ashley and Sophie redoubled over in laughter.

Jake shook his head in amusement. Leave it to Garrett to tell his long-lost daughter a totally inappropriate story. And that particular story to boot. If he didn't know any better, he would've been pissed. But Jake knew Garrett and Sophie were doing this for a reason. They wanted Ashley to feel welcome. They were familiar enough with Jake to know what he'd be planning to do. He was a very lucky man to have such great friends.

"And then," said a now near hysterical Garrett, "your dad reaches back, finds the hole—"

"OK, that's enough," interrupted a sheepish looking Jake. "Ashley doesn't need to be hearing this, you two." Garrett and Sophie both attempted to look chastised, but that only lasted for a few seconds before they both started howling. Jake tried to look stern, but failed and joined in the laughter. Ashley joined in, as well.