Reformation Ch. 03

Chapter Three: Owen's Reckoning

For the next four days life at the Spa began to settle into a routine of sorts. In the mornings Taryn and Rosina would make breakfast for everyone. Owen would do the breakfast dishes, (usually with either Taryn or Rosina helping). Taryn and Karen would then go upstairs to work in the Spa, Rosina would go to the hospital and work her day shift, Owen and Veronica would take the bus together to college. In the evening when everyone got home, Karen and Veronica would make supper and Owen would do the dishes, (with either Taryn or Rosina helping). After dinner, everyone would relax and visit together, if Owen or Veronica had homework or studying to do, they would do it in the dining room. At bed time, Veronica and Karen would go off to bed and Owen would lie down in the sleeping bag for about half an hour before joining Taryn and Rosina in bed. The trio would wake up early on the pretence of making breakfast to reduce the risk of Karen catching them in bed together.

Veronica made good use of the upheaval and change in the household to her advantage. Veronica made a point to hug her mother tightly and kiss her on the lips every time she: left home, came home, first thing in the morning, and just before bedtime. Karen resisted at first but by the end of day three, and after receiving the new hugs and kisses countless times by now, Karen stopped flinching and just accepted it. She didn't particularly enjoy it, but she did allow it to happen. Eventually Karen even began to expect it, whenever she saw her daughter approaching.

At no time did Owen, Taryn or Rosina seem to be a hindrance or in the way, even though they were staying in the living room. Everyone made the best of it and pitched in to help each other out. Karen loaned Taryn a few outfits that seemed to fit. Veronica had an item or two that Rosina could wear. Owen wasn't so lucky, he had to make do with a few sale items from a local bargain store, but he didn't complain. Owen, Taryn and Rosina helped out when and where they could, hoping to pay Karen and Veronica back for their hospitality.

The only thing that put a damper on things was that everyone was anxious to hear of news about Richard or the family's money. It was as if Owen, Taryn and Rosina couldn't start to get on with their lives until this chapter was finished. They wanted to know, one way or another, what happened to Richard and the family's money. Even if nothing could be done about it, just to know for certain, one way or another. It has been said that you should be careful what you wish for, you just might get it, such is the case with this. Four days after the Thompson's arrived at the Spa to stay, they had a visitor who indeed had the news the Thompson's were looking for.

Tony entered the Spa's apartment that evening and looked uncomfortable just to be there. Nobody knew whether it was the news he brought or the fact that he was in Karen's house. Either way he followed Veronica into the apartment and paused just inside the door. Karen saw Tony and walked towards him to greet him, like any other guest in her home. The years had dulled her anger over what had happened with the divorce and the bustle of activity around the apartment these past few days had lifted her spirits. Even seeing her Ex-husband could not get her down, Karen seemed to like a crowded house.

"Good Evening Tony, you look tired, have a seat, won't you?" Karen asked as she approached Tony and took Tony's coat.

"Thanks, it's been a rough few days," Tony said wearily as he sat heavily in the single chair in the living room.

"For all of us," Taryn said as she entered the living room. "Hello, Tony," she said as she lightly hugged Tony and kissed him on the cheek before sitting down on the couch herself.

"Indeed," Tony added grimly with a nod of his head.

Silently everyone gathered around Tony, anxious to hear what he had to say. Owen and Rosina sat beside Taryn on the couch, squished together, Karen sat right beside Rosina and Veronica sat on the floor, leaning up against Karen. Karen absentmindedly began playing with Veronica's hair, much to Veronica's surprise and delight. Tony looked over at the five people on the couch and sighed heavily, not sure if he knew how to tell them the news he brought.

"The first thing I want to say is how terrible I feel about what has happened," Tony said with genuine regret.

"It wasn't your fault," Taryn assured Tony, and in reply Tony smiled, briefly.

"I only hope that I could have seen some sign, some hint of what he was going to do," Tony started out but paused briefly as he fumbled for words. "I honestly thought he was retiring early and moving to Montana. I thought it was a good change for him. Until you phoned, I had no idea that there were any problems in his life," Tony said and sighed heavily as he looked down, unable to continue for the moment. "I'm his wife and I never saw any sign that he was going to run off with our life savings?" Taryn said with just a hint of anger entering her voice.

"He didn't run away," Tony said as he rubbed his face with his hand, sighing heavily. "When they were investigating the fire, they found some . . . remains . . . some bones. They're pretty sure they're Richard's but we should know for certain in a few days," Tony said with a sombre tone of voice.

"Oh my God, he's dead?" Taryn shouted in shock, and at that Owen hugged Taryn and she clutched Owen tight.

"There's more," Tony began, "He left a note . . . he mailed it, he fucking mailed me his suicide note!" Tony said in shock and anger and paused to sob a few tears before he got a hold of himself.

"SUICIDE NOTE?" Taryn shouted in shock.

"Yeah, the fire was no accident, Richard started the fire and killed himself in the house," Tony said with a sad tone of voice, this subject was clearly difficult for him to talk about.

"Oh my God! That's unbelievable, But why? What about the . . ." Taryn started to stammer but words failed her. She couldn't come out and ask what happened to the money, even though she was wondering that very thing.

"In his note he said that he hated his life and that he had become a tool for greed and hatred. He said that he had seen so much profit from death that he wanted nobody to profit from his . . . he says he gave everything to charities," Tony said, his voice sounding almost apologetic.

"That's unbelievable! How could he do such a thing? Why would he do this to his family? . . . Can I read the note? Do you have it?" Taryn fumbled and stammered, yet managed to get out.

"I don't have the note, the police have it, but I never told them about this one," Tony says as he pulls an envelope out of his pocket. "This one was in the envelope he mailed to me, this one is addressed to you," he said as he handed Owen the note.

"Me?" Owen said in disbelief as he started at the envelope in his hands, in Richard's handwriting were the words, "To Owen."

"As far as his money goes, we've checked everywhere and everything is gone. He cancelled all the insurance on everything, even his life insurance! Somehow he managed to get rid of every last penny he had or asset he held, even the land the house sat on, if you can believe it . . . I'm sorry to say but there's nothing left," Tony said with an embarrassed tone of voice.

"Oh my God," Taryn repeated, her whole being was in complete shock.

"We will try to track down and get back what we can, but don't count on it; most of the charities I know of don't return donations, especially sizable, anonymous ones. We'll handle the funeral arrangements, it's the least we can do," Tony said with the same sombre and drained tone of voice.

"I'll handle the funeral arrangements . . . it's the right thing to do," Taryn said quietly as she looked at Tony with tear-filled eyes.

"Are you sure?" Tony asked sceptically.

"I need to put him to rest, properly," Taryn said with a quiet confidence in her voice.

"The firm will take care of the funeral expenses, but I will have the funeral home call you," Tony agreed as he smiled weakly at Taryn.

"Thank you, Tony," Taryn smiled graciously at Tony.

"That's all I know, when I know more, I'll tell you. I know this is a lot to take in, but is there anything you need, anything I can do for you?" Tony asked with concern in his voice as he looked at Taryn, Owen and Rosina.

"Get me a job," Owen said in a grim tone.

"No, No, Honey, you are so close to finishing school. One more semester, don't throw it away!" Taryn said insistently as she squeezed Owen's thigh.

"You're mother's right. It doesn't make sense to quit school when you are so close to graduating. I'll tell you what, you finish school and I'll see that you get a job with the firm. It'll be a very junior position, just above intern but at least you will be working. Do you need some cash in the meantime to tide you over?" Tony asked expectantly as he leaned in towards Owen.

"We'll be okay, I'm working and . . ." Rosina said but Karen cut her off and finished her sentence.

"And they can stay here as long as they need to! I agree, Owen that you need to finish your schooling, you've worked too hard to become a lawyer to throw that away now, for the sake of a few months of school, despite what has happened!" Karen said with equal concern and conviction.

"Exactly, if we all pull together, we'll get through this, don't throw your future away," Taryn agreed and everyone looked at Owen expectantly.

"C'mon, the bus ride to and from school would be boring without you! Besides, someone has to keep me safe on these mean streets," Veronica said in a chuckle as she shook Owen's leg.

"Alright, okay," Owen agreed and looked at Taryn then Rosina with a loving look. "Thank you for taking us in, I won't forget it," Owen said to Karen with a grateful and certain look.

"You're welcome, I'm glad I could help," Karen replied as she smiled bashfully back at Owen.

"We both are," Veronica said warmly as she looked at Taryn, Owen and Rosina.

"It's been a long day and I've said all I came to say, if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know," Tony said as he stood up and walked towards the door.

Veronica got up and retrieved Tony's coat from the closet and helped him put it on.

"Thank you, Tony," Taryn said with a grateful tone of voice.

"We're just going to walk him out and tidy up upstairs," Karen said as she and Veronica left with Tony, closing the door behind them.

After the door closed behind Karen, leaving the Thompson family alone, all three sets of eyes fixated on the letter Richard had written Owen. With trembling hands, Owen opened up the envelope, pulled out the letter, cleared his throat and read the letter aloud. In retrospect, perhaps he should have read it to himself first.

It read:

To my SON, Owen,

You will notice that I am speaking to you now as your FATHER, and not your SLAVE, when I tell you that you are a spoiled, self-righteous, arrogant bastard who has stolen everything from me. From me you have stolen: my wife, my daughter, my home, my money, my possessions, my rightful place as head of the family, my self-esteem, my manhood, and finally, my will to live. You crushed and destroyed me simply to feed your all-consuming ego, and help perpetuate this perverted, twisted fantasy world you have created. You have poisoned and twisted the minds of my wife and daughter, sucking them down into this sick and perverted world that you have created. I tell you this, however, you will no longer keep me prisoner in your pit of perversion. I only hope that my wife and daughter can escape your grasp before you crush them as you did me. For all that you have done to: me, my wife, and daughter, I hope you burn in hell for all eternity! I am taking control of my life back and getting out of this hell that used to be my life, and making sure you don't profit one bit from using up everything that was good within me. You took my need for a little bit of submission, that was only a small, compartmentalized part of my life and blew it out of proportion until it consumed my life. You used my submissive need in order to usurp control from me and force me into four years of humiliation and hell that I knew I was not strong enough to escape from. Even if I did leave, I knew that you would blackmail me until I was paying to support two households. I refuse to assist you in any way in continuing your decadent, degrading and unnatural lifestyle. Don't bother trying to undo what I have done. I have taken great pains to ensure that you will never see one red cent from me ever again. If you truly are "The Master of The Family," you will have no trouble making the money to support everyone.

Your finally free Father,

Richard

Once Owen finished reading Richard's note out loud he just sat there, stunned and motionless. A blank and pale expression washed over his face while he loosened his grip on the letter until it slipped out of his hands. Taryn and Rosina are equally stunned and nobody moves as the three of them try to process and comprehend the shocking letter. After a tense and long moment, the heavy silence was broken.

"I killed him," Owen said breathlessly, his eyes not focussing on anything as he stared blankly ahead.

"No, Master, you mustn't blame yourself for what happened!" Taryn said lovingly as she moved closer to Owen and put her arm around him. "I did. He said so. I crushed his spirit," Owen said, barely feeling the loving touch of both Taryn and Rosina trying to comfort him.

"NO! He made his own choices! You didn't make them for him! He was my husband and I am sorry that he is gone but I never had the slightest idea that he was unhappy, let alone holding in so much hatred! How could we have fixed things if we didn't know he was unhappy?" Taryn reasoned as she stared intently into Owen's expressionless face.

"We were supposed to be a closer knit family than ever before. We were supposed to be able to be completely open and honest with each other? We were supposed to be a family where everyone could truly be themselves. I thought dad was relieved to not have the burden of family leadership. If we were really all these things, why didn't any of us know what he was going through? I thought he was happy but instead he was in his own personal hell, a hell I created for him, a hell that finally consumed him," Owen spoke in a drained tone, still not looking at anyone but clearly speaking to both Taryn and Rosina.

"It wasn't your fault, Master!" Rosina urged as she shook Owen's hand liberally, until he slowly turned to look at the teary-eyed Rosina. "I miss him too. I wish he hadn't done all of the terrible things that he did, but he chose to do them, he chose to end his life and to screw us over. You didn't kill him!" Rosina urged passionately as Owen stared back at her with a blank expression.

"I need sleep," Owen said as he slowly blinked, "Goodnight, Rosie," he said as he kissed Rosina on the cheek. "Goodnight, Mom," Owen said as he kissed Taryn on the cheek.

Both women sat there stunned and open mouthed as Owen got up and walked into the spare bedroom. Even though the room was crammed full of boxes, Owen found a small amount of floor-space to spread out his sleeping bag. Lying down early that night, Owen stared blankly at the wall, hoping that sleep would come soon and end this horrible day, taking the remorse away, for the night at least.

Taryn and Rosina looked at each other with a worried expression, knowing full well the significance of Owen calling Taryn and Rosina "Mom" and "Rosie." It was a huge step backwards and those titles hadn't been used in private in almost four years! Hearing Owen call her "Mom" sent an uncomfortable shudder down Taryn's spine; it was just plain wrong! Owen was her husband, her companion, her best friend, but most of all he was her Master. Owen was their rock, if he was lost and shaken, they all were in trouble. Owen was the pivotal fixture of their family; it was his job to provide leadership, guidance and direction. Sure she had some power as "Mistress" but it was only to see that Owen's will was done, always acting within guidelines set out by him. They needed him in order for their family to function.

"That was weird! What do you think it means, Mistress Red?" Rosina asked Taryn with a worried and uncomfortable manner.

"It just means that he is taking it hard. He just feels responsible for Nick and feels that he has failed as Master because of this," Taryn said in as soothing a manner as she could.

"We'll be okay, won't we?" Rosina asked in a timid voice with fear gripping her heart.

"Of course we will, we have, Master," Taryn said warmly with a reassuring smile on her face as she pulled Rosina closer to her, to embrace and comfort the trembling young woman.

"Will he be okay? What can we do for him? How can we help Master through this?" Rosina asked as she settled into a cuddle with Taryn on the couch, resting her head on Taryn's chest.

"He just needs space, we will be here for him when he needs us," Taryn said as she stroked Rosina's hair in a comforting gesture as both women fall silent, taking solace in each other's arms.

Owen's mental state didn't improve much over the two weeks leading up to Richard's funeral. Taryn handled the funeral arrangements, as she said she would. Rosina kept busy by keeping the house and Spa cleaned, when she was not working. Regularly she would check in on Owen, asking if there was anything she could do for him, always he would decline her offer of assistance. Owen became more and more distant and slept alone every night, leaving Taryn and Rosina feeling hurt and neglected. In truth they were more worried about him and the pain he was going through, rather than the lack of physical affection from him. Karen and Veronica watched what Owen, Taryn and Rosina were going through and thought that they were just grieving the loss of Richard.

In the span of time leading up to the funeral, Veronica had successfully gotten Karen to accept that the tight hug and kiss on the lips was a normal display of affection between them. A few times Veronica was able to extend that kiss just a little bit longer, but never did she make the kiss long enough to seem "romantic." Instead of just standing there and accepting Veronica hugging her tightly, Karen now hugged Veronica tightly back.

Veronica had even started to increase the physical touching between them, when they were near each other. Never anything overt or caressing of private areas, but light touches here and there: and arm around the waist, hand on the shoulder. Once Veronica was able to get her hand low on Karen's far hip and leave it there for two whole minutes, it was as close to an ass-grab as you could get without actually grabbing the ass.

Karen just enjoyed the feeling of being closer to Veronica, and welcomed the touches in the spirit of fostering a closer relationship with her daughter. Little did Karen know just how close her daughter wanted the two of them to become. Veronica was not satisfied or placated with the small amount of touching, as she had hoped. The intimate touching did not quell or placate her desire to make love to and Dominate her mother, each touch she got away with only left her wanting more, rather than less.

The day of the funeral came and Owen was in no shape to weather the emotional storm. Everywhere he turned somebody was telling him how sad they were that Richard was dead. Countless times Owen was told, what at tragedy it was for such a good man to be cut down in the prime of his life. Ex-clients, co-workers, old school buddies, people from far and wide came to the funeral of Richard Thompson. Even before the funeral itself got underway, Owen's guilt was gnawing away at him. At any moment Owen expected the coffin to burst open and for Richard to crawl out of it and choke him to death. The funeral itself was a lovely and tasteful affair with Tony himself delivering the eulogy. It was a wonderful celebration of Richard's life, or rather the public perception of Richard's life. There was no mention of his private life as a Slave, first to Heather and then to Owen.