Travis's Tale Ch. 06

"What are we going to do if it comes to a paternity test? If they do DNA, they're going to find out you're the father Travis." Alex said softly after Lewis had left the room.

"Let's not worry about that until or if the time actually comes. I can't believe he's that stupid to think he can bluff his way through something like this. I'm guessing Lewis is right, he's probably going to ask for money shortly or else he's hoping we offer." I suggested.

"Would it be easier just to pay him off and get him out of the picture?" Alex wondered aloud.

"Well, the money won't be that big a deal but I'm thinking that if we cave too quickly and easily he'll suspect we're trying to hide something. If he does that, we might never get rid of him or he might start digging and find out something we don't want him to know. I think we really need to wait and see what Lewis suggests before we make any decision."

"I'm with Travis Alex, I don't think we should do anything rash before we know the consequences." Courtney agreed with me.

"I guess you 2 are right, but let's see what Lewis has to say before we do anything." She decided.

Lewis came back 10 minutes later and sat at his desk again.

"I made a couple of phone calls and I think we can get this sorted out pretty quickly. First, I called a friend of mine who is more well-versed in this type of law. I discussed it briefly and he agrees with me he thinks the guy's looking for blackmail. Neither of us is in favor of paying it but that's a decision that you will have to make, I can't make it for you. The other call was to the head judge of the Family Court system. I've known him for years and I also briefly explained what's going on to him although I couldn't say too much or else he might have to disqualify himself from any action that might come before him. He agreed to issue a gag order which suppresses any information about this particular case from getting to the public. If anybody says anything about it to anyone else, that person will be in contempt of court and liable for a fine or imprisonment. I know it isn't a lot, but for now hopefully it takes some of his leverage away from him. If he knows that he can't embarrass you by publicizing the pregnancy, then perhaps it will be easier to resolve the issue. Failing anything else, a paternity test can be performed before the child is born and I think once he learns that and once you inform him that is your intention, any claim he might have will be gone."

"So right now you're saying you don't think we should do anything?" I asked after he had finished speaking.

"I think that's right. Think about what you might want to do and let me know, right now I don't believe it's going to make any difference if we wait a few more days or even a couple of weeks. Let me know if anything changes, there are always other things that can be done if necessary."

"Thanks Uncle Lou." Alex said as she gave him a hug as we stood to leave.

"Don't worry about it Alex, I know right now how angry this can make you but I don't see that there's much this guy can do. Like I said, if anything changes let me know." Courtney gave him a hug as well, and Lewis gave a minute of attention to Alexandra, tickling her under her chin which caused her to laugh and giggle. I shook his hand and we left, ready to head home and think about what this all meant.

I'm still pissed but I think Lewis is right, we shouldn't do anything stupid before we know what's happening." Alex started as we got into the house.

"I think that's best Alex, no sense in letting him know he's getting under our skin. I think if we play it cool he's not going to think we are trying to hide something. I'm not sure what we can do right now, but like you say not doing something stupid is probably the best thing we can do."

"Why don't you lie down and do some breathing exercises Alex?" Courtney suggested to my sister. Alex had been doing them for several weeks now, another of the tips she had read about in one of her child birthing books. It helped her to calm her mind, I was all in favor of it. I didn't like to see her upset and right now I didn't think worry was going to do her or her unborn child any good to have her stressed and obsessing about something she had no control over.

"I'll do them later, right now I think I'm going to go out for a swim. Anybody coming with me?" She suggested in response to Courtney.

I looked at Courtney and she looked back at me, it was a hot day and time in the pool did sound like a good idea.

"You two go ahead, I'll take care of Alexandra and bring her out shortly. I'll meet you there." I answered to the 2 ladies.

I took Alexandra by the hand and we walked to her room although it was a slow walk, she still was a little unsteady on her feet although she could walk the length of the living room on her own. Once in the room I undressed her, taking off her shirt and her training pants before wiping her down well to make certain there weren't any contaminants that might get into the pool. She wasn't yet potty trained but hopefully that wouldn't be too far in the future. Right now, she was going to go into the water which was something she enjoyed every time we took her in with us. She walked into my bedroom with me as I changed into my trunks and then I picked her up to Kerry her out, it was a little far for her to walk so she needed the assistance.

When I got to the pool I found that Alexandra was in good company, she wasn't wearing any clothes and neither were the 2 ladies. Alex and Courtney hadn't bothered to put on suits, they had merely walked out in their clothes and stripped down before jumping into the water. Each of them was floating around allowing the water to cool her while the sun shone down on their faces. I picked up Alexandra and walked in on the shallow end, going down the steps until I was in waist deep. I gradually slipped my daughter into the water until it was up to her chest, she was kicking her feet and waving her hands around which caused the water to splash up in her face. She was laughing and giggling and having a good time. I went in a little deeper being careful not to let Alexandra go any further in the water than she already was but it wasn't a problem. Once I was about chest deep I stopped, I wasn't going to take any chances I might slip and drop her so just stood there watching the 2 lovely ladies as they lazed around in the water. It was an arousing site, each of them was floating on her back with head and breasts out of the water, the rest of their bodies underneath. We spent half an hour in the water before deciding it was time to get out, coolness and the serenity of being alone here on the ranch had calmed each of us and right now the thoughts that Kevin was trying to extort something from us had moved far from our minds. We got out and sat in the chairs under the umbrella, I was holding Alexandra while Alex and Courtney were talking about clothing and fashion and other things that didn't interest me at all. When the sun started to dip lower in the sky and get in our eyes we decided it was time to go in, the 2 women merely picking up their clothes and walking naked ahead of me as I followed behind carrying my daughter. Yes, it was a life I enjoyed and right now I was definitely enjoying the site of 2 beautiful ladies walking ahead of me.

*****

I had gone into town to the office today, it was my turn and right now it was lunchtime. I left the office to walk half a block down the street to the Café to find something to eat. Just as I was about to enter the building my friend Pete came out.

"Pete! What are you doing here? I thought you'd be up in Austin." I hadn't seen him for several months since he had gone to take a job with the Attorney General's office. I had spoken to him a couple of times and according to him it was hard work but really interesting and he was throwing himself into the job with all the enthusiasm he had.

"Hey Travis, how's things?" He said after we had shaken hands.

"Not bad I guess, how about you?"

Things are busy like always, but I had to come down to take care of something." He said although he offered no more information.

"You should have told me you were coming, we could have gotten together for a drink or dinner or something."

"Yeah, but I've got to get back. Ellen's waiting for me and I really shouldn't have taken the day off but I had to."

"I guess that's what happens when you get promoted and start working with the big boys." I was busting on him.

"Yeah, you know how it is." I didn't really but it was just conversation.

"You know, I heard that old deputy of mine knocked up one of those Mexican girls." Pete said out of nowhere.

I had heard the rumor but really didn't think much of it, as far as I was concerned a rumor was only that. Until I knew something different, I wasn't going to put much faith in it.

"I think I heard something about that, but I really can't say much."

"Yeah, I heard he had to get married in a hurry." He continued.

"I hadn't heard anything about that."

"As I understand it there was a shotgun up his ass and he didn't have a lot of choice." Pete was laughing now.

I gave a thought to that, it was something that did bring a smile to my face. I didn't want to say anything to Pete about the situation between Kevin and Alex so just kept my mouth shut.

"I don't think there are going to be any wedding pictures though, from what I understand his face is all busted up and he had a couple of broken ribs." Pete said and suddenly I knew what he was talking about.

"Thanks Pete!"

"For what?" He answered.

"Just thanks." I could see the scrapes on his hands and knuckles and I wondered just how literal his description of Kevin with a shotgun up his ass had been. Knowing Pete, I could easily imagine that happening.

3 days later a messenger came to the door with a package, there was no return on it only Alex's name. When she opened it we saw that it contained a number of legal documents, from what I could tell it was everything pertaining to Kevin's petition to the court. I suspected that Pete had pulled a couple of strings and there was no longer any record that anything had ever existed. Yeah, thanks Pete.

*****

Alex went through her pregnancy without issue, she had taken care of herself and done everything possible to ensure an easy delivery. It wasn't quite as easy as she had hoped but she wasn't in labor for nearly as long as Courtney had been. About 3 hours after we brought her to the hospital she delivered a healthy baby boy. The smile on her face was huge and I could tell right now she had everything she wanted. I was there with her every step of the way as was Courtney, she had demanded each of us be with her in the delivery room. After 2 days in the hospital she came home and just as Courtney and I had done with our daughter, we set up Alex's son in Alexandra's room in her old crib. We had explained to her that her cousin would be staying with her and she seemed happy at the thought. I'm not sure how happy she was every time the boy cried at night but fortunately that didn't last too long either. Alex had named him Jared and was a very proud mother. Like we had suspected, there were those who wanted to know who the father was but Alex insisted they had no business knowing and anyone who couldn't take that as an answer didn't deserve anything. Most were satisfied to let her live her life as she wanted, she had stayed home from the office for several months after the birth but soon had gone back to her normal routine. Sometimes her routine would involve bringing her son to the office with her but other times Courtney and I stayed home with him and took care of him. Alexandra also did her part, the 2 of them became very close and family life at home was good.

Epilogue

Tuesday would be the 20th anniversary of my marriage to Courtney. Today was Saturday and we had invited a few of the old friends by for a little get together. We didn't want anything fancy, just time together with friends to enjoy each other's lives again. I was sitting out near the pool contemplating life as I looked at Courtney, Alex and Alexandra sitting at the table talking about who knows what. It had been a good life and I didn't have any complaints. Sure, there had been ups and downs but mostly ups and right now I was happy.

Pete and Ellen had moved to Austin shortly after the birth of Pete's son. He had taken a job with the Attorney General and found he liked the work and was good at it. As he had told me those many years ago, he also ran for the legislature and was elected to the House of Representatives for 2 terms. He probably could've stayed longer but he decided there was too much political bullshit involved in government and had left the legislature to go back to police work, although he did go to law school at night. Today he was the deputy attorney General of Texas, his plan was to run for the top job once his boss retired at the end of his current term. Ellen had gotten the job teaching after they had moved to Austin and did so for a few years but then she became pregnant again so decided to quit teaching and spend her time with her children. Shortly after the birth of their second son, she was pregnant again and before much longer they had 3 sons and a daughter. Ellen had spent the early years raising them but once they got old enough to go to school she decided she would assist Pete with his ambitions, she attended a lot of functions that would add to his name recognition for his expected run for the Attorney General's office. Personally I didn't have any doubts he would be a good candidate for the job and as I had told him many years before, I was supporting him with my words and my donations. In the beginning when they had first moved, Alex, Courtney and Lizzie had kept in touch by phone and we had gone up to Austin several times to visit them. However, as time passed the visits had become less frequent just as the phone calls and emails had. We would still get cards at Christmas and occasionally a phone call or a random email but there was nothing too frequent about it and there were times when I felt sad that we had lost the contact we used to have together.

Pete's ex-deputy Kevin was in the Graybar Hotel, halfway through his 7 and a half to 15 year sentence. As Pete had suggested to me several years before, he had married Rosa, one of the Mexican girls who had been working with the caterer when we had the reception for Pete and Ellen at our house. They got married because Rosa was pregnant with Kevin's baby although I think there were some other extenuating factors. After a few years Rosa had 3 children but from what I had heard she and Kevin were having lots of problems. When the 4th woman came pounding on the door demanding Kevin support her baby, Rosa had blown up at him and he had started slapping her around. I don't think much of men who feel it necessary to beat on women but apparently Kevin had forgotten Rosa's early employment until she put the 10 inch kitchen knife into his stomach. He was in the hospital being stitched up even as Rosa was speaking to the district attorney. Rosa's cousin Lupe who had been her partner in the catering business had convinced her to bring charges against Kevin for domestic abuse. Lupe had also been the second woman who had been pounding on their door looking for support for her child. When Rosa brought the district attorney her history of visits to the emergency room and the clinic as well as the scars and bruises on her body it didn't take long for him to file the charges. Since Kevin was a former police officer the courts didn't have a lot of sympathy for him and he had been sentenced to 7 and a half to 15 years for domestic abuse. There were also some allegations that a few of his sexual liaisons had involved threats he might use his position as a police officer as coercion to get the woman to drop her panties. Yeah, the department had gotten rid of him after receiving too many complaints that he couldn't keep it in his pants. He didn't seem to have very good judgment about anything he did. He was about halfway through with his sentence now but word on the street had it that the parole board had decided he was going to do the whole term. I didn't know but I suspected Pete might have pulled a few strings that figured into their decision. As far as I was concerned, he deserved everything he got.

JoAnn would be coming by a little later, in fact I was expecting her any time now. She had divorced Wayne but it hadn't been easy. We had spoken regularly for several weeks before she made the decision that she was going to do it. When she had made the decision we hoped things would go well for her but unfortunately that didn't happen. She had decided to go through with it and everything was in place just waiting for the official declaration. It was an uncontested divorce, there were no children and very few assets so it wasn't a difficult divorce. Unfortunately, her husband was irresponsible and immature enough that he never found the time or the effort to come to court when he was supposed to. As a result, the forms were never signed and the divorce couldn't be finalized. According to JoAnn he didn't have any problem getting the divorce, he just didn't seem to want to find the time to sign the papers. She tried calling and sending him letters and getting hold of him whatever way she could, but on the rare occasion she did he would just brush her off and that only caused her more worry. She was starting to think that he was doing it intentionally but I think more likely he was just an idiot. Finally, the judge got tired of playing his games and had a warrant put out for his arrest. They brought him into court in handcuffs and she told him in no uncertain terms that either he sign the divorce papers or he would be in jail.

"Why didn't you say so?" Was his only remark before putting his John Hancock on the documents and making JoAnn a single woman again. Some time later I heard a rumor that he had gone to California to find himself, whatever that meant. JoAnn never heard from him again.

We hoped that once all this was behind her she could get her life back together but she started doubting herself almost immediately. Her self image had been hurt during the entire divorce proceedings and she was starting to feel self-doubts and pity and soon she had gone into a deep depression. Her business had suffered as well, soon most of her clients had let her go and she was struggling even to survive. She was still coming by to service our pool although it was not as regular as before and her work had become sloppy and careless. She was also coming by the house more often to talk to us although sometimes I got the feeling if we hadn't fed her she would've gone hungry. It was a very tough time in her life and the 3 of us felt sorry for her. Not just felt sorry we really liked her and wanted to see her get her life back together but weren't sure exactly what to do to make that happen. Still, we tried the best we could and after 2 years we started to see the signs. Like the first early flowers of spring we started seeing indications she might be doing a little better. I guess she had come to some sort of agreement with her demons to get her life back, she was working hard. She still had her business although I don't think many of her former clients were inclined to rehire her after knowing what had happened before. Of course none of them were privy to what had been going on in her personal life and to tell the truth it was none of their business. She had to work hard to rebuild her business and threw herself into it with a lot of effort. It started paying off as she was able to generate more business for herself and soon she was able to start paying her bills and live a life more closely aligned to what hers had been before her divorce. She still stopped by but not as often as she had although we liked seeing her every time she came by. She would still take care of me in the shower although not as often as she had several years before. What had been a twice weekly ritual was now down to 2 or 3 times a month although I didn't have any problems with that.