Destroyed

You asked for it, so I'm giving it to you. BTB, not really; RAAC, again, nope. But it's the follow-up that I could envisage. I'm sure that you will all have your opinions on how it should have turned out, and feel free to share.

I took the opportunity to correct a couple of mistakes, Dan's wife was Laura, not Lisa, a sign that I should have got it edited properly. And to the user that pointed out that it wouldn't take 6 hours to get to anywhere across North Carolina...Just imagine lots and lots of roadwork...eek.

Enjoy

Tician.

Destroyed - A decade later

I am just helping Jack with his tie and making sure he is looking the part, it's the same as I have just done with Conor his twin brother. At eight years old they can be a handful; I don't remember my other twins being as active as these two at their age but they say age can blur reality. My seven-year-old daughter, Laura, looks beautiful in her dress. I can't get past the make-up she has been allowed to wear today as a treat, she is a mirror of her mother. My gorgeous wife, Claire, kisses me and wishes me luck as she goes to take her place.

The wedding planner is running around like a headless chicken, I thought the idea was she was supposed to keep us all calm but hey I'm just doing what I'm told.

"You ready Dad!" My daughter asks.

I turn to look at the bride and have to catch my breath. That smile and glint in her eye it just how her mother used to look at her age. For a split second, in my mind, I'm whisked away to nearly thirty years ago when I first held her mother naked in my arms. Fortunately, I shake those thoughts away and offer my daughter my arm for her to hold as we prepare to walk down the aisle.

As we start the long walk to the altar, I look around with a sense of pride at being in this position. I see the faces in the pews as we pass and think back to the last ten years and how things have changed...

The first week of living with Mom was all about finding a new normal. I had given myself a week's grace period before I started my new job for this very reason.

A couple of things happened in that week that showed me things were going to be alright. Firstly, a couple of days after moving in I got to meet my new neighbours. To one side there was a couple in their eighties who were very pleasant but you could see that they were struggling. The wife did let me know that their daughter was pushing for them to move in with her as she had the space and could help them in the coming years.

On the other side was a lady in her fifties called Dee. She had lost her husband a few years back but now had her son back living with her. Dale was in his late twenties and had just spent the last eight years in the army. He was in the process of retraining to be a care nurse as he said that he would never be out of work. I couldn't argue with his logic and he said that things he had seen in the army had prepared him for anything. They knew the situation with Mom and had been good neighbours before Dad's passing. Dale offered his services if I ever needed it and I immediately took him up on his offer. I explained that I needed to spend a couple of days each week in the office. Dee also added that she would help if Dale had to be in class or was out. So, we agreed to some financial set up and I got a support structure straight away which was going to be priceless.

Working in my new job was good for me as it gave me a fresh outlook and something to focus on. It was just me and my assistant Claire. Claire was new to the industry but picked up things very quickly. She was also a 'glass was always half full' kind of character, bubbly and quite outgoing. She was always able to put a smile on my face when I was in the office. She was in her early thirties and a figure to die for which helped the scenery when I was there. She often had to bring paperwork over to the house which meant we had more time together. Over time, those visits became longer and longer as she would hang around rather than run off home.

The other thing that happened was that I got a call from the Real Estate Office on the second Monday to say that the key exchange had gone through seamlessly and we were all done. I heard nothing from Miranda not that I expected to. But the second week I did get a call from my daughter Kelly which surprised me. Neither of my kids had ever tried to contact me since the divorce so it put me on the back foot.

"Kelly, what did I do to deserve the honour of your calling?"

"Uh hi, Dad."

"Oh! So, it's Dad now? I thought that good old Dan had that privilege?" I questioned wanting to make sure she knew all about what had been happening recently.

"Yeah, uhm look, Dad, I'm trying to reach Mom. Is she at home with you, no one has spoken to her in the last week and the last call we had was when she was at home with you. I know Dan went over to the house last week but no one answered and we don't where else to look?"

"Sorry Kelly, your mom called in to discuss a couple of things and I haven't seen her since. Is there anything else?"

"Oh no, nothing else. How are you?"

"Busy, you take care," I said abruptly ending the call. It did make me wonder what was going on with Miri, with her marriage coming up this next weekend. I then thought why do I give a damn, chuckled and started working.

Things started to get into a grove over the next month before I got my next surprise. Coming back from a site visit I noticed a rental parked in the drive. When I got to the back door, I saw Mom more animated than had seen her in the last couple of years. Talking away to some unseen guests as she was cooking in the kitchen. Now you have to remember that with Mom's Alzheimer's, she could have lucid periods but they didn't last long and she certainly wouldn't be able to cook. Rushing through the door I was shocked to see Miri, Kelly and Cassie sitting there. My first thoughts weren't very kind my second thoughts weren't any better.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Alan! Is that any way to treat your wife? I expect better from you!" Mom chastised me. "I was just telling Miri about us losing Dad recently." Which floored me as she hadn't shown any acknowledgement of the attempts I had made to explain to her. Just goes to show how screwed up this disease was.

Miri just gave me a small shake of the head as Mom kept talking about stuff that I couldn't even remember and pulled some cookies out of the oven. Kelly couldn't even look at me and kept her head down. Cassie actually looked a bit drawn with darkness around her eyes

.

Sure enough, Mom's lucidity started to wane shortly after and I got her to the bedroom to lie down not before she asked me who the three women were. Returning to the kitchen I could see that Cookies hadn't been cooked properly and a small taste test showed that she had used salt instead of sugar. Sorted this out was just delaying the confrontation that was just about to happen.

"What's going on? Why are you here Mrs Roberts?" Was my opening.

"It's still Dowd, Alan. A lot of things have changed recently. The main one being that Dan passed away recently and that's why we're here." Was Miri's response which stopped me in my tracks.

"Whoa, back up. I need a lot more info than that!"

"As I said, a lot has happened after I sat down with you last time. I spent a few days at the old house after our talk to try and get my head around everything. Then I went and spent a few days with Sandy which turned out to be even more enlightening. I confessed to the bullshit I had been spinning and told her everything. Staying with her helped a lot, Rob was in California seeing customers so was also able to share some stuff on him that has caused Sandy to follow through on the threat she made on the call you had. You may hear from her soon, we talked about that as well." Miri explained.

"We'll see," I answered chuckling at the thought of those two discussing me in that way.

"Anyhow, I stayed there for about a week. Babysat the kids while Sandy and Rob sorted their things out. You know that all that time I only got three messages asking where I was from Dan, which I ignored but I got hundreds from the kids and our folks. I think that told me more than anything else. Sandy promised not to tell anyone that I was there but no one asked. I came back Friday before I was due to get married to tell everyone it was off."

"Dan said nothing, just packed a bag and left. Turns out he went to his girl Tilly in Chicago which turned out to be his last mistake. Tilly's husband came home from deployment to surprise her. From what we can gather Dan escaped out onto the balcony of their apartment not knowing that they had problems with the railings and fell two floors, cracked his head and died instantly. The Funeral was a couple of days ago. Fortunately for me, he had already put my name on a lot of the policies when we started to live together. Cassie has also been well looked after but the life insurance says they won't pay as the railing issue had been highlighted a couple of times and the management company hadn't done anything. That's the reason for the ambush, well that and I miss you after realising the clarity of my stupidity."

That last statement made me raise my eyebrows; no way was I going back there no matter how she looked. I think she knew that but wanted to stir the pot a bit.

"How are you, Cassie?" I asked sympathetically.

"I'm fine I think, it's funny he wasn't like a dad. He was more like your buddy and I miss that. Having Miri is definitely like having a mom as she was always there for me when my real mom passed. But Dad, well you know I miss him but..." Cassie just kind of faded to a stop.

"Everyone knows the truth now Alan, I haven't held anything back from anyone. The truth is that you were right. Over the years they have been programmed against you just by the time I took away from you, spending it with Dan and his family. Kelly understands a lot better now how we let you down. Luke on the other hand is pissed about the whole thing. I think he feels it like Cassie just said, Dan treated him like a buddy and didn't parent him like you did. He got it easy from Dan and he formed a bond because of it. He blames me for everything which is just as well because I blame myself for everything. I fucked up because I assumed you had cheated on me." Miri concluded.

I just stared at them for a minute letting the silence grow. It was time I decided.

"Nah, wait here a sec." I went to the small safe I had in my office and withdrew the envelope I had possessed for the last ten years or so. It was to be given on their twenty-first birthday but I think the timing was right. "Miri, look at the girls and tell me what you see?"

"I don't need to look; they could be sisters everyone has always said that about them. Their only real difference was the hair colour and Cassie has Laura's eyes." She stated. The girls were frowning not knowing where this was going.

"Yep, that would be right. The reason they look alike is that they are sisters!" I said passing the envelope to Cassie.

"You're talking shit Alan; you didn't even know Laura back then we were still in High School!" Miri said getting quite agitated.

"You're right we were. Don't you remember what Laura did before she got pregnant?" I asked as I went to the wall that held the framed paper clipping my dad always cherished. He would have loved for me to follow my dream into baseball but it wasn't to be.

"Yes, she worked for the local newspaper."

"Remember her maiden name?" I asked.

"Bicknell!" Cassie answered without lifting her head as she was still contemplating the letter that she still hadn't opened. With that answer, I passed the framed article to Miri. I knew she had read it a number of times as she was so proud of it when we were younger, she just hadn't taken note of who the reporter was.

"We met up a few times for the article and a couple of times after. She had found out that Dan was playing around on her a short while after they got married when he caught an STI and used me for some revenge sex. I was a horny teenager with an older woman showing me a lot of attention. So, no I was unfaithful to you but it was before she was married. That should ease your guilt you just got the name wrong. I didn't see her again until you befriended her just before the twins were born, I didn't even know she was pregnant. She later told me that she was planning to divorce Dan but then found out she was pregnant and decided to Cuck him with another man's baby."

"Oh Wow! We really are sisters!" Kelly said to Cassie with a big smile one that Cassie returned with enthusiasm. Miranda's face showed she was dumbstruck. Although Cassie hadn't opened the envelope, I knew it contained DNA proof of what I had explained and a letter explaining what had happened and why.

"Before you ask, we didn't start again when you became friends. Well not until she found out you were messing about with Dan after the Sandy incident. It was quite ironic that you turned to her when you walked out that morning as she was letting me know what you were thinking. That you were wanting to go Bar hopping to get some strange. That didn't work because she purposely got you so drunk that you couldn't have even tried and then talked you down from the idea. Then a few months later she found your panties at her house. She knew they were yours as she was with you when you bought them. She had been waiting to find out who Dan's new girl was because as you know we all thought she was Asexual. The truth was that she just never wanted to have sex with Dan again after Cassie was born. I can assure you that she was very sexual and when you were spending your time with Dan, she would be spending her time with me. You were telling everyone that you had two husbands, everyone thought I would get angry. I didn't care, I had two wives and from what Laura said I had no reason to get performance anxiety when there was a comparison between me and Dan." I said shrugging my shoulders.

Rather than get upset with me, Miri started to laugh. "Isn't that the truth! Of course, we never even thought the would be a chance that you two would be playing around. How dumb were we? Dan even used to try and make jokes about it. He even wanted me to cut you off not that was ever going to happen. My revenge may have coloured my thinking but a girl still got to have her needs met and Dan wasn't ever going to replace you in that department. That was why I fucked your brains out before I left, I knew what I was giving up. God! Me and my stupid stubbornness!" There were tears in her eyes from laughing now. That was not the reaction I was expecting. The girls had opened the letter and were reading the contents while whispering to each other. Cassie had tears in her eyes as she was looking at her mother's words.

"Are you OK Cassie?" I asked again.

"I'm great thanks...Dad!" she said with a big smile.

We talked for a couple of hours before they left for the hotel they had booked. Kelly was very apologetic and contrite about her behaviour and tried to mend some bridges, which I allowed to happen cautiously. Cassie just wanted to get as close to me as she could. Miri said that she didn't know what she was going to do now as there was no reason to be up in Windsor, NC. She asked how I felt if she was to move into the area. I said that was her choice but I wasn't going back to what we had. She said that she agreed but it would be good if she had a friend close by.

I was able to sort out the insurance issue easily which was

Life just happened from there. Mom died four months later; everyone attended her funeral even Luke although we never spoke more than a few words over the 3 days he was there. After that, I cut him out of any support, if he was going to be an arse about then I wasn't going to fund him to do it. Our relationship never recovered but he still kept in touch with Miri and his sisters, although I know Miri never paid for his schooling so he had to earn his way, we later found out that Miri's folks helped him along. As I didn't have anything to do with them anymore, I didn't care what they did.

Miri had been visiting every 2-3 weeks after that initial visit and no we never got physical. In fact, she was instrumental in highlighting how Claire was being with me which led to us getting closer than a manager/assistant should get.

Before we jumped in with both feet, I spoke to the owners about the budding relationship and they wanted a meeting with both me and Claire. While explaining that didn't have any clause about relationships in the workplace they wanted to know how things would be resolved if something was to happen. Claire summed it up when she told them, "I shouldn't worry too much as I expect to be on maternity leave if I can get this idiot to realise how I feel and time isn't slowing down on me!" Talk about putting it out there.

Miri did move to the area eventually and found work locally. Claire and her became thick as thieves which was a bit strange but Claire was my focus so if she was comfortable with my ex-wife what did it matter to me? It wasn't like Miri suddenly got two heads or anything, I found that I could talk to her like I always could, it's just that we didn't share a bed. However, I could see in her eyes that if I said the word she would have jumped. She dated but never really had a serious relationship, but that was her choice.

After a year of dating, Claire and I tied the knot. The twins were born the following year followed by Laura the year after.

As I walk down the aisle, I'm reminded of all my history. Petr, Kelly's Husband is sitting with our second grandchild, Chloe. Kelly and Cassie went on a 6-month tour of Europe after completing their studies. It was while they were in Copenhagen, Denmark that Kelly met Petr and fell in love. Andre must have felt the same as it was a year later when he got a transfer from Deutsche Bank to their Miami offices and Kelly moved to be with him. They married a couple of years later and Chloe came along shortly after.

I said our second grandchild, I haven't met our first. Luke and his girlfriend had an oops moment and had a little boy named Daniel. Miri has met him a couple of times but she had to travel to Atlanta to see him. Luke isn't with the girl anymore and is just a weekend dad paying alimony. This must be the eighth or ninth time we have been same room in ten years but we barely acknowledge each other and I'm fine with that. I haven't built any walls but he knows where I am when he wants to get over himself. Everyone else in the family lets him know how much of a prick he is about things but the invites still go out as a politeness.

Cassie, well she just looks simply stunning as we walk to meet Karl at the end of the aisle. When all this is over she will be known as Cassie Turner-Dowd and I'm sure Laura is smiling down at this precise moment.

All in all, things haven't worked out badly for me. I'm a couple of years shy of fifty with a lovely wife, six kids (ok five if we don't count Luke.) a grandkid and a rosy future.