*Disclaimer: Any and all persons engaging in any sexual activity are at least eighteen years of age.
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"That is your grandson," Sandra hissed firmly, returning Cris's angry glare with one of her own. "Yes I sent a baby gift to Freddy and I also sent a card too; by the way, Mr. Hard Ass, you owe me; I bought your grandson a five hundred dollar savings bond and a silver rattle with his initials engraved on it."
"Sandra, I swear to God," Cris growled through clenched teeth.
"Oh fire me, all right? Just fire me for giving a shit about you why don't you?" Sandra screamed at her boss, the man she loved almost as much as she loved her husband.
"I'll be back," he snapped and stormed out of the building before he did actually fire his right hand woman, the only reason the office ran as smoothly as it did.
She heard the roar and rumble of his motorcycle, then heard it speed away rapidly.
Highway 52 was perfect; there were few traffic lights to slow down a burning rage. He found a side street every now and then and opened the bike up, letting the powerful engine spit and snarl like a dragon underneath him.
Without realizing it, he came out on Evangeline Throughway, and then followed it down to West Congress Street to University Medical Center.
Fred Dumas did not look at the tall man that cradled a motorcycle helmet under his arm; he was absolutely entranced with Frederick 'Freddy' James Dumas, Junior.
If ever he had any doubt, any lurking notion that Nicole did not truly love him, the fact that she named her baby after him, made the baby THEIR baby chased them away. He resisted the temptation to rap on the glass of the Maternity ward nursery; Freddy was sleeping peacefully.
"He's a cutie pie, isn't he?" the man said to Fred.
"Yes sir," Fred said. "Yes sir, he is; he's mine. He's my son."
"Congratulations," Cris said. "Shame is, son, they grow up so God damned fast; then all of a sudden they don't even need you anymore. You're just a dumb ass, just a sack of shit don't know nothing but are expected to whip out the wallet whenever they want something."
"Yeah, well, I'm kind of hoping THAT doesn't happen," Fred admitted.
"Good luck, son, good luck," Cris said and walked away.
Ann Marie lugged a struggling, fussing Sophia and looked again. The man that stood and waited by the elevators looked so familiar. tall, muscular, dressed very nicely, even with a motorcycle helmet under his arm. The man turned slightly and Ann Marie smiled lightly; he was handsome, even with a bald pate and some gray in the wisps that circled the side of his head.
Then she froze; those brown eyes were Cris's eyes. The elevator door chimed open and Cris stepped in and then hit the button for the first floor.
"Your father was here?" she asked Nicole.
"Daddy's here?" Nicole asked, surprised, excited, and a little embarrassed.
"No, he WAS here," Ann Marie said, slightly disappointed.
She'd hoped to hear from Nicole how he was doing, what was new in his life. She kept in touch with Sandra; Harriet let her use the computer at work and Sandra was always very quick to respond to her e-mails, but Sandra was a master at not divulging any pertinent details.
She'd known about Nickie's suicide, even knew of Sandra's dislike of the flighty girl, but knew nothing of Cris's further descent into hardness. Until today, she did not even know that Cris had a motorcycle, as evidenced by the helmet under his arm.
Truthfully, she was hoping to hear that Cris missed her; that he wanted her back in his life. She was hoping to hear that she had been forgiven her little indiscretion, her mistake.
She gritted her teeth in anger as Sophia kept reaching out to Nicole, kept trying to get Nicole to hold her.
"Hey, there she is!" Hank called out from the doorway. "There's the girl made me a great grandfather!"
Ann Marie cringed. Ever since Momma's death, Daddy was drinking, a lot. As he entered the room, she could smell the alcohol sweating from his pores.
"Hi Grandpa," Nicole said and craned up for a kiss.
"So, you named him after me, right?" Hank asked, ignoring Ann Marie, Sophia and Fred.
"No, Grandpa, I named him after his daddy," Nicole said and brushed his hand away from her breast.
His touches, ever since grandma's death, while never blatant, were inappropriate. His hands always seemed to be brushing against her breasts, or her backside, even as her belly grew larger and larger. She vowed to herself she would not be leaving Sophia alone with the old drunkard.
It did not occur to Nicole that this was not a choice for her to make; Sophia was not her child.
"Aw, why'd you go off and do that for?" Hank playfully whined.
"Because I love him," Nicole declared.
"And don't you love your Grandpa?" Hank asked, placing his hand on Nicole's upper thigh.
"You seen the baby yet?" Fred asked, keeping his anger in check.
The man's drunken gropes of Nicole made him physically ill. His pretense that Fred, Ann Marie and Sophia were not in the room was a source of dislike, but it was the attempts to touch Nicole that really bothered him.
"Hmm? No, no, I haven't; they bringing him in here?" Hank asked.
"No, not for another hour or two; they'll bring him in when it's time for his lunch," Fred said and pulled Hank's hand off Nicole's thigh. "Come on, Mr. Campion, I'll show you Freddy."
"Hey, you breast feeding him, right?" Hank asked.
"Oh, my GOD!" Nicole gasped when Fred successfully pulled the drunken letch out of the room.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Ann Marie admitted.
"You?" Nicole asked. "It's not you he's got his hands all over!"
Ann Marie's opinion of Fred James Dumas changed dramatically. Yes, he worked at a fast food restaurant, as a manager, but it was still just a fast food restaurant. Yes, his car was a much older model, and his taste in both clothing and furniture left a lot to be desired, and he needed a haircut; he wasn't fooling anyone, he was going bald. But his devotion to Nicole and Nicole's happiness was very evident. His only wish was to make Nicole happy, and to protect her.
"So, when're you getting out of here?" Ann Marie asked.
"I wanted to ask you about that, Mom," Nicole said. "I talked with Fred and he agrees it's a good idea; Mom can you and Sophia come and stay with me for a couple of weeks, you know, until I can, until I know what I'm doing?"
"What?" Ann Marie asked. "But Honey, it's just a two bedroom, right?
"The couch pulls out into a queen sized bed," Fred said, coming back into the room.
"Mom, I need you; I'm really scared," Nicole admitted. "I mean, suppose what happened to Mikey happens to Freddy? I think I'd die if that ever happened and..."
"You sure?" Ann Marie asked Fred.
"Yes ma'am," Fred said. "I want you there and Nicole needs you there."
"Where's Grandpa?" Nicole asked.