Special Day

Today is my daughter Jennifer's 18th birthday. Jennifer is a beautiful girl, strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, about 5' 5" tall and just over 125 pounds. She takes after Molly, my wife, in looks. Molly is also a beautiful woman of 48 with long naturally blond hair and beautiful blue eyes. She gets her looks from her parents who immigrated to the US from Norway. She is probably more beautiful today than she was when I first met her. Molly and I have been married for just over 20 years and, for the most part, they were good years. Jennifer came along in our second year and because of complications, Molly could have no more children. That was fine with us as we both loved Jennifer and never felt the need for additional children. Jennifer was very popular and we always had more than enough youngsters around the house to satisfy any need for noise and confusion that we may have harbored.

My wife and I have some surprises planned for Jennifer's birthday that should really make her day special. We had planned this dinner to give our gifts instead of waiting for the party that her girlfriends were planning later in the week. We had tried very hard not to spoil our daughter and I think we have succeeded. Jennifer is a good student, has always been a great kid with no troubles to speak of and she has earned our trust and respect with her behavior. The gifts would be a reward for the pleasure she had given us as our daughter. We told her to be home for dinner so that we could give her our gifts. We hoped to surprise her and to make this birthday very special. I am sure she will remember this day for a long time to come.

Molly was bustling around the kitchen making Jen's favorites for this most special of dinners. She had planned for a week to make the things that Jennifer really liked. She was having boneless, skinless chicken breasts, browned and then baked in a white sauce with julienne potatoes and a green bean casserole. All favorites. I had checked with her to be sure all was in place and told her that I had a couple of surprises that I would give to both of them after we made the presentations. She wanted to know more, but I told her she had to wait. Jennifer came home early and was helping by generally getting in the way and fidgeting around trying to make everything go faster. In spite of her help, dinner was served and was delicious.

During the meal, we talked together as we normally did and discussed all those things normal families do. Jennifer was telling us about her plans for high school graduation with her friends. We were asked to host an early morning breakfast for about 20 to 30 graduates who would be looking for food after a night of dancing and general mayhem. It was a bittersweet time for me: my family and I all together and looking happily forward to the future. The problem was that I had doubts about my future with Molly and my future relationship with Jennifer. These were the two surprises I had planned for both of them. Only time would tell if I was right in what I was about to do. For my part, I felt I had no choice.

With dinner finally over, the table cleared and coffee in place, we looked at each other and I started.

"Jen, your mother and I are so proud of you and all you have accomplished. You will graduate with honors this year and I know you have been accepted at the University of Miami, which was your first choice. We would like for you to attend a school closer to home but we know that Miami has been your dream for some time. We'll miss you but so long as you are where you want to be."

Jennifer looked like she was going to bust, but only smiled and said that she wanted to go to Miami since it had all of the things she was looking for. She also said that she could come home at all of the holidays and we could come visit anytime. Especially in the cold winters here in Cleveland. She indicated that she was still working toward getting some kind of scholarship at Miami but expressed some real doubt.

"I want to pay as much of my own way as possible, even though you have offered to pay all of my way," she said.

"Well, we both know that Miami is your choice and we will live with it. Anyway, we are so proud of you and we will support anything you choose to do." I said, "You are one special kid!"

"Thanks to the best parents in the world! With all of your support, how could I be anything else?" She bounced in her chair and said, "I don't want to appear greedy, but Where are the Presents!!"

I looked at Molly and said, "You go first since your gift is the most fun and should get things off to a good start."

Molly took a key chain out of her purse and held it up so that Jennifer could see what it was.

"This key chain has the key to the front door to the house so that you will always be able to come home at any time you wish. Regardless of where you go and what you do, know that you will always have a home to return to and people who will love you regardless of what you do. Molly looked at her and at me and said "Know that we love you always."

"It will also be perfect for the key that fits a brand new Ford Mustang convertible waiting for you at Horne Ford down on Madison Blvd. The sales guy, Garry, will be waiting for you tomorrow morning. Tiny and Ali will be here early tomorrow morning to take you down to get it."

Jennifer let out a shriek and her face lit up as bright as a lantern in the darkest night. She had wanted a car since she turned 16 but neither Molly nor I wanted to let her have her own car so early. While we trusted her completely, we felt a 16 year old was too young for that kind of responsibility. She would need a car for school and by that time we felt that she could handle it.

Jennifer said, "I don't know what to say! You guys are the best and I won't let you down. I promise no speeding, no tickets and nobody else will be allowed to drive it but you two." What color is it?" "Is it a stick or automatic, what…"

Molly interrupted her by saying "Whoa, you can see for yourself tomorrow and Garry will let you pick the color. I think there was a red one and a blue one, and maybe a couple of others on the lot. But we are glad you are pleased. We think you can handle the responsibility now."

Jennifer had to get up and give each of us a big hug and kiss. She wanted to call Becky, her best friend, but I reminded her that we still had more gifts to give her.

I said, "Unless you just want to stop at that?"

"No way!" she said.

I let the excitement die down until Jen was calm enough to continue.

I said, "On a more practical note, on the day you were born 18 years ago, I opened a brokerage account in your name with my accountant. As your Mother and I were able, we added to it and allowed it to grow. I paid the taxes on it so that everything in it would be clear and without expenses. As of today, there is just over $200,000 in that account. It is yours to use for college expenses at any University you choose. If you go to Miami, it should cover you for a graduate degree without any trouble. If you are careful with it, you should still have enough left over to start you off anywhere you choose."

Jennifer just stared at me and then at Molly and then back at me. She had known we would pay for her college, but she had no idea that this amount of money was available for her. She had considered some student loans but because of our income, she was having little luck. She wanted to pay her own way as much as possible and now, with this gift, she could be in control of her own future. This was very important to her as her way to show us that she was ready to take on her own life and responsibilities.

She looked at both of use with tears in her eyes. They were tears of joy and disbelief.

She said. "I don't believe anyone can be this lucky to have parents like you two. I just hope that I can make you proud of me."

Molly spoke first.

She said, "We have always been proud of you and you have always been someone we could trust to do the right thing. If we didn't trust you so much, we couldn't have given you these things to start you off in the right direction in college. We will miss you terribly, but we know we have to let you go eventually."

Jen looked at me and said, "I am so glad that you have always been there for me. I remember you teaching me to ride my bike, play basketball, teaching me to drive in your old truck and refusing to let me even get on a cycle, even when Uncle Tiny or Uncle Ali or any of my other Uncles came over on their cycles!!" She laughed and said they always said that I was your daughter when I tried to set on their bikes and get them to take me for a ride.

"That's how I got my nickname, TW, for training wheels, remember? You have always been the rock that I have anchored myself to when things got rough. I know you will always be there when I need you." She sniffed and said, "I'm sorry for being so corny but its true."

As Jen said these things to me, I looked at Molly out of the corner of my eye. She looked a little uncomfortable but had a smile on her face. She glanced at me but I turned away before she caught me watching her. She just shook her head and seemed to gather herself together and looked back at her daughter.

Jennifer looked at Molly and said, "You have always shown me the softer side of things and the lighter side of the dark times. When I was down, you were able to lift me up. When I was up, you reminded me of the fall that could happen if I didn't keep my humility in check. I will need that reminder in the future, I know. With you and dad, I always know that I am loved and cherished. Thank you."

"I love you both so very much!" she said with tears in her eyes. "I love the gifts that you gave me and the love that came with them. I don't know what the future will bring for me but whatever I have and whatever I do will be because of the two of you. Wherever I go, I'll always carry both of you with me, in here" she said as she touched her heart.

Again with the hugs and the kisses!! It was great. It took awhile for all of us to calm down and wipe away the tears that we each tried to hide. But finally, all was calm again.

Molly looked at me and said, "I believe you said you had two additional surprises. She looked at me with a smile and said "I don't know anything about them so why don't you let us in on the secret?" She looked at Jennifer and said, "Your Dad has been very secretive about what's coming next."

I got up and went into the den we used as a home office. I got two 8x10 manila envelopes out of my desk and carried them back to the dining room. I sat down heavily, with a great sigh and looked at these two incredible women. One I had loved for 18 years with all my heart and soul. The other I had loved for even longer. The love for one could be destroyed, maybe forever. The love of the other may be tested.

I looked at them awhile and said to Jennifer, "I know you have to have the information contained in this first envelope and now that you are an adult, you should have it. Maybe there is a better way to do this than I have planned, but I think that this is the cleanest and hopefully the kindest way to do it. I had hoped to give it to you in a better setting, but your mother convinced me that this was the right time".

I turned to Molly and said, "Your actions last Monday afternoon convinced me that this had to be done."

Molly's smile disappeared and her face turned white. She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but nothing came out. She lifted her hand and reached for me but dropped it before she completed the action. She sat stunned and unresponsive.

I pushed the envelope across the table to Jennifer.

"This contains all of the information about your biological father, one Ronald Davis", I said. "In it are all of the medical records that you would need for a medical questionnaire, his home address, and phone number. There is also a number on the outside of the envelope of a motel here in Cleveland where he is at this very moment."

"He knows that you are his biological daughter but he and I had a meeting about 8 months after you were born. He signed a waiver of parental rights at my suggestion and he also signed a release for adoption. I adopted you 6 months after that and you have been my daughter legally for all but the first 14 months of your life."

"He also agreed to never contact you or see you until you were legally an adult. This becomes true today. I also made sure that he left the area and that he never contacted your mother again after that time."

I looked at Molly and said, "While you didn't know it, you signed the adoption papers during one of the signing parties we used to have when I was expanding the business. You didn't know what it was and I didn't tell you."

Molly just sat there with her head down and her eyes closed. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed to herself. Watching her in obvious pain, I wanted desperately to go to her, hold her and tell her everything was going to be ok. I remembered last Monday and looked away.

Jennifer was stunned! She looked at both of us as if she had never seen either one of us before. She had tears in her eyes and she finally locked onto her Mother who had said nothing during this time.

"Mom, what is he talking about? Who is this Ron Davis and why would he be my biological father? What did you do? What the hell did you do to me?" She slammed her little fist onto the table and screamed at me.

"Tell me what she did. Where were you and why did you allow this to happen? If he's my biological father, why did you let that happen?" She sobbed and cried, "I love you and you are my father! I don't know this man so how could he be my father?"

I said very calmly but with intensity, "You are my daughter! You will always be my daughter! I didn't supply the sperm that mixed with your mother's egg, but I gave all of the love that I had to you from the day you were born, and I will continue to love you till the day that I die." I reached across the table and took both of her hands in mine and said, "Don't you ever, for one single minute, think that this piece of paper changes anything that you and I have shared over the past 18 years. I love you with all my heart and you are my daughter now and forever!"

"As to why I didn't stop it, I can only say that I didn't know about it at the time. If I had, I would never have allowed it to happen knowing what it would mean to you and our family. I can't speak for your mother, but I don't believe she ever meant to hurt you. Once you were born and I saw you in your mother's arms, I knew then that I could never turn away from you. I did what I had to do to keep you."

She smiled bravely and said, "I don't care what any piece of paper says or what anyone says. You're my Father and that's that!"

She then looked at her mother, and said, "Do you have anything to say to me?"

Molly raised her eyes to meet Jennifer's and said in a dull, listless voice, "Nothing that would make me look any better in your eyes." Molly then got up, left the room and slowly climbed the stairs to the bedroom. We heard the door close and then nothing.

I looked at Jennifer and said to her very firmly, "I want you to remember something very important. Molly is your mother and has always loved you without reservation. She has been there for you, and for us, for all of your life. She has never given you any reason to hate her or to not respect her. What she did is between her and I and is something that she has had to live with for the past 18 years. She has never been anything but loving and loyal during that time. It had nothing to do with her love for you and does not affect our love for you as our daughter."

Jennifer looked at me with tears in her eyes and said that she understood and was glad that I could understand why she couldn't hate her mother regardless of what she had done. I told her that I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I paused for a moment as the pain overcame me, and then said, "I know she will need your love in the coming months and I hope you will be there for her. I may not be able to."

At that point, I handed Jennifer a note card with a phone number on it. I said, "This is the number of the phone at my new apartment, and you already have my cell number. I have already packed most of my stuff and have moved them into my new place. I am leaving your mother, at least for the time being. I can't remain here after what she did last Monday. If you need to reach me, call me. I won't give you the address since Molly may demand that you give it to her and I don't want you in that position. If you give her the phone number, I can live with that."

Jennifer looked shocked. "Why are you leaving now?" she asked. "This happened 18 years ago and you two have seemed very happy together. We were a great family before this. What happened to change all that? Certainly not my turning 18."

I told her that I had always kept track of where Ron Davis was through a private detective agency that I hired back when I first found out about the affair between Molly and Ron.

"Just after he and I had our meeting, I 'suggested' that he might want to relocate to another state. I had one or two of your Uncles talk to him about moving. You know how persuasive your Uncles can be? For the past 18 years, he had been living in Michigan with his wife and three children, but for some reason he came to Cleveland two weeks ago. I know he contacted Molly twice by phone since coming here. I also know that he arranged to meet her last Monday in a room at the Holiday Inn down by the interstate. She kept that liaison and they spent over two hours together in that room."

"That's when I decided she and I had to be ended. If she could start it up with him after 18 years, she obviously had never gotten over him and there was no hope for us as a couple anymore. I will not share her with another man, even if he is your real father."

I handed her the other envelope and said, "Please give this to your mother when she comes down. These are divorce papers. I will file officially Monday."

With that said, I got up and with tears in my eyes making it almost impossible to see where I was going, I kissed my daughter and walked out of my home to begin to try to determine where my life was going.

Molly's Story-The Beginning

Molly sat in the darkened bedroom she and Jim had shared for the past 20 years. She was almost numb. She had known this day would come but had hoped it wouldn't happen until she was old and gray and so sure of her marriage to Jim that she wouldn't care if the truth came out. What she hadn't known until just now was that Jim already knew all about the affair, knew that he wasn't Jennifer's biological father and knew about her last meeting with Ron. How in the hell had he found out? When had he found out and how long had he known the truth? Why hadn't he said anything before this, at least to her? These thoughts were foremost in her mind as she thought back to the beginning. Back to where she had screwed up so badly that her marriage and her relationship with her daughter were both now in doubt.

Molly graduated from Massillon High School in Ohio with good grades but no plans to go on to college. She didn't have the money and her mother was not able to give her much help. Her father had died when she was 12 so her mother had raised her alone. After graduation, she worked for a year in a convenience store and the next year she enrolled in the local Technical College and trained to become a licensed Practical Nurse. She was good at it, worked hard, and was at the top of her class. She graduated at age 21 and took a job at one of the hospitals in Cleveland.

Over the next two years, she rotated through the many departments without complaining, taking on any assignment given to her, and finally settled on the surgical wing where she found the work to be interesting and sometimes exciting. She worked hard and never missed work. She continued to study and gain more experience. She asked questions of the older nurses and used the information to make herself a better nurse. She remained professional even when some of the doctors tried to hit on her and was able to deflect their advances without making them angry. Once she had gained her Registered Nursing License, she was gradually given more responsibility and steadily gained the respect of the senior staff. At 25, she was made Senior Nurse of the dayshift surgical nursing staff and continued to do well. She was well liked by both the doctors and the other nurses and was given responsibilities outside her nursing duties.