To My Readers
: For the first time ever, I am trying something. A lot of people liked this story but some said it was too short and one reader caught a blip that I didn't. So -- I have re-written it, expanded it a little and eliminated the glitch. For good or ill, here's the revamped version and I hope you enjoy it! ~~BrettJ
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Mitchell "Mitch" Martin hummed a happy tune as he walked into the building where he had been living for the past 3 months. Everything was going his way and his mood had improved since leaving home and striking out on his own. He really liked Chicago, despite the bracing cold of winters there. Luckily, it was swiftly passing by and his sister had told him that spring in Chicago was something to see. He laughed and told Felicia that he couldn't wait to see that and hoped that she would show him around. She ruffled her hair and told her kid brother that she would make sure of it. It was fun having an older sister, he had wanted a brother or a sister all of his life but had been an only child.
He loved attending DuPaul University and was making great grades. His future was bright, although he still hadn't decided if he wanted to go into law like his father, medicine like his mother or teach, like his uncle Gerald. Right now, he was leaning towards teaching as he didn't want to have too much to do with anything that involved his father. At present, they still weren't speaking, not even after a year, not even after his mother had forgiven her husband. Mitch was furious with Hal, although in a bizarre way, he was also responsible for a great deal of Mitch's current happiness.
A little over 18 months ago, a long-held secret had come out. Bethany Martin had discovered that for the first 5 years of her marriage, her supposedly-devoted husband had been carrying on an affair with another woman. Worse, he had a daughter by this woman and this daughter was older than Mitch. With the slickness that only a lawyer could manage, Hal managed to turn the negative into a positive.
"Let's be fair here darling, it was actually
you
who was the other woman when all of this started," Hal told his wife. "I had been seeing Ursula for a year when I met you, she was a stewardess for Scandinavian Airlines I met while in Europe on vacation," He told her. "We met and hit it off, she was this sexy, buxom 25-year old blonde and I was a 20-year old college kid. The sex was terrific and every time she was in the US, we would hook up. Even after I met you, I couldn't give her up, the sex was that good. But because I loved you so much and I fell deeper in love with every passing year, I was finally able to make that decision and I've never once regretted it."
Bethany was grimacing at her husband; Mitch wanted to punch him in the mouth. His dad could see sand to Arabs and was so full of shit that his ears were turning brown.
"It was also true that Ursula kept telling me that she didn't want to get serious and when she got pregnant with Felicia, I promised to support her, which I have continued to do. Shortly after we ended it, about six months later, she quit her job to live in Sweden with her new husband and our daughter. Other than to talk about things concerning our daughter, we haven't had contact in years, I've been totally faithful to you ever since I ended it with her," Hal told his wife. Bethany looked in his eyes and knew he was telling the truth, they had a good marriage and were openly affectionate. Until that night, Mitch would never have suspected his father could do anything even remotely like this. He was angry -- he had a sister who was two years older than he was and here he was an only child who had always wanted a brother or a sister -- and he already
had
one!
Bethany forgave her husband. She made him earn it and his pocketbook suffered, but Mitch wasn't about to be as forgiving. He and his father barely spoke and it was tough on Hal, because he and Mitch had been thick as thieves. When Mitch announced his intentions of going to university in Chicago, Hal's face went white.
"What's wrong with that?" Mitch said testily.
"Your sister -- your sister lives there, she has for the past year," Hal confessed to his son. "We keep in touch, here; let me give you her address. She knows about you -- you can decide if you want to meet her."
Every time his father said something like that, Mitch thought he was an ass. Of course he wanted to meet her -- she was his fucking
sister!
He took the information and put it in his suitcases. He flew to Chicago and got a cab from O'Hare. He had not yet made living arrangements, he had a few months before university started and his father was sending him enough for a hotel until he found an apartment or moved into the dorms. It galled him a bit to have to take money from Hal, but he had to live and had no source of income as yet. He would do anything he had to do to make ends meet while in university, perhaps working as a busboy, a dishwasher, a waiter or a bartender. The less money he had to accept from his father the better he would feel about himself.
He stood in front of the address he had for his sister and stared at the building for a number of minutes. His sister lived in a nice area -- swanky, in fact. The building was known as the Lake Street Lofts and it was beautiful, an old, historical building that was nicer than anything he could afford. He knew next to nothing about his sister, aside from her name -- Felicia.
He thought he should leave her alone and then he thought again -- it wasn't right what their father had done, he had a right to know his sister. He buzzed her apartment and a soft, honey-toned voice answered. "Hello, may I help you?" It said in lightly-accented English.
Mitch took in a lungful of air. "If you're Felicia, then yes, you may. I'm Mitch -- Mitchell Martin. I'm -- uhh, I'm kind-of your brother."
He heard her squeal with excitement. "Mitchell, I don't believe it, you came! Daddy said you might, I'm so glad you did. Stay there, stay right there, I'll come down and get you."
He was a bit nervous about meeting her because he knew next to nothing about Felicia and she knew about him. It had felt unusual hearing someone else refer to his father as "Daddy" but he supposed that he would get used to it. When the door opened, he almost gasped. His sister was tall, blonde and gorgeous, just the kind of girl he had always wanted to date back home. Of course, such girls were out of his league. Felicia was in stocking feet and could almost look him in the eye, so she must have been around 5'8". She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm very affectionate and I have always wanted a brother," She smiled. "My mother and stepfather only have 2 girls. Come upstairs, I want to learn all about you."
They went to her apartment which was huge, almost as big as one floor in his parent's home. He saw an attractive brunette sitting in the corner, idly filing her nails. She was in black leather pants and a black silk blouse and he could see that both items fit her very nicely. The young woman appeared to be the same age as Felicia and was smiling at him.
"That's Nikki," Felicia smiled. "She's my roommate."
