John Martin was in big trouble. His 20-year-old daughter was in jail and was expecting a baby, and he knew who the father was.
He
was! He had tried to arrange an abortion before his wife could find out, but Cindy had just gotten arrested by the highway patrol for speeding, drunk driving and resisting arrest.
Cindy had always been the wild one, the very opposite of her sister Clara, who was wise, mature and responsible, even though Clara was two years younger than Cindy. Cindy had always been a problem child from the very beginning. John just didn't know what he should do with Cindy. Ground her? It hadn't worked during her teenage years, and certainly not now as Cindy was an adult who was unafraid of her parents, or anyone else for that matter. Talking to her? It hadn't worked either. She was belligerent, defensive and sometimes violent. John had tried his best to show her the right path, but Cindy enjoyed pushing his buttons, taunting him into violence, something he had vowed not to do to his kids like his father had done to him. Cindy would come home drunk at 3 am. She would constantly break curfew as if the concept was foreign to her. She would ride on motorbikes with her friends after being told not to come near the rough, leather-clad bikers of the neighborhood. He had thrown her out of his house, but his wife had begged for her return. And he had conceded, as he was sick of fighting with Marcie, his wife. After all, at that time, Cindy was just 17 β a born-to-be-wild-child, as she called herself. When she turned 18, she left the house, seemingly for good.
With Cindy gone, John's existence became peaceful and even pleasant. He'd still worry about his eldest daughter, but it was her own life to live and he knew parents had to let go of their children sooner or later. It was the way of the world and there was no way around it. Anyway, he still had his younger daughter. Clara had been accepted in an Ivy League college and after the summer she would leave home toward her new, very promising, bright future. However, the peace John enjoyed for about a year vanished in a fateful summer evening.
John hit the brakes and the metallic screeching made him return to the present. He heaved a sigh of relief when he managed to stop his car in time. The near accident made him sober up and focus on what he was doing. He was driving to the highway patrol station where Cindy had be taken to. He had also to post bail to secure her release as quickly as possible. And knowing how big-mouthed his daughter was, he was terrified at the thought of Cindy telling them that she was pregnant with her father's child.
With a lump in his throat he parked the car and strode in the station, painfully aware of the cops' movements. He waited for a while before the cop behind the desk could attend him. When the old lady before him left, he said, "I'm here for my daughter, Cindy Martin."
"Cindy Martin?" the cop asked.
"Yes..." John stammered, clearing his throat.
"Hey, Harold," the cop called out. "We have a Cindy Martin in here?"
"Yes, we do. It's the wild cat we put in jail this morning."
"Okay," the cop said, turning to John. "Wait a minute, sir. I need to talk to my superior about this." And the cop left the desk and disappeared behind a door with a stained glass window.
John took a handkerchief out of the pocket of his pants and dried off his temples and forehead with it. He was perspiring like a pig. It was the heat, he told himself, but he knew it wasn't. He just didn't know what to do. Should he go and avoid arrest?... Or should he stay because Cindy hadn't told a thing? Why the cop had to talk to his superior? Why Cindy was so special that he had to talk to his superior? His heart hammered on his chest and his blood was full of adrenaline. "What am I supposed to do?" he thought. I wanted to be a good father... But she didn't let me. She didn't.
Suddenly the door with the stained glass window came open and the cop returned to his desk. "The captain is going to receive you. Please go and knock on that door." The trooper pointed to a door with a sign that read
Highway Patrol Captain
,
C. Oakes
. "Are you okay, sir?"
"Yes, yes, why?" John managed to say.
"You are shaking, sir. And you're pale, but I guess... if I had a daughter like yours... Well, please go see the captain. That's important."
John knocked on the door and to his surprise he heard a female voice, not his daughter's, ordering him to come in.
"Oh, there you are, Mr. Martin," said the woman, standing up and shaking his hand. "I am Carol Oakes. Please sit down."
"Where is Cindy?" he asked, still trying to curb his nervousness.
"We'll come to that. But first I will have to ask you some questions."
"What... questions?" John stuttered, fidgeting in his seat.
"Are you aware of the charges against your daughter?"
"Yes, I think we spoke on the phone a little earlier."
"Are you aware that your daughter is pregnant?"
"Yes...? Is she?"
"Yes, she is, and she was drunk... and driving at 100 mph on the highway when she was intercepted. Not really the proper behavior of someone who is going to be a mother within seven months. Do you have any idea why she did that?"
"No, ma'am. Iβ"
"Well, that's a shame. We called our psychologist just in case. This kind of behavior is very rare in women, unless..."
"Unless what?"
"They suffered some kind of abuse. Are you aware of any abuse perpetrated on your daughter?"
"Abuse?" said he, blinking his eyes, clasping his hands together to prevent them from shaking.
"Yes, abuse. We know she's been involved with drugs and a bike club nearby, sir. Perhaps you could tell us what she told you. That may help our investigation."
"Oh," John said, feeling some tension dissipate. He told her the little he knew about his daughter's life with the rogue that seduced her away from home and had beaten her up because of a drug deal gone bad. Captain Oakes took down everything he told her and finally she rose to her feet and said, "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Martin. Please pay the bond at the desk and take your daughter home. And please talk to her, and enroll her for counseling. She needs urgent professional help before she does something she will truly regret later. Bye, Mr. Martin." And with that, Captain Oakes shook John's hand with vigor and showed him the door.
Nervously, John waited at the station's desk for Cindy. He had already paid the bail bond and filled in all the paperwork. Shock came over him when he saw the state his daughter was in. She had some bruises on her face and arms; her lustrous, long, pitch-black hair was matted as if with sweat. Cindy's tall, slender yet sinuous frame was still intact, though. It was her daughter's body that made her so attractive and sexy...
"Dad, I am sorry," she said as soon as she saw him. "I am so sorry," she continued, tears going down her cheek. "Please forgive me."
John held his daughter close and let her shed the tears. He was embarrassed, on tenterhooks, because he really didn't want to show his affection for his daughter in front of so many cops who could arrest him if they understood what was really going on. When he was about to leave the station, with his daughter crying on his shoulder, he turned and saw that Captain Oakes and the guy at the desk were watching them.
They drove home in silence. He had wanted to say so many things to his daughter but nothing sounded appropriate. His daughter was 10 weeks pregnant with his child and he had to find a clinic as fast as possible. He had repeated that advice countless times, but she wanted to keep her baby...
Their
baby. And that was the reason why they had fought and she had run away from home once more.
When he parked the car at the driveway, he remained motionless, waiting for her to speak. Still, she didn't say a thing, as though she was waiting for him to take the initiative. Eventually, with a raucous voice, she said, "Dad?"
"Yes, honey."
"I want to keep the baby."
"You can't. People will ask questions. Your mother will ask questions. Your sister will ask question. The cops..."
"I didn't tell them anything," she suddenly said, facing him for the first time that evening. "I swear. You've got to believe me. And I won't tell anyone. I swear!"
"But why do you want to keep the baby so bad, honey? It will ruin your life. And mine too."
"Dad, don't you understand?" John looked at her child's face, the eyeliner mostly gone, streaking her lovely, attractive face of a young woman with blackened lines. Her disheveled hair gave her the look of a wild child, dressed in a black leather mini-skirt and a tight jacket also made of leather. Her slightly tan long legs made him return to the past, to the moment he desired her for the first time. "Dad?" She shook him awake. "Don't you understand? I want this child because it's yours, it's