Tarja 13 -
At the Ansquer’s house, David was on his unmade bed crying. He sniffed, sighed and thought to himself, ‘I should do better. Just because mom died, I should be helping dad. I’m going to be in trouble, if I hangout with them. Why did I become friends with them?’ He then looked at a picture - taken last summer - on a lake in Maine. He thought back to that 10 days. ‘I couldn’t believe they invited me. It seemed they thought I was a resident instead of being a visitor,’ he thought to himself. ‘I can’t believe some were just in diapers.’
He sniffed, balled his hands and hit his bed, then thought, ‘Just because they are on the football team. Is that why I hang out with those jerks? I mean, think about some of the other people on the team, like Dominick, Jordy, Linus, Jason and Tobin, they are open about being friends of gays. Why shouldn’t I? I need to help dad, but he hates me.’ He was thinking about teammates who are in the school’s GSA club. He then thought about 2 of his ex friends at school they drifted apart a year and a half ago, when David started hanging with the group. ‘I wonder if they would welcome me back,’ he thought. ‘I know I’ve been a jerk the last 18 months, but I hope they’ll forgive me.’
David sighed, got off his bed and went to his closet. He got on his knees and looked in the closet, then pulled out a box, opened it and looked inside. He said, “Mom, I’m sorry. I have to do better. I miss, you and so do we all. I have to be better and help dad, but he hates me.’ He closed the box, and placed it on a shelf and sighed. He got up and went to his desk, moved his laptop out of the way, and opened a drawer. He took out 3 sheets of paper and started to write a letter to his dad.
At the Mileham’s, Craig, Marion and Mary Ellen were talking about the hateful Eastboro Baptist raid,’ when Mary Ellen’s phone rang. She said, “Excuse me. I’ll be back in a few.” She went and pick up the phone. On the other end it was John to ask her to hire him an attorney and to say that he is sorry of the way he reacted to Tommy. John told her that he is in the Kettuck Police Station. Mary Ellen said that she’ll get an attorney, but she has guests over and she’ll do it tomorrow. She said, ‘John, you need to get help and you need to see your daughter.” John knew that Mark - and Marion - was over for dinner, so he understood. Mary Ellen then hung up the phone.
Marion, who saw Mary Ellen was trying to keep her composure, said, “Sis, what’s wrong? Is it bad news?”
Mary Ellen said, “Yes, it is bad news. John got arrested and is at the Kettuck Police Station. He wanted me to find an attorney for him. He changed and I wish he’d stayed like he was when I first met him.”
Marion looked at Craig and said, “Do you want us to go? John did change and really mostly it was just about a year ago. Honey, do you think your partner could help John?”
Craig said, “I think so, love. Mary Ellen. Do you know why he was arrested for?”
Mary Ellen said, “No, I don’t. Would it matter?”
Craig said, “Not really, but it would be nice to know, so we can see why he was. Do you still like him, Mary Ellen?”
Marion looked at her boyfriend and smiled. She then looked at her sister and said, “Spoken like a lawyer. Do you? I knew you been with him since you were a junior in high school.”
Mary Ellen said, “I want Tarja to be happy, but throwing away my marriage is something, else. I want him to get help. I don’t want to divorce him I want him to know he needs to be the loving guy he was.”
At the Kettuck Police Station, John Mileham hung up the phone and went back to his cell. There, he sat on his bunk and sighed. He thought about growing up with an abusive dad, who, when sober was vengeful, but when he was drunk he was a monster. He hit him, his brother and sisters and his mom.
He shook his head and thought to himself, “Dad, I hope you are rotting in hell. You made me hate my family. We were never good for you, and now, I’m doing the same thing to my family and I love them. Yes, Tommy, I love you.’
Thinking back to his childhood, He remembered when his dad hit him for striking out in little league with the winning run on third. He remembered him hitting his brother when he had gotten a penalty in a high school football game and his sisters for burning a cake. He remembered when he hit his mom for overspending on school clothes.
When John was 13, his dad, driving drunk, killed his youngest brother, Thomas, himself and an innocent family. It was just him, his mom, his older brother and his 2 sisters. ‘I hate you dad!’ He said to himself.
In Narboro, Adam Ansquer looked around the office and sighed. He thought he was alone, since the meeting was over 45 minutes ago. He sat in his chair at his desk and looked at the pictures on his desk, especially the recent one of his son, David, waterskiing this past summer at Togue Lake.
Looking at the picture, he sighed at thought, ‘I guess you think I hate you, son. I don’t it wasn’t your fault. I loved your mom and I love you, Luke, Steve, Taylor and Brooke. I just hope I’m doing right.’ He heard a knock on the door it was the Vice president of Nutmeg Industries, Beth Calderwood, knocking.
Beth, smiled at him when he looked up, then said, “I thought you would be out. Something wrong, Adam?” She came into his office and smiled at him.
Adam looked up and said, “Yes, David and I yelled at each other last night. I hope he’ll be home. Ever since Susan’s death, David is unhappy and he is going to get into trouble. I hope I’m doing the right thing. I mean, voting to sell the company that I help start.” He sighed and then said, “Why are you voting to sell? You help start this company, too.”
Beth laughed and said, “The joys of raising teens. I’m not looking forward to the day, when mine will be teens. All I can say, Adam is to just do your best. What are you going to do after the sale? Why did I vote to sell? I think it will help the company with the backing of Atlantic Yankee behind it. AY said they’ll expand here.”
Adam laughed and said, “I guess so. Don’t worry about your kids, Beth. You do a great job with yours. After the sale, I’m not sure yet how about you?”
Beth said, “I might stay home and drive my kids crazy. I might start a bakery, which is my dream. Steve said he’ll loan me the money. He saw my business plan and said that I have a great business plan.” She was talking about her brother, who was an officer at Maidenford Capital. She looked at Adam and said, “Do you think your kids would like to go to ‘Riplash Cove’ with us this weekend?”
Adam looked at Beth, smiled and said, “Thanks. I’ll think about it. I guess David wouldn’t want to go, but the other kids would love it.” He was thinking about a few weeks back when they went out to lunch, but the company rule was against dating co-workers. “I guess after the sale, we can date.” He looked at Beth.
Beth smiled and said, “I never did like the rule about co-workers dating. It was never enforced until the Bahnmiller incident. After that breakup and fight, it was enforced. Bahnmiller was an idiot. Of course, I did tell him he was.” Beth was talking about William Bahnmiller, a married man who was having an affair with Christine Bullough, Beth’s secretary. Beth shook her head and said, “I told Christine he was bad news.”
Adam looked at Beth and said, “Really, he said that they loved each other, but I told Bahnmiller that he had a wife and kids. He didn’t care if it was hurting his family. Of course, we had to fire him and then Christine left. I guess she didn’t want to be humiliated.” He put down some papers he was reading and then said, “Want to go to Sylvester’s for dinner?”
Beth said, “Is it a date? I love Sylvester’s.” She gave Adam a hug then picked up a picture of Adam and his family - taken last summer at Togue Lake. “I think you are a great dad. Where was that taken? It looks nice.”
Adam said, “It was taken at a lake in Maine last summer. We spent two weeks up there and we had fun. Dave was happy and we chatted. It seemed that he was a different person there. I guess he wasn’t around his friends when we were there. Dave met a few of the locals up there and they included him in activities. We might go up there for 2 weeks this summer.” Adam looked at Beth and said, “Would you like it to be a date? I’m ready to enjoy you.”
Beth said, “Maine? I might take the kids there. How was it? Did the kids get bored if there was bad weather? I’m ready, Adam. Are you?”
Adam said, “One day it was raining, so the kids spent the day with their friends at the clubhouse. The home we rented was nice. I should see if the house is free for 2 weeks this summer. The lake had 5 clubhouses.” Adam smiled at her and said, “I’m ready.”
They left Adam’s office and walked to Sylvester’s for dinner.
In the Narboro Forest neighborhood, a modest development built in the 2000s, Dennis and Julia Paxson were relaxing after dinner. Their kids, 3 boys and 2 girls, were doing homework, while they were watching the local news channel. The channel had a breaking report and it was about the raid and the arrest. They were interviewing Lt Colonial Hinkhouse and they talked about a few of the people arrested.
Julia shook her head and said, “What’s wrong with these people? They are nuttier than a peanut farm. If people are transgendered, so be it. They are who they are so get over it. They aren’t doing anything illegal.”
Dennis looked at his wife and said, “Mileham? Isn’t your sister married to a Mileham?”
