Deadbeat Dads (6 page)

“I don’t know, Kate, sometimes people do things, and we never know the reason. Hang your coat in the closet, please.” I didn’t know the answer myself. What made people fall out of love? Johnny and I had started out ready to change the world. Then he began working long hours. He changed. And I was stuck in the house with the kids. Not that I minded. I loved being a housewife and mother. But somewhere along the line I had lost my appeal to Johnny, and he looked elsewhere.

Not that he had to look far. Babette fell into his lap
, so to speak. Ready, willing, and able. And if I knew Johnny, he handed her a line. I could hear him now - I didn’t understand him. We were married in name only. I was a bitch. Oh yeah, I knew the drill. Had almost fallen into it myself with someone else before I met Johnny. But I wasn’t that dumb. Besides, I knew the wife. After their divorce, I found out the truth and what a rat he really was. Last I heard he was on wife number three. His newest, and youngest, assistant. Left wife number two as penniless as number one, while he lived high off the hog.

My
world consisted of kids, cooking, shopping and carpooling. Johnny wasn’t interested in the kids once they reached school age. In fact, he didn’t seem too interested in Katie at all. At least in the beginning he seemed to enjoy Josh, but as the work demand increased, his interest decreased. Success - that was his main goal. Make more money. Money was the name of the game.

Once
he started his own practice, we hardly ever saw him. Even after it was established, his hours grew longer and longer and business trips more and more frequent. Of course, now I knew it wasn’t the law firm that kept him so occupied. I should have seen the signs, done something about it. But what? What does a woman do to win her husband back when he strays? Once Johnny lost interest there wasn’t much I could do to pull him back. We no longer shared the same passions. His life centered on his work. In the beginning, he used to talk about some of his more unique cases, but after a while he even quit doing that.

Did
I stop listening, had I pushed him away? The outside world didn’t seem as interesting to me anymore. That wasn’t my fault. After Johnny insisted I quit work, my life changed. I didn’t go out and socialize. Sometimes we had company, an old friend, and occasionally the neighbors, but Johnny didn’t care about them either.

I
had often tried to arrange dinner parties or cookouts with my friends and their spouses, but Johnny didn’t have time, even on the weekends.

“Why do you waste your time with those people?” he asked one day. “They can’t do anything to further my career.”

No, they couldn’t do anything to further his career, but they sure were there to offer me support after the divorce, unlike the people from the club. Thank God, I had my friends. The other snobs could pound salt as far as I was concerned. Becky would find the same thing in a few weeks. They wouldn’t stand behind her either. Never mind that Fred ran off to Vegas. Becky lost her appeal to them, she couldn’t do anything to advance them either, so they’d drop her like a hot potato. They only befriended her because of Fred. Besides, like me, she wouldn’t be able to afford the dues.

Poor Becky,
I guessed I’d better go back and see if she needed help. I didn’t envy her task. Maybe Josh and Katie could help Alice, Sam, and Larry. At least they could relate.

I
pulled into Becky’s drive and took my time getting out of the car. I hated this, hated that my friend suffered the same loss and humiliation I had. It just wasn’t fair. What got into these men? Mid-life crisis or what? Why couldn’t they be satisfied with what they had? Other men were. Plenty of people were married for life. Why not our husbands?

Funny, now that
I thought of it. They turned us into the kind of wives they wanted, and then went after career women.

Johnny’s voice rang in
my ears in even now. “You don’t understand my life. All you care about are the kids and the house. Get on with your life, Erica, do something constructive. Get a job.”

Get a job!
I almost laughed in his face. I had a job when we got married. He must have forgotten that no wife of his was going to work. Oh no, Johnny, couldn’t let it look like he couldn’t support his wife. 

I
rang the bell and walked in. “Becky, it’s me. Hey, hon, where are you?” Too quiet.

“Go upstairs and see if you can find Alice, Sam and Larry.” Katie and Josh disappeared up the steps. This
didn’t look good. I looked in the kitchen, family room, and living room, no Becky. I ran up the steps almost two at a time, stopping halfway to catch my breath.

Josh and Katie met
me at the top. “No one’s here,” they said in unison. Katie lips trembled while the scowl on Josh’s face showed his anger.

Damn Fred Johnson
, off having a merry old time and his kids and Becky paying the price. I held my breath and counted to ten. No need to show anger in front of the kids, they had their own to contend with.

“Okay, let’s go downstairs and make a few phone calls. Th
ey couldn’t have gone far, the car’s still here, and so is Aunt Becky’s purse.”

But where had they gone? It wa
s too cold to be out for a walk. More than likely one or more of the kids took off and Becky had to go after them. I remembered how Katie and Josh had reacted, lashing out at me, blaming me for the whole thing. It had taken the better part of the morning to get Josh to open his bedroom door. Now he hid inside himself.

“Sam probably took off. He told me once if his dad ever left like ours did, they’d never find him.” Josh made the statement without emotion.

Dear God, would he ever return to being a normal ten year old?

“Do you know where
he’d go? Josh this is important if you know you have to tell me.”

Josh shrugged.

“I know.” Katie piped up. “He’s probably at the cave in Paradise Cove.”

“Paradise Cove, where’s that?”

“That’s what we call the woods at the end of Beacon Street.” Katie stuck her tongue out at Josh.

Josh
threw Katie a dirty look.

“Okay
, let’s go.” I grabbed Becky’s and the kid’s jackets off the hook.

I
started the car just as Becky came running down the street toward us.

I
threw open the car door and ran toward her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Erica, thank God you’re here. Sammy’s up in a tree
, and he won’t come down. I ran out without my cell phone. Call the police, fire department, someone.”

Oh Lord, what next
? I pulled my cell phone out of my purse and dialed 911, explained the situation, and hung up. “They’re on their way, let’s go. Here put this on and get in.” I shoved the coat at Becky and got back in the car, threw it in reverse and pulled out of the drive. “What happened?”

“I don’t know
. I explained that Fred left and why. I tried to be gentle, like you said.” Becky stopped and took a deep breath. “All of a sudden Sammy jumped up and took off. We ran after him, but before I knew it he was in the tree and kept climbing.” Becky lowered her head in her hands. “I didn’t know what to do. Larry and Alice even tried to talk him into coming down. He won’t talk to us. He just keeps climbing higher. Oh Lord, Erica, I’m so scared.”

“It’s okay, Beck
. Just stay calm. The fire department will know what to do. Listen they’re on their way.” I pulled along the curb and parked. “You go ahead, Josh, Katie and I will show them where to go.”

Poor Becky, not like she
didn’t have enough to deal with, but now this. I shivered. I couldn’t imagine what I would have done if Josh had reacted that way. It was hard enough coaxing him out of the bedroom.

A hook and ladder truck pulled up behind
my car, and suddenly I was surrounded by fireman.

“I’m Chief Lawrence, are you the one who called?”

“Yes, my friend’s son is up in a tree and won’t come down. He keeps going higher. Um uh… his mother just gave him the news that his father left with his dental assistant and isn’t coming back. He’s upset, probably scared.” I explained, while we hurried to Paradise Cove. We entered a small clearing amidst the trees and shrubs, just tall enough for us to get through. It would be almost impossible to find it in the summer. What a beautiful place. I understood why the kids called it Paradise Cove.

Becky ran to the
fire chief. “Please do something, he keeps climbing higher.”

I
put my arm around her.  My own stomach tensed when I saw how high Sam had climbed the tree. How were they ever going to get him down? Whatever they did, I knew we had to remain calm. The important thing was not to panic or scare him.

“What’s his name, Ma’am”

“Sa..Sammy.” Becky’s lips trembled, and she brushed a tear from her cheek. “Please get him down.”

“Okay, Ma’am you stay here with your friend. We’ll get him down.”

I held Becky close while we watched Chief Lawrence approach the tree.

“You’re a pretty good climber
, son, but aren’t you getting a little cold?”

Sam didn’t answer but he
stopped climbing. Poor thing looked scared to death. Probably wished he hadn’t gone up there to begin with. Lord, let him come down, I prayed.

Katie, Josh, Alice and Larry stood near the chief. Might be better if they weren’t there. “Josh, Katie, come here.”
I motioned for Josh to bring Larry and Alice. Alice came with them but Larry shrugged them off and stood his ground. Stubborn as Fred, probably thought he had to be the man of the family now.

“Come on, Sammy, you proved your point and whatever the problem, you aren’t going to solve anything this way. Come on son, come on down.” Chief Lawrence’s soft voice coaxed.

“I…I can’t. I’m stuck.” Sammy’s voice trembled.

“Okay, we’ll send up the ladder
, how’s that? Have you ever been on a hook and ladder before?” The chief motioned for the crew to bring the truck closer and to send up the ladder. “I’ll come up and help you down, okay?”

“O…okay.”

Becky’s weight went slack under my arm, and I grabbed her just before she fell. “Okay, Beck, get hold of yourself, now’s not a good time to lose it.”

“I’m okay.” Becky straightened. “Just felt woozy there for a second.”

Phew, just what we didn’t need. Dealing with Sam took all the control I could manage.

The driver brought the fire engine to the edge of the woods. Chief Lawrence got on the ladder and motioned for them to raise him up.

I stood alongside Becky, while they raised the ladder to Sammy. A sideways look at Katie and Josh told me they were mesmerized too. Larry still stood under the tree, fear on his face. What a responsibility he’d taken on. One childhood lost, and all because some men went nuts. Why did so many men up and run off from the life they took years to build, run off with a younger woman, and forget their family? Ha, if I could answer that question, I’d probably be rich.

Chief Lawrence reached Sammy and eased him into the bucket attached to the ladder. Even from where
I stood, I saw the relief as Sammy slumped against the Chief.

Chapter Seven

A week later, I had to fly out to Florida again. My boss promised it would be the last time. I sure hoped so. A week in Florida didn’t thrill me. Now wasn’t a good time for Becky, but true friend that she is, she agreed to keep Katie and Josh. Sammy had become a behavior problem, continually getting into trouble at school and not doing his homework. He and Larry even got into fist fights. It broke my heart to see the two brothers, who once got along so well, screaming and hitting each other. Alice wasn’t much better. The disrespect she showed her mother and brothers bordered on abuse. If Becky didn’t get a handle on them soon, all hell was going to break loose. I hated to leave Katie and Josh and add to her problems.  I hated for Katie and Josh to have to stay in that environment. Katie complained that Alice was even mean and nasty to her.

I tried to explain how difficult it was for them, but how could my daughter understand when she’d gone through the same thing and didn’t act that way
? How did you explain to an eight year old that everyone handled grief differently?

I had time to spare
when I arrived in Florida and decided to look up Bob Brown again. I drove to his office building and parked on the street. No more did I get out of my car and Bob appeared from around the corner. One look at me and he bolted. Right into the street in front of a car. Neither of them had a chance. The driver slammed on his brakes too late, smashed into Bob and threw him in the air like a rag doll. I stood dazed along with all the other passer bys. Someone called  911 on their cell phone. Next thing I knew sirens blared and an ambulance pulled up. They didn’t have to tell me he was dead. I knew just by looking at his broken body. No one could have survived that crash.

My God, was I responsible for another man’s death? All I wanted was
to talk to him. Why did he run? What was he hiding? Or who was he hiding from? I backed away, got into my car, put my head in my hands and cried.  How was I going to tell Nicole? I never told her I found Bob. She told me about the money, believed Bob sent it himself. The poor woman believed he still loved her.