Malaya was Catholic, so Michael had been raised in the Catholic faith. When he had returned to Albany after college, he began attending church again. He met a little, red-headed Irish girl named Darcy, and he’s had his hands full ever since. They have one daughter Amy, who has red hair, just like her mother, and another one on the way. We just don’t know yet whether it’s a girl or a boy.
Even though I had left Seattle close to ten o’clock in the morning, I didn’t arrive in Albany until just after six o’clock in the evening. Yes, that’s right; it takes seven hours to fly from Seattle to Albany because there are no direct flights, and the best connection is through Atlanta.
I wasn’t on the ground more than ten minutes when I received a call from Michael.
“Hi, Michael, what’s up?”
“Hi, Dad. Nothing much. I just wanted to check in with you and make sure your plane got here okay.”
“How did you know that I was arriving this evening? I haven’t talked to you since I left for Seattle.”
“Uh, hello, Dad,” he laughed. “My assistant’s desk is next to yours and they talk, like constantly,” he laughed again. “Anyway, Rachael told me that Pauline had arranged for your return tickets and that you were getting in this evening. Hey, the main reason I’m calling is that Darcy wanted to know if you would like to have dinner with us this evening. We’re having pot roast.”
“Oh, geez, that’s my favorite, and Darcy knows it. I’m tired, but yes, that sounds good. Besides, I think Amy needs a raspberry on her tummy,” I laughed.
“That’s right, Grandpa, I think that she is in desperate need of several of them,” he chuckled.
“She’s going to be a pistol. She is taking right after her mother. Okay, as soon as I get my luggage, I’ll head your way. Love you, Michael.”
“Love you too, Dad.”
I hadn’t been out of the parking lot for more than a minute when my cell phone rang again. This call was from Nancy Crawford; the woman that Shannen wanted to know all about except for her name.
She was a statuesque blond with blue eyes that stood about five feet, ten inches tall. She had a medium frame with large breasts, great hips, and a sexy bottom. She was forty-one and in great shape. In fact, when you think about friends with benefits, someone like Nancy is who you want to think about.
She never calls me when I am out of town, so she must have known, somehow, that I had just arrived. But how, I wondered? How would she find out? I didn’t care if she knew; it’s just that I was tired, and I didn’t feel like dealing with her right then.
“Hi, Nancy. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing great. I couldn’t be better now that I know you’re back in town. How did your meetings go?”
“Like you said, they couldn’t have been better. It’s always fun visiting with old friends.”
There was a brief silence. “I guess,” she said, “but what happened? I thought you were supposed to get back here last Thursday, and I have been horny ever since you left. I’ve been horny all day just knowing that you were finally coming home. Alex, I want you to come to my place tonight.”
“Aw, Nancy, I’m tired. Besides, Darcy and Michael invited me to come over and have dinner with them, and I’ve already accepted their invitation.”
“Okay,” she said slowly with a pause. “Go have dinner with your family, rest up a little, and then, come over here and fuck me. I’ll fix you a great breakfast in the morning.”
“I’m afraid that I can’t tonight. By the time we’ll be finished with dinner, I will be ready to go to bed.”
“So will I. That’s exactly what I had in mind for you. We would go to bed and fuck each other’s brains loose. I’ll even get on top and do all the work. All you have to do is get it hard,” she teased.
I chuckled. “That all sounds good, but I can’t, not tonight.”
“Okay, Mr. Willpower. What about tomorrow night?”
“Give me a chance to see what all is going on at the office, and I’ll call you tomorrow afternoon. Perhaps, we can have dinner or something.”
She giggled. “It’s the ‘or something’ that sounds good to me, like about eight inches of that thick, meaty cock of yours.”
“Listen, I have to go now. If I haven’t called you by three tomorrow, give me a call in case I get tied with something.”
“Alright, I guess. I’ll just have to go home and pull out one of my vibrators to keep me company,” she said with a sound of disappointment.
I chuckled. “Nancy, you openly date a couple other guys. What happened to them? We’ve never dated openly. You have always called us fuck buddies or something else. I can’t remember. Oh, yes, friends with benefits, that’s the one.”
She laughed. “Oh, hell, I know, but I haven’t been dating around much lately. Mostly, I’ve just been going out with you when you have time for me.”
This revelation came as a bit of a shock to me because I had been under the impression that she had a couple of other men that she saw on a fairly regular basis. “When did you start seeing only me?”
“Oh, Alex, it’s been a little while now, several months perhaps.”
I fretted somewhat thinking about the implications, if she were telling the truth. “What brought all of this on? I thought all you wanted out of our relationship was sex and nothing more because of our positions in our respective companies. You said that you couldn’t afford anyone from your company to find out we were having an affair because of what it would do to your reputation and your job.”
“I know, Alex, and nothing has changed there. I still don’t want our relationship to go public. It might cost me my job, and I certainly can’t afford that.”
“I don’t think that they would fire you just because you’re having sex with one of your clients. Hell, don’t you think that this sort of thing goes on throughout the marketing industry, let alone every other industry and business in the world?”
“Yes, but I have a clause in my contract that specifically states that I cannot fraternize with fellow workers or business associates. I think that fucking one of your clients would come under the category of a business associate, don’t you?”
I laughed at her choice of words. “Is that what we’ve been doing, fucking?”
She giggled. “Yes, I would definitely categorize what you have been doing to me as fucking, and you have been doing a very good job of it. Alex, that’s the main reason I stopped seeing other men. No one can measure up. Even if we can’t go out in public, I would still rather have sex with you than anyone else.”
Oh, boy, this whole situation doesn’t sound good. How could this sort of thing be happening to me, I wondered? “Listen, Nancy, I’m here at Michael’s house, and I have to go in. Please call me tomorrow. Perhaps, we can go out to dinner at our little hideaway so we can discuss this further.”
“That sounds fun. I haven’t been out in quite a while. But, Alex, I want to do more than talk.”
“Okay, listen, I really have to go now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Bye.”
“Have a good evening, Alex. Bye, bye.”
I sat outside in their driveway for a couple minutes, trying to sort out what I thought Nancy was trying to tell me as subtly as she could. If what she was saying was true, she was a lot more invested in our relationship that she had let on. I didn’t think she would care if I had become involved with another woman. I thought it was like she had always said; we were just friends with benefits.
As I walked up to the front door, I wondered if this would lead to any complications or hurt feelings. Nancy was a good woman, and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her. I rang the doorbell to announce my arrival and walked in the house.
“Hi, Dad,” said Darcy. “Amy has something to show you.”
Darcy was a dynamite woman and perfect for Michael. She was tall and thin just like he was. She was covered with freckles and had the deepest emerald-green eyes that reminded me of Shannen’s.
I followed her into the
family room where Amy was standing and holding on to one of her father’s fingers. She giggled as she let go of Michael’s finger and took a couple steps before falling on her well-padded bottom. When she hit the floor with all those layers of padding, she would laugh like it was the funniest thing in the world and want to do it all over again.
“Wow, she’s doing great,” I said as I picked her up and gave her exposed tummy a little raspberry. She kicked and squealed like crazy because it tickled a little, but she loved it. It was her favorite thing to do with grandpa. I never could figure who laughed more, her or me.
Michael gave me a hug. “Welcome home, Dad.”
I smiled at the three of them. Well, almost four, as Darcy was five months along. “Thanks, Michael. Darcy, thanks for inviting me to dinner. It smells delicious. I can smell a pot roast a mile away.”
Michael held up a bottle of Glenfiddich. “Hey, Dad, want a scotch?”
I smiled at him as he filled two tumblers with ice and two fingers of the Scotch whisky into each of them. He handed me one of the crystal tumblers and held his high up in the air. Now, you have to realize that it is a long-held tradition in the Thompson clan, rich in Scottish history, to offer a toast, especially when Scotch whisky is involved. The toast can even be something simple like “Over the lips and past the gums. Look out abdomen, here she comes.” Well, you get the idea.
So, with Michael’s tumbler held high, he toasted, “Here’s to, Dad, who has returned safely to us after a most grueling and demanding business trip.”
I was about to take a sip of my scotch when he continued. “And, here’s to the studliest little man in Seattle, Charlie. Whoever Charlie is,” he added, barely getting it out before both Darcy and he started laughing.
I smiled with a slight, subdued chuckle. “Okay. That sounds vaguely familiar. I think that I’ve heard that somewhere before,” I said.
Michael and Darcy laughed. “I guess you have. From what I heard,” giggled Darcy, “Charlie is the most important customer we have.”
I laughed and took a big swallow of scotch, thinking about Charlie and Shannen. “Well, I was told that he was raised on our treats, and if he, for some reason, decided not to eat them any longer, it could throw our company into financial ruin,” I offered with a large grin.
“Okay,” said Michael, his arm around Darcy. “I think we need to know a little more about Charlie, and uh … someone named Shannen Louise Carter.”
I smiled with a sense of prided and embarrassment at having to tell them who she was when it was still so early in our relationship. Then I thought that, when I ask my assistant Pauline to make my return reservations for Seattle, I would have to confess all; at least, to Michael.
“Okay, there isn’t a lot to tell you other than Charlie is Shannen’s six-and-a-half-pound Maltese.”
Darcy smiled. “Come and sit for a minute. The pot roast won’t be done for another twenty minutes. Do you have any photographs of Charlie?”
I reached for my phone. “Yes, I believe I do.” I opened my pictures app and up popped about twenty photographs of Shannen and Charlie but mostly, of Shannen. “It doesn’t seem as though I have any photographs of just Charlie.”
Darcy scooted over toward me on the sofa, so she could look at the pictures. “That must be Charlie there,” she offered with more enthusiasm than I would have liked. I had no choice now but to show them all of the photographs. I tapped on the first one.
Darcy pulled my hand closer to her, so I just let her have the phone. There wasn’t anything that I didn’t want them to see except for the fact that Shannen was so much younger.
“Aw, he’s a cutie,” grinned Darcy. “Who’s the gorgeous woman holding him?”
I took a deep breath, wishing that I didn’t have to go through this the first night I returned home. “That is Shannen.”
Michael grabbed the phone. “My God, Dad. Is that who you stayed with after you checked out of the Freemont?”
I grinned with embarrassment. “I didn’t know that my whereabouts were of so much interest to everyone. I think that there may be too much gossip going on in our customer service department.”
“Don’t be cross with Catherine because you were supposed to be home last Wednesday, and when you didn’t show up, everyone began to wonder where you were. You usually let Pauline or me know what you’re doing. If it weren’t for Catherine letting us know where you were, I would have been concerned.”
I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry, kids, I should have called, but there was a lot going on, and I just didn’t think about it. I was uh …”
“Enjoying yourself,” interrupted Darcy.
Michael scrolled through the photographs several times. “She’s beautiful, Dad, and so …”
“Young,” I interrupted. “Yes, I know. She is young, very young. But listen, she’s not who you think she is.”
Michael looked at me curiously. “What do you mean?”
“She’s not a gold-digger. She’s not after my money. She doesn’t need it. She’s a brilliant, young attorney that’s …”
Darcy put her hand on mine. “Hey, Dad, we know she isn’t after your money unless Oklahoma suddenly runs out of oil, and she loses her job at one of the most successful marketing agencies in the country.”
I looked at her curiously. “How do you know so much about her? Hell, it sounds like you know more about her than I do.”
“Dad, you haven’t dated anyone since Mom died, outside of Nancy, so I just looked …”
I gave him a look. “You know about Nancy?”
“Of course, we know. We’ve known for quite a while now, but we don’t think anyone else does.”
“How did you find out?”
“It wasn’t very hard. You know how we occasionally stop by to drop off something for you to eat?”
I nodded and mumbled. “Yes.”
“Well, whenever we see her car in your driveway, we don’t disturb you. We just return home.”
“I’m sorry, Michael. I didn’t want to upset you because of your mom.”
Darcy kissed me on the cheek. “Dad, no one expects you to go without female companionship for the rest of your life, not even Michael.”
I sat there in silence for a few moments. “I tried to be careful and not let anyone know.”
“Well,” Darcy said with a teasing voice, “if you still want to keep it a secret when she spends the night, you should probably have her park her car in your garage instead of your driveway,” she said, poking me in the ribs.
I shook my head. “I’m not going to see her any longer, at least, not intimately.”
Darcy frowned and cocked her head. “Why not? Did something happen between the two of you? You have been seeing each other for a year that we know of.”
I took a deep breath and sipped the last of my scotch. “It’s been more like two years now, but it has never been serious. We were just friends. I think that you youngsters call it ‘friends with benefits’,” I said, blushing.
They laughed as Michael poured more scotch in my glass. “Okay,” said Darcy, “so what happened then? Why aren’t you going to see her uh … intimately, that is?”
I grinned bashfully again. “That’s a little personal, don’t you think, Darcy?”
She grinned and took a small sip of my scotch. “Aw, come on, Dad, go ahead and tell us. It’ll be cleansing.”
“You know, Michael, you could have married that other little gal that always used to hang around the house. What was her name? Maxine?”
“You may as well tell her, Dad. She’s not going to give up until you do,” he said while Darcy gave me a pouty look.
“Alright, if you must know, I made a promise. I promised that I wouldn’t uh …”
Darcy sat up abruptly. “Oh, my God, when are you going back to Seattle?”
I hesitated for a moment while I took a small sip of scotch. “Thursday, around noon.”
“Oh, my God,” mumbled Darcy. “How long are you going to be the
re?”
I frowned as I looked blankly off in space. “I’m not sure. That depends. I’ve been thinking about taking some time off.”
“Oh … my … God,” she said as she turned toward Michael, grabbed his glass, and took a large sip of his drink. “It sounds to me like something must have happened in Seattle that was more than just a little fling.”
I shrugged my shoulders and smiled cautiously. “I don’t know. I can’t explain what happened, but something—something clicked between us, and I had more fun than I’ve had in years.”
Darcy turned toward me and took another sip of my scotch. I chuckled. “I think that you had better make your wife her own drink, Michael, or we’re not going to have any left,” I chuckled, teasing her.
Darcy placed her hand on my forearm. “I know you’re teasing, but this isn’t funny, is it? You really like her, don’t you?”
I nodded. “She’s different. She’s not like anyone that I’ve ever known. Hell, I hate to admit it, but I didn’t really want to come back, not just yet, anyway. You never did tell me how you know so much about her. Oh, I know,” I said, looking at Michael, “you had her investigated, didn’t you?”
“Don’t be angry with Michael, Dad. It was my idea. You have never been AWOL before, and he was worried that something might happen to you.”
I laughed. “I’m not mad. It’s funny because she had me investigated before she invited me to her place for dinner.”
Michael sighed. “That’s a relief. I was afraid you might be mad.”
“No, Michael,” I said, looking mischievously at Darcy. “I haven’t been mad at you since you stopped seeing that cute little girl that used to hang around the house all the time. What was her name again? Oh, yes, Maxine.”
“I’m going to kick you if you don’t stop,” she teased as she elbowed me gently in the ribs. Just then, a timer went off in the kitchen. “Saved by the bell. Dinner’s ready,” she announced, so we all got up and helped her put it on the table.
Mistaken Identity Page 12
