Chapter 20
Baby Gail Davis lay on her play mat on the floor, staring at the twinkly toys hanging on a bar arching over her head. She had baby blue eyes but they were already taking on a sterling silver tint to match her father’s. She was always wide-eyed and curious, watching the environment around her, engaging, trying to touch things. When Evan held her, she would giggle madly, clearly as in love with her daddy as Jessica was.
Jessica finished her mat toning exercises. She was trying to return to her pre-baby body, even though Evan told her that she looked fine the way that she was. She hated her stretch marks so Evan always kissed them. Now she did her exercise routine religiously and was starting to see some tightening to her loose stomach. It wasn’t so bad, knowing that her husband still loved her, but she wanted to squeeze into her tight dresses again.
On her ring finger, a huge rock glinted. They had not bothered with a huge wedding. Why do that when Vegas was crawling with wedding chapels? They had eloped in their own city and had a simple wedding with his friend Tony as a witness. Now Jessica Davis was the queen of the new house they had had bought in the hills, and everyone knew it.
Baby Gail gawked at the sparkles given off by Jessica’s wedding ring as Jessica scooped her up. “Do you want to go find Daddy?” Jessica cooed.
The baby giggled and danced her arms and legs. Just recently she had started to try to stand up, but she still preferred to have her parents carry her everywhere. Jessica liked to use a wrap to keep Gail close to her chest when she went for her morning jogs or hit the stores. Later that day, Jessica had a hair appointment scheduled to get ready for the charity benefit gala they were hosting that night to raise money for their new foundation. She would take her baby with her, tied tight to her own body.
“Daddy,” Jessica called, as she navigate the vast maze of rooms in the downstairs. She couldn’t find him, so she went up the spiral marble staircase. Every time she ascended those stairs, she felt like royalty, climbing up to her private chambers. At the top of the stairs, she liked to stop and look down at the beautiful house with its amazing views and the fancy cars in the driveway.
All of this opulence didn’t make her feel bad. For they were creating a home with similar opulence for orphans. It was to be called the Gail Collins Children’s Foundation, named in honor of Jessica’s mother of course. Evan had wanted to name it after Jessica, but Jessica refused. It seemed wrong to take all the credit for what her mother had done for her. Besides, Jessica wasn’t really an orphan. She had a father out there, somewhere.
Jessica found Evan in his home office, typing up a fury. He paused and smiled radiantly when he saw the two women he loved most in the world. “Bring my little baby here,” he said, holding his arms out to take Gail.
Jessica transferred Gail to Evan. “What are you working on, hun?” She stood behind him and surveyed his computer screen.
“Well, actually,” he laughed with a bit of embarrassment. “It was supposed to be a surprise. But you can see what I’m doing.”
“What?” There was a picture of a large, scruffy man on the screen.
“You know how I had that man Geno who looked into your background?”
Jessica still hated that memory, but she smiled and nodded. “What about him?”
“Well, I asked him to track down your father.”
Jessica suddenly felt faint and had to catch herself on the desk. “My father?” she stammered. “That’s him?”
“Yes. He was incarcerated for drugs fifteen years back but he got out recently. He works at a Safeway in Montana.”
“Evan…” Jessica twined her fingers around her pearl necklace and felt dizzy. “I didn’t ask you to do this.”
“I know but I thought you would like to know more about him. His name is …”
“Seth Rogers. I know. I already looked into him.”
“Do you want to contact him, hun?” Evan looked at her with an uncertain smile, trying to gauge if he had hurt her more than helped her.
“He has never reached out to me. Why should I bother him? I’ve never been a part of his life and he hasn’t been a part of mine.” Jessica felt an unusually hot flare of anger go up inside of her. She hated it, so she calmed down by kissing Evan and the baby.
“Don’t you want to let him know that you are a mom now? Maybe he would like to hear from you but he just hasn’t been sure how to reach out.”
“He will probably reach out when he finds out how much money we have. It’s not a good idea, Evan. Just forget it.”
Evan nodded obediently and closed the computer window. “Sorry, doll. I really didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Jessica suddenly paused. “But wait.”
“What?” Evan gazed up at her expectantly.
“Could your Geno guy track someone down for me?” she asked.
“Sure, anyone. He’s a master.”
“Have him track down Gary Meunster.”
“Oh.” Evan’s brow clouded. “Is that a good idea, Jess?”
“I just want closure. I never got it, you know? Gary was more of a dad to me than that man ever was.” She waved her hand disdainfully at the computer. “The best revenge is doing well so I want to show him how great I am.”
“Should you really let someone like that back into your life?” Evan asked cautiously. “What if he tries to scam us?”
“Then let him. He will never be as wealthy or as happy as we are. Now I have to get to my hair appointment. I want to look my best for this gala.”
The gala was a splendid event. Countless donors turned up to pledge their support to the Gail Collins Children’s Foundation. Evan proudly showed off floor plans and blueprints for the complex they were building, and several certified child psychologists and educators got up to share details about Montessori-themed programs they had planned for the kids. The last speaker was Jessica. She dazzled in her dress and Evan gave her a discreet and playful smack on the ass as she took the podium.
“I want to think everyone for being here tonight,” Jessica beamed, her eyes sweeping over the crowd. They settled on Linda Davis, who was lounging at one of the tables with a gin martini. Linda nodded her head regally to acknowledge Jessica. When had she arrived?
Jessica shook her head to bring back her focus. “I am so pleased to see such a great turnout. That means that you all care about what I care about. I was never actually an orphan. But I know what it feels like to lose both of your parents. I know firsthand the pain, the confusion, and the terror. I know what it’s like to wonder where your next meal comes from, or where you will get school clothes. I know what it feels like to not be able to grieve the death of your own parents because you are too busy trying to survive. That is why it is my passion, as well as my husband’s, to create an environment where these children can stop worrying. They can be kids, without fearing starvation, or exploitation, or a hopeless future of doing things they don’t want to do. They can grieve their parents but they can also play and go to school and get tutoring. They can look forward to bright futures and have the chances that other children get to have. The purpose of my foundation is to stop poverty and injustice, and provide disadvantaged and orphaned children a home where they can flourish and grow.”
The room erupted into happy applause.
Just as Jessica thanked everyone, she realized that Linda was crossing the floor toward the podium. Her heart clenched. She still didn’t like that woman, even though she tried her best to be civil.
“I just want to make an announcement,” Linda declared as she politely booted Jessica out of the way. “I want to say that I am personally invested in this cause myself. I knew Jessica’s mother, before she succumbed to cancer. And I must say, she was the most dynamic, engaging individual. I was a bit envious of her!”
A small ripple of polite laughter crossed the audience. No one knew the true story.
“As a result of my personal history with Gail Collins, I am pleased to announce my decision to offer the Gail Collins Children’s Foundation a substantial donation.” From within her sequined dress coat, she produced a huge check. “I have made it out to you, Jessica, to do with what you will.”
Jessica nearly fainted when she saw that the check was made out for a million dollars.
“I wish you two the best with all of your ventures. Davis Enterprises is behind you one-hundred percent, and we would like to offer our services at no charge, wherever you may need them.” She beamed at Jessica graciously.
Jessica took the check with shaky hands. Evan ran onto the stage to hug his mother and kiss Jessica.
The gala concluded very satisfactorily, but Linda’s sort of apology was what made the night precious. Jessica and Evan felt giddy when they returned home to relieve the babysitter and put Gail to bed.
“I can’t believe your mother did that,” Jessica finally said.
“Honestly, I can’t either.”
“It really seemed that she had a change of heart.”
“Indeed.” Evan smiled peacefully as he stood up. “I was starting to wonder if she was capable of good. I'm glad to see that she is.”
Just then, his phone rang. Evan’s smile slipped. “It’s Geno,” he told Jessica. “Do you want to deal with this tonight?”
Jessica nodded as her adrenalin began flowing.
Evan answered the call, and jotted down the address and phone number that Geno provided. “He’s going under the name Tommy Silver now,” Evan told her as he handed her the note. “Are you going to contact him?”
Jessica stared at the note and the address in Boise, Idaho. What the hell was he doing in Boise, Idaho? “Maybe tomorrow,” she told him.
The next day, Evan went to the small offices he had set up for the foundation to go over some plans. They had a groundbreaking ceremony slated for the next day. It was early autumn and still pleasantly warm, so they were fairly certain the weather would hold out. As soon as he left and Jessica had secured Gail in her bouncy, she picked up the phone. Then she sat down on the couch and stared at her phone screen for a long time. It took a lot of courage for her to call Gary. She braced herself for him to be mean to her and reopen the wounds that she had so carefully buried under layers of hardness and steel.
“Hello?” Gary answered at the third ring. His voice sound raspy, as if he were an old man. Maybe that was his new persona or maybe his health was ailing.
Jessica started to speak, but only air came out. There was a huge lump in her throat.
“Hello?” his voice rang with impatience.
“Hi,” she finally managed. So simple, so flat. Just “hi.”
He was silent for a moment. But he didn’t hang up. “Jess?” he finally asked.
“Yep.”
“Oh. How nice to hear from you. Uh…”
“I’m not calling to get my money back so you can relax.”
“What money?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. We both know what you did to me. I was devastated, but I’m fine now. I got married and I have a little girl. We’re opening a foundation in my mother’s name for orphaned children.”
“Wow! I’m happy for you.” Gary sounded strange, like he was unsure of what to say.
“Yeah. And you? What are you doing in Boise?”
“Boise?” He sounded confused. “How did you find me, Jessica?”
“I have my ways.”
“Oh.” Obviously he was getting paranoid, wondering who else could find him if Jessica could. “I’m just surprised to hear from you.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised to hear from you. But here we are.”
“Yeah. Uh. What can I do for you?”
The coldness of his question stung Jessica. She started to harden herself, then she realized that this was no time to be hard. Gary needed to feel something, if he had any conscience at all. “Being a mom has made me realize a few things, Gary. Including how to love someone. How to love a child. I thought you loved me. I looked up to you like a dad.”
He was silent.
“I know you have kids. Don’t you love them?”
“Of course,” he answered. “Their bitch mother won’t let me–”
“Stop. I don’t want to hear about that. I know your story and I don’t buy it. You walked out on them, just like you walked out on me. Didn’t you? Didn’t you love me?”
He remained silent. Then he shuffled. “I need to go.”
“No. You’re going to stay on the line and tell me why you didn’t love me. You were the closest thing I had to a father. My own father walked out on me before I was born. I never met him and don’t need to. I know he’s just like you and I won’t be hurt again. For a year, I grieved you, Gary. I wondered why I wasn’t good enough and why you valued money more than me. But now that I have a man who truly loves me, I don’t need your love.”
“That’s good…I guess,” he stammered.
“It is. But I needed closure. I needed you to know how you made me feel. You showed me what fake love is like and I won’t accept it anymore. I don’t need your excuses or your lame protests. I just want to know if you ever felt bad for what you did to me?”
Gary was silent. Then he said, “Jess, I did a lot for you. It was simply time to move on. I knew if I stayed too long, I would be caught. I did what I had to do.”
Jessica swallowed. The tears were burning at the back of her nose. “So you didn’t feel bad? You never missed me?”
“Of course I did. I miss you still. You will always be my little girl. To me.”
“You just have no idea how much you hurt me, do you?”
“Hun, you clearly made it fine on your own. And part of that is thanks to me. I taught you the best. I taught you every trick and tip I knew.”
Jessica was silent for a moment as she reviewed their many scams together. Then she nodded and sniffled. “I agree. You got me through for a while. But it still hurt.”
“Well, I’m sorry.”
It was clear that he had no remorse. Life was all about survival for him. He didn’t know how to love.
“Well, just know that I loved you as a dad. Maybe part of me still does,” Jessica concluded. “But I wanted to find out if you had even one prick of conscience and clearly not. You have a good life, Gary.” After she hung up, she contacted the FBI. She knew they had him on file. They probably had her, too, but they wouldn’t be able to find her. She was cloaked in privacy and protected by Evan and his money. She reported Gary and his whereabouts and hung up. She hoped they got there before he fled. Maybe it was time for him to face repercussions for all of the people that he had hurt.
A few days later, she was watching the news with Evan. There was a report about how the FBI caught a well-known scammer in Montana. He had fled his rented trailer in Boise but they were hot on his trail. The FBI had been hunting him for fifteen years. He had stolen an estimated two-million-dollars during his run.
Jessica just laughed as they revealed his true name, which she had never known. Then she snuggled into Evan’s chest. Gail lay on her lap, suckling on a bottle. Life was good and her past was behind her. She had settled everything that had ever hurt her. Evan wrapped his arm around her to hold her close and she felt a wave of happiness relieve her worries and pain for good.