When Sophia had finished piling the last of her belongings into the packed car, she raced back to the doorstep and threw her arms around Fred’s neck. “I’ll miss you, Daddy,” she sobbed.
“I’ll miss you, too, sweetheart,” he responded, clutching her tightly around the waist. She was finally leaving the nest and heading off to college. He knew the day would come.
Sophia then turned to Ruth and hugged her too. “Bye, Mom.” She pecked her mother on the cheek.
“Remember to call when you get there,” Ruth called after her as she raced to the car.
“I will, Mom!” Sophia called back over her shoulder. She waved as she slipped into the driver seat, before slamming the door and backing down the driveway.
After Fred had watched her disappear around the corner, Ruth turned solemnly to him, and said, “She’s not yours.”
“What?” he muttered, furrowing his eyebrows as he turned sharply to his wife.
“Sophia – she’s not your daughter.”
“What do you mean, she’s not my daughter?” croaked Fred.
“Exactly that. You’re not her father.”
Fred’s jaw dropped. “Well, who the hell is?” he bellowed.
“Remember Luke McMasters?”
“Yeah,” Fred grunted, shuddering. He hated Luke, and had always considered him a douchebag. Perhaps the biggest he’d ever met.
“Well, he’s her father.”
Fred shook lividly and his fists tightened until they turned white at the knuckles. “That dirty ... rotten ... b*stard!”
Ruth bit her lip.
After an awkward silence, Fred added, “Does ... she ... know?”
Ruth shook her head.
“And you’re telling me now! Why now?” snarled Fred, taking a step away from his wife.
Ruth looked at the ground and kicked at her feet.
“Oh, let me guess,” Fred began hoarsely. “You needed someone to provide for you ... and her ... because, oh, we all know Luke isn’t the type of guy to stick around. Ruth, you deceived me, and you used me! Dammit, woman!” He glared at her.
“What would you expect me to do?” replied Ruth. “Imagine yourself in my position, Fred. You got pregnant by a man who can’t commit to tying his own shoelaces, for God’s sake. And then you were around, practically begging me to marry you. It’s tough for a mother to raise a kid by herself, you know that? Just look at Nancy. I don’t know how she does it. What would you have done?”
“I’ll tell you what I would have done,” Fred roared. “I wouldn’t have slept with some no-good scoundrel! And that’s for starters. Besides, your sister gets along just fine. But Luke ... dammit, woman!”
“He was charming,” Ruth protested. “You have no idea what it’s like for a woman to be around a charming man like him, do you? How could you?”
Fred’s chest seized up. He felt like his heart might explode. “Ooooh, so I’m not charming – is that what you’re saying?”
Ruth shook her head. “But Fred ... you aren’t charming.”
“Oh, so this is all my fault now, is it?” Fred roared, thumping himself in the chest. “You cheating on me and getting pregnant, then deceiving me into believing she was my kid ... that’s my fault? All because you think I’m not charming?” He waved a stubby finger in her face.
“Honey, calm down.”
“Don’t honey me, dammit!” resounded Fred, then he took several massive strides forward and began pacing back and forth, stroking his jaw aggressively.
“What are you thinking?” Ruth asked at last.
Fred suddenly planted his feet firmly on the ground and glared at her. “I had an affair, Ruth. Three years ago, I slept with another woman.”
“You did what!?” Ruth shrieked, throwing up her hands.
“You heard me ... I slept with another woman, dammit.”
“How could you do that to me?” Ruth cried, her eyes welling up.
“Look who’s talking ... Mrs. Perfect over there,” stated Fred. “You were so caught up writing your novel. And well, I found myself alone quite a bit. She kept popping up in my life, and kept making passes at me. It had been awhile since I’d felt that way ... like I was desirable to a woman. So it just happened.”
“Who was she?” Ruth demanded at once.
Fred broke his gaze and started pacing back and forth again, shaking his head and muttering to himself. This was turning into one screwed up day.
“Fred! Who was she?”
“You don’t want to know,” Fred muttered, not taking his gaze off the ground as he continued to pace. Sweat was now dripping down his temples, and he felt a mixture of faintness and agitation.
“Tell me, Fred. Who was she?”
But still Fred said nothing.
“Goddammit, Fred! I asked you a question!” She stepped forward.
“YOUR SISTER!” Fred finally exploded, wheeling around on his toes to face her. “It was your sister, okay? I slept with Nancy!”
Ruth’s eyes began to water, then a tear slid down the side of her cheek. “How – could – you?” she wailed. Then she buried her face in her hands and darted into the house, slamming the door behind her.
Fred spun around and kicked a stone, sending it sailing across the street. That’s when he noticed a head quickly disappear behind a curtain in the neighbor’s window across the street. But before he could react, he heard the door shoot open behind him.
“Three years ago!” Ruth screamed from the porch, her arms flailing above her head in disarray. “Three years ago? Cassie was born two years and three months ago!”
“So what?”
Ruth straightened up. “So what? So ... Nancy told me she was seeing someone special right before she got pregnant, but she refused to tell me who he was.” Her hands shot to her hips. “That would have been you, right?”
Fred’s lips tightened. “I-I-I suppose so,” he stammered. “So what are you saying – Cassie’s my daughter?”
“Oh, I think you know perfectly well what I’m saying, you pr*ck!” And she slammed the door again, this time much harder, causing the shutters to shake on the front of the house.
Fred heaved a sigh, then noticed a car had turned onto their driveway. He recognized Nancy in the driver seat instantly. A small head bobbed up and down in the backseat.
He raced up to the open rear window. “Hi Cassie!”
---
