Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 119935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
“Well, did they treat her badly?” She said they did… that it was so bad, she’d never come to this state for as long as she lived!
“It was a bad meeting. A very bad meeting. Your mother, though being a modern woman, really wanted to be accepted by my family. My father liked her, but that seemed to be about it. To have my father’s parents, and my entire mother’s side reject her was a big blow. I definitely can’t say that they rolled out the red carpet. It was an awkward initial assembly that snowballed into a disaster. Full of yelling and screaming, accusations and the like. My family was wrong.”
He blinked several times and ran his hand across his face. “They were disrespectful to her, and yes, Angelique was right. I should have defended her. Regardless of her differing opinions, she’d been invited. She was cordial to them, had brought gifts and really wanted their acceptance. Our relationship pretty much went downhill after that. We got married in the courthouse. After a few months, I brought up trying to have children. She wasn’t interested in having any, any time soon. She’d never told me that before, and like a fool, I’d never asked her. I just assumed we would. That was the final straw for me. I filed for divorce, and well,” he shrugged, “we went our separate ways.”
The room drew quiet for a while, and Kim glanced around, holding her cup of tea. Her eyes landed on the plaque with the military style stamp and badge.
“Were you in the Marines?”
“The Marines?” His gaze followed hers. He cracked a smile, then chuckled. “Oh, no. I’m a retired Section Chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigations.”
A heat wave pulsed through her body, and she set her teacup down, hoping they didn’t notice how her hands were shaking.
“Federal… Federal Bureau of Investigations?”
“Yes.” He smiled proudly.
“FBI?”
“Mmm hmm, that’s right.”
“My mother is facing felony charges, and I’m here talking to an FBI Agent… about my mother… I think I better go. Oh my God.” She reached for her purse, feeling like a damn fool.
“No, no, no, Kim.” The man burst out laughing, shaking his head. “You have nothing to worry about! First of all, your mother has legal counsel. Good legal counsel, I might add. Second, people are innocent until proven guilty, and third, you and I are not discussing her legal matters. You noticed I steered clear from that, and lastly, I’m retired. Yes, I took an oath and I take that seriously, but I asked you to dinner under good, honest pretenses. Not to try and hem your mother up in a bunch of legal minutiae, taking advantage of your vulnerability and need for answers.” He turned to Linda. “Honey, would you give Kim and me a second?”
“Oh, sure! Yes.” The woman got up from her seat and left the room, her chin held high, with her teacup and saucer in hand.
As soon as the coast was clear, Walt whipped around so fast, and had such a dark look in his eyes, Kim bristled and leaned back.
“Listen to me.” His eyes narrowed on her as he wiggled his finger. “Just let me talk with no interruptions. I need to get this out fast because it’s almost time to eat that damn baked rosemary chicken, asparagus and mashed potatoes that Linda insisted be prepared tonight, and that I detest—but I have to watch my cholesterol now, so she’s like a fuzzy-headed hawk, monitoring everything I put in my mouth! I gobble up candy bars only when she is fast asleep, and I’m locked somewhere safe. I chew fast, then discard the wrappers in old boxes.”
She couldn’t help but burst out laughing, even though the man appeared dead serious.
“Kim, I loved your mother more than words could ever express. I meant that when I said it to you earlier. You don’t meet a woman like Angelique and just forget about her. It’s impossible. I have never forgotten her. She was the most beautiful woman to me—not because she was literally the most beautiful, though she definitely was easy on the eyes, but more importantly, it was because of how she was on the inside, too. Fearless! That’s what she was.
“I fucked up. She fucked up. I could not be controlled; she could not be controlled. I was pretending to be a good son when she knew the real me. I was wild and an adrenaline junkie. Now, here I am. I have a beautiful home. I have a successful daughter who’s a dermatologist, and who lives in Utah with her dimwit husband who thinks mountain climbing is a career, and my amazing grandson who’s currently obsessed with racing video games. I live a nice, peaceful life with this woman—have been for over forty-two years—but Linda is naïve.” He hitched his thumb toward the kitchen. “She doesn’t understand the real world because I tried to not bring that shit home to her the entire time I was an agent. There are some things that I’ve seen over the years that would give most people nightmares for the rest of their days. Her parents sheltered her, and all she has to worry about is Bible study and the Christmas cookie bake-off.