And I Trusted You (16 page)

“No, that’s not fair. I want her to know I’m her father. She has a right to know who I am. I’m not some friend of the family. I’m gonna have to talk to Adrianne about this.”

“No you don’t! Trust me, you don’t need to say anything to her about it. She just wants you to come by and see the child, that’s all. She’s being taken care of by her stepfather.” Pam responded.

“I won’t allow that. I can’t.”

“Listen Eric. Stop being an idiot! The child isn’t yo…” Pam started.

“What?” Eric said. “Adrianne said the child is mine. What are you talking about? Of course she’s mine. Why would she lie about something like that?

“Sorry, my baby’s crying. I’ve gotta go.” Pam said and signed off. Eric saved the messages and read them again. Pam didn’t seem to be excited about his wanting to take care of his responsibility. “Maybe Teresa is right. Maybe Adrianne is playing games.”

He knew better than to climb into bed with her, so he slept on the sofa in the den. When she woke up the next morning, he had already left for work. She waited until the kids had left for school then I drove to the vital statistics office. Teresa want to get a copy of Amanda’s birth certificate. Amazingly she was looking forward to discovering the truth, even if the child was his. Maybe it would give Eric a new sense of responsibility where family was concerned. Lord knows, he could use some of  that. These late nights out and the other signs all point to him having another affair. “I can’t go through this again with him. It’s not worth it to my heart and definitely not my children. He can either shape up or ship out.”

She walked into the office and took an application to complete. Eric had left a note with Amanda’s birthday, hospital and Adrianne’s full name. Teresa completed the application and sat back to be called. In a few moments the clerk asked her to come forward. She fully expected to pay the money and receive a copy of the birth certificate. However the clerk said, “I’m sorry Mrs. Huntington, I can’t give you a copy of this document.”

“What? Why not? Do I have some information completed incorrectly?” She asked with minor concern.

“No ma’am.”

“Oh, because I’m not the mother. Okay. My husband is the father of the child and he needs a copy of the certificate.” She explained.

“Mrs. Huntington, we have thoroughly checked our records and your husband’s name only comes up for two children. Those certificates also have your name on them.”

“What are you saying his name isn’t on the certificate? So how can I get a copy of it?” She inquired.

“You’ll have to get it from the mother or the father listed on the certificate.”

“I beg your pardon? You mean there is a father’s name listed on the certificate but it’s not Eric Huntington?” Teresa interrupted.

“Yes and for that reason we cannot release a copy to you. This is the certificate done at the hospital so it was right after the baby was born. I’m sorry. Please have a good day.” She said in dismissal and slid the glass shut.

She slowly walked out of the office in a mental fog. Something was not right. She decided to do a little more checking. Teresa went straight to City Hall. She searched public records and found a divorce decree between Adrianne and Vincent Cunningham. She also found custody of Amanda given to Adrianne. She was the only child produced from the union of the two. No wonder she didn’t wanna have a paternity test or give up the birth certificate. The child isn’t Eric’s. She made copies of the necessary documents and returned home.

The rest of her day was uneventful. She called their attorney to notify him of the new developments. He advised her to keep the documents for future use. Teresa painstakingly wrote a nice letter to Adrianne concerning the events surrounding her husband. It helped her think clearly. Eric came home from work early.

“Teresa, please sit down. I need to talk with you about this mess with Adrianne.” He said patting the sofa. “Last night before I went to bed, I checked my email. Adrianne’s sister, Pam sent me an IM. I thought I might be able to get her to talk Adrianne into giving us a copy of Amanda’s birth certificate. But she was acting funny. She told me not to worry about that stuff. I explained we wanted to make sure the child gets everything she’s entitled to. She stressed to me my only concern should be spending time with the child and if Adrianne needed me, she’d let me know. She said she’s being taken care of by her stepfather and that’s good. The child doesn’t know she has a different father.

I got upset. I don’t think it’s fair to mislead a child that way. She has a right to know who her biological father is and have a relationship with him. I shouldn’t be some friend of the family. I’m her father. So I pressed Pam for information and I pressed her about talking to Adrianne. She caved in and said the child wasn’t mine. Teresa, what if you’re right? I saved the messages for you to read. I want to get your opinion on the conversation and what we should do next. I’ll go get it.” He said rising.

“Eric” She said. “I also have some information about Amanda. While you go get yours, I’ll get mine.” She called over her shoulder as she went to her desk. They meet back on the sofa. Teresa read his printout first then told him about what happened at the vital statistics office. He looked at her in surprise. Then she showed him a copy of the divorce decree. She had never seen a reaction like this from him. He stood up and began pacing the floor clinching his fist. He repeatedly looked at all of the documents mumbling curse words. She heard Adrianne’s name a few times. Then he sat down beside her.

“Teresa, I’m sorry. I’ve made a mess of things. You have been great through all of this. Most women would be filing for divorce. They wouldn’t bother to help me deal with this. I know I messed up. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to make it up to you. But I’m gonna try. I love you so much and I want you in my life always. I should have listened to you years ago. I see that you were right then and you’re right now. Damn, I feel so stupid.

So, how are we gonna handle this? There must be some way to make her pay for this.” He questioned.

“I talked to Scott, our attorney and he said if you haven’t given her any money and she’s not telling everyone the child is yours, we just have to wait and see what happens. After I talked to him, I sat down and wrote her a nice letter. You know how writing clears my head. Anyway, here’s a copy of the letter. I was going to have you mail it to her. It’s from both of us. Read it and tell me what you think.” Eric sat there reading the letter and a slow grin spread across his face.

“I think you’ve addressed everything. I like the mention of the attorney. But the “thank you” to Pam is the best touch. You make it clear if she’s not willing to have a paternity test done and pay half of it, that she can’t have any contact with either of us. And any contact will be considered harassment and handled accordingly. I agree with you. I never should have had conversations with her online or otherwise. I’m sure that’s when she got this idea. I can’t believe she’s so devious. I was so stupid to fall for this. But thank goodness you saw through all of it.” Eric said giving me a big hug.

Eric held on to Teresa so tight that it hurt. But it also felt good. She was worried about him wanting to leave her and going to start a relationship with Adrianne. That would have killed her. She knew that years earlier that Adrianne was a threat, not because of beauty or brains, but because of evilness. This whole situation was proof that she was right. She also realized that this did not put an end to things. She knew that once the child was an adult and started asking questions based on things her mother said, that this issue would come up again. The good thing would be that she and Eric could stand united on the issue. That is if they were still together. If he kept up his recent patterns, they wouldn’t be and she didn’t care what happened as long as her children were taken care of. Maybe one day he would learn.

They talked for a long time and decided if the child was his, they would file for full custody and if it wasn’t, they would file a lawsuit against Adrianne. Time passed and things seemed to be moving along with no worries. Ironically, the situation with Adrianne helped make the marriage stronger. Then one day, Eric got a call from Adrianne.

“Hi. I just wanted to say that I didn’t want a paternity test. I know who the father of Amanda is. I got that letter a few months ago as well. You wife has a lot of hatred for me and I don’t know if I can have Amanda around that kind of negative emotion.”

“Well, that’s understandable. Did you decide to get the other information requested. My attorney is still waiting. In fact, he called yesterday about the changes to the will and wanted to know when he can complete them. What should I tell him? We are only waiting on info from you.” Eric informed her.

“To be honest, I don’t care about Amanda being in the will. I just want to make sure she is comfortable around you. Maybe we can meet at a park or something. You don’t have to come here to see her. Teresa probably won’t let you anyway.”

“Teresa understands more than you think. Yes, let’s meet at a park. Name the time and place and I’ll be there.” Eric said with confidence.

“I was hoping that since today is Thursday, that we might be able to do something this Saturday. The weather is supposed to be nice.” Adrianne said.

“Okay. I can do that. Text me with the time and let me know where you will be at the park.” He assured her.

When Eric ended the call, Teresa looked at him and smiled. “We got her. She is still playing the role. I guess she thinks I’m not gonna say anything else about the birth certificate.” Eric said with a grin.

“We can record conversations on Saturday, if need be. I hope you know that I will be at the park, too.” Teresa reminded him. “I will be right there beside you since she is such a snake in the grass.”

“I know you will be there, I want you there which is why I said Saturday would work. I know you are usually free on that day, plus our kids could also play at the park.” Eric said as he grabbed Teresa and hugged her.

*******************

“Finally Saturday came. Eric and Teresa were concerned since there was no text message about meeting Adrianne at the park. Once they had left the house, the text message came through. Adrianne wanted to meet at the park in an hour. Eric responded that he really needed more notice than that, but he would try to work it out. He told her to go ahead to the park and if he couldn’t make it that he would text her back. Otherwise he would be there.

Adrianne arrived at the park wearing a park of tight jeans, some casual shoes and a nice blouse. Teresa spotted her form across the parking lot with no trouble.

“How do you know that’s Adrianne?”

“Because that is the kind of outfit a woman like her would wear to a part to impress a man like you. If she was only interested in Amanda seeing and spending time with you, she would not have “dressed up”. Teresa replied.

“Oh. Okay. Well let’s get this over with. Eric drove across the parking lot after letting Teresa out. She walked over from the other side. When Eric got out of the car Adrianne ran over and gave him a big hug. Eric pushed her off of him and asked where Amanda was since he did not see her among the children playing.

“She got sick on her stomach so I had to take her by my sister’s house. I didn’t want her to come out here and get worse or make the other children sick.”

“Then why didn’t you text me and tell me that. You had me come all the way over here for nothing.” He said angrily.

“Not for nothing. I wanted to see you. The only time I get to see you is when you come to see Amanda. I thought it would be nice if we picked up where we left off years ago.” Adrianne said as she walked closer to him.

Eric didn’t say anything because he saw Teresa coming up behind her. Adrianne was so focused on what she was trying to do that she didn’t hear Teresa and she didn’t turn around when her name was called.

“Adrianne! Adrianne!” Yelled Teresa and touched her on the arm.

“You wanted to see me? Here I am. So all this time, you have been trying to get next to Eric again? Humph. Let’s ask him what he wants to do. Eric who do you want? No, I’m sorry. What do you want to do?” Teresa said and stood back to watch Adrianne’s expression. She had not planned to do this. She had planned to be a nice quiet person, but Adrianne brought out the worst in her.

Eric looked confused for a minute. Then his facial expression and body language changed. He looked at both women and said, “It’s an easy choice.”