The Cries of the Butterfly - A LOVE STORY (73 page)

The script basically played along those lines. There were taunts and ridicule and teasing—some of it furtive, and self-righteous articulation by smug proprietors on why she could not be employed at such a respectable establishment. Finally, around eight pm, she had returned to Lianne’s, picked up her daughter and returned home.

Now, with her daughter fast asleep in the bedroom, Savannah labored to her feet from the settee, ready to knock off. Tomorrow would be another day. As she freshened up in the washroom, she wondered what the Butchers were getting out of all this. Art was as much Robin’s father as Savannah was Philippa’s mother. There would be DNA paternity testing and he would be caught out as sure as morning would come the next day.
So what is the purpose of all this?
Or was there something more sinister in it all? Surely a man like Art Butcher, one of the most important people in the nation, wouldn’t cast a dice that could so easily wipe him out in one stroke unless…unless he had something up his sleeve. Something major. Something very potent. Savannah felt a chill run up her back. And then the doorbell rang.

“President Butcher!”

“I know I am always visiting at outrageous hours. But it is the only time I can call without being tracked.”

She moved aside and he moved in.

He settled on a settee and she sat opposite him.
What does he want now?
Then she noted the little wound on his cheek and she flushed. Was he here to tell her he was pressing charges? But why tell? Or were the police already on the way and he wanted the satisfaction of witnessing her arrest? But then why had he waited five days?

“I understand you have received a court summons,” he said, in his typical calm manner.

Her face hardened and she nodded curtly.

He came straight to the point. “I have come to offer you my help. Lawyers, financial support…whatever else, I shall be only too glad to help you out.”

Her eyes narrowed. He inhaled.

“My son, Art, is wrong. He has always been wrong about this, among many other things. He has no business trying to separate you from Robin, even though he may be the father. I am…”

“He is
not
the father!” she snapped.

Grant regarded her. “Do you remember the father then?”

“No. But I do know Art Butcher is
not
the father of my daughter. He is not the type of man I could have fallen in love with, no matter what.”

Grant nodded. “So then, the paternity tests shall expose his lies. But in the meanwhile, you will have to go to court and let me tell you, when you are facing someone as powerful, influential and wealthy as Art, it can be an intimidating and tormenting experience. In other words, it can be a nightmare of unlimited proportions. I do not want you to undergo this ordeal alone.”

Savannah didn’t say anything.

“I can assign you lawyers who would match any lawyer Art would bring and trust me he would have a battery of the best legal brains money can buy. Moreover, these lawyers would cost the earth and can ruin you financially. So let me help.”

What’s in it for you?
Savannah thought.
Why would you do this for me, after everything that’s happened between us? What’s the catch, Mr. President?

“I don’t know,” she said uncertainly.

He gave a little smile. “I have no motives to this, Savannah. I am doing this to right a definite wrong that my son is committing. Nothing else besides. Can you understand that?”

Can I?
Still, she kept quiet…couldn’t think of anything appropriate to say. All this was so out of the blue, she didn’t know what to make of it.

“Accept my offer, Savannah. I tell you, you
shall
need someone by your side.” His face was open, guileless.

She looked at the dent on his cheek again and she swallowed.

“Let me tell you something else. This is a very personal, an intimate family matter, and ideally I should not be speaking to you about it, but yet, today, I shall, for that is the only way you can appropriately understand where I am coming from,” Grant said. Then he told her what Rochelle had told Wolf about Grant’s truth vis-à-vis Art. He concluded, “For some reason I cannot fathom, I have always looked upon you as a member of the family from the first time I met you, a daughter, and but for that brief initial period of shock, my feelings have not changed. I still regard you as very much my family and still want Wolf to marry you. I want the three of you to be happy together.”

She felt a little squeeze in her chest. Her heart filled. He observed her for an instant, then went over and wound an arm around her shoulder. After a while, she leaned on him.

“I’m so sorry! I just couldn’t contain myself the other day. I…”

“Hey, shhh, shhh! You need to apologize for nothing,” he said. “I completely appreciate your instincts. You are a mother and I am proud of you. Anything less and I would have been disappointed.” He lightly touched his injured cheek and smiled. “Robin could not have a better protector than you.” He stood up. “Tomorrow you shall be visited by a fellow named Donal Owen. He is one of the best lawyers in the world and I am not exaggerating. You leave everything to him. Of course, need I say, you bear no financial burden at all. That shall be taken care of.”

She jumped to her feet and gave him a tight hug.

“Thank you. Thank you so very much!” she exclaimed. Then she exhaled. “But I cannot accept, Uncle Grant. I must do this on my own.”

“I value your pride, Savannah. But you need to be practical. When you are facing someone like Art…”

“But he is no God! And there is something called the
truth.
I truly appreciate your kindness, but let me do this my way.” She felt a sudden surge of optimism and strength. She stood straight.

“Now I think you are being too proud for your own good,” he laughed.

“I have nothing to be proud of. Perhaps one day, but not yet,” she said.

Suddenly, the blues that had enveloped her the last many days dissipated. She was now determined more than ever to take charge of her and her daughter’s life-map and give it a fresh course.
You don’t realize what your visit has done for me, Uncle Grant. Thank you so very much.
But she didn’t say it.

.

S
he continued hunting for a job, but without any luck. She could’ve asked the President for one and he would have immediately found her something, perhaps even in his vast office. But as he had said, she was too proud for her own good. Or perhaps it was the fillip that Grant Butcher’s visit had endowed her with. She truly wanted to do it all on her own.

The evening after Grant’s visit, June, Friday 13th, she finally called Wolf.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hello,” he answered, tepidly.

“How are you doing?”

“Okay.”

She felt awkward, as if she was talking to a stranger.

“I…I called to apologize for the incident with Uncle Grant. I apologized to him the other day and I want to apologize to you too. I was very wrong…so wrong. I’m truly, truly sorry.”

“Alright.”

“You forgive me then? I know this is not really appropriate, this way on the phone. When can I see you?”

“I’m busy right now.”

“Okay, then sometime tomorrow?”

He was quiet for a second. “I’m going to be occupied for a while.”

She
was quiet for a second now. She understood. “Alright, I understand.”

“Anything else?”

“I guess not.”

“Good night then.”

“Night.”

As she cut the line, she sighed. Yes, she understood…oh, all too well.

.

W
here do you go to find a lawyer? How do you find one? And how do you know if s/he is any good? In New Halcyon, lawyers, like doctors, weren’t allowed to proposition. She could of course ask Uncle Grant, but she knew what he would say, and she didn’t want it that way. She finally called Maddy and got her after three tries.

“Well, I’ll have to see. Why don’t I get back to you?” Maddy said. Her tone was as Wolf’s had been—cold and impersonal, and Savannah smiled wryly. No one wanted to associate with her anymore…beside Grant.

But Maddy did get back to her, although a day later.

“I think I may have found you a good lawyer,” she said, and Savannah realized the frost of the other day was gone.

Good
lawyer. Her heart cramped a little.
Can I afford him?

“Yes?” she said.

“You’ve met him,” Maddy said. “Keith McKenzie.”

“He’s Wolf’s lawyer,” she said, alarmed.

“Wolf is only one of his clients and a rather infrequent one. And McKenzie does good work.”

“I see.”

“Talk to him,” Maddy added. “I’ve already spoken to him.”

“You did?”

“Yes. Want his number?”

Savannah hesitated, then snatched a pen.

Three minutes later, she was on the line to McKenzie and was immediately defensive.

“Look, Mr. McKenzie, I’ll be forthright. I’m aware you are a high-end attorney and I may not be able to afford your fees, so perhaps…”

“I’m willing to accept this case pro bono,” Keith McKenzie said simply.

She was speechless.

“Ms. Burns?”

“Y…yes…”

“I shall be equally forthright with you. I’m not doing you any special favors with this offer. This case shall be great publicity for me given the high-profile nature of the whole affair. No amount of money in this whole cursed world can beat that.” He paused for an instant. “So shall we meet?”

“Y…yes…”

She shut her eyes, raised her face, opened her mouth and gulped a huge quantity of air.
Thank you! Thank you so much, Lord Jesus, oh thank you!

At that point, she had no way of knowing that Keith McKenzie didn’t really need the publicity as he’d said…and that he never accepted pro bono cases no matter what; that he was the ultimate mercenary lawyer.

***

Steered
by the hugely smiling maître d’hôtel, the honored guests settled down in a special reserved corner of the ‘Spanish Fly’, a restaurant in Hotel New Halcyon Grand. The lights were mellow, the music genteel, the temper restful, and the time eight-forty-two pm on this Sunday, June 15th.

After they were left alone, Art Butcher smiled. “So you had something very important to say to me.”

For a second, Wolf’s mind groped as it sought proper formulation of his thoughts.

“Shall we order some wine first?” Art nudged gently.

“I no longer have alcohol,” Wolf pointed out.

“Oh. … Then some soft drink perhaps?” Then he added, “After all, you’re paying the check.”

Wolf looked at Art. There was an impish glint in his brother’s eyes, and that immediately cleared the muddle inside Wolf. He smiled back.

“About the other night…I’m really sorry,” he said, shamefacedly.

“Don’t even mention it. It never happened,” Art said shaking his head firmly.

“But it did! It was so evil of me and I’m truly ashamed I…”

Art made as if to get to his feet. “If this is why you invited me to dinner, then I don’t want any of it. I think we must return home.”

Wolf thrust his hand out. “Please!”

Art gave him a cold stare, then sat down again. He beckoned the maître d’hôtel.

“Your finest champagne, please. Chilled. And…” he turned to Wolf.

“Lime juice, please,” Wolf said to the maître d’hôtel.

After the man had left, Art said, “You still do not understand the true significance of
family
, do you? Family does not mean just individuals who are together as an accident of birth. There’s much, much more to it. A family is like a human body. Different components make up this body—the arms, the legs, nose, eyes, ears, mouth, different internal organs… All of dissimilar sizes and shapes and properties, even functions. And yet, all breathe the same air, all are nourished by the same blood. A body of diverse cogs that nonetheless function in perfect harmony for the larger good. Different parts with one soul, if I may put it that way.” He glanced around for a second. “I do not want to lecture you, Wolf, all I’ll say is that in a true family a brother should not have to be shameful for some little act that he may have committed in the heat of the moment. After all, what use is an older brother if he does not have the heart to understand and accept a little bro who has briefly lost his way?”

Wolf gulped.
Shit, don’t let me cry in public.
He inhaled deeply.

“There’s another thing I want to say,” he said.

Art reached across the table and clasped Wolf’s right hand. “Anything,” he said. “I’m there for you.”

“Why don’t you drop the petition you’ve filed in court?” Wolf said.

“I would if I could. But I can’t. For then it shall go against all the principles that I stand for and have always stood for. This petition isn’t about me, it is about the general good.”