EJ

Chapter 12: Dad's story

The next day at home, after we had eaten our breakfast, Dad said to me, "What would you like to do today, love? I've taken a couple of days off."

"I'd like you to tell me more about Mum's leaving."

He gave me a rather uncertain look.

I went on, "I've been thinking about it a lot, Dad. There has to be more. I've never seen you in such a . . . what would you call it, cold fury before."

He kept looking at me, "I don't want to hate anymore, Jodie. I just want us to move on."

What?

Then he sighed and his face relaxed, "But you're right, of course."

"Okay then, the full story. Janet and I realised early in our marriage that we weren't really suited to each other, we had different outlooks, different needs. We'd rather rashly gone ahead and gotten married without really understanding each other, and if it hadn't for been for you, we would have split up pretty quickly."

"Oh, so I'm to blame, am I?" I put in with a smile.

"Yes you are, but you were worth it."

"Anyway," Dad continued, "Janet and I were able to make reasonable domestic arrangements where we were able to live together without too much strife. So we sort of drifted into an 'open marriage' type of situation where outside sexual relations were unacknowledged, but acceptable. Of course, discretion was expected."

"She was much more sexually active than I was. I'm not making excuses for myself here, but I was more work focussed, whereas Janet was much more socially involved and, an outgoing and very attractive woman. More opportunities, I guess."

I smiled to myself and thought, "But married to a very handsome man."

"So things continued along that way until about two years before she left. Then I discovered she was using drugs, cocaine. Stupid, but her choice. What I couldn't come at, was her bringing the stuff home where we had a teenage son who was just starting to enter the adolescent crazy stage."

I pulled a face, "Sorry, Dad. I think my brain went awol for a year or so there."

"That could explain it."

Then he held my eyes with a very level look. "Did you ever see Mum's silver compact?"

"The one with the red inlays, sure."

My father's stare became harder, "Did you ever touch it?"

I understood. That compact contained Mum's cocaine and I'd had plenty of chances to touch it. But I hadn't.

"No, Dad. I didn't, I swear. I just thought it was a compact; of no interest to me."

He started shaking his head, "I should have moved earlier, I should have."

What did he mean?

"I eventually told Janet that if she bought drugs into the house again, I would chuck her out. She complied and I didn't see any signs of drugs for a few months. What I didn't realise was that my ultimatum had started her scheming; all driven and assisted, I suspect, by that arsehole she ran off with."

Dad drew in a big breath, "Jodie, when she left she took everything she could lay her hands on and more. She cleaned out our bank accounts, she took out personal loans in joint names, she mortgaged our house; she forged my signature wherever she had to. But the worse thing she did was to take out a loan against my company by forging the signatures of myself and my partners."

"Love, personally we were bankrupt, finished."

"Oh, Dad!" I cried, "I didn't know. I didn't understand."

"If Peter and Bernie, my partners, hadn't stood by me, I don't know where we would be now."

"They're your best friends, Dad."

"Always have been, always will be."

I came over and sat down next to Dad and gave him a hug.

"Jodie, you cannot believe how hard I've worked this past year."

"I know you were away a lot."

"I was. Peter and Bernie insisted that I be given a bonus for the extra work I've put in. The bonus just happened to match the advance they'd given me twelve months before, and they had already insisted that the fraudulent loan against the company be written off."

"Are you saying we're okay now, Dad."

"We are, love. The only debt we have left is the mortgage on the house and I've got that under control. Thanks to the generosity of my two best mates, we're fine."

"I'll give them a hug next time I see them."

"They deserve it from the prettiest girl I know." He was quiet for a few seconds then asked, "Jodie, do you miss Mum?"

"Sad to say, Dad, I don't. She and I were never close - I was always much closer to you - and these last few years . . ."

"Sweetheart, I think Janet was having far more serious issues with drugs than I realised. I don't think she would have indulged in those fraudulent activities if she hadn't been pushed into it by that scumbag lover of hers."