Surprise Valor

Chapter 2

I tried to rest on the flight to Maryland, but I could not get my brain to shut down long enough. My brain went through all the possible scenarios of what was waiting for me when I landed. It was all I could do not to hyperventilate as the wheels touched down. Thankfully I had already rented a car and only brought a carry-on suitcase so I would not have to wait for it in the baggage area. I was moving on autopilot and was soon plugging the address into the GPS in the car. Before I realized it, I had pulled into the parking lot of the building where I was supposed to meet Ms. Schmidt to finally find out what was going on. I took a deep breath and pulled on my training as a Marine to, as my grandpa used to say, "put my big boy pants on".

The closer I got to the building the more nervous I got. I hated not knowing what was happening but knew I would have my answers in just a bit. I walked through the door and went to the front desk where an older woman sat looking at the computer. I stood there for a bit waiting for her to acknowledge me, but it looked like I would have to get her attention.

"Hi, I'm here to see Ms. Schmidt; my name is Ken Lawson."

The woman smiled at me and said, "Have a seat and I will let her know you're here." The receptionist glanced back at her monitor, nodded, and clicked a few buttons. I knew there was no point for me to stay standing there, so I followed her advice and went to find a seat.

It seemed like forever before a woman came out and called my name. "Mr. Lawson?" I looked over from where I had been staring into space lost in my own world to see a woman in her 30s standing by an open door that led to the area behind the reception desk. "Can you follow me to my office?"

With not knowing what this was about I felt like I was going to the brig for something I had no knowledge of. She opened her office door and waited for me to enter before closing it.

"Please have a seat. I'm sure you are curious about why this had to be done in person."

"Well, considering this is Family Services I would assume it has to do with a child, and since you asked if I knew Jane Mason the child is hers. There is a question about who the father is. My relationship with her must have overlapped with someone else she was dating, and you want to know if I am the child's biological father. How close am I?"

"You're correct. Ms Mason was involved in an incident that has seen her convicted and put away for many years. With the severity of it, her parental rights to her twins have been terminated. When asked who their father was, she said it was either you or Mr. Granger. We reached out to you both. Unfortunately, Mr. Granger has been determined not to be the biological father. We are hoping that you are a match for the girls."

"Twins?" I couldn't believe what I had just heard. I suspected that the issue was a custody situation but was not prepared for this bombshell. It was almost enough to not register that Jane's parental rights had been terminated.

"Yes, Mr. Lawson, twin girls. Now, as I'm sure you're aware, there are protocols that we must adhere to."

"Yes, I'm aware."

Knock Knock

"Come in," Ms Schmidt called.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Ah, yes Jackson. Please swab Mr. Lawson's mouth and get that sample run immediately."

"Yes, ma'am."

I looked up and blankly stared at the guy standing next to me as he held out a swab. It took a second for me to realize he was waiting for me to open my mouth so he could collect the sample.

"Why don't I tell you about the girls while we're waiting for the results? I don't want to introduce you yet until we know for sure that you're their father." She seemed to hesitate with what she would say next. I could tell that whatever was wrong was weighing heavily on her and it worried me.

There are a multitude of things that could have happened to have Jane's parental rights terminated and none of them were good. Unfortunately, I was having a hard time reconciling any of those things with the woman I remembered.

"Mr. Lawson, I'm sure a lot is going through your head right now and I wish it was all good. Unfortunately, it's important to remember that the woman you remember is just that, a memory. What I'm about to say will shock you and may even horrify you. I'm not trying to scare you, but you need to be prepared if you are the father of those two little girls. They are going to need you as they heal and recover."

"Ms. Schmidt, I don't scare easily. I'm a Marine. Just tell me what I need to know."

"You may be a Marine and I'm sure you're used to combat. What you have seen in battle is one thing, but this is something that should have never happened."

I sat there looking at her waiting for her to tell me whatever it was that was so horrible. There was something about the look on her face that made my stomach clench.

"Mr. Lawson..."

"Please just call me Ken. I have a feeling that whatever you're about to tell me I'm not going to like."

"Alright, Ken. These two little girls are going to need stability and patience to be able to heal from what has happened. It may take them a while to be comfortable with you."

"Please just spit it out."

"Ken, if these are your children, are you planning to stay in the area?"

"Ms. Schmidt, I'm stationed in California. If they are my children, I will be taking them back to California with me."

"I want you to be prepared that they will require therapy to heal from everything that has happened.

"I want you to be prepared that they will require therapy to heal from everything that has happened. They need to be your number one priority."

"Any child needs to be their parent's number one priority. I have no problem with that."

"I'm glad to hear that." She grabbed the red folder that was sitting off to the side of her desk. From my time in the foster care system, a red folder was never a good thing to see on a Social Worker's desk. Those were reserved for the worst ones, not the children but the cases themselves.

"Now Ken, as I'm sure you're aware to terminate parental rights is not something that is done on a whim or without cause. I was called to Ms Mason's home two months ago by the police department. It appears there was a domestic dispute between her and her current boyfriend. By the time officers arrived on the scene, the boyfriend had been shot and Ms. Mason was sitting there holding the gun that later was proven to be the gun that shot the boyfriend."

"Well, if it was a domestic dispute that should have been self-defense."

"It very well could have been. Unfortunately, neighbors heard Jane yelling that she was going to kill him. We the officers went to clear the house they found the girls in the back room crying. Julie had dried blood on her face and bruises on her arms. Jessica also had bruises scattered all over her body. Both girls showed obvious signs of malnourishment."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This sounded nothing like the woman I remembered. It worried me that the warm, loving woman seemed to be no more. The Jane Mason I remembered had the patience of a saint. She would never starve a child either. I realized I needed to look at it as if I didn't know her because something had changed if what I was told happened and there was no reason to mislead me.

"Ms. Schmidt, that doesn't sound like the woman I remember, but I will concede that it's been a while since I've even spoken to Jane. It's going to take some time for me to reconcile the two different versions of the same woman."

"I understand Ken. I just wanted you to be aware of some of what those girls have been through and to prepare you in case the girls are hesitant with you."

"I appreciate that and understand where you are coming from. Do you know how long it will take to get those results back? I need to make some calls and get settled for the next several days."

"I've requested to rush it, but it could be a couple of days."

"OK, is there anything else that must be talked through today?"

"No, I think that's everything for the moment. We can't do much until we get the DNA results back. I will call you as soon as I get the results back."