What Now

27. This Just In

I was flipping through channels when I heard a knock at my hotel room door. I threw the remote on the bed, got to my feet, and went to look through the peep-hole. Just in case. After I taught that kid a lesson with harassing my daughter, I wanted to lay low for a few days. Any plan I had to surprise her was out of the window now. If she didn't know I was here, she was going to find out soon. 

"Delivery!" A man yelled from the other side of the door.

After verifying through the peephole that it was indeed the food I ordered, I open the door and held out some cash to the driver. "32.81, right?" I asked.

"Yes, sir." When the driver reached for the two twenties I was holding, I could tell he was curious about my bruised knuckles.

I guess I could have been a little smarter when I taught Ryan Sweeney a lesson. Having bruises on my hands was not going to help me. If I had let my brain guide me, and not my rage, I could have still easily done what I had planned without the physical proof on my hands.

"Keep the change," I said firmly. I was hoping he would get the point and stop staring. I would hate to have to beat up someone else. Especially in the middle of a hotel hallway where there was a maid three doors down who would witness it.

Deciding to be smart, the young driver quickly thanked me and handed me the food before disappearing from my sight. Finally satisfied that so didn't have to bloody someone else, I went to the small table in my hotel room and sat down to eat my dinner.

I had to admit, I was definitely enjoying real food. The sad excuse for meals that they served us in prison was barely even edible. One of the first things I did when I got out was go to an all-you-can-eat buffet. It's an odd feeling when you think about the things that you've taken for granted.

Food, the privacy of taking a shower by yourself...sex. Sex was definitely something I have not had since I was arrested. I actually surprised myself that that wasn't one of the first things I did when I got released from prison. Perhaps it was the idea of seeing Maria again. Maybe if we could sit down and talk, we would have a possibility of a future together.

She was sixteen when I first met her outside of an ice cream store in Seattle. Unfortunately, I was twenty-seven years old at the time and didn't care. I didn't seem to care about anything when it came to her. She believed me when I told her that I was younger and we started sneaking around, going on dates. I think she knew the truth of my age, but was naive and in love with the idea of love.

I was also married to Tahlia during that time, and we were raising Michael and Alex. My affair with Maria lasted six months before my wife found out. Tahlia threatened to call Maria's parents and report me to the police if I didn't end it. I asked Maria to meet me later that day and, even though it hurt like hell, I told her it was over.

Things at home started to settle down after that. At least for my wife it did. I started getting bitter and angry that I couldn't be with Maria, the woman I truly loved. About eight months after the breakup, Maria asked me to meet her in secret.

When I agreed, I was excited and was hoping that she wanted to rekindle what we had. What I was not expecting was for her to be holding a swaddling baby in her arms. I was furious when Maria explained that Lydia was mine.

I was mad that she hid something like that from me for nine months. It turned out that she knew she was pregnant before I even ended it between us. She also explained that her parents were forcing her to give the baby up for adoption. Maria didn't want Lydia to go to strangers, so she asked me to take her.

To Maria, I was Jason Matthews. Father-of-two, and all-around good guy. She had no idea who I really was. If she did, she would have done everything in her power to keep Lydia from me.