A Positive

"Wow this must be one heck of cake you need" I joked. "You sure know how to put pressure on a guy to perform."

Amber never cracked a smile. "Nick I may have come here under false pretenses. I need you to save a life."

"I don't understand Amber. I decorate cakes here, not CPR."

Amber pulled a tissue from her purse. "This is going all wrong." Amber wiped her eyes. "Let me put all the cards on the table. I am the one who sent that lawyer about your wife's son Tony. I am Jon Doe's wife, married to the YMCA Construction Worker costumed guy you saw in that old video. His real name is Frank, and I believe Frank may be Tony's father."

I was stunned for a moment then looked down at the photo of Amber and her family on the desk. Now I knew why Frank's picture looked familiar. I have last seen a younger version of that face of Frank, aka YMCA Village People Construction Worker fucking my then bride-to-be Gina in living color on the TV display at my attorney Bruce's conference room a few days ago!

I backed my chair away from Amber without even realizing it. "I think it best you leave now Amber. Talk should be through our attorneys."

"Nick please just give me a few minutes, it is a matter of life and death." Amber pleaded. "Don't do it for me, do it for my daughter."

"If you do not leave now I am calling the police to remove you." I picked up the phone on my desk.

Amber did not move. "It will take the police 10 minutes to get here Nick. I can't leave until you let me talk. I am begging you!"

I punched in a series of numbers on the phone. Naturally I did not reach my caller --but got Bruce's voice mail. I left him a message to call me immediately. I turned toward Amber.

"I am not saying anything without my lawyer Bruce present."

Amber breathed a sigh of relief. "You do not need to say anything. Just let me speak-please."

I pulled a wind up timer from my desk drawer and spun the dial. "You have 10 minutes." I placed the timer in front of her.

Amber took a deep breath before she began. "I first want to say I never wanted it to be like this. When I employed that law firm I was told the matter would be handled with the utmost discretion and delicacy. They promised inquiries were to be tactful, diplomatic, respectful and in the strictest confidence. It horrified me to find out the nuclear bomb method that was used and the damage and pain it has brought to your family. Believe me it was never my intention to hurt your loved ones."

I crossed my arms, keeping my face poker straight.

"But Nick I am grasping at straws." Amber paused to dab her eyes. "You see my husband Frank-the then young man you saw dressed as a construction worker, my daughter's father needs a bone marrow transplant. Neither one of us matches Frank. The bone marrow donor list has not been successful. Time is running out, Frank's possible son-Tony is our last hope."

"Tony is MY son." I said coldly.

Amber tried to backtrack. "Yes, yes Nick-I am sorry. I never meant to imply otherwise. I mean your son Tony and Frank may be... related. You see I bought Frank a little DVD player so he could watch videos while in treatment. Frank seemed to enjoy our old home movies most of all. I transferred all our old tapes, our vacations, my daughter's birthday parties, even old stuff from his college days, Frank really got a kick out of those. When I found that tape of your wife's..a..um ..bachelorette party, I thought that maybe, just maybe Frank when he did his YMCA construction worker gig back then -had a..relation from that um..encounter that might save his life."

Amber looked up at me, but I just stared back at her.

"Nick you do not know how desperate I was. A few hours searching on the web of old wedding announcements from around that date on the tape and I found out about Gina. More digging reveled the birth of your wife Gina's son Tony. The timeline fits, I never meant to pry -but your actions since the meeting lead me to believe you have questions about your son Tony's paternity. I know it is an incredible long shot, but a HLA tissue type test will tell us if Franks son..I mean your son Tony can save Franks life, give my daughter her father."

I said nothing.

"Nick most of our money is tied up in our business, and I have a small trust." Amber had tears in her eyes as she pulled out some papers from a purse. "I will sign over my half of the business to you right now if you allow Tony to have a HLA tissue type test. My other portion of the business is yours if the marrow matches and you allow Tony to donate."

I sat still as a stone staring at her.

Amber put down the papers on my desk. She looked at me while I said nothing. After a few moments with tears streamed down her cheeks Amber said in whisper "Men say I am pretty."

Amber stood up. "I have never been with any man but Frank." She wiped away her tears. "I will do anything you want right now, or anywhere you want as many times as you want, if you allow your son Tony to have a HLA tissue type test."

Amber unzipped her skirt letting it fall to the floor, and then stepped out of her panties. Not looking at me, she pulled off her blouse, unhooking her bra.

I stared at the nude Amber. She had nice firm C cup breasts, curvy hips with a trimmed bush. Her face had full pouty lips marred only by tears silently dripping from her eyes.

My phone rang, I saw it was Bruce calling back. Before I picked up the phone I addressed Amber.

"Put your clothes back on. I don't want any greenmail fucks. Your husband old YMCA construction worker Frank ain't getting any points for pimping out his wife."

Amber scrambled for her clothes as I reached for the phone. Amber said "Nick, no one not even Frank knows anything about this."

Bruce's voice came booming over the speakerphone before I had a chance to say a word. "Nick start your Victory Dance! I just got out of the courtroom. We got a clean sweep! Judge threw out the entire thing. Said if Jon Doe waited 16 years then must not be too important to him. Now get this-they wanted Tony for some medical donation thing. Godamn living organ donor. Judge didn't even let them finish, tossed out the whole petition-they are toast! Hear that Nick! Put a fork in it we are done-This thing is dead and Buried! Kiss Jon Doe GOODBYE!"

Amber was zipping up her skirt when she heard Bruce's announcement. She slumped in the chair, putting her head in her hands.

"Bruce!" I said interrupting him in the middle of his loud victory war whoop. "I got Jon Doe's wife here in my office sitting in front of me. She is saying some stuff, but I want you to hear all of it."

"Toss her ass out Nick." Bruce voice came back "You don't owe her shit. After the crap they have put you, Gina and your family thru -tell her and the horse she rode in on to FUCK OFF!"

Amber looked at me with pleading eyes just as the timer bell dinged.

"Bruce I should. But let her have her say."

"Fine Nick, anything for you. Can she hear me?"

Bruce said he was activating the record function on his phone and was having Amber repeat a bunch of legalize about recording agreements, name, date, free will, etc. Meanwhile I had googled bone marrow transplants on my desktop PC. I read donating bone marrow is a surgical procedure done under general or regional anesthesia in a hospital. While a donor receives anesthesia, doctors use needles to withdraw liquid marrow from the back of the pelvic bone. Most donors go home the same day and only have lower back pain for a few days.

Amber finished her tale to Bruce, the room was silent for a moment before Bruce spoke.

"Amber while I have sympathy for your plight. My legal advice to Nick is not to allow permission for this."

"Why" Amber was clutching the edge of the desk by the phone.

"Nick if you allow Tony to donate to this Frank guy. You are acknowledging Tony is Frank's biological son, not yours and Gina. This could give their legal team grounds for a new petition."

"No you got it all wrong" Amber was in a near panic. "I never intended anyone to know about this. The lawyer's screwed it all up. I hoped that as one mother to another Gina could be privately persuaded, all in the strictest confidence, to have her son Tony tested. If Tony was compatible Gina could tell him it was an anonymous patient. Inform Tony and her husband Nick a college scholarship was Tony's for donating marrow. That tape-and only the tamer parts -was to have been for Gina's eyes only! It was my biggest mistake giving the tape to that attorney. Tony your son, Frank my husband and even you Nick the spouse, would never have known. The bachelorette incident would be kept as it should -a deep secret. This whole thing would just have been between us mothers."

Amber started to break down in tears. "I was willing to offer that a document be drawn up that forbid any of our family members from ever contacting you again, putting half a million dollars of our company assets as collateral in a policy to be forfeited if the contract was ever violated. Please do not let my husband Frank and father of my daughter die because of the actions of an overzealous first year law associate."

The only sound in the room was Amber sobbing. Suddenly the door to my office opened and Tony my son waked in to stand next to my desk.

Amber looked up at Tony, her red rimmed eyes got wide. "Oh my God it's him." Amber stood up reaching out for Tony's face with her hands. "You look just like my Frank..it's true.. your..you are a spitting image of my husband Frank.."

Tony retreated behind my chair, like back when he was a little boy playing in my office.

"Please don't touch me." My son Tony addressed Amber. "You have really screwed up everything here and in my life. So I appreciate it if you would just keep the fuc...keep your distance from me."

"Of course, I am sorry, it's just that.." Amber trailed off, sitting down and wiping her eyes with a tissue.

"Dad," Tony turned toward me. "I'm gonna do this bone marrow donation thing."

The room erupted in chaos. Amber jumped up moving toward a retreating Tony trying to give him a hug while babbling thanks. Bruce was on the speakerphone yelling, while my son Tony was saying how he heard everything over the intercom for days and knew all about what was going on.

It took a few minutes but I finally got everyone calmed down and Amber seated. My son Tony was still standing next to my chair.

I began speaking to my son. "Tony that is a very noble gesture, but it is not your call. You are still a minor under my care. Uncle Bruce's legal advice plus the risk of any surgery makes me say we should pass on the whole thing."

"Dad this is the only way I can see to get you, Mom and our family back together." Tony pushed some hair out of his eyes. "If you try to stop me I'll get myself emancipated and donate anyway. Right Uncle Bruce?"

Bruce's voice came thru the speakerphone. "Technically yes Tony you could file to be an emancipated minor and do met the requirements for this state. I would urge you in the strongest terms NOT to take that course of action."

Amber eyes showed a glimmer of hope as she started to stand up. "Tony I do not know what to say I.."

Both Tony and I held out our hands to get Amber back into her seat. Tony my son spoke first. "I am not doing this for you, I am doing it to try to get my family back to the way it was before you ripped it apart." Tony put a hand on my shoulder. "This is my one and ONLY Dad. But I do have some conditions of my own. Number one is you set up a college scholarship for my younger brother and sister. Number two we keep this anonymous plus I want that agreement thing so you and any of your kin can't come near me or my family --EVER!"

Amber was almost beside herself. "Yes, yes anything you want. I will have the papers drawn up and schedule a HLA tissue type test." She almost ran out of the room before anyone could change their mind. Bruce said he had to go but to send him any paperwork Amber had. I hung up the phone, leaving me and my son Tony alone.

I sat Tony down in a chair across my desk. "Tony you are as stubborn as me."

"Apple don't fall far from the tree Dad." Tony grinned at me.

"True, but I want you to know this gesture is not going to magically heal the rift between your mother and I. It has nothing to do with you or your brother and sister. Both your Mom and I love you all very much. It is more a matter of trust between your parents. We will always be proud of you, but we just may not be together as before.

Tony gave me a look. "Yea right Dad, like you and Mom are not going to be together with me when I have this donor operation."

+++++

Less than 30% of family members are a match for bone marrow donation. To Amber's relief and my regret, my son Tony was an almost perfect match for Amber's husband aka former Village People Construction Worker Frank.

For that reason I now taking my seat in Bruce's office to review the papers Amber the wife of former Village People Construction Worker Frank had sent about the terms and conditions of our son Tony bone marrow donation.

I had come in purposely late so I would not need to speak to my wife Gina. She was sitting already in one of Bruce's chairs. It was the first I had seen Gina since our "Video Review" in the conference room. Gina looked like hell, -pale with bags under her eyes. She was sitting sipping some coffee.

Bruce motioned to a chair as his paralegal showed me in. "Nick we have been waiting for you. Let's get you some coffee-what do you want?"

I pointed at Gina sipping her coffee and watching me. "Give me whatever Java the Slut over there is sucking."

Gina reacted like she had been slapped, almost spilling her coffee. Bruce stood up from his chair and waved the paralegal out of the room. "Nick, I must insist we keep this civil in the office. There was no reason for that."

"No reason Bruce?" I pointed at Gina before pulling my chair away from her and sitting down. "That is the reason we are here!"

Bruce sat back down then started to drone on about the contracts that Amber the wife of Frank had sent over as conditions of the bone marrow donation from our son Tony. There were prepaid scholarships for all three of our children. Another document put up a portion of Frank and Ambers assets if any member of their family contacted us for any reason. This went on for the better part of 30 minutes

Bruce presented us numerous forms to sign. "Nick, Gina this is pretty straight forward. Normally Bone marrow donations are anonymous anyway so none of the medical staff or record people will see anything unusual this time.

Gina and I signed the voluminous documents, silently passing paperwork between each other. The paralegal knocked on the door before poking his head in the office.

"Bruce, Judge Wilbert is in the lobby." The paralegal said.

Bruce got up and grabbed his suitcoat. "Nick Gina --I need to go for a second. Please do not leave I will be right back."

After Bruce left. Gina spoke to me. "Nick I know that you are extremely angry at me. But I want you to know I am in therapy. I can't say how sorry I am for this whole thing."

"Can't or Won't say you are sorry?" I turned toward her. "Gina, are you finally going to come clean?"

She looked down at her nails. "Nick I could lie, make up a story about what happened. But that is just what it would be --a lie and a story."

I threw up my hands. "So Gina it was not you up on the screen with Village People at the Disco Gang Bang review, sucking and fucking the boys in the band?"

Gina looked right at me. "I can't deny it was me...I just don't know how... Listen Nick I even had one of the best hypo-therapists in the state put me under. After a few sessions he got nothing- told me there was nothing there."

I was getting pissed that Gina was still not taking responsibility-hiding behind doctors trying to explain away her behavior. "I should believe you why exactly? Is it because you would never lie about cheating? Hell Gina I don't know if that was your first gangbang, or a weekly event throughout our marriage. I really do not know who you are, and now wouldn't trust you as far as I could throw you. I want you to know that after this ordeal is over I am filing for divorce."

Gina looked stunned, and took a deep breath before speaking. "Nick could you please wait? Give me a chance to prove myself, figure this out?" I rolled my eyes at Gina as she continued. "I want to come home, at least to take care of our son Tony after the operation."

"Oh now it is OUR home and OUR son." I replied with my voice full of sarcasm. "Of course you can stay in the house to take care of Tony." I then paused and held up a finger "We have new rules now- you must limit your fuck buddies to outside the property. No gangbangs in the house, or orgies in front of the children. Think you can do that?"

Gina shot up from her chair, bolting from the room.

A few minutes later Bruce returned to the room muttering apologies until he saw Gina was missing. "Nick, where did Gina go?"

I think maybe Gina saw some guy wave a twenty dollar bill at her." I shrugged my shoulders. "Check down at the pier. A Navy ship must be coming into port. I'm sure Gina wants to get a head start on fucking the fleet before the rest of the other sluts show up."

Bruce sat down in the chair next to me. "Nick we cannot change the past. But look at the present. The endgame is you have a great family and a fine son Tony who worships you. I know you would walk thru hell in gasoline underpants for him. Can you for a just a second forget Gina's...um..action, and look at the result-you know -your son Tony." Bruce gave me a look. "Nick have you even tried talking to Gina?"

I got up and headed to the door. "Talk to Gina? When I want to hear lies I will listen to Congress on C Span TV." I stopped with my hand on the door knob. "Bruce please start the paperwork for divorce proceedings. I know you can't tell -but I still love Gina. I just cannot stay married to a pathological liar who I don't trust."

+++++++

My son Tonys bone marrow procedure went off without a hitch. Gina was well liked and respected at her hospital, having been there a long time. They pulled out all the stops for one of their own. Tony was treated better than any President or Dignitary. The Hospitals top surgeon, once a bumbling intern on Gina's floor-had cut short his vacation to lead the simple surgery. The head of anesthesiology had come in on her day off to personally put Tony under. Pre op and post ops teams had cleared the schedule to concentrate on Tony alone. The courier from the Bone Marrow organization commented he had never seen such heavy hitters involved or fuss made over an everyday procedure.

Gina did move back into the house, hovering over Tony like a mother hen. He enjoyed his mothers attentions so much his siblings teased him about "milking it" and "wimping out". After a few days Tony was bored in bed --even with his social media, video games, etc. and was back to hanging with his friends at school.

During this time Gina and I tried to keep up appearances for the kids' sake. However at their ages the world revolved around their friends and after school activities. I doubt they would have noticed anything until the food and clean laundry ran out. Still I was surprised when I came in late from the bakery to find Gina sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of wine in her hand waiting for me.

Deja' Vu all over again I thought as I sat down at the table across the table from Gina. "What up?" I asked. "More fathers coming out of the woodwork? They have DVDs, streaming video or is it a web site this time?"

Gina ignored my comment. "Nick we have had a good marriage and three wonderful kids.." I raised my eyebrows at her, but Gina plowed on. "..yes Nick THREE wonderful kids-I do not care what that damn DNA test showed." Gina took a sip of her wine before talking again. "Please forget about this divorce, let's go to a marriage therapist together and put this behind us. After almost two decades of being together we owe to each other. You cannot let a single event-that happened before we were married -by all accounts- throw it all away."