I'm a Bastard

After two more dates, I invited them both over to my house and cooked them dinner. I had learned to cook pretty well after my divorce. Food network, a few YouTube videos, and a lot of trial and error. I do make a really good lasagna, so I went with that. They seemed to like it. They really liked my house, but I did overhear Marie telling her daughter that it definitely needed a woman's touch. I wouldn't have argued if I had been asked.

The next weekend, I was invited to their apartment. Marie's cooking put my feeble efforts to shame. Even Kayla wasn't as good as Marie. I couldn't help it. I know that it's rude as hell, but I just couldn't stop eating. I finally had to apologize to them for making a pig of myself. They just laughed and asked why I was apologizing. That was the biggest compliment you can give to a woman that loves to cook. She told me that Jenny was almost as good as she was.

It was two weekends later that it happened. I had taken Marie to dinner then a dance club. We had been dancing for a while when a slow song came up. We were pressed together as we swayed to the music. We had graduated to some pretty hot make out sessions a few weeks ago. She leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"Take me home."

Frankly, I was surprised. I thought we were having a great time, but now she wanted to go home. I pulled back to look at her. She must have seen the look on my face, and she began giggling.

"Oh, you silly man. I meant take me to YOUR home."

Oh. Well then. Thankfully, I had my regular truck and not the 72. I'm not sure that I would have been able to keep the tires on the road if I was driving the 72 back home. Yes, I went down on her. After all, if I expect her to suck me off, it's only right that I lick her pussy. I may be out of practice, but it came back to me pretty quickly. We ended up doing it three times before we fell asleep. I cooked her breakfast before driving her back home. I got another double thumbs up from the redheaded teenager in the window.

A few months later, I asked, and she answered. It was a simple ceremony in front of a judge. They moved into my house right after we got married. Jenny even started calling me Dad. Life was great. Yes, there were disagreements. Yes, Jenny and I had our differences as well. She was still a teenager, and I was still an authority figure. I did have to say 'NO' on occasion. Still, she respected me, and her mom loved me just as much as I loved her.

The surprise phone call came about a year later. It was a number that I didn't recognize.

"Hello." I said as I answered the phone.

"Hi Daddy." An excited woman's voice said on the other end of the line.

"Karlie?"

"Yes, Daddy. It's me, and I have great news."

"Really? It's really good to hear from you." It really was good to hear from her. Maybe she was reaching out to reconnect.

"I'm getting married!"

"That's great, Sweetie. I'm so happy for you."

"Anyway, I want you at my wedding."

"Oh, Sweetie. Of course. It's one of the greatest honors for a father to walk his daughter down the aisle. And I also set up a wedding fund for you."

"Oh. No. Clarence is paying for the wedding, and he will be walking me down the aisle. Also, since it would be really awkward for you and mom to be sitting together, you wouldn't be in the front pew. But I really want you to be there."

"Clarence, as in the scumbag your slut of a mother cheated on me with? She actually married that piece of shit?"

"Look, Dad. I'm trying to reconnect here, and I wanted to reach out and have you at my wedding. Besides, after you left, she and Clarence started seeing each other more, fell in love, and got married. It's actually your fault. If you hadn't abandoned us, she and Clarence would never have continued seeing each other."

"OK. I can see that you are still under the impression that your mother didn't do anything wrong. So, I will be unable to attend for two reasons. First and foremost, I simply cannot support a marriage where I'm sure it will fail. You are more likely to cheat on your husband, just like your mom cheated on me. If he is in any way someone that I would approve of, he would kick your slutty ass to the curb as soon as he found out. Second, you have just stolen the last great honor that a father has from me and given it to a dirtbag that knowingly seduced a married woman. That just goes to show me what a shallow, self-centered bitch you have grown into."

"Fine. If that's the way you are going to be, don't expect to ever see your grandchildren."

"If you raise them anything like you are, I want nothing to do with them anyway."

"Really dad? Mom is right. You really are an assh" [CLICK] and that's the last I heard of my daughter when I hung up the phone on her.

Well, so much for any chance of a relationship with my former daughter. Pretty sure that there will never be a relationship with Josh either. Yeah, it hurt. They still blamed me for what their mother did. I just set my phone down and moped out to the shop. Instead of wallowing in my sorrow, I would lose myself in working on the 1963 Chevy pickup I pulled out of a field a couple months ago. This one wouldn't be as radical as my 72. I wanted to be able to drive this one a bit more. I was rebuilding a 350 that was just slightly beefier than stock. I never even saw Jenny sneak around the corner and pick up my phone. I didn't even realize that she was home.

Karlie:

I was so pissed off at my dad. Here I was trying to reach out to him, and he has the gall to talk to me like that? It was his fault that our family was torn apart. I tried to be nice and invite him to my wedding, and he just throws everything back in my face. I was hoping that he would finally take responsibility for what he did to our family. I looked down and saw my phone ringing. I didn't recognize the number, but there were a lot of calls like that when planning a wedding.

"Hello?"

"Uuummm, hi. Is this Karlie Williams?"

"Yes. Can I help you?"

"Yes, you can. You can stop calling my daddy and being a cast iron bitch to him. He is the best man that I have ever known, and he doesn't deserve a stupid spoiled slut like you calling him reminding him of the pathetic excuses of humanity that you are. I swear, you and your family are a waste of breathable air."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"My name is Jenny Williams. I'm your sister. My mom married your former dad, and he adopted me. I love him with all my heart, and I would never even think of disrespecting or dishonoring him in the slightest. You are an insult to daughters all over the world. I know all about what happened. Your slut of a mother went out on a date -- completely disrespecting her husband -- and fucked another guy. The really sad part about all that is that you seem to be OK with that. Let me tell you; my bio-dad cheated on my mom. She didn't even hesitate to kick him to the curb. You can also bet your skanky ass that if MY mom ever cheated on my dad, I would be right there helping my daddy carry her ass out with the rest of the trash. Yes, even though he isn't my biological father. He is the most decent, caring, compassionate person I've ever met. I'm thinking of sending your slut of a mother a thank you card for being such a big moron as to let him go. If it weren't for her abject stupidity, I wouldn't have him for a father now. Oh, and you can also tell your grandparents that they have another granddaughter, but I have absolutely no desire to have any sort of a relationship with anyone so despicable as to reject their own son for a cheating slut and her backstabbing offspring.

"There's one more thing that you can do for me. As you are saying your joke vows, look in your husband's eyes and think about when he decides to cheat on you. When he actually does cheat on you, call me and tell me about it so I can laugh my ass off at you. Have a shitty life, sis." [CLICK] She hung up.

I just stared at the phone in shock. First off, I was surprised to hear that my dad got married. You would think that he would at least send his children an invitation. Then hearing that I now had a younger sister as well. There was a strange thought that flew into my mind. I couldn't help thinking that she sounded a lot like me before mom talked to Josh and me about how daddy was leaving and going to break up the family over one minor thing. I had thought at first that daddy must have had a really good reason for that, and I was thinking that maybe I could live with him instead of mom. Then mom explained how she was feeling and just needed this one little thing to rejuvenate herself. After all, it was only just one brief period of time compared to how long they had been together. Besides, mom was willing to stay together and work things out. It was dad who was being pig-headed and refused to even try. It was dad that was leaving. He was the one breaking them up.

I couldn't believe how rude she was to me either. She never even gave me the chance to tell her that it was dad that left us, and that mom was trying to move forward. It was like she didn't even care that it was just a one-time thing that shouldn't have even been a blip on the radar, considering how long they had been together. Then she has the nerve to call me all those nasty names? She doesn't even know me.

And what was dad getting so upset about? Of course, Clarence was going to walk me down the aisle. After all, he has been there for me for the last several years. I haven't even talked to dad since Josh and I told him how mad we were about him leaving. Besides, Clarence was paying almost $20,000 for my wedding. I couldn't even imagine how far the pittance that dad could put aside for my wedding would go.

I was still upset about those phone calls a half an hour later when mom and both grammas came in. They had been out shopping. Mom immediately noticed my mood.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

"I told dad about the wedding and asked him to come. After all, I am his only daughter, and I thought that he would want to be at my wedding. I kind of hoped that maybe this would be something where we could build on and maybe start a relationship again."

"Oh. That's wonderful." Gramma Williams exclaimed. "Will he be there? We haven't heard from him since he called about Thanksgiving a few years ago."

I sighed. "No. He got pissed off when I told him that Clarence would be walking me down the aisle and that I thought it would be too awkward for him to be sitting in the front pew with mom and Clarence."

"Oh. That's too bad. I thought that he would have gotten over his pig headedness by now."

"Well, if that's not bad enough, I found out that I have a step-sister about five minutes later."

"WHAT????" Sounded in three-part harmony.

"Yeah. A girl who said that her name was Jenny Williams called me a few minutes after dad hung up on me. Apparently, dad married her mom and adopted her. She was not very nice on the phone. In fact, the nicest thing she said was that she wanted to thank my mom for being stupid, otherwise she wouldn't have such a fantastic daddy." I recounted both phone calls to them. They were shocked at the vehemence that came from dad and Jenny.

"Tom got married and we weren't invited to the wedding? He never even told us about it? I have another granddaughter?" Gramma Williams whispered to herself.

The day of my wedding finally arrived. I briefly thought about what my dad had said and had a moment of sadness that he wouldn't be here on my special day. Oh well. I had reached out to him, and he had rejected me. I shrugged it off, after all, this was a happy day. I was going to marry the man I truly loved. The man I was going to be spending the rest of my life with.

Clarence was beaming in happiness as he took my arm, and we began walking up the aisle to the music of the Wedding March. I was overjoyed as I took in all my friends and family. Both sets of my grandparents were there. Josh was one of Bobby's groomsmen. Everyone was here to celebrate my special day. Tears of joy began to form in my eyes. I looked ahead and saw my Bobby smiling at me as he stood before the minister. As we passed my mother, I could see her beaming at me with pride. She too had tears of joy beginning to slide down her cheeks.

Clarence lifter my veil, kissed me on the cheek, and said, "Congratulations, baby." He then handed me off to my soon-to-be husband. I had a strange niggling in my head when the minister asked, "Who gives this Bride Away?", and Clarence said, "Her mother and I do." Something didn't sound right, but I couldn't understand why at that moment. That soon passed as the minister began the ceremony.

I was gazing into the eyes of the love of my life. I was repeating my vows. "To have and to hold. In sickness and in health. Through good times and bad. Forsa........ [COUGH] FORSA...." I couldn't say it. I was staring straight into Bobby's eyes, and I simply couldn't say it. I suddenly thought about what that bitch had said over the phone. I was staring into the eyes of my soulmate and suddenly saw him with another woman. The picture suddenly changed. Now I was looking into the dull eyes of a broken man as I told him that I had sex with another man. These pictures were flashing through my mind. The words came out without a thought. "I understand now."

If I had thought that we had the rapt attention of the audience before, that was nothing compared to what it was now. Bobby was looking at me with concern. Suddenly, it felt as if a weight had lifted. I got the biggest smile on my face that I had ever had. "I finally understand!" I said to Bobby.

"Uuummm. That's really great, Karlie, but what do you suddenly understand?"

"Absolutely everything!" I answered. Then I got serious. "Bobby, do you really love me?"

"Of course, I love you. How can you even ask that?"

"I have to ask that, because I can't marry you today." I swear, I could feel the rush of air blow past me as the entire audience gasped in shock. "We will still get married, but not today. This isn't right, and I have to make it right. I'm only getting married once, and it will be for life, so I need to do it right."

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"Bobby, I love you with everything I have. I am GOING to marry you. I will explain everything to you, and you will understand completely, but we need to go and begin fixing things. We will reschedule and have our wedding."

"You're not leaving me at the altar, are you?"

"Not a chance. In fact, you need to come with me." With that, I turned to the guests. "I'm truly sorry about this, but I just can't go through with this today. We are NOT canceling our wedding; we are simply postponing it. We will let you all know when we schedule the new date. We will understand if you decide not to attend, but just think about what a story you will have about today for years to come. Wouldn't you want to show up next time to see what happens then? Anyway, to try and make up for some of your disappointment, the reception hall should be ready. Everything is already paid for with non-refundable deposits, so why not go ahead and take advantage of that? It's an open bar, so eat, drink, dance, and party. Don't worry, Clarence is footing the bill."

With that, I grabbed Bobby's hand and began to head back down the aisle. Suddenly, my mother was blocking my exit, and Clarence was standing there beside her. He didn't exactly look pleased that I'd just flushed over $20,000 down the toilet. I also noticed that all the guests were now focused on this new confrontation. Those that had stood up to begin making their way to the reception had stopped in their tracks to witness the next show.

Clarence began shouting a bunch of crap about the money he spent and that I was going to pay him back every cent for this stunt that I just pulled. Then it was mom's turn.

"Karlie, what are you doing? Where are you going?" she asked.

"What I'm doing is fixing a mistake I made several years ago."

"What mistake?"

"The biggest mistake of my life. The mistake I made when I listened to all that bullshit you spouted off instead of helping my daddy throw your slutty ass out to the curb. The mistake I made when I blamed my daddy for breaking up the family, when it was all your fault for cheating on him."

"Karlie! I am your mother! I'm not a slut, and you will speak to me with respect."

"Really, mother? You're not a slut? Once a cheater, always a cheater."

"Karlie! How dare you."

"How dare me? I'm actually ashamed that I looked up to you. It wasn't until I was looking into Bobby's eyes as I was saying my vows that I woke up and realized what a horrible person you really are. Once a cheater, always a cheater. As I looked into his eyes, I suddenly realized how horrible it would be if he ever cheated on me. I realized how badly I would hurt the man I love if I ever cheated on him. I guess dad was a pretty good role model for me after all. You sure as hell weren't."

"Wh, wh, what do you mean by that?" Mom asked. I could see a bit of fear in her eyes.

"Seriously, mom? Do you think that I don't know about your Wednesday afternoon 'workouts' with Jim Davis, your personal trainer? How they always happen at his apartment instead of at the gym? Funny how you only go to the Gym to see Jim. How about how it takes Carlos, your pool boy and extra hour every two weeks because he is fucking your brains out on a chaise lounge after he cleans the pool. What about your gang banging the landscape crew every time after they have finished the yardwork? I have some nice videos of that from when I came home early a couple of times in case you try to deny it. And let's not forget how you always 'tip' Mario, your hair stylist with a back-room blowjob after every hair appointment. At least Clarence is your boss at work, and he doesn't have to worry about you cheating on him with your boss. Am I leaving anyone out? Oh yeah. I almost forgot about Alan Morris, your neighbor. He's been coming over whenever his wife has her 'Girls Night Out' for the last three years."

Her eyes darted over to Clarence after I finished airing her dirty laundry. Maybe she hoped that he miraculously hadn't heard any of that, even though I said it loud enough to carry through the entire church, and he was standing less than two feet away. Clarence had a look of utter shock on his face. I had an evil thought just then as I looked at Clarence.

"Oh, and Clarence? In front of God and all these witnesses, I vow with the same commitment that my mom had when she made her wedding vows that I will pay you back for the money you spent for this wedding. We all know how she keeps her vows, so you can fully expect me to honor that vow as much as she honors hers." Yeah, he shouldn't hold his breath waiting for so much as a dime.

Seeing that mom was distracted, I pulled Bobby down the aisle. I made a quick stop to talk to the videographer. Yes, he caught the entire thing on camera. He had a big smile on his face as he handed me a copy of the video. He was set up to make a duplicate copy just in case something happened to the original. I quickly scribbled my signature on a release form to allow him to post it on YouTube. I was hoping that it would go viral and increase my mom's shame.

Bobby and I dashed out to the parking lot. He had driven his car here, and our bags were in the trunk. We were planning on switching them to the limo before leaving the reception. His brother was going to drive it back to his apartment after the reception. I smiled knowing that daddy was really going to like Bobby as I slid into the passenger's seat. I got instantly aroused as he turned the ignition, and that huge 440 tri-power engine rumbled to life. Sure, it wasn't GM, but the 1969 Challenger was still a beast.

"Where are we going?" He asked as we roared out of the parking lot.

"Go West on 156. I'll find the address and put it in Waze." I answered as I began working my phone.