Jeff Tait Ch. 01

Jeff steered clear of the man, especially when Jimmy found out that Jeff was a lawyer. He did not know the 'Harlot' in question, but he wasn't about to help the self-righteous, arrogant blowhard get custody of these frightened girls. Whenever he could, though, Jimmy would corner Jeff and try to glean free legal advice.

Jeff rethought his previous denouncement of Capital Punishment when he looked at the defaced paint job on his Mustang. Because he had no proof that it had been the smirking Daniel that had gouged and scratched the finish of his car, Jimmy blustered and ranted that he wasn't going to pay one red cent.

Jeff paid out of pocket for the new paint job, and kept a much closer eye on the smirking, sneaky Daniel whenever Jimmy had the kids over for visitation.

2002.

Jeff was both elated and broken hearted when Dianne called one day and asked him if he would keep Katherine for two weeks while she and her new husband went on their honeymoon. He agreed and wished her well and they made plans for him to pick Katherine up the day after the wedding. He did not receive, nor had he expected an invitation to the wedding.

Jeff had secured a temporary position with a small law firm, a father and son company. They were elated to have a 'Big City' lawyer on their roster. So far, he had done well on the few cases he'd been given and as far as he knew they would be extending an invitation to stay.

They agreed to keep his caseload light for the few weeks he'd have Katherine and he smiled as he drove to Kenner to get his daughter.

She had grown in the few months that he'd been gone and he felt tears of resentment fill his eyes at the days he'd missed with his baby girl.

At first she was not happy at all to be leaving her mommy and 'new daddy,' a term that filled Jeff's heart with even more resentment, but once they got on the road, her tears dried.

----

"We're going swimming!" Katherine excitedly announced as Eve stepped out of the apartment to go check the mail for her father.

"Oh, she's so beautiful!" Eve cried out as Jeff and Katherine exited their apartment, both dressed in their swimsuits.

"Thank you," Jeff proudly said.

"You come swimming," Katherine demanded of the teenager.

"Well, honey, she might not want to," Jeff gently told his daughter.

"I can't," Eve sadly told the small girl. "I'm being punished right now.

"Have you gotten the mail yet?" Jimmy bellowed at the girl when he yanked the door open.

Eve scurried away and Katherine hid her face in the crook of her father's neck. Jimmy blared at the back of his daughter, glared at Jeff and Katherine, then slammed the door as hard as he could.

Jeff stayed in the shallow end of the pool with his daughter, teaching her the fundamentals of swimming, even though she already knew them.

A couple of men; Jeff guessed them to be lovers, also swam. They amused themselves by playing with Katherine and the three men delighted in her excited squeals.

Jeff's initial assessment of the men proved to be correct; but he really had no problem with their sexual identity. Both were well-educated, intelligent, witty men.

"Jeff. Jeff Tait," he introduced himself.

"Clay, and this is Mark," and the men shook hands.

During the next two weeks Jeff and Katherine saw a lot of Daniel, Sarah and Mary, but Eve seemed to be punished for the duration of the time the children were visiting their father. Jeff later found out she was being punished for talking with a young man.

"By bye," Katherine waved to Eve, Sarah, and Mary as Jeff put her in her car seat and prepared to drive her home to Kenner.

Dianne and her husband were coolly receptive when Jeff dropped off the sleeping Katherine and did not invite him in. He was bone tired when he returned to Lafayette, and slept nearly fifteen hours straight through.

Richards and Son did ask Jeff to stay on and he graciously accepted. With a more permanent position under his feet, he began to look around for more permanent lodgings. He found a three bedroom, two-bathroom home in a more affluent neighborhood and was not sad in the least to bid Jimmy and his shit of a son good-bye.

The three girls he genuinely felt sorry for; Jimmy seemed to find fault with everything they did and never let an opportunity pass without referring to them as 'sluts' and 'whores' and 'Jezebels."

As a going-away present, someone (again, he had no proof that it was Daniel) scratched 'Good riddance ass hole' into the paint of the hood of his car. The main reason he suspected Daniel was because 'riddance' was misspelled.

The End of 'Jeff Tait 01.'