Running Away

And with that Anna's abusive marriage was over. I took everybody out to celebrate at one of the local ice cream parlors. Everyone had a great time including Anna.

********

"Love, you just go back and keep Duke company." I said.

We were standing in the concourse of the Dallas Fort Worth airport holding each other and saying our goodbyes. Anna had to go to one terminal to get to her plane and I had to go to another. "Everything's going to be OK. I'll call Duke and leave a message when I get to my parent's house. I don't know when I'll get to call again but the next time will be when I have good news. Take care and remember that I love you."

"I love you too," she cried.

We parted, the last part touching was our finger tips. We turned and went our separate ways.

********

It's a two hour drive from the Harrisburg airport to Henley and I timed my arrival to be at dusk. I didn't want to be discovered too soon so I parked around the block from my parent's house and walked through the woods on the same paths I took when I was growing up. I came up to the back door with my suitcase and knocked.

"What the hey? Who's out back knocking on that door?" The voice of my dad sounded sweet, in a manly kind of way.

"It's me dad, Leo."

"Damn, mom it's Leo, come on out here. Boy get in here before somebody sees you."

"Dad, it's good to be home. Hi mom. Boy I'm sure glad to see you two. Listen I've got to tell you what I've got cooked up so you don't worry. We need to sit down and talk now. Let's go into the living room. I just want to put my feet up and relax."

I spent the rest of the evening telling my parents everything about what I expected to happen over the next couple days. If it all happened as planned then within a week it should all be over with. At some parts they laughed at the sheer audacity of the scheme and others they laughed at what was going to happen to the people involved. We had a good time and I was relaxed and ready.

Before I went to sleep in my old bed I called and left a message for Duke and Anna telling them that I was safe and everything was OK.

********

Bright and early in the morning I heard the newspaper land in the driveway out front. I walked out in my shorts and robe and picked it up standing in front of the car stretching big as day. "Well that should let everybody know that Leo's home," I whispered to myself.

It took only thirty minutes for the three police cars to show up. Knock, knock, knock. I answered the door and heard, "Leo Baker I have a warrant for your arrest. Please come out quietly."

I turned and winked at my mom and dad and walked out. You know, handcuffs aren't as painful as I would have thought. Sure I had to ride to the station with my hands behind my back but it didn't hurt too much at all. I was photographed, fingerprinted and put into a cell by myself. Now all I had to do was sit and wait for the shit to hit the fan.

And I didn't have to wait long. Within an hour the stately Mr. Bloom came roaring into the station demanding to see me. I could hear his voice way back in the cell where I was. Within about a minute he was standing in front of me shooting bullets at me with his steely grey eyes. "Boy, I'm going to burn your ass. You have the balls to burn down one of my factories and come dancing back here like nothing happened. I'm going to make sure that you never see the light of day again. And you can just say goodbye to your little girl. She's going to forget that you ever existed. When I'm finished with you, you will wish you were dead."

I watched his tirade and thought, "God I just love watching that big vein on the side of his head pulse like that." I didn't get a chance to say anything to him when he was called to come back to the office by one frantic looking deputy. I just sat back down and listened. I heard a lot of yelling and screaming coming from the outer office and finally someone yelled, "Go get him, NOW!"

The same wide-eyed deputy came back and unlocked my cell and told me to follow him. I walked into the office and found the lawyer I met at Duke's, Alan standing there glaring at Mr. Bloom. Mr. Bloom was even a brighter shade of red than he was two minutes before.

My lawyer friend Alan said, "Mr. Baker, are you OK? Have they treated you well?"

"I'm OK, just a little confused why I'm here, that's all."

"Well, we're just about to clear all that up." Alan took out his cell phone and placed a call and said simply, "We're ready now."

In about a minute a tall man in a suit walked in flanked by two state police officers. He walked up to Mr. Bloom and held out a manila envelope. "Mr. Ezekiel Bloom."

The beet red faced man said, "Yes what do you want."

Mister suit said, "Sir, I have a warrant for your arrest. The charge is tampering with government officials, namely one Judge Owen Carter and city fire marshal Thomas Johnson. I also have a federal warrant for your arrest for racketeering and money laundering. I have a cease and desist order for all operations of Bloom Enterprises until such time as a Federal Grand Jury can convene on said charges. I've included a copy of the lawsuit we're initiating against Bloom Enterprises in the name of Leo Baker for wrongful termination. This lawsuit notification is being delivered at this moment to corporate management. Lastly I have another warrant for your arrest on the charge of incest with one Sheila Baker, your daughter. A warrant is being served at this moment on her."

He turned to the deputy sheriff, handed him an envelope and said, "Sir as a duly appointed official of this town I hereby notify you of a lawsuit against the town of Henley for wrongful imprisonment. You too are duly served."

I had to sit down because I needed to hide my big fat smile.

Mister suit turned to me and handed me another manila envelope saying, "Mr. Baker, I have a court order quashing all charges against you until the issue of the fire marshal's report is reviewed. Also, at ten o'clock tomorrow morning a hearing will be convened to review your divorce decree. Another judge will be reviewing your case since the former presiding judge is currently under investigation for misconduct of office."

During the entire time we were being served our legal papers, my attorney Alan never took his eyes off of Mr. Bloom, who by the way was now sitting in another chair looking particularly glum.

"Leo, let's go. You're a free man." Alan said quite loudly. We turned and strode out the front door. He smiled all the time he drove me to my parent's house. When we stopped out front he turned to me, held out his hand to shake mine and said, "Good luck Leo. I'll see you at the hearing in the morning. All of this is a little present from your fishing buddies. I think from now on things will be a little bit quieter around here, at least for you. God I love small towns. Good night kind sir." He nodded his head bidding me adieu.

My parents came out and met me at the curb as Alan drove away. "How'd everything go son?" My dad asked.

"Better than I could have ever imagined. Let's go in and get something to eat. I'm starved."

********

The divorce review hearing was a lot different than the first. First, Sheila showed up and with only one attorney. Second, the new judge had a very concerned look on his face when we came in. And third, well let's just say that I had a little hope this time because Alan was sitting next to me. The review took almost four hours. This time the evidence of Sheila's infidelity and incest was allowed and almost immediately the judge said something about her being an unfit mother. In the end he overturned a couple key points. The child support I had to pay was removed since Sheila had a lot more saving and income that I did. Child custody was reversed. I was awarded primary physical custody. The house remained hers and the income split remained the same. In other words, I still left broke. I didn't care because I had Sarah.

During the entire hearing Sheila didn't say a word. She just sat there and looked at her hands in her lap. Her lawyer spoke for her when he had to but she remained silent. She looked awful but she stayed quiet.

When the hearing was over I asked if the lawyers could leave so I could talk privately to Sheila.

I started talking. "Sheila, I'm going to make this brief. I didn't do any of this for revenge. I just wanted a divorce. I just want to be as far away from you as I can be. You make me sick! You hurt me more than you can ever imagine with what you and your father did. When your father took over and tried to railroad me I got mad. Everything that happened is his fault, not mine and not yours. He always got what he wanted but this time he didn't. This time it backfired and he got exactly what he deserved. He tried to keep me from Sarah and that almost destroyed me. I survived with the help of a woman I met while I was away, hiding and thinking. I found something in her that you will never have; a heart. And I love her.

As for Sarah, I don't want to take her away from you after all you are her mother. We will share her custody. I will talk to the judge about it. When she starts school she will live with you, all other times she will be with me. We can work out what school she goes to later. And, my parents can visit her or keep her whenever you both agree. I'm taking her with me when I leave in a couple weeks and I'll bring her back in October.

As for you, I never want to see you again. You and your father can do whatever you want, I don't care. Just stay away from me. Do you understand what I just said?"

All Sheila did was nod yes. She never looked up.

I walked out of the little hearing room happier than I've been in a long time. I was thinking of Anna and Sarah the entire time I walked out of the building.

Later that night I had a private ceremony in the back yard of my parent's house. I burned the DNA test results papers that started this whole mess. The only person I ever told about her real father was Anna.

********

I remember almost two months ago landing on this same little lake in the same little floatplane. I didn't particularly like it then and I'm not sure I liked it any better this time. But now I had Sarah next to me. To her it's an amusement park ride. As we pulled up to the dock I saw Anna standing there looking as beautiful as I remember. The pilot opened the door and secured the plane to the dock. I picked Sarah up in my arms and exited. Anna's smile was almost as wide as the lake when she saw us. As we approached she stood to the side to reach her face around Sarah to give me a welcome home kiss. All the while we were kissing, Sarah rubbed her hands over both of our faces and made those little noises that almost sounded like words. I was happy to be home. Strange that now I think of Duke's as home because Anna is there.

Anna looked at me after the kiss and said, "Leo, I've got some bad news. Duke had a stroke. It's not too bad but he lost the use of his right hand and now walks like the real John Wayne. He'll be all right in time but he needs someone to help him run this place. I said I would stay. What do you think?"

"I was just thinking as we were landing that it felt like I was coming home. I thought it was because of you but there must be more to it. Maybe it's this place that feels like home, but whatever it is I'm here with you and I'll stay with you forever. We'll take care of the old buzzard and our little girl at the same time. I'm just glad to be back. I missed you and I love you."

"Welcome home my love."

EPILOG

It's been five years since I first came to Duke's Lodge. Anna and I were married in the spring after our first winter there. Sarah loved her time here and especially the old teddy bear that she played with: The old teddy bear was Duke. We gave Sarah two little brothers to play with the next year. The twins, Duke and Wayne (yeah, we named them after old Duke), are now three and doing what three year old boys do, get into everything. Anna is a really great mother. Every day I thank God for sending us here to find each other. I love her more and more every day. Oh, and Anna's pregnant with our third child, a little girl this time, due in three months. We're still discussing a name but both of us are leaning toward Louisa.

The lodge has changed quite a bit since we first came here. The lodge house has doubled in size and the dirt pathway between the dock and the lodge has been paved with decorative stone walkways. We've added five new cabins up on the hill and a lot of new boats. The dock is wider and there's a lot of native artwork all over the property, mostly totem poles and animal carvings. Duke supervised the upgrades himself. The money came from the settlement of the law suits against Bloom and the town of Henley. Anna enjoys her time in her new gourmet kitchen compliments of an anonymous restaurant owner from Detroit, Chicago, and Cincinnati. We even have satellite communications compliment of some anonymous computer geek. Another anonymous manufacturer sent us three large racks of solar collectors and a solar power generator. Ever since the changes the place has been packed. There's even a waiting list for the more popular dates. We now match what the website says about us.

When my mom and dad came to visit after the twins were born they told me that Sheila doesn't have anything to do with her father any more and she lives the life of a recluse. Mr. Bloom will be on probation for another six years on his federal racketeering charge. I couldn't care less about either one of them.

Duke died about a year ago and left everything to Anna and me. We buried his ashes with his beloved Louisa by the park bench on the hill. We visit him whenever we can and his spirit lives on in the lodge. We really miss the old buzzard.