The Confession (17 page)

Bobby smiled as he walked over to his
sister. He bent down to kiss her. “I’m sorry this happened you, and
I’ll help you in any way that I can. I feel responsible because I
wasn’t paying attention to our surroundings.”

“It’s not your fault Bobby.
It was an accident. I’ve had surgery, and in time, the leg will be
as good as new.
You,
however, will suffer my wrath
indefinitely. I intend to beat the crap out of you playing poker. I
hope you have enough
money
because very soon, it will belong
to me.”

Adam and Lydia looked at each other and
smiled. Lydia said, “Ok children, be nice to each other. The two of
you will be living in close quarters for several weeks.”

Gail sighed. “Oh Mom, you take the fun
out of everything.” And with that statement, they all
laughed.

David heard the laughter as he entered
Gail’s room. “Ok young lady, I have your discharge papers. I need
you to sign where indicated, and you will be officially free to
leave our lovely hospital.”

Gail happily signed her
name and reached for her bag. Bobby carefully wheeled her out into
the hallway. David turned to Adam and said, “Her pain meds are in
her
overnight
bag
. Keep an eye on her for at least a week
for any residual signs of the concussion. If she develops symptoms,
bring her to the ER. I’ve scheduled a
follow-up
appointment three
weeks from today. I want another x-ray of the leg.
No weight bearing on the
leg.
I want her in that chair if she needs
to move around the house. You can take it with you and return it
later. If her healing progresses on schedule, she will be out of
the
cast
and in a boot
in
about eight to
ten
weeks.”

Adam shook David’s hand. “Thank you for
taking such good care of my daughter. I’ll be home with her for the
next week. I have plenty of vacation time, and I think I need
one.”

The drive home was animated
and loud. Gail, sitting with her leg on the back seat and leaning
against her brother, never stopped talking. She always did this
when she was nervous. Bobby whispered to her, “Relax
runt
,
we’re almost home. Wait until you see how we transformed the family
room. It looks great with all of the new stuff Dad bought for you.
Oh, and get this, I also have a new laptop. We had the CCTV hooked
up this morning.”

No longer animated, Gail covered her
face with her hands and cried. Bobby held her tighter and kissed
the back of her head. “Relax Gail; we’ll take good care of you.
I’ll be with you for as long as you need me.”

Gail squeezed the hand that was holding
her and closed her eyes. Bobby felt her relax as sleep enveloped
her. Lydia turned around to look at her children. She blew a kiss
to her son and mouthed, “Love you.”

Gail was still asleep when Adam pulled
into the driveway. Bobby gently shook her awake. “We’re home Gail.”
Adam opened the back door of the car and between the two of them,
lifted her out of the back seat and into the wheelchair. Mary was
waiting for her niece with a bouquet of roses in her
hand.

Gail smiled when she saw Mary. “Are
those roses for me? I feel like a princess.”

“You are our princess,”
Adam whispered as he wheeled Gail into the house
and to
the family room. Gail’s audible gasp let everyone know that
she approved the remodel. “Wow, this
place
looks fantastic. Oh,
look at my desk. Is that the CCTV monitor?”

“Yes. The school delivered
it yesterday. Your textbooks will be here next week.
Everything
will be set
up
for you to begin classes on September
6
^th
.”

Overwhelmed once again by
her father’s efficiency, Gail fought back the tears.
“
Thanks,
Daddy for taking care of this for me. I don’t know
what I would do if I missed my first semester.”

“Let’s get you into bed,
and then we can discuss your roster. All of your teachers are
willing to adjust your
schedule
if therapy gets in the way. I
will make sure that your therapy is in the
morning
before class
begins. I’ll hire a home nurse aide to drive you there, and your
mother will monitor whatever classes you miss. Together, we will
make sure everything runs smoothly. I don’t want you to worry about
any of it. Your mother and I
work like
a well-oiled
machine.” Adam sat on the side of the
bed
while Lydia stood next
to him. “There is nothing that your mother or I wouldn’t do for our
sweet daughter. We love
you,
honey. Always remember.”

Looking over to see Bobby standing in
the doorway, she whispered, “Does Bobby know?”

Adam shook his head. “Your mother and I
will talk to him today. John and Aunt Mary are coming over for
dinner on Friday. I don’t want him sucker punched. Now, close your
eyes and take a nap. Mom will wake you when lunch is ready.”
Everyone left the room as Gail drifted off to sleep.

Concerned, Bobby asked, “Is Gail ok?
She looks a little tense.”

Lydia reached out for his hand. “Come
with us Bobby. We need to speak to you privately.” Bobby looked to
his father for guidance. A slight nod told him everything he needed
to know. He followed his parents into the kitchen.

Once seated, Lydia held his hand
tightly. “Your father and I have discovered something about our
past that while terribly upsetting, does not change the fact that
we love our children. I have struggled this past week now that I
know the truth, and your father and I want to tell you what
happened.”

“Before I met your
dad
, I
dated someone whom I considered my best friend. We had fun
together, and when he told me he loved me, I told him I did not
have those feelings for him. He laughed it off, and I thought that
was the end of the discussion. We were together with friends when I
met Adam. I knew almost immediately that he was the one for me. I
never felt so connected to another person, and I wanted him in my
life.”

“I ended the relationship
with the other person, and Adam and I dated exclusively. In a
matter of months, we were talking about getting married. I was so
happy and wanted everyone around me to share in our happiness. Your
father and I married
a
few months
after he started his
residency.”

“I remained friends with my
former boyfriend. He gave no indication that his feelings for me
were nothing more than friendly. I liked having him around, and I
enjoyed his company. On the night of your father’s twenty-eighth
birthday, Adam had to work. I had made a special
dinner
and invited his parents. I also
asked
my
friend
and he
stayed when everyone left our apartment.”

Bobby felt his
mother’s
hand
shake
beneath his. Taking a deep breath,
she continued. “This is difficult for me Bobby, but I want you to
know the truth. I had no memory of this until last weekend. My
friend
put something in
my drink,
and when I was unable to stop
him, he had sex with me. In my drugged state, I thought Adam was
making love to me. I woke up the next morning
with
the worst
hangover that I have ever had.”

“Life went on and I thought nothing of
it. A few weeks later, we found out I was pregnant with Gail. It
was the happiest time of my life Bobby. I wanted so much to be a
mother, to have my husband’s child growing inside my
body.”

“We discovered the truth
shortly after Gail had the accident. Bobby, there is no easy way to
tell you the truth, so I am just going to say it. The friend that I
was referring to is Uncle John. Apparently, he was still in love
with me, and when I married Adam, he snapped. He started drinking
heavily and taking drugs. He
drugged
my
wine,
Bobby. He
decided to become a priest because he wanted to run from the
truth.”

“When David found
inconsistencies
in Gail’s bloodwork that did not match her medical
records, we were worried because it was possible that the hospital
switched babies. Your father assured me that the hospital would not
make such a mistake. When John donated blood for Gail’s surgery,
David ran the necessary testing for donor blood. He found markers
in his blood that matched Gail, which promoted him to run a DNA
test. John is Gail’s biological father. We have the DNA test as
proof. Gail overheard Adam and John arguing outside her hospital
room. It was awful Bobby. Seeing my daughter so distraught broke
me.”

Unable to continue, Lydia
rose from her seat and left the kitchen. Bobby stood to
follow
her
and felt Adam grab his arm. “Give her a few
minutes son. Your mother is struggling. Her memories came back in
full force a few days ago. That was when you heard her
screaming.”

“Can we press charges
against him? Has the statute of limitation expired on a rape crime?
I want him to suffer for what he
did
to my mother.”

“He is suffering Bobby. His
conscience has followed him for nineteen years. He wrote a letter
to Mom and Dad, confessing what he had
done
but never told
them the name of the person he hurt. For some unknown reason, they
chose to keep it a secret from us. Had we known the letter existed,
it may have prompted a memory from your mother.”

“This is
utterly
unbelievable. How could they keep something like this a
secret? Did the drug
literally
wipe out her
memory?”

“Yes it did, however, subconsciously;
your mother has been trying to remember what happened. She’s had
nightmares for many years, and once she discovered the truth, her
memory returned in a dream.”

“What can I do Dad? I feel
helpless!”

“I want you to do what you’ve always
done Bobby. Love your family. Tell your sister that you love her.
Be supportive of your mother. She will need all of our strength to
get through this.”

Adam rose from his seat. “I
need to check on Mom, and I want you to check on
Gail. I told her that we were
going to tell you
the truth.”

Bobby nodded and walked
back to the family room. Gail was channel surfing. He walked over
to the
bed,
and she patted the mattress. “Sit next to me big
guy. We need to talk. Did you speak to Mom and Dad?”

“Yeah, I talked to them. I can’t
believe it!”

“I know. Imagine how I feel hearing all
of this!”

“I can’t even imagine how I would
react.”

“I’m so
upset, but I try not to show it because Mom and Dad are struggling
with this.
How do you feel Bobby? Does this
change our relationship?”

“Hell no, who else can I
irritate? Your nagging and whiny voice
are
music to my ears.
We are a team
runt
; always remember that we are a
united front against the evil forces in the world.”

“You sound like a science fiction geek
at some convention.”

“I am a force of nature, and don’t you
forget it.”