Truth (62 page)

Nathaniel wondered what Samuel would do if
he knew about the Switzerland investments. That information was
only shared by Nathaniel, his wife, and his grandson. The monies
needed to be routinely moved. The relocation of his investments
kept curious individuals from discovering the actual administrator.
He didn’t physically move the money, but at least twice a year he
took a trip to Geneva and reallocated the funds. Throughout the
years his nest egg grew. With his inability to travel, Anton was
now his proxy.

Nathaniel encouraged Anton’s communication
with his parents. Family had always been important. Just because he
couldn’t stand the sight of his son, it didn’t mean Anton should
lose everyone. When Nathaniel spoke to his grandson, he could tell
Anton’s respect for his father had lessened. And despite his
current location, Nathaniel felt Anton’s growing respect for him.
Nathaniel believed his investments were in safe hands with his
grandson. Anton would never tell his father and disappoint his
grandfather.

Nathaniel dreamt night and day of leaving
the minimum security prison. That being said, Nathaniel Rawls
wasn’t a dreamer. He fought in WWII, clawed his way up the textile
business, and worked day and night to provide excessively for his
family. He understood the possibility he may not walk out of this
facility.

There were threats. There were people who
wanted what was rumored to be Nathaniel’s. Others believed by
hurting Nathaniel Rawls, they’d learn the truth about his supposed
hidden millions.

Therefore, not only did he trust Anton with
the knowledge regarding his monies, Nathaniel also trusted Anton
with watching over Marie and her daughter. Anton’s resources were
limited. Yet, if something happened to Nathaniel, his resources
would grow exponentially. The money in Switzerland would be jointly
owned by both Marie and Anton.

When Anton brought Nathaniel the information
on Sherman Nichols, AKA Cole Mathews, and Jonathon Burke, Nathaniel
knew he could trust his grandson with the name and location of
Marie’s child. She was safe and living with a loving set of
parents. Nathaniel hoped one day Marie would want to know more.
From what he’d learned, Marie should be proud of the young girl.
Though only eight, she appeared the perfect mixture of obedience
and precociousness. Looking at her biological mother, why wouldn’t
she be? They even had the same eyes.

“
Have you had any recent
problems with Samuel or Amanda?”

Marie lowered her lids momentarily and
exhaled. Although, obviously not her favorite subject, Marie
answered, “I haven’t heard from them this week. I did speak to
Anton about Samuel’s appeal to have our marriage voided.”

“
That is ridiculous. He
can’t do that. Our union is legal.”

“
Samuel has appealed to
the State of New York to find our marriage void, based on your
mental capacity.”

Their hands disconnected. Nathaniel abruptly
stood. His metal chair groaned with the sudden movement screeching
across the linoleum floor. “My mental capacity!” His face reddened
with exasperation. “My mental capacity -- he’s saying I’m
crazy?”

Marie’s lips tightened.
She didn’t like seeing Nathaniel this upset. He had other concerns.
Nevertheless, she relished his like-mindedness regarding Samuel.
She’d endured too many
congenial
family gatherings. When Nathaniel got out of this
prison, they’d be able to live without the daily intrusion of
her
son-in-law
.
“He claims your business actions confirm previous mental
instability. And the stress from the trial and now your
incarceration have worked together to diminish your ability to make
sound decisions.”

“
Then get a god-damned
doctor in here. I’ll do their tests – I’ll prove to the fucking
world I’m sane.”

Marie stood. Resolutely she walked toward
her husband. His eyes burned with intense darkness; yet, she showed
no fear. “He hasn’t been granted the right to sue -- yet. Hopefully
it will never get that far, and the courts won’t allow him to
challenge our marriage at all.”

Her words pacified him. His eyes softened
and the creases between his eyebrows mellowed. She reached again
for his hands. What she wanted more than anything was to feel his
arms around her and to be swallowed by his strong embrace. The
prison had rules regarding contact. If they didn’t abide by the
rules, Nathaniel’s visiting privileges would be denied.

Marie longed to have the
man before her resume his control of the world. That power combined
with his private tenderness attracted her. The man she loved was
unquestionably an enigma. Under no condition was he
insane
.

Nathaniel stroked Marie’s cheek. “Mrs.
Rawls, I will not let that happen. You are a mighty and remarkable
woman. No one will take your name away.”

“
Mighty?”

“
Yes, mighty –defined as
having superior power. Your strength in the face of adversity
continually amazes me. I’m awed by your constitution.” He kissed
the top of her hand. “You are
mighty
remarkable, Mrs.
Rawls.”

Hope is definitely not the
same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction
that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something
makes sense,
regardless of how it turns out.
-
Vaclav Havel

Chapter
41

Courtney eagerly relayed the conversation.
She couldn’t wait to tell Claire everything Tony said. His excuse
for visiting was to personally discuss the press release. Courtney
promised she and Brent did their best to appear astonished and
shocked by his change in attitude.

Brent reminded Tony about his threatened
civil suit. Courtney even cried remembering her visit to the jail
and inability to help. She said Tony claimed his outlook changed
after seeing and speaking with Claire in person. He claimed his
earlier anger was a form of self-preservation. He didn’t want to
admit having feelings for the woman he’d been led to believe
attempted to kill him. He told his friends he wasn’t sure where
this reconnection was headed, but he hoped for full
reunification.

Then according to
Courtney, he
apologized
for his previous behavior and announced he wanted
to bring Claire to Caleb’s wedding. Courtney said she almost lost
it. She’d wanted to get Claire to the wedding for so long. Now with
the possibility before her, she told Tony it wasn’t up to him, it
was up to Julia and Caleb. Courtney didn’t want her son’s wedding
to be a media circus, like the gala.

Graciously, Tony offered assistance with
security and promised discreet behavior. They called Caleb and
Julia. Courtney said Julia always liked Claire and was respectfully
supportive of Tony’s choice of guest.

Claire listened in total disbelief. The
wedding was in less than a week. She wasn’t supposed to see Tony
again for two weeks. Nonetheless, she truly wanted to attend the
wedding. As they spoke Claire thought about the trip she took with
Courtney to Texas. For some reason she remembered her period was
right before that trip. At the time she was relieved it occurred
before frolicking in the sun and surf.

At that second, while Courtney rambled on
enthusiastically about the wedding... Claire realized she hadn’t
had her menstrual cycle since.

When Courtney paused, Claire asked, “How
long ago did we go to Texas?”

“
I’m not sure. Things have
been so busy. I just know I can’t wait to see you again.” Perhaps
hearing Claire’s recent change in tone, Courtney added, “But, you
do what you feel is right. If you don’t want to be here with him,
don’t do it. We can get together again after the
wedding.”

Claire’s mind tried to process -- they went
to Texas in the middle of April. And now it’s almost June. She and
Harry first got together in San Diego. When was that? How effective
are condoms? How soon does morning sickness start? Those questions
and more bombarded her mind as she tried to maintain her
conversation, “I want to see you too.” Claire managed weakly,
“It’ll be hard to act like we haven’t been in contact.”

“
Well, don’t worry about
that. Just decide what you’re going to do.”

Before Claire could answer her iPhone rang.
It was the third call from Tony. “I need to go; he’s calling again.
I can’t avoid his calls all day.”

“
Love you, Honey. Tell me
what you decide, or maybe Tony should. That way I’ll react
honestly.”

“
Got to go, bye.” Claire
disconnected her
work
phone and answered the iPhone.

Tony’s call added to
Claire’s already fried emotions. Besides working things out with
Harry and Amber, she’d just learned Tony was going to ask her to
the Simmons’ wedding in five days, and she’d realized at the very
least, her period was three weeks late. Needless to say, she didn’t
need to feign anxiety; it was real. “Tony, this is the third time
you’ve called this morning. We aren’t making any public appearances
for two weeks.
Please
give me some space.”

“
Hello, Claire, so nice to
hear your pleasant tone.”

“
I’ve got a lot going on.
What do you want?”

“
Let me say, I would call
less frequently
if
you would answer your phone.” She didn’t respond. He
continued, “I made plans for us, for this coming
weekend.”

Despite the upheaval in her life, she
attempted to conceal the smile from her voice, not wanting the
emerging expression to reveal her eagerness to attend the wedding.
The mixture of emotions caused her voice to crack; hopefully it
came across as irritation, “I agreed to go to Chicago, in two
weeks. I’m not going anywhere with you next weekend.”

“
I believe I might be able
to persuade you otherwise.”

“
Is that a threat? What
are you going to do this time, arrange a walk-out of SiJo’s
employees?”

“
No, Claire. No threats –
I believe you’ll
want
to attend this function.”

Exasperation evident, she replied, “Why?
What function would I possibly want to attend with you?”

“
Caleb and Julia’s
wedding.”

Claire gasped. It was unbelievable. Even
after Courtney’s call, Claire never truly believed she’d have this
opportunity. “But, but... all of your friends think I tried to kill
you.”

“
The news release says
differently.”

“
That doesn’t mean they’ve
changed their opinion of me. They probably don’t want me there.” As
they continued to speak, Tony convinced Claire her presence was
welcomed. She agreed to fly commercial to Iowa City, arriving
Thursday afternoon. He wanted the chance for her to meet with his
friends before the wedding, which was Saturday.

Claire’s agreement contained a few
stipulations: She wanted a pre-purchased return ticket for Sunday.
Tony agreed.

The next confrontation
came when discussing accommodations. Tony wanted her to stay at the
estate. Claire’s initial response was
no
. Reinforcing her stance, she
exclaimed, “This idea is undebatable.”

Then Claire thought about Catherine. “The
news release said you let some longtime members of your staff go. I
know you still have Eric. Is Catherine still at the estate?”

“
She is. And she’s hoping
you will stay here.”

Claire exhaled, “My room will need a
lock.”

“
That isn’t a
problem.”

His answer made her
bristle. “It needs to be a lock that operates from the
inside
.” She clarified,
“Also I
will
keep
my phone at all times and have access to your Wi-Fi.”

He chuckled, “You drive a hard bargain. I
told you before you should go into business. You are a master
negotiator.”

Claire remembered Harry’s
words:
When it comes to Mr. Rawlings, your
negotiating skills are stellar!
My guess
is that you’ll leave your little meeting and move back to
Iowa.
She wasn’t moving. This was just a
visit.

As soon as she hung up with Tony, Claire
went to the store and bought a home pregnancy kit. Sitting at her
dressing table and waiting for the results, the memories of her
phone calls filtrated her thoughts. She wanted to go to Caleb’s
wedding. However, the results of this test could make everything
different.

Claire stared at the white
plastic stick and waited for the timer to sound on her iPhone. Did
she really need this little piece of plastic to tell her what she
already knew? She was experiencing all the symptoms: nausea - more
intense in the morning, hunger – all the time and tiredness – even
after napping, and thirst – unquenchable at times. Looking at the
two small openings within the stick, Claire saw lines begin to
form. The directions said:
results in
three minutes
. It had been less than one,
and the vertical blue line in the control window appeared before
her eyes, indicating the test was working.

Her head pounded with
questions. What symbol would appear in the other window? Would she
see a lone horizontal stripe meaning
not
pregnant,
or a horizontal and a vertical
stripe indicating
pregnant
. Essentially the directions
said a
plus
sign
would form in the case of pregnancy.
Plus
was often synonymous for
positive; thinking about that possibility,
positive
was not the word Claire
believed she’d use to describe her current mental state.