the arm and pulls me behind the trunk of a giant cedar tree. Starts warning me that Abraham is furious with me. Says Helen has just announced she’s pregnant and Abraham is all but looking for his gun. Tells me that if I value my hide I’d best turn straight around, get back into my car, and hightail it back to my apartment.”
Mort remembered this story.
“So I’m standing there, thunderstruck. I knew nothing about Helen’s being pregnant. Indeed, we’d only made love a handful of times. My head was spinning with fear. I could barely afford to feed myself on my first-year professor’s salary. How was I to support a child? I’d heard stories about Abraham’s devotion to his daughter.” Larry tapped the table in front of him, held Chief Willers in his gaze, and took a side road in his explanation. “Olivia, Helen’s mother, died when Helen was a senior in high school. Tragic death. Ruptured appendix turned septic in a heartbeat. She was alive and hale one day, dead the next. It shook both Abraham and Helen to the core. Helen said the only good thing born of that horror was Abraham’s shift in priorities. He was a multimillionaire by then. But Olivia’s death showed him the cost of his ambition. According to Helen he became a different man. He made a real effort to grow closer to his daughter. The two of them would go down to the docks together. He would take Helen with him as he checked on his fleets up and down the coast from Oregon to Alaska.”
“What did Helen make of that?” Chief Willers asked.
Larry considered the question. “I think she was this understandable mixture of grief, resentment, and joy. Helen came to love her father, I think. Not like she loved her mother or grandfather, that’s certain. And she may never have gotten over his abandonment of her as he grew his business when she was young. But she was proud of him. Proud of the relationship they’d been able to build.” He shook his head and smiled. “And she certainly liked being spoiled in the manner Abraham Smydon, Seafood King of Seattle, could.”
“So what happened when Abraham found out his daughter was pregnant?”
Larry slipped back into the enjoyment of the memory. “As I said, I was terrified when Carlton pinned me behind that tree and warned me to disappear. I see Helen running toward us. She throws her arms around me, kisses my neck, and asks me what we should do. I tell her I’m stunned. Why didn’t she tell me first? She steps out of my embrace and tells me not to be angry. She got caught in the moment and just blurted it out. Her father’s furious, she says. Carlton tells her he’s warned me to get out of there. Helen looks at me, fear in her eyes, and tells me perhaps that’s the best idea.” His voice softened. “In that moment all my fear disappeared. I took her hand and told her I wasn’t going anywhere. I pulled her close and looked over her shoulder to Carlton. I thanked him for his concern but assured him we’d be all right. I told Helen I was ready to meet our child’s grandfather.”
“Wow.” Rita Willers sounded impressed. “Then what happened?”
Mort watched her face as Larry finished the story. He wanted to see her reaction to how it all ended.
“Helen stepped out of my embrace and wrapped an arm around her uncle’s waist. Good thing, too. The two of them started laughing so hard I thought they’d fall over. Turns out Helen wasn’t pregnant at all. Her father was down at the lake, grilling salmon and expecting nothing more than an introduction to a man his daughter was dating. Apparently the two of them had thought it would be great fun to test me to see how I’d stand up to the great Abraham Smydon.”
Chief Willers raised an eyebrow. “And what did you think of their little prank?”
“Just what you’d imagine. I was angry at first, but, of course, Helen twirled about me, charming me into seeing it was just a clumsy way of seeing how serious I was for her. She blamed the
Mort remembered this story.
“So I’m standing there, thunderstruck. I knew nothing about Helen’s being pregnant. Indeed, we’d only made love a handful of times. My head was spinning with fear. I could barely afford to feed myself on my first-year professor’s salary. How was I to support a child? I’d heard stories about Abraham’s devotion to his daughter.” Larry tapped the table in front of him, held Chief Willers in his gaze, and took a side road in his explanation. “Olivia, Helen’s mother, died when Helen was a senior in high school. Tragic death. Ruptured appendix turned septic in a heartbeat. She was alive and hale one day, dead the next. It shook both Abraham and Helen to the core. Helen said the only good thing born of that horror was Abraham’s shift in priorities. He was a multimillionaire by then. But Olivia’s death showed him the cost of his ambition. According to Helen he became a different man. He made a real effort to grow closer to his daughter. The two of them would go down to the docks together. He would take Helen with him as he checked on his fleets up and down the coast from Oregon to Alaska.”
“What did Helen make of that?” Chief Willers asked.
Larry considered the question. “I think she was this understandable mixture of grief, resentment, and joy. Helen came to love her father, I think. Not like she loved her mother or grandfather, that’s certain. And she may never have gotten over his abandonment of her as he grew his business when she was young. But she was proud of him. Proud of the relationship they’d been able to build.” He shook his head and smiled. “And she certainly liked being spoiled in the manner Abraham Smydon, Seafood King of Seattle, could.”
“So what happened when Abraham found out his daughter was pregnant?”
Larry slipped back into the enjoyment of the memory. “As I said, I was terrified when Carlton pinned me behind that tree and warned me to disappear. I see Helen running toward us. She throws her arms around me, kisses my neck, and asks me what we should do. I tell her I’m stunned. Why didn’t she tell me first? She steps out of my embrace and tells me not to be angry. She got caught in the moment and just blurted it out. Her father’s furious, she says. Carlton tells her he’s warned me to get out of there. Helen looks at me, fear in her eyes, and tells me perhaps that’s the best idea.” His voice softened. “In that moment all my fear disappeared. I took her hand and told her I wasn’t going anywhere. I pulled her close and looked over her shoulder to Carlton. I thanked him for his concern but assured him we’d be all right. I told Helen I was ready to meet our child’s grandfather.”
“Wow.” Rita Willers sounded impressed. “Then what happened?”
Mort watched her face as Larry finished the story. He wanted to see her reaction to how it all ended.
“Helen stepped out of my embrace and wrapped an arm around her uncle’s waist. Good thing, too. The two of them started laughing so hard I thought they’d fall over. Turns out Helen wasn’t pregnant at all. Her father was down at the lake, grilling salmon and expecting nothing more than an introduction to a man his daughter was dating. Apparently the two of them had thought it would be great fun to test me to see how I’d stand up to the great Abraham Smydon.”
Chief Willers raised an eyebrow. “And what did you think of their little prank?”
“Just what you’d imagine. I was angry at first, but, of course, Helen twirled about me, charming me into seeing it was just a clumsy way of seeing how serious I was for her. She blamed the
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