Telling Truths Part II
Gulliver looked to January for help, but she sat there and
stared back at him. She had told him she’d let him navigate the questions and she wouldn’t paint him in a bad light in front of the child, but she was here for this conversation, and she wasn’t going to miss a beat of it.
“Well, Kaylee, I met your mom when I was trying to trap the other lady in her lies and her tricks.”
“Okay.”
“And I didn’t tell your mom I was supposed to marry someone else.” He cleared his throat and adjusted himself, so he was up on his elbow with the pillow tucked under his head. He took Kaylee’s hand in his and kissed her knuckles, “I told your mom I loved her and wanted to marry her.”
“Did you?” Kaylee asked excitedly. “Did you love my mom?”
“I did love your mom very much. I still do,” he shot January a look and she held her teacup in his direction with her middle finger extended around it and he gave her a sad smile. “However, I ruined it because I pretended with your mom to get married.”
Kaylee seemed confused and she looked at her mom, “you got married?”
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he gave honesty to his daughter. “I asked one of my friends to pretend he was the clerk. I got her to wear a pretty dress, and we had a wedding, but it wasn’t a legal wedding.”
“What is a legal wedding?” Kaylee seemed confused.
“Well, to make a marriage real, you need to register it with the government. You have to sign things like a license and then you send in your paperwork, and it makes it a real marriage in the eyes of the state.”
“Oh.”
“I made fake documents and tricked your mom into thinking they were real.”
Kaylee looked at her mother aghast, “he tricked you!”
“He did.” January had to admit she was impressed that he’d been so honest with Kaylee. She thought for sure he’d make it seem like she’d exaggerated things or that it was a misunderstanding. Instead, he was being forthright and honest.
“Did you believe him?”
“I did.”
“Daddy, that was bad!”
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“That’s dumb.”
The comment from Kaylee elicited a guffaw from January and she turned her head away to try to hide her laughter from the
curious child.
“It is dumb! I’m just a little girl, Dad and I know you should never lie to my mom. She hates lies.”
“I know but I thought I was going to catch the lady really fast and then your mom would never know and then I could make it right.”
“Dad!” Kaylee was staring at him in disbelief.
“I know. It was a bad idea.”
“The worst idea.”
“Mom found out and got mad?”
“She found and then she told your papa that I lied. Your papa called his friend Davis who told your mom I was a criminal and that lying wasn’t the only thing I did. David told your mom I was a bad guy and that I was dangerous and that if she didn’t get away from me, I would probably hurt her.”
Kaylee frowned at him, “are you a bad guy though Dad? Really?”
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“That’s right. You should never be afraid of me, Kaylee.”
“Why did Davis lie?”
“Well, sometimes people get ideas in their heads, and they start to believe their own stories. Davis thinks because I’m really rich, it means I’ve done bad things to get my money.”
“Did you?”
“No. My parents were really rich. They gave me a lot of money. I have two companies that I run for both my father and grandfather, and I get money from them which is a lot. I am very good at investing my money and I don’t spend money on stupid things. I don’t waste my money.”
“Mom,” Kaylee turned her attention to January, “what kind of bad things did Davis tell you my dad did? Why were you so
scared?”
January shook her head, not willing to tell her daughter such things.
Gulliver nodded, “yeah, January, tell her what he told you.”
At his push, she shrugged. “He told me that your dad works for an organization and that he kills people who don’t do what he wants. He told me that your dad steals and lies to get things he wants. He showed me all kinds of photographs of your father2:18
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“You told me to tell her!”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think he had photos of people he said I murdered. He told you I murdered people and showed you photos of you I knocked off?”
“Yes.”
“You believed him?”
“He had pictures!”
“Did he have pictures of me holding a gun and standing over
bodies?”
“No.” She frowned.
Gulliver leaned over Kaylee towards January and using his thumb and forefinger flicked her in the forehead. “Dumb.”
“How was I supposed to know? You lied to me about something so damn important. I heard the way you talked to Thisbe that day, Gulliver. You were cold, ruthless, mean.”
“I was trying to scare her into keeping her mouth shut.”
“You’re an idiot.”
5akes one to know one.” Gulliver retorted.
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“I promise I’ll only be honest.”
Kaylee grinned and then frowned, “I need to pee.” She scrambled over Gulliver, raced to the bathroom, and slammed the door shut.
Gulliver looked at January, and she shifted uncomfortably at being alone with him in bed. She took a sip of her drink ignoring the way he was scooting closer to her.
He rested his hand on her lap atop the blanket, “I’m sorry, January. I did a lot of thinking last night and sorry really isn’t enough. Last night was a mess and I’ll fix it. I promise. When Kaylee isn’t with us, I would very much like a chance to apologize correctly.”
She shifted at his words. “I’m sorry too. I lashed out last night because Thisbe pissed me off.”
“I’ll have a chat with her too. I’ll make her back off.”
“Thank you.”
As she drank the rest of her tea, she felt maybe this was the beginning of a quiet truce.
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