8 comments/ 13874 views/ 3 favorites Dilemma Continued Ch. 01 By: northlander Part 1 The continuing story of Chris and Lorelei Chris, and Cindy's wishes These stories will not stand alone, the reader should read both Dilemma and Dilemma -- Lorelei's Story by Joesephus first. When I read his stories I felt that unfortunately he left us before he could resolve the dilemma of the relationship between Lorelei, Cindy and Chris. One more sinned against than sinning, another battling health problems and Chris so devastated that what he believes was done to him by Lorelei, becomes the real world until he meets Cindy, a girl who believes in him enough to try to put him back together again. I hope that my attempt to try to provide closure between three unfortunate people lives up to the standard set by Joesephus. This is my first submission and any constructive criticism is welcome. Also, in this series of chapters the characters are not based on any actual person living or dead, and where any educational institution is named, it is for story purposes only and does not infer any actual wrongdoing on the part of that institution or by any of it's personnel * Dazed, that was exactly how I felt when I held the appointment card from Lorelei. I couldn't figure how Lorelei would have known about Cindy's eggs until I thought to myself, "Cindy you have obviously been up to something, but I wish you had told me what it was before you were called home". Just then one of the babies began to fuss so I put the card down and by the time I got the babies settled for the night I was getting pretty frazzled. Any parent knows what the Terrible Twos are like and two of them are double trouble. I don't know if it was deliberate or not, but the appointment card had slipped my mind, and I didn't think of it for a couple of days Several days later I was at work when I got a call from an Allan Jerome, apparently he was Cindy's lawyer. Someone else I didn't know. I had been aware that she had someone working on her behalf about her books and royalties but I had never met him. He sat me down in his office and apologized for not contacting me earlier. He had been away in Europe and had missed the news of Cindy's death. He handed me a copy of her will which he said had been modified a few months earlier. It was pretty straight forward, a few little bequests of mementos to her family and all else was left to me, except for the royalties to her books which were to be placed in a trust fund for the education of our children. I was quite happy with this. We sat back with coffees and Allan said, I've always wanted to meet the man who won Cindy's heart, She told us so much about you and how you had become her whole life. She made you a giant of a man at least in her heart. I think she knew that before too long something was going to happen and left me with another package for you in case it did. She told me to ask you to read it all through to the end, and that if anything hurt you to please bear with her. Some of what you will read she fully intended to tell you at some point, until her illness caught up with her. She wanted to use the remaining time to allow you to enjoy each other and the babies. He gave me a large, heavy manila envelope addressed to me in Cindy's hand. I told him that I didn't want to read the material then and would take it home. I did ask Allan whether he would act as a trustee for Cindy's trust fund for the children and whether he would act for me in the future and he happily agreed to both. I went home with a heavy heart wondering if I should open the package or not. I was scared at what I might find inside. I showed it to Sandy, my sister. She had been looking after the babies and I asked her to stay until they were fed and in bed asleep. I wanted to talk to her about the package. She called home to Jim and told him that she was going to be late and might stay over as she felt that the twins and I were going to need someone for a little while. Once the children were settled, we settled in armchairs with a glass of wine, and I told Sandy that I was really scared about opening it. If there was something that was bad about Cindy I didn't really want to hear it, in case it harmed my memories of her. Sandy's answer was that she only knew what Cindy had told her about a part of her life, that there could have been more but knowing the way Cindy felt about me and the children, if Cindy had written something that might hurt, it was because she felt that it would be important for me to know. With some trepidation, I opened the envelope. In the package were several envelopes, one in Cindy's hand said Read Me First so I opened it and began to read. My dearest Chris If you are reading this then we have been parted for a while. I have been feeling rough now for a few days and when I saw my doctor she told me that the heart may be showing some signs of rejection. We both knew that this was a possibility and were prepared for it. She explained the options, and it was either to try stronger medications, or another transplant. I opted for the medications because the blessings that have been given me since the transplant have been so great that I could not deny them to another by taking another heart. I am ready to meet my maker and the first thing I will do is thank him for allowing the happiness that we have had. I will miss bringing our babies up with you, but I know that if any man can do a great job of that, it is you. Our other two babies should be given their chance at life, you know my feelings on that and depending on you they will be, why that will depend on you is as follows. Please my love, keep on reading even though it may hurt. Believe me the hurt will ease and it will be no worse than the hurt I feel as I write things that I wish I were there to say. You may have had, or you will get a card for the fertility clinic and that card will be from Lorelei. Even if Jim were willing there is no way that Sandy could handle being a surrogate again. Our twins will always be a part of her too, that is why she is always so willing to help with them. Why Lorelei? The woman you believe spurned you for the embrace of a university professor. Please bear with me while I explain. Once we decided to marry, I knew that I had to meet Lorelei if only to understand what had happened between the two of you, because you just couldn't handle discussing her in any way. When we met your family, I had already asked your mother to take me to meet her so on that girl's afternoon out when we went to look at the church we got together. I expected someone who was maybe a bit of an airhead, I figured anyone who would cheat on you was not in their right mind. Imagine my surprise when I met a very smart capable lawyer who had no qualms about telling me what happened. Lorelei told me she didn't date, had no boyfriends, said she didn't have a lot of time. She had already had Professor King lose his job on charges of sexual harassment charges regarding her and two other women and was trying to get him disbarred. She told me she resented that you never gave her a chance to explain, what happened, how she felt but she doesn't feel that you should have stayed with her. She described herself as a slut and a whore who deserved what she got. She still uses her married name though. She represents a lot of women who have ended up getting raw deals from employers, teachers and the like but she doesn't touch divorce. We kept in touch over the years since you and I married, mostly by phone. I didn't want to keep it a secret from you, but I was scared of your reaction, you were so against her. Bit by bit she told me the whole story, about King offering to give her the ride to Dallas, then taking her to dinner at the hotel, then going back to his room and even though she found it against everything she wanted and believed in, having sex with him even though she loathed it. She told me that she was just about to light into him in front of the crowd and tell him that she was going to have him investigated for sexual harassment and assault,then she saw you arrive, all the fight went out of her and all she could talk was nonsense. Then of course King grabbed her, took her out on the dance floor, and while you were leaving threatened her with what would happen if she talked. After she had partially recovered, she went up to his room and hammered on his door, accusing him of ruining her life. To get rid of her the slimeball had her taken to a mental hospital by the police You would be absolutely right to ask me why I would end up befriending the woman who you felt ruined your life. My answer, and this is where the shock will come to you and Sandy, is there but for the grace of God go I. This is the first time I have told this to anybody who loves me. Sandy told you that in my first year at University I was not exactly the queen of virtue. I began to straighten out in the second year, dating less, studying more even going to Christian meetings. However my sex life was still pretty active if more hidden. The only difference was that instead of college boys and parties I had discovered professors. There is no way that I can describe the heady feeling that a female student can get when she realizes that this teacher with the great brain is interested in her, the dazzling feeling that she gets. After years of being expected as a female to take second place somebody is actually treating her as if her opinion and thoughts matter. The thought that they may just be doing that to get into your pants doesn't even register. I had two relationships, one with a math professor Peter Jenkins, it lasted a couple of months. I felt he respected me, treated me well, the sex wasn't that great but we got on well. After a while the fire died down and we decided to call it quits. Then I met up with a real fireball, a philosophy professor, David Allan. He had a great mind, explained his thoughts well, treated me like a queen and the sex was just great. Trouble was he was just another Professor King. Let's face it, most teachers in university are just ordinary people trying to do a good job but there are the ones like King and David Allan who are totally unscrupulous and should never be allowed near students. After a month with Allan I found out two things, one was that I was one of a number of lovers that he was stringing along, the other was that I was pregnant. I went to his office one day, interrupting a liason with his secretary and blurted out that I was pregnant. His answer was "how do I know it's mine?". I told him that he was the only one that I was having sex with and that when the child was born blood and DNA tests would show he was the father. He just bent over, opened his desk drawer and took out a check book. He looked straight at me and said how much is it going to cost me never to hear of this again. I couldn't believe the words. The shock to my mind was tremendous. I ran from his office went to my dorm and didn't leave my room for two days. I wish I had found the fortitude that Lorelei did dealing with King. She did something about it, I chose to hide. I didn't tell anybody about being pregnant apart from the university clinic and doctor. You know my views on terminating pregnancies so I was planning to have my baby regardless and probably put it up for adoption, but the good Lord decided for me. About 9 weeks into the pregnancy I suffered a miscarriage and cried on my own for a couple of weeks. Then I looked at myself in the mirror, cleaned myself up and started into a counseling program at the church which helped me a great deal. I had a great counselor who helped me see that I was the party who had been wronged. I had been taken advantage of by an unscrupulous person who cared nothing for me. It wasn't my fault that Allan had traded on my faith and trust in my instructors to seduce me, I had accepted him at face value, just as we do other people that we let into our lives, he was the one who had taken that faith and twisted it. That episode became the end of the dating and sex. I applied myself to my studies, graduated and followed my career. That is until the fateful day that I went to that fertility clinic and you started my heart doing flip flops. Let's face it, you know the rest, it's our family history. Now you know the worst, I hope I haven't hurt you by telling you, I know I should have told you even before we were married but I just couldn't it has always been that dark period that I couldn't share with anyone, just like that dark period in your life between walking out of that hotel in Dallas and ending up in Philadelphia that you have never been able to tell me about, let's say I know all about feeling that way. Been there, done that, but luckily I met you. The rest of the package is Lorelei's story, as she told me, and a summary of what she has done on behalf of other women and herself to get rid of teachers like Professor King and others like him. Please my dear, read it because I think that if you do, as the much wiser person that you are now you will see things in a much different light. When Professor King happened on the scene, both you and Lorelei were much younger, much more inexperienced and far more idealistic than you both are now. Besides, I think there was more in what happened than meets the eye and merits careful investigation by someone with a good knowledge of the school and the people, see if you agree with me. I will always love you and look forward to us meeting again on the other side of the veil, your loving wife Cindy Feeling absolutely dazed I handed the letter over to Sandy, when she was finished reading, through her tears she said. " I always felt there was something else in Cindy's life, for a while, Cindy didn't contact us or visit, kept herself to herself but then once she was her normal cheerful self, she never said a word about her life. What are you going to do with the rest of the material and more important, the other two eggs?". I told Sandy that I didn't know, that I was going to have to sleep on it, that I still didn't really want to know what had happened, Lorelei had gone to someone else, and I still had difficulty handling that. Sandy's answer was "Chris, you know that Cindy trusts and wants you to do something that she was unable to finish. There is no way that she would want you to stay static in your life, she expects you to move on with your life and the lives of your children, and doing what she asks of you would be a tremendous start". "While you sleep on it, do you mind if I read the rest". I told her to go ahead, and that I was going to bed, I really appreciated her being with us and would see her in the morning and I hoped that I would have come to a decision by then. To be continued Dilemma Continued Ch. 02 These stories will not stand alone, the reader should read both Dilemma and particularly Dilemma – Lorelei's Story by Joesephus first as this chapter hinges on that story but I don't want to bore the reader by repeating it. Some of Lorelei's story as written by Joesephus is included for continuity Time for a decision No matter how I tossed and turned, I could not find sleep that night. At about three in the morning I gave up and threw on a robe and went downstairs. At the kitchen table I found Sandy with papers in front of her and what looked like tears in her eyes. I poured a coffee from the pot and sat across from her. She looked up and said "Chris, I have to be absolutely frank with you. And I don't want you to feel hurt but I have to say this". I thought Oh Oh, what is coming? She went on "You know that when you first met Cindy, I wasn't that impressed with you, I thought you were kind of self centered and it wasn't until you went through Cindy's transplant and her recovery with her that I started to feel that you were a pretty good guy and a real partner for her." "If I hadn't felt that way, there is no way that I would have acted as a surrogate mother for your children. Well I'm adding my voice to Cindy's and asking you to read Lorelei's story and those of the women she helped. I think it would be an education for you. I agree with Cindy that there is more to be done and if you won't do it because of some past beliefs then you aren't the man that Cindy and I think you are" Sandy took me aback, I was just stung by her words. I thought does nobody see Lorelei as I do, I'm the guy who was hurt by her actions, doesn't that matter? Why are they so much on her side? I turned to Sandy, "I have to go for a walk for a bit, can I leave the children with you for a while" She said she would look after them, so I dressed and took off into the night. Thoughts hammered my mind, it seemed for hours. Eventually I found an all night diner and while I was hunched over a coffee I finally told myself. Chris, you've resisted this for six years but Cindy and Sandy are right. It's time you found the truth for yourself, no matter what the truth reveals. As luck would have it, there was a cab driver right there having coffee so I got home a lot quicker than I left. Sandy was in the process of feeding breakfast to two hungry children, Grace and Lyan chattered away at me, grinning around their spoons and getting food all over the place. Sandy said "Well what are you going to do?" I replied "I'll take that stuff through into my den, and start into it". She smiled and gave a sigh of relief, "Thank you for listening to us, I'm sure that you will find some surprises" I took the paper into the den and looked down at the top one, It had Lorelei's Story written on it. I lifted it and began to read "Dear Cindy. I still sit and wonder that of all people you could have picked to befriend, you chose me Chris's ex wife of all people. Standing at the back of the church when you both exchanged your vows was like turning a knife in my body. Trouble was I couldn't hate you, and I realized that if Chris was ever to heal then you were the best person to help him. Anyway you wanted me to explain what happened to me and Chris on that day in Dallas the day our marriage was assassinated by that bastard King and what transpired after. Here it is. It is a copy of a journal I wrote when I was asked to by my counselor (I'm still going occasionally so that is how it will read) Half an hour, that's all it took, half an hour to destroy my life and Chris's. That's all it took for that bastard King to screw me and destroy our life together. I still have difficulty believing that it was possible for him to do that and ruin our lives. I still can't give any answer as to why I went to his room, and why I didn't fight harder to stop him. It was like the whole thing was happening in a dream. I certainly didn't want him as a lover. I hated the whole process, it certainly wasn't seduction, there was no love in it, I just seemed powerless to stop the man. He just pushed me down on the bed, pulled up my skirt, pulled my panties to one side and stuck his penis into me. Ten minutes later it was all over as he pulled out and sprayed his semen all over my clothing. It felt unreal, as if I couldn't stop him if I tried. I felt excited, but I wanted Chris my husband, not Jacob King. He was the last person that I would make love to by choice. To understand Chris and I, you have to know this, Chris and I were born a couple of days apart in the same hospital to best friends. Our mothers met in the first prenatal class they went to, and fast became friends, almost family. In fact we spent more time with them than with family. We lived just a couple of blocks apart, visited almost daily so as we grew up, Chris and I were together much of the time. I might say we spent almost as much time together as twins and developed a sixth sense as to what the other was doing and thinking. We started kindergarten together and were together through school. Even in High School we still had lots of classes together. Chris was more than a friend, he was my protector as well. Not that anyone really tried anything after our first year when he took on the meanest dumbest football player in the school because he was insulting me. It almost got him killed but he just didn't quit till he got the point across. I never had problems after that, and while Chris didn't know it, I was proud to be known as Chris's girl and untouchable. Chris is a runner and a soccer player. He's strong and fast but he's lean, .UT won two national championships when Chris was on their club team because he just wouldn't quit. If I tell you about the last one, I think you might understand It went to four overtimes and the only man on the field still running off the ball was Chris. He scored the winning goal with less than a minute left before they went to shoot-outs, although you'd never hear that from him. Chris is modest, and I think that's what made him popular. Yes, he was a jock, but he didn't act like he was anything special, nor did he seem to realize that most of the girls in the senior year would have dropped their pants for him if he just smiled at them. Well maybe not most, but a significant number anyway. He radiated strength and confidence and gave it to others. . He gave me the strength and confidence in myself to go out for soccer myself, and to run for office in the class. Because I was with Chris, it gave others confidence in me. If you don't see it yet, there might be a better man, someplace, but I don't know where, certainly I have never met one. So why King? Why did I betray Chris? Now I know why, because King knew all the buttons to push and pushed them. Everything I had told him about me, about my father's death and me blaming myself for it, he used against me. I accept all the blame for what I did, that is no problem. Like a fool I was trusting and since the start of the class I had given him all the ammunition he needed to get to me. I wasn't forced by King, He didn't push me into his room. His reason just seemed to be common sense and ok. I could have walked out at any time and I knew what we were doing was wrong but I just didn't have the power to stop it. That's why I can't forgive myself for letting him fuck me. When I opened my legs for him, I knew it was wrong, and did it anyway.. The week before that trip, Professor King invited us to his place.. That's when he started talking about his own daughter, how she had chosen to stay with her mother and how he didn't get to see her, that it was so unfair that she had stayed with her cheating Mom.. I should have clued in then, but fool that I was I felt sorry for him. I was thrilled when he offered me a ride to Dallas It should have raised all sorts of flags, instead I felt so sorry for him. I was so excited when he "discovered" that Chris couldn't leave early because of a class, and offered to take me to Dallas early and Chris could follow that afternoon after his class. Even though there were others in the car, I think his charm still would have broken down my defences on the 3 ½ hour trip. King had all the charm and persuasiveness you'd expect from a top notch lawyer, And he really turned it on for my benefit. The hotel was even more than I had expected It was a different world, so much more than I was used to and I felt so sophisticated as we shared a couple of drinks in the bar. He even bought the drinks with the other professors standing right with him. Everything seemed so above board that I didn't think twice about it when he invited me to his room because he didn't want to be seen socializing too much with one of his students. It's no excuse, even though I just had a couple of drinks but I felt a little drunk when he started in about his daughter letting him down by choosing to live with her cheater of a mother.. He got me talking about Daddy and when I started crying he put his arms around me to comfort me, I was in so much pain I didn't react when he kissed me. Sex never entered my mind with that first kiss, just the need to comfort him, and to be comforted. But it wasn't a comforting kiss, it was full of passion, and for some crazy reason I responded to it. If I'd had the sense to stop it right there, that would have been it, no problem but I just didn't seem able to, when I felt his hand in my pants, I knew I had to stop him. I knew I could and wanted to stop him but it just seemed so much trouble to do it so I didn't. He just pushed me back on to the bed, pulled up my skirt, pulled my panties to one side and started to fuck me. I was so dry that he was hurting me. As he pushed into me, I pushed back just as if I was fucking him back. It wasn't passion, or my body betraying me. I just wanted it over and done with. All I could think of was how I was betraying Chris, but I just couldn't fight King. He pulled out, shot his semen over my panties and said I didn't want to cum inside you so Chris can't tell unless you tell him and I don't think you want to do that. I got back to my room took a really hot shower and got rid of the panties King had soiled. I knew what I'd done. I felt then and still do that I was a cheating slut and I'd betrayed the only man I'd ever love. I did it knowing that I was doing it and my biggest concern was how I was going to tell Chris, because I could not keep that secret to myself. I know now that I was making mistakes, and compounding them as I went. I should have kept the panties. I should have called the police and told them, but I thought that I had done this willingly and had no comeback . Then I figured I had to get Chris back to Austin to our home before I told him. All I could think of was that when Chris found out, if King was anywhere close, then Chris would kill him. That was when I saw that stupid note about the sheets. I felt a longing for Chris that I had never felt before. I wanted the comfort of his arms but felt that I was a cheater and he deserved better. A phrase I had heard in class came to mind, Once a cheater always a cheater, I couldn't let him be stuck with someone like me. Okay, that's it I don't think I can say it any plainer, I screwed up and was an emotional disaster area., That's the closest I can be to making any excuse . Why I couldn't make sense when I talked to him, I will never know. And why I let King take me back on the dance floor is even more inexplicable. Maybe I was trying to get him away from Chris as I was sure he was going to say something to Chris. His face was enough, the gloating look gave things away to Chris almost right away. When I came down from the room I saw Chris at the front desk. I hoped that he would go up to the room first and give me a little more time. I went into the ballroom and sat at an empty. Of all things, that rat King came over and sat down, talking about our new relationship, how we would have to keep it quiet. He was still setting me up. I blew my top, and was about to give him hell, when I felt Chris's hand on my shoulder. I wanted him to help me pack, but instead made that damn stupid comment about the sheets being 1000 count. It was obvious that Chris knew something had happened, but I don't think he realized what it was exactly. Then when King whisked me away on to the dance floor, that just made it plain. It was just as if King was saying "see I've taken your cheating slut of a wife away from you" Why I danced with him, I have no idea, all I wanted was to be with Chris. I could understand me dancing with him as much as I could understand how I let him fuck me. I had no idea. When we were dancing he started on about keeping our affair quiet. I smiled at him, just as seductively as I could and sweetly said. "In this society I can't kill you. I can't even assault you but I can guarantee you this, I'm going to make sure that you lose your job, your money and your law licence. It may take time but I will do it. You have no idea how much it is going to cost you for causing me to lose Chris". I just spat in his face and left him standing, in the middle of the floor in shock. Perhaps I was his only victim to ever fight back. As I walked back to the table, I saw Chris' back as he left the room. I thought he was going to our room and I decided that I needed a few minutes to clam down before I faced him. I sat for a few moments to collect myself. The it happened, I had this horrible feeling, that Chris was gone, that I was alone I've learned through my therapy—about the only thing useful from my therapy—that Chris probably went into what is called a fugue state. It similar to dissociative amnesia, and it sort of means that the body continues to act on auto pilot but the mind has taken a vacation to a dark place. I was worried sick. I called his cell, it went to voice email. I called the room there was no answer. I called his cell again and it went to voicemail, so I left a message asking if he was okay, and told him that I needed to talk to him so badly and loved him so much. I was so scared, I trembled as if I had a fever, and hardly knew where I was. I got back to the room somehow and collapsed on the bed, a bed I knew that I would never share with Chris. It took about an hour before that steel streak of mine kicked in and I put together enough pride and anger to start to take back my life. King was going to pay! Of that there was no doubt. I'd told him what I was going to do, now I needed to figure out how I was going to do it. I knew that with the way the schools responded to threats of sexual harassment suits, I could get him fired. I also knew that I wouldn't do that just yet. I'm a lawyer, I know what the law allows, but I also know what's right and wrong. King seduced me, he never offered me grades or favors or issued any threats. But I also knew that because he was the type of slime ball he was, that I wouldn't be the only one. I'd been seduced, but I was sure I'd be able to find some of his students who had been harassed. I would have that bastard's job, just like I'd promised him earlier. Try as I might, I just couldn't get hold of Chris. Where he was I had no idea, maybe on his way back to Austin, I couldn't sense him at all, it was like he had closed himself off totally from me, and my biggest fear was that he would either harm himself, or King and King wasn't worth going to jail for. I had an image of a gun from somewhere and I called Chris's cell once more. I'm not sure how I spent the next two hours. Perhaps I entered my own little fugue state. Then suddenly, I felt a new bolt of fear shoot through me. I was terrified for Chris. I had an image of Chris with a gun in his hand and grabbed my cell phone and again went to voice mail. I tried not to let my fear show in my voice, but I couldn't help it. I was sobbing and begging Chris. I was trying to make him understand that what I'd done, what I was, didn't change who he was. Finally, I said something important, although I didn't realize it for several years. I said "we would get past this." The important word there is "we." Less than two minutes later Chris was back. I knew he wasn't okay, but for the first time in over three hours I could sense him again. I wish I hadn't. "I could feel his pain." I know that phrase was hackneyed and overused when I was still a kid, but in this case it was true. I had an image of King on top of me, inside me and I lost it. His room was only a few doors down from mine and I flew out into the hall and I began pounding on his door. I wanted to kill him. I know that Chris felt the same way, he'd already driven his hunting knife all the way through King's front door. All I could think about as I pounded on that door was that if Chris killed that piece of shit he'd go to prison. Even Texas no longer allowed a man to get away with murder... even justified murder. I couldn't let that happen, if someone was going to prison it was going to be me, it was less than what I deserved. And Chris was gone again! I left with him. I'm not sure where he went, but I ended up in a mental hospital. It was two days before I "came to." I called Momma and told her to come get me. I wasn't insane, but I wasn't a whole person either. I understood what I'd done to Chris and I hated myself for it. Because we were "connected," it was far worse for him, he knew that there was no excuse. I'd broken him and I'd made him something he could never have envisioned. I made him a cuckold. For years, just thinking about what I'd made Chris was enough to send my blood pressure through the roof. I'm not going to bore you with the sad saga of my life after Chris left. I will say that it almost killed Momma. Chris was a son to her and she begged me to try to find some way to try to get past what I'd done. She never understood that even if somehow Chris could forgive me, if somehow he wanted me to stay with him, all that would do, would be to lower my respect for him. I could never be married to a wimp! Besides, even if we could somehow work past that, even if he was misguided enough to trust me the way a husband should trust a wife, I could never trust myself. I'm a cheat and a slut. I broke the most important vows it's possible for a person to make. By doing that I broke the finest man I've ever met. Chris needed healing and I knew I couldn't—I didn't have the health in me to heal him.What I did have was a burning need for revenge, and I got it in spades. I found two student from King's summer class who he'd bedded. One did it under threat and one for the promise of grades. I'm not particularly proud of the tactics I used to force them to come forward, but King was publicly fired. I got my law degree, passed the bar. I found women who had worked for him and been harassed. I sued on their behalf and I wiped him out financially. It took longer but I found a former client who had been pressured to sleep with him and I got him disbarred. How did I manage to find and get those women to come forward? Let me just say that Chris's second major was in computers. Some of his friends wanted to see justice done. I gave my portion of the settlement to the women's shelter. All of that took almost four years. They were lonely years, and my obsession with getting revenge was my life. Did I date? No! I know there are men who don't mind getting hooked up to a slut and a cheat, but I knew I could never be involved with a "man" like that. Even so, I still feel that there was more that I could have done, but I just don't know what it is. 'Anyway, back to the present, when Chris brought you down to meet his Mom and Dad. It almost killed Momma, but I understood why Chris couldn't see either of us. All it could do was bring up memories of a life that I'd destroyed. Frankly, I didn't think I could bear to see him either. We'd had so much and it was gone. Have you ever seen "Gone With the Wind?" Dilemma Continued Ch. 02 They show it every year at the Paramount, a restored jewel of a theater in Austin. Our relationship was like the scene where you see a destroyed Twelve Oaks after the war. It had been so beautiful and it could never be rebuilt like it was. Just the memory of it... well I'd take to my bed every time I thought about it, so I didn't. I was shocked when you asked to meet me on that visit. I have to tell you, I was a bit schizophrenic. To my credit, I truly wanted Chris to be happy. I wanted him to find a good woman, marry and have as normal a life as he could. However, I couldn't help hating the woman who would take my place... until I met you. No one could hate you. When we met at the Southwestern campus chapel it was such a beautiful, peaceful place. you were there to see the chapel and that's were we talked. I'm not sure why I agreed to meet . Okay, I was curious and I still felt protective of Chris. I walked in determined to be polite to you, but I also think that I'd decided that if you weren't good enough for him, I'd find some way to send you home like I don't remember exactly what you said, but you totally disarmed me with a smile that melted my heart and suddenly I was pouring out my whole life story. When I was finished, you said, "Your revenge won't make you whole you know. You and Chris are brother and sister and neither of you will be whole until you're able to mend that portion of your lives".. When Momma told me that Sandy had agreed to carry your babies, I had another one of those split personality moments. I yearned to carry Chris' babies and was jealous, not of you but of Sandy. Still, I was too caught up with my plans for revenge and even if I'd wanted to, I just didn't have the time. You were different, you didn't just talk religion, you lived it. I was secure in the knowledge that whatever I said to you would not be told to Chris unless I said you could. I didn't want him to know that we were talking just then. Not until you helped me work through the remnants of what I had done. Your difference was that you never tried to minimize what I had done. We dealt with it fairly and squarely. Those phone conversations that we had were a lifeline for me. You made me realize that peace of mind would only come when Chris and I came to terms with each other and you wanted to work with both of us so that if we couldn't be a couple at least we could be friends. As you said, a lot of water had passed under the bridges of our young lives, that we could never forget even though we tried. You even encouraged me to start dating again, I tried, it just wasn't your fault that the dates I had just didn't measure up to what I had with Chris. They got to the kissing stage, but the spark just wasn't there and I wasn't about to make do with a second class relationship, just for the sake of having one. Some day that special person will come along again, but until then, that still doesn't mean that I am not envious of your relationship with Chris. I don't mean that I was against your marriage, but I never forgot that I was a cheater, an adulteress, and a slut. I hadn't been with another man since King. You encouraged me to think about dating and made me understand that while I couldn't change what had been, I could decide what I wanted to be. You gave me hope for a normal future. I tried dating but I could never meet that special person who gave me what Chris did. And trying to lower to lower my standards was not very successful When I learned from Momma that you were going to start to look for someone to carry your second babies, I thought about it, I prayed about it, and I decided that I wanted to carry them. When we began to talk in earnest about it, you wouldn't agree without Chris's full support as you thought by doing so, I would become part of your family. I know that Chris will take some preparation to come to grips with the idea but I still want to be your surrogate Mom it would be an honor to help you both. Lorelei I put down the letter, and walked over to the mirror on the wall. I looked at my reflection there and thought to myself, "You Total Jerk" I had loved Lorelei, but not enough to be there for her when she needed me most. All that I had thought about was what she had done to me. I didn't think for one minute of what King had done to her. "Lorelei, what did I do to you? how could I have been so stupid as to leave you to cope with this all by yourself. I should have been there beside you dealing with it." Well I had finally found the truth, and I wasn't impressed, certainly not with the part I played. I ran away like a little boy who had a favorite toy taken away from him and had kept up a fantasy that had no basis in fact. I asked myself, in view of the way I had behaved why would Lorelei want to carry the babies?. I read through the other material that Lorelei had sent, The one instance that was under threats, I found was very similar to that by Lorelei, similar enough that it really got my attention. The man she was engaged to and was supposed to be meeting had been delayed by having to take an extra class, and had arrived just in time to find his fiancé in a very distressed condition after having just left Dr King's office. She couldn't tell him what happened for several days and by that time all the evidence other than her word was gone. Talk about déjà vu. I went back through to Sandy and said, "Sandy, you are absolutely right. To read that letter and do nothing I would be that self indulgent stupid young man all over again. Well I'm not going to be., I'm going to write to Lorelei apologizing to her and asking for her forgiveness for what I did, and telling her that I would be honoured if she would be the surrogate mother for Cindy and my children. Also I am going to ask if she would allow me to have a more thorough investigation of Dr King's actions as I had picked up on something in what she had sent". Sandy smiled and said "I knew you would come through" as she handed me the pen, writing paper and envelope she had prepared. End Chapter 4 to be continued Dilemma Continued Ch. 03 This chapter does not stand alone, and should not be read without reading the preceding chapters including Dilemma and Dilemma Lorelei's story by Joesephus. In keeping with the original story, there is no active sex, it just deals with the wrong done to Lorelei and Chris. Chris and Lorelei Meet Again By going through Cindy's address book, I found Lorelei's address (another Cindy secret), I mailed the letter. Of course Sandy who had been a rock since Cindy died, had to go back to her own family or as she put it, her husband and children would be divorcing her. Since Cindy's letter, our relationship had undergone a subtle change, no more brother and sister, but more brother and sister, closer and more trusting. I would miss her being around to help and would have to at least hire a housekeeper and nanny. "Cindy, as always you have given me a tremendous challenge and I hope I can handle it in a way worthy of you, I miss you so much honey." I had put back a number of the projects that I had been working on after Cindy died and now had to play catch up. As I would have to travel on some of them, I really needed help so I gave Mom a call and asked if she would like to come to Philly and spoil her grandkids for a few weeks. She was at the airport two days later, and soon had the house and all those in it firmly under her rule, dad had come with her to help, and I welcomed the chance to try and put things right a little more. I had just got back from a trip to Chicago when Mom told me that there was a letter from Lorelei on my desk. She had recognized the handwriting My heart sank and my first thought was that Lorelei would have changed her mind about being Cindy's surrogate. I opened it and found this letter. "Dear Chris. First let me express my sympathy to you and your children in your loss of Cindy, I know that she was a vital force in your lives and you must miss her tremendously. I know that I will because she had become such a friend to me. I find it really strange writing to you, when our lives were once so entwined. I really don't know what to say, as I don't want to upset you. I did that years ago and have never let myself forget it. Why do I want to carry yours and Cindy's children? I have asked myself that question many times. The only way that I can explain it, is that when we were married I wanted your child so badly then suddenly because of something I still can't explain, I forfeited the right to do that. I felt that being a surrogate for Cindy was one way that I could help her, and also give you more of a family. I still feel that way, because I feel that Cindy will know and approve, and you deserve to see your family completed. I have arranged with my partners to cover my workload for several weeks next month, and if it is suitable to you, I can be in Philadelphia for the procedure on the first of the month. I will stay at a hotel until we know whether the procedure is successful then return to Austin until a month before the birth is due. Then I will return to Philadelphia for the birth. Luckily I have understanding partners, and I have already checked out doctors in Philadelphia. As far as your other question is concerned. I have checked with the other two women who had problems with King, you are welcome to use our information in any way that you wish, we all hate the man and anything that befalls him we cheer. Sincerely Lorelei" Mom looked at me, and I could see the questions in her eyes so I handed her the letter. As she read it, I could see the tears beginning to run down her cheeks. She had always had a soft spot for Lorelei. I warned her, "Mom, don't read anything into the letter that isn't there. I know that I was nothing but a coward running away, and that you and Dad were totally right when you told me that I should talk to Lorelei, but a lot of water has gone under the bridges since then. Lorelei is being great to do this but let's leave it at that for the present time. It's just too close to Cindy's death to think of anything further". She asked what the last paragraph of the letter was about, and I explained to her that both Cindy and I thought that there was more to King's actions than appeared and that I wanted to do a more in depth investigation if I could. Her answer was "finally you are doing what you should have done then, my prayers have been answered. Thank heaven for Cindy, her influence changed you, I am so proud that you have come forward this way". Next day, Allan Jerome made some time to see me, I let him read Lorelei's letter about King, and the material that she had given Cindy about the other two girls. He asked what had gotten my attention about it. I replied "two things, first Lorelei's insistence that in spite of the fact she didn't want King to touch her, she couldn't resist him. Sounds as if there was something else involved". "The second thing is the statement from the girl saying that her fiancé had to attend an extra class. That is exactly what happened with Lorelei and I, that was how King got to be alone with her". Allan thought for a minute and said, "not a lot when you think of each thing, but when you look at it overall, there could be something. Just leave it with me, I'll make some calls and get back to you". A couple of days later, Allan called me, "I've been in contact with the new U of T police chief. He seems to be a new broom, sweeping clean and when I told him what I was calling about, he got rather excited. Apparently he has been going through a bunch of cold cases, specifically sexual assaults, date rapes, party rapes and he thinks that the information that you have supplied might well give him a way into what was happening during the time period. His name is Peter Jenkins, and he would appreciate it if you gave him a call at your convenience" Allan gave me the number and I decided to call the chief the next day. His name seemed really familiar but I couldn't place it then. I called the number at U of T that Allan had given to me. It really felt strange, I was contacting the school that I had left under such disastrous conditions years ago, after I swore I would never have anything to do with the place again. A cheerful voice answered, "Peter Jenkins here, how can I help you". I told him who I was and he replied "Hi Chris, I bet you don't remember me. Just think of the U of T soccer team when you started here. I was two years ahead of you, in my last year here". Then I remembered him, a law student and a really good fast striker, we really missed him after he graduated. We chatted for a minute, then Peter said "Chris what the situation is here, is that we have had a bunch of retirements in the senior faculty, so now we have a number of younger, more progressive people in the seat of power. One of the things that they have focused on is making the campus safer for the younger female students and cutting the sexual offences, making sure that all understand that "No" means "No" not try a little harder or use force or drugs. What happened with Lorelei and the girls she found, was only the tip of the iceberg. So much was swept under the rug by the good old boys network that really it was just criminal. No matter what the campus police wanted to do, they were hampered bu those who didn't want the publicity. What I want to ask, is could you possibly come to Austin at your convenience and give us some assistance in the investigation that is going on?. Hopefully it would just be for a few days, I don't want to take up too much of your time. I understand you are in the field of computer security and that would help us as well". I explained that I was going to be busy for a few weeks but I would be able to make it to Austin then. I wanted to help because my curiosity had been roused and I would like to see the investigation completed. As well I wanted to be in Philly when Lorelei came to go to the clinic. She would be here for a couple of weeks till we knew if the in vitro procedure had worked, so I was going to book a hotel for her. I figured it was the least I could do, considering what she was doing for me. One night, the inevitable happened. The phone rang and when I picked it up and answered, a voice that I knew so well echoed in my ear. "Chris", she said, I almost couldn't answer, until my mind took over and I felt a warm little feeling in my body, we spoke for a couple of minutes, mostly generalities, I can't even guess at what we said. Eventually Lorelei said "I called to let you know that I will be arriving in Philly on March 1st. If you let me know the name of the hotel I will go directly there, I don't want to force myself on you as I know the way you have felt about me. I will contact the clinic and make the arrangements for the procedure". I replied "Lorelei, just let me know when your plane arrives. I'll be there at the airport. I'll be honest, I don't know how I will feel when I meet you again, but I wouldn't be the person that I like to think I am now, if I wasn't to meet you and be there to help, especially considering the tremendous thing that you are going to do for Cindy's memory and for her family. The past is the past and I hope that we can keep it that way" A week later, I was waiting as the flight from Austin unloaded. Then I saw that familiar slim figure and walk as Lorelei walked out of the arrivals area. I half expected to feel really upset when I saw her, but time heals most wounds I guess. Other than my pulse racing a little, I didn't feel badly at all. Lorelei had lost a little weight, and her face had matured. It had taken on planes and character, where before it had been the curves of youth. She looked really well. She said "you look a little older but it looks good on you, more dignified and less boyish. The thought of us meeting has been a bit of a strain for me too! Lets just go sit for a few minutes and have a coffee and get reacquainted a little". We went to the restaurant and she found a table while I got the coffee. "Sorry" I said, "This is an airport after all and coffee is pretty well the same horrible brew as other airports, at least it is wet and warm which is more than I can say for the temperature outside. I hope you brought a good coat with you". She smiled and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find coats meant for Philly in March, in Texas" "It's almost impossible". We chatted for a while about general things, it's hard to talk about important things in an airport, then I took her to a hotel close to where I lived, that had a homey atmosphere, a great restaurant and where I could book long term. I waited in the foyer lounge while she settled in, then we went over to my home, where Mom and Dad eagerly awaited her arrival, and she would meet the twins. When we got there, Lorelei and Mom immediately hugged as if they hadn't seen each other in years. Mom had tears in her eyes and to tell the truth, so did Pop. The twins, well one would think she had known them all their lives, they were all over her from the first minute they saw her. Mom asked where she was staying, and how the rooms were. Then I saw her eyes kind of light up. "can I talk to you in private she asked" We went through into my den and she continued "I know that you will think I'm interfering, but can't Lorelei stay here, you have that empty bedroom, it would be so much easier for her, I could help her out while the implant is taking hold, she wouldn't be on her own, Pop could drive her around because you are going to be away on working trips much of the time" Well I had been married to Cindy long enough to know that when you are well beaten by a woman you just give up. Besides, Mom had trained me from birth to agree with her, not necessarily liking it, but doing it anyway. I had to say something though, "Mom, again I must say I know that you have always loved Lorelei, that's why I was so stupid staying away from you as long as I did. I really don't want you to get your hopes up too high. There is too much of a history. Lorelei is doing Cindy and I a great favour and if we can continue as friends that will be great". I asked Lorelei if she wanted to stay with us, and she replied, "as long as you are okay with the idea. I don't want to remind you of what happened or put you out in any way. In a sense I am doing this for you, but mainly I am doing it for Cindy. She cared enough to make me a friend and to make me glad for you that you were finding happiness so while they will be your babies they are also Cindy's" . I said that would be fine and that I could drive her around or if I was away, Dad could take my place. Lorelei told me that she had been in contact with the clinic. They wanted her to stay a couple of weeks after the procedure to make sure everything had taken, but they had also put her in touch with an obstetrician in Austin that they worked with who would look after her after she went home and back to work. She reassured me that all would be fine, and that I should be concentrating on work so we arranged that after the implant was done, I would be back in the office full time. For a few days I did the tourist thing with Lorelei, taking her to see the sights of Philly. Then it was time for the procedure. I went to the clinic and provided semen and the Doctors then mixed it with the two remaining eggs. On the morning of the second day the Doctor called and told me that of the two eggs, there was one viable egg and asked that I bring Lorelei to the clinic. When we got there, she was taken off to the lab while I settled in for a wait. A number of cups of coffee later Lorelei was escorted back to the reception area and the Doctor advised me that they would need Lorelei to stay in the area for several weeks so that they could give her the hormones necessary to make sure that the implant was a success. It was even more crucial in this case because the egg was not hers so the possibility of rejection was that much higher. I was contacted by the company to ask when I could return to work as there was a client who needed my services badly. I talked to Lorelei and she was adamant that I return to work. She would stay with Mum and Dad and the twins until the clinic gave her the go ahead, then she would return to Austin and get back to her practice. She had a number of important cases coming up and didn't want to harm her clients at all. Most of them were in the area of abused and battered women and their families. This area had become her primary interest, representing them in the civil claims courts. I told Lorelei that if she needed anything, all she had to do was call Mom as she would have my number and location updated as I moved around, and that I would look after any costs that her surrogacy involved. She laughed at me and said "Chris, all of the partners in my practice are female, and the first thing we did when we looked at Health insurance was make sure that we had damn good pregnancy and maternity provisions in the plan, don't worry, it's well covered. " So my dilemma is continuing, each time that I seem to get something resolved, then it opens up in a different direction. Do I see Peter at U of T or do I let the matter rest. Do I try to be of some help to Lorelei in her quest for justice, or do I just act as the father of the child she is carrying. I really don't know for sure but I will see Peter anyway and consider things from there. To be continued... Dilemma Continued Ch. 04 This chapter does not stand alone, and should not be read without reading the preceding chapters. In keeping with the original story, there is no sex, it just deals with the wrong done to Lorelei and her relationship with Chris. Back To Texas As I had said earlier, I was heading back to work, and on the first day, I was sitting down with Lou my boss. He started off "Chris. We have three major clients in Houston that while they are not having problems right now, want to sit down with us and see where improvements can be made in their security. They are very concerned about hackers, especially competitors seeing what their future plans are. Also our board of directors has another idea. A lot of our work is coming from the southern states and we are a long way away, so what they would like you to do is look around and do a feasibility study on opening a branch office down there. Question is, we know how you feel about those babies of yours. Can you handle being down there for several months and not getting home very often?" My answer was "Boss, I would have difficulty handling it if I had a big attachment to Philly, but if you don't mind me working out of a small town near Austin, I'm sure that my Mom and Dad would be delighted to look after the kids in their own home instead of freezing here. It would also be a big help to me in some personal stuff that I want to look into so if that meets with your approval, then I'm your man." "Sounds great to me," he said, " I'm sure that we can arrange to make sure that your home here is looked after so you have a place to come back to." When I went home and told Mom and Dad what was going to happen, they were over the moon, as Mom said "You have a great home here but it isn't our home, we are still Texans and always will be. When Lorelei is ready to head for Austin we will be ready to go home. I'm sure that we can move the babies stuff down there for as long as we need it." I told her that would be looked after and made a mental note to see Lou the next day. I told Lorelei about the job and told her I would be in the Austin area for a couple of months anyway so she knew where to look for me if needed. A week later I found myself in Houston discussing security systems with the three major companies I was concerned with. While I didn't have a lot of work to do, there were a lot of discussions on systems. The biggest company, Alpha Systems was extremely concerned about security. The CEO Walt James explained to me, that while the board was most impressed with our system, their concern was that we were so far away if something went wrong. I explained Lou's thinking on opening a branch office either in the Houston, Dallas or Austin area sometime in the near future. Walt was delighted and promised me a list of realtors dealing with office leases. I told him and the CEOs of the other companies that I would temporarily be working out of Austin, and they were all really helpful. Halfway through the second business week, I found myself at the Hilton in Austin ready to contact Pete at the University. I had sworn never to return to Austin, but after walking around the downtown area I realized just how much I had missed Texas. Just in case of emergency, I found out where Lorelei's office was. And when I looked at the listing in the building directory, I sure realized how much she had surrounded herself by women. Then when I read their advertising in the daily paper, I saw that they were very much involved in women's issues. I wryly thought that Professor King really had no idea what he was going to create when he decided to mess with Lorelei. The next day I went to U of T and went to the University Police Office. Pete was waiting for me, waved me on back and asked if I would like coffee. We ended up in a small kitchen, where he got busy on the coffee machine, making a flask. He laughed at my look of wonderment that the chief would be making the coffee. "Around here now if someone wants coffee and there is none made they make it themselves, that even applies to the chief." We took our coffee through to his office and sat in a pair of armchairs that he had in a corner away from the desk. He explained that sometimes when dealing with students or his own officers who had gone through problems, the chairs avoided the across the desk official feeling. I found it a great idea, and filed it away for when I designed my own office. While we were having our coffee, Pete told me that as he had already intimated that about five years previously the University had been involved in several big lawsuits involving sexual harassment of students. Gossip was rife and the school was getting a bad name which was hurting enrollment particularly of women. Consultants had been called in to see what could be done to improve the school's image. Their report was thorough and pulled no punches. As a result, a number of members of the Board of Governors had resigned, the president of the university had not been offered a further contract and over a period of time pressure had been put on a number of professors and the former Police Chief to resign. "The good ole boys are gone," he said. After Pete was appointed the new president had asked him to go over the old cases that he felt had been handled badly and that was why he had approached me, he had Lorelei's side of the story but not mine. I told Pete I was going to be around for a few weeks, between Austin and Houston and that I would be delighted to give him any help that I could also to me it seemed he was working along the same lines as Cindy, Allan and myself had picked up on. Pete asked me to give him my side of the story and asked if he could tape it. I said "go ahead, it isn't any great secret." Basically we were both going to the law event and ball game in Dallas, but I had been delayed by an additional class, Lorelei had been offered a ride by King and when they arrived there they were intimate in King's room. I hadn't known until fairly recently that there had been a chance that Lorelei had been drugged, and that I really hadn't given her the chance to explain anything. My idea at the time was to get as far away from Lorelei, King and the University as I possibly could and I hadn't communicated with Lorelei until after Cindy's death and at Cindy's urging." Pete asked. "Who was the professor who held the additional class and was there any need for it?" I told him "It was Ms Sagayo, the Japanese computer science professor' I was really angry, as we had only been in class for ten minutes and she told us to go." Pete said "you were likely set up well ahead of time. We found out that Sagayo and King were an item at the time. Nobody knew, or if they did they were not telling and it wasn't made public until Mr Sagayo divorced her, citing her adultery with King, It made headlines here but of course you would not have known it in Philly." I asked, "Are you saying that she deliberately kept me back so that King got a chance at Lorelei?" His reply was "that is a possibility that I have to consider. Also if Lorelei was drugged, any suggestion of consent is nullified, that makes it rape on King's part." I sat there really in a daze, Pete had opened up a whole new concept of the matter, one that I had never thought of. I asked him "where do we go from here?" Pete went on "First, what I need is a detailed statement from you regarding what happened, right from the time that you were told of the additional class, up until you left Dallas, then if you are willing, I have the permission of the Dean to appoint you as a temporary University Police Officer. I want to keep you close to the investigation, as I think you may be able to fill in a lot of blanks." I told him that I would have to discuss this with my boss as it could create a problem, but that I would let him know. That afternoon I called Lou, told him what had happened in the past, and explained the steps that Pete was taking and asked him what he felt I should do. His reply shook me. He said that he felt I had done Lorelei a tremendous injustice by my attitude' and that if I didn't have the desire to see that her name was totally cleared, then I wasn't the guy he thought I was He said "You can have indefinite leave for as long as you need, just do what you have to." I thanked him for seeing it so clearly and helping me see what I should do. I then called Pete, and said "Okay, my boss is 100 percent behind me, you have me on loan for as long as you need!" His reply was "In that case be here at nine a.m. tomorrow ready to be sworn in, then we go to work." I called Mom in Philly and told her what had happened, and she gave me good news. Lorelei had been to the clinic that afternoon, and the doctor had cleared her to go back to Austin so she was leaving the next day. She and Dad were going to take the babies to their home and would close up my condo until I got back to Philly. She was going to arrange with the super at the building to keep an eye on the place till I could decide what was going to happen. Another choice that I would have to make in the not too distant future. To Be Continued... Dilemma Continued Ch. 05 This chapter does not stand alone, and should not be read without reading the preceding chapters. In keeping with the original story, there is no sex, it just deals with the wrong done to Lorelei and Chris. Part 5: The Investigation I went to the U of T Police office where I met Peter and a local Justice. I was sworn in as a temporary university police officer. Then Peter said, "The first step will be to interview Ms Sagayo. She retired under pressure a couple of years ago, and still lives in Austin though not on the campus so let's get going." We walked out and got into the car and drove to a quiet tree lined street, about 10 minutes away from the main campus, stopping in the parking lot of a small apartment building. We went into the building and along the ground floor to apartment 105. Beside the door there was a wooden sign, with the name M Sagayo, and the words Computer Training, Tutoring. Data Processing. Pete rang the bell, and after a moment Ms Sagayo opened the door. She looked years older and much more down at heel than I had ever seen her. Pete said to her, "Ms Sagayo, you know me from U of T, but I think you will also remember Chris Duncan, he was the husband of Lorelei Duncan, the woman who started the wheels turning against Professor King. He is assisting us while we look into more serious charges that we feel were swept under the rug by the then powers that be. We would like to interview you regarding your association with Professor King and anything you might have done at his request". She looked at me and said "Hello Chris, I haven't seen you since that day I ran that extra class. I knew then that eventually you and Lorelei were going to be trouble. I told King that. I wanted him to leave Lorelei strictly alone but no he wouldn't listen he was so eager to get into her pants that nothing was going to stop him." I thought I was going to miss the worst of the fallout, as nobody bothered with me but then my ex blindsided me by calling in a PI and getting the evidence for a divorce citing and proving adultery. That finished me at the school and now I guess the second shoe is going to fall. Well I'm so tired of the whole business, I just want to get it all over and done with. You can ask any questions that you want and if I have the answers, I'll tell you". Pete said to her, "I appreciate your candor but I have to warn you that if further offences are revealed, and you had any hand in them you could also be charged. If you want to have a lawyer present during the interview you may do so". She replied "No, there is no need for one, it's about time I faced the music and if I have to face any charges, it won't hurt if you can say that I collaborated in the investigation." Pete said that he would make representations to the District Attorney on her behalf provided any information was accurate and given willingly. He took out his tape recorder and after dating the tape and stating who was present, he asked Ms Sagoya to give us a statement as to the events leading up to the attack on Lorelei Duncan by Professor King. To my amazement, she told us the following. Statement of Ms Minuko Sagoya. "I was a computer instructor at the University of Texas at Austin, my husband was running his own business in high end Asian Art and had three galleries, in Austin, Dallas and Houston, he was commuting between them most of the time, so I didn't see a great deal of him other than weekends. Sometimes I didn't even get that as he would be jetting off somewhere to auctions or shows. I used to get together with many of the other teachers, some of them single, just to avoiding sitting home alone. My husband didn't want children so I didn't even have children to occupy my time, just the garden, and how much of that can a person take. Some of the parties got pretty hot and heavy and at one of them about two years before the incident involving Lorelei I drank a little heavier than I should have done. I ended up having sex with an art teacher named Gary Bradford who was hosting the party at his place. I didn't remember a whole lot about it, but as I woke up in bed with him and felt that I had been pretty well used that was what I immediately thought. My first thought was that I had been doped. I was going to make an official complaint and told Gary that. He told me that I couldn't prove that the sex wasn't consensual, lots of people saw me with him, hanging all over him as he put it, and that my husband would likely divorce me at the first opportunity and my quest for tenure would likely end right there . Thinking about it, I could see that happening, so I decided to say nothing more about it. I did my best to forget the deal and the whole weekend, but about a week later, I got a call from Jake King who had also been at the party. He asked me to go to his office which I did. He had a TV set and VCR there, and asked me to sit down and view a tape that I might find interesting. He turned everything on and ran the tape. To my absolute horror I saw that the nude woman making passionate love with a man who was facing away from the camera was none other than me. Of course it had sound as well and what I was saying would never have indicated that I had not consented. He held the tape over my head for the rest of the time he was at the university. He insisted that I had sex with him, that I went to lots of parties with faculty, so much so that in the end I had become so used to the parties and conduct that I no longer cared about the tape. The conduct had become part of my life and a lot of it I enjoyed and make no secret of that. Anyway back to Lorelei. About two weeks before the weekend of the game, Jake came to me and told me he needed my help. He said Chris was in my class and that he needed to separate him from his wife on the trip to Dallas. He told me to find a way to delay him so that he could take Lorelei. That was when I decided on the extra class, then on the morning of the class I looked at Chris's face and saw the anxiety there I couldn't carry on the fiction any longer, that's when I told them all to leave. I hoped that he would make it to Dallas in time to ruin King's plans but obviously he didn't. After the weekend I saw Jake in my office and asked him how he did, he said he had sex with Lorelei but that everything had blown up in his face, and he was scared that Chris was going to go after him, he had already drive a knife through King's door. It's ironic that he didn't realize that the one he had to fear was not Chris, but Lorelei herself but then of course he never had a high opinion of women and didn't recognize the steel that was present in her. The female students were just toys to amuse him. I asked him," How did you get her to go to bed with you." He told me, "I slipped a drug into her drink in the bar before we went upstairs, then I angled for her sympathy talking about my daughter then she started crying about her father and from there it was easy. I got the drug from Sammy James before we left for Dallas." Minuko Sagoya Pete said that her statement really helped, but of course it would be her word against his. She replied, "No it isn't, Jake and I always met in my office and just as a matter of course, anything that took place in that office was surreptitiously taped, it didn't matter whether it involved students or faculty. I don't care if it is legal or not but it was the only protection I had." She went to a locked cabinet, unlocked it and we saw banks of tapes. She looked at the dates on two of them, gave them to Pete, and said "That should do a lot for your case!" Pete asked if they had been in her possession all the time, she said they had Pete thanked her, signed a receipt for the tapes and we left. We went back to the office and listened to the tapes. Pete said "The second tape, admitting using the drug is evidence of rape. Consent while under the effect of drugs is not a true consent so it is Rape. The first tape gives direct evidence that the whole thing was planned and deliberate. Of course they can always be challenged, so we have to discover evidence to support them other than the word of Ms Sagoya. I asked, "what about Sammy James, he was in the same year as I was, and on the same soccer team. While I don't think he ever used drugs himself, he was sort of the upper class supplier. Those who wanted the milder party drugs all ordered through him. No heavy stuff like Heroin or Cocaine but lots of Marijuana, Hash, LSD etc." Pete asked "what about the party and date rape drugs. Did he handle those?" I replied "I don't know for sure as I stayed out of that scene, but if we know where he is, I'm sure I can ask him as he was pretty close at the time." Pete said he would look his information up and see what he could find out. A couple of days later Pete called me in to his office again, "We are going to take a little trip just out to the suburbs." He drove, and eventually we pulled up outside a large one story building close to a shopping mall and a hotel, The building had a big sign on the front, The Prairie Oasis. "What's this place?" I asked Pete. He replied. "Well Sammy put the drug money to good use, it's what you would call a Gentlemen's Club, a strip club plus. It's a good restaurant and bar. Entertainment and dance facilities if you want them and a private banquet hall. I was told that Sammy runs this place absolutely by the book. He doesn't allow any nonsense." We went in and asked for Sammy and were shown through to his office and told that he would be with us in a couple of minutes. The office was well furnished, desk, comfortable chairs, and no couch. One wall was covered by monitors snowing what appeared to be the entire club. As I looked at them I heard a voice behind me. "Yes I can see everything that goes on except the washrooms and they are covered by staff members. Nothing happens in this place that can cause any trouble that we can't see and take action to stop it." I turned and there was my old buddy Sammy, still the same slim body, but now dressed in a way I had never seen before, the gray suit had to be worth at least a grand and the shirt and tie came up to the same standard. He grinned and said "Chris: how on earth are you doing. I haven't seen you since that day in Dallas that you stuck the knife in Prof King's door, I always wondered why you did that?." "It's really good to see you again even if you did do me a good turn by leaving, I got to shine on the soccer field instead of you. Anyway take a seat and tell me what brings you guys over here. It can't be problems, because I don't let them happen." I introduced Pete and outlined to Sammy what had happened on that day in Dallas, what we were doing and why. His answer was "how can I help, you know I thought the world of you and Lorelei. And my wife has asked what happened to the two of you. You remember Virginia, I was with her then and when we graduated we got married. Now we have three kids, and she is the enforcer. I might be tempted to let things get wild once in a while but she can walk in here at any time day or night, and things better be done right. " As she says, she isn't cut out for waiting for me to finish a jail sentence so I better not do anything to start one. She made me quit dealing and go respectable. I made a deal with the feds and gave them a few heads on platters so they gave me a clear sheet after I gave evidence. 'We opened this place and do I mean we, she is the ideas person. What goes on here is entertainment only. She doesn't give a damn what the girls do after their shift, but here they follow a strict standard and get well paid for doing it. If they want to make dates for after hours they can go ahead, but the club has no part in it!" I told Sammy that we were looking for any connection between King and any date rape drugs. He answered "hang on a few minutes, let's see what I have in the old records" He opened a file cabinet and took out several thick file folders. He said, "you probably won't believe that a dealer would keep a paper record, but these papers are my guarantees. Anyone I dealt with knew that I kept the info on them, and that if I went down, a lot of others would go down with me." King was the leader of a group of professors, about six of them who really liked the girls, Gary Bradford was another one. The two of them did most of the buying, I don't know where the stuff went from there. Or who they gave it to. I'll give you copies of the lists for King and Bradford. They will give you when, what, who and how much and maybe you can relate them to the stuff that you are investigating." He copied some of the papers, and turned them over to Pete with the words' "I will give you the names of the rest of the group as well as I can remember them and see where you go from there". After he gave us all the information, he gave us a tour of the club and showed us that it really lived up to it's reputation. The dining and banquet facilities were excellent, and the bar was pretty much in two sections, an area with tables and a dance floor, and an area with stages several of which had a number of dancers, in various stages of undress, moving to the same music. There were signs saying no illicit contact between dancers and patrons, and a number of well built bouncers to enforce it. There was a partially walled off area in one corner where lap dances were allowed but no private rooms. All in all a pretty genteel set up. Not the usual down at heel place and the women looked to be in their prime. Some of the clients seemed to be couples but who knows. Pete took the information back to his office to correlate with the dates of the reported assaults that he had, and he called me a couple of days later. His words were "Chris, we have the smoking gun that we have been looking for. To my mind it is serious enough that it has gone beyond the scope of the university Police so I have turned everything over to a good friend of mine on the Austin police Sex Crimes squad, Lieutenant Sheila Fellows." " Actually Sheila is the good friend that I am getting married to in two months and she is an ace detective. I will be working with her, but we don't think that the courts will accept your further involvement. If as it looks any charges are made that involve what happened to Lorelei you will be a witness. Your assistance has helped us break this apart and the University can't thank you enough. The powers that be have offered you a special dispensation to complete your degree at no cost. All you have to do is register!" I told him I would think on it, and thanked him for the privilege of following the case as it had really raised a lot of issues that I had never thought of before. I called Lorelei to tell her that she may be contacted by the Austin Sex Crimes Unit who were going over everything that had been found, just as a heads up. I also called Lou and told him that I was at his disposal once again, and also about the offer by the university regarding my degree. He was adamant to go for it, as he put it "my best consultant on computer security in Texas doesn't have a degree, get one and you can open up our new office in Austin so you are closer to your children. Do it part time if you want, just do it" To be continued... Dilemma Continued Ch. 06 This chapter does not stand alone, and should not be read without reading the preceding chapters. In keeping with the original story, there is no sex, it just deals with the wrong done to Lorelei. and Chris. I hope that this has been a worthwhile journey for the reader. The beginning of the end I became very busy setting up our Austin office, so much so that for about five months I was either jetting to Philly or driving between Austin, Houston and Dallas. I had rented office accommodation and an apartment in Austin and hired several programmers, engineers and office staff so that we could service our existing clients. I advertised our services in the main newspaper in each city and we began to build a base of steady clients both long term and individual. The upper echelon in Philly were becoming very impressed with our earnings and I was feeling very satisfied with myself and the expanding office. In my spare time (what there was of it) I was taking computer courses either online or on campus. With all the technical material I had come into contact with, most of it was a snap, but I had to complete the material before a degree would be granted. Fortunately the University was very obliging in allowing me to work at an accelerated pace and I was looking forward to an early degree, (well early when you discounted the six years from that fateful day in Houston). One thing was a must of course and that was my weekends at Pflugerville with my children. Mom was overjoyed to have them and the children just loved it having their doting grandparents at their beck and call. I had bought Mom and Dad a laptop complete with camera and microphone, and was in touch with them every day. The twins were fascinated that Daddy could be in that little tiny thing. While she was in Philly, Lorelei had become attached to the twins, spending time with them before she went back to Austin, and once Mom and Dad were back in Pflugerville, she made it a point to go home to her Moms and call in to see the twins when she did, taking them for walks etc. She didn't come over at the weekends when I was around but the kids kept me well aware that they had seen Any Lo from time to time. I called her once a week to see how she was doing and she kept me in touch with the pregnancy. I was thrilled the day that she called me after her first ultrasound to tell me that I was the father of a daughter and even more pleased to see the picture of the baby that she sent by e mail. I had not heard much from Pete, and was surprised to get an e mail from him telling me to watch the local news one day. I did so and was tremendously excited when I saw a news report showing Professor King being led from a court in handcuffs after being charged with five counts of rape, and numerous other sexual offences along with a number of other defendants. Two days later while I was at my office a courier brought over an envelope from Pete. Inside was this letter. "Dear Chris, I and the University want to thank you for your assistance in wiping out a nest of sexual predators that had been giving the University a bad name and some of whom were still here. As you saw the other day, King has been charged with raping Lorelei and four other women! What happened to Lorelei and you was a complete set up. There wasn't a thing that the two of you could have done to prevent it unless the two of you had decided to stay home from the Dallas trip. The whole thing was orchestrated from the beginning to the end by King." When I re interviewed Lorelei, it was obvious to me that King had been hitting on her a number of times during the semester and was getting nowhere. She didn't want to tell you because she was scared that you would do him some physical injury, and end up in trouble and she felt that she could handle him. Even going to Houston with him, there were others in the car, and she was in the back. Everything went wrong after she had the drink, and she would not have had that except that he was with others when he bought it. What she didn't know was that the others were in on it." When we talked to Grayson and told him what we had against him, he couldn't start talking fast enough in his haste to make a deal. He named all of the people involved, and which students and teachers had been the targets of the group." By the way, Grayson has been charged with the rape of Minoku Sagowa. We got video evidence of the whole thing including her being dosed with the date rape drugs. King was the leader, of that there was no doubt but there had been several very active members. We struck lucky with one, who we might describe as King's second in command. Not only did he know all that had happened, he had also documented everything that went on." Planning, execution and results, he had it all in his diaries and on video. Fortunately for the good guys, some criminal masterminds are really stupid, and these guys proved that .King had even taped his adventure with Lorelei and unfortunately for King it showed Lorelei at the start was pushing him away and telling him, "no". That alone is enough to send him down for life" The upshot of it is that we have tremendous evidence against the group, who are looking at serious prison time. Grayson and several others have been cooperating and there are some lawyers looking for deals so time will tell. One thing for sure is that the only deal for King is that he might avoid a death sentence and to get that he will have to roll over completely He won't be seeing freedom for a long time, if ever." I'll keep in touch and let you know what is happening as the cases go forward. Thank you for your assistance and knowledge. Your help got the case going much faster than it would have done doing it the hard way. The only thing that I regret is that it happened to you and Lorelei." "PS I hear congratulations are in order. Your degree in computer sciences has been granted, see you at commencement if not before." Pete I carefully re folded the letter and slipped it back into its envelope. Then I picked up the phone and called Lorelei's office, asking for her. The receptionist who had grown used to my voice, told me that Lorelei had gone back to her mother's until the baby was born. I walked out of my office and told my secretary, "Rearrange all my appointments for the next few days as I have a lot to think about, I'll be at my parent's home in Pflugerville if needed!" My next stop was at my apartment where I packed a suitcase then down to my car and off to Pflugerville where my children, all three of them, waited. I pulled into the driveway of the house where I grew up, walked in, and suffered the excited chatter as my children clambered all over me, delighted at this unexpected get together. I looked at Mom, and saw the tears in her eyes as she watched us fooling around and she said to me quietly, "Call me an interfering old woman if you want, but they need their father home as much as possible. As much as they are a part of your father's and my life, they need a mother as well. It's time you thought of that." I'm sure that the first one to agree would have been Cindy. Pop and I are getting older, and while you can hire nannies, none of them can provide the love that the children need." I replied, "Mom I know that, right now that is the utmost in my mind." After we had eaten and I had put the twins to bed, lots of fun for a father who wasn't there all the time I excused myself and said I was going for a long walk. I walked past my old school, bigger now as it had been extended, into the park where we always played as kids, and where Lorelei had been taking the children on just about a daily basis. I sat for a while on a bench just reflecting on where my life had taken me since those days when I was growing up. So much had happened in my life, first with Lorelei, then with Cindy, I realized that when Lorelei and I first married, we were so idealistic and young in experience and life that we would likely have run into problems anyway. It took Cindy and the problems we shared to mature me, round off my edges and make me the older and I hope wiser person that I am. I walked back to my old home and for the first time I had a clear picture in my mind of what I wanted, I just hoped that I wasn't too late. Next morning, I walked over to Lorelei's mom's house. Lorelei was out at her doctors for a checkup so I called her cell and asked her if she was able to meet me for lunch at Greco's restaurant downtown. She said she would, so I called and booked a table. We were meeting at one, and I was there by twelve forty five sitting at the bar. Promptly at one Lorelei walked in. She looked the picture of health and absolutely radiant. If anyone suited pregnancy, she did. She was carrying the baby high and her back was straight, a beautiful advertisement for motherhood. We were seated at our table and Lorelei said, "Chris, I'm sure your daughter is going to be another soccer player, she is really kicking my insides, come round here.' I stood beside her and she took my hand and placed it on her well rounded belly. For the first time with this baby I felt the pressure of a child in the womb and I just marveled at it and it became so real for me. There were some amused looks from other diners as I stood there, so I sat in my place with I'm sure quite a red face. After we ordered I said to Lorelei "I've been thinking a lot about what happens in the future, do you have time to go to a quiet place where we can talk". She said "Well I did have a date, but I guess I can break it this time", my face must have fallen a little and she said, "Relax, the date was with two little people at your Mom's who have a special place in my heart, we can catch up some other time." During lunch we just chatted about generalities and enjoyed a great Italian lunch. She told me that she intended to stay at her mother's till the baby was born and for a few weeks after till everything was settled. Her partners were holding the fort at the office apart from the odd telephone call. I told her that I was going to be around for a few days to spend time with the boys. I had been an absentee dad during the week for too long. After lunch Lorelei said, "Why don't you meet me at Mom's, I'm sure that she will give us all the privacy and quiet that we need." I agreed and followed her car across town to her mom's. As it happened, her Mom had gone out anyway so we sat at the kitchen me sipping on a coffee while she drank some fruit juice. I said to her, "Lorelei the first thing I have to do is say that I would like you to never again think of yourself as someone who did any wrong to me. You aren't an adulterer, you aren't a slut. You were raped just as sure as if King had used force! You couldn't have stopped King in any way." I took the letter from Pete from my pocket and gave it to her to read. As she read it, her head bent over it, I saw tears dropping on to the paper as she read. She sobbed and said, "We didn't have a chance did we." I replied, "No we didn't, we were not wise enough to see what was going on. It was an attack on both of us not just you alone, and what I want to say most is how deeply sorry I am that I ran away and left you to handle it alone. I realize that I wasn't much of a husband for you, Instead of standing by you and helping you, I let my own blind stupidity take over and rule my life. I'm afraid that you didn't get a very mature husband when we married." Lorelei looked up at me and said "I wasn't too mature myself either. I figured I could handle him, never dreaming that others would be helping him. Then when you were gone I really lost things for a bit. Then I decided that King was going to suffer for what he did. I would ruin his life as he did mine. This news is the icing on the cake." I said "we will have to give evidence at his trial", her answer was "with pleasure". I started off on a new angle "I have been thinking hard about the children and the future" For the first time in seven years I felt Lorelei's gentle touch as she reached across the table and gently placed her fingers on my lips." She said, "Can I talk and you just listen for a moment, this is something that is important to me". She placed her hand on her swelling abdomen. "Being a surrogate Mom has become much more than I thought it would be. This little girl has become part of my life. Even though she resulted from your union with Cindy, a woman who became my best friend and confessor, she is a part of me, just as the twins are a part of Sandy." She has grown inside me, I feel her heart beating, as you know I feel her kicking". She touched her breasts and continued. "milk to nourish her will be forming here. She is a part of me and I can't escape that nor do I want to. I've also had the privilege of getting to know your twins Grace and Lyan. I've lost my heart to them! If you want to shut me out of their lives, it will do more to destroy me than King could ever do! Please give me the opportunity to be a part of their lives, as a doting friend if nothing else." My mind went back to what I had been thinking of the previous night. "Lorelei, my thoughts have been going slowly along this path ever since you sent me the appointment card. Living with Cindy and what we went through together, and also the work that I did and the contact with Pete taught me something, life isn't always going to be perfect, that things both joyful and ugly happen when we least expect them. All we can do is accept the joyful and do our best to overcome the ugly." There are people who will stop at nothing to get what they want and there are people who give of themselves without thought of gain. Things are not just black and white there are a million shades of grey. Unfortunately we encountered those who stop at nothing and I dumped you without a thought, without ever talking to you to find out what happened. I just went by what I thought had happened." Cindy taught me that I was wrong in what I did, that I wronged you! Eventually I realized that when I was full of hate, I had to be still in love as well. If I hadn't been I would not have cared if I heard your name or thought about you but I did." Lorelei, if it isn't too late, I'm asking you for a second chance. I have been really lucky in having the love of two wonderful women. And yes I have loved them both. I still love you, but that love is a steadier and wiser love and I can't think of anyone I would rather have to help me raise those children than you. Do you still have room for me in your life." Lorelei placed her hands on mine, "Chris. Years ago I made a mistake and trusted people who abused my trust. I despised myself and hated myself for what I had done to you. Even though we were divorced, I kept my married name. While I have had lots of offers I have only dated a few times nor have I slept with anyone else. The problem was that nobody measured up to you." My name around the court building is the Ice Queen and due to my work on behalf of abused women I have been called lesbian and worse. I became hard and in some ways relentless. Cindy encouraged me to forgive myself, and forgive any transgression I felt you had done. I have always loved you, maybe not that fire that we first had but steady long lasting feelings. Yes I want you in my life! as my husband and friend. I want all your children to take care of and love. You are all a part of me and I want you to stay that way." To the delight of our parents, one month later Lorelei and I stood before the altar in the church where we were first married, and repeated the vows we had first made years before. It was a small wedding, just our families and friends and my two imps were an enthusiastic flower girl and ring bearer. My best man was Pete who had done so much to help me find the truth. Lorelei's maid of honor was Jane one of her partners. Actually I had two best men. Allan had flown down from Philly as had Sandra and Jim, as Sandra said it also gave her the time to see the twins as she really missed them. After the ceremony, we had a small reception at Greco's in the private room. Both our mothers congratulated us, and told us they were so glad to see us together again. Allan asked if he could say a few words. First he said that it had been a privilege to be a part of our lives to be involved as few lawyers got to be with the family they served. Then he said to Lorelei "I guess my involvement now is sort of superfluous, with a lawyer in the family you won't need me so I'll ship all the records to your office next week". Then he drew an envelope from his inside pocket, "This is something that Cindy requested I read at Chris and Lorelei's wedding which she was sure would eventually happen, these are her words, in her own writing." "Chris and Lorelei, If Allan is reading this to you then my dearest wish has been answered. I wished that if Lorelei accepted being my surrogate, the two of you would find it in your hearts to get back together. It was obvious to me, that both of you had feelings for the other, they just were not being channeled the right way and they were holding two wonderful people apart." Chris I thank you for being my husband, the father of my babies and the man most responsible for me keeping going as long as I have after the surgery. To you I say treasure Lorelei, remember me with love, be the father of our babies that I know you can be." Lorelei, thank you for giving me the time with the man I loved. I know that as the result of our being together, Chris has grown into a husband to be proud of. After getting to know you, I am entrusting the care of my babies to your tender hands knowing that you will treasure them as your own. One thing I ask, please formally adopt them and make them truly our children, loved by three parents." I wish you both happy and long lives and remember that I will be with you always in your hearts." Your Loving Wife, and Friend, Cindy. Epilogue Well that wedding was over five years ago and here we are, still living in Pflugerville. The only difference is that the house is much bigger and I commute to Austin three or four days per week, CEOs do have some perks after all. Cindy Lorelei Duncan our second daughter was born a month after the wedding in the hospital at Pflugerville, the same place Lorelei and I were born. I was with Lorelei throughout, holding her hand. When Cindy was given to Lorelei she fastened on to Lorelei's milk without a hitch. Eighteen months after Cindy's birth, Lou who was still my boss, called me one day "Chris I have a belated wedding present for you and Lorelei. First I have been in contact off and on with a number of the companies you are servicing. One of the biggest complaints if it could be called that, is that sometimes when they want something done it has to be referred back to us here in Philly, considered by us then we tell you, and you implement." What the board is proposing is that you buy the branch office, the software be licensed to you (at a very good rate I might add) You would be free to make any changes and add code as needed. All you would have to do is pay us the license fees and advise us of the changes you make in case we wanted to use them, and of course pay you for the use of it. Why don't you come up, bring your lawyer with you and we will offer you a contract and let you know how much we want for the branch office." Lorelei and I talked about this, and figured nothing ventured, nothing gained As she was three months pregnant with Christopher we decided to drive up and make a holiday of it so we loaded up the kids and off we went. We stayed with Sandy and Jim, having been threatened with dire results if we didn't. Lorelei dressed up in her best lawyer clothes and off we went to see Lou. To say the contract we were offered was generous, was a huge understatement and in the words of my lawyer I would be nuts not to sign it. I did and became the owner of the company in Austin. Dilemma Continued Ch. 06 Again, with the advice of my lawyer, I didn't plunge into business to the expense of anything else. I hired some pretty good people at good pay rates and let them do their own developing of leads and sales and coding with myself having the final word. The company just boomed but I still had my time with the family. Lorelei became part time Director of Human Resources, we should also have included Human Rights in the title as it happened. She went in to the office with me a couple of times a week, we could lunch together and spend an occasional afternoon and night together. (Well how else are a couple supposed to get time on their own when surrounded by babies) Lorelei instituted a code of conduct. Social contact was encouraged between employees but one on one relationships between single males and females in the same division had to be between equal ranks. If either of the partners was promoted then they would be promoted into another division. Relationships had to be voluntary and welcome on both sides. Sexual harassment was grounds for immediate dismissal. Sexual relationships with married partners were absolute non starters either within the company or outside of work and would also be grounds for dismissal. These requirements were explained to new hires before their contract was confirmed, and had to be accepted in writing. In general they were accepted well by all employees. Since then only one salesman thought he was more important to the company than the secretary he was putting sexual pressure on. The sight of Lorelei and a security officer standing over him as he packed his personal belongings after her complaint had been heard had a salutary effect on the rest of our employees. We have become kind of a model company for others to follow in this respect. Our principles soon got around Austin. Lorelei even did presentations to other companies. Our outlook even extended to clients, sales personnel were encouraged to host prospective clients as far as hotel costs, meals and transport were concerned, but no further than that. If a client pushed for escort services or such, they were provided with the name of the Prairie Oasis where we told them they could get a good dinner and entertainment and not be cheated, but it was at their own cost. If they tried to make any entertainment a part of what they expected before signing, they were politely told that the policy was firm and that we would decline their business before breaching it. Funnily enough the policy didn't cost us any contracts, but it sure helped get some. While I had some misgivings about giving business to the Oasis due to the part played by James with the drugs, he had squared himself with the law. At least I knew that if one of my customers went there for an evenings entertainment, he would be treated fairly Two years after Cindy's birth, Christopher James Duncan made his debut on the scene and two years after that, Sandra Margaret Duncan arrived, she is now 6 months old and thriving. On their birth certificates including Cindy's, Lorelei is listed as mother. She also adopted the twins and from then she gets the title Mommy Lo instead of Aunty Lo. After Cindy's birth Lorelei said that she enjoyed being an at home Mom so much, that being a lawyer didn't feel that great anymore so she sold her part of the practice to her partners apart from the odd consultation and even rarer second chair. Oh Yes, King, what happened to him. He finally made a deal to keep off death row. (This was before the Supreme Court decision) and he plead guilty to all charges ending up serving a life sentence. Seeing the way that the wind was blowing, all others involved made deals and would up with sentences between 5 and 15 years. As Cindy always said, the Lord works in mysterious and wonderful ways and sometimes the grand plan works out to be just that. We celebrate Cindy's birthday every year and when they are old enough we fully intend to tell the three eldest the story of their birth. Cindy's picture is on the family wall as well as Sandy's and will stay there, because we remember her with love. And she will always be regarded as part of our family. The End