Daddy's Indiscretions

Four middle aged people discover what their father really was.

DADDY’S INDISCRETIONS

 

The layer of dust underneath the sofa went unobserved by the two people sitting there. It was so long ago since the floor had been well-cleaned and that had been when those who had lived there had not let anything like the smallest speck of dust go unseen. The house in Suffolk was up for sale, and the two men sitting and chatting had no idea of what had led to such a lovely place to be bordering on neglect. They were only in the house to take a look for the last time before the pieces of antique furniture went to the inheritors.

 

Four middle-aged people, one man and three women, met by chance in the reception area of the hospital. The registrar asked them, “Good afternoon, how may I help you?”

Milton stepped forward and said, “I’m Milton Nugent and this is my sister Jessica, and we have come here to see our father, who was admitted yesterday morning. His name is John Nugent.”

Scarlett and Isabel, the two sisters present, looked at each other in bewilderment. Scarlett went up to Milton, and said in an icy tone of voice, “You say your father is John Nugent?  Our father is called John Nugent too.” She turned to the registrar and asked her, “Are there two men in this hospital with the name of John Nugent?”

The registrar looked in the computer and said, “There’s only one John Nugent You can all go in together and make up your minds if it’s the John Nugent you know. He’s in room fifteen on the first floor, there’s a lift just on the right of this office.”

 

Jessica was a woman who looked after herself and her appearance never let her down. That day she was wearing a long dark coat over a bright blue sweater and jeans. As they all stood in the lift, she gave the other two women a long hard stare. Jessica was making an effort to be polite to Scarlett, who she noticed was too thin and that her hands shook. ‘Hmm, she thought, I bet she smokes, and as soon as she gets out of here she’ll make a dash for the gardens for a smoke.’

Isabel on the other hand was a short, round lady, who was quiet and calm. She seemed to be happy with her lot. Both Scarlett and Isabel had the look of hard work about them. Their clothes were good, but not high fashion. ‘At least they’re clean and tidy,’ Jessica thought, and at the same time smiled at the two sisters.

Milton had his mind on other things, and the last thing he wanted was problems. He had a car hire and car sales business to run, and that filled most of his time, apart from the few moments he spent with his friends. Milton knocked on the door and it was opened by a nurse, who said, “Mr Nugent is awake and comfortable. You may enter, but he tends to get tired after a few minutes.” The nurse stepped out of the room.

 

The man in the bed, John Nugent, was prostrate against the banked up pillows, which gave him the size of a child rather than that of an elderly man. He saw them, and said nothing, neither did his face reflect any kind of emotion. It was hard to say whether he was happy or angry.

Milton, being the only man, said, “Hello, Dad. How are you? It’s been quite a while since we last met. How’ve you been keeping?”

John stared at his only son, and said in a somewhat strangled voice, “How d’you  think I’ve been keeping? Lucky you’ve all managed to meet at last. I often wondered how it would work out.”

Scarlett stepped up nearer to the bed, “Who are these two, Dad?”

John looked at Scarlett and then Isabel, and declared, “They are my children from my wife. Did your mother never tell you that I was married when we met, but she accepted that I would never be able to marry her as I was already married?”

The two sisters stared at their father, and then at each other.

Jessica felt sorry for them, because it was a very cruel thing that her father had done. “Do you mean to say that you had another family at the same time as you had us with Mum?”

John lay back in his bed and smiled as if something amusing had been said, “Yes, I did well, didn’t I? None of you ever knew, until now, and I call that an achievement when I know others who were caught out by their wives and girl friends, while I got away with things.”

Milton felt an enormous urge to shake his father until his teeth rattled. “I suppose you think you’re funny. Well you aren’t, and I’m going to inform the press about you and what an unfeeling person you are.”

“It all happened a long time ago. Why don’t you let things rest?”

“I can’t let things rest when these two ladies have not had the security of your family that we have enjoyed. What did they do when we were all celebrating Christmas and birthdays?” Milton went in for the attack on his father’s lack of sensitivity.

“There was always a way round such things,” the old man in the bed said, apparently enjoying himself.

“You used to send us away at Christmas with Mum, and turn up later. Now we know you celebrated family gatherings without us, because you were ashamed of us. Well, thanks very much,” Scarlett said in an aggrieved tone.

Isabel remained silent. She only wanted one thing, and that was to get out of there, and go back to her home and animals.

Jessica said, “I used to think a lot of you, but at this precise moment I think you are the lowest thing on this earth. Goodbye. Coming, Milton?”

Milton joined Jessica at the door, and they left the room.

The two sisters went with them.

Outside in the corridor, Milton asked Scarlett and Isabel, “Where did you live?”

“We lived in Suffolk in a small town, the road was called St Anselm’s Road,” Scarlett answered.

“Does it matter where we lived?” Isabel asked.

“Hm. It had to be near us, so that he could live as normal a life as possible without anyone getting suspicious,” Jessica said still feeling disbelief and disgust at her father’s behaviour.

“Was it near you?” Isabel asked tentatively.

Milton had a kaleidoscope of thoughts going round in his head. He couldn’t understand anything of his father’s attitude towards either of the mothers of his children. He turned to Scarlett and Isabel, “Did he have any other children apart from us four?”

They stared at each other and then, “Not as far as we know, but with him it looks as if anything goes,” Scarlett said, who was as put out as Milton and Jessica.

“Shall we go together for something to eat?” suggested Isabel.

“Yes, why not?” Jessica responded.

The three half-sisters and brother walked out past the reception area and into the car park. Scarlett, just as Jessica had predicted, lit up a cigarette and breathed in heavily. Isabel said to her, “Scarlett, you ought to stop smoking, it isn’t doing you any good.”

Scarlett took another deep drag on the cigarette and said, “That old so and so in there hasn’t done any of us any good. Smoking is just another bad thing in a life that’s full of lies and distortion from him. It’s a good job our mums are dead, or they would have to answer a few strong questions.”

 

The pub they repaired to was quite a distance from the hospital. They arrived in two cars and went in before the air outside got colder. It was definitely long-coat-cold weather by the clothes hanging in the pub’s clothes closet.

The four were shown to a table that gave onto the back garden. They all sat in silence, not knowing what to say. The two sisters were wondering about their mother, and what kind of a woman she must have been to live with a married man with children, and then have two children with him. Milton and Jessica were not thinking about anything very much to do with Scarlett and Isabel, they only wanted to know if their mother had known about their father’s second family. The four all felt victims of a huge deceit carried out by their progenitors.

“We’ve come here to eat, so let’s get on with it,” Jessica said to the others.

Milton, who liked his food, picked up the menu and began looking through it for something to take away the taste of displeasure he felt at his father’s having fathered the sisters, and never having given his four children the opportunity of growing up together. “I’ll have the hamburger with salad, and a beer,” Milton said without preamble.

“I’ll have the same,” Isabel said, just as desperate as Milton to have something to eat.

Scarlett, who had never been keen on eating, looked at Jessica and asked her, “What are you going to have, Jessica?”

“I rather fancy spaghetti with meat balls and a bottle of water,” Jessica said staring at Scarlett, knowing that she would have the same. It seemed as if the four offspring of John Nugent had paired up unconsciously.

During their first meal together the four ate more or less in silence, making no attempt at false gaiety. When they had finished, they went out to where they had parked their cars. Milton who had taken command as he was the only male, said, “I suppose we had better make sure there are no more of us, and that we are kept up to date on our father’s health. I wonder if there’s another woman apart from your mother.”

Isabel spoke up, “Our mother is dead, and she never mentioned anything to us at all. We grew up knowing absolutely nothing about you or your mother, and so it would be possible that he had another woman or women. We haven’t seen him in years and neither have you two, from what I gather.”

“We have to find out what’s been going on all the years we thought he was a law abiding man,” Jessica said, getting fed up with the conversations.

Scarlett said, “I have to get home. We have your phone numbers, so we’ll ring you or you ring us. Come on, Isabel, or we’ll be late.”

They got into the bright blue car and drove off.

“What was that all about?” Milton asked Jessica, who was staring after the blue car leaving the car park as fast as was permitted.

“Goodness knows, it makes you wonder what lives they lead. Perhaps they’re like their mother and have married boyfriends.”

“I hope not. We must find out where they were brought up. I’ll get in touch with Ezra Judd, he seems to be able to get to the root of all legal entanglements,” Milton added, starting up his large dark grey car.

 

John Nugent was lying in his hospital bed thinking of the children he had fathered when in fact he had never wanted any. He had married Abigail because that was what people of his generation did. Nobody lived with anyone of the opposite sex unless they were married. The claustrophobic atmosphere of marriage had got him down, and he had begun to wander. Abigail never knew of his liaisons, or she never gave any sign that she knew or cared. It was on one of his business trips that he had met Norma, who wanted him to divorce Abigail and marry her. John wasn’t willing to give up anything. After getting Norma pregnant with Scarlett, he let her register the girl with his surname. He bought her a house a few streets away from where he was playing Happy Families with Abigail. He never let on to Norma where Abigail lived, so that she wouldn’t do anything stupid and cause trouble, and he certainly never said anything to Abigail about Norma. As he was there reminiscing, the door to his room opened and the nurse entered saying, “There’s another visitor for you,” and she showed in a glamorous lady about the same age as John.

“Hello, John. How are you this afternoon? Have you seen your children yet?”

John said, “Hello, Carol. They came earlier on, and none of them have a very good opinion of me.”

“That’s not surprising after the life you’ve led. Do they know about me?”

“No, I didn’t think it’s a good idea to let them know about anything except themselves.”

“Do you think you’ll be here very long?”

“I can’t tell you that. You do remember my instructions about the box I gave you, don’t you?” John said anxiously.

“Yes, I do. Well, I’ll be off now. See you tomorrow,” with those words Carol left John, once more leaning against his pillows.  

 

Milton got in touch with Ezra Judd, his lawyer, and told him what he would like him to do. “The thing is, Ezra, we need to know what our father has been up to since we last saw him, which is around twenty years ago. I leave it in your capable hands, as to how you go about everything.”

Ezra loved investigating errant spouses with or without children, and was quite enthusiastic about the job Milton had given him. “Thanks a lot for the work, and I’ll get back to you when there’s some positive information. Goodbye.”

Milton rang Jessica to tell her what he had done. She said, “Good, it’s only correct that we get to the bottom of all this business about his having two families. I’ll ring Scarlett, and she can inform Isabel. OK?”

 

Scarlett and Isabel were only too glad to hear about Milton taking on a lawyer to find out what their father had been doing all the years they had had neither sight nor sound of him.

 

Jessica was a successful journalist on the local television channel. Her job was quite simple in that she only had to interview celebrities that paid visits to the area where she and Milton lived. When she left Suffolk she never returned, instead preferring to travel, and when eventually she had returned to England she had gone as far away from Suffolk as she could, and found herself living in Hampshire. Milton had joined her and set up his business nearby. They saw each other often enough and were happy with the flexible situation. Milton had married and divorced twice but without any children. When he had heard about his father having had another family and living in a parallel street to where Abigail, his real wife, had lived with him and Jessica, he felt he had made a wise decision in being childless. Jessica was not one to cry over spilt milk, and had enjoyed the company of many a boyfriend. She never knew why, but had remained unmarried and also childless. Now she knew why. Somehow or other, deep down inside her, she had known about her father’s philandering. And getting back to her home, Jessica removed her coat, and sat down at her computer to see what work she had to catch up with.

 

Scarlett and Isabel had not always lived together. For some years Isabel had been married to an accountant, and they had lived very well on the Isle of Wight. On his death at the early age of thirty-five, she hadn’t wanted to remain down there and had gone back to Suffolk, where she had stayed with her mother till she had died. Scarlett, on the other hand, had never married and had devoted her life to having a successful clothing business. That was how she and Isabel wore good quality clothes that lasted, but weren’t high fashion.

 

And so the quartet fathered by the same man got on with their lives, and at the same time waited to see what the next chapter in their father’s life story would bring.

They weren’t kept in suspense for very long. Before a whole week was up, Ezra rang Milton to tell him he had interesting information about John Nugent. Milton arranged a meeting between his sisters and Ezra, who would tell all of them at one sitting the news, whatever that was.

 

Then a most unexpected phone call came. It was from Carol. “Hello, Milton. This is Carol speaking. I’m your father’s friend. He’s asked me to look after your interests. May I come and see all of you?”

Milton sat and thought for a moment before answering. “Can you shed any light on our father’s whereabouts over the last twenty years?”

“Yes, I can, but I’d rather tell you all in person, not on the telephone.”

“Can you make it for Friday evening of next week at my home? I live in Hampshire near my sister Jessica,” Milton suggested.

“Yes, I can get there all right, but please make sure that the other two are there too, will you?” Carol asked Milton.

“Don’t worry, we’ll all be there. Goodbye.”

 

Ezra and Carol arrived in their cars at Milton’s house on Friday, and each wondered who the other was. “Please come in here,” and Milton showed them into the living-room, where the three females were sitting on the sofa and armchairs.

Carol was introduced to John’s three daughters, and she sat down on a firm chair. She saw three middle-aged women, and they saw someone nearer to their father’s age. Ezra knew Jessica, but Scarlett and Isabel were unknown to him, and he liked what he saw.

“We are all here to discover what our father has been up to for the last twenty years. I asked Ezra to find out what he could with reference to this. Well, Ezra, what have you got for us?” Milton asked the lawyer.

Ezra put a buff coloured envelope onto the table and removed its contents. “The documentation is here. I’ve made a copy for each of you to read at your leisure.”

Milton gave a copy each to his sisters, and then began to read. He stared at Ezra, and then, “Is it really true? Has he been in prison all that time?”

Ezra said, “Yes, he was given a term of twenty years for a robbery he and an accomplice carried out. The loot was never recovered and now he is very ill, and it would appear that he’ll die without its ever being found.”

“This is news to us,” Jessica said and then she turned to her newly found half-sisters and asked them, “Did either of you know our father’s dark secret?”

Both Scarlett and Isabel shook their heads. “So it would appear he managed to keep another secret,” Milton added.

Carol, who had said nothing up to now, said, “I met your father long before he got involved with your mothers. We were keen on each other, but we had no money, and then he began work at weekends. He didn’t tell me for ages what he was doing, but eventually I found out.”

“What did you find out?” Isabel asked.

Carol placed a large, old-fashioned box on the table. She opened it, and they saw the contents were money and jewels. “Your father was a famous cat burglar. He never made enough money by doing a regular job to maintain all of you and your mothers, so he took to breaking into rich people’s houses when he was sure the owners were away.”

“What you’re saying is, he was a common or garden burglar. A criminal in fact,” Jessica broke out.

Carol looked aghast on hearing those words, “Ah, no, nothing of the sort. He was famous because he was so nimble they said he was capable of climbing up a wall without any support at all. He was wonderful in his youth.” She sat back and took in the shocked looks on John Nugent’s children’s faces, and wasn’t sure what to think.

“Excuse me, Madam, but are the contents of the box the goods that were never discovered?” Ezra asked inquiringly.

Carol said, “Yes. I’ve been looking after them ever since he was tried and sent to prison. John wanted me to give them to his children, and for them to decide what to do, and that’s what I’ve done.” Carol stood up and said, “Goodbye to all of you. Have you found out how near you lived to each other?”

“Not yet. Why don’t you tell us?” Scarlett asked, scared of the answer but wanting to know.

“Well, Scarlett, you and Isabel both lived in St Anselm’s Road, and Milton and Jessica lived with their mother in St Boniface Gardens.”

A rather unpleasant sound emitted from Milton’s mouth.

Jessica said, “Is there no end to this man’s perfidy?”

Carol added, “John knew you would be upset, but he hoped you would all be able to be friends in the end.” She stood up and said, “I’ve done what he wanted me to do, so goodnight to all of you.”

Milton showed Carol to the door and they heard her car go off before speaking.

“We lived in streets parallel to each other and yet, how come we never met?” Jessica asked.

“We must have gone to different schools and mixed with different people. It could be done, don’t you think so, Ezra?”

“Where there’s a will there’s a way,” answered the erudite lawyer.

“The money and the jewels have to be handed back to the original owners. If we keep them, then we are as bad as he is, and anyway, I don’t want any part of it,” Jessica said angrily.

“We’d better take it to the police so that they can sort it all out. From what I can make of what Carol said, it can’t be the full booty, as Carol must have been living off something all the time he was inside,” Milton said to them.

“She’s probably got some of it hidden away to maintain her for the rest of her life,” Isabel commented.

“That’s her business, not ours. We should hand it over to the owners and free ourselves of our father’s not quite right way of looking at life,” Jessica told them.

 

Ezra and Milton were the two sitting on the sofa in the house that had belonged to John, who had eventually died, and Carol his companion, who was now living in a good residence for the elderly paid for, as Milton had guessed, by the money John had stolen.

The removals men knocked on the front door, and Ezra showed them the antique furniture they were to take with the names and addresses of those who were to receive it.

 

The inheritors were more children that John had fathered, that even Carol had never heard of.