The Agreement Pt. 02

The Agreement

Part 2

Following that morning, me and Sarah would meet up on the weekends. This occurred over the span of the next year, during which Beth went off to college. While contact between myself and Beth had been limited to less than a handful of times for a few minutes at most, Sarah increased the time I spent with John.

One day after work, I pulled into the garage and cut the engine. Grabbing my laptop bag and the Drug Mart bag from the front seat, I moved through the entryway into the kitchen. Sarah was cooking meatloaf and baked beans, at least that I could smell, which meant we were having baked potatoes as well. John was sitting at the table playing on his cell phone while waiting for the food to be finished and served.

I placed the Drug Mart bag on the table between us, and set my laptop up off to the side, booting it up.

"I've come to a decision." It was an announcement, and Sarah looked over her shoulder at me. We had gone from weekends, to multiple days a week where the two visited. John set his phone down, and looked between Sarah and myself.

"Gimme a minute or two to serve dinner, then we can talk about this 'decision'." Sarah said, before going back to putting the food on our plates. A few minutes later, she had them on the table, and we were tucking in. While Sarah wasn't the best cook, she was passable. Over the past year, she had carved time out of her schedule as the Human Resources Officer at the local laundry service to start getting back to the gym. I too, had made my way back to the gym, though our schedules seldom allowed us to attend together save for Wednesdays and Saturdays.

After the small talk about all of our days, I pressed into the subject at hand.

"So, I've decided John and I are going to take this DNA Test. While it isn't legally binding, I'm hoping if it comes back that I'm his father, I'll be able to put right to things." The two of them stopped eating, looked at each other, then at me. I looked at John. "That is, if you want to."

John, using all 15 years of his life experience thought long and hard for a moment, before eventually shrugging. "Sure. Nothing to lose, something to gain." Logical to a fault. However, Sarah seemed less excited than I thought she'd be.

"Do I have any say?" she said in a guarded tone.

"I mean..." I said looking at her. "Why wouldn't you want to? If he isn't mine, It doesn't change anything." Myself and John studied her, her face moving through a myriad of emotions before she sighed.

"Fine. If he isn't yours, I'll accept that nothing will change."

We continued on with dinner, though Sarah seemed worried. After dinner, John did dishes, while myself and Sarah sat at the table.

"I just don't want him to get his hopes up, and get hurt." She was studying my face. "Or you."

"Neither of us will, I don't think." I said to her, tapping away at my laptop. I was working on a program for inventory control and management.

"Will we break up if he isn't yours?"

"Not unless you become a stark raving bitch over the results."

She glared at me a moment, before huffing. "I won't become a stark raving bitch."

"Good." I said, saving my files, and standing up. "Gonna go brush my teeth, rinse out thoroughly, so that by the time we are ready to take the test before bed, we can and there won't be any cause for doubt."

"I'm almost done. I'm right after you." John said.

Standing there brushing my teeth, I went through the mental maze of John being my son. It would mean I had a lot of catch-up to do. We'd probably need to see some sort of head shrink to help us adjust. Also to probably keep me and John both from resenting Sarah. Finishing up, I headed out of the bathroom, and John went in. I headed to the living room, where Sarah had put some sort of series on the television, something dealing with lawyers real and fake.

John joined us after a bit, and we settled in, with him dividing his attention between the tv and his phone. For a couple of hours, we watched tv, and commented on the series, by the end of which, both John and myself were on our phones sharing memes while Sarah watched the TV. Once the third show was done, she cut the television, and we took the test. Sealing each swab in their envelopes, I locked them in my office safe, and we all went to bed.

The next day, I mailed them off, and for the next two weeks, the routine continued as normal. Work, gym, family time, sex. I paid a visit to a lawyer, and had a prenup drawn up, as well as papers to get me put on the birth certificate just in case.

It was lunchtime, two weeks later, when I got an email that confirmed John was my son. I immediately told my secretary to give the rest of the firm the day off. I then called my lawyer, and told him to launch the paperwork for putting my name on the birth certificate, as well as scheduling an appointment for the formalities of getting John's last name changed, and getting the prenup signed.

I was waiting outside of the school when class was let out, and when I saw John, I honked the horn and called out to him. Yes, I was driving the Monte Carlo SS, which I had kept in cherry shape. He parted ways with his friends, and came over. I held my phone out to him with the Email, and he read it. After a moment, he looked me in the face, and stared for a long minute, before just nodding.

"Well, that's settled then." The pause was rather long, before he said the next. "Dad."

I stared right back at him, and took my phone back. "Yeah it is... Son."

We got into the car, and headed to the laundry service. We were going to surprise Sarah with the news. Both of us got a surprise when I pulled into the parking lot, and we both witnessed the tail end of a hot kiss.

"Stupid bitch!" we both said in unison, with the same tone of voice and inflection. I pulled the car up alongside the two, and blasted the horn, causing them to jump and separate.

"Sean! It's not --" Sarah started.

"Can it bitch. Don't be cliche. Looks like you were sucking face with Rico Suave there." I said, gesturing to the hispanic coworker whose throat she'd just had her tongue shoved down. "Get your ass in your car, and meet me at my lawyer's office." I said out the window, while John mean-mugged the guy she had been sucking face with.

That put the breaks on the prenup, which I would have to alert my lawyer to. No marriage for the foreseeable future, if at all. John was understandably upset, and on the way to the law office of Maria Hassenjager, he remained focused on his phone for the most part. When we pulled into the parking lot, he looked over at me, and sighed.

"Does this mean you and mom are gonna fight?"

I shook my head. "No. It just means that the wedding is being put off. I don't fight for a woman who doesn't pick me all the time, nor do I fight with her." I shrugged. "Everyone makes their choices. Match their energy and move accordingly."

After a moment, he gave a nod, and sighed again.

"Mom could fuck up her own wet dreams."

Just then, Sarah pulled up, and we got out of our respective cars.

"Well, good news and bad news. Which do you want first?" I asked her in a flat tone

"Sean! I was --" she started again, clearly in a panic. She had apparently been crying on her way over, as her makeup was horribly smeared.

"Good or Bad?" I interrupted her, putting my hand up to stop her. She sighed.

"Good."

"John is my son. That leaves the Bad." I looked over to John. "Care to tell her, son?"

"You and Dad aren't going to be getting married any time soon." He said in a flat monotone. "Seems like you've fucked up your own wet dream."

She started crying again, and we both rolled our eyes at her, but John, being her son, put his arm around her and led her into Maria's office. I followed along behind, and we sat in the small lobby with John between us. It was nothing special, the standard 5 chairs and a coffee table across from a desk and door. However, what sat behind the desk was absolutely magnificent.

Deidra -- a mix of Puerto Rican hispanic and black -- was racked and stacked. Full lips, silver grey eyes and a skin tone of honey with a mane of barely tamed wavy hair just added to the attractiveness. She gave me a smile, and spoke in that sultry voice. I remembered from music class it was called a mezzo-soprano, and she had a huskyness to hers that I called boner-inducing.

"Afternoon, Mister Long. Miss Hassenjager will be with you in a moment."

"Thank you Dee." I said. Of course, the two women were assessing each other. Myself and Deidra had flirted quite a bit, but had never gone further than that. It was against the code of conduct for her to date a client of the practice, and Maria was good enough that I didn't want to lose her services.

After a few moments, the intercom buzzed, and Maria's voice came through the speaker. "Send him in."

I nodded to John, who gathered his mother, and we all moved toward the door. Dee, of course, stood and opened it for us, leading us into Maria's inner sanctum. The office was medium sized, with 4 chairs in front of Maria's desk, and her seated on the other side. Maria was the complete opposite of Dee -- bright white, with raven black hair, and dark eyes. She was rail thin, and I guessed seldom had a need for a bra. However, her brain and skills were sexy as fuck.

"Good Day, Sean." She stood and extended her hand over the desk, which I took and shook, as John and Sarah were seated. Dee went and got everyone bottled water, then took the seat on the opposite side of me from John. She had a tablet with a stylus out, ready to take notes on some app.

"So, we have the motion to amend the birth certificate, the petition for child name change, and the prenup--" Maria started.

"Not the last." I interrupted her. Maria stopped in mid sentence, looked at me, then Sarah, then Dee. Then she was back to me again.

"Why not?" Maria asked. I knew she was still going to bill me for it.

"You gotta hold onto that for a while for me. Me and John caught her smooching on some Rico Suave type." At this point, Sarah was crying again.

"Did you ask her why?" Maria questioned. I was a veritable goose with a shit load of golden eggs at this point.

"Do I have to?' I asked back, letting it be known that the answer in my mind was no.

"Well... I mean... it's a thing?" Maria seemed to be lost, and Dee was scribbling on her tablet in shorthand.

I studied Sarah for a moment, then shrugged. "Why?"

"In case the test came back and you kicked us to the curb!" Sarah wailed. I rolled my eyes, and Maria gave Sarah some tissues.

"What a dumbass." Dee muttered. Maria coughed and eyed Dee, who had enough tact to look sheepish. She then looked between Sarah and myself.

"So, no wedding in the foreseeable future. Maybe I should direct you to a relationship counselor." Maria said, then seeing the look on my face. "One that won't try to blame everything on you." Dee grinned at the last remark. The Motion and Petition were both signed, and I received a card for a counselor. It was agreed we'd all attend, and put all of the issues on the table in our sessions. Then, we left for home, John deciding to come with me.

For the next six months, twice a week, we went to counseling. Together, separately with John, individually, all of us as a family unit. For three of those months, Sarah did everything in her power to convince me she was worthy of my forgiveness. In one of our sessions, I called up Maria and had her make the pre-nup more iron clad, and then had her move a substantial sum to an independent account in Sarah's name so she could hire a lawyer.

There were lots of issues and insecurities that came out in those sessions, on everyone's parts. Sarah admitted she fucked up and took blame, apologized, and begged forgiveness. She threw herself on both John's and my mercy. She set herself up for being tracked, and cloned her phone to a spare so that I could monitor everything if I desired. I left that up to John. For his troubles, I bought him a nice used Chevy Impala. For another 6 months after the joint sessions, Sarah continued to go on her own, until the counselor called me back in for a session.

In that session, Sarah laid everything out, the whole story of John, myself, and her. They had gotten to the root cause of her insecurities and decisions, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she had fucked up major. I looked at my son as he stared at me, and I gave him an imperceptible nod. He said it before I did.

"You have to sign the prenup, mom, but we forgive you."

The following week, we met in Maria's office again. Dee had just broken up with her boyfriend, after discovering he had a secret love child with his secretary. She wasn't her bright and chipper self, as she had actually loved the man. However, she was nice enough to us, and when we were all done signing, she told me she was going to be part of the wedding party as one of my groomswomen. John was going to be my best man.

The wedding happened only a couple of months later, with my mother being unable to attend due to her health, though we did make sure she was set up for two way streaming, and we had the wedding meal catered to her home, following all of her dietary restrictions. She groused at it, but ate anyway.

There were a couple of events of note. Dee danced with both Sarah and myself. Beth, Sarah's daughter, was her maid of honor. She wasn't seeing anyone, and turned more than her fair share of heads. However, she was only able to come for the wedding and reception, and had to return the next day to school. John also got his dance with Dee, though he kept a fair amount of space between himself and her. He wasn't the best dancer, and didn't want to stomp on her feet.

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That was 5 years ago. Now, in the present day, as I wake up and head toward the bathroom to take my morning shit, I have to dissect our short marriage so that I can figure out just where in the hell Sarah's request had come from.