A week earlier – “Not again,” he'd heard it several times in the past. But now with it coming straight from his father's mouth it really upset him, flapping his arms upwards. “Tell me this is just another of those scams to get one of the good guys again.” Damien was mad as hell. “How is it possible with everything that's gone on? For sure there must be some mistake.”
His father was shaking his head.
“After three years they are still coming out of the woodwork.” Damien continued.
When his half brother died, there were women coming out of nowhere, claiming that his half-brother was the father of their baby. As Raphael's brother, Damien was very hopeful but as a lawyer. He knew he had to take things into his own hands. And so he sent the women to be tested. Unfortunately, the tests came back negative, which made Damien stop believing.
It saddened Damien terribly; though he occasionally saw, on one side the raw side of the people. On the other hand; he was happy, he had used his lawyer talents to the hilt. It had saddened his loving father so much knowing that people would do anything for money. Damien knew his father would have loved having a grandchild, but Damien wasn't ready to be a father. Besides his father, his private practice was his family.
His father Raphael Senior shook his head, “Nope..., there is no going on about it; this one is for real. It seems that while your brother was undercover, he slept with the young lady in question. And it seems it happened more than once.”
“How, did she find us?” Damien grumbled.
Raphael tried his best to smooth out their conversation, for he knew how this would affect his son. “She’d done some work for the police force and they got in contact with me.”
Damien balled his fist and was going to hit the wall of the den with all his power; then he changed his mind, he just missed it by millimetres. His common sense took over, before his brain could register the onslaught of pain, which would have brought him nothing but more pain. But of the more physical proportion this time. Let alone the fact that his father would not appreciate his son making holes in the wall. Not to mention plastering blood all over the place.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Damien asked. “Why is she letting us know about his child now, three years after the fact?”
Raphael let out a sigh. “It seems that her son is sick. And she, Anita doesn't want to go through the sorted thing alone. Also she wanted Ralph to know some of his immediate family.”
Damien could feel himself softening; if the boy is his half-brother's son, then he will do all he can for him. But if he isn't he will drag her, Miss Anita through the Courts. “Has there been any testing done?” Damien asked hunching his shoulders.
“It seems that yes there has. The reason it took so long to reach us was due to the fact that, your brother used an anonymous name. Which delayed her reaching us before now. That and the fact that she helped the local law enforcement take down the new gang. That your brother was working on dismantling.”
Damien knew only too well, after all Ralph was his half-brother Raphael Walters Star Jr., Raphael Seniors ex-wife Gabrielle Walters was a strong willed high-class, high-strung lady and insisted he have her name also. Raphael Jr. liked that thought, often thanking his mother for her fore thinking. Due to her he was able to have a name that he could use while undercover.
Even though on paper his name was Raphael Walters Star Jr. On the job and with his friends he was known as Raphael Star. He found it more respectable as a policeman. He liked using the name Ralph Walters, when they played cowboys and Indians when they were young. Ralph found that name sounded respectable like a Texas Ranger favorite of his, named Ranger Walker played by Chuck Norris. This thought brought a smile to Damien’s face. His brother was one sweet cookie; he knew how to make people laugh.
Damien’s father smiled his famous crooked smile. “It seems, in the beginning she had some difficulty convincing the head of the police force, of her knowing what your brother was doing. And that her knowing what had happened to kill her twin brother and her lover; was not due to herself, but to her brother’s legacy. By bringing the Cartel down she had proved on whose side she was on. It seems they were very much in love, your brother and her. And she would do anything in memory of your brother. The one and only love she ever expects to have.” Sadness came over him, as he said these last words.
Damien snickered at his father’s last comment.
Raphael continued. “But now with what happened, she is alone with no family to speak of. You can imagine none of the rest of her family wants anything to do with her. She is considered a danger to all; so that is why she's turned to us.”
Damien looked at his father. “What is the name of her child and what is the supposed sickness?”
“The child’s name is Ralph Handel Walters’s son of Anita Handel and your brother. As of the sickness he has; it is Hemophilia A.”
Damien looked at his father, eyes nearly bulging out of his head as he raised his eyebrows. “In english please.”
Raphael’s shoulders slumped. “Factor VIII deficiency.”
“Oh God,” Damien’s hand flew to his forehead. His father’s head was bobbing in his familiar way. They knew that Ralph was a carrier because on his mother’s side there where several casualties of the disease. Raphael jr. was lucky to have been born without it. But unfortunately his son had inherited the dreaded disease. Just that softened his heart towards his possible nephew. “When are they due to arrive?” Damien thought to ask.
“In about a week’s time,” Damien’s father answered his question. “We should be able to come to some arrangement about how to house them. I thought for the time being seeing as her son is so young, we could put them both in your brother’s room. That way she can see to his every needs and not be worried as to her son’s whereabouts. We just have to take the desk and resting chair out. Put in a baby bed and a rocking chair that should be enough to start with.”
Damien realized, his father had everything planned out.
“Surely with the walk-in closet they don’t need a place to put the baby clothes, but we’ll see to that when the time comes.”
Damien found it fascinating how his father often talked out loud to himself, when he had an unresolved significant problem.
“When do you plan to do the changes?” Damien asked as he walked towards the door.
“Oh, sometime during the coming week, I guess” His father was at it again, often reverting inwards when he was in deep thought just giving out fragmented answers. So Damien left him to his wandering thoughts.
He had his own things to look into. And one of them was asking his friend Carl, in the police force to investigate any and all that he could on Miss Anita Handel. Looking into recent cases he came across some papers that had to do with acquaintances of the lady in question. Or at least if not acquaintances they seemed to come from the same neck of the world.
From what he remembered about the case his half-brother was on. It had to do with a whole new Cartel that wanted to invade that downtown district, some hundred miles away. And they where eliminating all rivalry, which was just as bad as the street gang, jail mates who wanted to take over the prison system and become one gang.
Something that really riled Damien was the fact that his elder half brother was killed in a cross fire. But Damien had the impression that it was all planned down to the last bullet. For everything had come to a complete stand still after what had happened to them. Of course Frederick Handel, Anita's twin brother, had been killed only moments before Ralph had been killed, but at the time Damien had only thoughts of his brother and no one else.
Now he was going to have the woman who was in part responsible for what happened to his brother, around him every moment he would be home. How was he going to stay in the same room with that woman and not be down her throat every second, he was able? He has nothing but rage for the woman who blindsided his brother with love, and who now was no more.
He knew his father wouldn’t accept it if he came home later then usual. He’d suspect that Damien did not accept her; which he didn’t of course, at least not until he had proof. But he thought better of it and decided the only way to make sure she didn’t take advantage of them, would be to let her know he was on to her if she tried something. So maybe it was best to arrive around the same time as usual.
The Star men fixed the room so that it would be somewhat comfortable. At least a guy would think it was. “As for the decorating, she can do it herself!” Damien mumbled out loud. Raphael Seniors nodded his approval. Damien didn’t plan on doing anything more than was politely necessary. He still wanted to keep his brothers spirit in the room as long as possible.
Raphael Senior went back to writing his memoirs. Since he could remember he wanted to write about things that had happened. And since his sons death for some reason his wanting had become a necessity he could no longer put off. It helped him live through his pain. Pain seemed to have become a part of his personal life in the last few years; until two years ago when he met Kate.
First the loss of his second wife Sandra and how she died rather suddenly eight years earlier. The doctors said she must have been in pain for quite a while. Because when she accepted to go for help, it was far too late the cancer had spread beyond any help. Before that he was a scholar who taught in the local college. But after his wife’s death he stopped teaching.
Raphael remembered those days when she was tired. He thought it might have been her pre-menopausal starting. Sandra said she had no idea, that she was just tired and that surely it would let up. But it hadn’t, now he wished he’d pushed her into seeing a doctor sooner. Back then he thought she was right. By the time he did insist it was too late. She had passed away in a matter of months.
He was probably hard to live with, but he still had his two sons. And now three years after his eldest son was killed. He was going to meet his first and only grandchild. He had every intention of making their life as pleasant as was possible. Two losses in less then ten years were way too much.
Now he felt a need to laugh, and let loose for some pure pleasure for he had mourned way too long now. He was going to get to know his Grandson Ralph. A smile came to his lips. If he’s anything like his father I’ll have my hands full. He’d have to buy himself one of those new numeric cameras his friends talked about. Also create a sandbox like Katie had for her granddaughter. Raphael noted that he would have to ask Katie what a child needed these days. The things he remembered from when his kids where young: toys, food, bathing articles, bed. Ah, he’d ask his friends advice. Raphael smiled as he sat himself down and began writing.
Word had gotten around that Raphael Jr. had a lover three years prior. Damien tried to keep it as quiet as possible. But his friend Carl had left the contents of his discoveries on his desk. And somehow it got around that Damien had a nephew who would come and visit. Damien wasn’t at all sure he believed what was written on paper. So many women came with the same claim. It was hard to believe that at long last the family name would continue. He thought that the whole idea had fallen on his shoulders. But it seems that he would be able to preserve his life as a single man, now that his nephew was in the picture.
Damien started to wonder what he looked like. Did he have any resemblance to his step brother, or did he have traits that were more from her side of the family? If it would have been left up to him, he would have let her rent an apartment. But then on second thought; being in the house would make it easier for him to see what kind of woman she really was. If she had a mean streak he wouldn’t have any qualms in taking his nephew away from her.
Somehow the thought of her coming from a Cartel put her on the wrong side of the law, even if she herself had done no wrong. At least with his nephew in his house, he may have saved him from a life as a criminal. He reasoned he’d do his best to keep him on the good side of the law.
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