Shadow Of My Father

Written by: J.P.G.

{“The Shadow of My Father” is pure fiction. As I am writing this story, I am above the age of 21. If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is a love story. Seeing as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it is in realistic balance in the characters’ lives.

Any similarity to any real events, names, or life events is purely accidental. If you are underage, (according to your state laws, a minor), if this literature is offensive to you or to anyone around your viewing area, or it is illegal for you to view such content where you are reading it, stop reading the story.

This story cannot be distributed in any way, shape or form without author’s express written consent.}

Story Written by: J.P.G.
Love Scenes by “Daddy” Rick
Edited By: “Daddy” Rick

I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.com/

Chapter 34

{RECAP: This story is going in many directions right now. So much is happening I don’t even know where to begin. When we left off with the characters in this story, the Governor and his senior staff were heading back to El Paso for Gloria and Andy’s wedding. Josh and Andy Jr. were playing cupid for two of their friends. Bernice and Eric ran in late from their date, and what were the reasons? We have Patrick’s father out there more than likely ready to cause problems for the family. Josh is preparing for his tour that he and his band are going on in a couple of weeks during spring break. At which time all the stories will come together for a couple of chapters. New leadership for the senate Republicans was voted in, but is the new leadership going to be able to keep the old leadership in line? There is the starting of two new relationships, Rich and Cruz, plus the Governor’s brother. There is the former police chief’s cousin on the loose, the one that gave Martha the gun. And there is so much more that I didn’t put in here, but those plots are still out there.

This story can take so many twists and turns, when you are done with the chapter you won’t know what the top is and what is the bottom. The only thing you are certain is that you won’t be able to wait for the next installment of this story. So sit back, grab your drinks and munches and get ready for a very wild ride.}

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While the Governor, his Chief of Staff and Press Secretary were settling in for the night, the current Minority Leader of the Democratic Party and ousted Majority Leader of the Republican Party were sitting down for a meeting. The meeting wasn’t on either of the two’s agendas. That’s why the meeting was being held in secret in the wee hours of Friday morning.

Mickie Westrick, the ousted Republican Leader was sitting in his office waiting for Shawn Mixson, the Democrat Minority Leader. He was running late, making Westrick very nervous. He started to think that his former counterpart on the other side of the aisle had second thoughts about attending the meeting and decided not to come. Then when he heard the knock on the door and the voice on the other side, his worries were put to rest.

Westrick quickly got up and walked over to the door to greet Mixson as he entered into the office. He instantly noticed the facial expression on the Minority Leader. He didn’t look at all comfortable being there. In fact he looked like he was looking for an escape route. Seeing that, Westrick quickly tried to put him at ease, but at first nothing he said did the job.

“Shawn my friend, please take a seat.” Westrick pointed to the couches in his office. “Let me get you a cup of coffee, unless you want something stronger like…” Mixson interrupted Westrick stating coffee was fine. Westrick nodded his head as he turned and walked over to the coffee machine in his office to get them both a cup and walked back.

“Look I know a lot has happened in the last twenty four hours.” Westrick started to speak as he handed Mixson his cup of coffee and then pointed to the tray of cream and sugars. “My party decided that they needed new leadership, which they got. By doing so, they took away your party’s cornerstone legislations. They are jumping on the band wagon with the Governor trying to pass something that is close and dear your heart, which I don’t….”

“Not to be rude….” Mixson leaned forward, interrupted Westrick, looking him straight in the eye. “What is your agenda here this morning? I know you, and you don’t care what is close and dear to my heart or anyone’s heart. All you care about is yourself and how you can regain the office and control you’ve lost. So without all the hot air being blown up my ass tell me what you really want so I can get back to my side of the building.”

Westrick got up and walked over to his desk to pick up a file and then returned to the couch. “I know ninety nine percent of the time we don’t see eye to eye on what direction we want to take this state, but one thing we always saw eye to eye on is what is the Democrat’s issue and what is a Republican’s issue. Those lines are now blurred with our current Governor and leadership in the houses. Unless we both want to be thrown out, we need to stop what is going on right now.”

Not meaning to, Mixson started to laugh. “Look Westrick, you are sitting where you are right now because you refuse to change. Yes it is true we both have our platforms, but every so often there is a shift in the electorate. That shift happened sooner than we thought and in a direction neither of us thought it was going to go.

So unless what you have in that folder is a plan that will bring both sides of the aisle together, there is nothing more for us to talk about.” Mixson stood up to leave, but Westrick gently grabbed his arm and handed him the folder.

“Once again as I said, ninety nine percent of the time we never agreed on bills, but I know we will agree on this one item.” Leaning forward, Westrick looked straight at Mixson. “No matter what you say here in this office, I know you hate the idea that my party is now supporting one of your issues. It’s an issue that has gotten many of you elected, and yes, played a part on getting your party into the White House. Now a Republican Governor is taking a major issue away from your party. It’s as bad as taking away bigger government is the answer to all of the problems in our state and country.” Mixson looked up and gave Westrick a dirty look. “Come on you know everything I’m saying here is the truth, so stop acting all hurt.”

Westrick got up and poured himself another cup of coffee before returning to the couch. He had a smirk on his face that Mixson didn’t like. Mixson knew that Westrick had him. He didn’t want the gay rights issue taken away from him or his party. Right now that is happening and he is trying everything he can to hold onto it. However, he also came to realization when they adjourned the night before that he was fighting a fight he was going to lose.

“Okay let’s say I’m willing to listen, what do you have up your sleeve that will set things right? After all you are no longer your party’s leader, so you don’t really have any more power to move anything forward without the okay of your new party leader. And what I saw yesterday, he is gung-ho on getting the Governor’s legislation passed and the majority of your party is behind him. Whether out of fear or belief in the bills, they are behind him.”

“You’re right. He is the Governor’s puppet and that will be his downfall. When it is all said and done, he will be out and I will be back in. Through back channels, I will show the voters how bad the bill is. While the airwaves are being flooded with ads against the bill, we will be up here in the next twenty four hours doing what I have in that folder.”

Mixson looked back down at the folder and scanned over the papers. The more and more he read, the more uncomfortable he felt. Never before in the state’s history has this part of its constitution has been executed. Mainly because it is hard to prove and the party that moves to execute this part of the constitution normally comes out the losers in the end even if they win.

While the Minority Leader and former Majority Leader were plotting their plan to deal with Governor Lopez, back in El Paso, the sun was starting to rise as the EPPD started to surround a home in the lower valley. They got a tip that the former Police Chief’s cousin, Sal was hiding out in a house on that side of town. With what they had found out to this point about the cousin, they didn’t want to take any chances. If he was willing to kill the sitting Governor, nothing would stop him from shooting his way to freedom if he thought that was the only way out.

The case was handed off to a new detective, Detective Lee Hymes. He was trained by Detective Alvarez, so when the case was handed off, Detective Alvarez had no problem doing so. Hymes was honored that his teacher believed in him and trusted him. So he promised that he was going to solve the case within the first month of having it.

It was getting close to the end of the month when Detective Hymes got the tip where Sal was hiding out. When he brought it up to his superiors, they laughed at first, but thankfully Alvarez had his back. With Alvarez’s support, he got all the officers he needed to take down one of El Paso’s most wanted.

That brings us to the early morning raid. Detective Hymes and Alvarez stayed back as the SWAT Team took their places. They stood there and watched as the SWAT Team made entry. First they announced themselves. When they got no response, they threw in flash-bangs and at the same time broke the door down with the battering ram.

A few minutes later the all clear came over the radio, but nothing else which worried Hymes. He nervously looked at his mentor, feeling bad that his mentor put his reputation on the line to back him up. Then the came over the radio informing them that they had found someone in hiding in what seemed to be a recently added basement.

The basement wasn’t on the blueprints, so they weren’t looking for the room. They were about to give up and make their way out of the house when the saw a piece of furniture that looked out of place. It looked like it was moved in hurry back to where it was supposed to be, but it wasn’t straight. When he and another SWAT Team officer moved the TV unit away from the wall they found the trap door.

Slowly they surrounded it, announced themselves once again. When they got no response they yelled out if anyone was down there to come up. Once again they didn’t get a response, so they went in ready for anything. With guns cocked and ready to fire, they went down the steep staircase, and started to clear the room. As they made their way to the rear of the room, they found a bed, and underneath it a man quivering close to the wall with his hands over his face, his body in a ball. There were several guns beside him, but he didn’t go for them.

Quickly several officers tossed the bed to the side while several others grabbed the guns and put the guy on his stomach with his hands over his head. Once the secured the guns that were in plain sight, they started to pat down the guy they put into custody. As they were making sure there were no other weapons on him or in the room, they kept asking the guy for his name, but the guy refused to say a word.

The SWAT Team didn’t want to be in the make shift basement longer than they needed to be. He feared the place was booby trapped. So he walked up to the officers that were holding down the guy and asked them to pick him up. Without hesitation, they pulled the guy to his feet and made him face their boss. Pulling out a picture of the guy they were after, he placed beside the guy they had in custody. It took only one glance for the to determine that the guy they had was indeed the guy they were looking for.

Radioing out to the two detectives, the let them know that they had their suspect in custody. With a big smile on his face, Detective Hymes looked at his teacher. Alvarez nodded at Hymes and told him to head on in, it was his bust. Thanking his teacher, Hymes made his way into the house to make sure the guy they had in custody is indeed the guy they were after.

Just liked the SWAT Team , Hymes only needed to take one look at the guy as he was being brought up from the basement to be sure he was indeed their suspect. Sal was demanding to know why he was being placed under arrest, but got no answer from any of the officers that were bringing him up. All the officers did was read him his rights, but that all changed the minute he stood in front of Detective Hymes.

“Good morning Mr. Carnes! You are a very hard man to find.” Sal took one look at the young detective and thinking he was going to be able to talk his way out of it.

“I don’t know why you guys keep calling me Carnes and Sal. That isn’t my name. My name is George O’Malley.” Sal looked over at a door that leads to a bedroom. “If you don’t believe me, send one of your officers into my bedroom to get my wallet. There you will find my driver license proving I am who I say I am.”

Hymes looked over to the SWAT Team and then the room. Hesitantly he sent one of his men into the room to get the wallet. He didn’t want to be proven wrong and that he has the wrong person in custody.

When the officer returned, Hymes could tell by the officer’s facial expression the news wasn’t good. He was handed the wallet, and inside it was a Texas issued driver’s license with the guy they had in custody picture on it. The name on the driver licenses didn’t read Sal Carnes, it read George O’Malley. Not wanting to believe it, Detective Hymes kept flipping the license over, hoping to find it was a fake, but no luck, it wasn’t.

“Why were you hiding in the basement that isn’t on the blueprints, under a bed with several guns at your side?” The SWAT Team Sergeant asked; “If you are innocent, there would have been no need for you to be hiding down there like you were.”

Sal looked at the SWAT Team Sergeant with a smug look on his face. “There is no law in this state that says I can’t have weapons in my home. In fact, there is no law in this country that says I can’t have weapons in my home. I have the right to bear arms.” Sal looked back to Detective Hymes and looked at him with the same smug look on his face.

“As far as me being down there in my basement, there is no law against that either. I heard yelling, then breaking glass. I did what any other law abiding citizen would do being woken up by those sounds. Get to a place in your house where you are safe and wait it out until the police show up to arrest the bad guy or guys.”

Not wanting to believe that he had the wrong man, Detective Hymes had the officers sit Sal down on his couch as he went out to talk with Alvarez. After explaining everything that happened in the house to Alvarez, Hymes waited for any advice his teacher could give him.

“I know how you are feeling, but if the guy has a legal issued ID from the state with his picture on it, there isn’t a thing we can do.” Hymes started to walk away. “Except…” Hymes stopped and turned around quickly. “You can run the license to see if he has any outstanding warrants. We could hope there is some under that name so we could bring the guy in to finger print him. Once we have his finger prints, we can compare them to the ones we have on file.”

With a big smile on his face, Hymes made his way back into the house. “Mr. O’Malley let me first say how sorry we are for waking you up the way we did.” Sal looked up at Hymes thinking that he had gotten away. “We got some bad information about a guy that we have been after for months now. A guy that is the most wanted man in the city and state.”

“This guy must have done something really bad to be the most wanted man in the entire state of Texas. If you don’t mind me asking, what did this guy do? I mean what is he wanted for?”

“Well that isn’t either here or there right now. You we need to concern ourselves with correcting the wrong we did here, which will only take a few minutes. Since you were found in a room that wasn’t on the blue prints with several guns at your side, you will have to go to court. But before I ask these fine officers to release you, we have to make sure you have no outstanding warrants.”

With confidence that nothing was going to come back, Sal told Hymes to go ahead and run his license. Due to how quickly Sal gave Hymes permission to run his license and didn’t show any fear got Hymes nervous. His gut started to tell him that he was not going to be taking out the man that he knew for certain was his guy he came in for.

It took less than a minute for Hymes fears to come true. The license came back clear, meaning that they had no other choice but to let Sal go. Angry, Hymes walked into the house and slammed the license on the coffee table. He looked at the officers and ordered them to take off the handcuffs and then cite him for having the basement that he didn’t get a permit for.

“Detective I hope you find the guy you have mistaken me for,” Sal yelled out at Detective Hymes as the handcuffs were being removed. “I don’t want criminals walking the streets, and more so the streets of my neighborhood.” Detective Hymes shot Sal a disgusted look. “If I run into my twin out there, I will make sure to stay clear of him and call you guys.”

It took everything in Hymes to not go off on Sal. “Mr. O’Malley once again on behalf of the EPPD we are sorry for busting through your door the way we did. Once you fix everything here that was damaged, bring the receipts to the station and we will reimburse you for the cost. I don’t want you to pay one cent for the damage we did.”

“Don’t worry Detective I was going to make sure you guys paid for all the damage you did here without your permission.” Sal said with a chuckle in his voice as he rubbed his wrists where the handcuffs had bitten into. “I will get slapped with a small fine for not getting a permit to add the room I added down there, but once I’m done suing the city, I will be rich.”

“I’m sorry to hear you plan to sue the city. Good luck on that.” Hymes turned and started to walk out, but when he reached the door, he turned around. “Make sure if you do see your twin out there that you do call us. The police patrols in this area are going to be increased, but we have more of a chance to catch this guy if the residents of this neighborhood help us.”

When Hymes saw the smirk disappear from Sal’s face when he mentioned the increased police presence in his neighborhood, he knew he had the right guy. He walked over to Sal, shook his hand and wished him well before leaving the house. He was followed by the SWAT Team Sergeant and his men, who all believed they had the right guy as well.

Hymes felt bad once again when he saw his teacher standing beside his car. “Sir, I’m so sorry for all this. I know you are going to get a lot of heat for backing me. If you need me to step down to get the heat off of you, I will. You were the only one that believed in me and shouldn’t…..”

“Detective Hymes, the day I ask you to step aside for doing your job is the day I hand my badge to the Police Chief. You did great police work and we have our guy. We may not have been able to arrest him today, we have our guy. All we have to do is wait until he makes a mistake, which he will. Bad guys like him always make mistakes.”

“But the cost of this raid, how are you going to…..” Once again Alvarez interrupted Hymes. “Let me worry about that. You worry about getting that son-of-a-bitch in there within the bounds of the law. You keep the heat on him. Keep police presence here and make sure he sees it. The more nervous we make him, the better chance we have that he is going to make a mistake.”

Hymes understood what his teacher was asking of him. He promised Alvarez that he will make sure to do what he is being asked and renewed the promise that he will have Sal Carnes in custody by the end of the month. Alvarez had no doubt that Hymes was going to do that.

The two men got into their own cars and made their way back to their offices. Little did Alvarez know that his life was going to change completely tomorrow for the better. He thought if anything he was going to be written up for using the amount of manpower he used and having nothing to show for it.

While the scene in the lower valley was starting to clear up, on the west side of town trouble was brewing. Patrick’s father had been lying in wait for his daughter and he finally found her. She didn’t take Father Gomez or her brother’s warnings seriously. Not changing her routine at all, her father knew exactly where to find her on campus.

He waited in the parking lot across from the campus library where he knew his daughter worked three days out of the week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. True to her pattern, he saw her walking down the sidewalk heading to the front entrance of the building right on schedule. He looked around to make sure there was no one around or really watching before getting out of his car.

Once he was sure there was no one around that could see him and later identify him, he slowly got out of his car. Being as quiet as he could, he slowly closed his door, and walked across the parking lot. Just as he reached the front door of the building, he was able to block his daughter from getting in.

She was busy looking at her schedule that she didn’t notice her father until it was too late. Having her face down, she ran right into him. When she did react, it was too late. Her father had his right arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him, causing her to drop what she had in her hands. His left hand was on her mouth, covering it.

Trying to wiggle free, Patrick’s sister kicked at her father’s leg, but he didn’t care. He started to pull her across the street as fast as he could. Every few seconds he would look around to see if anyone was looking his way, and there wasn’t. It was too early in the morning. Most of the campus was still asleep, except the few students, like his daughter, that had gotten up to go to work. Those few students were too busy themselves rushing in or already arrived to where they worked on campus, so there was no one to see what was going on at their library.

Not knowing who was dragging her off, Marlene was starting to think the worst. It wasn’t until they reached the car that she knew it was her father. At that very moment reality came crashing down on her. She started kicking at his legs even more and biting at his hand that was covering her mouth, but there was no giving. As they reached the back of the car, Marlene’s father removed his hand from his daughter’s mouth. Taking any chance she had, she yelled out for help.

At that very moment, campus security was doing their morning rounds. They turned towards the screams, but at first they couldn’t pin down where they were coming from. As they scanned the parking lot, they saw there were not that many cars, but knew they were in the right spot. Just as they were about to give up, they spotted Marlene’s father pushing what looked like to them, a person into the trunk. The screams got muffled then and even more so when the trunk of the car was slammed shut.

The two security officers looked at each other. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It took a few seconds get their wits about them, but when they did, they reacted like they were trained to do. One of them radioed in what they saw as he raced towards the car, and the other went back for their patrol car to block the person in.

However, it was too late. The officer that went running towards Marlene was almost run over as Marlene’s father sped out of the parking lot. He jumped onto the cement sidewalk, breaking his elbow as he landed on his left side. The officer that went running for the patrol car saw his partner almost ran over, but knew he couldn’t stop and see how he was doing. He knew he had to stop this guy before anyone else was hurt on campus.

At the same time while the UTEP security was giving chase, back at the Lopez house, the Governor and his family were starting their day. Governor Lopez woke up before the sun came up, as he was accustomed to, but didn’t go into his study. Instead he sat in his kitchen, having his morning coffee reading the newspaper, something that he hasn’t been able to do since he had taken office.

He didn’t want to be bothered at all, at least not on his first morning back. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he was going to be working, but he wanted at least one morning to himself, in the kitchen of his new home before things start going a hundred miles an hour and for that he didn’t have to wait too long for.

Just as he was about to start reading the sports section of the newspaper, the phone started to ring. He ignored it at first, but whoever was on the other end didn’t want to hang up. Irritated, Governor Lopez slammed the newspaper down on the table and walked over to the phone.

“Whoever is on the other end of this line better be delivering me news that the sky is falling if they know what is good for them.” The person on the other end began to speak, a little nervous at first, but as he got going, he got on a roll. The Governor on the other hand didn’t like what he was hearing. “Please Senator, hold on; let me take this call in my study!” The Governor put the phone on hold and started to make his way out.

As he was heading to his study, he ran into Josh. “Good morning son.” Governor Lopez hugged his third to youngest son. He knew Josh didn’t like being hugged like that anymore, but he couldn’t help it. He was so proud of everything his son has accomplished in such a short period of time and keeping his head on straight (so to speak) while doing so.

“Come on dad you know I don’t like this. What would happen if Cesar or one of my friends would see us hugging like this?” Daniel Sr. let go of Josh and looked at him with a hurt look on his face. “I mean none of their parents are still hugging their sons like this. We are in high school already, almost adults now.” Josh looked into his father’s eyes with a pleading look.

“It could be that they are getting hugged just like you, but are asking their parents to stop just like you are doing. You don’t know either way and neither do I.” Daniel Sr. laughed as he rubbed the top of his sons head. “It’s just that I am so very proud of you son that’s all! I know I have said this several times already, but I don’t get tired of it. You didn’t let the naysayers out there make you run and hide from them. Instead you showed them what you could accomplish, and this is just the beginning. I know it; it is just the beginning!”

Daniel Sr. once again brushed his hand through his son’s hair as he started to walk again. Josh understood where his father was coming from and felt bad for stopping the hug. He made a promise there in the hallway as he watched his father walk into the study that he would never again object to a hug. No matter who is around, he would always accept a hug.

As soon as Josh sat down with his bowl of cereal, Barbara walked in with the twins in her arms. Josh quickly got up and walked over to his mother and grabbed one of the twins. He walked back to his seat, holding his little brother, while Barbara put his little sister in her seat. When Barbara went to get the youngest in the Lopez family from Josh’s arms, she had a fight on her hands. Josh didn’t want to let go of his brother and his brother didn’t want to let go of him.

“You guys have bonded really quickly!” Barbara said in her mothering voice as she got the youngest Lopez boy away from Josh. “That’s good! When it comes time for you and your brothers to baby sit, I will feel good leaving them with you.” Josh looked up at his mother with a look that only said one thing to her; she must be crazy.

“Nothing against my brother or sister, but I will be no good as a baby sitter.”

“Don’t sell yourself short Josh. Look at your brother. He didn’t want to let you go. I had to pry him from your arms and I know not all of it was you holding him. Some of it was him holding on to you as well.” Just then she noticed the bowl of cereal on the table. “Give me that.” Barbara took the bowl and walked over to the trash. “If you eat this, you won’t be hungry when breakfast is ready. You know your father, he won’t be happy with you if you don’t eat with us.”

“I know, but I want to leave early so I can get to school earlier than I have been. Practice is in full swing in Los Tigress, plus I’m thinking about going out for baseball.” Barbara turned and looked at Josh with the same look he just gave her a few minutes before. “Mom it’s just a thought. I’ve not decided, I’m just thinking about it.”

“I hope you really do give it a lot of thought. Between your singing at school, school work and your singing career, you really don’t have any time to spare.” Barbara walked over to Josh and as she sat down, she placed her hands on his. “I know you want to be like your brothers involved in teams, but you don’t have to be. You have so much going on right now, positive things. You don’t need to add anything else to your already busy schedule.”

Before his mother even started to lay out everything that he is involved in, he already had thought about it all. He was leaning more against joining the baseball team. It was just a thought and he wanted to see how it was before he decided what he wanted to do. There was no way he was going to add something else on his schedule that would take time away from the things he loves and even go as far as destroying everything he has already accomplished.

“Mom it was just a thought. All I wanted to do is go and see them practice that is all. I know as soon as I see that and the coach tells me their practice schedule, I won’t join. Like any sport, it will take a lot of my time; time I don’t have.”

Just then Cesar walked in and eased the tension in the room. “I know you guys don’t want my two cents on this, but I’m going to give it. I believe the reason Josh wants to go and see the practices is so he can get a glimpse of the guys in their tight baseball uniforms.” Cesar started to laugh as he leaned in to kiss Josh. “I keep telling him that they don’t wear their baseball uniforms during practice, but he won’t listen.”

That got everyone laughing. “Well come on, he sees the posters they put all over the school to sell tickets to the games, he just wants to go and see those guys in their uniforms.” Josh squeezed Cesar’s package under the table, causing Cesar to jump and hit his knees on the table. “Man you should see some of those guys in their baseball uniforms, hot, boy are they hot.” Josh fanned his face as if he was trying to put out a fire, causing everyone in the kitchen to laugh.

“There isn’t a doubt in my mind Josh, that not only you would fill out a uniform really well, but be the cutest guy out there on the field.” Cesar returned the favor to Josh, causing Josh to hit his knees on the table. “You filled out those speedos really well when you were on the swim team, I couldn’t take my eyes off of you whenever you were up. You were the reason I went to the swim meets. School pride? Hell no! Seeing you in those speedos made my day; heck my week!”

Just as the last words left Cesar’s mouth and the kitchen breaking into laughter, Josh’s brothers walked in. They kept asking what was so funny, but neither Josh, Cesar nor Barbara let them into what they were talking about. They went on with their business. Barbara started with breakfast, and the boys quickly got into a different conversation.

Meanwhile several blocks away, Bernice was heading down for breakfast. As soon as she entered into the kitchen and saw Father Gomez’s face, she knew it was going to be a very long morning. She knew that look way to well. It’s the look she always got from him whenever he wanted to sit down and have a serious talk.

“I had a lot of questions for you Bernice when you came in late the other night, but I let them go so you could get rest. Now that you have gotten rest, I want you to sit here and answer my questions honestly.” Bernice sat down and prepared for what was coming her way, but it never came. She was literally saved by the bell.

Father Gomez asked Bernice to finish cooking what was on the stove while he went to see who was at the door. At first he thought it was one of his parishioners at the door, but when he got there and looked through the curtains, he didn’t recognize the middle age women at his door step, at least not at first. When he opened the door and saw her clearly, he knew who she was.

With a stunned look on his face, Father Gomez invited the lady in. “Good morning Mrs. Petrillo, please come in.” Father Gomez stepped out of the way and let Patrick’s mother in and then guided her to his study. He didn’t want Patrick or Antonio to come down and the very first person they saw was their mother standing there at the bottom of the staircase. They might think they were in a nightmare and go running back upstairs.

As soon as Father Gomez closed the study door, he laid into Mrs. Petrillo. “I don’t understand why you are here. I mean after all the stuff you pulled and did to your kids, I would figure you wouldn’t want to show your face around here or anywhere your kids are.” Father Gomez pointed to the chairs in his office for Mrs. Petrillo to sit in. “It is taking every ounce of energy in my body to be the man of God here and not pass judgment on you. So you had better tell me why you are here before the man inside of me takes over and throws you out.”

Father Gomez could see the fear in Patrick’s mother’s face. He didn’t mean to put the fear of God into her like he did, but at the same time he didn’t feel bad about it. The woman has done so much wrong to her kids no matter how hard she tries and how long she works on it, there is no way she would be able to fix the relationships that she destroyed. At least that is Father Gomez’s feelings.

“Look I don’t mean to come off mean or anything, but I want you out of my house before your sons come down for breakfast and head off to school. So if there is a reason for this meeting, you better get to it, and I mean quickly.”

In a very low voice, Patrick’s mother started to talk. It was almost as if she was whispering. Father Gomez had to ask her several times to speak up, but by the third time he asked, and she didn’t do it, he was tired. He got up, walked over to door, but before he was able to finish turning the knob, Patrick’s mother ran over to him and held the door closed.

“Everything you have said is right, and then some. I haven’t been a good parent. No that doesn’t describe me right!” Patrick’s mother walked back to her seat speaking in a tone level that Father Gomez could hear and understand. “My kids would have been better off without us around. I mean, all three of them have been scarred for life.”

Father Gomez could see in Patrick’s mother’s eyes, feelings that he never thought she had. He had always thought her and her husband were born without any feelings; without a soul and heart. That was the only way he was able to come to terms with what he heard they did to their kids.

“I won’t make any excuses for how I was with my kids, but they were not the only ones going through a living hell in that house. While their father preyed on them, I was in the other room down the hall going through my own living hell.” Mrs. Petrillo looked everywhere else in the room except at Father Gomez. At first figure out why.

“He beat me every chance he got. The beatings got so bad, I almost lost Patrick.” That grabbed Father Gomez’s attention. “About a month before Patrick was due, his father beat me so bad, I was rushed to the hospital. He never showed up. I think to this day it was for the fear of getting arrested. Whatever the reason was, he never showed up.

Since he was no show and I couldn’t speak, they called my father and sister. When they arrived at the hospital, the doctors told them that I wasn’t going to make it. They turned to my father and told him he had to make what was probably the hardest decision in his life; me or the baby. It was laid out simply for him. There was no way I was going to survive, so they wanted to save the baby. Getting that information, my dad gave them permission to do whatever it took to save Patrick, and at the same try and save me.” Mrs. Petrillo wiped the tears from her face.

“They went in and did a C-section, which at the time it was rare, but they did. After pulling Patrick from my stomach, they patched me up the best as they could before rolling me into the ICU. It was a waiting game, but at times it looked very grim for me. However, somehow I fought back. I don’t know how, but I did.” For the first time since Mrs. Petrillo started to talk, she looked up and made eye contact with Father Gomez.

“To this day Father, I don’t know what or who gave me the strength to come back. I would like to say it was the cries of my new born son that did it, but I really don’t know. All I know is the doctors started to call me the miracle patient. The patient that shouldn’t have survived, but somehow beat all the odds and made it back to the land of the living.”

Father Gomez got up from his seat and grabbed the box of tissue from his desk. He returned to his seat, pulling out a few tissues from the box and handed them to Patrick’s mother. Waiting for her to gather her thoughts, he thought about what she had just told him, which made the hair on his arms stand up. There was no doubt in his mind that what she had just told him was true. It was too horrible and in too much detail to be a lie.

“Mrs. Petrillo please forgive me for how this might sound, but why didn’t you leave your husband then? I mean, the guy almost killed you, and you went back to him at some point after Patrick was born.” Father Gomez pointed to the roof. “You had another son, Antonio.”

“There is no need for you to ask for forgiveness because you are right. Those that have heard this story asked me the same question, but when they heard why, they understand.” That moved Father Gomez to the edge of his seat. “I left my husband and planned to never go back to him. I took Patrick and Marlene and went into hiding, but it didn’t work, he found us.

My sister helped out and moved in with me and my two kids so we weren’t struggling, but it didn’t take long for my life to go back into a nightmare. One day after returning from work, I heard a knock on the door. I thought it was the babysitter bringing little Patrick home early because she saw me driving up. So I didn’t bother to look out the peep hole in me door, I just opened it. Plus I had started to feel safe where I was. I thought I had gotten away from him.

Anyway, I was wrong, because standing on the other side of that door was my husband madder than hell. He pushed me in, slamming the door right behind us. I started to scream, but I didn’t do any good, he slapped me so hard across my face, I flew across the room, landing against the wall, hitting my head, putting me in a daze for a few seconds. When I was coming to, I felt like I was floating. I soon realized I wasn’t floating, it was my husband carrying me to my room.

The whole way there all I could think about is, ‘this was it’. This was the day he was going to take my life. I will not ever see my Marlene and Patrick again. He came in here to do what he tried to do the day I almost lost Patrick and my life and that is kill me. And to make matters worse, I saw it in his eyes. Let me tell you that was the scariest moment of my life, knowing I was going to die.” The tears started to row steady down Patrick’s mother’s face.

Wiping away the tears, Patrick’s mother continued. “What felt like eternity, which probably only a few minutes, he carried me to my room. He kicked the door open, carried me in and kicked it shut once we were both in. As I watched the door being slammed shut, my only escape route being taking away from me, my husband threw me on the bed. Before I could even react, he was on top of me, hitting me with all his strength, over and over again.

When I couldn’t feel anything anymore, and I started to go in and out, I heard the door opening. All I kept thinking it was one of my kids, and I wanted them to turn and run, but it wasn’t. It was my sister. She came busting through the door, grabbed the back of my husband’s shirt and pulled him off of me. She tossed him clear across the room. When he landed, he hit his head.

This time he didn’t have time to react. She was on top of him, giving him what he was giving me.” Mrs. Petrillo looked up from the floor at Father Gomez. “One thing you need to know about her is that she was a woman you don’t want to mess with. She not only knows how to fight, she’s not afraid to take on any guy, any size, which my husband knew. If he didn’t know at the time, he quickly found out how strong and mean my sister can be.

She just wailed on him hitting him over and over again, drawing blood from his lip, cheeks and yes even his eyes. He tried to cover his face, but each time he tried, she slapped his hands away and hit him even harder. In no time, she knocked him out. Even when he was out, she kept hitting him over and over again. I had to pull her off for fear that she was going to kill him and end up going to jail for murder.

As soon as we caught our breath and gathered our emotions, we knew what to do. We tied my husband up and then called the police. I tried to clean myself up, but my sister didn’t let me. She wanted the police to see what my husband did to me first hand. So I sat in the living room, waiting for the police to show up, which once again seemed like eternity but wasn’t.”

“Please don’t tell me that the police didn’t even arrest your husband after seeing what he had done to you.” In a surprising tone Father Gomez asked.

“No they did, but we are getting ahead of ourselves here. They showed up and saw what he did to me and what my sister did to him. At first, I thought they were going to arrest my sister as well. They handcuffed her, but when the detectives showed up and got filled in, they ordered the officers to take the handcuffs off my sister.

Just then, Marlene walked in the door. My sister went running over to her and took right back outside. I convinced myself for years after that she didn’t see anything, but boy was I wrong. She would say something or ask a question that told me and her father that she saw how I looked that day, for which I never forgave myself.

Anyway, I’m getting after of your question and what happened that day. They did arrest my husband, and I pressed charges, but he made bail a couple of hours after they took him in.” That stunned Father Gomez and Mrs. Petrillo noticed it. “You have to remember it only has been recently that the laws have gotten a lot stricter with this kind of abuse. Back in those days, the husband pretty much got a slap on the hand, maybe a fine and he walked away.”

“Don’t tell me that is exactly what happened with your husband.”

Mrs. Petrillo nodded her head, which got Father Gomez up on his feet. He started to pace back and forth in the office, unable to believe that after what Mrs. Petrillo had just described to him, the police and the courts back then just slapped her husband on the hand and not prosecuted him for assault. If they would have done their job back then, in his mind, things would be a lot different for the Petrillo kids and even Mrs. Petrillo.

Stopping in the middle of his study, Father Petrillo turned around and looked at the woman he once thought was evil, but after hearing the stories, he started thinking of her in a different light. He could see she had a lot more on her chest to get out, but before she could, she jumped up and ran out of the study. At first he didn’t know why, but it didn’t take long for him to figure it out.

As he ran after Mrs. Petrillo he heard Patrick and Antonio’s voices in the kitchen. There was no doubt in his mind that is what Mrs. Petrillo heard and why she was running out of the house. By the time he got to the front door, she had already made it off the porch. However, through the panic of trying to get out of the house before her kids saw her, and wearing high heels, she fell halfway between the front door and her car, right on her face.

Father Gomez ran over to her, trying to help her up, but she pushed him away. She got up, quickly brushed herself off and continued running to her car. The Father had no idea what to do. If he did what he wanted to do and that is call out to her, her sons would hear and come running out, which will cause a lot bigger scene than he wanted. But at the same time, he didn’t want the boys’ mother that he came to care a lot about drive in the condition that she was in.

Just as he was about to call out her name, she had gotten into her car and shut the door. Knowing that she wasn’t going to hear him, the Father started to run towards the car. As he got to it, it started to pull out into the street. Looking into the passenger side window, he could see Mrs. Petrillo looking at the house with a steady stream of tears rolling down her cheeks.

Not wanting to, he let Mrs. Petrillo drive off. Standing there in the middle of the street, Father Gomez went over the conversation in his mind that he just had with Mrs. Petrillo, trying to figure out if he had done something differently that maybe she wouldn’t have gone running out of the house. However, each time he thought of something he could have done differently or said differently, he realized the outcome would have been the same. Plain and simple, she didn’t want her boys to see her in the state that she was in.

As Father Gomez stood there in the middle of the street kicking himself for the way he dealt with Mrs. Petrillo, back in Austin, the Minority Leader of the senate had called his members in. They had been in session for over an hour talking about the very thing that he and the former leader of the Republican Party had cooked up just hours ago.

At first it was a hard sell, but it didn’t take long for him to get his members to fall into line and follow the party line. Within an hour, he had all the members of the Democrat Party of the Senate in line to vote for what he and the former Majority Leader came up with. The only thing that was left was for the former Majority Leader to do his part and that is to get enough of his party to go along with them. They both knew without some of his members, the motion won’t pass.

Just down the hall in another huge conference room, the former Republican Senate Leader was meeting with members of his party he knew that he could arm twist to go his way. Like the Minority Leader, it was a hard sell at first, but the more he talked about their Governor and his policies, the more he saw he was moving them to his corner.

Still after over an hour of talking, there remained a couple that weren’t convinced to vote in favor for the motion. Those that did change their minds to follow their old leader started to back out when they saw that there were a few hold outs. They made it clear to their former leader if he couldn’t get enough votes to move the motion through, they were not about to put their name on a motion that was doomed from the start.

Westrick wasn’t about to allow this motion to go down in flames before it even had a chance to get to the senate floor. Pulling the few senators to the side that was holding out, he started to prod them. He knew they had an agenda all their own and wanted to know what it was. It didn’t take much asking for them to open up on what they wanted for their vote.

“Look I understand you all made promises to your districts to get elected and haven’t been able to deliver on them. However, none of us will be able to deliver on any of the promises we made to our voters if we don’t move on this motion. We need to take care of one thing at time. I promise you if you support me and this motion, I will support your bills when they hit the floor.”

The senators looked each other and back at Westrick. “With all due respect, your word doesn’t mean much these days. You have no power anymore, just like us.” One of the junior senators spoke up. “If we are going to put our careers on the line with this vote, we need assurances that not only we have your support for our bills, but that our bills will pass the senate.”

Westrick knew that he couldn’t give that kind of promise. He couldn’t even give that promise when he was Majority Leader much less now that he is just a senior member of the state senate. At the same time though, he knew he needed their votes and was willing to do and say anything he had to in order to get the motion through the senate before the Governor and his staff got back.

“I won’t stand here and tell you that your bills will pass without a problem because you will know that I’m lying. However, I will tell you that I will do everything in my power, arm twist, make deals and everything else I can to get the votes you will need to move your bills through. That is the best anyone can do no matter what position they hold.”

The junior senators looked at each other. It was if they were holding a conversation with their eyes that no one else part of or could understand. After a few minutes of just looking at each other, the junior senator that seemed to be the spokesperson of the group turned and informed Westrick that he had their vote, which made him smile from ear to ear.

With their votes in his pocket, and the other senators of his party, he had well over enough votes to get the motion passed. That is if his new friend on the other side of aisle was able to get his members to go along with them. If he got them all, the motion not only will pass with the majority, but with over double digits to spare in votes.

With the final votes in his pocket, Westrick made his way to the Senate Chamber and called it to order. It took almost an hour for every senator to arrive, but Westrick had no problem waiting. He knew he was going to win this motion because as he was waiting, he had a chance to talk with his new alley who informed him that he had his entire party behind the motion.

As the members of the Senate gathered, the republican senators that were not in the secret meeting with Westrick started to get a bad feeling about what was going on. They saw the smile across his face. Knowing their former leader the way they do, they knew the smile across his face means only one thing, trouble for them, their party and more than likely, the Governor.

It didn’t take long for their assumptions to become reality. Once all the senators sat down in their seats, the new Majority Leader called the chamber into order. He went through old business, as required by law whenever they are in session, before moving to new business. Every bit of old business was tabled for another time.

It didn’t take long once the floor was open for new motions for Westrick to make his move. He quickly stood up and made his way to the podium. He wasn’t accepted with warmth, but his fellow senators that didn’t know what he was going to say, let him speak.

“I know the motion I’m about to put before this chamber may seem ill-willed and petty, but it must be done. If we don’t stand up to the Governor right now, we will never be able to do our jobs as long as he holds office.” Westrick went through talking points on what the Governor has done and pushed through since he had become governor. Each item got a different reaction from each side of the aisle. It all depended on if it was their party’s platform or not if they booed or cheered.

“This Governor is all over the map. He governs by his heart and because he governs that way, we don’t know where he might be any given day. Right now he has a bill before our houses because of who his son is. Not because it is the right thing for our state, but because he wants to give his gay son more rights than he deserves. I can say without a doubt that if the Governor didn’t have a gay son, he would never be pushing a bill like this through our houses.” Westrick got a mixed response from the floor.

“Put that bill aside, every bill he has put on this floor since he has become Governor in one way or another benefits someone in his family or close circle of friends. He isn’t governing for the people who voted him in. He is governing for the very few and the elite. We need to put an end to this before it gets more out of hand and there is no stopping him.

Therefore I feel we have no other choice but to move on a motion like the one I’m about to put before you, my fellow senators. A motion that removes our Governor and puts…” The chamber broke out in roars disgusted by what they were hearing. “I know many of you don’t like what I’m saying here, but we have no other choice. We have to remove this Governor and set up a special election for the voters of this state to correct the wrong they did when they elected him. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and must be removed from his position.”

Most of the Republican Party Senators couldn’t believe what they were hearing. One of their own was putting before them a motion to remove their own party’s Governor. Never before in their state history has a motion like this even been thought about let alone been put before the senate.

Several senators got up from their seats and made their way out of the chamber. They all had the same thing on their minds, call their Governor and let him know what was going on. Together they made their way to a conference room and made the call that they never thought they’d have to make. When they got the Governor on the line and informed him what was going on, he was knocked off of his feet as well. He had to switch phones in order to see if he heard the news that he was being told right.

Meanwhile as these few senators were informing the Governor what was going on, back on the Senate Floor, Westrick was blocking members from his own party from putting the motion on the shelf. He had the votes to move it forward. He even had the votes to move the motion directly to a vote, skipping the debate part, which the Republican senators were demanding.

Knowing this was his only chance to get this done, Westrick ignored the cries of his party and moved the motion to a vote and it was easy. Once the motion for the voting to begin was seconded, the cries for a debate were muffled. They were still there, but the cries were falling on deaf ears. The voting had started, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

The new Majority Leader took a head count and saw who was voting for the bill. So far it wasn’t any members from his party except the former Majority Leader. The yay votes were so far coming from the other side of the aisle. Seeing that, he started to think that the motion will fail as long as his party held the line and voted against the motion.

However, the Majority Leader’s hopes were quickly smashed. One by one members of his own party started to vote yay for the motion. Not believing what he was seeing, he started to running around the chamber trying to get his own party members together. He wanted to stop the bleeding before it was too late, but it was. By the time he got his members together. Enough Republican Senators had jumped shipped and voted for the motion for the motion to pass.

He turned and looked at all of the members that he gathered and knew wouldn’t jump ship. “We have failed our Governor here ladies and gentlemen. Senator Westrick has enough votes with the Democrats votes to pass this motion. In this one motion, from one man, this body decided that the voters of this state didn’t know what they were doing when they elected their Governor and we do. That doesn’t look good at all for any of us, no matter how we vote, and the motion will pass.”

They all looked at the counter and saw the yay votes increasing one by one. Not knowing what to do at this point, all they could do is stand there and watch. None of them could believe what they were seeing, but knew it just a few short minutes, Westrick was going to get his revenge. He was going to be the first senator in this state to put a motion before the senate to remove their sitting Governor and get it passed with a super majority.

TO BE CONITUED……………….

WRITER’S CORNER:

{Hello one and all, welcome back to (finally) another installment of ‘Shadow of My Father’. Before I go into the summation of this filled chapter, I would like to say a few words not pertaining to the stories. This is the first chapter I have written since the passing of my mother. Since I lost my mother back on June the 12th, I lost my step mother on August the seventh. To make matters worse, she was rushed into the hospital on my birthday, the first of August and clinically died in the emergency room that day for thirty minutes but was revived. Then six short days later, she passed away in the same hospital as my mom.

I started to feel like the grim reaper, with death following me. First I lost my mom, which I still hurt every second of every day for that loss. Then the other woman in this world that I felt as close to and called my second mother passed away less than two short months later at the age of fifty six. Way too young to be taken from this world, but who am I to question God’s will. All I know is that these two beautiful and honorable women are now up above looking down at all of us as guardian angels.

My mind wasn’t completely on writing, and I was writing this chapter when my step mother was in the ICU and eventually passed away. So if there seems to be areas in this chapter it doesn’t make sense, let me know or my editors and it will be fixed. I wanted to get a chapter out to you guys and more so a good one like the ones in the past.

Now back to the story. Wasn’t this a very full chapter with so much action in it? I know some of you are not in politics, but that is the reason I chose to write this story first. Since this story has so many different plots not involving my life, it was easier for me to write. Unlike ‘Jacob Finding His Way’, the story based on my life and is at this very moment moving into the wedding of my mom and dad. Still at this moment I don’t know how I am going to write out that story because it is way too close to home for me right now.

Sorry I seem to go on a ramble sometimes, please forgive me, back to the chapter at hand. The story picked up the very next morning where the last chapter ended. The former Republican Leader brought in the current Minority Leader to talk about a plan he came out with to redeem himself. It was discussed between them, but not let out to you the readers until the end of the chapter. I love doing that because it keeps you on your toes, LOL.

The motion to remove Governor Lopez as Governor was placed on the senate floor by the former Majority Leader of the Republican Party. Before he did that, he made sure that he had enough votes to get it through. It looks like by the end of the chapter he got the votes he needed to do just that, but who knows. You guys know me and how evil I am as a writer. I throw in a few curve balls in there at you guys here and there.

From Austin we returned to El Paso and a scene of the EPPD surrounding a house that they believed Sal was living in. As the SWAT team entered the house they found a guy they believed was Sal, the former police chief’s cousin. They compared the picture to him and knew they had the right guy, but they got a curve ball thrown at them. Seth presented them with a real Texas ID under a different name. Since they couldn’t prove the ID was fake and there were no warrants on the name, they had to let him go. The only question out there is Sal going to be able to get away with it, or is it just a matter of time before they get him.

The Governor was at home enjoying a cup of coffee when he got the call on what was going on in Austin. He snuck off to his study to take the call while Josh, Barbara and Cesar were in the kitchen talking about the idea of Josh joining the baseball team. What do you guys think about that? Do you think Josh has the time? If so, do you think he should go for it if for nothing else than to look at the cute guys in their baseball uniform? (wink, wink!)

Okay you guys should have seen the thing with Patrick’s dad coming. He laid in wait for his daughter and when he saw her, he grabbed her. The only problem there is that campus police are hot on his tail, but the key word there is campus police. I don’t know about where you are, campus police here are rent-a-cops. I wonder if Patrick’s dad is going to get away. If so, where is he going to take his daughter to? Maybe like everyone else in El Paso, J-Town.

Now the curve ball from left field was Mrs. Petrillo. I know you guys didn’t see this plot coming at all. While my mom was sick, I found out about a lot of stuff, stuff I had no idea had happened in my family. I took what I found out and put that into this character. So most of it is true and happened in my family. Do you guys think after reading this part that she is redeemable or already a lost cause?

So much going on in this story and not enough paper to write it all on! I know if I forgot anything in my writer’s corner about this chapter, Daddy Rick will take care of it in his corner. There are still a lot of open plots out there that I have not even touched on, and many more new plots are to come. I hope that you all did not forget about any of those plots, and if you did, well then it will be a lot of fun when they come back up again. So hold onto your hats ladies and gentleman, the ride is just beginning!

I could stay here all day long, with all the open plots already in this story, but I will not. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR’S CORNER:

Greetings one and all ! It’s great to have a chapter to edit once again. It’s good to see Jacob getting back to his normal self (if Jacob can EVER be called normal! {wink})

Marlene being abducted by her father was a jolt! Campus security was enough on the ball to make sure that the EPPD can get involved fast. Did either security officer get a license plate? Did they get a call into the EPPD immediately or will there be a time lag? As with any kidnapping case, time is of prime essence to a good outcome.

The story that unfolded about Mrs. Petrillo’s life and the circumstances was most revealing. She may be redeemable as Jacob posed the question, but the relationships with her offspring may be damaged beyond any redemption. The scars are very deep and profound. I’m not sure that there’s any amount of counseling that could even begin to repair the damage that was done. I’m like Fr. Gomez, I now see Mrs. Petrillo in a new light.

Josh was self conscious and uncomfortable with his dad’s demonstration of affection. That seems to be part of the emotional makeup of a young male from the age of puberty and for some time further. Josh came to the realization that it’s OK in a flash, which is out of the ordinary. He realizes that getting affection from a parent is a good thing and nothing to be ashamed or self conscious about. Actually, the affection coming to Josh from his dad is a treasure and I hope he takes all that comes his way.

Josh might have some interest in the baseball team, but I think his good sense will prevail and he will just leave it at checking it out.

I’m anxious for Jacob to get back up to cruising altitude with his writing. I’m ready for things to be back to normal with lots of good reading comin’ our way!

Let Jacob hear from you. Your encouragement will go a long way to getting him back up to speed. Of that I can assure you absolutely!

Remember, for those of us that work to bring you the stories get our only ‘pay’ from your e-mails. Be involved. Let us hear your reactions and thoughts. Plot suggestions are also most welcome.

Until Next Time,

“Daddy” Rick