Chapter 8 Bethesda, Maryland, June 16, 2000 1:03 PM Al and Beth had spoken for over 2 hours. She told him how Dirk had come to see her at the hotel in Washington and then followed her to the airport, threatening she would never leave the city without him. She was safe for the moment, but Dirk knew where she was going and most definitely would try to find her there. "Don't worry Beth. Just sit tight and I'll see you tonight, okay?" "Okay, Al. I love you." "I love you too, and I'll call you back shortly to let you know what the arrangements are. Okay?" Al asked. "Okay." Beth said as they said their good-byes. Beth just sat on the bed and sighed. He did still love her; and now that she had spoken with him again, she felt safe knowing Al would do everything in his power to protect her from Dirk. Beth then realized she should call Christina before she heard about what was going on from Dirk or Michael. But could she trust her not to say anything to them if either of them do call her, or if they had already called her? That was a chance she would have to take. Beth stopped and couldn't believe she would think that Christina would betray her. What am I thinking? All I have to do is explain to Christina the situation, and she surly won't tell them. She picked up the phone again and dialed Christina's number in California. The phone began to ring. "Hello?" A little boy answered. "Bobby? Is that you?" "Yess, whose dis?" "This is Grandma Simon. Is your mommy there?" "Yes. Hi Grandma Simon!" "Can you tell mommy that Grandma Simon is on the phone?" "Okay, Grandma." Beth could hear Bobby yelling for his mother in the background; and then heard footsteps as Christina approached the phone. "Hi, Mom." "Hi, Chrissy. Bobby sure is getting to be a big boy. Did he get the birthday card I sent him? With all this excitement, I completely forgot it was his birthday yesterday. I can't believe he's already 5 years old." "I know. He starts kindergarten in the fall." Beth grew silent. "What's wrong Mom?" Christina could always tell something was wrong when her mother fell silent. "Has your father or brother called you in the past couple of hours?" "No. Why?" "You father hunted me down in Washington, claiming Debbie threw him out, and that he wanted me back." "Oh." Chrissy fell silent. "What did you tell him?" "No, of course." "Then what did he do?" "He's been chasing me ever since and threatening me. I never got on the plane because he followed me to the airport." "Oh, Mom! I knew Dad could be real jerk sometimes, but I didn't think he'd go that far. How did he find out where you were?" "Michael." "Michael? Oh, Mom. I'm sorry. I had no idea that Michael would tell Dad tell where you were going. I know not to trust telling him anything now. Do you think Dad knows where you are now?" "I don't think so. At least for the moment, I think I'm safe." "Where are you now? "I'm at an inn just outside of Bethesda, Maryland; but I'll be leaving shortly for Albuquerque. I called Al and he's making some arrangements to fly me out there hopefully tonight." "Mom?" "What dear?" "Are you going to tell him about me?" "About you? Of course, dear. I'm going to tell him about you and Michael. You're both my children." "No, Mom. I mean... about me." Beth sat is silence for a moment. "How did you find out?" Beth asked. "I figured it out on my own. I look like you in the face, but everytime I look in the mirror I see dark eyes staring back at me. All through my childhood I wondered why no one else in our family had the same shade of eyes as me. Then when I was 13, you showed me those pictures of Al and you; and I saw for the first time the same dark eyes staring back from those pictures. I knew, then, that Dirk wasn't my real father. Al, was." Beth started to tear up. She never thought about how she was going to tell Al about his daughter, or how she was going to tell Christina that Dirk wasn't her real father. "Why didn't you say anything to me about this before? --that you knew?" "I knew eventually you would tell me in your own time." "I've wondered for awhile if you knew. Especially, after Bobby was born. He looks so much like his grandfather and so does little Kaitlyn. Then there's the fact that you were born 3 years before Dirk and I were even married. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. Do you forgive me?" "It's okay Mom. I understand. I've known all this time, and I never held it against you, did I?" "No." "So don't worry. Actually, I'm kind of glad that Da..Dirk isn't my real father. Especially after what he's been doing to you lately." "Thank you, Chrissy." Beth said smiling with tears running down her cheeks. "I'm home!" Beth heard Christina's husband in the background. "Mom, John just walked through the door so I have to go. He's on vacation this week, and he wanted me and the kids to go with him to the store while we pick out some new things for the house." "All right." "And Mom? "Yes?" "I love you." "I love you too, Chrissy." "Oh, and please keep me posted." "Okay, I will." Then they said their good-byes and both hung up. ***************************************************************************** Las Vegas, Nevada, April 21, 1955 1:15 PM Sam had spent the last 2 hours trying to locate Randy Johnson. He finally found him with his brother, Matt, at a local restaurant having lunch and decided he'd sit casually in a booth next to them. Sam didn't want them to suspect he had been looking for them. After ordering some coffee, he looked up at Randy. "Hey, aren't you Randy Johnson, Sharon Tylers old classmate?" Sam asked. Randy looked up from his lunch and Matt turned around to face "Norman". "Yes, and you are...Wait, you're the guy that was with Sharon last night, right?" "Yes." "Your name is...is..." "Norman Butkis." How could he forget that name? Sam thought to himself. "I work as a lounge singer at the casino where Sharon works." "That's right. Why don't you join us?" Sam got up and sat next to Matt. Well, here goes nothing.