A Simple Man

The last thing I did was get in my car with my briefcase and one suitcase and left for the airport. I made three stops along the way. One to the school of each of my children where I dropped off a flash drive in the office to have them give it to my children, and one more stop to Asshole's house where I gave the last flash drive to his very confused (soon to be ex) wife. I parked the car, left the keys in it, and walked to the terminal.

Six different flight, three rental cars driving to other airports, in four countries, over a week's time, and I landed in Costa Rica to begin my new life with my new identity. Oh, before you think of me as a complete asshole, I should mention that I had set up a trust fund for my kids that would pay for all of their schooling, as well as ensure that they each got enough money to take care of what they needed. My friend at work agreed to be the trustee for the fund. He was to make sure that they got what they needed, but not one penny could be used by my wife. Food and rent for the kids were included, so she would have a decent place to live and food to eat, but no extras. Of course, the bank would be foreclosing on the house, so she would need to find somewhere to rent. Because of everything I had done and the investments that I made, six years later I had over 5-million dollars in banks and investments.

Sherri:

Spring Break on my Junior year of college. I was studying Engineering like my daddy did. I haven't seen him since he left home six years ago. My God! The mess he left was horrible! I understand why he did it. He left all three of us a flash drive showing what mom was doing. I couldn't believe it when I heard her tell her lover what she was planning on doing to daddy. I have to admit, it was a hard time for a while. Mom lost the house, and we had to find a much smaller house that we could rent. Mom even had to find a job. God, she hated that. At least dad left us a trust to take care of us. We never lacked for food or anything else we needed. We did need to account for things. It was very specific, nothing for mom. If she needed clothes, she had to come up with the money somewhere. She always had enough to eat, and she was living at the rental with us, so she had shelter, but it was pretty bleak for her otherwise. Thankfully, I was only there until I graduated. Mom and Danny fought a lot. Oh, yeah, Danny's wife pretty much raped him in their divorce. Mom and Dany ended up moving into a small single bedroom apartment after I left for college and the trust stopped paying for the house that we were living in. They couldn't afford the rent after that.

Anyway, a couple of my friends got a really sweet deal on this small resort in Costa Rica for Spring Break. It was a smaller resort that was a bit out of the way from the main spring break destinations, so, since we were kind of not in the mood for the heavy partying that we'd done the last couple of years, we decided to go there. There were two rooms; the boys in one room, and girls in the other. Yeah, we were three couples, but I wasn't really that serious with the guy I was with at the time. We had some fun, but I think that both of us knew that there wasn't really a future with each other.

We had been there for two days when the guys decided that they wanted to try out some deep-sea fishing. Us girls just wanted to do a little sunbathing on the boat. After being pointed to a local bar where some boat owners that occasionally took out charters were, we walked over and went in. We had just gotten to the bar to inquire who we might talk to about chartering a boat as we were ordering some drinks, when I caught a glimpse of an older couple sneaking out the door. I just caught a glance at the side of the guy's face, but something about it struck me as odd. I couldn't put a finger on it, but there was something about the face. Anyway, the bartender pointed to a table and began fixing our drinks. Drinks in hand, we went over to talk to the two couples that were seated at the pointed-out table. Josh, one of the guys in our group inquired about chartering a boat for tomorrow, indicating that the bartender had pointed them out as possibly be able to help us out.

"Oh, he was probably talking about David, but you just missed him. He and Isabella just left." One of the men said.

"Damn." Josh replied. "Is there any way that we can get in touch with him? We really want to go out tomorrow."

"Well," The old guy began. "Probably the best bet is to be down at his boat before 6:00 AM tomorrow morning. He usually takes it out for some fishing around then. Just go down to the docks and look for the 'Sheri Patricia"...."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY??" I screamed.

"I said to look for a boat called the 'Sherri Patricia'. That's David's boat." He replied looking confused.

"OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD." I began, hyperventilating.

"Signorita, are you alright?" One of the women asked.

"What did you say his name was?" I asked, completely ignoring the question.

"His name is David. David Knight." Was the reply.

"Oh. My. God. It can't be." I whispered to myself.

"What's wrong, Sherri?" Nick (my boyfriend) asked.

I saw the two couple's eyebrows raise when he called me by my name.

"The name of the boat! Do you know my middle name? It's Patricia! I'm Sherri Patricia. Patricia is my mom's name. My family has a tradition of the oldest son having the father's first name as a middle name. My parents extended that to have their daughter's middle name be the mother's first name. HE NAMED HIS FUCKING BOAT AFTER ME!!!!" I suddenly realized what it was about the glimpse of the side of that face was. HOLY SHIT!!!

"Come on. We need to go NOW!" I told my friends. Looking at the two couples, I asked, "Where is his dock? I need to get there before he leaves."

"As I said he usually doesn't leave until about 6....."

"NO! HE'S LEAVING NOW! HE SAW ME, AND HE'S RUNNING AGAIN! I NEED TO CATCH MY DADDY BEFORE HE LEAVES ME AGAIN!"

The silence that came over the bar was deafening. The looks of total shock on the two couples and all of my friends would have been comical if I hadn't been on the verge of a complete breakdown at the moment.

"You are sure?" The older gentleman asked. After nodding my head, he stood up and began moving towards the door. "Come. I will show you."

It wasn't a large town, so we got there in only a few minutes. Seeing his boat, I ran down the dock and jumped onto it. He wasn't there. I turned to my friends.

"Go back to the resort. I'll see you there in the morning." I said.

"Are you sure? We should probably stay to make sure you are OK. He could hurt you or something. After all, it might not even be him."

"No. I'm sure. I need to do this alone anyway. This is a private matter. Besides, If I'm wrong, he won't come here until the morning, and you guys will be here early in the morning when he gets here anyway. If I'm right, he will be here shortly to get away, and having all of us here will just scare him away. Now go. I don't want him seeing you."

After a couple more assurances, they left, but I knew that they wouldn't go very far before hiding out and watching. Sure enough, it was only 10-minutes later that a pair of headlights neared the dock. I hid in the cabin as the two figures got out of the vehicle and began carrying their items towards the boat. I had texted James and Mike to get on a conference call with me and it was an emergency. As soon as they were on, I told them to keep quiet and that I was putting them on speaker. Whatever they heard; they were to remain silent unless I told them otherwise. After getting their assurances, I set my phone on the table beside me.

David:

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! And double Fuck! What the hell was she doing here? Did they somehow manage to track me down? Did she know that I was here, or was this one of those random coincidences that karma throws at you to fuck everything up? At least I saw her before she saw me, and I don't think that she even saw me as we left the bar. Still, I couldn't take that chance. If they were looking for me, I still had a pretty good shot at escaping. Assuming that they weren't sure that I was here, I had changed enough that any old photo probably wouldn't work to get anyone here to recognize me. On top of that, I had completely changed my identity, so no one here would know anything about Damon Lewis. As we were carrying our food and luggage to the boat, I glanced at the name. Fuck! Why did I have to go and name my boat after her? Another reason to get out of here before she could see it. Shit! How long had she even been here? It didn't seem like she had just arrived.

"Come on Bella. We need to get moving. I figure at least a week, possibly two and we can come back." I said to her as I was setting down the cooler on the deck.

"Excuse me. Are you David Knight? My friends and I would like to discuss the possibility of chartering your boat for the day tomorrow." I heard a melodious voice say from inside the darkened cabin.

No, no, no, no. Don't let it be her.

"Sorry, but it isn't available. I have another job with my boat that will take the next two weeks, and I need to get moving to be on time. Can't help you, and I really need you to get off my boat now. I'm in kind of a hurry."

"Seriously, daddy? You're gonna run out on your daughter again?" She said.

I tried. I really tried. I used all my will power to tell her that I didn't know what she was talking about. It didn't work I just couldn't say the words. She turned on the light, and I turned to face my beautiful baby girl. One look at her and I fell to my knees sobbing.

"I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry. I just couldn't think of anything else to do. It was the hardest thing in the world for me to leave you and your brothers. You were my entire world, but I just couldn't stay." I blubbered.

"Dad! You left us without a word! You never even said goodbye! No word, no anything! For 6-years, we didn't even know if you were alive!" She scolded.

"I know, baby, and I'm so, so sorry, but I just couldn't take the chance that she would find me. I couldn't tell you goodbye because she might have discovered what I was doing. Believe me, baby, I have hated that every day for the last 6-years."

"Yet, you were just about to run away from me again."

"Yes. I didn't think that you saw me. I wasn't sure if you were here looking for me, or if it was just a coincidence. If it was just a coincidence, I figured it would be less painful for you if you never knew that I was here. If you are looking for me, I couldn't take the chance that you would tell your mother or the authorities where I am."

"Well, the second part makes sense. After all, you are probably looking at some prison time if they can ever extradite you back to the States. Of course, that's if your wife didn't find a way to get here and kill you first." She really had a wicked smile.

"I'm sorry for what I put you through, Baby. I wish I didn't have to, but I just couldn't go through with what she had planned. I would have been emasculated by her, or she would have ruined me and never allowed me to see you again while I was paying her to whore around. No matter what I did, if I had stayed, I would have lost all of you. I figured that, since I was going to lose you and your brothers anyway, at least this way I could provide you with everything you needed and keep some of my dignity. I'm really sorry for what happened. I truly wished that there had been another way."

"So, I assume that as soon as I get off this boat that you are going to high tail it out of here then?"

I did have a bit of a chuckle at that. "No. I figure that it would take your mother a minimum of three days to get here. Getting the authorities involved takes even longer for them to act. I'll stick around for a couple more days. Besides, I have a line on a small group that might be interested in chartering my boat tomorrow."

She smiled. "Only if I get the family discount. Now, are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

After introductions were made, Sheri asked, "Why haven't you gotten married yet, since it appears that the two of you are in love?"

"Two reasons, actually. First, and foremost, as far as I know, I'm still married to your mother. Second, I will only marry someone with my real name. Should I use that, I could be tracked down, and that could cause a lot of issues."

She got an evil grin, then said something that dropped my chin to the floor. "Hey Mike. You're the lawyer here, what do you think about what he just said?"

I almost passed out when I heard his voice. My eyes suddenly zeroed in on her cell phone that was sitting beside her.

"Well, dad. Since mom actually managed to divorce you last year for abandonment, you are free and clear on that front. Secondly, while it is technically true that you COULD be found by using your real name, that would require either a lot of money for an investigation, or a tip off from someone to point them in the right direction. Even then, it would take money to verify it and then do something about it. Speaking personally, after going through all the information that you left me, I have absolutely no intention of telling mom anything that she might be able to use to track you down. Besides, she and Danny-boy are barely scraping by right now, so I highly doubt that she will ever be able to come up with the funds to even try to find you. That's just me personally. I can't speak for Sharri or James though."

"I also happen to agree with Mike, dad. I am going to tell mom that I spoke to you on the phone, but I have no idea where you were when you called." I heard James's voice over the phone. "Sure, it was kind of tough on us for a while, but I blame mom for putting us in that position. I was mad at you for a while, but then I realized the position that she had put you in."

"See, Daddy? You have nothing to worry about from us. There is a catch though, you need to invite all three of us to the wedding. I'm also planning on being here for Summer break, so you better make sure you have room for me to stay for a couple of months." Sherri added.

Isabella and I talked with Sherri and the boys for a bit longer before they needed to hang up. Sherri then went out onto the deck and called for her friends to come aboard. She laughed when they asked how she knew that they were still there.

Everyone had a great time the next day out on the ocean. I did give them the family discount (free). Sherri spent a bit more time with me over the rest of the week before she had to go back to school. True to her word, she spent two months over the summer with us. I had some additions made before the next summer when the boys would be coming out also. Isabella and I were married that summer while all three of my children were there.

Five years later:

"Are you ready, Princess?" I asked

"More than ready, Daddy." Sherri replied.

I almost fell to the floor in laughter at the looks on Patricia's and Danny's faces as I walked by baby girl down the aisle. Danny had been perturbed when Sherri had bypassed him and asked James to walk her down the aisle at her wedding. What they didn't know was that it was a set-up. I was the one who was actually going to give her away. Yes, James was totally in on it. They did that to hide the fact that I would be there. Isabella told me later that she had quite a few questioning looks as Mark escorted her to the front pew. It wasn't until I had finished my role and sat beside her that people began to understand what was happening.

"Who gives this woman away to be wed?" Asked the preacher.

"Her FATHER does." I said. I felt the glare on my back from Patricia.

Oh, she knew that the kids had been in contact with me. She just didn't know how much. She also had no idea where I was. When I excluded her from giving Sherri away, I thought that she would blow a gasket. It wasn't until later that she finally figured out how Sherri and Noah could afford such a nice wedding and reception. It was a beautiful ceremony, and Noah is a really great guy. I could see it in their eyes when she brought him out to meet me. Their love was real and going to last.

"We need to talk." Patricia hissed at me as we were making our way to the reception hall.

"I really don't think that is necessary. I already know that I didn't do anything wrong, and I have no interest in whatever bullshit excuses you have for cheating on me." I replied.

"You stole all my money, you bastard!"

"Well, I just figured that it was all back payment for what you were taking from me and giving away to someone else. Did you really think that I was going to either go along with you cheating on me, and having to pay you to do it?" With that, I turned my back on her and left.

The reception was a blast. I had paid for a full hosted bar. When the DJ called for the Father/Daughter dance, Danny stood up and began walking towards the dance floor. Sherri just blew right on past him as if he wasn't even there and grabbed my hand to lead me out to dance. Of course, Isabella and I danced quite a bit that night as well. My two sons also made a point to dance with her on a few occasions. James' wife and Mark's fiancé both asked me to dance with them a couple of times. How could I refuse? They both flatly rejected Danny when he asked them to dance. I think that's what finally sent him over the edge.

As I mentioned, it was an open bar. Danny apparently was taking full advantage of that. He had been humiliated all day, from the time that I walked my daughter down the aisle instead of him, to being excluded from being mentioned in giving her away, to being ignored during the father/daughter dance, and being flatly rejected when asking my sons' wife and fiancé to dance. He was feeling his liquid courage when he finally decided to try and put me in my place. He actually had the balls to ask Isabella to dance. She never even said a word. She just looked at him with for a minute as if she were looking at a bug that had just landed beside her, then turned and resumed the conversation she was having with the couple next to her as if he wasn't even standing there. I saw his face turn white, then red with rage. Several other people also had stopped their conversations and were watching.

I had moved right behind him as he pulled back to take his swing at my wife. Catching his swing in mid-flight, I tuned him around and informed him that he had worn out his welcome here. I noticed more than a few phones were out recording the action. I remained calm and told him to go home and sleep it off, and if he ever tried to strike my wife again, I would put him in the hospital for a week. Danny had gotten soft and slow over the years. On the other hand, I was lean and strong from working on my boat and cars for years. I lived the simple life, ate healthy, and kept fit. I was also pretty much sober, and he was close to being drunk. I let him take the first three swings. I was able to easily block them. I did warn him after the first two misses. Three strikes, and you're out. The wall held him up as I pummeled him. His legs finally gave out completely and he hit the floor, but not until after I managed to get a few good knee shots to his crotch. Once we got him outside away from the cameras, I gave him three more good kicks to the balls. It's going to be a long time -- if ever -- before he gets it up again.

Now, you are probably wondering about me being arrested for what I did. Oh, she tried all right. If she had her way, I would have spent several years in prison because of what I had done. Unfortunately, there were four little things that got in her way. First off, she had no documentation on what I had done. She couldn't prove that I actually took any money, because I had destroyed all the statements, and she had never bothered to concern herself with how much money we actually had, or where it was. As far as the records that were available showed, we were just barely scraping by and living paycheck to paycheck. She didn't even have a clue as to where to even begin looking for our investment accounts. My retirement went directly to one of my offshore accounts. Speaking of which, when she finally gave up and filed for divorce because of abandonment, she just went quick and easy. Just a straight split of assets at the time. Of course, there were no assets by that time. Third, all three kids agreed to testify that I was living in a dilapidated house with no known means of income, except for selling a few fish at the local market every day. Finally, all she could prove was petty theft for less than $500. The statute of limitations had long since run out on that. I did agree to give her a check for 60-percent of what was in the checking account on the day I left just to show that I was a nice guy. It came to $576.93. Of course, all the videos showed that Danny attacked my wife first, me second, and I gave him ample opportunity to walk away. It was determined to be self-defense, and he ended up in the hospital for two weeks. He ended up losing the shitty job that he had.