Chapter 6

Jack spent that day and evening in his son's nursery, vowing to be everything he will ever need in life, a father, a friend, the biggest support, and even a mother. He will be everything that he could, and even everything that he couldn't... he will find a way to become what was necessary.

When that night Marry came into the nursery, she found Jack standing beside Eric's crib just watching him. She came closer quietly, took Jack by a hand, and led him out. She didn't stop dragging him behind her until they reached the kitchen, where there was food served on the table.

"You have to eat something. It won't do you any good if you starve yourself. It will be less good for the little one up there." she made him sit. Jack knew Marry was right, and he was thankful for her mere presence here, taking care of him and his son. Marry was his nanny when he was little, she took care of him better than both of his overachieving parents ever did, and there was no time in his life when he forgot to be grateful and to remember her for every holiday. He would stop by her house just to say hi or to check on her.

"Thank you, Nanna. I don't know what I would do without you." he smiled sadly.

"Shush and eat," Jack could see how much she was trying to look serious, but she was beaming with happiness. She had three kids of her own, and she has always thought of Jack as her child, her youngest. Marry always prayed to see the day when Jack will have his kids when he'll have his own family, and even if that was now half-truth, she was content. He got half of it, the second half will follow, she was sure of it.

"What are your plans now, dear?" she questioned.

"Well, first, I have to find who the girl I married was, and then I have to find who the real Margaret Colt is. And after that, I'll see. No matter what, Eric is staying here, where he belongs." Jack clenched his jaw.

"I'll be here for as long as you need me, you know that..." and Jack nodded his head gratefully. "Do your parents know?"

"Not yet." he sighed and then added: "I know what you'll say, they have the right to know that they have become grandparents... and I'll tell them, as soon as I sort this mess out... and once they return from their safari or cruise or where ever the hell they are now."

After the late dinner, Jack once again thanked Marry for the food and went upstairs to the room that his late wife occupied the past month. He hoped to find something, anything, that will tell him who she was and why she left their son's side to go straight to her death.

A week ago, when he was in this room for the last time, he couldn't go through her stuff after he found that letter. He was angry then and felt betrayed and alone, he couldn't believe that she, whatever her real name was, had left a one-month-old baby and just took off. He wanted to find her, and punish her, and that was exactly what he was trying to do the past week. But he couldn't get a trace of her and now he understood why.

Jack sat on the edge of the bed. He felt immense sadness for her. Not because he had feelings for her, no, he was pretty sure that he could never love a person like her, they were just too different. He was sad because he knew that his son is never going to have a chance to meet his mother. No matter who she was or what she was, Eric will never have a chance to get to know his mother and that made him sad, so sad.

He was snapped from his thought when his eyes caught sight of something under the vanity table. He rose to his feet and made his way across the room. He kneeled and reached his hand under the table and pulled out the object that got his attention. It was a box. Jack opened it immediately to find some documents in there, some newspaper clips and a drivings license, an ID and a passport. All three of them were of the same name 'Margaret Colt,' and when he carefully looked at the pictures, he could easily notice that the girl on them was not the girl he married. They were similar, but they were not the same person. Photos showed the people he did not recognize, and the newspaper articles talked about some bank robbery seven years ago...

Jack got his phone from his pocket and snapped a few photos that he forwarded to Robert. Maybe he will be able to dig something out.

After a hot shower, he took a blanket and a pillow and found his way into the nursery. Eric will, for sure, wake up in the middle of the night, and he wanted to be there ready to give him the bottle right away.

The next day passed pretty uneventfully, Jack used this time to rest and not think about work. He tried not to think about possible scenarios because every possible one took him into a place he didn't want to be.

Later that evening, Robert showed up unannounced, looking all giddy. He stormed in with a manila folder in his hand.

"I think I got it all," Robert said, "Some of the files are sealed by the police and Hiram is working on it. He hopes to have everything by the end of the week. But here's what's interesting. Margaret Roberts with this social security number exists. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina. Her only known family is her mother, Rebecca. Blah blah blah... here's what's interesting! She reported her documents stolen about three years ago. There is everything in this folder, and I mean everything." Robert handed him the folder, "What do you plan to do, man?"

"I was thinking about that. I am legally married to her, right? Only you and I know what is really going on? And nobody has to. I will go there and make her sign the divorce papers and full custody of Eric. That way I won't have to deal with the social services or the police... I'll pay her to keep her mouth shut, and all my problems are going to be solved." Jack's eyes had a weird glimmer in them. 

Robert thought about what his friend said for a second before he spoke: "That might actually work! Nobody but me, and the doctors at the hospital have seen her with you, and I seriously doubt they will remember every detail about it. But then again, you didn't do anything wrong when you married her. And I doubt that social services will have a reason to take the baby away." Robert understood why his friend was thinking in the direction that he was. "But if the press gets a sniff of this, of what's happening..."

"I know, that's why you'll prepare an NDA that she will have to sign."

"But how will you explain Eric when you can't hide him anymore? What about your parents?"

"I'll think of something..." Jack sighed.

After Robert left, Jack went to his late wife's room and packed all the things she left behind in a box that he took to the attic. There were just a few pieces of clothing and those photos that he's found earlier.

Later that night, while looking at the peacefully sleeping baby, Jack murmured: "It's just you and me, buddy. You and me against the world."