The Redhead

Copyright © 2021

Prologue:First, once again, I want to thank the organizers of the "Money Honey Writing Event" for inviting me to participate. It is always such an honor to be included.

Although this story is pure fiction, IT IS BASED ON A TRUE INCIDENT. I hope you enjoy the story and you know I love it when you comment, so please keep them coming.

*****

The Redhead

It was arguably the greatest experience any man could behold... witnessing the birth of his son. Spencer's wife, Linda, had been in labor for five hours. They were the longest, most traumatic five hours of their lives, but watching the miracle of birth was worth every grueling second, and from the smile on Linda's face, there was no doubt that they both felt the same way.

After cutting the umbilical and cleaning him up some, one of the nurses laid little Terry on Linda's chest and gave her an hour to bond and breastfeed their son before taking him to be weighed and bathed. Spencer was sure every couple in that wing of the hospital thought the same way—they were the two happiest people in the world.

The hospital staff couldn't have been more accommodating. They had already told the proud couple she would be moved to another room and providing there were no complications, they could expect to be there another twenty-four hours. They asked Linda if she wanted little Terry in the room with her or the nursery after his bath. Spencer saw her eyes cloud with moisture.

"I feel so guilty," she said, "but that was quite an ordeal. I would love to have him in the room with me, but I really need a good night's sleep. Would it be okay if he spent the night in the nursery, then stayed with me tomorrow until we're discharged?"

"Please, don't feel guilty," the elderly nurse kindly replied. "It's exactly what I would recommend. You need your rest, and just so you know, this will probably be the last night of uninterrupted sleep you'll have for quite a while, so enjoy it." She chuckled.

Linda turned to Spencer. "Is that all right with you, honey?"

"Of course, hon. Like she said, it'll probably be the last night either of us gets a good night's sleep for a while."

Spencer stayed with her until she fell asleep, then went home for a shower and something to eat. They offered him some hospital food, but he took a pass. Before leaving, he stopped by the viewing window in the nursery. He thought he would pop the buttons on his shirt as his chest swelled with pride. His son looked even better after his bath.

The next morning, Linda was already nursing little Terry when her proud husband and new daddy walked in. She looked up and saw the broad grin stretching across his face as he committed the beautiful sight to memory. His newborn son was cradled in the arms of the most beautiful woman he'd ever known while suckling at her breast. The nurses had the little tike dressed in the blue Mickey Mouse pajamas that Spencer, himself, had picked out only a few days prior. The little bit of reddish-blond hair he had was neatly combed to the side. "What a difference a bath makes, huh?" he joked.

"Yeah, well if you went through what he did yesterday, you wouldn't look your best either," she chuckled back. "The nurse said they're going to give both Terry and me one more exam this afternoon. If they find everything is normal, they'll discharge us around five, and guess what, they're giving us a steak dinner before we leave. Isn't that nice?"

"I'll say; that means I don't have to cook today. I was going to ask you what you thought you'd like for dinner but now I don't have to worry about it... do I?"

She smiled. "No, honey, I think the steak will fill me up for the night."

Later that morning, one of the nurses took the baby for his check-up and told the happy couple that mother would be next. After Linda went over all she needed him to do at the house, Spencer left to make sure everything would be ready for his son's homecoming. When it was all done, he called the pediatric ward to make sure they were still being discharged at five.

"Yes, Mr. Anderson, both your wife, and son are doing fine. We have them scheduled for a five o'clock check out. If possible, we'd like you here around four. We have a congratulatory steak dinner with non-alcoholic champagne for you and your wife, after which, she'll be all set to go home."

Before leaving the house, Spencer made a call to his in-laws, Elaine and Don Bradshaw. They lived in the next town over, about a thirty-minute drive, and wanted to be there to welcome their daughter and new grandson when they walked in. Ellie, as most people called her, was waiting by the phone and picked it up on the first ring. Spencer said he'd leave the key under the mat. His own parents would have also loved to be there, but they lived two states away and they both worked.

On his way out, Spencer took a deep breath and looked back into what had been his and Linda's domain. From that moment forward, it would never be the same, he thought. They were no longer a couple, they were parents, the most important and scariest responsibility two people can take on. With one more deep breath and a big smile, he headed undauntedly to the hospital and his new role as father.

After a wonderful steak dinner, Spencer watched proudly as a nurse helped Linda into a wheelchair and placed her smiling newborn son in her arms. "I'll go ahead and bring the car up to the entrance," he told them.

They hadn't had much time, but Don and Ellie had a sign saying, Welcome Home, Terry, strung up in the living room when they got home. Ellie made fresh coffee to go with the cake they picked up at the baker's on the way over and there were also several wrapped gifts sitting on the dining room table. It was a welcome fit for a king.

The next few months weren't easy. All that joking at the hospital about not getting a good night's sleep wasn't quite so funny anymore. It had also taken a little while for them to get back to having regular sex.

Linda was getting frustrated because Spencer was so afraid of hurting her she could barely feel him. She waited as long as she could, hoping he would get back to his old self, but when it didn't look like that was going to happen, she told him flat out, "Spence, it's been months; my pussy is just fine. It's just like it was before I had the baby. You're not going to damage it, so please stop trying to be so damned careful."

He was still inside of her in the missionary position. He stopped long enough to look into her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, honey, I'm sure. Now ravage my body like you mean it."

He gave her a big smile. "Your wish is my command," he said as he tenderly pinched one of her nipples. He realized he hadn't heard her moan like that since before the baby was born.

Spencer started kissing her neck and nibbled on her earlobe. He stopped just long enough to give her a passionate kiss, then continued on to her magnificent breasts. He sucked, licked, and lightly bit on her nipples until he had her squirming with lust.

"Ohhhhh, oh, oh God," she cried and reached down, grabbing his head in reaction to his tongue's ministrations of her clit. He sucked it into his mouth and rolled it around. He had her clutching at the sheet when he finally moved into position and again, penetrated the gates to heaven.

He took her words to heart as he drove into her vaginal entrance with passion. Changing the length, depth, and timing of his strokes on occasion, he was driving her to an erogenous frenzy. He could tell she was getting close. Her entire body stiffened as her back arched. She cried out as each wave of amatory ecstacy invaded every nerve ending.

Unable to hold back, Spencer matched his wife's euphoria as he irrupted inside her.

It took a couple of minutes before either could control their breathing enough to speak. Spencer was the first. "Kin... kind of li... like that?"

"Yeah," she chuckled between breaths, "exactly like that."

From that day on, at least one of their problems were solved.

Richard O'Connor was the owner of O'Connor Insurance, and Linda's boss. He had always liked her and bent over backwards to accommodate her whenever she needed something. When he heard she was pregnant, he was delighted and told her she could take as much time as she needed before returning to work. He also stopped by the house with a nice gift for the baby and called from time to time to ask Linda if she needed anything.

For a little while, Linda was considering staying home and becoming a full-time parent, but things were getting tight financially and she knew that wouldn't be possible. Her folks were over for a Sunday dinner when she brought it up.

"I talked to Dick the other day about returning to work."

This was news to Spencer, as well as her parents. "I didn't think you wanted to go back to work, honey?"

"Hon, between diapers and all the other expenses for the baby, we're pretty much living from paycheck to paycheck. That's not on you, honey, you make good money, but if we're going to build a life together, I just don't see any way around it."

Her mother joined the conversation. "What about childcare, Linda? Isn't that almost as much as you'd make at your job?"

"Well, it's not cheap, that's for sure, but no, it's not anywhere near what I make at the insurance agency. I must admit, I feel guilty taking him to some strange place and leaving him there all day, but I don't see a choice."

There was a small lull in the conversation as everyone pondered the situation when Ellie broke the silence. "What if I came over every day and took care of him?"

"Oh, Mom, I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You didn't ask, I volunteered."

Spencer saw his mother-in-law's offer as a God-send. He really didn't like the idea of leaving his son with strangers every day. "Mom," he almost gushed, "could you do that? You'd have to be here by eight-fifteen every morning."

"That's no problem, Spence. It would be an honor to spend my days with my grandson."

A little later, Ellie accompanied Spencer as he put Terry to bed for the night. Something had been bothering him for a while and he saw the opportunity to ask his mother-in-law. "Hey, Mom, are there any redheads in your family?"

"Ah, no, I don't think so, honey, why?"

"Well, look at his hair, it's red. I'm pretty sure there aren't any red-heads in my family."

"Oh, Spence, it takes time for babies' hair color to develop. Most babies have blond or light red hair when they're born. It'll start getting darker soon, I'm sure."

"Yeah, I know, I did some reading up on it but Linda has your raven black hair and my hair is dark brown, so I'm just wondering. It seems, if anything, his hair is getting redder the older he gets."

"Honey, it's still too early. Give it some time, I'm sure it will start to darken up in a little while."

Spencer wasn't so sure, but he was willing to give it some more time before making any accusations. He'd read about recessive genes and the various ways people can have red hair, but Terry didn't fit the mold for any of them. He didn't like what he was thinking and was willing to push it to the back of his mind for the time being.

With Ellie taking care of Terry every day, Linda was able to concentrate at work and picked up doing her usual great job as if she hadn't been gone for three months. Dick, her boss, was thrilled with having her at her desk again and took her out for lunch on her first day back.

As the days turned into weeks and then into months, it was becoming evident that little Terry was going to have red hair. Spencer wasn't the only one who was getting more and more concerned. Ever since he'd mentioned it, Ellie was also keeping a close watch, praying that it would soon start turning dark. The thought of her daughter having an affair was way too painful to even think about. It was starting to weigh on her, and Don noticed.

"Ellie, you seem to be down in the dumps lately, is everything okay? Are you getting tired? You've been keeping a pretty grueling schedule with going over there and taking care of Terry every day. Maybe you should tell them you need a break."

"No, it's not that," she replied, while slowly shaking her head.

"Then what, hon? Come on, I know something's bothering you."

"Have... have you noticed anything about Terry?"

"You mean his red hair?"

She looked up at her husband a little shocked. He'd never mentioned it until just then. "Exactly," she responded, "Spencer mentioned it to me a few months back but I didn't think anything of it at the time."

"And now?"

"Honey, he's almost eight months old. If his hair was going to change color, it would have happened by now."

"So, what are you saying... that our daughter had an affair?"

Ellie could feel tears in her eyes as she looked at her husband. "I... I don't know how else to explain it, Don. I know Spencer has come to the same conclusion; I can see it in his eyes. I don't know what's going to happen, Honey. I don't think Spencer is the kind to raise another man's baby and not say anything."

"Has he said anything to you since that one time?"

"No, but I know his suspicions are growing. Sooner or later, something's going to happen, Don, something bad."

Ellie's intuitions were dead on. Only three days later, Spencer came home early and was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Linda. She was, of course, surprised to see him. She usually got home a good hour before he did.

"Hi, Honey. Wow, you're home early. Where's Mom, did she go home already?"

"Yeah."

She looked over at him while taking a cup from the cupboard. "Is something wrong, Honey? Is Terry all right?"

"Yeah, he's fine. He's taking his nap."

She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down. "Something's wrong, what is it, Honey?"

Spencer was sitting with his hands resting on a couple sheets of paper. He slid the papers in front of his wife. "You want to explain this," he said in a curt tone.

She looked but wasn't sure what she was looking at. "What is it?"

"It's a DNA report. Our son's red hair made me suspicious so I swabbed our cheeks and sent it in. It says there is no way Terry is my child."

Linda gasped at his statement an instant before her shock turned to anger. "What? What the hell is wrong with you, of course he's your child."

"Not according to that," he countered.

"Well, I don't care what it says, Spencer, Terry is your son."

"Linda, DNA doesn't lie."

"You're accusing me of cheating on you?" she said, standing up. "How dare you! How DARE you!" she repeated.

"Sit down, Linda. At this stage, I have no idea what I'm going to do yet but I want the truth. I want to know who the father is."

"I told you who the father is, if you don't believe me you can go to hell!" With that, she spun on her heels, walked out the door, and drove off. At first, she had no destination in mind but after a couple of minutes, she decided her mom and dad's house would be a safe sanctuary.

As soon as Linda walked in the door, Ellie took one look and knew Spencer had confronted her. The half-hour drive did nothing to quell Linda's anger; she was spitting fire.

"You won't believe what Spencer accused me of," she said before even saying hi. She was too worked up to sit down, so when she noticed some coffee still left in the pot she walked over and poured some for herself. "He thinks I had an affair," she continued. "He went out and got a damn DNA kit that said Terry wasn't his. He'd rather believe some stupid chintzy, rinky-dink test than his own wife."

Her expectations for a sympathetic ear were shattered as she turned around to face her mom and dad. Don was sitting at the kitchen table, unable to look his daughter in the eye, and Ellie was standing next to him with an accusatory look on her face. "Where did the red hair come from, Linda?"

Her daughter's jaw nearly hit the floor. "Mom, you can't be serious? Did you know about this? You knew he was going to blindside me with this and didn't say anything to me?"

"No, I didn't know about the test, but I did know he had concerns and wondered where Terry's red hair came from. Honey, red hair isn't that common, and if I'm not mistaken, for a baby to have red hair, at least one of his parents has to have red hair."

"I don't believe this," Linda sadly stated. "Dad, do you believe I cheated on Spencer?" It was a crushing blow when he didn't answer. "You're my mom and dad," she said in a voice just above a whisper. "You're supposed to know me better than anyone and you really think I'd cheat on my husband?"

"Honey, Spencer loves you. I... I don't think he wants a divorce. I bet he'd be open to counseling, but you have to be honest with him."

Linda set her cup on the counter and faced her parents. "Thanks for all your support, you guys." She heard both her mother and dad calling her name as she walked to her car. Now where, she asked herself. She knew Terry would be well taken care of, so she wasn't interested in going back home and listening to any more accusations.

Almost in a hypnotic state, she pointed her car toward the insurance company where she worked and stopped at a motel a block away. The next day she went to work in the same clothes she wore the day before. If anyone noticed, they didn't say anything. She had a really tough time trying to focus on her work, but no one said anything about that, either. I guess they all figure everyone has a bad day now and then, she thought.

As it got closer and closer to quitting time, she became more apprehensive about going home. She wondered if Spencer would be there waiting for her again with another bombshell. Maybe this time he'd accuse her of shooting Kennedy.

When she walked in, her mother had Terry sitting in his high chair at the kitchen table. His little arms shot out for a hug as soon as he saw his mama, and for an instant, the excited grin on his face gave Linda the feeling that everything would be okay. "Hey there, little man, how's my boy today?" she said while wrapping her arms around his small body.

"Have you talked to Spencer? He was worried about you. When you didn't come home last night, he thought you spent the night at our place."

"No, I haven't talked to him since yesterday," she answered while lifting her son out of his chair and hoisting him in her arms.

"Linda, you can't let this go on. It's only going to get worse. Please, talk to your husband. Be honest with him. Imagine how he must feel."

"How HE must feel?" she almost yelled. "How the hell do you think I feel? No one, not even my own mother and father believe me. Where did he even get that stupid test? Did any of you give the slightest thought to maybe it being wrong? No! You just automatically believe that I'm a liar and a cheat. How do you think that makes ME feel?"

Disgusted with her daughter's resistance to telling the truth, Ellie's head just shook from side to side. "Look at his hair, Linda. No one on our side of the family has ever had red hair. Spencer read about it. It is possible for a baby to be born with red hair even if neither of the parents have it, but both parents must have the gene in their families. It's called a recessive gene. He called his folks and asked if anyone on his side of the family has ever had red hair. The answer was no. Honey, Spencer has been trying to find anything that would squash his suspicions, but the more he learned, the more convinced he became that he is not Terry's father."

"Well, I don't care," Linda stubbornly declared. "Spencer is the only man I've been with since our third date, and nothing you, he, or some stupid test says will change that."

Ellie could see they weren't going to resolve anything, so rather than fight anymore, she decided to go home. Linda thanked her for taking care of Terry but offered no resistance to her mother leaving.