They had planned to hold the PTA meeting in one of the bigger classrooms but soon realised that was not going to work and moved the meeting to the auditorium. The parents had come out in large numbers. They wanted to discuss the new anti-gang initiatives in the school. They were interested in the drastic increase in the statewide exam results, where Springs High increased in math by 53% and reading by 62%.

It was great having the parents support and appreciation for what she was doing. Dena left the meeting on a high. After the way her day had started that was really saying something. Before heading home she stopped in at the quick mart up the street from her house for bread and milk. As she left the shop, she was surprised to see Shep.

“What are you doing in the neighbourhood?” Dena said, surprised.

“I’m staying the night at my mom’s place,” Shep said.

“Okay…well that’s good. How’s she?”

“She’s good.” Shep looked at her. “You look happy, did something happen?”

“Not really. Well sort of. I’m from a successful PTA meeting. We’re really starting to see the results of our efforts.”

“That’s great Deenie.”

Dena smiled when he said that. He used to call her Deenie all of the time, she’d liked it, but hadn’t heard it in years.

“How about we celebrate? Go around the corner to Deon’s, get a drink,” Shep suggested.

“I don’t know. Tomorrow’s a work day.” Dena turned toward her car as if to go.

Shep grabbed her arm. “Just a drink. Nothing more.”

“Well…okay,” Dena gave in. She put the milk and bread in her car and locked it up. She and Shep walked to Deon’s through the quiet, cold streets. It was mid November. They hadn’t had snow yet but the air was bitter cold. Dena wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck.

“Almost Thanksgiving,” he said. “It seems amazing that I’m out, free, and able to spend the holidays with my family again.”

“I suppose everyone will be there at your mother’s.”

“Nope, Gerty and her new husband bought a house out in the country. She insisted everyone must go by her. And she’s taking no help from anyone. Ma’s been on the phone every two minutes reminding her about all of the things she’ll likely forget. Marla’s threatening to cook an extra turkey and keep it in the car just in case.” Shep and Dena laughed.

It felt like old times. Shep’s sisters became like Dena’s sisters she never had when they were together. Marla, the older serious one. A full time wife and mother to three girls herself. She lived in Milwaukee where her husband was a cop. Corrine, the tomboy. Two years older than Shep, an engineer now living in Texas with her cowboy husband. And the baby Gerty, born a few years before Shep’s father died. The artistic one. She published a few collections of poetry. Made jewellery, painted and worked odd jobs to support herself. She was living out in California until recently. She suddenly came home, married to a film maker now. And now it seems they’d set up shop out in the country.

When all of the evidence was revealed about what Shep had done and Dena decided she had no option but to break things off with him, his family let her know she was no longer welcome. They rallied around him, a solid wall in his defense, and had no time for anyone who thought Shep was anything but innocent. Shep’s mother lived ten blocks away, but Dena never saw her. She’d never seen any of them after the trial. For Robbie’s sake it was likely better. They might have asked too many questions otherwise.

But it had been painful. It was bad enough for Dena to learn that the man she loved was a thief. Then to have to break it off. But then too to have his family turn on her so solidly. From the distance of ten years, she understood it. They loved Shep. Their adored brother, he could do no wrong in their eyes. Dena was happy Shep had them through all of it.

“It’s funny to think of Gerty grown up and cooking a turkey. Last I saw her she was 15 with a pierced nose and a blue mohawk.”

Shep laughed. “Yes, well she still has the pierced nose. Thankfully the mohawk is gone.”

He opened the door of the bar for Dena. Inside there were only a few people. A football game was on in the corner and a table of rowdy people cheered on the Chicago Bears. A couple of people sat at the bar.

The bartender looked at them when they walked in and then smiled. “Well I’ll be dammed!” He came around the bar with his hand outstretched. “Shep Campbell! Aren’t you the mouse that the cat drug in?”

The bartender was Kyle Barnard, a guy who went to high school with Dena and Shep. Dena forgot he bartended nights at Deon’s. He was always in everyone’s business, he’d always been that way. She didn’t feel like seeing him. More specifically, she didn’t want Kyle seeing her with Shep. It would be all over the city before sunrise tomorrow. “Hey Dena! How’s Robbie? I haven’t seen you two around for awhile?”

Dena shook her head. “She’s fine.” Shep looked at her confused. “Why don’t you go find us a table and I’ll get us some beers?” she said.

“You know Shep,” Kyle said to Shep’s back as he walked toward the back of the bar away from the rowdy group. “I knew you would never have stolen that money. I always knew you’d never do anything like that.”

“Thanks, Kyle. That means a lot,” Shep said.

Dena watched Shep walk away. “Two beers.”

“So what you being so funny about? It’s good to see you and Shep back together,” Kyle said setting the beers on the bar.

“No!” Dena said. Realising she said it a bit too loud when some of the people in the football watching group looked her way, she lowered her voice. “No, we’re not back together, that’s over. And he doesn’t know I have a daughter and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“You never told him about the other man? Anyway, probably kinder him being in prison and all.”

Dena sighed. She didn’t like her business out on the street but she needed him to keep his mouth shut. “Yeah, that’s it.”

“I get it. I’ll keep my trap closed.” He winked at her. She smiled back weakly, and picked up their beers and walked to the table.

She set down the beers and took time removing her many layers of clothing. The bar was warm even though Shep chose a table by the window. Dena sat down and Shep held his beer up in the air. “To your success at Springs.”

Dena smiled and hit her bottle against his. “You know if you would have met me in the morning you would have thought I was ready to give up.”

“Why?” Shep asked.

“One of my students, one quite close to my heart, had his day in court. He murdered a man who raped his sister. The sentencing was today. He got 20 years.”

“Wow, that’s a heavy sentence. Was he a gang banger?”

“No, honestly, Shep, he was a good kid. It’s so unfair.”

“Then why didn’t he go to juvie?”

“The judge said he wanted to make a point.”

“Where they sending him?”

“To Metropolitan.” It was the same prison Shep had just been released from. “And the worst thing is the guy he killed was in the Black Lords. That judge knew by sending him to Metropolitan he was giving the boy a death sentence. I feel awful. He’s a good kid but he got dealt a really crap hand. They’ll kill him in there.”

Shep finished his beer and motioned for Kyle to bring two more. “Maybe not. You’re right the Black Lords control a lot of that prison, but I still have a few friends inside. Powerful friends, people who helped me get through. It. Give me his name. I’ll make sure they keep him safe.”

“Would you do that Shep? I would be so grateful. That boy doesn’t deserve this, he’s gone through more than most adults could survive. His name is Leroy Washington.”

Shep took out a tiny pad of paper from his shirt pocket and wrote down the name. Dena was curious. “Why do you keep that?”

“I told you, I’m investigating the case. I keep notes during the day, record everything in the computer each night.”

“Well, really Shep anything you can do for Leroy I’d be so grateful.”

Dena had to give him points for being committed to his investigation. She sipped her beer and looked out the window. “Think it will snow?”

“I hope so,” Shep said. “So who’s Robbie?”

Dena steadied her nerves. “A friend. We used to come in here once in a while. I think Kyle had a crush or something.” She checked Shep and thought he bought the story. She quickly changed the subject. “So have you uncovered anything about the trial?”

“A bit. That private investigator is in prison for forgery and murder. Got arrested a few weeks after my sentencing. He’s still in. He’s up in Milwaukee I spoke to him on the phone. He says he has a few things to show me. I’m planning to go up to see him after the holiday.”

“So what’s he telling you?”

“You know Terrence said the guy disappeared never came for his last payment. This guy tells me he wasn’t hired by Terrence. He was hired by a guy called…” Shep dug out his small pad and paged through it. “A guy called Jongman, Ernst Jongman.”

“Ernst Jongman?”

“Yeah, you know him? I asked Terrence and he told me he never heard of the guy.”

Dena hesitated. Why would Terrence say that? Maybe that was why Jongman had been so interested in her when she said she knew Shep. It was confusing. What could it all mean? Why did Terrence say he hired the PI when Jongman had? Why would he hide the fact that he knew Jongman when he said Jongman was one of his clients? Wouldn’t Shep eventually meet him since he was part of the business now too?

Dena needed to speak to Terrence. She didn’t know what he was up to. But she trusted Terrence, he was a good guy. He’d helped her a lot, through everything. But she didn’t understand why he was behaving like this? Was it just to find the money?

“Do you know this Jongman, Dena?”

She shook her head. “No, no I don’t know him. For a minute I thought I did but that’s not the name. So what else did he tell you?”

“He told me the evidence he was going to give me would blow the lid off the case. That’s the words he used- blow the lid off the case. This could be exactly what I need.”

Dena didn’t like all of the lies and deception. What was this man going to tell Shep? “Have you told Terrence about this guy? This PI and what he said?” Dena asked.

“No, why? I haven’t seen him actually. He was gone the whole day. I thought I might discuss it with him tomorrow.”

“Don’t.”

Dena didn’t know what she was doing, but her instincts told her it was better to let Shep discover what he needed to without Terrence’s intervention. She needed to speak with Terrence. Something felt wrong. She didn’t like Shep being held out there so vulnerable, she didn’t like him being lied to. It wasn’t fair.

She grabbed their empty bottles. “Let me go get us a few more beers.”

She walked to the bar. Kyle smiled at her, but said nothing. He opened two bottles of beer and put them on the bar. She carried them back to the table. “Shep I lied. Robbie’s not my friend. She’s my daughter.”

She said it in one go, like pulling off a bandage. She looked at his face. He was confused. “You daughter?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re with someone else now? Is that what you wanted to tell me a couple weeks ago?”

“No, I’m not with anyone. That’s not it. But I did want to tell you about Robbie, you’re right. That was what I wanted to tell you that day.”

Shep sat quietly drinking his beer. The old Shep would have jumped right in with all sorts of questions. The new Shep took time to think about things, to consider all of the options before speaking. “She must be beautiful. Any daughter of yours would be beautiful.”

“She is.”

“How old is she?”

Dena hesitated. But then she told herself she’d gone this far, she needed to go the whole way. “She’s nine.”

Shep looked at Dena. Then he looked outside at the cold night. The wind was blowing, and a few flakes were beginning to fall. He looked back at Dena.

“Who’s her father?”

Dena had been sure she could do it, that she would be strong. But that question cracked her open. She couldn’t stop the tears from filling her eyes from falling down her cheeks.

“That day…the day I came to your apartment. The day I broke up with you, the day Terrence showed me all of the evidence. I’d gone to the doctor in the morning. I had suspicions but I wanted it confirmed before I told you. I was so happy. I rushed to your office, but you weren’t there. And then Terrence showed me everything. I couldn’t let my baby have a father who was a thief. I needed to protect her. And then you went to prison and it was easy. I made a story and soon I almost believed it. But now you’re out and so real and I can’t do it anymore. It’s not fair to her.” She was crying proper now. “And it’s not fair to you. Shep, you’re Robbie’s father. You and I have a daughter.”

Shep sat for a minute. He didn’t look at her. He just looked out the window at the snow falling. Then he stood up. He grabbed his leather jacket and walked out the door.