Cookie Chronicles Prometheus
 
Author: Eileen Thomson

E-mail: indigotoast@yahoo.com
 
Rating: PG

Summary: August Challenge. Cookie Chronicles
 
Author's Note: I can think of nothing worse, than having to
continually fix someone's bad grammar. Suz and Linda seem to do it
without complaint. I so admire them. Thank you! Off-beat grammer! lol



--+--



"We were determined this would not happen in Amy's case." He shook
his head and muttered. "How wrong we were. The press had followed
Jen from New York. A judge's daughter getting raped was a big story,
and they would not let it go."

"Dad, since abortion was legal, why didn't you just go ahead and get
it done?" He shook his in disbelief. But then he suddenly
understood. "Wait. Was because of Jen.? She's the only medical
doctor you have mentioned so far. Surely she did not do the
examinations on Amy?" Nick is feeling that there is something worse
to come. He sits forward, his face cupped in his hands,
concentrating on his father's words.

"Yes, Jen had had the tests done in her own hospital. She knew that
they had to be done, and thought she had the sympathy of the staff.
But even though she had not given the real name of patient, a lab
worker who was an anti abortionist, worked it out and leaked it to
the press."

"Every night we argued about what had to be done. There were five of
us. Your mother, myself, old Judge Barr, Jen, John Barr and later
Maddie. Judge Tilson was too ill to be any help. We just asked his
brother to look after him and trust us to do the right thing. Jen
was told to go back to New York and start work; she was too much of
a distraction for the press. They were waiting for Jen to make a
move and do the abortion herself. That was when Maddie came to stay.
She was there for Amy."

"The argument was always the same. Whether we had the legal right to
decide what was best for Amy. Whether we should get the court to
rule on the decisions we made. The judge was in no fit state to
assist in any way. Time was not on our side and every day it became
more evident that some kind of conclusion had to be found. We never
agreed about any point. Amy's condition was supposed to be the main
concern, but somehow we always got side tracked. We fought and
argued our nights away, never gaining any ground and never losing
any. We went round in circles.

One night when there was just Anne, Maddie and myself, we sat
talking about how we could not find common ground. We were trying to
gain some understanding of where we were going wrong. Anne came up
with the idea that it was because none of us would give way to the
other. Regardless of how much we wanted to help, we would not give
up our place in the pecking order. She said that we needed something
which would make us level. Then, and only then, would we be able to
work together. It stuck in my mind, and, as you know, that concept
became the basis of the Club.

"Dad?" The idea trickled slowly into Nick's mind and he made the
query soft and tentative.

"Not yet, Nicholas."

Nick had found the one thread that did not gel with the rest of the
story. He now wanted it explained. He needed to have this thought
confirmed. He sat in perfect stillness, lest he disturb his father's
account of the events of 1972.

"Jen phoned to let us know she had been contacted by John Barr's
brother, a friend had a clinic. They did not specialize in
abortions, but if we could get Amy up to the clinic in Venango
County, without the press being notified, he would see that Amy got
the help she needed without any problems.

"Getting her out of Pittsburgh was the difficulty. I decided that I
would take her in the car myself. I would not ask the permission of
the others, I would do the journey at night to try and elude the
press. Maddie said she would be there as well and I was glad of her
company. Amy slept all the way there. I wrestled with my conscience
all the way. What we were doing to this little girl played on my
mind most of that night, and most of my life since. We took the
decisions from her and all her rights as well. We didn't ask a court
to do what should have been its job, to protect her. We just went
ahead and steam-rollered the law into what we needed it to be."

Nick gave his father and understanding look. "Dad, somebody had to
decide what was best for Amy. She did not have the wherewithal to do
this for herself. You, Maddie and Jen, acted in her best interest.
No one wanted this to happen, but someone had to take the final step
and get the operation done. It was all for the best. Why do you
torture yourself over this?"

"I can never explain that, Nicholas. You would have had to have
known her. She had no badness in her. She only had the capacity to
love, and she gave her love unconditionally. I swear, the sun pulled
the clouds over its face to hide from the brilliance of that girls
smile. She would sit with you on her lap and tilt her head so she
could look into your eyes. She loved your eyes; she never tired of
looking at you. It was as if she could see inside and know what we
were made of."

"I wish I could remember her Dad, she sounds very special."

"Let me get on with this Nicholas, I'm wearying and it's getting
late. Burton would never admit it, but felt that he was getting
maudlin and feeling broken hearted.

"Can I ask you one thing?" The question now shouted in Nick's brain,
begging to be asked and answered.

"No, let me get on. Please."

"Maddie and I talked about everything that had happened, and we came
to the agreement that Amy's situation would have been better long
ago when there were secret societies. Of course, at the time we were
joking, but as the night wore on, we realized that it was not such a
bad idea to have somewhere you could actually go and be helped. A
place where there was no one wanting to harm you. Somewhere you
could get assistance for all problems." Burton's voice is quivering
now.

"When we arrived at the clinic, all thoughts except Amy's care left
our minds. The wait for her to have the operation was endless. The
pain of what we were doing made us unable to look each other in the
eye. We played God with that precious little girl's life. Eventually
I left and went to the motel we had booked and waited there. He
shuddered remembering now how awful it was. I did not sleep. I was
afraid to sleep. If anything had gone wrong I would not have been
able to live with my actions.

Burton looks tired and drawn. The strain is now showing in his tired
movements. Nick rises and gets him a glass of wine. Saying nothing,
he hands the glass to his dad, pausing to squeeze his shoulder as he
passes.

The next day we took a very sad and poorly little girl back to
Pittsburgh. We again stayed in our house on Parker Street.
Anne, Maddie and I stayed up talking late into the night. We again
brought up the idea of the societies and still could not come to any
agreement about how we could achieve what we wanted and needed. Anne
went and got an article from some paper she had been reading. Let me
get it out of my wallet. I will leave it for you when I go home."

"Dad, where is this leading?" Nick is now scared to breathe, he
knows where the thread must inevitably go. His quick mind has
followed it through the whole tale and he still does not want to
think of the shattering news he is sure his father is about to
impart.

Burton ignores Nick and carries on with the saga. "This article is
from `Animal Rights and Environmentalism.' By Jean-Michel
Cousteau `When people begin to see themselves as morally equal to,
or even lower than animals, a certain inevitable depressive world
outlook must happen. Certainly we must care for animals. It says
simply, that if we are not the creation of God, then we are a cancer
on the face of the earth. Therefore we must determine to act God
like in our decisions in life."

"Your mother read this whole article to us and asked us to ponder on
it. We had to decide if we were equal to the task that had been put
before us. It would be a great responsibility if we opted for that
particular way forward. Eventually we gave in and retired for the
night.

"About four in the morning I went to the kitchen for a drink." His
eyes clouded as he remembered the scene. "Maddie was there sitting
on the floor crying. I knew just how she felt. We has just taken the
rights of a little girl and made our own minds up as to how she
should be treated. We, who were supposed to assist laws of the land
had ridden roughshod over her." He winced ruefully. "I sat beside
her and I promised that we would find a way so that all kinds of
help would be available to all of our profession."

"Oh my God!! Dad…"

"Quiet now Nicholas, quiet now!" Burton's voice is tender as he
looks at his son. He feels great pride in how Nick has worked out
the whole of the story in advance. `So like his mother.'

"Everything eventually went back to the way it had been and I tried
to forget the events of the past eight weeks. They would not go
away. I spoke things over with John Barr. He was my friend and just
about to go into law. He was leaving medicine and the clinic to his
brother.

The idea was mine and I'm proud to say that it has in many ways it
has exceeded my expectations.'

"On the January 15th 1973 I sent for Maddie and I gave her a card.
It read."

Madeline Tilson
Burton Fallins office
1978
Code name Alpha

There would be eight of us who joined the Club that night. We were
the founding members and most of us still actively participate. The
Club would be started at midnight and Maddie would join in five
years. Of course she would always be there when she was in
Pittsburgh. We couldn't keep her away.

"It was your mother who said that sex was the great equalizer. She
saw how it made the three us sit and discuss Amy's problems. It was
the nature of her rape that brought us together, and it would be the
glue that kept us together all this time. Anne said it would make
the princess look at a chauffeur. It would make a politician give up
his career to have the company of a showgirl. It would make a mother
kill to protect, and a father give his life to save his daughter
from rape. Sex, the thing we all love but fear in equal measure.

Burton's voice is soft as he asks Nick, "Do you understand why sex
is the entrance. I know you have always had a problem with that? I
thought if we made it pre requisite for entrance then all of us
would be on the same level. It has always worked. We have done great
things, and we have made some mistakes, but we have always had the
law and the care of all people at the heart of the Club. I count it
as one of my greatest achievements. Maddie gave me the name
Prometheus because she said I would always be the conscience of the
Club. I thought of that as a great compliment.

"You started the Club. Dad you never even told me. How could you
keep that from me?" Nick looks at Burton with unashamed admiration
in his eyes. "You never cease to amaze me."

You will take over as well Nicholas. I know I'm leaving the Club in
good hands."

Burton leans forward, "Please remember Nicholas I never lied to you.
I just never admitted it was me. Come my boy, take me home now.
Think about what I have told you and tell me later your thoughts
about what happened."

~*~*~

Outside in the night air both men stop to gaze up at the stars. Each
reflecting on what the night had revealed."

"Dad, I bet every dollar I have that you were together to celebrate
Amy's birthday."

A surprised look crosses Burton's face "Nicholas you really are
remarkably like your mother. I used to joke with her that she could
pick out a relevant thread in a plate full of spaghetti! She could
pick it out and tease it until she has all the relevant facts. Her
mind was as clear and concise as any computer. You have that
ability. You are so much like her. It's uncanny."

Nick reaches forward and touches his dad gently on the arm. "You did
a great thing Dad, I'm proud of you. The Club will go on from
strength to strength. I promise I will take care of my heritage."

Burton and Nick walked to the car, father and son happy to be in
each other's company. Each fiercely proud of the other's
achievements. Looking forward to good times.


The End