Third Person's POV

Roberta sits on the couch with Fred, as Mary trudges around the living room.

"Come on, stop this, come sit up here with me." Roberta tells Mary as Frank is helping Tyler braid her hair, as it's been getting in her face lately as she is thinking about cutting it, but she doesn't know when she wants to do it. 

"No." Mary says as Tyler is on her phone talking to Jeremy as she's been talking about moving in with them for a couple months.

Frank is troubled in thought as he sits across the room with Tyler. "Come on." Roberta says.

"If I was the dad of a little girl, and I never saw her, and I was in the same town, I would visit her." Mary says as she then exits down the hall.

"I'm warning you, don't start in." Frank says.

"Why did you have to tell her?" Roberta asks him.

"Because it was the truth, and her Grandmother would tell her if I didn't." Frank said as Tyler couldn't help but nod her head.

"It probably wasn't going to be the actual truth in the first place. She'd probably sugar coat it." Tyler says as she drinks a Dr. Pepper.

"Well I hope you're happy." Roberta says to him as Mary reenters.

"Do you think maybe he was afraid I would want all the birthday presents he never sent?" Mary asks Roberta.

"Mary, the sooner you stop worrying over men who aren't worth a damn, the better off you'll be." Roberta says as she remembers when she told Roberta that she has a boyfriend as she remembers a conversation similar to this one. 

"He didn't even need directions. He could have followed you here." Mary says as she exits.

"Speaking of men who aren't worth a damn." Roberta says as she looks on at Frank as Mary reenters.

"Doesn't he even want to see what I look like? What's wrong with me?" Mary says as Roberta goes to her and embraces her.

"Alright, I've had enough of this. Mary, get your shoes on." Frank says.

"Why?" Mary asks.

"Yeah, why?" Roberta asks.

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Frank, Roberta, Mary and Tyler sit among three groups of anxious families waiting her news, as Frank enjoys a magazine as Tyler has her earbuds in not listening to what's happening.

"What are we doing here?" Mary asks as she's already bored.

"Waiting." Frank says.

"We can see that. Why?" Roberta sassily says.

"Because I said no." Frank says.

"How long do we have to stay here?" Mary asks.

"As long as it takes, now keep your voice down, it's a hospital." Frank says as Mary gets annoyed.

"Arrgh." Mary says as she contorts into antagonistic poses as Roberta gives Frank the stink eye.

Later

Mary drapes herself over Frank's knee to get his attention, as Frank turns another page.

Later

Mary lies on the floor at Frank's feet. "Can we please go home?" Mary asks.

"No."

Later

Mary is nodding off in Roberta's arms when the doors from the delivery room opens as Frank rouses her. Mary and Roberta look on as a father enters the room and his entire family rises.

"We have...a healthy and beautiful baby girl." The man says as the room erupts. The family goes crazy, as everyone is happy, and they hug the father and one another. Some people cry, as brothers high five.

 Mary watches with keen interest. Finally she turns to Frank for the significance. "This is exactly how it was when you were born." He says as Tyler's phone died, ten minutes ago, as she leans her head on her father's shoulder as he has an arm around her.

"This happy?" Mary asks as Tyler nods her head.

"This happy." Frank says as Mary looks back at the celebration as Roberta looks at Frank with surprised admiration.

"Who came out and told everyone?" Mary asks.

"Dad did." Tyler says as Frank kissed Tyler's head as she smiles at feeling her father's lips touching her head.

Mary looks at the celebration again, then turns to him. "Can we stay for another?" Frank shrugs as he turns to Roberta.

"Hell yes." Roberta says.

Later

A grandmother emerges from the delivery room area and her family rises.  "It's a boy!" The grandmother says as the place erupts like before but this time Mary and Roberta join in.

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Mary sleeps with Fred's back along her chest as stomach he has his sleeping head tucked under her chin.

Frank is standing in the doorway, looking at her. The sound of keys in the front door snaps him out of it.

Roberta enters with a tray of food in tin foil. "You know, if you knock I'll answer the door. What's this?" Frank asks as he peels the foil back to reveal it's cookies.

"You baked cookies at midnight?" He asks her as she cuts him off with a surprise hug. When they break the hug her eyes are misty. She backs away to exit. 

"You're one curious fellow. Every time I start to buy into the loner guy bullshit you like everyone to believe, you turn around and do something like tonight, for the baby. So, I made you and Ty cookies." Roberta says as she hands him the tray and smiles way too lovingly.

"I hate cookies." Frank says.

"Sure you do, darling. Sure you do." She exits.

Couple days later

Frank is working on a boat when his phone rings as he picks it up.

"Hello?" Frank says to the other person on the line.

"Frank, I'm about to go into court so I'll make it short, your check bounced." Edward Not Cullen/Nichols says to Frank.

"What?" He asked him.

"I know it's just a bookkeeping mistake on your part..." Cullen says.

"Oh, man, I'm really sorry..." Frank says.

"I'm dedicated to this case, but FYI, this is the money-loser of all time for me, even if your check's clear." Cullen says.

"I'll get you the money today, I'm.." Frank says before he gets cut off by Cullen.

"I'm getting papered to death by the other side, and it's only going to get worse. Now listen, this is quickly becoming a question of not how far you're willing to go, but how far you can go. You understand?" Cullen says.

"I promise you that I'll..." Frank says as once again he gets interrupted by Cullen.

"Beg, borrow, I can't legally say steal, but fill the coffers. Catch you later." Cullen says as he hangs up as Frank stares at the phone.

A couple days later

"Ty, come here, please." Frank says as Roberta has Mary like she always does on Fridays, as Tyler walks out of her room with a tank top and shorts on and with a flannel around her waist and maroon high-top converse.

"What?" Tyler asked her father as he tells her where they are going as she nods her head.

The metal roll-up door clangs open on Frank's unit revealing treasures from his past life. One thing in particular is a plastic file storage box covered in dust.

"You wanted to show me dust? Seriously?" Tyler says to her father as he turns to give her a look. "Wild shot."

"No, genius, it's what's inside it." Frank said as he isn't in the mood hearing the 'peanut gallery' but will let it slide for now.

Frank opens two folding chairs and sits and waits, as people pill around his storage locker sale.

A man counts out pennies on the dollar for Frank's skis and ski wear. Frank reluctantly takes the cash, the run om the stuff as begun. Tyler is incharge of handing the stuff to the customers.

A dude who looks like he's never worn a suit pays Frank pennies on the dollar. "So you sure this Brooks Brothers is good stuff? I don't want to spend thirty bucks for crap." The dude says as Tyler rolls her eyes at him.

Later

A guy walks away with Frank's top of the line golf clubs. Frank watches his babies goes off with anther man. Frank was saving his Triumph Bonneville motorcycle for Tyler, as that's why it's away from other stuff. 

Later

The unit now only has odds and ends, and the file box. Larry Carter a dirty-shift wearing, cigar smoking deal-hunter stands with his consignment store truck and his two teenaged kids in the background.

"Okay, I'll give you two hundred for washer and dryer and the rest of the odds and ends is junk." Larry says as Frank nods, Larry turns back to his boys. "Yo!....Everything you see."

The boys come in and start carrying stuff, one of them starts to pick up the file box.

"No...No, the file box stays." Frank says as the kid shrugs and goes after other stuff.

Later

Frank sits on the ground and stares at the storage unit, empty but for the file box and the motorcycle in the corner. He looks at the box with trepidation, inside it is something ominous.

Couple days later

Throughout the interview, the subject was openly hostile, and, in our opinion, presented an unhealthy cynical view of her world." Golding says as Tyler could honestly care less as she has better things to do than sitting in a court room for hours on end.

"And what else did you discover in the session?" Audry Stokes says.

"The minor has unresolved issues with her mother. These are issues that could be easily resolved by a care-giver who spent the time and effort to talk them through." Golding says.

"And you do not believe the child is getting the care she needs in her current care-giver situation?" Aubry Stokes asked Golding.

"I see no evidence of progress in this regard as it pertains to the minor." Golding says as Stokes nods and takes a seat as Cullen stands.

"What percent of the cost of your evaluation did my client pay for?" Cullen asked as Tyler put her one brain cell together and realized that Eddie Nichols was the judge. Goes to show how much she's payed attention.

"None." Golding says as Tyler sticks out her tongue.

"What percent did Mrs. Alder pay for?" Cullen asked.

"One hundred percent." Golding says.

"Looks like she got her money's worth. Withdrawn." Cullen says.

Later

Evelyn Alder sits in the witness stand like she owns the place as Tyler has rolled her eyes so much at her grandmother that her eyes are starting to hurt. Cullen sets down with his notes and approaches. Frank looks on from behind the table, as Roberta and Tyler sit in the Gallery.

"Mrs. Adler, in your earlier testimony, here today, you've painted a pretty dim picture of your own son, don't you think?" Cullen asks.

"I'm under oath. I take no pleasure in it." Evelyn says.

"So, your son is a failure in life. Your daughter took her life. You're 0 for two." Cullen says.

"Objection." Stokes says.

"Withdrawn..." Cullen says.

"If I go one for three, I'm in the Hall of Fame." Evelyn comments.

"Yeah, of annoying sons of---" Tyler says under her breath before Roberta covers her mouth as said Tyler glares at her.

"Not now, Ty." Roberta gently scolds the teenager as said teenager slumps in her seat.

"Ah, you know your baseball. Fenway Park, I love to go there sometime. How often, in a year, did you take your daughter to a game?" Cullen asks.

"Diane wasn't interested in sports." Evelyn says.

"She never asked to go a  game, ever?" Cullen asks.

"I don't recall her ever asking." Evelyn says.

"Just out of curiosity, Fenway's a tough ticket, where do you get yours?" Cullen asks.

"My husband as season tickets." Evelyn says.

"And how long has he had them?" Cullen asks.

"Thirty years, but I've only been married to him for twenty." Evelyn says.

"And Diane never wanted to one game...Mrs. Adler, what color was the dress Diane wore to her prom?" Cullen asks.

"Diane didn't attend a prom because she didn't go to a high school." Evelyn says.

"No prom? What sports did she play?" Cullen says.

"As I said earlier, she wasn't interested in sports." Evelyn says.

"Did she go to a camp in the summer?" Cullen asks.

"No." Evelyn says.

"Community swimming pool?" Cullen asks.

"We have our own pool." Evelyn says.

"Girl scouts?" Cullen asks.

"No." Evelyn.

"What did she do with all that time?" Cullen asks.

"She loved mathematics. It was her passion. She preferred it to all other things." Evelyn says.

"All other? Mrs. Alder, who is Paul Riva?" Cullen asks.

"He was a boy from the neighborhood." Evelyn says.

"Oh come on, Mrs. Alder, Paul Riva was much more than a boy from the neighborhood. Paul was Diane's first love, wasn't he?" Cullen says as this to Tyler is more of a reality TV show that she watches.

"I wouldn't characterize it that way, no." Evelyn says.

"How would Diane characterize it?" Cullen asks.

"Diane was seventeen years old at that time. She didn't know anything about love." Evelyn says.

"Mrs. Alder, in January of 1998, did your daughter and young Mister Riva run away together?" Cullen asks.

"He coerced her." Evelyn says.

"Where'd they go?" Cullen asks.

"Vermont." Evelyn replied.

"Of all places, why Vermont." Tyler comments under her breath as Roberta couldn't help but smile as Tyler is enjoying this way too much now.

"And you called the police, didn't you?" Cullen asks.

"Yes." Evelyn says.

"Because he kidnapped her?" Cullen asks.

"Yes." Evelyn says as Tyler raised her eyebrows at her grandmother.

"And where did the police find Diane and Paul?" Cullen asks.

"I told you, Vermont." Evelyn says.

"Stowe, Vermont, wasn't it? Resort town. Stowe mountain...he took her skiing didn't he? Kidnappers, don't usually take their victims skiing, but this was what Paul did, because he loved your daughter, didn't he?" Cullen says.

"No." Evelyn says.

"And when they returned, you pressed kidnapping charges, and you filed a law suit against his parents until Paul Riva stopped calling Diane didn't you?" Cullen asks.

"Damn." Tyler comments under her breath as Roberta tries not to hold a chuckle coming out of her mouth.

"Yes." Evelyn says.

"And Diane never saw or heard from Paul Riva ever again, did she?" Cullen asks.

"Not to my knowledge." Evelyn says.

"How did Diane take it?" Cullen asks.

"She was upset, for a while. She lost focus." Evelyn says.

"Lost focus? Mrs. Alder, didn't Diane Alder attempt to take her own life in March of 1999?" Cullen asks.

"This episode was minor. It was nothing." Evelyn retorts.

"I have the hospital report in my hand." Cullen says.

"Yes, and I can go to your hospital and get your records and make them look as sinister as the situation calls for, it was nothing. Diane was not like regular people. She was extraordinary, and extraordinary people come with singular issues and needs. You have no idea the capabilities she possessed. One in a billion, and you would say 'fine, let's just throw that away so the boy who cuts our yard can have a sexual conquest', well, maybe before you make that decision you stand in my shoes. I had a responsibility that went beyond a mother-daughter relationship. The greatest discoveries, which have improved life on this planet, have come from minds rarer than radium. Without them, we'd still be crawling in mud. And, for your information, counselor, a year after this incident, with this boy, Diane thanked me for my intervention. Yes. She realized she had made a mistake, and she thanked me. You see, Diane understood she was accountable for the gifts God gave her, and she didn't shy from it...And I think if she were here today, mister attorney, she would refute your baseless insinuations, that she would give up a divine calling, and take her own life, just because mommy didn't get her a little red wagon."

"No more questions." Cullen says.

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Roberta is in her usual seat in the gallery with Tyler beside her as Bonnie enters and sits next to Roberta.

"I couldn't stand it, I called in sick." Bonnie says.

"Mister Alder, where are you currently employed?" Stokes asked Frank.

"I repair boats." Frank says.

"Really? At which marina?" Stokes asked him.

"I don't work at a marina, I freelance." Frank says.

"So safe to say, no health insurance?" Stokes asked him.

"No." Frank replies.

"What do you do then, when Little Mary get sick? Repair a doctor's boat?" Stokes asked sarcastically as Tyler clenches her fist as her grandmother's attorney is starting to piss her off.

"Objection." Cullen says.

"Sustained." Nichols says.

"Forgive me. Mister Alder, how old were you when your sister passed?" Stokes asked.

"Twenty-six." Frank said.

"How old were you when Wren birthed your child?" Stokes asks.

"Nineteen going on twenty." Frank said.

"What were you doing for a living at that time?" Stokes asked.

"I was a teacher." Frank says as Bonnie looked shocked at hearing that.

"You're being honest. You were a professor, at Boston University, weren't you?" Stokes asked.

"Yes." Frank says.

"What did you teach?" Stokes asked.

"Philosophy." Frank says.

"Wow. Now you please, don't take this the wrong way, but were you fired?" Stokes asked.

"No." Frank says.

"You see, I knew the answer to that question, because I talked to your superiors, and they were effusive in their praise. They said you had a brilliant future. Why'd you quit? Because of Mary, and to single-handily take care of your biological child?" Stokes says making eye contact with Tyler as she flipped the attorney off.

"Yes." Frank says as Stokes looks back at Frank.

"And the reason you didn't keep Mary, your job and your daughter is because you wanted to keep them away from your mother?" Stokes asks.

"Yes." Frank says.

"You miss teaching?" Stokes asked him.

"Not really." Frank says.

"Right. Let's go back to six months before your sister passed. Were you in a relationship at that time?" Stokes asked.

"Yes." Frank replies.

"With a waitress named Wren, correct?" Stokes asked.

"Yes." Frank replies as Tyler knew who Stokes was talking about. Her mother. Which has always been a sore subject for the teenager.

"Nice person, Wren?" Stokes asked.

"Yes." Frank says.

"Were you two married? If so for how long?" Stokes asked.

"Five years, but dated for two and a half years." Frank replies.

"Mister Alder, you are aware it said that Wren wanted a divorce, that she hadn't told you about, is that true?" Stokes asked as Tyler's mouth gaped open, she never even remembered her mother talking about that.

"I don't remember." Frank says as Stokes goes to his desk and returns with a document.

"This is Wren Evans-Adler's deposition. Would you read the highlighted portion? Please?" Stokes says as Frank looks down at the paper.

"I wanted to break off my marriage to Frank, because I wanted to move on, but he didn't want to. I wanted my daughter but he wanted Tyler to be with him." Frank reads off.

"And the next highlighted text, please?" Stokes says as Frank continues to read this.

"He felt unfit to be a father, as he didn't want to spend time with his daughter as that's why she was living with me in Los Angeles." Frank reads as Tyler starts to remember what happened.

"Thank you. How many months later was it when your sister took her own life?" Stokes asked.

"Four." Frank says as Tyler muttered the number under her breath.

"You had a change of heart?" Stokes asked.

"Extraordinary circumstances require an extraordinary response." Frank says.

"Ah, so far you to be intimate, to provide emotional support, this is an extraordinary effort?" Stokes says.

"That's not what I meant..." Frank says before he got interrupted.

"Mister Golding, the psychologist, says Mary is an angry little girl." Stokes says.

"He's wrong." Frank says.

"Really? Weren't you called to the school on Mary's first day because she screamed at the principal?" Stokes asked.

"I wouldn't characterize it as a scream." Frank says.

"A few weeks later, did Mary attack a boy, with provocation, on the school bus?" Stokes asked.

"That boy had just tripped an innocent seven-year-old..." Frank says as he got interrupted.

"Did she break the boy's nose? Yes or no?" Stokes asked.

"Yes, but..." Frank says.

"And where she is she learning this kind of behavior? Not from my client. Who is her primary care giver? Maybe your brat daughter?"

When Tyler heard that Stokes called her a brat, she wanted to march down there and punch him in the face, but she chose against violence as now's definitely not the place to do it. So she controlled herself as she gave him a cold hard glare.

"I am, but that doesn't mean that I'm...." Frank says,

"Aren't you angry with your sister for killing herself, leaving you with two responsibilities that you did not want, nor were capable of handling?" Stokes asked.

"No." Frank replied.

"Aren't you angry with my client, right now?" Stokes asked.

"No." Frank says.

"Yes." Tyler muttered under her breath.

"A child senses anger, Mister Alder. She's picking it up from your brat daughter, isn't she?" Stokes asked.

"Mary is not an angry kid. She's a good kid. Tyler may have anger issues but that's not the reason why Mary is copying off of her older cousin." Frank says standing up for his daughter as he doesn't appreciate Stokes bringing his daughter into this.

"A child senses resentment, consciously, or unconsciously" Stokes says.

"I do not resent..." Frank says.

"You have no resentment whatsoever that you lost a career and may be irreplaceable?" Stokes says.

"Now, how do you know that I don't prefer fixing boats?" Frank asked.

"Look, I don't think you're a bad guy. I think you did an honorable albeit misguided thing. You made an impulsive decision seven years ago...." Stokes says.

"It was the only decision..." Frank says.

"You're a man who never wanted children, but yet you have a daughter, is that true, but before that you didn't want to have children." Stokes says.

"Things change. Look, I may not be perfect father/uncle material, but I changed the diapers, and I sat up with my daughter and niece when they had the flu, I bought them books, I read the books, answered the thousand of questions. I showed up for the hard parts, and what I needed to learn, I learned on the job." Frank said.

"The little girl and your daughter is seventeen. The hard parts are still to come, trust me, I have teenagers. Every year, it's going to be more complicated. You don't have the income, you don't have the environment, your decision-making is suspect. Tell us honestly, right now, under oath, a man who taught philosophy should have some respect for the truth, tell us, is your continued guardianship in the best interest of this child?" Stokes asked.

Frank hesitated just long enough to appear unsure. "Yes. Yes it is."

Roberta, Bonnie and Tyler all think that came out shaky, as Tyler was glad that she could leave as she hurried off to the bathroom as she held it in for a long time.

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hi, hope you all are enjoying this book?! i made some changes in the book that's from the movies. did you catch them?

see you all in the next chapter(s). <3.