Michael Stanley               Jude Stanley

Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall

Toni and Richie were waiting in the airport for her parents; the plane was on the ground. She saw her father coming down the ramp, looking a bit tired as expected and ran to him.

"Oh Dad, I’m so glad you’re here."

"Not half as good as it is to finally be on the ground, I’d forgotten how long the flight is." He turned to Richie, "Ah Richie my boy, how good to see you."

"Michael, how ya doin’?" Richie grasped his hand

"A bit ragged Richie," he turned and looked behind him as was Toni who was expecting to see her mother.

"It’s Jude!" Toni exclaimed and ran to hug her brother, "Where’s Mum?"

"Ah…it’s a bit complicated Toni, Dad might want to explain." Jude stepped away and picked up their carry on bags

"Your Mum is on a different flight along with Carol, Toni they should be landing in a couple of hours."

"But Dad this is crazy why didn’t you fly together?"

He looked sadly at his daughter, "she didn’t want to be on the same plane with me…I can’t talk about this here in the middle of an airport."

Richie and Jude collected their luggage and loaded it in the back of Richie’s Rover.

"Richie is there a place I can rent a car here at the airport, there’s no reason for you to have to drive back out here."

"Yeah, I’ll go with you…what the hell is goin’ on with Michael?"

"It’s bad Richie…they’ve separated Dad’s moved out…well Mum threw him out."

"I can’t believe this Jude, Toni just talked with her Mum last week."

"Mum’s embarrassed that’s probably why she didn’t say anything. It seems Dad fathered a child about twenty five years ago in Paris. It all came out two weeks ago at a Diplomatic dinner of some kind in DC."

Richie stopped in the car park and stared at Jude; this was going to tear Toni apart. Holy shit what timing.

Toni got in the Rover and started the motor to get the air going and Michael sat in the passenger seat.

"Can you tell me now what’s going on?" she asked

"Your Mum and I are separated Toni, it happened only two weeks ago," he smiled tiredly, "it’s too early yet to say where it’s going."

Toni’s eyes rounded, "you’re not serious…you and Mum? Dad ya’ll have been married forever what happened?"

Michael looked out the side window trying to gather his thoughts, "twenty five years ago I was stationed in Paris, your Mum as you know refused to leave Virginia so I was alone…I met a woman Toni and had a brief affair…she had a child, he’s now a fine young man just out of university and going into diplomatic service. He and his mother were at a dinner in Washington that we attended two weeks ago, unfortunately your Mum met them."

"Oh…my…God," Toni fell back onto the seat.

Richie came around to the driver’s door and opened it, "You driving Toni?" Then he saw her face.

"I can’t…I can’t think right now, where’s Jude?"

Richie turned, "he’s coming up behind us. Toni…?"

Toni grabbed her purse off the seat and got out, "I’m riding with Jude, okay honey?" She was trying awfully hard to keep it together. Richie folded her in his arms.

Michael stared at the dash board as Richie slid into the driver’s seat. "I’m sorry Richie I know the timing is out."

"You’re right about that," he said as he pulled out of the car park onto the highway. He turned glancing at the man who was to be his father-in-law.

Toni was quite most of the way home.

"Congratulations on your engagement by the way," said Jude

"Thank you," Toni looked at her left hand turning the ring around, "Jude how could Dad have done such a thing?"

"Oh Toni, I don’t know…it happens you know…in the best of families shit happens."

"How’s Mum?"

"Devastated but she’s a strong woman, you know that, she’ll come around."

"Come around to what?" she said and looked out the window, "how could she ever trust him again?"

"Geez Toni, he’s knocking on I don’t think he’s out screwing around now. We have a half brother, I’d like to meet him, Mum said he looks like me."

Toni turned and looked at Jude, "so you’re okay with this?"

"What else is there to do Toni, it’s a fact. Something that happened a long time ago, it never affected us when we were growing up, it doesn’t affect me now."

Toni smiled, "its like you…center of your universe aren’t you Jude…I’m thinking about Mum."

"Think about Dad too, this hasn’t been easy for him either, he’s not in the best of health you know. In fact he probably needs to go to bed when we get to your house."

"What’s wrong with him?"

"He had an angina attack well, right after he and Mum had the big to do. So don’t be too hard on him okay?"
Toni sat back in the seat, why oh why did this have to happen now. She could see Richie in the car ahead turning and talking to her Dad. Richie…