CHAPTER 6: DO BIRTHMARKS LIE?
Dominika had just finished making dinner and was untying her apron when she heard the doorbell ringing. "Just a moment, please!", she said loud enough. Racing to the door, she opened it and was greeted with the sight of Thomas Bell, the man she had met in the Majestic Hotel with her husband.
"Good evening, my lady", Thomas said. "Good afternoon, Mr. Bell", she answered, gesturing for him to come in. "What can I do for you?", she asked, taking his coat.
"Actually, I'm here for your husband, Blythe's boy. I found out his address and thought I should come for a visit", he explained. "Greg is still at work, Mr. Bell. Would you like me to call him and inform him that you want a word with him?", she offered.
"No, thanks. If you don't mind, I'd like to wait for him. Unless I'm too much of a burden", the elderly man said. "Worry not, Mr. Bell, you are more than welcome here", Dominika reassured him, further saying, "Would you like some cookies? I bake them with own hands. Greg loves them". "I wouldn't say no. Truth be told, I came here with another purpose, not just to visit. I came here to confess something to him... About Blythe and me. But, I have started having doubts about revealing something so personal", he confessed, as Dominika set a plate with cookies in front of him.
"Greg appreciates truth and honesty, although he thinks that everybody lies", she stated matter-of-factly. "John... His father... He hated lying. God, he was such a disciplinarian. I don't even know how on Earth I was friends with that guy. Me and Blythe, though, we were intimate since then. Sometimes, I think it would have been better if I had insisted she gets divorced. Maybe Greg wouldn't have to endure John's cruelty", Thomas kept talking, pausing to taste a cookie. "Mmmm, that's delicious. Your husband is very lucky to have such a good cook for a wife", he praised. "Thanks for your kind words, but I think best thing is to have someone who doesn't want you to change. Don't you agree, Mr. Bell?", she said, cocking an eyebrow at his direction.
"Of course, acceptance is very important in relationships. John never accepted how free-spirited Blythe is. He always tried to make her a typical military wife", Bell replied, adding, "By the way, is there any progress with her case? Has your husband found out what she has?". "My husband doesn't always keep me updated about his patients", she replied.
"Well, we can only hope for the best. Knowing his reputation, I think she's in good hands", the elderly man stated. "Are you aware only of my husband's professional reputation, Mr. Bell?", Dominika asked. "I've actually known him almost since he was born. I was a neighbor, back then and I visited every now and then. I think I still have some pictures of him as a child in my scrapbook", the other man answered, adding, "Pity I didn't bring it here with me".
"I'm sure we'll find plenty of opportunities for family moments", she said. "I hope so. I can see how hard it must have been for Greg to learn that his mother is getting married again. And, actually, here comes what I wanted to reveal", Thomas returned to his original topic, but then the sound of keys at the door interrupted the conversation.
"My husband is home", Dominika observed, rising from her seat, followed by Bell. "I'm home", House's voice could be heard. "Welcome", she replied. "We have visitor", she informed him.
On the next moment, Bell appeared behind Dominika and said his greetings. "Sorry for turning up unexpected", the older man apologized. "Actually, I was gonna look for you. I need your partner's medical record and the name of her physician", House remarked dryly.
"My partner? We're speaking about your mother, lad!", said Thomas in protestation. "It's you who speaks as a relative and I'm the one who gotta speak like a doctor. If I start speaking as a relative, chances are that she doesn't make it", the diagnostician responded. "But... You can't show emotion? She's your mother that's seriously ill!", Thomas was still protesting.
"If I show emotion, not just filial emotion, but any emotion, this night isn't gonna end up fine for any of us", House shot back. "Greg, please. Mr. Bell came here because he wanted to tell you something", Dominika intervened, trying to calm the situation.
"Fine. I'm listening", the diagnostician sat on the couch while saying that. "Maybe this is a discussion we need to have alone", Thomas suggested. "Not at all. I don't have any secrets from my wife. Besides, if what you're gonna tell me is what I already suspect, then she knows I've guessed it already", House shot back.
"Good Lord! How on Earth could have guessed that I got married to Blythe just after John was dead?", Thomas asked, aghast. "What?", it was House's turn to be stunned.
"I don't know how you found out, but, yes, days after the funeral, she proposed marriage to me. My sweet angel...", the older man said.
"And... Is there not any other secret you wanna share with me?", the doctor enquired. "Like what? The book of sermons I've authored? I wouldn't view it as a secret, since the book is out there for everybody wishing to consult it", the other man objected.
"Go back to what you said earlier about you getting married to my mother just after her first husband died", House more or less ordered Thomas. "I'm curious about how you found out, but I'm gonna answer whatever questions you may still have", the latter responded.
Dominika was watching and hearing them, transfixed, their successive replies reminding her of two duelists at the field of honor. "Why would you hide your marital status until now?", House finally asked, his gaze fixed on his mother's second husband, the man whom he viewed as his biological father.
"We didn't want to disrespect John's memory. I wanted to spill the beans immediately, but Blythe had to play the part of the grieving widow. You know, for the eyes of the world. People seldom understand true love", Thomas confessed.
"So, this is all you had to say? This is the reason you came here tonight uninvited?", the diagnostician leaned on his cane. "For God's sake, lad, are you nuts? I've already explained everything about this", the other man said, almost exasperated.
"So, you mean you were gonna reveal that you clandestinely got married to my mother, but you didn't have the guts to tell me that it was you who donated the sperm required for my conception", House issued his response.
"What on Earth are you implying?", Thomas asked in a shaky voice. "I'm not implying, but saying it directly. After the funeral, I had a DNA test done which proved that old John House wasn't my dad. You are. As a matter of fact, I knew it since I was twelve years old. I blatantly told the old man and we didn't have any form of oral communication for the remainder of the summer", the diagnostician blurted out.
"That's impossible! Blythe told me you were a premie. It's really out of the question that she lied to me about such an important matter", Thomas said, his face looking flustered, his gaze confused and his knees wobbly.
"Everybody lies. Birthmarks don't, though", House responded and unbuckled his belt, an action that took both Thomas and Dominika by surprise. "What's the meaning of this? Bloody hell!", Thomas gasped, as the doctor exposed his private parts to him for a moment, before he buckled his belt again.
"Lad, I don't know if you're my son or not, but you're a bloody lunatic!", the older man exclaimed. Those words resulted in Dominika being snapped out of her silence and interjecting, "He ain't lunatic! He is such wonderful man, who finally found out who his father is. Instead of embracing him, you call him names!", her outburst resulting in House taking hold of her arm and tenderly stroking it.
After she'd said those words, angrily, Thomas took a step back. "Let's all calm down", he suggested. "It's just so... unbelievable! The birthmark... Good Heaven! I'm sorry, boy, I'm sorry for calling you lunatic", he said, looking even more flustered now.
"You didn't have an idea, right?", House asked. "Of course not! Had I suspected the truth, I'd taken Blythe away from John. I'd insist that she files for divorce, I'd try to be a real father to you!", the older man said, truth being evident in every word he uttered.
"Now it's too late for this. Though, I have to admit I read your book. All this God stuff is boring, but I read it three times, trying to probe your mind", the diagnostician informed Thomas.
"I think I'm gonna rip it to a thousand pieces. All my life, I was seeking something beyond this world, I preached and gave advice, but I was blind as a bat", the minister confessed, sinking back to the couch.
"Would you like a drink of water, Mr. Bell? And pardon my... discourteous words", Dominika offered. "No, no apologies. I was so shocked, I managed to say the exact opposite thing of what I wanted to say. I have a son! Yes, I have a son! That's reason for rejoicing, at last I've found my son!", replied Thomas, tears trickling down his cheeks.
"If only you'd pressured your partner to tell you the truth. I don't know what kind of a father you'd be, but, apart from the God delusion, you seem much better than your friend, the marine", House remarked. "I'd like to believe I could be a better father than him. I'd never hit you for no excuse, nor would I force you to sleep outside, rest assured", the other man answered, before he took hold of the water glass Dominika brought to him and draining it in a single moment.
"We can never learn now. It's all pointless speculation, nothing changes", the diagnostician said dryly. "Then, why did you reveal this to me? If you don't think that nothing changes...", Thomas began to say, but House cut him off, stating, "Because people want answers. I've been waiting for confirmation of my suspicions for decades and now I've got it".
"For God's sake, son! You have every right to resent me, you have every right to think negatively of me, but I swear I'm gonna do anything in my purview to make amends for being absent from your life", the older man vowed, a statement eliciting a smile from House.
"Good for you. I'd say that the future will show what direction things are gonna take. Now, it's time to be more practical. My patient, who happens to be your wife and the mother of your son, is comatose. We are doing our best, but we need the full medical record. I expect that you give me the name of her physician", House replied.
"Of course. I have his business card here", Thomas said and, after a moment of searching, he produced a card from one of his pockets. "Please, make her well", he requested. "I'm gonna do my best", the diagnostician mused.
"Would you like to join us for dinner, Mr. Bell?", Dominika enquired. "I'm afraid I'm not staying for dinner tonight, although I'd love to. I need some fresh air. Goodnight to both of you", he stammered and made a hurried exit.
"Now, that's what I call an eventful evening", House remarked. But, before he could say anything more, his phone rang. It was Wilson calling.
After a short greeting, Wilson got to the subject. "Did you finally meet your mother? What was the secret she wished to reveal?", the oncologist was asking. "Curiosity killed the cat, but I gotta answer. My mother came at the hospital, I was avoiding her, but she collapsed. She's comatose and I'm the one treating her. As for her secret, she got secretly married to my biological dad shortly after the nominal dad's death", House updated his friend.
Wilson was stunned and, for a moment, stood silent. "Cat got your tongue?", House asked. "Look, I... I can't stomach it. And, I really gotta go. The nurses haven't calmed down and the Board is pressuring Cuddy to make concessions, but there's a funding problem. I guess it's my turn to try to arbitrate", the oncologist replied and hanged up.
"Dinner time", House said, the familiar frown having returned to his face. "Are you sure you are okay?", his wife asked him. "Well, I'm still possessing what happened with my dad and how clueless he was, but at least I had my answer. And that's a reason to celebrate, before I go back to diagnosing my patients", he said and limped towards the kitchen table.