The Decision

Chapter 1

"My, my, don't our big brother look purty?" Nick said, checking out Jarrod who was checking himself out in the mirror at the bottom of the stair. Jarrod was in his best dark blue suit, wearing an Eastern style tie of the same color and his best dress boots.

"Don't he, though?" Heath said.

"Something special tonight, big brother?" Nick asked.

"No, no, just a dinner among some of us who slave our lives away in town," Jarrod said. "A few lawyers, a few business owners, bankers, newspaper editor, you know – the brains of Stockton getting together to discuss how to make Stockton an even better place to live."

"I guess we're not the brains of Stockton," Heath said.

"Sorry, boys," Jarrod said.

"I prefer cattlemen get-togethers anyway," Nick said. "More poker, less talk."

"Well, we don't get down to poker, that's true," Jarrod said. "Wives are invited."

"And they listen to you discuss how to make Stockton an even better place to live?" Heath asked.

"No, actually, they get together and discuss how to make their husbands better to live with," Jarrod said.

At least he said it with a slight smile. Since he lost his own wife Beth, Jarrod didn't often even mention wives. The smile was good to see, even if it was small.

"Well, be sure to tell us if there's some way we can make Stockton an even better place to live," Nick said.

"I already know how you can do that," Jarrod said and headed for the front door, where he looked back for a moment and said, "Stay out of saloon fights." Then he left.

Heath grinned, saying, "Actually – "

"Ah!" Nick cut him off.

XXXXXX

The Gaiety was the venue for the dinner. No show tonight – the stage was dark. Instead the room teemed with well-dressed men and women, talking and sharing drinks before dinner, when Jarrod walked in alone. He was not the only single man there. Several of the local men were not married and had not brought someone to accompany them, and several of the married men came without their wives. Jarrod surveyed it all as he came in the door, noting who was where and with whom. A few people spotted him and smiled or nodded. Jarrod returned the silent greetings and headed for the bar.

The bartender at the Gaiety was a man Jarrod had known for years, named Clive. He gave Jarrod a smile and said, "Scotch, Counselor?"

"Better make it a double," Jarrod said, looking around. "It looks like I'm a little behind on getting relaxed for the evening."

"Several people have been looking for you, wondering if you were going to come," Clive said as he poured.

"Oh?" Jarrod said, looking around the room.

"George Allison from the newspaper. Maybe he wants to do an interview, I don't know. Len Colter, maybe he thinks you have another engineering job he could do for you. Lots of business being transacted here tonight."

"That's what usually goes on at these affairs." Jarrod noted placecards on the tables. "I wonder where they've put me tonight?"

"Right smack dab at the middle table, I believe," Clive said. "Next to Neil and Clair Joseph."

"Ah, they're both here?"

"Way off in the back there, talking to Reverend Johnson."

"Well, I'll catch up to them when we sit down."

The Josephs were from San Francisco and moved to Stockton less than a year ago. Neil had been injured in a carriage accident in San Francisco, was unable to walk for quite a while, and the Josephs came to Stockton on Jarrod's recommendation when they told him they were looking for a smaller city to live in. They needed to get away from the overwhelming hustle and bustle of San Francisco that only reminded them of Neil's accident. Neil was a financial consultant and had grown his business here in Stockton nicely.

"Jarrod, how are you?"

Judge Farnum's voice coming from behind him made Jarrod turn to see the older man's hand extended toward him. Jarrod took it, smiling. "Your Honor, it's good to see you. I'm fine. I hope you are too."

"Doing well, doing well," the judge said. "I'll want to pick your brain while we're here, though."

"Oh?"

"I have a new law clerk arriving next week, just out of law school…"

Jarrod listened and gave advice, and spent the next hour doing the same thing with various other men. He exchanged pleasantries with several wives but they tended to drift off with each other, bored with the shop talk the men were engaged in.

When dinner was announced, Jarrod finally got to sit down with the Josephs and he had to admit, they looked almost radiant tonight. This was their first gathering of this particular bunch and Jarrod was pleased to see they were doing better than just tolerating it. "Neil, Clair, it's good to see you again," Jarrod said. "How have you been?"

"Very well," Neil said. "I've picked up a couple new clients tonight."

"Excellent," Jarrod said. "How about you, Clair? Are you settling in here in Stockton?"

"Oh, yes," Clair said. "We've become involved in the church and I've been helping out here and there."

"I saw you talking to Rev. Johnson when I came in," Jarrod said.

"We're going to meet with him again tomorrow morning," Neil said, but didn't elaborate. "I was wondering if you'd be available in the afternoon, Jarrod."

"I believe I am," Jarrod said. "Business discussion?"

"More personal, actually, depending on how our talk with the reverend goes," Neil said.

Jarrod was curious now, but if it was personal, this was not the time to get into it. "Why don't you come by around three? I should be in then. Will you be coming along too, Clair?"

"No," Clair said, hesitantly, looking at her husband. "I think I'd prefer the two of you discuss it without me for now. We'll see about later."

Now Jarrod was really intrigued. He hoped it wasn't a divorce they wanted to discuss, but he had seen it before – a couple looking blissfully happy just because they had finally decided to divorce. But Jarrod just said, "I'll be happy to see what I can do to help you out."

They didn't talk about it anymore, just sharing small talk with others at the table. The chairman of the local chamber of commerce had a few words to say after dinner was finished, as did his wife who headed up the Women's League. Some more business discussions took place after the proceedings were over and people left. Jarrod wasn't one of the first to leave, but he wasn't one of the last, either. When he finally got outside and headed for the livery stable and his buggy, he lit a cigar and puffed on it as he walked, and started to wonder again what the Josephs wanted to talk about.

When the next afternoon rolled around and Jarrod welcomed Neil into his office, he found out. Neil got right to the point after shaking hands and sitting down. "This is an unusual request I'm about to make of you, Jarrod, and I don't want you to answer quickly. I want you to think about it and not just today, because your answer is vitally important to Clair and me. We talked it over with Rev. Johnson this morning and while he was a bit uncomfortable with what we want to do, he suggested we pray over it – which we've already done over and over, ever since I recovered from the carriage accident. He said if we went through with it, he didn't see any reason we couldn't keep it very private and continue as members of the church, so long as it was just a one-time thing. He'd actually heard of it being done before, especially among the royal families in Europe, to prevent the diseases that can come with inbreeding. Like I said, he was uncomfortable but was leaving the decision up to us, and we didn't tell him who we had in mind to join us in this – well, for lack of a better term, venture."

Jarrod felt an uncomfortable itch when Neil mentioned the royal families of Europe and inbreeding diseases. "Neil, what exactly are you asking of me?"

Neil steadied himself and looked at Jarrod very seriously. "I'm asking you to father my child."