Chapter 2
Ed’s phone rang early one morning. “Hello?”
“Ed, we have a problem.”
His mother told him. “I received
a phone call from a woman named Joan and she said that her daughter, Becky was
pregnant with your brother’s child. She
wanted to know if we could help with the medical bills.”
“What does Byron say about it?”
“He said it wasn’t his baby and the girl was just trying to trap
him into marriage. I just don’t know if
I can handle this and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Well we can’t just ignore it. I’ll call the girl’s dad. What is the number?” Ed hung up the phone and asked his wife, Jessica
to sit down. She was experiencing a
difficult pregnancy and had required some extra care. “That was my mom on the phone. She said that some girl is claiming she is
pregnant with Byron’s baby. Byron is
denying it and my mom doesn’t know what to do about it. They both would like to ignore the whole
situation, but I don’t think that’s wise.
I think it would be better to address it.”
“What do you mean? We
can’t help with the medical bills. We
have a baby on the way and I have to be hospitalized again, my medical bills
are going to be a strain for us.”
“I know. I’m not talking
about helping with the medical bills. I
just think we need to meet the family and be a support for them. My mom said the girl is still in high school. We need to let them know that we do care. I’m going to call her dad and see if we can
do anything for them. ”
“Still in high school?”
“That’s what she said.
I don’t know what her dad’s going to say. He has the right to file charges against my
brother. That’s one of the reasons I
want to talk to him. Maybe if someone in
the family is friendly, her dad refrain from legal alternatives.”
One week later after much prayer, Ed dialed the phone number and
to his surprise discovered that John was a down-to-earth guy. Ed asked to meet the family and was invited
to their house the following Saturday.
Jessica was not happy about the meeting. She wasn’t fond of meeting new people anyway
and certainly not under these circumstances.
Her fears were eased when the family welcomed them to their home. Becky was as nice as her parents. The entire family appreciated Ed and Jessica’s
efforts to get acquainted, but understood that the baby was not their
responsibility. They learned that Becky’s
baby was due about six weeks before Jessica’s.
It didn’t take long for the two mothers-to-be to become
friends. They talked several times a
week on the phone. The conversations
were usually about the babies or Byron.
More than once, Jessica talked to Becky about getting Byron involved in
raising the baby.
At the same time, Ed did his best to talk to Byron. Byron refused to meet Becky at any place or
any time. No amount of reasoning would
appeal to his sense of reasoning. He
made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with her.
Becky, on the other hand, still held out hope that he would
realize they belonged together. She was
convinced she loved him and only him.
She lived with the anticipation of Byron asking for forgiveness and
explaining that he was ready to begin their life together. He had promised they would marry and she was
sure that once he became accustomed to the idea, he would follow through with
his promise.
Then came the phone call to Ed and Jessica. Becky was in labor. They rushed to the hospital to be with the
family. The labor was long and trying, but Becky was rewarded with a 7 lb., 7 oz.
baby boy. Ed and Jessica noticed
immediately that the baby had blue eyes, the same as Byron. The following week, they all learned that
Byron had been to the hospital to see the baby, but hadn’t gone to Becky’s
room.
Six weeks later, Jessica went into labor. After arriving home from the hospital, Becky
and her mother were among the first visitors to see her baby girl.
The friendship between Ed, Jessica and Becky’s family
continued to grow. When others were around, Becky introduced Ed
and Jessica as her friends.
They were secretly grateful for the tact. Ed felt like everyone was judging his brother
and there was nothing he could do about it.
It didn’t matter that they were adults; Byron was still his younger
brother.
One day as Jessica and Becky were visiting, the conversation
quite naturally turned to Byron.
“I don’t understand why you don’t confront him about the
baby.” Jessica said.
“Well, I don’t know what to do.” Becky complained.
“Why don’t you go over to his house and talk to him?”
“Because his mother is there. I would be embarrassed.”
“You would be embarrassed to see the father of your child?”
“I wouldn’t want to upset his mother.”
“Are you sure he is the father?”
Surprisingly Becky didn’t mind questions like this from
Jessica. “He has to be. He is the only one I’ve slept with.”
“Why not force him to take a paternity test?”
“That might make him mad.”
Becky reasoned.
“What difference does that make?” Jessica asked completely bumfuzzled.
“I just don’t want to make him mad.”
“Well he hasn’t seemed to mind making you mad.” Jessica countered.
“Why are you asking me all this? Are you mad at him?”
“No. We just think he
should accept his responsibility.”
“Oh, he will. Someday
he will figure it out and I’ll be waiting for him.”
“Are you that much in love with him?”
“Absolutely.”
“I think you’re crazy.”
“You might be right, but I have confidence that one day we
will be together.” Becky laughed.
***
Rebecca remembered that conversation now. She marveled at that naive little girl who
thought she was in love with a man who had used and disposed of her. How many people had tried to tell her that at
the time? She wouldn’t listen. All she wanted was for the two of them to be
together and raise their son.
No one correctly answered the question last week, so let’s
try again. What was the secret that
Rebecca kept from her family for thirty-two years?
