Don’t get me wrong, I liked to get laid as much as the next guy. Something the recruiting trips had taught me was if I wanted to pick someone up, I could. So why would I let myself fall into any kind of relationship only eight weeks after my best friend told me that she needed to go out and get some life experience? Shouldn’t I do the same?
A plan started to form in my mind. In four weeks, I would be off to LA for two months. Why shouldn’t I use that time to explore what really was out there? The test would be whether or not I missed the girls I’d been seeing. Well, Halle would be around, but she’d be busy working. I would get a chance to experience everything Southern California had to offer.
I trotted up our driveway and looked at my smart watch. It said we had run 8.3 miles. Duke wanted in the back door to get a drink. I stretched, then went up and took a shower. The hot water felt good this morning. Almost dying yesterday had shifted my focus, and I found I enjoyed everyday things, like a hot shower or sleeping in my own bed.
◊◊◊
Going to church this morning, I felt a closer connection to my faith. I’d been a little adrift since Jeff had passed. From the time when I found out he was hurt, to right after he died, I had leaned on my faith to keep my head straight. Since then I hadn’t made it a priority. It was hit-or-miss whether I attended church each week. A solid moral foundation was one of my life goals. A big part of that was my faith.
After the sermon, Mom had stopped and talked to some of her friends. I wandered out to the entrance and read the bulletin board, where they’d posted a flyer saying they wanted volunteers for the youth group. While my commitments wouldn’t allow me to do it all the time, I wondered if I could do it a few times a month.
Mom came up behind me.
“Ready to go?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Do you think they’d let me help out with the youth group a time or two a month?”
“What do you think?” Mom asked.
She was right. It was a stupid question. I would add that to my list of things to do when I got back from LA.
◊◊◊
I pulled up to Zoe’s farm to see the driveway full of cars. I parked and couldn’t find anyone. Then I thought I heard laughter, so I followed the noise and found everyone in a field at the back of the property. I walked back, and Zoe saw me. She jumped the fence and met me halfway.
“Want to pick pumpkins?” she asked.
“I didn’t know you had any.”
“We put in a few acres each year, and we sell them at the vegetable stand for Halloween.”
“Isn’t it a little late to be selling pumpkins? Halloween is this week,” I said.
“We do it every year. All the money goes to various charities the church is involved with. We never have any problem selling out. People actually wait to buy theirs because they know the money goes to good causes.”
I had a great time picking pumpkins. The Pearsons even paid me with three little pumpkins. I knew some nephews and a niece who would get them as gifts. Greg and Angie would have a good time carving them.
As I drove home, thoughts of the afternoon reaffirmed why I spent time with Zoe. We had spent four hours together and just had a good time doing something that would help others. As we walked back to the house holding hands, we hadn’t needed to say anything. I felt at ease around her.
◊◊◊
When I got home, I stuck my head in the back door to call my trusty hound. He, of course, was waiting for me. Dad said he heard my car when I came home.
“David, come to the kitchen,” Mom called me.
I went inside and found her and Dad at the kitchen table, drinking hot cider. I got a cup and joined them at the table.
“We received a disturbing call from Cal Bell tonight,” she said.
I looked at both of my parents, and it felt like this was something serious.
“He says Pam’s pregnant, and you’re the father.”
I appreciated that my parents let me absorb that without further comment. I frantically thought back as to when it could have happened. I had tried to be careful and use a condom with her. Then it hit me: she had made love to me at the lake to help create new memories to replace the bad one from when Jeff drowned.
The thing was that I knew Pam was on birth control; at least, I thought so. Her parents had caught us in the act. What mother wouldn’t double-check to make sure her daughter was safe after that?
I took a deep breath. This was not Pam’s fault. I wasn’t going to be the guy that blamed the girl for not making sure she was protected. If Pam said it was my child, then it was. I knew it was my child even if she didn’t say it was. I looked up and took another deep breath.
“It’s mine,” I said. “I’ll do whatever she wants.”
My parents knew that meant I would marry her. My gut told me that Pam’s father didn’t want me anywhere near her. Pam wasn’t good at confrontations, and I suspected that if her dad worked on her, we wouldn’t be getting married. I fully intended to support my child. What I did have was money, and I wouldn’t deny him or her anything. I should be careful and add, within reason. Cal was a lawyer, after all.
“Should I go over and talk to her?” I asked.
“No. Cal said something else that’s disturbing: he said you raped her.”
◊◊◊
Chapter 27 – Add This to the List of Firsts Monday October 26
I was still in shock that Pam would accuse me of rape. It had to be her dad’s idea because we’d never even had rough sex. Furthermore, Pam wasn’t shy around me. We’d been friends for almost a year now. She knew me well enough to know that if she were pregnant, I’d support her. Pam knew my family, and how my brother had done the right thing and stepped up and married Angie. She also was aware of the charity I helped Angie organize for pregnant teens. The allegation simply mystified me.
The only explanation that made sense to me was that Cal, Pam’s dad, had to be the driving force. He had not been happy when we were caught having sex, so much so that he’d sent Pam and Lacy, Pam’s mom, on a vacation for the rest of the summer to keep us apart. If the baby had been conceived when I thought it had, it happened the day she came home. I could see where that might set him off.
I would think that being a lawyer, Cal would know that an allegation of rape would be hard to sell. First of all, the act that caused the pregnancy occurred two months ago. On top of that, Pam and I’d had sex at least a couple of times since then. He would need her to go along with the rape accusation for it even to have a chance of sticking.
There wasn’t much sense in worrying about it right now, but it did piss me off. I was sure that it was just a wild claim Cal had made in the heat of the moment when he talked to my mom. The problem was he’d said it. I left my apartment and found Rachel waiting and ready to run. I didn’t really feel like it, but I needed to keep a consistent schedule. Rachel also had sectionals this week, so I ran our usual mile and then quit.
I took my shower, got dressed for school, then down to the house for breakfast. Mom and Dad were cooking, so I sat down and waited.
“I think it would be a good idea to avoid Pam this morning,” Dad said.
“But I need to talk to her.”
“Yes, I agree, but it would be best to let everyone cool off first. I’ll see if I can get the Bells to come over for dinner and we can discuss this tonight,” Mom said.
“What if Pam comes to me?” I asked.
“Then talk to her, but don’t make her feel uncomfortable. She’ll be the mother of your child, and you don’t need for her to be mad at you already,” Dad said.