Scarlet’s parents, especially her father, were very religious Southern Baptists. Her actions and her pregnancy were troublesome to her dad in particular. His best solution was for her to get married as soon as possible and have the husband adopt her little girl. Her dad had focused on Clay as the most likely candidate.
Now, he was pushing Clay on her, but with Scarlet’s dad, it was more of an ultimatum than a ‘wouldn’t it be nice’ suggestion. He’d recently started talking about stopping all support for her unless she married, if not Clay, then someone else, and soon. The ‘Clay’ arrangement was supposed to be for a quick, quiet wedding. Scarlet would live with Clay in a trailer on his parents’ farm until a more permanent arrangement could be made.
Scarlet’s maternal grandfather had set up a trust for her, and she thought it might be substantial. But she wouldn’t see any distributions from the trust until she was married or turned twenty-five. Until then, or until Scarlet got a job where she’d make enough to afford decent daycare for little Carol, she was pretty much dependent on her parents for financial support.
I chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” Ashley asked.
“I had a random thought. Last spring, I talked to a psychic, and he told me that I had five kids. I thought he was full of it, but he insisted that I did. It seems his timing was off a bit, but he nailed it if you include my nanny’s son, Little David, whom I consider mine. I’ll have to call the guy and let him know.”
The girls looked at me expectantly to see how I’d taken their stories.
“I have to ask …”
“They’re yours,” Ashley assured me.
“And you’re both 100% sure they’re mine?” I asked.
“We should probably get a DNA test to be sure,” Scarlet admitted. “But don’t tell my daddy or boyfriend. They think what happened was my first and only time.”
“I’m sure,” Ashley said.
At first, I thought she meant I should get the test, and then I realized she was sure that the boys were mine.
“Are you going to be mad when I insist that we confirm paternity?” I asked Ashley.
“No, I’m fine with that. We did ambush you with this,” Ashley said.
I looked at Scarlet, and she nodded her assent to the test.
“How do you think I can help?” I asked.
The girls looked at each other, and I saw Scarlet get brave.
“I need some money,” Scarlet came right out and said.
“You, too?” I asked Ashley.
“I’m living with my parents, and I can’t see how I can raise the boys and live on my own. Like Scarlet, I also have a trust that doesn’t kick in for a while. I need some way to keep going until that time,” Ashley confirmed.
I nodded and then looked at my watch. It was almost three in the morning.
“I need to get some sleep. I’ve got to meet with the Alabama people tomorrow, but I’ll figure out some way for us to sit down and talk about all this. Meanwhile, I want you both to think about what’s realistic and how you think I might be able to help. I know right now that I want to be a part of those little kids’ lives if they’re mine. I’ve just been hit with this, and I’m not sure what the best way to handle it is.
“What I am sure of is that this will work itself out. Even if they don’t turn out to be my children, I’ll make sure you get the help you need. I have a charity that helps unwed mothers. Normally, it’s for helping girls get an education, but I bet I can make sure you become two of the recipients,” I assured them.
I decided to add something I felt deep down.
“And I also want you to understand how I feel about your decisions after you found out you were pregnant.”
I looked at the two of them, and they both looked down.
“Eyes on me,” I said, and waited until they looked up. “You made some difficult decisions in trying times, and you decided to keep your babies. You kept it together and managed to graduate.”
“I would rather you’d felt that you could come to me sooner and allowed me to be involved in your decisions, but I understand your reasons why you didn’t. I also want you to know that I think you made all the right decisions. They were good decisions.
“There are a lot of questions that have to be answered and a lot that needs to be sorted out, but I’m glad I’m now part of that process. I’m sure you need to think about all this, and I will need to fill my family in,” I said. The girls were now nodding with me.
I smiled.
“This will all work out. Now, let’s all get some sleep so we can keep making good choices.”
The girls were a bit teary-eyed. I stood, and they each give me a big hug.
We agreed to meet tomorrow evening, but left it open as to where and how.
◊◊◊
Bodycams are wonderful. Instead of having to explain everything to my mom and Brook, I had Fritz download the video so they could watch it. I left them watching and went to bed, still in some physical pain from my Hollywood accident, and now exhausted as well.
◊◊◊
Chapter 30 – Can I Come Home with You? Saturday October 22
I woke to find my mom sitting in my hotel room.
I was still sore and moving a bit like an old man. But I definitely didn’t want a pain pill today because I needed my wits about me. Not that it would lighten my mood any.
“Four children with three different mothers. All before you graduate high school. I don’t even know what to do with that.”
“Where’s Dad?” I asked.
“Your father made the wise decision to stay out of this conversation. I thought I’d raised you to have better morals than the rest of the Dawson clan.”
“I don’t think this is helping the situation.”
“You do realize that this probably ruined any chances you have of going into politics. It’s good that you have other skills, or your grandmother would be devastated,” Mom said to pile on the guilt.
I knew my best course was to let her get it all out.
“What were you thinking?” she continued. “Trusting two girls you didn’t even know to be responsible for birth control. I would have thought your brother was enough of an example for you.”
What could I say to that? I knew where babies came from. And I knew that condoms weren’t just to prevent pregnancy. I could have picked up something that could have been passed on to others in the form of an STI. After listening to Scarlet last night, I was damn lucky I hadn’t. I’d let myself get caught up in the moment.
I remembered telling them that if something happened, I would do the right thing. How hollow did that sound to two college juniors when it came from a high school kid?
I understood from our talk last night why they didn’t want to tell me about it. As a young movie actor who’d also been accused of abusing Pam, it was almost inevitable they’d have second thoughts about me as a good father.
When I’d met Ashley, I’d wondered if she knew who I was because she’d dressed up with her pearls to attract me. I’d ended up dismissing that at the time. Now I questioned whether Scarlet was the one who had targeted me as a possible way out of her family situation. Then again, it could have been exactly what they said it was, an accident.
What most gave me pause was the fact that both of them became pregnant. What were the odds of that? I knew it was possible, but seriously? I decided to push that little line of thought away. It wasn’t like I could do anything about it now.
I think my mom thought I’d just pulled a Dawson on her and gone quiet.
“Sorry, my mind was off exploring possibilities. I’m not sure they’re after my money, at least not in the long run. I think they need to get out of bad situations with their families,” I said.
My mom shook her head.
“You really are a ‘stupid boy.’ There’s a damn good chance they are, and this time, it could be expensive.”