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.”
“Mom, you saw the bodycam video last night, didn’t you?”
Of course she had.
“There’s a decent chance Scarlet might only need financial help for two or three years. And knowing what I know of Ashley’s family now, she might be in the same situation. What we really need right now is more information.”
I had another thought.
“Do you think there’s a chance for custody?” I asked.
“You try that, and I’ll kill you in your sleep. I’m too old to handle five kids under the age of two. I had an unmistakable reminder of that watching everyone for the past two weeks. Plus, in a few months, you’ll be off gallivanting all over the world, doing your movies. Peggy’s a saint, but even she would bail on us if we had three more to watch.”
“What if we just got Carol, the little girl? I’m not sure I want Scarlet raising her,” I admitted.
“Hell, I don’t want you raising Coby. You’ve proven you haven’t grown up enough to stop making babies. Why would I want you raising my grandchildren?”
That one was almost over the line. I thought of several witty comebacks, but any of them would have only made the situation worse. Many had to do with my talks with Grandma Felton and her telling me how my mom had felt unprepared to raise Greg when he was born. Somehow, he’d survived.
“I bet you never thought you would have too many grandbabies,” I said; that got me the death stare. “Too soon?”
I saw her lips twitch.
“Come on, Mom. They’re cute.”
“Puppies are cute. That doesn’t mean I want another one,” she shot back.
“I don’t think we have a choice in the matter. It’s not like we can put an ad on Craigslist. Even though I know you can sell anything on that site.”
“So, what are you going to do?” Mom asked.
