Chapter 11: The Apple Never Falls Far From the Tree

It was over three weeks later, and the Westbrooks had returned from Kitty Hawk. Lucy had boarded a flight to Cleveland after one last night of frantic lovemaking. She would return two weeks later to shoot the next series of commercials for the Two Bucks, but their summer fling was over. They both agreed to keep their relationship non-committed. Both would attend colleges several hundred miles apart. Besides, Lucy was two years older. She would graduate the same two years ahead of Danny, and nobody knew where she’d end up then.

They would keep in touch though. Lucy would be in Philadelphia on a monthly basis, and there would be opportunities for them to continue their friendship with benefits.

Nevertheless, Danny was feeling a little blue when he returned from the airport after dropping Lucy off. For 8 weeks, Lucy had been around him and her exuberance and openness had done a lot to improve Danny’s outlook on life.

He parked the Mini in the underground parking under the apartment building. On a whim, he eschewed the elevator, taking the stairwell instead for the climb to the seventeenth floor. It was time for him to hit a gym again, he decided, when he arrived quite out of breath, but he forgot this as soon as he opened the apartment door.

There, in the foyer, stood the last person Danny had expected to see. He felt his heart accelerate and his stomach churn.

“There he is!” Helen Gunderson exclaimed. She sounded both angry and insecure.

Her voice made something snap in Danny and he found a reply.

“Hey, Helen! Math trouble again?”

There was Marsha. “Danny, Helen and her grandmother are here to talk to you, and you should listen to them. It’s important.”

Danny felt a little sickness encroach on his stomach. “I don’t know that there’s anything to talk between us.”

“Danny, please!” Marsha asked.

He took a deep breath. Marsha asked and he would listen.

“Okay, shoot!”

“Let’s sit in the dining room, shall we?” Marsha suggested, and with a shrug, Danny led the way.

They all sat around the table and Danny exhaled.

“Once again, shoot!”

Gertrude Melville nudged Helen. “Your turn, Kiddo.”

Helen looked up at Danny and he could feel her embarrassment and resentment. This was not a call to renew their friendship.

“You idiot got me pregnant!”

The outrageous statement left Danny speechless as he tried to understand.

“Helen! We talked about this! You were there with him!” Gertrude Melville said sharply. She looked at Danny. “Helen is still shocked. We all are. She found out two days ago, and she maintains that you are the only partner with whom she’s had ... Oh, well, sex. You two had sex, hadn’t you?”

Numbly, Danny nodded. Speech was coming back slowly.

“We ... we used protection.”

“A condom?” Marsha asked, and when Danny nodded, she wagged her head. “So did your father, Danny. Still, here you are.”

She winked at Danny and Helen saw it.

“That’s not funny. He should’ve been more careful! How was I...”

The unfair accusation gave Danny his speech back.

“I was careful. I brought condoms, didn’t I? Going to the hotel was your idea. You wanted to lose your cherry, right? You wanted me to do the honors, right? Why didn’t you arrange for protection?”

Helen blushed crimson. “You prick! I didn’t plan that!”

“Well, neither did I. It was your idea and your cock-and-bull story.”

“Danny, Helen, this is not leading anywhere,” Marsha interjected. “You both engaged in sex. That means you both have to deal with the situation. Helen, what are your plans?”

“Plans?”

“Yes, plans. Will you give birth to the child, and if yes, will you raise it? Do you plan to give it up for adoption? Will you try to get an abortion?”

Helen flinched at the last word and shook her head. “No, not that. I don’t know what to do. I had no time yet to think. Just no abortion.”

“Danny, what’s your take?” Marsha asked next.

His wide open eyes were answer enough. “Hey, I had less time. I don’t know. I guess I’ll try to help as much as I can. I just don’t know how much I can help.”

“Good, that’s a start,” Marsha stated. “Helen, you will have to come to a decision. However you decide, Danny will help.”

“So I have no say?” Danny asked. “I just have to be supportive whatever she decides?”

Marsha nodded. “That’s the deal, Danny. This will impact on her far more than on you, so she gets to decide.”

Danny nodded. The way Marsha explained, that made sense. It was Gertrude Melville who objected.

“I think Danny should have a say. Of course, he cannot decide this for Helen, but his opinion is important for her to make that decision. Say she wants to raise the child. Then he’ll have to contribute. It’ll be a hell of a difference whether he’s doing that willingly or reluctantly. Danny, can you give us an idea how you’re leaning?”

Danny thought about this. For the first time, he felt the responsibility. What he decided would have an impact on the child, his child. He thought of Irina and how she’d had to fend for herself. He also thought of Tyler Westbrook and how he was feeling for abandoning Irina. He inhaled deeply.

“If ... I guess if she...” He looked at Helen. “If you decide to be a mother, then I’ll be the father.”

Helen blushed again, but she rallied to answer. “D’you think we can do that? I mean, you going to college, me going to college, and raising a child?”

Danny shrugged. “My mom did it, and she had nobody to help her. I’ve got a scholarship and I get to keep the tuition money that my father set aside for me. I have some savings too. You’ve got your trust fund.”

“Damn! How did this happen? We used protection.”

Danny made a face. “Remember in the shower afterwards?”

“That was only for a few seconds!” Helen protested. Then she blushed with dismay. “Really?”

Danny shrugged. “Does it matter now?”

“I guess not. So, if I decide to keep it, you will help? What happens after college?”

“Hey, what happens to me when you decide to move someplace else?” Danny asked back.

“Oh ... I didn’t think. You wouldn’t expect me to ... I mean, if we’re raising a child ... That’s just not why I would ... be with a guy.”

“Nope, don’t worry. I guess we both learned that we suck as a couple. Just find out what you want to do, and I’ll help you get there.”

Helen nodded. “Thanks. I realize that I’m not your favorite person, but I can see a little bit better now how I can ... we can handle this.”

Danny did not contradict her. It would be very difficult for him to interact with Helen.

“Let me know how you’ll decide, and we’ll take it from there. If you go for an adoption, don’t go with Social Services. Try to have a say in who’ll raise the child.”

Helen nodded. “That’s a good point. I’d hate for my ... our child to be raised by people like my parents. My mother, she found out.” Helen stopped because her eyes were brimming over and her voice was cracking. She swallowed heavily. “I went to my regular gynecologist. He’s a church member and he blabbed to my mother. She ... she called me a no-good slut and a whore. They sent over all my stuff, all thrown into a crate. They don’t want to see me again, ever, they wrote.”

Danny felt a little for her. “Hey, you’ve still got your grandma, right? She’s much cooler than your mom anyway.”

Gertrude shook her head. “I’m flattered, Danny, but it’s a rotten thing to kick out your child in a situation like this. Well, at least you are behaving like a decent human being. I figured out that you and Helen are at odds with each other. Try not to burden the child with your problems, both of you.”

Danny nodded. “I’ll try,” he said.

“Hr-hm,” Marsha made. “There is one provision. As soon as feasible, a test will be done to confirm Danny’s paternity. He is too decent a guy to insist on this, but he may be depending on his father’s money to meet his obligations. Knowing my husband, he will insist on a test being done at some point.”

Helen looked hurt, but her grandmother nodded. “That’s only fair. Knowing Helen, the results will only show that she’s telling the truth.”

At dinner, Danny and Helen’s mishap was the main topic of course. Tyler and Ashley wanted to know everything, and Danny related the facts as well as he knew them. Marsha also added some information that she had gleaned from Trudy Melville. In the end, Tyler looked at Danny with a wry smile.

“So, Danny, tell your old father how you plan to handle this.”

Danny swallowed. “I have some savings; not much, but it’ll help. The 25k you promised can be my emergency fund.”

Tyler nodded, obviously satisfied. “That’s a start. We should also discuss your allowance for when you’ll attend college. Now is as good a time as any. You and Ashley will both receive twenty-five hundred per month, but you’ll have to pay for housing, food and whatever else you’ll need out of that.”