Chapter 67

I told Mom and Dad about my date with Marla, and they said that they approved. Erin had apparently told them what I had done, when I ‘rescued’ Marla, because Dad also said that he was proud of me.

I asked Amy what she would be doing as the weekend grew near. She said that she and Owen were meeting Tess, Bill, Erin, and Kelly at the roller skating rink, and asked if we would like to join them. I told her that I would get back to her, but Marla said that she had something that didn’t include other people in mind when I checked with her. She wouldn’t say what it was, but the way she said it made me think that it might be something fun. I began to fantasize about what it might be.

I called her and left a message when I got home from school on Friday. She called when she got home from work, and I asked her how I should dress. She said to wear a suit and to pick her up at seven, then she said, “Tonight’s on me by the way, and, umm, what time do you have to be home?”

“No special time. Why, are we going somewhere?”

“Well, let’s just say that we might be quite late.”

I said that it wouldn’t be a problem, then I asked her where we were going. She answered, “Someplace that I think you’ll like. Erin tells me that you’re a pretty fair dancer.”

“I’m, uhh, okay, I guess, so we’re going dancing?”

“After dinner, yes, and who knows after that?”

Marla said the last few words with a smile in her voice, and my mind was racing when I hung up. I wondered what she had in mind. Whatever it was, she was making it sound more interesting all the time.

I washed my car, took a long shower, and shaved extra close for our date. I was the one who ordinarily planned the surprises, and it was fun having someone else do it for a change. I got to Marla’s house promptly at seven, and Mr. Rand had a big smile on his face when he opened the door. I followed him into the house and he said that Marla would be right here, then he asked me to sit down. The silly smile never left his face, and I found out why only a few minutes later.

The girl who came into the room was stunning. It was Marla, but she didn’t look like the same girl. Her hair was much shorter, and it was cut in the ragged, almost windblown way that’s so popular today, but her face had changed the most. Her skin was glowing, and her eyes, now almond-shaped, with lashes that looked an inch long, were startlingly blue.

She was wearing a short, dark blue dress, and high heels. The dress was low-cut and showed just enough skin to let you know that there was an ample bust inside. She looked absolutely beautiful. I stood up and looked at her, and I guess I must have looked shaken from the size of Marla’s grin. She did a slow turn and said, “The girls at WE really know what they’re doing, don’t they?”

Her mom was standing behind her with a camera in her hand, and she insisted that we pose for some pictures. The phone rang while she was snapping away, and Mr. Rand went to answer it. He immediately came in and handed it to me. It was Mom.

“I just got a call from Denise in Cantil, Pete. She sounded upset and insisted on talking to you. She left this number.” I copied the number, and asked Marla if I could use her phone. She pointed to her room, and I called the number.

Denise answered on the first ring with, “Is it you, Pete?”

“Yes, what’s up?”

“It’s Desi. We’re at the drugstore in Cantil. She just took a test, and, umm, she’s pregnant, Pete!”

It took a second to sink in. Then I said, “Oh, God. Is she okay? Who’s the father?”

“We ... we think it’s Bob, the minister’s son.”

“You think! Don’t you know?”

“Not really. She ... well, she, umm, hasn’t been very careful lately. It could be someone else.”

“What! How long has this been going on?”

“Just lately. She says that she does it because she wants to be a ‘complete woman’ when you and her get together.”

“DAMN! Not that again. What makes her think that I, --- oh well, never mind. Why did she take the pregnancy test?”

“Because she hasn’t been feeling good and her period is overdue. She also thinks that she missed the last one, too.”

“She THINKS she missed it? Doesn’t she know?”

“She doesn’t remember, but we picked up a pregnancy kit, and it says that she is.”

“Does her mom or Della know?”

“No. We just found out.”

“She has to tell her folks!”

“That’s what I told her, but she won’t do it! She’s afraid of what they’ll do. But the problem is, there’s this, like, forty-year-old guy at school. He’s been asking her out, and he gave her his business card with his home number and address. She thinks that he’ll know what to do. She’s called him three times and he’s not home. He lives in Palmdale, and she wants to hitchhike over to his house.”

“What, when?”

“Right now, she wants to go there tonight! I tried to talk her out of it, but you know Desi when she gets her mind made up.”

“Where is Della?”

“She and her boyfriend are at a dance in Lancaster. I tried her cell phone, but she doesn’t answer.”

“Does Desi know you’re talking to me?”

“No. She thinks that I’m trying to get a friend from school to give her a ride.”

My mind was going a hundred miles an hour. I was trying to decide what to do when I looked up and saw Marla looking at me. Her eyes were narrowed, and the look on her face was serious. She walked over, put her hand over the mouthpiece, and said, “Tell her you’ll call her right back.”

“But I...”

“Don’t argue, just tell her.”

I said to Denise, “I’ll call you back in two minutes. Stay by the phone.”

Marla said, “From your end of the conversation, it sounds like a girl is in trouble,” as soon as I hung up.

I explained who Denise is and told her a little about Desi, how old she is, and what was happening.

Without hesitation, she asked, “How far is it to where she is?”

“Just under an hour.”

“Call her back and tell her to stall until we get there.”

“But you have this great night planned.”

“Never mind that; this is more important. Quick! Call her back.”

I called Denise and told her we would be there ASAP. She said that she would tell Desi that her friend was working on his car and he would pick us up in an hour, then added that they would be at the ice cream store, and to please hurry.

We got in the car and Marla asked me to tell her about both Denise and Desi, so I began telling her about Cantil. I told her first about Denise, how I met her, and who her mother was, then I talked about Desi. I told her that she had a crush on me, but I didn’t mention that we’d had sex. I think that she guessed, however. She was quiet until I finished, then she said, “I understand infatuation. As a matter of fact, I understand a lot of what she’s going through. But she should talk to her folks. What’s her mom like?”

“Mrs. Torres is great! She seems kind and understanding. I don’t know why she won’t talk to her.”

“What about her dad?”

“He seems like a reasonable guy.”

“The name Torres, is he Spanish?”

“Yeah, I think his folks are from Mexico.”

We rode in silence for a while, both of us thinking about this big surprise we’d been handed. Marla suddenly said, “I understand why she doesn’t want to talk to her dad. Spanish men tend to be unforgiving about things like this, but call her mom. The girl is only sixteen. This is serious stuff. Her folks need to know.”

She handed me her cell phone, and I thought about it for a minute. She was right, of course. I had to do it, so I first called information for the Torres’ number, then I called the house. One of the twins answered. I didn’t say who I was; I just asked for Mrs. Torres. I said, “Hi, Mrs. Torres. Don’t say my name. This is Pete Baker,” when she got on the line.

Momentarily startled, she said, “Uhh, okay.”

“Is Mr. Torres there?”

“Yes.”

“Can you go someplace where he can’t hear you?”

That instantly made her nervous, and she asked, “What’s this about?”

“Don’t worry, nobody’s been injured, but I need to talk to you alone please.”

I heard her tell Mr. Torres that it was someone from the Grange, and she was going to take the call in the bedroom. She said, “Okay, what’s going on?” a minute later.

I told her what had happened so far, and she groaned and said, “Oh my God, I was afraid something like this would happen. Okay, I’ll take care of it. Where are they?”

Marla put her hand on the phone and asked, “What’s she going to do?”

“She said that she’d take care of it.”

“How far away are we?”

“Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes.”

Marla took the phone from me and said, “Mrs. Torres, my name is Marla Rand. I have some experience in these matters. Could we meet and talk first?”

They talked for a few minutes, and Marla kept saying that she shouldn’t do anything until they talked. Marla said, “She’s going to meet us in the parking lot of the Grange Hall” when she put the phone down. “Do you know where that is?”

“Yes. What are you going to tell her?”

“I’m, uhh---, I’m going, uhh---, Fuck it! I’m going to tell her that I was pregnant when I was about her daughter’s age, and what I learned.”

I could tell from her voice how painful this was for her even in the darkened car, so I was quiet for a while before I said, “But Mrs. Torres is a grown woman. Won’t she know what to do?”

“Probably not. You’d be surprised at how little women know about things like this, especially about things like abortion.”

“How do you know so much about this?”

“How do you think?”

“You, uhh, had an abortion?”

“Yes.”

“What did your folks say?”

“They never knew. Nobody does. I got pregnant the night of the party I told you about. I had the abortion done at a clinic in Los Angeles.”

I was at a loss for words. Even more so, when she added, “I knew that something was happening very early. I missed my next period, and I began to feel my body start to change a few weeks later.”

“Did you talk to someone about it?”

“No, I’ve always been a loner, and the girls at school didn’t want to be seen with me after what happened at the party.”

“But you should have talked to someone! What about the counselors at school?”

“I dropped out right after the party, and I didn’t want to be seen there and have to put up with sneers and dirty looks.”

“Why didn’t you go to your mom?”

“My mother is a sweet woman, but she lives in a fantasy world, and to a slightly lesser degree, so does my dad.” Marla stopped talking when I winced. I didn’t say anything, I just patted her hand. She continued, “I’m not sure if they could have handled it. Neither one thinks that any badness could befall either one of us. Kelly has been lucky so far. I haven’t been as fortunate.”

“Umm, speaking of Kelly, why did you send her to me?”

“I had already experimented with a few guys by the time I was Kelly’s age. The experience wasn’t what I thought it would be, then I met Rich. Rich was very attentive in the beginning, and he was a fair lover, but it ended badly. I’ve been watching you for a while, and I’ve talked with both Kelly and your sister. You’d be surprised by how much they know about you, then I ran into Karen a couple of weeks ago. We had a long talk about you, and she told me how gentle and respectful you were. She also told me that she was leaving. I know from watching Kelly, that she was ready to make a real move on you. The first time can be very important for a girl, and I was afraid that she would go to someone else if you rejected her, so I encouraged her to go to you when the opportunity presented itself.”

The mention of Karen caused me to wince again. I was starting to feel that I was the only person in the world who didn’t know that Karen was going to leave. I wanted to ask Marla what Karen had said about me, but we were getting close to Cantil and I wanted to pursue the pregnancy thing. So I asked, “Who took you to the doctor?”

“Nobody, I looked up a clinic on the Internet and called them.”

“You went there by yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Weren’t you scared?”

“Sure. I was terrified, but everyone there was wonderful when I got there. They knew exactly what I was going through, and they had the answers to every question I had. They took some tests and did the procedure the next day.”

“Was it painful?”

“No, it was over before I knew it, and I was fine except for some mild cramps that only lasted for a day or two. They said that it was easy because I got there as soon as I suspected something was wrong. That’s why I wanted us to come here right away. This girl is probably scared to death. I want to tell her that the world is not coming to an end, but I want to talk to her mom first. I want to hear how she feels about things, and I want to tell her that she should do it right away if she and the girl decide to terminate.”

“You seem to know an awful lot about this.”

“I do. I spent a lot of time at the clinic, learning about this kind of thing after what happened to me. I sometimes help out their clients as a counselor now. They listen closely to what I say when they find out that I’ve been there myself.”

I didn’t say anything aloud, but a picture of Amy popped into my head. I thought, ‘Amy might have been one of those clients If she hadn’t miscarried,’ and that made me wince again.

We pulled into the Grange parking lot, and I spotted Mrs. Torres standing next to her car. I pulled alongside, and she blinked in surprise at both of us when we got out. I had forgotten that we were dressed like we were, and I explained that we were on our way somewhere when we got the call. I introduced Marla to her, and Marla asked if I would wait in the car. She came back a few minutes later, got in the car and said, “Let’s go.”

I asked, “What’s happening?”

“We are going to talk to Desi. We have some ideas depending on what she says. C’mon, let’s hurry.”

I saw Mrs. Torres’ headlights follow us as we went to the ice cream store. Mrs. Torres stopped down the street, but we pulled in close to the store and got out. Denise was sitting on a bench eating an ice cream cone, and Desi was talking with some guys.

They had both changed since the last time I’d seen them. Denise was startlingly pretty. Her formerly shoulder-length red hair was much longer now, and it was gathered into a ponytail that hung nearly to her waist. Although it was hard to tell in the store lighting, I saw no evidence of scarring on her face at all.

Desi had changed the most. Her baby fat was gone, and it looked like she had grown in both height and bust size. The little girl look was gone. It was a young woman standing there now, but she didn’t look like the Desi I remembered. She was wearing low-cut jeans, and she was also wearing a belly shirt that showed a wide patch of skin under her breasts even though it was cool outside, and she was smoking a cigarette.

I was suddenly angry. How could sweet little Desi have changed so much in such a short a time? I said to Marla, “Wait here.” I walked between Desi and the guy she was talking to, and said, “Lose the cigarette, Desi.”

Her eyes got wide, and the cigarette fell from her mouth, just as one of the guys said, “Hey, who the fuck are...”

I didn’t let him finish. I stepped toward him, pushed a finger into his chest, and said, “You and your buddies ... Out of here, NOW!”

There was some grumbling, but I was a lot bigger than him or either of his friends, so the three of them moved away, and I turned back to Desi.

She had a stunned look on her face as she stammered, “P-Pete, how did... ?” Then she turned to Denise and said, “You called him, didn’t you?”

Denise came up to us, and I put my hand on her shoulder. I said, “Yes, she did. The question is why didn’t you?”

“Gee, Pete, I mean, umm, I didn’t want you to think that I was like bad or something, I mean, uhh...”

Marla walked up just then and said, “My name’s Marla, Desi, I’d like to talk to you.”

Desi stepped back and her eyes flashed. She looked at Marla, then back at me. “Who is this, and why are you two dressed like you’re going to a fucking ball?”

I stepped close to Desi and said, “Go to the car with her, Desi, she wants to talk to you.”

She got that stubborn look I knew, and said, “No way! I don’t want to...”

I stepped so close that I was almost touching her. I glared down at her, and said, “Go to the car with her NOW, Desi!”

It was the wrong thing to say. She glared back at me, and I watched her set her jaw, but I could see tears forming in her eyes. We stood that way until Marla separated us and stepped in front of Desi. She put her hands on her shoulders and said, “Please, Desi. Please, let me talk to you.”

Desi stared at her, then at me, and back at her.

Marla said, “Please?” again.

Desi slumped and dropped her head. The bravado look was gone. It was like someone let the air out of her. The person standing there was the little Desi I remembered and she was scared.

Marla put her arm around her. Then she turned to Denise and said, “Would you please come too, Denise. I’d like to talk to both of you,” then she looked at me and said, “Would you wait in the car with Mrs. Torres, Pete? This might take a while.”

Desi tried to pull away from Marla as she screamed, “My mom is here?!”

Marla held on to her and said, “It’s okay, don’t worry.” She repeated, “Please don’t worry,” as she led the girls to the car.

I got in next to Mrs. Torres, and we quietly sat for a while. She kept wringing her hands, and she finally said, “This is all my fault.”

“Why is it your fault?”

She sighed, “Because of the way I’ve behaved. Did you know that Desi saw us both times that we were together at Kate’s house.”

It didn’t register for a minute. What was she talking about? When were we together? What did ‘together’ mean? Then it slowly dawned on me!

I always wondered who the ‘Squirter’ was that night in Kate’s bed. Could it have been HER, and what did she mean by ‘both times’?

I then remembered the time when Kate was sopping wet one minute, and she was dry the next minute. There were TWO women that night, and the other one was MRS. TORRES!

I was speechless. Never in my wildest imagination did I suspect that it was her. I couldn’t believe it even now that she had admitted it. Mrs. Torres had always seemed matronly. I knew that she had big tits, but she usually wore those Hawaiian ‘Muumuu’ dresses that hid her shape. She wore an attractive, but kind of a frilly dress even the time at the dance. It was pretty, but it didn’t show her body off.

I remembered the girl in Kate’s bed those nights, and I remembered how firm and tight her body felt and the wonderful smell and taste of her when she covered me with her fluids as she came as I thought of her. Could it really have been her??

I then thought of something else. There were no cars in the driveway either time that it happened. Whoever was there was gone in the morning, and the Torres were the only people who lived within walking distance. It HAD to be her!

I guess that I was staring at her, because Mrs. Torres broke the silence. There was surprise in her voice when she said, “You never knew that it was me, did you?”

“No, Ma’am. I never even suspected. But, uhh, why me, and why are you telling me now?”

“I would like to say that it’s complicated. I would like to say that I was unhappy with my marriage, or that I was getting back at my husband for some indiscretion, but that wouldn’t be true. The simple truth is that Kate told me what a wonderful lover you were. I was bored with my life and I was curious at the time. I love my husband. He was the only man I’d ever been with before you and I’ll never be with another one unless he finds out about us. The reason that I’m talking to you now is because Desi knows about us. She was hiding outside, spying on you and she saw me go into the house the first time I was at Kate’s place. She later saw you go in as well, and she was still there when each of us came out. She followed me the next time, and watched the same thing happen again.”

“But we could have been just talking or something.”

“Hardly. The lights were all off in the house both times, and my daughter is not stupid. Besides, she and I got into an argument a few months ago, and we both admitted that we had been with you.”

I was kind of numb inside. A lot had happened tonight, and it was taking some time to sink in. I finally asked, “Are you angry with me about Desi?”

“No, I’m not angry. It would be difficult for me to be mad at either of you after what you and I did, wouldn’t it? Plus, she told me that it was her idea, not yours.”

“Well, that’s not completely true. I’m as much at fault as she was. It’s hard to turn down a pretty girl who has her mind made up about something like that. What about Kate? I thought she said that she loved me. Why did she bring another woman to bed with someone she loved?”