Chapter 2

The abrupt departure of Kyle Monson from the Meyers' family living room that night created a fair amount of turmoil. Much finger pointing occurred as John, Melody, and Stephanie all tried to deal with her predicament and this unexpected, but not surprising result.

Stephanie's father, John Meyers, while feeling sad for his daughter's pain, completely understood the young man's point of view. "I don't blame him a bit! Who the hell wants to marry a girl that's knocked up by somebody else, especially that punk kid Tyler? And why you never put out for Kyle, after all these years, I'll never understand."

Stephanie never stopped crying from the moment Kyle left. She directed her frustration at her mother. "Why did you make me go out with him? Everything was just fine. I was perfectly happy to stay home. I didn't need to date anybody else."

Melody was furious with John for his opinion. "How can you be so cruel, John? How can you say those things to your own daughter? How can you even think like that?"

"I'm not being cruel. I'm being realistic. Every girl in this town is expected to spread her legs for her date after about the third date, and they do, too. Stephanie will tell you. She goes out with Kyle for three years and never gives him any. That's being cruel. He could have dated anybody else and got more sex in three weeks than he got from her in three years. And then she dates that smart-assed punk and fucks the living daylights out of him. That's fact. That's not being cruel. There's no way else to describe it. But Stephanie has a point. Why DID you make her date, anyway?"

They argued like this until it was clear that it was doing no good. Actually it was doing much more harm than good. When Stephanie awoke the next morning, she discovered that she was hemorrhaging, not severely, but enough that it scared her. After several phone calls, three hours later they all traveled to the city where John had previously worked. He still had many friends and with the help of their associated connections he was able to arrange a very private visit to a small clinic where no names were recorded and all fees were in cash. It was a clinic used exclusively by the wealthy, or the daughters of the wealthy who were in need of personal and very intimate medical care. Stephanie remained at the clinic for two nights following the procedure and then, with a prescription and three month supply of birth control pills, she rejoined her family. It was agreed that the problem would never be mentioned again.

John clarified that point one last time as they traveled towards Stillwater. "You're absolutely certain that no one besides Kyle and us knows that you were pregnant?"

"Yes. I haven't told anyone besides our doctor and Kyle."

"I know the doctor will not breathe a word, and I doubt very much if Kyle will either. He's hurt, not angry at you, Stephanie. He may be furious at us, but he's just hurt, so I don't think he will say a word."

"I think you're right, John," Melody said. "He's mad at me plenty, but he would never do anything to hurt Stephanie."

"Then we will never discuss this again."

Stephanie returned to school on Wednesday and even though she felt weak and light headed sometimes, she stayed in class and tried to present an image that all was well. Her best friend, Mary Beth, told her that Tyler had dropped out of school and his family had moved away, claiming that all of his troubles were caused by locals, not strangers. Stephanie dared not say anything about the matter, lest she inadvertently give someone a tip as to who the assailants actually were.

"Are you going to start dating again now that Kyle is gone back to the Army?"

"I don't know. Actually he is in the Army, but he is going to go to college starting in January." She went on to explain how Kyle had been offered the college opportunity.

"Well, let me know what you decide about dating because every day at least two boys ask me about you."

Stephanie, despite her daily regimen of birth control, was in no mood to have to deal with the clumsy hands of her classmates pawing at her. Now that her mother had backed off the dating thing, Stephanie thought it best if she just try to regain her strength and go on from there. She limited her social life to group activities or outings with the girls, but declined any one on one dates for several months.

When the prom drew near, Melody encouraged her to find a date for that. "Everyone needs to go to their prom, Stephanie."

As luck would have it, the boy that had called her and told her about the note that Tyler had posted on the wall called her again. He was very polite, made no reference to the note, and asked if she would accompany him to the prom. She told him she would let him know, and after checking with four or five other girls at school the following day, called him back and accepted his offer. Melody, Sue-Ellyn and Stephanie spent several days in the cities finding just the right prom dress for Stephanie. They settled on a shimmering, midnight blue, floor length gown that seductively clung to Stephanie's body as she walked. With her light blond hair cascading down below her shoulders, the effect was to highlight her frame without glamorizing her cleavage. It was a stunning look to be sure. Very few girls attending that prom could have thought themselves to be as radiant and beautiful as Stephanie Meyers that particular evening. To be sure, Stephanie was named Queen of the Ball.

Of course there were post prom parties, and for the seniors, there were at least three to choose from. Tom Adams, her date, had asked her if she had a preference for which post prom party, but she said she did not. Traditionally, the seniors at Stillwater high stayed out all night following the prom, not returning to their homes until the following afternoon. Given the frequency of sexual activities on routine, normal dates among the Stillwater students, none of the parents actually believed that their child would make it through prom night celibate. The students, both boys and girls, didn't delude themselves either. Every prom party was being held at an area motel, and nearly every room was booked in an aberrant spelling of a favorite teacher's name.

One of the requirements of the motels was that all those attending the prom party must leave their car keys at the desk. Girls purses were checked, boys were required to empty their pockets. This was by tacit agreement of the motels, the police, and most parents to assure that no one would be driving after drinking. Some motels went to the extreme of meeting each car as it was parked and then taking the keys from the driver as they got out. The net effect was that the kids stayed at whatever party they went to first, and the cops let the kids alone to party. Nobody got busted, nobody got killed.