Chapter 8

Darlene was the first to speak after the shock of hearing Tammy was not going home with them right then and their wedding would be two years away.

"Two years is a long time, Dear," she told her daughter and then asked Karl, "Is there anything in your Grandfather's Will stating you can't have company?"

"No," he responded. "I just can't leave his land."

"Mom!" Tammy said rather exasperated, "I'm here aren't I?"

"Well, what if we held a wedding HERE?" she asked.

Answering, Tammy said, "Karl just asked me this morning to marry him. What's wrong with a long engagement?"

"What if you got pregnant and you weren't married?" Darlene asked.

"MOM!!!" She blurted out again but much louder than before.

"That's personal!" Tammy added raising her voice up a notch or two more.

"But honey," Reeve added, "That should be a concern. What if you got pregnant?"

Blushing, she thought, "Everyone present had seen us having sex so that's not a secret." Then she started more softly with her head down, sort of looking at the floor, "Mom ... Dad, I'm on Birth Control."

"TAMMY!" her mother exclaimed.

Looking up at her mother, she very firmly said, "MOM!!! Dad!!! I'm 22 and until a few days ago I was a VIRGIN! I made up my mind month's ago that I'm ready to have sex.

"I'm not a teenager with raging hormones. I'm a GROWN Woman. If I want to have sex, I'll have sex. If I want to get PREGNANT before I get married, then I will!

"I think I've waited long enough ... PLUS ... I finally found the man I want to marry. You both want me to be a little child but I'm not one anymore."

Reeve chimed in, "Darlene, she'd got you there," and then laughed.

Karl was listening and having a hard time not to laugh too at Tammy's family confab about her getting pregnant. To him it was a 'So What?' type of thing. He wouldn't mind in the least. One way or another Karl knew things would work out.

"Actually," Karl said as he decided he needed to get his two cents into the discussion. "I sort of like the idea of Tammy getting pregnant." Then gave her a kiss before she could say anything in protest.

Reeve laughed and Darlene gasped. Their reaction seemed to cancel out each others expression. Neither of them could find anything to add or say in rebuttal.

During the lull in the conversation caused by Karl's admission and keeping Tammy tongue tied if you may, Sergeant Frame commented, "Look. We've got to be getting back. I'm satisfied Tammy ... Miss Jordan ... is OK. We have to let Mr. Clifford go if she's not going to file charges."

"Karl," Reeve asked, "Is there anything that says you or a guest can't have a car here? From what you've said, I assume it's just you who can't leave. So if we brought Tammy's car here, she could come and go as she wished."

"Yes and no," Karl said. "Yes, from my understanding of my Grandfather's stipulations, Tammy could have a car here to come and go as she wished. But, no, I could not benefit from anything she did.

For example, if I ran out of milk, she could not run and get it for me. But it does get complicated very quickly. If SHE wanted milk, she could go get it. Once it was here, if she offered it to me, I could drink it. But I could not ask her to go and get some for me. Things that I want have to be trucked in by the Estate's Courier.

"I'd need to double check with the Estate's Lawyer about that though. Things were set up so that I had to carefully plan ahead, you know, make a list of whatever I was going to need and to give it to the driver that visits me every week. That time lag forced me plan in advance.