CLOSING THE CIRCLE - Chapter 8

For Erin, and daughter Susanne, the Christmas holidays would be more low-key than usual. For one thing, it would not include the celebrity husband her father had enjoyed  showing off like a prize pony.

Now, after more than a decade of glitzy Silicone Valley good life the two of them, mother and daughter, had surprised Erin's widowed mother with an unexpected return to Tanner.

But how to explain the truth of it? Her husband, the cyber-superstar, had moved on to greener, more satisfying pastures. With that Erin, the Tanner girl, was revisiting her roots.
 

                            

                                 Chapter 8

TANNER, OR (Aug, 2010)

Erin Woodman Conners nodded her thanks and took the coffee the waitress set before her. Across the table her daughter, twelve year old Susanne, used a straw to poke at ice cubes in her soda glass as she wondered why her mother had insisted that they stop for dinner in the nondescript family restaurant before driving on to the Woodman home in Tanner Heights.

Now, while the girl waited for what would hopefully be the right moment to ask her questions, she watched her mother survey the surrounding South End Shopping Mall through the restaurant’s front window.

By the time she looked back to her daughter Erin was smiling a remembering smile. “It was quite a place back then,” she nodded. “All the stores and shops were still new and shiny. At least that’s how they seemed to us. Don’t forget, that was 1992. Goodness, that was eighteen years ago. No wonder it looks different now.”

“Seems kind of junky to me,” Susanne observed. “And here we are back in Tanner to spend Christmas with Grandma. That seems like kind of a letdown.”

“That’s because you’ve been used to Christmas in Cancun, or Cabo San Lucas.........”

“Or Vienna,” the girl interrupted. “That was best of all. Remember?”

“Oh yes. That was special. And you can be sure that a Tanner Christmas will be very different than that. But it will also be special, in it’s own way.”

‘Different indeed,’ Erin reminded herself. Truth to tell, the extravagant good times her daughter spoke of so fondly had been the product of what seemed like another lifetime, a time before recent troubles had swallowed their satisfying family life.

She had met Thomas in college, and married him during their senior year....because that was what young couples did in those days. By then Thomas Conners was already displaying the cyber-brilliance that would propel him to Silicone Valley prominence....as a computer prodigy with a head for business.

Those had been heady times, Erin remembered.... when the couple’s infrequent visits to her Tanner roots were an occasion for her late father to parade his son-in-law around the Tanner Heights Country Club like a prize pony....the entrepreneurial wizard who had chosen his daughter.

                                    ~~~

Yet even as she rode the coattails of Thomas‘ impressive ascent, Erin had never quite escaped the nagging doubts, the uneasy wondering if she really belonged in that rarified role. In those moments she sometimes recalled a brief, but welcome 2004 conversation with her own mother, not long after her father’s passing.

“I remember how proud Daddy was,” she had told her mother that morning over coffee in the Woodman kitchen. “When he first learned that I had hitched my wagon to someone like Thomas. He saw how we were living the good life, and how his son-in-law was making a name for himself. By then Dad probably assumed it couldn’t be any better.”

She paused for a sip of coffee and a cryptic, “But it could have been better. And even then I wished it was.”

“What does that mean, dear,” Elaine Woodman had asked. “You’re surely happy with Thomas, aren’t you? Goodness, it seems like you have everything you could ever want....the big house, the cutest daughter ever, and all the travel and vacations. It must be wonderful.”

How could she explain, Erin asked herself again. Was there any way to help her mother understand? Should she even try?

There had been a time, little more than a decade before, right there in Tanner, when it felt like life had turned against her....taking with it George Casey, her first love, then the son she never knew, and finally the future she hoped they might have together. All that had vanished in a matter of weeks, leaving only a pain she had never outgrown.

It had taken years to move beyond her loss, learning to carry on. Looking back, she understood that Thomas Conners....the man he was and the future he seemed to represent....had been the catalyst that turned her dark life bright again. 

Yet how could she have known how success would reshape her husband into a new and different person? When had that new truth set in, the realization that his bright new prospects would turn Erin’s future dark again?

                                 ~~~

Now, seventeen years after George Casey had walked out of her life, Erin was sitting in the South End Mall restaurant wondering what her mother would make of her latest trauma, and how she and daughter Susanne would carry on. It was time to drive up the hill to the Heights and find out.

Not surprisingly, Erin Connors’ unexpected arrival at her mother’s Tanner Heights front door, with twelve year old Susanne in tow, had Elaine Woodman in a bit of a dither. The house was in no shape to receive company. The weekly cleaning lady was still two days away. Still, the surprising sight of her daughter and grand-daughter standing there before her was pleasing enough to overcome those complaints.

“Come in, please,” she urged them. “This is the nicest surprise I’ve had in ages. What brings you all the way to Tanner Heights? And why didn’t you let me know your were coming? I could have straightened things up a bit.”

Once in the living room, beyond her mother’s smothering hugs, Erin patted the sofa, nodding for Susanne to come sit beside her. By then Elaine was struggling to decipher the signals, wondering why her effusive welcome had been met with only strained silence. 

”What is it, dear,” Eileen finally asked. “I know that look. Surely you can tell me. What is it?”

Reaching for Susanne’s hand, Erin gave it a squeeze, wanting to reassure the girl. Then, sinking deeper into the sofa she closed her eyes and spoke the words she had come so far to speak.

“Thomas is gone. He left. That’s why we’re in Tanner, sitting here with you.”

“He’s gone? What does that mean?”

“Exactly that. He’s gone. He’s left us, Susanne and me, for good.” With those few words behind her, she finally opened her eyes and looked at her mother. 

“Right now I suppose he’s somewhere in Europe....with his ‘associate,’ doing whatever one does with a pretty young associate.

“He told me that our marriage was over....that he had ‘outgrown’ our relationship. He’s famous now, with all that money, and all those fancy friends. He said that his tastes have changed.” 

Her mother could scarcely believe what she was hearing. “But why didn’t you tell me before? I always thought you were so happy, both of you.”

“I’m afraid that was a game we played, both of us. Besides, I didn’t realize that he intended for it to be so final, until it actually happened. By then all I could do was hire a good attorney to see that I was treated right.

“The thing is, Thomas had changed so much. I guess success, at least that kind of success, does that to some folks. In the end he didn’t like the people we used to be, and I didn’t much like the people we had become.”

“And now he’s gone?” Elaine asked. “For good?”

“For good.”

“And what are you going to do....you and Susanne?”

“I’m going to come home. That’s what I’m going to do.” 

Erin was a bit surprised at how natural it felt to say that, and how much she liked hearing her own words. “I’m a Tanner girl, you know. I always have been, and that’s what I want to be again. I want that for both of us. Susanne needs to learn how good that can be.”

“The two of you could stay here with me. Heaven knows I have more room than I’ll ever use.”

Her own cautious confession seemed to have lightened Erin’s load. For the first time in a very long while her smile felt altogether natural.

“That won’t be necessary,” she explained. “What Thomas called his ‘exit fee’ turned out to be a very generous settlement. Susanne and I will have our own home, probably some place here in Tanner Heights.’

CLOSING THE CIRCLE - Chapter 7

 

He had made peace with himself......a US Army computer specialist, who had come to accept military life as a suitable substitute for the real thing.

While many of the junior soldiers around him grumbled about the strictures of Army life, over the years he had learned to live with the predictability of military rules and regulations.

        Chapter 7

FT CAMPBELL, KY (Nov, 2006)

It did not happen often, but when it did Cpl Sonja Norris never shied from accepting George Casey’s invitation to join him for an after-work drink at the NCO Club. 

There was no denying the truth of it. In that den of sometimes predatory young soldiers, she always felt safe in his company. He was older, of course, probably in his early-thirties, but never threatening. For a twenty-one year old black woman, still learning the ropes of military life, she took comfort in that. Best of all, he was easy to talk to....even when her blunt questions had him turning defensive.

“So why is it, George, I never see you with a lady? You don’t strike me as the kind who likes guys."

George was laughing as he reached for his drink, buying time to frame his reply. Why was she taking them to a place like that, he wondered. She knows I’m not after her.

“Well,” he finally said. “I’m sitting her with you, aren’t I? A pretty young woman like you ought to count for something. Anyway, it’s not that I don’t like women. And you can be damn sure I don’t like guys....not that way.”

“So what is it?”

Why was she prying like that? What made her think he owed her an answer. Except.........though he occasionally ventured into that depressing mind space alone, never once in his thirteen years of Army life had he gone there with someone else. Perhaps that was because no one else had ever asked.

“Let’s just say I joined the Army to see the world. That’s what they claim it will do, isn’t it? They trained me to be a computer jockey, doing whatever it takes to keep their systems working. I like the job, and I’m pretty damn good at it, if I do say so myself. 

“Anyway, I keep plugging along, playing soldier and following orders. Along the way I earned a few promotions, got busted once, and kind of built what I call a life, right here in the Army. It may not be for everyone, but it’s a lot less complicated than dealing with that relationship stuff you’re asking about.”

“Is that so hard?” she asked. “That ‘relationship stuff.’ Seems like most guys are looking for that. Haven’t you ever been in that space?”

Sonja would be waiting a few seconds, while George slowly returned from the well-remembered memories her question had resurrected. “Yeah,” he finally answered. “I’ve been there.”

“And don’t you miss it?”

“Sometimes. But don’t forget. That sort of thing  can come with its own downside too.”

“Like what?" she asked. "I’m told that when you’re with a really special person it seems better than just about anything.”

That had George shaking his head as he explained, “It’s not about what is ‘better.’ The downside is when you have to go on without that someone.” He paused to finish his drink before suggesting. “Now let’s talk about something else. Okay?”

Half an hour later, after Cpl Norris had taken her leave, George Casey sat alone at his corner table, replaying a bit of his own history, dwelling on recollections that had a way of returning at the most unexpected times.

Most of those memories had been hatched a long time before....thirteen years to be exact. He had been so young and unknowing when he set out to win that sweet young girl from Tanner Heights. Hell, he was from Poverty Flats. Looking back, he should have known better than that.

Still, he remembered that in the end it was not her Tanner Heights roots that had bothered him, but instead her old man’s Tanner Heights connections. Those were the folks who could arrange an abortion....robbing his own child of an opportunity to live. Beyond that chances were they could have labeled him a felon....serving time for the crime of loving the old man’s daughter.

Knowing then what he knew now he might have stood up to the doctor’s bluster, though for Erin’s sake he would have probably backed off. After all, bumping heads with those big wigs was a loser’s game. Everyone knew how they bought and paid for the State House politicians, the ones who made the rules.

Truth to tell, in all likelihood he would have done the same thing again. It had been what the Army called a ‘no-win’ situation. He had been dealt a rotten hand, not the kind to be calling anyone’s bluff. If anything, he ought to be thankful that the military had been there to provide a badly-needed escape route.

Looking ahead, it felt as though life had probably treated him better than he had a right to expect. There he was, thirteen years into a successful military career. An E-7 Computer Technician was a respected and responsible  position in his rather limited universe....one that provided a decent income and stellar benefits. Beyond that, it was those job skills that had allowed him to become a world traveler, if the sights of Iraq and Afghanistan counted for that.

Another seven years spent nursing his spreadsheets and software programs would make him eligible for retirement. Perhaps then he might consider a bolder, more productive approach to the relational emptiness that had become a fact of his life.

     ~~~

In his not-infrequent moments of regret, George liked to remind himself that things had actually worked out much better than he once expected....a point he was making once again in the course of a NCO Club happy hour later that week.

“I’ll tell you what, Tony,” he offered, overtaken by the silly grin that often arrived with his third or fourth drink. “A lot of guys bitch and moan about it. But for someone like me, who started out at the bottom of the barrel, the military has turned out to be just what I needed.”

Anthony Ferrell sipped at his drink, his second, and returned an unconvincing nod. As the new man in the office, fresh out of a two-year community college, he appreciated the apparent acceptance of the team’s senior NCO, at least as a drinking partner. Though, of course, those social moments came with their own caution.

“Don’t even try to match drinks with Casey,” he had been warned more than once. “There’s no one who can do that. So don’t try.”

Still, it felt like Tony owed his boss a truthful take on his own military experience, though it seemed best to begin with a softening disclaimer. 

"I’m glad it has worked out so well for you, Sir,” he replied, realizing that “Sir” was not militarily correct, but unsure how else to address his superior. 

“I’m just saying it’s not that way for me. I joined because I wanted to work with a higher level of technology. Turns out the US Army is years behind the curve. It’s nowhere near state-of-the-art....like it it is out in the real world.”

Draining his drink, George was not inclined to take issue with his young friend’s assessment. Instead, he settled for, “Well, it’s been state-of-the-art enough for me. There was a time when I needed to move ahead....to have something to work for, to get better at. About then that ole Army recruiter just seemed to show up at just the right time. And I’m damn glad he did.”

That was, in fact, as close to his own existential truth as George Casey could come....at least as close as he would allow himself to go. There was no denying the truth of it. In the course of his military career he had turned a very bleak future into something bearable. That felt like progress to him.

CLOSING THE CIRCLE - Chapter 6

There was no preparing for her traumatic news. How could any youngster be ready for that? More to the point, how should he respond?

It took only a few minutes for her father, the doctor, to make his case. His logic was straight forward, and altogether chilling.

Their individual responses to that life-changing dilemma would drastically alter the course of their young lives.....but what choice did they have?
 

                            Chapter 6

To be sure, George and Erin would have agreed that things were “getting better”....seriously better. Week by week they had grown increasingly comfortable in each other’s company, closer and more intimate. Best of all, in George’s mind, they had managed to avoid another face to face meeting with her parents. In their young eyes the future was bright indeed, with few obstacles in sight.

Until, that is, a week before the approaching Christmas class break, when their bright future suddenly turned dark. They had walked to Erin’s car after class, ready for what had become their daily drive to the North End. There, before Erin started the engine, George reached out for her arm.

“You know,” he said “I’ve been trying to pry a Christmas hint out of you all week. It’s getting close, and I want to get you something you really want. So please help me out.”

While he waited, Erin gripped the steering wheel with both hands and stared straight ahead. When it looked as though he might be ready to ask again, she raised her hand to cut him off.

Without looking his way she took a deep breath, then offered her quiet, very blunt pronouncement. It was such a hard word for her to say out loud....and just as hard for him to hear. But it needed to be said.

“I’m pregnant.”

Her soft words hit George like a hammer. “You’re what?” he asked incredulously. “Are you sure?” 

“Of course I’m sure.”

Without knowing or understanding the reasons for her apparent certainty, George felt the weight of her unequivocal assurance. What did it mean....to her, to him, to them? How could either of them get their heads around that?

For an instant Becky Daniel’s face flashed before him....as he remembered the news of her high school pregnancy the year before....the way people talked about it and the things they said. 

He recalled asking himself about Marvin Wentz .....who by then was looking for a job, wondering how he could possibly support Becky and a new child with no skills and few prospects? With only that brief hint of Erin’s dire revelation and what it meant, George understood that it was sure to change their lives and the future they had dreamed of.

“So what are you going to do?” 

No sooner had he asked his question than he realized it was wrong, very wrong. He must ask the proper one. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know. I never dreamed this could happen. I just knew that I needed to start by telling you....to see what you would say.”

For a moment it had the feel of a pop quiz he was unready to face. Except this was a test unlike any that either of them had ever encountered. By then, George too was sensing the rush of panic that threatened to engulf Erin. 

“You have to do something,” he offered, without knowing what that ‘something’ might be. Then, turning from her painful gaze, he was abruptly overtaken by a shocking new reality.

“My God. You’re saying that I’m going to be a father. What do I know about that? How can I possibly be a father or a husband.” 

A moment later he had moved on. Reaching out, he brushed a tear from her cheek. “Please help me,” he pleaded. “I want to get this right. Your folks don’t know yet?

”No.”

“Then I guess I should begin by seeing them, talking with you dad. I suppose that’s my job.”

“Thank you,” Erin replied, squeezing his hand. “For being willing to face him. But you mustn’t do that. There’s no telling what he would do. I have to tell Mom first, then hope that she’ll help me tell Dad. And in the meantime you must stay away from him. Promise me that.”

Theirs was a silent drive to the North End, where Erin dropped him off at the Casey apartment. Without so much as a good-by she drove off, leaving George standing at the foot of the stairs. By then the truth of the matter was sinking in. George Casey’s life was about to change, though he had no idea how different things would be, and how final that future would become.

         ~~~

The finality of that uncertain future would become apparent the next afternoon in the college parking lot, when Erin and George approached her car. The long black Lexus sedan parked nose to nose to her Toyota meant nothing to him, but Erin recognized it at once. An instant later her frightened gasp alerted George to the figure of Dr. Woodman stepping from the Lexus.

“Daddy. What are you doing here?”

The doctor seemed not to hear her question. Instead, he parked himself directly in front of the boy. For a moment George was a bit surprised how calm the older man appeared. Perhaps that was a good sign. That hopeful possibility lasted for as long as it took to read the intent in the doctor’s eyes.

“I am here to explain a few simple facts to your friend,” Dr. Woodman answered. “It won’t take long. And if he is as smart as I think he is, he will understand exactly what those facts mean."

Perhaps the doctor’s harsh, tight-lipped grin was for effect. If so, its impact was very effective. With no further preliminaries he proceeded to offer his logic. 

“You realize, young man, that Erin is seventeen years old. You do know that, don’t you?” George nodded his understanding. “And she tells me you are eighteen. Is that correct?

“In this state the crime is called Statutory Rape, and when it is enforced it can land a young man in jail for a very long time. I know it is not used much these days, but it is still the law. And I believe I know the people who can make it happen in this case."

“But the baby," the boy protested. "What about it? I need to......”

Dr Woodman’s hand reached out and clamped firmly across the boy’s mouth. “There will be no baby,” he growled. “Do you understand. I am a doctor, remember? I know how to make that happen. 

“And if I ever hear of you trying to contact Erin....of you even being here in Tanner, I promise you I will press those Statutory Rape charges myself. I believe the courts would agree that a father is entitled to protect his child from low-lifes like you, who would take advantage of her. 

"And just so you understand, the Statute of Limitations gives me twelve years to file those charges....so you had better be gone for a long time.”

       ~~~

It had been twenty-four hours, the longest hours of his life, since George Casey had heard the doctor's stern warning. Yet, in that single dark day the course of his life had been changed forever. It would be the hardest thing he had ever done, explaining his dilemma to his unsuspecting parents. 

In the end Jim Casey had accepted his son’s defeat philosophically. “Those folks on the Heights know how to pull all the strings. Coming from the North End, especially The Flats, gives you two strikes to begin with. Fact is, Son, I don’t see any way to fight that.”

There would be no forgetting the sad tears George saw in his mother’s eyes. Her son, the one they hoped might rise above his beginnings, must leave. To stay there in Tanner, in the face of Dr. Woodman’s threat, was not an option.

When he boarded the Greyhound bus that evening, flush with the one hundred dollars his parents had provided, George knew only that whatever the future held for him, it would not include Tanner, Erin Woodman, or the child that apparently would never be born.

~~~

By then Erin’s options were equally as limited. It was tempting....the thought of escaping with George, running off to create their own future. But she knew beyond a doubt that her father was not bluffing. Such a reunion  would certainly leave her young lover legally vulnerable. 

Instead, her own plans had begun to take shape after a short, but intense stand-off with her parents. (They talked and she listened.) Without bothering to ask for her input, and working with her father’s colleague in Portland, they had settled on an abortion arrangement....something she had vowed never to accept,

The next morning, apparently leaving for school, she drove off to the bank to clear out her savings account....the small one that she could access. Cash in hand she left her car in a shopping-mall parking lot.

Walking on to the post office she dropped off a brief letter to her parents, telling them that she was fine and would return in due time. From there it was a short walk to the bus depot, where she used her trusty credit card to purchase a ticket to the Bay Area. With that accomplished, she unceremoniously cut the card in two, erasing the possibility that it could be used to track her movements.

Befitting the honor student she was, Erin had done her homework. The Oakland, California home for unwed mothers would allow her to work in their kitchen as they cared for her through her pregnancy and delivery, and a week or two beyond. 

For nearly seven months, without ever making contact with her parents, Erin immersed herself in what was at first a totally foreign culture.....a small group of struggling strangers who in time turned their differences into a therapeutic circle of friends, supporting each other through moody, sometimes painful moments that none of them were prepared to face alone.There was no preparing for her traumatic news. How could any youngster be ready for that? More to the point, how should he respond?

It took only a few minutes for her father, the doctor, to make his case. His logic was straight forward, and altogether chilling.

Their individual responses to that life-changing dilemma would drastically alter the course of their young lives.....but what choice did they have?
 

                            Chapter 6

To be sure, George and Erin would have agreed that things were “getting better”....seriously better. Week by week they had grown increasingly comfortable in each other’s company, closer and more intimate. Best of all, in George’s mind, they had managed to avoid another face to face meeting with her parents. In their young eyes the future was bright indeed, with few obstacles in sight.

Until, that is, a week before the approaching Christmas class break, when their bright future suddenly turned dark. They had walked to Erin’s car after class, ready for what had become their daily drive to the North End. There, before Erin started the engine, George reached out for her arm.

“You know,” he said “I’ve been trying to pry a Christmas hint out of you all week. It’s getting close, and I want to get you something you really want. So please help me out.”

While he waited, Erin gripped the steering wheel with both hands and stared straight ahead. When it looked as though he might be ready to ask again, she raised her hand to cut him off.

Without looking his way she took a deep breath, then offered her quiet, very blunt pronouncement. It was such a hard word for her to say out loud....and just as hard for him to hear. But it needed to be said.

“I’m pregnant.”

Her soft words hit George like a hammer. “You’re what?” he asked incredulously. “Are you sure?” 

“Of course I’m sure.”

Without knowing or understanding the reasons for her apparent certainty, George felt the weight of her unequivocal assurance. What did it mean....to her, to him, to them? How could either of them get their heads around that?

For an instant Becky Daniel’s face flashed before him....as he remembered the news of her high school pregnancy the year before....the way people talked about it and the things they said. 

He recalled asking himself about Marvin Wentz .....who by then was looking for a job, wondering how he could possibly support Becky and a new child with no skills and few prospects? With only that brief hint of Erin’s dire revelation and what it meant, George understood that it was sure to change their lives and the future they had dreamed of.

“So what are you going to do?” 

No sooner had he asked his question than he realized it was wrong, very wrong. He must ask the proper one. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know. I never dreamed this could happen. I just knew that I needed to start by telling you....to see what you would say.”

For a moment it had the feel of a pop quiz he was unready to face. Except this was a test unlike any that either of them had ever encountered. By then, George too was sensing the rush of panic that threatened to engulf Erin. 

“You have to do something,” he offered, without knowing what that ‘something’ might be. Then, turning from her painful gaze, he was abruptly overtaken by a shocking new reality.

“My God. You’re saying that I’m going to be a father. What do I know about that? How can I possibly be a father or a husband.” 

A moment later he had moved on. Reaching out, he brushed a tear from her cheek. “Please help me,” he pleaded. “I want to get this right. Your folks don’t know yet?

”No.”

“Then I guess I should begin by seeing them, talking with you dad. I suppose that’s my job.”

“Thank you,” Erin replied, squeezing his hand. “For being willing to face him. But you mustn’t do that. There’s no telling what he would do. I have to tell Mom first, then hope that she’ll help me tell Dad. And in the meantime you must stay away from him. Promise me that.”

Theirs was a silent drive to the North End, where Erin dropped him off at the Casey apartment. Without so much as a good-by she drove off, leaving George standing at the foot of the stairs. By then the truth of the matter was sinking in. George Casey’s life was about to change, though he had no idea how different things would be, and how final that future would become.

         ~~~

The finality of that uncertain future would become apparent the next afternoon in the college parking lot, when Erin and George approached her car. The long black Lexus sedan parked nose to nose to her Toyota meant nothing to him, but Erin recognized it at once. An instant later her frightened gasp alerted George to the figure of Dr. Woodman stepping from the Lexus.

“Daddy. What are you doing here?”

The doctor seemed not to hear her question. Instead, he parked himself directly in front of the boy. For a moment George was a bit surprised how calm the older man appeared. Perhaps that was a good sign. That hopeful possibility lasted for as long as it took to read the intent in the doctor’s eyes.

“I am here to explain a few simple facts to your friend,” Dr. Woodman answered. “It won’t take long. And if he is as smart as I think he is, he will understand exactly what those facts mean."

Perhaps the doctor’s harsh, tight-lipped grin was for effect. If so, its impact was very effective. With no further preliminaries he proceeded to offer his logic. 

“You realize, young man, that Erin is seventeen years old. You do know that, don’t you?” George nodded his understanding. “And she tells me you are eighteen. Is that correct?

“In this state the crime is called Statutory Rape, and when it is enforced it can land a young man in jail for a very long time. I know it is not used much these days, but it is still the law. And I believe I know the people who can make it happen in this case."

“But the baby," the boy protested. "What about it? I need to......”

Dr Woodman’s hand reached out and clamped firmly across the boy’s mouth. “There will be no baby,” he growled. “Do you understand. I am a doctor, remember? I know how to make that happen. 

“And if I ever hear of you trying to contact Erin....of you even being here in Tanner, I promise you I will press those Statutory Rape charges myself. I believe the courts would agree that a father is entitled to protect his child from low-lifes like you, who would take advantage of her. 

"And just so you understand, the Statute of Limitations gives me twelve years to file those charges....so you had better be gone for a long time.”

       ~~~

It had been twenty-four hours, the longest hours of his life, since George Casey had heard the doctor's stern warning. Yet, in that single dark day the course of his life had been changed forever. It would be the hardest thing he had ever done, explaining his dilemma to his unsuspecting parents. 

In the end Jim Casey had accepted his son’s defeat philosophically. “Those folks on the Heights know how to pull all the strings. Coming from the North End, especially The Flats, gives you two strikes to begin with. Fact is, Son, I don’t see any way to fight that.”

There would be no forgetting the sad tears George saw in his mother’s eyes. Her son, the one they hoped might rise above his beginnings, must leave. To stay there in Tanner, in the face of Dr. Woodman’s threat, was not an option.

When he boarded the Greyhound bus that evening, flush with the one hundred dollars his parents had provided, George knew only that whatever the future held for him, it would not include Tanner, Erin Woodman, or the child that apparently would never be born.

 ~~~

By then Erin’s options were equally as limited. It was tempting....the thought of escaping with George, running off to create their own future. But she knew beyond a doubt that her father was not bluffing. Such a reunion  would certainly leave her young lover legally vulnerable. 

Instead, her own plans had begun to take shape after a short, but intense stand-off with her parents. (They talked and she listened.) Without bothering to ask for her input, and working with her father’s colleague in Portland, they had settled on an abortion arrangement....something she had vowed never to accept,

The next morning, apparently leaving for school, she drove off to the bank to clear out her savings account....the small one that she could access. Cash in hand she left her car in a shopping-mall parking lot.

Walking on to the post office she dropped off a brief letter to her parents, telling them that she was fine and would return in due time. From there it was a short walk to the bus depot, where she used her trusty credit card to purchase a ticket to the Bay Area. With that accomplished, she unceremoniously cut the card in two, erasing the possibility that it could be used to track her movements.

Befitting the honor student she was, Erin had done her homework. The Oakland, California home for unwed mothers would allow her to work in their kitchen as they cared for her through her pregnancy and delivery, and a week or two beyond. 

For nearly seven months, without ever making contact with her parents, Erin immersed herself in what was at first a totally foreign culture.....a small group of struggling strangers who in time turned their differences into a therapeutic circle of friends, supporting each other through moody, sometimes painful moments that none of them were prepared to face alone.

Finally her special day came. Though he was taken away at birth, before she even saw him, she was assured that the child, a boy, was healthy and well. She rested comfortably that day, confident she had done the right thing....assuring a life for the child she would never know.

Finally, with the legal formalities attended to, her son had been placed in the adoption home the facility had arranged for him, and Erin returned to Tanner to face her relieved parents and her own disrupted future. 

It was the hardest thing she would ever do, leaving her unseen son in the care of those caring people. It hurt so much, but it had to be done. How else would he have a future? With that she returned to what she told herself was the real world.

Finally her special day came. Though he was taken away at birth, before she even saw him, she was assured that the child, a boy, was healthy and well. She rested comfortably that day, confident she had done the right thing....assuring a life for the child she would never know.

Finally, with the legal formalities attended to, her son had been placed in the adoption home the facility had arranged for him, and Erin returned to Tanner to face her relieved parents and her own disrupted future. 

It was the hardest thing she would ever do, leaving her unseen son in the care of those caring people. It hurt so much, but it had to be done. How else would he have a future? With that she returned to what she told herself was the real world.

CLOSING THE CIRCLE - Chapter 5

She had met his parents. Now it was his turn to meet hers. She warned him that would not be the "warm and fuzzy" introduction she had experienced at his home.

As advertised, there was nothing subtle about her father, the doctor. He spelled out the future they expected for their daughter, while wondering out loud if an unpromising North Ender could provide that future.

Though Erin tried to soothe George's concerns, he could not shake the foreboding doubts.....would he ever be able to win them over?

                             Chapter 5  

Perhaps it was those still-fresh impressions of her visit to the Casey home that prompted Erin’s unexpected suggestion the following Saturday. The two of them were strolling hand in hand through Granger Hill Park on that crisp autumn afternoon, lost in small talk and enjoying each other’s company.

“I suppose I owe you, don’t I?” she asked, bringing a moment of mystery to their unstructured conversation, and earning George’s wondering question.

“What do you owe me? What are you talking about?”

“I met your folks the other day. I liked that.... because they were really nice. So it seems like I ought to return the favor. And.........”

“And what?”

“And since we’re already here at the park, and the Heights aren’t very far away....this seems like a good time for that.”

That had George wondering. Was he being set up? Was that her plan all along? “You want me to meet your folks? Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.” Erin pulled them to a stop, biting her lip as she offered her disclaimer. “But before we do that, you ought to know..............”

“Know what?"

“That my folks, especially my dad, won’t be all warm and fuzzy like yours were. They’ve already noticed that for the first time ever I’ve been hanging out with the same guy for quite a while. I know they wonder what that’s about. So I’m sure they would like to meet you, just to see who you are.”

“You mean like a coming-out party? That sort of thing.”

“I guess so. I just want you to know up front. My dad can get very aggravating when he starts asking his questions. He’s apt to be very direct. In fact, I’m not sure he knows how to be subtle.”

They walked back to her car, then drove to a nearby burger joint, where George splurged for cokes. By then his thoughts were mired in new, intimidating doubts. He was about to meet Erin’s father, a doctor....with big bucks and a fancy home in Tanner Heights. The boy had heard stories of how that adolescent rite-of-passage....meeting the parents....did not always go well.

Perhaps he should have listened more carefully to his friends’ cautionary tales. At the very least he ought to have been aware of how fiercely protective the father of a teenage daughter can be. 

And in fact, though no particular charges were leveled, in George’s mind his tense audience with Dr. and Mrs. Woodman began with what had all the signs of ‘guilty until proven innocent.’

The doctor’s not-so-casual interrogation started with a lukewarm handshake, before moving on to unflattering allusions to the boy’s North End roots  and pointed questions about George’s college and post-graduate ambitions. Finally, ending his altogether unsubtle probing, the single-minded father paused to paste on a professional smile as he offered his succinct summary.

“As I’m sure you can understand, young man, our only child is very precious to her mother and me. That means her future, and what that will be, is of the greatest importance to us. ” 

The boy had no ready reply, no way to answer what he accepted as the older man’s implied threat. Instead, as the doctor turned to leave the room George glanced across to the sofa, where Erin sat silently beside her equally passive mother. Apparently his audience with the girl's father was over. 

“Wow,” the still-unsettled youngster muttered as he followed Erin down the front steps to her car. “I think he wanted me to know that no North End guy was good enough for his little girl.”

By then he was replaying her father’s parting words, a snide observation that the fellows he remembered from college preferred to have their own wheels, instead of letting the girl drive them around. “Perhaps times have changed,” the doctor concluded.

Erin’s reply waited until she pulled out of the driveway and started down the street. “Don’t let Daddy get you down. You’re with me, not him. And I happen to like it that way. In fact, I’m guessing it’s going to get better."

CLOSING THE CIRCLE - Chapter 4

 

She had made semi-serious fun of his "most depressing pick-up line." Now she was offering her own 'first date' proposal...... to a high school track meet of all things.

It was a bit awkward, suggesting that his parents would like to meet the girl who had won their son's attention. That would mean escorting her into the 'not-so-impressive' depths of their Poverty Flats apartment complex. Was she ready for that?

    

               Chapter 4 

Whether or not it required ‘bravery’ on her part, Erin Woodman was true to her word. A few days later, when she spotted George sitting alone in the back of the Student Lounge, she ordered her iced tea, along with two chocolate-chip cookies, and plunked herself down across the table from him.

“Looks like you could use a sugar pick-me-up,” she said, sliding a wrapped cookie toward him. Glancing at his thick textbook, she added, “We can’t have all that Calculus stuff wearing out your brain.”

“And you’re guessing I couldn’t afford one myself. Is that it?”

“Come on. Don’t you play ‘poor boy’ with me. I just wanted to see how you’re doing. I haven’t seen you around for a couple days. Besides, it would have been rude, eating one of these in front of you.”

“I wouldn’t have minded that,” he replied as he unwrapped her offering and conducted his own taste test. “Wow. This is good.” 

He chewed slowly as his gaze locked on to hers. A moment later their matching smiles had grown wider, and chocolate chip cookies had been forgotten.

Then, blinking his eyes to break that unfamiliar, but pleasant spell, George forced himself to move ahead. “So how have you been? What’s been happening out in the Heights, with the upper crust?”

Erin winced a bit, but refused to take his ‘them vs us’ bait. “Things are going well, thank you.” She hesitated for an instant, before deciding to complete her thought. “Actually, I’m taking a break from my studies this afternoon....at least for a couple hours. I’m heading off to a track meet. Does that sound ‘upper crust’ enough for you?”

“A track meet? Is that your idea of sneaking off for the afternoon? Man, you Southsiders really know how to live it up.”

“This is about Danny. He’s our neighbor. It’s his first year as a runner. Apparently he’s not very good. But his mom can’t make it to the afternoon meets, so I told her I’d stop by to cheer for him. He’s really a sweet kid, and he needs to know that someone is raising a fuss about him. So that’s my job for the afternoon.”

“Sounds like a good thing you’re doing.”

Pausing to finish her cookie, Erin was grinning as she offered her surprising reply. “Actually, I was hoping the two of us could cheer him on. You and I. Remember, he’s not very good. He’ll probably need all the support he can get.”

“Me....and you?” It took a moment for that to sink in. “Are you sure? Danny is running at Southside High. Right? And you’d go there, where everyone knows you, with me?”

“That’s right. And then I’ll drive you home afterwards. You see, I’m hoping you can help me understand what’s going on at the track meet. I’ve never been to one before.”

Leaning back, George sensed it was time for a serious consideration of Erin’s surprising invitation. Apparently she was going out of her way to spend time with him. He was quite willing to accept that as a good idea. But surely, before long she would realize he was not a hopeful prospect for whatever she had in mind.

“Are you sure?” he finally asked. “Does spending the afternoon with someone like me strike you as a good use of your time? Seems like that would take more nerve than most girls have.”

“Hey, that doesn’t take any special nerve. I told you before, I’m really not very brave.” There was no missing her flirty wink. “To tell you the truth it seemed like a good idea, that sounds a little better each time I see you. I’m thinking I might get used to it. ”

~~~

Truth to tell, for Erin Woodman the time she spent with George Casey required no bravery at all. For the first time ever she was in the company of a boy who seemed willing to allow their casual relationship to grow at its own natural pace. 

In the course of the next three weeks they would be together for another track meet and a couple movies....the first one Dutch Treat, the second paid by George from his hard-won weekend earnings.

It must have been that time spent together, and their growing connection, that prompted George’s bold  Friday afternoon request, when Erin dropped him off from school.

“Do you have a couple minutes?” he asked. “I’m hoping you’ll do me a favor.”

“Should I know what it is before I answer?” She was grinning the quirky grin he had come to enjoy. “A girl can’t be too careful, you know.”

“Hey, it’s not a trick question. The thing is, my folks have been hearing about this Erin girl lately. I know they would like to meet her....to see what all the fuss is about. Would you be willing to do that?”

It had the sound and feel of a new direction, a step beyond the path they had walked to that point. Small wonder it triggered new questions she had not allowed herself to consider before that moment. In her limited experience parents were usually judgmental. Hers certainly were. What about his? Would they be conducting their own interrogation in the guise of a casual introduction? Still, it ought to be done sometime. Why not now?

Simply climbing the stairs to the Casey’s second floor apartment had Erin sensing her own unsettling doubts. Everything about the aging complex was unkept and uncaring....even a bit sinister. What would it feel like in the place George called home?

“Erin. It’s so good to finally meet you,” Janice Casey gushed as she reached for the girl’s hand. 

The four of them, Janice and husband Jim, Erin and George, were standing in the still-open doorway as George made his introductions, then nudged Erin inside.

At once Mrs. Casey was on the defensive, making her predictable apologies. “Please excuse the clutter. There’s almost no storage here so things are stacked everywhere. Besides, it’s very hard to make these dumpy apartments presentable.Won’t you have a seat?”

By then Erin was blushing a bit, unsure how to respond. Glancing around she noted the 'dumpy apartment.’ There was no concealing that, though the ‘clutter’ Mrs. Casey spoke of was not so obvious. From all appearances George’s mother had managed to create a clean and cozy home from altogether unpromising ingredients.

It would be a brief visit, awkward in the way first meetings can be. Yet when Erin left that afternoon she was awash in warm feelings of having been accepted by a pair of caring parents who obviously wanted the best for their son. It was a comforting thing, that first opportunity to see and sense the setting in which George had become the young man she was coming to like....a lot.