cherished her love for the precious gift it was. Dudley had been a fool and it had cost him everything.
Lord, Lord. Pregnant. How was she going to deal with that? In this day and age there were other options when it came to pregnancy. Would she choose to keep the baby? “What are you going to do?”
Tears brimmed in her eyes. She inhaled shakily. “I’m having the baby. It’s all I have left of Dudley.”
I exhaled slowly. Bringing a baby into the world when there were two people sharing the parenting load was a lot of work. Doing it alone was gutsy.
“Did Dudley know about the baby?” I wanted to recall my uncensored question immediately, but the damage was done.
Bitsy stood and walked over to look out the gingham-framed windows, her hand curved protectively over her womb. Now that I knew about her pregnancy I saw that she was already rounding. “He knew. And he seemed relieved because in his mind, we had to get married again, only I wouldn’t have it. Not when he hadn’t mended his ways. He swore he’d changed and that he deserved a second chance, but I foolishly believed him.”
Bitsy turned to face me. “Oh, Cleo, what am I going to do? I loved that man beyond all reason, and now he’s gone and gotten himself killed. How am I going to raise this child on my own? I can’t bring myself to tell Mother or the boys about the baby.”
I could just imagine Mama’s hysterics if I was three months pregnant with a dead man’s baby. And my Mama had adored the ground Charlie walked on until he’d cheated on me. Bitsy’s mother had hated Dudley from day one and she constantly found ways to let Bitsy know she’d married beneath herself. I didn’t know how Bitsy lived with that harpy.
My heart went out to my friend. “I’ll help you any way I can. Are you going to stay in Virginia?”
Bitsy strolled back across the office and stopped near my chair. “I don’t know. I want to move out, but Mother was so good to take us in after the divorce. I hate to uproot the boys again, but what choice do I have? Mother has every right to throw me out on the street. I’m an unwed mother at thirty seven. My father is probably spinning in his grave at the disgrace.”
All Bitsy had ever wanted was Dudley, and he hadn’t lived up to her trust and love. The least I could do was to offer her shelter. “Bitsy, you and the boys are welcome to stay here for as long as you like. It won’t be good for the baby if you and your mother are arguing a lot.”
Dudley had paid Bitsy child support. With his death, all of that would stop. A cold chill snaked down my spine all the way to my throbbing ankle. How would Bitsy make ends meet? Was she financially unable to leave her mother?
What if she actually took me up on my offer and came to live with us? At that thought I turned slightly green. How could I afford to feed three and soon to be four more people? Would I need a second job?
Bitsy’s lower lip trembled. She reached over and squeezed my shoulder. “You’ll never know what your offer means to me. You’ve always been my friend, Cleo. Thank you for standing by me. Thanks but no thanks.”
She took a deep breath and stood tall. “We should be okay financially. I was worried at first because his investment accounts were cleaned out, but Dudley always lived larger than life. He always had one deal or another on the horizon where he was going to make it big. Fortunately for me and the boys, Dudley never changed the life insurance policy he bought early on in our marriage. I’m the sole beneficiary of that policy.”
Dudley had bragged incessantly to Charlie of how well off he would leave his family in the event of his untimely demise. If memory served me correctly, Bitsy stood to receive ten million dollars from that policy. She’d never have to worry about money again.
Because my mind is always thinking of ways things fit together, another thought occurred to me that I couldn’t make go away. Even though Bitsy lived
Lord, Lord. Pregnant. How was she going to deal with that? In this day and age there were other options when it came to pregnancy. Would she choose to keep the baby? “What are you going to do?”
Tears brimmed in her eyes. She inhaled shakily. “I’m having the baby. It’s all I have left of Dudley.”
I exhaled slowly. Bringing a baby into the world when there were two people sharing the parenting load was a lot of work. Doing it alone was gutsy.
“Did Dudley know about the baby?” I wanted to recall my uncensored question immediately, but the damage was done.
Bitsy stood and walked over to look out the gingham-framed windows, her hand curved protectively over her womb. Now that I knew about her pregnancy I saw that she was already rounding. “He knew. And he seemed relieved because in his mind, we had to get married again, only I wouldn’t have it. Not when he hadn’t mended his ways. He swore he’d changed and that he deserved a second chance, but I foolishly believed him.”
Bitsy turned to face me. “Oh, Cleo, what am I going to do? I loved that man beyond all reason, and now he’s gone and gotten himself killed. How am I going to raise this child on my own? I can’t bring myself to tell Mother or the boys about the baby.”
I could just imagine Mama’s hysterics if I was three months pregnant with a dead man’s baby. And my Mama had adored the ground Charlie walked on until he’d cheated on me. Bitsy’s mother had hated Dudley from day one and she constantly found ways to let Bitsy know she’d married beneath herself. I didn’t know how Bitsy lived with that harpy.
My heart went out to my friend. “I’ll help you any way I can. Are you going to stay in Virginia?”
Bitsy strolled back across the office and stopped near my chair. “I don’t know. I want to move out, but Mother was so good to take us in after the divorce. I hate to uproot the boys again, but what choice do I have? Mother has every right to throw me out on the street. I’m an unwed mother at thirty seven. My father is probably spinning in his grave at the disgrace.”
All Bitsy had ever wanted was Dudley, and he hadn’t lived up to her trust and love. The least I could do was to offer her shelter. “Bitsy, you and the boys are welcome to stay here for as long as you like. It won’t be good for the baby if you and your mother are arguing a lot.”
Dudley had paid Bitsy child support. With his death, all of that would stop. A cold chill snaked down my spine all the way to my throbbing ankle. How would Bitsy make ends meet? Was she financially unable to leave her mother?
What if she actually took me up on my offer and came to live with us? At that thought I turned slightly green. How could I afford to feed three and soon to be four more people? Would I need a second job?
Bitsy’s lower lip trembled. She reached over and squeezed my shoulder. “You’ll never know what your offer means to me. You’ve always been my friend, Cleo. Thank you for standing by me. Thanks but no thanks.”
She took a deep breath and stood tall. “We should be okay financially. I was worried at first because his investment accounts were cleaned out, but Dudley always lived larger than life. He always had one deal or another on the horizon where he was going to make it big. Fortunately for me and the boys, Dudley never changed the life insurance policy he bought early on in our marriage. I’m the sole beneficiary of that policy.”
Dudley had bragged incessantly to Charlie of how well off he would leave his family in the event of his untimely demise. If memory served me correctly, Bitsy stood to receive ten million dollars from that policy. She’d never have to worry about money again.
Because my mind is always thinking of ways things fit together, another thought occurred to me that I couldn’t make go away. Even though Bitsy lived
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