Chapter 2
“Jess, take Madi in your room…”
“No way, Kev. She destroys stuff.
It’s off li…”
“DO IT!”
Jess rolled her eyes and scooped
Madi up. “Don’t get used to this short stuff…” she grumbled as she picked up
Madison. “What the hell’s his problem?” she asked as she passed Jeanie in the
hall.
“I don’t know…” Jeanie pulled her
robe a little tighter and went into the breakfast room. “Kevin?” she whispered.
He sat staring out the bay windows. He could barely make out the horses in the
distance. “Honey?” She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
Kevin wouldn’t answer her. He
wasn’t sure what to say.
“Thanks, Lupe.” Jeanie smiled as
Lupe brought in a tray laden with coffee, juice and an assortment of vitamins.
“Honey, you want a cup of coffee or juice?”
Kevin, staring out the window,
quietly replied, “What I want is for you to tell me the truth.”
Jeanie sat the carafe down. Her
mind was racing. What had she done? “Okay. The truth about what?” She pulled a
chair close to Kevin. He was speaking so softly, she could barely hear him.
His tone of voice was guarded and
hushed. She couldn’t tell if he was fighting tears or fighting anger. “Did you
have an abortion?”
All she could do was sit there.
How did anyone find out? She wanted to lie, but she couldn’t lie to him. He
deserved the truth. Sooner or later, she would’ve told him. “Yes,” she
whispered.
His shoulders seemed to drop a
little. “So, when were you going to drop this little bomb on me?” he said
sarcastically.
“Kevin…”
“Shut up!” Jeanie was shocked.
He’d never spoken to her like that. Kevin spun around and in his fury grabbed
the first thing he saw, a cup of hot coffee, and flung it across the room, the
cup shattering against the counter.
“Kevin!”
“I told you to shut up,” he
leveled his green eyes toward her. “Did you tell Nick?”
Her chin began to quiver as she
fought back tears. She stared into her lap.
“DID-YOU-TELL-NICK?”
“Y-yes…” She braced herself for
the worst. Surprisingly, Kevin seemed to calm down a little.
“And that’s okay with him? Was it
his idea you have the abortion?”
“What?” She wasn’t trying to
antagonize Kevin, but she wasn’t following what he was saying.
“You’re not stupid, Jeanie. You
heard me. Did you and Nick decide TOGETHER to abort his child?”
“I’m sorry, not following you…”
“Let me make this simple, since
you're memory is suddenly bad. Did you sleep with Nick?” Kevin already knew the
answer, but if she needed to be reminded he was more than willing to drag every
sordid little bit out. Jeanie was crying now. Good. She should be crying…
“y-yes…”
“And you got pregnant?”
“NO!” She jerked her head up. “NO!
Who told you I got pregnant?”
“You just said you had an
abortion, were you lying to me?”
“No…I mean… Yes, I got pregnant
and yes, I told Nick…” She broke down into tears again. “…b-but…I didn’t tell
him until after it happened.”
“Oh, this just keeps getting
better…” Kevin shook his head.
“Stop it, Kevin!” she said
angrily. “How do you think I feel? Do you think I’m proud?”
“I think you and Nick deserve each
other…”
“Stop. I didn’t tell you because
you CHOSE to fuck around on me! I went through being pregnant once all alone
thanks to you. I’d be damned if I was going to go through it again.”
Kevin sat stone-faced. He didn’t
answer right away. It was as if he had to really think about what she’d just
said. “Wait a minute. You aborted our child? You were pregnant and decided all
by yourself without ever asking or consulting me, to abort MY child?” Jeanie
sat heartbroken and stared at him. She couldn’t make herself admit what she’d
done. “You did, didn’t you?” Kevin was almost speechless.
Finally, he got up and went to the
door. “Lupe!” he yelled. She came running. Mr. Richardson never yelled. “Pack
Madi a couple of suitcases. Put everything she needs in there. Enough for at
least two weeks.”
“Should I get Miss Jeanie’s stuff
out, too?”
“No. Just Madi and I will be
leaving.”
Jeanie felt like she was
hyperventilating. This couldn’t be happening. “What are doing?” she finally
croaked.
“I’m taking my daughter to Mom’s
until I figure this out.”
“No…” Jeanie could hardly breathe
much less speak. “No…” she shook her head is disbelief. “You can’t take Madi
away from me…”
“Oh yes I can. You killed one of
my children…do you think I’m leaving my daughter with you?”
“Kevin, please…this isn’t fair.
Let’s calm down and talk about it,” she begged.
He strode over to where she
remained sitting. “Maybe you should’ve thought about talking before you had the
abortion.”