“But then they wouldn’t have given us any money. And I keep telling you, it wasn’t Rick’s fault. He was good to me. I didn’t want to call in the police.” She paused. “He finally told his parents the baby was his, and they had to pay for an abortion.”
“Finally?”
“He was scared of his parents. It was hard for him to confess to doing something they wouldn’t like. But he did it.” She shrugged. “But I was six months pregnant by then, and the doctor wouldn’t do an abortion. I had to have the baby. My mother said that was just as well so that we could prove Rick was the father. We’d keep the kid and hit the family for a monthly allowance. It would be a bonanza. But Nelda Avery wasn’t having it. There was no way that she was going to be blackmailed for years because of Rick’s mistake. She paid my mother a lot of money as a settlement and told her that the family was to get custody of the baby the minute it was born. She made both of us sign those releases and denials that Rick was at fault and guarantee that we would never have any contact with Beth once I gave her up. They were to be in total control.”
“And you just went along with your mother and let your child go to them?”
“Why not? I didn’t want her. What could I do with a baby? Rick came down to see me and told me that he’d make sure that the kid was well taken care of.”
“And you believed him?”
“Of course. Why would he lie? He was like me. He just wanted the situation to go away. I signed the papers, my mother got the money, and I thought that would be the end of it.”
“But it wasn’t?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t know I would— Why should I feel like that for a kid? It was all wrong…”
“You didn’t want to give her up.” Eve knew how powerful that maternal feeling could be. She hadn’t been able to give Bonnie up, though she’d thought it would be best for her. Sandra had been surprisingly understanding during that time, and now Eve realized why.
“They didn’t come to get her for three days. I saw her all the time at the hospital. She was so … beautiful. She looked like me, only with Rick’s dark hair. I told my mother to give back the money.”
“But she wouldn’t do it?”
“She called the Averys and told them to come and get the baby quick. That afternoon, my baby was gone from the hospital. I was angry. I felt cheated. My mother didn’t pay any attention. She packed me up and took me down to Miami. We stayed at a real fancy hotel, and she told me how lucky I was she’d been able to get me out of that fix. I didn’t feel lucky. I was mad. I wanted to punish her. I wanted my baby.” She shrugged. “But I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get Beth back. That Nelda woman scared me, and I’d signed those papers…”
Eve was trembling, and she crossed her arms across her chest. “Let me fill in this particular gap. You couldn’t have Beth, but what was to stop you from getting pregnant again? You’d be punishing your mother by doing something that would prove inconvenient for her.”
“I didn’t really think about it. I just started to party again and having a good time.” She smiled. “I was pregnant a year later. I told my mother that I wasn’t going to have an abortion, and she had to give me enough money to take care of me and my kid. She was furious.” Her smile faded. “But she didn’t give me any money. After I gave birth to you, the nurse gave me a note from her that said that she was done with me and leaving town. That wasn’t right. She shouldn’t have left me there with no money and a newborn kid. After all, it was my money. How was I supposed to take care of myself?”
“The way you did. Though I can see how it must have proved a shock to you. I gather that you didn’t have the same flush of maternal yearning over me that you experienced with Beth.”
“How could I? I was too worried.” She added quickly, “It wasn’t that you weren’t