"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished.
That will be the beginning."
(Unknown)
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Ephram Brown made his way down Elm Street, the Rocky Mountains in the distance. When he'd moved to Everwood three years ago, they had been the embodiment of everything wrong in his life. They had represented the move from New York to Colorado, the act of leaving his friends and old life behind, and the stark reality of his mother's death. But now, they were a source of strength and tranquility, a symbol of home. For the first time since his mother died, he was truly happy. He was dating Amy Abbott, he'd just spent two months studying piano at Juilliard, and he was finally getting along with his father.
He was so happy that as he turned the corner, he couldn't help but smile. He'd been pleasantly surprised when he'd boarded the plane to New York this past summer and discovered Amy sitting in the seat next to his. After wanting her for so long, they were finally going to be together. So for ten glorious days, he went to school in the mornings, spent the afternoons with her, and practiced piano at night. They'd picnicked in Central Park, he'd showed her his old hangouts, and they'd explored Greenwich Village hand in hand. He'd hated seeing her leave, but had managed to create enough memories to last him the six and a half weeks they would be apart.
August had only recently given way to September so there was still a touch of summer in the air. The air, so infused with the scent of pine, smelled as if the town had been sprayed with air freshener. As he turned onto Main Street, a figure in the distance brought him to a standstill. She was sitting at a table in an outdoor café furiously writing in a notebook. Though she was modestly dressed in a yellow and blue stripped polo and jeans, she shone like a small blonde burst of sun. He stood watching her like an ancient mariner seduced by a siren's song. As if sensing his presence, she turned, and when their eyes met, a jolt of electricity shot through him.
Madison. She'd been his first adult relationship. When it had ended, he'd been devastated. His hurt was so palpable that his little sister Delia had felt compelled to sacrifice her happiness to save him. He'd been lonely. Even after a year of living in Everwood, he'd still felt out of place and out of step with everyone. This was before he and Bright had become friends. Plus, after wanting Amy for so long and something always coming between them, it had been exhilarating to fall for someone and have that person fall for him back. That first attraction had been undeniable, and coupled with a relationship born of taboo (Madison was four years older than he was and had been Delia's babysitter), a taboo that fostered an 'us against them' mentality, their bond had been preternaturally strengthened. Although it had been months since he'd seen her, and despite the fact he was falling in love with Amy more and more each day, he still felt a twinge of regret, a sense of grief over the end of their relationship.
A couple of months ago, he would have walked away, unable to deal. Now, he was in a place where he could talk to her. Not only that, Ephram thought as he crossed the street, he genuinely hoped she was happy.
"Hey," he said as he approached her table.
"Hey."
"I don't want to take up too much of your time. I just wanted to stop by to say hi."
"Sit down," Madison said gesturing toward the empty chair across from her. A cup of tea and a half-eaten tuna sandwich sat off to the side.
"So," Ephram began as he sat down. "How are things going?"
"Okay," she said softly, quickly averting her eyes.
There was something in the way she said it, something in her body language that told him she was lying. This troubled him for obvious reasons, but the heart of their relationship had been their commitment to being truthful with each other, even when the truth hurt.
"You know you can talk to me, right?"
"Yeah," she said looking down at her hands.
He looked down too. Her nails were ragged and practically chewed off. Mmm, he thought, she always bites her nails when she's worried. "What's wrong?"
"I promised him I wouldn't tell you. But I can't do this by myself Ephram."
"Do what?" he asked as he leaned forward.
"He told me about Juilliard. I know it was a dream come true for you, one you'd worked so hard for it," she said as tears began streaming down her face.
"Hey, hey, hey," Ephram said grabbing her hands. "Whatever it is, it can't possibly be that bad." She was scaring him. He'd never seen her so distraught. "Madison, what is it. Tell me," he said with an authority he didn't feel.
"I'm pregnant."
Bam! He felt as if he'd just been punched in the stomach. Pregnant? How? When? "How many months?" he asked quietly.
"Four."
He did the math; it was definitely his baby. "Why didn't you tell me?" He saw her hesitate, weighing whether to tell him the truth. He wasn't going to drop the matter, some force deep inside him desperately needed to know. "Well?"
"Your father asked me not to," she said turning away. "Ordered me not to," she muttered bitterly, so softly that he almost hadn't heard her.
"My father?" The realization that his father had known Madison was pregnant and hadn't told him both chilled and burned him. Mass confusion washed over him, he couldn't understand why they had both hidden something so important from him.
"What are we going to do Ephram?" she asked, her bottom lip quivering.
"I don't know," he said.
He and Madison talked for another twenty minutes. After saying goodbye to her, Ephram wandered around Everwood for two hours. His life was over.
The only thing that kept him from plunging into despair was his growing anger at his father. It fueled and gave him strength like those energy bars Bright Abbott always ate. How could his father have kept something like this from him? He had to confront him. There was no way in hell he would let him get away with this.
An hour later, Ephram stood on the Browns' front porch ready to do battle. After taking a deep breath, he opened the door.
Dr. Andrew Brown, dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, sat in the Browns' living room reading the newspaper and listening to NPR when Ephram walked in slamming the door behind him.
"Is something wrong?" Andy asked looking up.
Without prefacing his words, Ephram yelled, "Why didn't you tell me about Madison?"
Andy's face immediately turned red, and his eyes began to bulge as if he were being strangled.
"You should have told me she was pregnant. You had no right to keep that from me."
"Ephram," Andy said as he stood, taking a step toward his son.
"No fucking right," Ephram said backing away.
"I was trying to help you."
"Trying to help me," he mocked. "Trying to help me. You were just being the manipulative, self-centered bastard you've always been."
"For the first time since we'd moved here, you were happy. I didn't want anything threatening that."
"So you threatened Madison instead."
"I never threatened her. I promised to support her anyway I could. Ephram, you're only sixteen; you're not ready to be a father."
"What do you know about being a father? You were never around when Delia and I were growing up. Mom practically raised us alone," Ephram said, his voice cracking. Tears welled behind his eyes. Father and son stood silently watching each other for what seemed like an eternity. He was scared, and as much as he hated to admit it, his dad was right. He didn't know a damn thing about being a father. The weight of this realization hit him and he began to sink to the floor. His dreams of Juilliard and being a concert pianist were over.
"Ephram," Andy said as he rushed to his son's side.
"What am I going to do Dad?" he asked as if in a trance, the tears flowing freely now. "What am I going to do?"
"We'll figure out something," Andy said as he knelt to the floor and put his arms around his son. "I promise you, everything will be okay."