Author Note: ….Jackie doesn't like to share…..
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Chapter 12 – Not Again!
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Tulia is the mother of my child." Eric said sadly.
"Impossible! I'm the mother of your child. Eric, I'm pregnant."
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Tulia's mouth fell open. "What? Who is this?" Eric could only smile. "This is my good friend Jackie." Eric couldn't believe how much he missed this friend! He needed someone to talk to that wasn't his parents!
"Um, the big question is….when?"
Jackie smirked, "Okay…do you remember a little movie called Purple Rain?"
Laughing with glee, Eric replied, "Now that's a time I can remember actually happening."
Jackie laughed, "I think my inventory was old but you are definitely the daddy. Now where did this little tart come from?"
Tulia's mouth worked before she shrieked, "I am not a tart! Eric did this to me." Red stood up on shaky legs and helped his wife from the floor.
"Eric? Are you trying to kill me?" Red collapsed on the chair and put his hand on his chest. "Dad? Are you okay?"
Jackie ran over and tried to take Red's pulse. He swatted them away, "I just wanted to make sure my pacemaker was still working." Kitty fell into her chair, "Jackie, honey….how far along?"
Jackie grinned, "I saw Dr. Larson a couple of days ago and I'm about seven weeks. Unlike Tulip here, I'm NOT after Eric's money."
Tulip shouted, "Its Tulia. Not Tulip, I'm not some frigging flower!"
Jackie put her hands on her hips. "Then tell me you're not just here because of the money."
Tulia avoided Jackie's eyes. "Okay, so I found out Eric lived in Wisconsin ONLY because he was in the newspaper." She looked at Eric, "I tried to call your store but the number was disconnected."
Jackie walked a complete circle around the younger girl. "So, you waited how long before contacting him?"
Tulia crossed her arms over her chest. "None of your business."
Jackie stepped into Tulia's private space. "Oh it is my business. If my child has to share its father with your child then I'm going to be all over your business. I'm going to find out all about you, where you swim, who you went to school with, what lowlife crowd you hang around and where you got that tacky ankle tattoo."
Tulia looked almost as scared as she felt. This Jackie person was a formidable woman. "Mrs. Forman, is there a place where I can wash up?" Kitty was still trying to get over her shock. "Oh, yes….upstairs in the guest room. Come with me honey."
Tulia picked up her suitcase and followed the older woman while looking back to make sure that Jackie-girl wasn't following her. The door swung shut and Eric grabbed Jackie in a bear hug. "I missed you!" he exclaimed.
Red coughed, "The two of you – sit your asses down and explain what the hell is going on."
Jackie sat down and smirked, "Well, it appears that your son's little soldiers broke through the barrier of condom-land. I'm not going to apologize because this may be the only chance I ever get at being a mom so Mr. Forman, you're just going to have to get used to it."
Red cringed at the thought of his son's little soldiers! He had heard enough conception talk to take him into the next decade! He sighed, "Jackie, honey…your child is a very welcome addition. It's this other one that has me pulling out the last of my remaining hairs." He looked at Eric, "Are you going to marry any of the mothers of your children or are more going to be popping out o the woodwork?"
Eric grinned, "Nope. Jackie was the only girl. Tulia is the one I'm most uncertain about."
Red felt a little more relieved, "Okay, this is one Forman baby we are positive about and Jackie honey, you are welcome to stay here."
She smiled, "Thank you Mr. Forman." She turned to Eric, "Can you help me bring in my laundry?" Glad for the distraction Eric nearly ran outside. Jackie took advantage of his absence to talk to Red.
"I don't trust that girl Mr. Forman. I don't know her but I'm getting a bad vibe. I work around actors all the time and I can tell when someone is putting on a show and this girl would win an Emmy. You don't mind if I call in some favors and have her checked out do you?"
"God no. Do whatever you have to. Kitty and I are demanding a paternity test but we have to wait until the baby is born."
"When will that be?" Jackie pressed. Red counted on his fingers. "Supposedly, sometime in…September."
Jackie nodded. "Okay, I need a favor if you can help me."
"Sure sweetheart what is it?"
Jackie leaned forward, "I need help getting a restraining order put on my mom. I don't know where she is and I have a feeling she drops by here often. I don't want her upsetting me while I'm pregnant and I don't want her touching the trust fund because that's my baby's money."
"I can help you do that." Red smiled. "That is probably the easiest thing I've had to deal with in the past few weeks. "It's almost like that lottery money was tainted."
Jackie laughed lightly. "I told Eric to watch out; he was going to attract a grungy crowd."
"Boy did he! Wait until you meet Tulia's boyfriend fresh from the farm."
Jackie smiled. "I'm going to need your phone and all the details. But right now, I need to make sure Eric didn't drive off in my motor home!" She kissed Red on the top of his head and ran out the door.
Red felt like there was finally light at the end of the tunnel.
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Jackie opened the door to the RV and climbed in. The interior was dark and her eyes hadn't yet adjusted from the sunshine when Eric grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug. Her breath caught in her throat as he kissed her over and over, his hot tears running down his face. She cradled the back of his head with her hands, "Don't worry, we're going to figure this out."
"I didn't get her pregnant, I know I didn't." Eric winced at how incredibly frantic and pathetic he sounded. "I didn't sleep with her. It was nothing like what we shared."
Jackie chuckled, "Yeah, we were pretty hot and I should have checked that box before we started those extracurricular activities but Forman, I'm not here to ask you for child support or anything like that. I just want my baby to know his or her father."
Eric hugged her back, "Oh Jackie, I know you don't want anything from me, I completely trust you and I think it's cool that we're going to be parents…I wasn't expecting it but I'm happy about it. We're going to be awesome."
Jackie smiled against his cheek. "Well good, because you are going to be very involved in this kid's life." She led him to the couch, "Sit and talk to me. I need to know everything if I'm going to help you out of this mess."
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Jackie walked through the kitchen and saw Tulia sitting at the table reading a magazine. Kitty was baking something cinnamon smelling and she smiled as Jackie passed. Jackie was nearly through the swinging doors when she was caught up in a big feminine hug. "Thank you." Kitty whispered. "We're going to love this baby."
Jackie grinned, "I don't doubt it for a minute. Can I use your phone?"
"Oh honey, anything you need, it's yours." Kitty all but gushed. Jackie smiled and pushed through the doors. Tulia turned, "How do you know that lady?"
Kitty pushed her hair back off her face. "Jackie has been a friend of the family for a long time. I almost consider her a daughter."
Tulia looked put out. "Oh. So you're gonna love her baby more than mine." Kitty wanted to say yes but knew that this child had a 50/50 chance of being a Forman so she tried to be unbiased, "Every baby in this house is always loved."
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"I don't care what they're doing. The Forman's and his best friend need him and need him now. Just make sure he's on a plane to Point Place first thing in the morning!"
She listened briefly and added, "They have access to a private jet. Tell them to use it because you don't want me coming up there." Jackie threatened the person on the other end of the telephone.
Smiling, Jackie hung up and dusted off her hands. One difficult person down and two more to go. Jackie opened her address book and dialed a second phone number.
"Hey, this is Jackie…how are you? Look, Eric's in trouble and needs his friends. How fast can you get here?"
Kitty opened the living room door and smiled. The Calvary was coming to the rescue!
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