"Baby" - chapter 2
by BonnieD
In which the seriousness of the situation begins to hit the gang and the Cohen parents take charge. Notes: Like everyone else, I'm confused about whether Ryan is supposed to be 16 or 17 (especially since he looks about 30!), so if the paternity math doesn't work right for you, make your own changes. I actually looked up paternity tests online and found you can order one to take at home - if you're in no big hurry to find out. I don't know how quickly you could get your doctor to order lab work done but the Cohens' doctor is very obedient to their wishes and gets right on it.
*********
"You know," Seth said thoughtfully, stuffing another Dorito into his mouth. "It's like that great modern parable 'Halloween'. I think Ryan serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of teenage sex."
"Not helping," Ryan snapped, glowering at him.
"Sorry. Humor under pressure, it's my shield."
"Inappropriate humor," Summer chimed in. "It's what makes you the geek you are today." She absently patted the baby's back. He was passed out, mouth open and drooling, on her chest. Seth took a moment to wish it was his head resting on those soft, pillowy breasts.
"So what are we going to do?" Summer continued with a sigh and an eye roll. "Just sit around the Cohens' living room all afternoon feeling sorry for Ryan? 'Cause I'm bored already."
"You guys don't have to hang," Ryan assured her coolly. "If you want to go...."
"Summer!" Marissa surged to her feet and stood at Ryan's left like a lioness protecting her young. "I've had enough of you two cracking jokes," she glared at Seth, "and being ... non-supportive," she turned her frown on Summer. "This is serious! Ryan's in real trouble and if you can't be better friends than this...."
"You're right, Marissa," Seth soothed. "I'm deficient as a surrogate brother. But please chill, okay? I left a voice message for my dad and there's nothing else we can do right now."
"Your dad," Ryan repeated faintly. "Not looking forward to that conversation." He looked pale and tense. It was obvious that facing the Cohen parentals with the news was nearly as appalling to him as the fact of the baby itself.
Marissa, meanwhile, felt like a tennis ball at a Williams sisters' match. She alternated between overwhelming compassion for Ryan's turmoil and irrational fury that he could have created such a situation for himself. It was very confusing and she felt tears threatening to well and spill.
"Sorry." Summer sounded chastened. "I didn't mean to come off as such a bitch."
"Well you never MEAN to Summer," Seth remarked.
She cast him a withering glance. "Anyway," she added. "I know it's scary ... and rough." She looked at Marissa. "I never told you because it was supposed to be a big secret, which everyone found out about anyway, but I went with Vickie Driscoll when she had her abortion? Yeah," she nodded at Marissa's surprised look, "I can keep secrets, too. But the point is - it was awful! She cried and cried, before, during and after."
"Vickie Driscoll had an abortion?!" Seth asked.
"So, okay," Summer continued, "I know this is serious. I just ... get bitchy when I get nervous." Marissa nodded and smiled slightly - apology accepted.
"You must be nervous a lot," Seth murmured.
"I'll take the baby for a while," Ryan offered. "Looks like he's getting kinda heavy."
"Well, we don't have to hold him every second," Summer replied. "Seth, why don't you get some pillows and blankets and make a little nest on the floor."
Marissa was already on her feet so she took the baby in her arms, careful not to wake it, and Summer went to help Seth create a makeshift pallet. Sitting down next to Ryan on the couch, Marissa marveled at the infant's perfect features. Ryan leaned in next to her and touched the miniature fist with a fingertip. Instinctively the baby unfurled its tiny digits and grasped Ryan's finger, eliciting an "awww" from Marissa.
"Hm. Strong," Ryan noted, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly as the baby gave a firm squeeze.
"He's adorable," Marissa whispered. "So precious. How could anyone just...."
"I don't know," he murmured back. "Sometimes, I guess, moms just can't cope."
He paused then began a confession of sorts. "You must be pretty pissed at me. I mean, you knew I had some ... girls ... in the past, and I swear there weren't that many and I wasn't usually careless, but still, once in a while...."
Marissa said almost curtly. "You don't have to explain anything to me." And it sounded like she meant 'I really don't want to know this' so he fell silent.
The phone rang and Seth dropped the blanket he was folding and snatched it up.
"Hey, dad," he began, "we have kind of a crisis here...."
**********
"Can you remember anything else about what the girl looked like?" Sandy asked, pacing a bit.
"Does it matter, dad?" Seth countered. "From what she said she was just the delivery girl."
"Maybe," he said thoughtfully.
Kirsten ran her hand distractedly through her hair and blew out a long breath. "Ryan," she began delicately. "You need to think about ... who you spent time with anywhere from a year and a half to two years ago." She looked at the baby, who was lying in her arms staring at her as he sucked down a bottle. "I don't think he could be much older than a year or much younger than eighteen months, but I'm not good at judging age. It's been a long time since Seth was a baby."
Ryan nodded and tried to think. The summer he'd turned fourteen he'd been initiated into the wonderful world of sex by an obliging neighbor girl and also discovered the wonderful world of pot thanks to Trey. As a result, that whole summer and part of the following school year were kind of a long hazy interlude. There'd been parties, pot and people - a lot of events and names he could barely remember.
It had taken only a moment of bright-eyed clarity one evening, seeing A.J. sitting pot-bellied and vacant eyed in his ratty armchair, beer in one hand, weed in the other, to snap Ryan out of his self-destructive phase. 'I will not turn into that,' he had silently sworn and his misbehavior had turned on a dime. He threw himself back into schoolwork and sports and stopped trailing after Trey and his stoner friends.
But during that time, who had there been? Christy. Michelle. That dark haired girl, what was her name? Tina or Trina. And, oh yeah, Juan's sister, April. Only that hadn't exactly come to fruition since he'd passed out in the middle of it, so he could probably scratch her from the list.
"I have a couple of ideas," he said uncomfortably. "But...."
"But first we need to have a paternity test," Sandy said. "If it comes down to culpability, I want to go into it knowing what we're dealing with. I'll call Dr. Bratt's office."
"Don't you think we ought to call the police?" asked Kirsten. "It's been ... how many hours now? The longer we wait...."
"Not yet," Sandy answered and flipped open his cell.
Ryan sat silent and mortified, feeling like the slime from the bottom of a forgotten cereal bowl, as they discussed his problem. He was relieved that Marissa and Summer had vanished the moment the Cohens had arrived. He didn't need to have his personal history dissected before any more people than necessary. He kind of wished Seth would make himself scarce, too.
As if reading his mind, Kirsten suddenly said, "Seth, honey, can you go to your room? I'd like to talk to Ryan alone."
For once without a snide comment or smartass aside, Seth followed her direction. With Sandy on the phone in the other room, Kirsten and Ryan were left alone. His insides started to squirm and he took back his wish that Seth would disappear.
"I'm ... sorry," he finally broke the silence.
"Well, we don't know yet if the baby is yours," Kirsten justified. "This may still work itself out. No need to worry yet."
Ryan nodded dumbly. He wanted to go further, proclaim his apologies for the trouble that seemed to follow him like an unwanted stray dog, but he didn't have the words.
Kirsten, seeing his miserable face, gave him a reassuring smile. "One thing at a time, Ryan. Don't panic. I just wanted to let you know that, whatever happens, we'll help you deal with it. Okay?"
Her supportive words managed to make him feel even more miserable and, rather than break down and bawl, he clenched his jaw tighter and nodded again.
Sandy returned. "Dr. Bratt will fax an order for paternity testing to the lab. We can take Ryan and the baby there tomorrow morning and should have results later in the day. Meanwhile," he focused on Ryan, "I want you to compile a list of names, addresses and phone numbers - dates, too, if you're able."
"Okay."
"Before we take this to the police, I want to make sure we're armed with as much information as possible." He paused. "And if we're lucky, we can get it cleared up without any police involvement at all."
**********
"I'm okay. They were really good about it. Yeah ... Gotta love the Cohens. Uh huh," Ryan glanced at the baby lying next to him on the bed. "He's been asleep for a couple of hours now. I hope that doesn't mean he'll be awake all night."
He listened to Marissa and shook his head although she couldn't see it. "No! No, you were fine. You had every reason to be upset. Actually I thought you'd be even more pissed."
"Mm-hm. I should know one way or another by the end of tomorrow." He listened again. "Thanks. Yeah, I, uh, love you too." He pressed End and stared at the phone in his hand for a moment. He had said them - the words of commitment - and he didn't even know if he meant them yet. But what else could you say when someone told you they loved you? Especially when they offered it in the middle of a crisis when you most needed to hear it.
He sighed and tossed the phone aside then rolled over, propping his head on one hand and looking down at his potential progeny. Despite Kirsten's protests he had insisted on keeping the baby with him tonight. It was his problem and he didn't want to inflict a sleepless night on her if the baby was restless. He knew how to warm bottles and change diapers and walk with a colicky infant. He'd done all those things when he watched Angela Dubay's kids.
Angela was their neighbor when they used to live in the apartment on Sorrito Drive. She was a single mother with four kids from four different dads and she couldn't afford to pay squat but Dawn had insisted Ryan be neighborly and help her out. Since he was too young to have a real job and needed the money to keep him in baseball cards, he complied. Turned out the older kids were pretty obedient and even kind of fun to play with and he quickly learned how to keep the baby quiet by keeping it permanently affixed to his hip.
'So,' he thought, running a finger over the child's soft, downy hair, 'if I have to, I can do this.'
'And if you have to for the rest of your life?' an inner voice asked.
'I can do that, too,' he answered it.
To be continued.....
(Actually, I think it would be more likely the Cohens would contact the police right away, but I didn't want the baby to go into 'the system' never to be seen in our story again.)
In which the seriousness of the situation begins to hit the gang and the Cohen parents take charge. Notes: Like everyone else, I'm confused about whether Ryan is supposed to be 16 or 17 (especially since he looks about 30!), so if the paternity math doesn't work right for you, make your own changes. I actually looked up paternity tests online and found you can order one to take at home - if you're in no big hurry to find out. I don't know how quickly you could get your doctor to order lab work done but the Cohens' doctor is very obedient to their wishes and gets right on it.
*********
"You know," Seth said thoughtfully, stuffing another Dorito into his mouth. "It's like that great modern parable 'Halloween'. I think Ryan serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of teenage sex."
"Not helping," Ryan snapped, glowering at him.
"Sorry. Humor under pressure, it's my shield."
"Inappropriate humor," Summer chimed in. "It's what makes you the geek you are today." She absently patted the baby's back. He was passed out, mouth open and drooling, on her chest. Seth took a moment to wish it was his head resting on those soft, pillowy breasts.
"So what are we going to do?" Summer continued with a sigh and an eye roll. "Just sit around the Cohens' living room all afternoon feeling sorry for Ryan? 'Cause I'm bored already."
"You guys don't have to hang," Ryan assured her coolly. "If you want to go...."
"Summer!" Marissa surged to her feet and stood at Ryan's left like a lioness protecting her young. "I've had enough of you two cracking jokes," she glared at Seth, "and being ... non-supportive," she turned her frown on Summer. "This is serious! Ryan's in real trouble and if you can't be better friends than this...."
"You're right, Marissa," Seth soothed. "I'm deficient as a surrogate brother. But please chill, okay? I left a voice message for my dad and there's nothing else we can do right now."
"Your dad," Ryan repeated faintly. "Not looking forward to that conversation." He looked pale and tense. It was obvious that facing the Cohen parentals with the news was nearly as appalling to him as the fact of the baby itself.
Marissa, meanwhile, felt like a tennis ball at a Williams sisters' match. She alternated between overwhelming compassion for Ryan's turmoil and irrational fury that he could have created such a situation for himself. It was very confusing and she felt tears threatening to well and spill.
"Sorry." Summer sounded chastened. "I didn't mean to come off as such a bitch."
"Well you never MEAN to Summer," Seth remarked.
She cast him a withering glance. "Anyway," she added. "I know it's scary ... and rough." She looked at Marissa. "I never told you because it was supposed to be a big secret, which everyone found out about anyway, but I went with Vickie Driscoll when she had her abortion? Yeah," she nodded at Marissa's surprised look, "I can keep secrets, too. But the point is - it was awful! She cried and cried, before, during and after."
"Vickie Driscoll had an abortion?!" Seth asked.
"So, okay," Summer continued, "I know this is serious. I just ... get bitchy when I get nervous." Marissa nodded and smiled slightly - apology accepted.
"You must be nervous a lot," Seth murmured.
"I'll take the baby for a while," Ryan offered. "Looks like he's getting kinda heavy."
"Well, we don't have to hold him every second," Summer replied. "Seth, why don't you get some pillows and blankets and make a little nest on the floor."
Marissa was already on her feet so she took the baby in her arms, careful not to wake it, and Summer went to help Seth create a makeshift pallet. Sitting down next to Ryan on the couch, Marissa marveled at the infant's perfect features. Ryan leaned in next to her and touched the miniature fist with a fingertip. Instinctively the baby unfurled its tiny digits and grasped Ryan's finger, eliciting an "awww" from Marissa.
"Hm. Strong," Ryan noted, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly as the baby gave a firm squeeze.
"He's adorable," Marissa whispered. "So precious. How could anyone just...."
"I don't know," he murmured back. "Sometimes, I guess, moms just can't cope."
He paused then began a confession of sorts. "You must be pretty pissed at me. I mean, you knew I had some ... girls ... in the past, and I swear there weren't that many and I wasn't usually careless, but still, once in a while...."
Marissa said almost curtly. "You don't have to explain anything to me." And it sounded like she meant 'I really don't want to know this' so he fell silent.
The phone rang and Seth dropped the blanket he was folding and snatched it up.
"Hey, dad," he began, "we have kind of a crisis here...."
**********
"Can you remember anything else about what the girl looked like?" Sandy asked, pacing a bit.
"Does it matter, dad?" Seth countered. "From what she said she was just the delivery girl."
"Maybe," he said thoughtfully.
Kirsten ran her hand distractedly through her hair and blew out a long breath. "Ryan," she began delicately. "You need to think about ... who you spent time with anywhere from a year and a half to two years ago." She looked at the baby, who was lying in her arms staring at her as he sucked down a bottle. "I don't think he could be much older than a year or much younger than eighteen months, but I'm not good at judging age. It's been a long time since Seth was a baby."
Ryan nodded and tried to think. The summer he'd turned fourteen he'd been initiated into the wonderful world of sex by an obliging neighbor girl and also discovered the wonderful world of pot thanks to Trey. As a result, that whole summer and part of the following school year were kind of a long hazy interlude. There'd been parties, pot and people - a lot of events and names he could barely remember.
It had taken only a moment of bright-eyed clarity one evening, seeing A.J. sitting pot-bellied and vacant eyed in his ratty armchair, beer in one hand, weed in the other, to snap Ryan out of his self-destructive phase. 'I will not turn into that,' he had silently sworn and his misbehavior had turned on a dime. He threw himself back into schoolwork and sports and stopped trailing after Trey and his stoner friends.
But during that time, who had there been? Christy. Michelle. That dark haired girl, what was her name? Tina or Trina. And, oh yeah, Juan's sister, April. Only that hadn't exactly come to fruition since he'd passed out in the middle of it, so he could probably scratch her from the list.
"I have a couple of ideas," he said uncomfortably. "But...."
"But first we need to have a paternity test," Sandy said. "If it comes down to culpability, I want to go into it knowing what we're dealing with. I'll call Dr. Bratt's office."
"Don't you think we ought to call the police?" asked Kirsten. "It's been ... how many hours now? The longer we wait...."
"Not yet," Sandy answered and flipped open his cell.
Ryan sat silent and mortified, feeling like the slime from the bottom of a forgotten cereal bowl, as they discussed his problem. He was relieved that Marissa and Summer had vanished the moment the Cohens had arrived. He didn't need to have his personal history dissected before any more people than necessary. He kind of wished Seth would make himself scarce, too.
As if reading his mind, Kirsten suddenly said, "Seth, honey, can you go to your room? I'd like to talk to Ryan alone."
For once without a snide comment or smartass aside, Seth followed her direction. With Sandy on the phone in the other room, Kirsten and Ryan were left alone. His insides started to squirm and he took back his wish that Seth would disappear.
"I'm ... sorry," he finally broke the silence.
"Well, we don't know yet if the baby is yours," Kirsten justified. "This may still work itself out. No need to worry yet."
Ryan nodded dumbly. He wanted to go further, proclaim his apologies for the trouble that seemed to follow him like an unwanted stray dog, but he didn't have the words.
Kirsten, seeing his miserable face, gave him a reassuring smile. "One thing at a time, Ryan. Don't panic. I just wanted to let you know that, whatever happens, we'll help you deal with it. Okay?"
Her supportive words managed to make him feel even more miserable and, rather than break down and bawl, he clenched his jaw tighter and nodded again.
Sandy returned. "Dr. Bratt will fax an order for paternity testing to the lab. We can take Ryan and the baby there tomorrow morning and should have results later in the day. Meanwhile," he focused on Ryan, "I want you to compile a list of names, addresses and phone numbers - dates, too, if you're able."
"Okay."
"Before we take this to the police, I want to make sure we're armed with as much information as possible." He paused. "And if we're lucky, we can get it cleared up without any police involvement at all."
**********
"I'm okay. They were really good about it. Yeah ... Gotta love the Cohens. Uh huh," Ryan glanced at the baby lying next to him on the bed. "He's been asleep for a couple of hours now. I hope that doesn't mean he'll be awake all night."
He listened to Marissa and shook his head although she couldn't see it. "No! No, you were fine. You had every reason to be upset. Actually I thought you'd be even more pissed."
"Mm-hm. I should know one way or another by the end of tomorrow." He listened again. "Thanks. Yeah, I, uh, love you too." He pressed End and stared at the phone in his hand for a moment. He had said them - the words of commitment - and he didn't even know if he meant them yet. But what else could you say when someone told you they loved you? Especially when they offered it in the middle of a crisis when you most needed to hear it.
He sighed and tossed the phone aside then rolled over, propping his head on one hand and looking down at his potential progeny. Despite Kirsten's protests he had insisted on keeping the baby with him tonight. It was his problem and he didn't want to inflict a sleepless night on her if the baby was restless. He knew how to warm bottles and change diapers and walk with a colicky infant. He'd done all those things when he watched Angela Dubay's kids.
Angela was their neighbor when they used to live in the apartment on Sorrito Drive. She was a single mother with four kids from four different dads and she couldn't afford to pay squat but Dawn had insisted Ryan be neighborly and help her out. Since he was too young to have a real job and needed the money to keep him in baseball cards, he complied. Turned out the older kids were pretty obedient and even kind of fun to play with and he quickly learned how to keep the baby quiet by keeping it permanently affixed to his hip.
'So,' he thought, running a finger over the child's soft, downy hair, 'if I have to, I can do this.'
'And if you have to for the rest of your life?' an inner voice asked.
'I can do that, too,' he answered it.
To be continued.....
(Actually, I think it would be more likely the Cohens would contact the police right away, but I didn't want the baby to go into 'the system' never to be seen in our story again.)