Chapter Three

After Martin dropped her off at the Camden house, Ruthie didn't go in but walked to the bus stop. She picked up her cell and called Simon.
"Simon, Pick me up at the bus station!" she ordered him. She needed to get away and think this through.

Simon had no idea what was going and Ruthie wouldn't be arriving for a bit because, because he lived in Hollywood and the bus ride would take a few hours. He hoped his sister was ok. He would text her later to make sure she got off. Meanwhile, he climbed into bed to take a quick nap.

Lucy had put Savannah to sleep. She kissed her and hoped Savannah would never do what Ruthie had done. She then walked over to her husband who was reading the paper.
"Kev, we need to talk." Lucy said.
"About?" Kevin said turning the pages of the paper.
"Put that down!" Lucy said, "I said we need to talk!"
"And I said, about?" Kevin replied setting down the paper at last.
"I want to move to Crossroads. We need to be are own family. I also want to maybe adopt. Since, we can't seem to have a baby on our own." Lucy turned out not to be pregnant. The test was a false positive.
"It's just…" She started to cry. "Mary, Matt, and Ruthie can all have babies but I can't. I almost lost Savannah a few times. I can't stay and watch my sister have her baby. It's just to painful for me, "I already bought us tickets and got a small house. We are moving this weekend." She said and walked away.

Simon pulled his car up to the station, with a platinum blonde in the passenger seat beside him. Ruthie walked over to the car and smiled at him and Miss Blondie.
"Hey Ruthie!" Simon said, "This is Candy."
"What is she a hooker?" Ruthie whispered to him.

"No she's just Candy." he said. Ruthie got into the car shaking her head, "Nice to meet you Candy. You know my brother how?"
"I'm an actress." she replied flipping her hair.
"I just decided to be one when my mom kicked me out because she thought I was sleeping with the gardener, she was having an affair with!"
"Yeah," Ruthie whispered to Simon, "She's a keeper!"
"Why are you here?" Simon asked, "Not that I'm not glad to see you."
"Simon...I'm...Kind of pregnant!"
"Ooh, juicy!" Candy replied, "Is he hot? Does he have a brother?"
"You're what?!" Simon screamed when he finally got his voice back.
"No, he's an only child." Ruthie answered her and turned to Simon, "It's true!"
"That stinks!" Candy replied her face falling, "A cousin? Or a hot father?"
"Shut up, Candy!" Simon said finally.
"How could this happen, Ruthie?"
"They ya know!" Candy said.
"I thought I said shut up!" Simon repeated.
"You did!" Candy said, "But you didn't say please!"
"I was drunk and we had sex. How do you think it happened? Mr. STD." she snapped.
"Who's the father Martin? T-bone?" Simon asked shaking his head as he pulled into a parking space.
"Ooh two guys fighting over you..." Candy said, "Lucky you!"
"It's T-bone!" Ruthie replied ignoring Candy.
"Sounds like someone I know." Candy said, "No wait I'm thinking of a steak!"
"I never should have let you date a prostitute's son!" Simon said shaking his head.
"This has nothing to do with that!" Ruthie said, "I spiked his drink!"
"I do that all the time." Candy said getting out of the car, "Makes guys so much more agreeable!"
"Simon, can you just shut up. I know I messed up but I don't need you putting me down for it!" She said and got out of the car and went into his house. Simon sighed and followed her. Candy was humming up ahead some wacky tune. His mind was racing. Ruthie, his Ruthie was pregnant, "Pregnant!" he said aloud to himself, "Expecting. Bun in the oven. Pea in the pod. Baby on the way. Mommy-to-be."

Ruthie walked into Simon's house and slammed the door to his room. She knocked Candy's hair brush off the bed and laid down. Why was Simon being such an ass? He had an STD scare and a pregnancy scare not that long ago. This was sexist. Ruthie wanted to kill Simon. Her cell ring it was a text from T-bone, She flung it out the window. She couldn't take it anymore. She needed to be left alone for a few days. Ruthie started to throw things around the room. She broke a picture frame, of Simon and her as little kids. She was missing her two front teeth and smiling like their was nothing wrong with the world. She missed those days when she got along with Simon. She always thought that once Simon got into girls that he'd stopped loving her and so that night she cried herself to sleep.

T-bone hadn't slept a wink! He was worried sick. Ruthie was missing. She'd left without a warning and hadn't answered any of his calls or texts. What if she had been in an accident or was lying in a ditch somewhere?

Simon didn't want to rat out his sister. However, he knew this the right thing to do. He called his house phone. It was picked on the first ring, surprising him it usually was tied up.
"Simon!" Eric said, "We need to keep the line open." Eric's voice was filled with worry.
"Dad?" Simon said, "What is it?"
"We didn't want to scare you but," Eric said and began to get teary eyed, "Your sister is missing!"
"Dad...she's with me. She's asleep in the guest room." He said feeling bad as he remembered all the times Ruthie had lied for him.
"Thank god!" he said letting out a breath he'd been holding in way to long, "We were about to fill out a missing persons report!"
"Why don't you fly out later? I'll keep Ruthie here, even if I have to tie her to the stairs!" Simon began to crack up at the memory.
"Ok!" Eric said giggling a bit at the memory too, "Let me go tell everyone, Ruthie is safe. Bye Simon."
Ruthie trudged out of bed and down the hall to find Candy sitting at the kitchen table in a baby doll nighty.
"What are you doing here?" Ruthie asked, thinking Candy had left last night.
"I live here!" she replied, "I was kicked out! Want some coca puffs? I hear pregnant people love to eat!"
"Sure! Why not?" Ruthie said taking a seat as Simon rolled his eyes at Candy.
"Ruthie?"

"Yeah?" She asked between bites. She really was hungry, Candy maybe dumb but she was right about this.
"Mom and Dad are on their way here." he said, "You left without telling anyone?"
"So?" Ruthie asked.
"Oh I did that a lot too!" Candy said, "But I was with guys not my brother. Of course I don't have brother...but if I did..."
"Candy please!" Simon said.
"Sorry!" Candy replied back, "Just being social!"
"How could you!" Ruthie said as she ran out of the room and hopped on Candy's bike and rode off.
"Hey, she didn't put on a helmet. She is breaking the law." Candy said.

Ruthie pedaled and pedaled until she couldn't anymore. She parked the bike in a rack and locked it with Candy's lock! Ruthie walked over to the park bench and sat down next to an old man feeding the birds.
"Beautiful aren't they?" he said.
"Yeah!" she smiled.
"Birds are lot like people." the old man said with a smile.
"Sure." Ruthie said. "You know the gray one
"Reminds me of my late wife!"
"Excuse me?" Ruthie said.
"See how she's playing hostess." he said.
"Sure."
"And she's eyeing her husband with dismay."
"Ok!" Ruthie said and got up and walked away.
Ruthie couldn't handle this she didn't want to go back to Simon's. However, she had no where else to go. Mary had her own life as well as Matt, so she finally deiced to go back to Simon's.
"Hi."
"Hi." Ruthie said looking down; she walked down the hall and into the guest room to find Candy going through her purse.
"Sorry, I needed a tampon. I have bad nose bleed." She said and stuck it up her nose.
"Ok." Ruthie said and sat down on the bed.
"You need to talk?" Candy asked, "It must be scary thinking about giving birth to a baby! It must hurt."
"I'll talk to my sister or someone!" She said and put her headphones on and cranked up the music. Being a bimbo Candy continued to talk as Ruthie listened to her music.
T-bone sat in-between Eric and Annie tapping his foot. He was a wreak and having the reverend and his wife breathing down his neck wasn't helping at all! They arrived at the house and all ran in. Candy was dancing to some song. "Hi ya'll, I'm Candy."
"Ooh you must be Annie and Eric." Candy said and giggled, "Your hot Reverend!"
"Hey Mom" Simon said walking in and hugging her. Then he put his arm around Candy. "Mom, this is Candy".
T-bone, Annie, and Eric sat on Simon's sofa and waited for Ruthie to come out, she was in the shower. Meanwhile, Candy was entertaining them.
"I can stick my entire foot in my mouth!" She said, "Want to see?"
"No" They all said at once as Ruthie walked out in jeans and a pink sweater.
T-bone flew off the sofa and pulled Ruthie into his arms, "You scared the hell out of me!" "What did she do?" Candy asked in whisper to Simon.
"You scared us all!" Eric said walking over and eyeing her, "What were you thinking leaving without telling anyone?"
"I just needed to get out. Everyone was so mad at me. I just couldn't take it anymore. I just wanted to keep this to myself for a bit. Now, everyone in the family knows. Mary already called and yelled at me. I know it wrong to just leave." She said taking a seat and folding her arms, "but, I just need to think." she said.
"About?" Candy said leaning in. Every eye turned to the dumb noise blonde. Simon rolled his eyes and turned to Candy, "Let's go get some milk?"
"But we don't need milk!" Candy said, "And it was just getting good!"
Simon pulled Candy out of the room and Ruthie walked over and hugged her mom and dad.
"I need to talk to T-bone alone. I'll meet in the car in second." She said.
Ruthie pulled T-bone into the other room. "I love you T-bone. However, I need a break from you. I think you should go travel with your dad this summer. We aren't going in the RV anymore." She gave him a peck on the cheek and grabbed her bags and left with her mom and dad.

The next day T-bone sat outside of the Camden's house looking out at the road waiting for his father to pull up in his Harley. He was still so confused and lost but as always he did whatever Ruthie told him to do.
Ruthie had gone out with Lucy for the day. She didn't want to be there when he left. She loved T-bone that was the problem. It's like her emotions overpowered her common sense and judgment. It's like someone else was controlling everything she did and said. She just needed time alone to figure out her life. Was having him around what was best for her and the baby? Ruthie picked up her phone. She knew who to call in matters of the heart, she called Mary. Charlie answered the phone. It was hard to imagine that one day her little baby would be doing that.
"Hi, is your mommy around?" she asked.
"Ruthie!?" Charlie squealed in delight, "Guess whats I losts my tooths! I puts 'em under my pillows and toothfairys gives moneys to Meeee!"
Ruthie smiled at his childish delight, "How much?"
"Twos dollars for twos teeths!" he said, "I'm buying mama a diamond, Dada a motorcycles, Emma a dolly, and Grace a beary!"
"That's so sweet. Why don't you put mommy on the phone? I think I might be coming for your birthday." She looked at the toys and picked out a truck. Ruthie heard Charlie yell, "Mommy!" and then he began to sing, "Ruthie's coming for my birthdays! Ruthie's coming for my birthdays!"
"Mary?" Ruthie said, "I need some relationship advice!"
"And you're calling me!" Mary said, "The girl who almost got an annulment then found out she was pregnant and then almost got a divorce because she was pregnant and emotional and thought her husband was having an affair with the nanny?"
"I know all that. I'm talking about when you dated Wilson."
"What about Wilson?" Mary asked taking a seat.
"How did you deal with Billy? What was it like dating a teen dad?" She walked over and looked at the little baby clothing in the next aisle.
"Truthfully?" Mary asked.
"Yeah truthfully!"
"Becoming a mother made me realize that I saw it as a game. It was like I was playing house but the baby and the man were very real." Mary said and sighed as she poured herself a cup of coffee, "I never really got it until I became a mom. And as for Wilson I ignored the stares and things people said about him but, I don't know if he did. Ruthie he lost his wife and had a baby at the age of seventeen. I truthfully was only a compaction that made things hard on him and Billy, bless his heart. And now that Wilson is getting married for real this time I think at last Billy will have stability which is hard to find for children of teen parents."
"Do you think I can be a teen mom?" Ruthie asked, she knew Mary would be honest with her.
"Ruthie I think you'll be the best you can be, but your only seventeen." Mary said, "I don't know if it will be enough, then again you have T-bone!" Upon hearing those words Ruthie hung up and walked out of the store. T-bone was already gone with his dad by the time Lucy drove her back home.
She was alone and it was all her fault. Running up to her room she pulled a box out from under the bed. It contained memories of T-bone and herself. She'd ruined everything hadn't she? She only had a box full of pictures and mementos to show the baby growing inside of her. Would that be enough?
"Hell no!" she screamed throwing the box across the room and breaking the mirror.