There was a moment of silence in the kitchen as the reality of the situation sank in for George, Robbie and Ashley. Anne went into the laundry room to start on the laundry while George slowly lowered himself into one of the kitchen chairs to try and process that fact his little girl was pregnant and that he was going to be a grandfather. Robbie and Ashley shared a knowing look before opening the junk drawer in the kitchen and retrieving several packages of Amy's favorite candy. They went upstairs and knocked on her bedroom door.
"Go away," Amy said with a sniffle. Robbie ignored her and opened the door anyway. Ashley entered the room behind him and shut the door behind her. They made themselves comfortable on Amy's bed but she didn't look at either one of them. She was sprawled in the middle of her bed face down, sniffling into her pillows. Robbie rattled the packages of candy he was holding, getting Amy's attention. She slowly, grudgingly turned her head, her curiosity getting the better of her. She frowned when she saw what he was holding and Robbie smiled.
"You know you want some," he teased in a sing-song voice. "All you gotta do is sit up and talk to us," he continued in the same voice while he continued to rattle the package. Amy knew her older brother had her and she openly pouted while she sat up and leaned against the top frame of her bed. Robbie smiled triumphantly and then tore open the packages of candy. Ashley did likewise and a small mountain of gumdrops was dumped on Amy's bed between the three of them.
Amy had been two when she'd eaten her first gumdrop and she became hooked. For some reason that even Amy couldn't quite find the words to describe or explain, whenever she was truly upset, by some miracle simply eating a handful of gumdrops seemed to improve her mood and calm her down. Robbie had realized this and, once Ashley was old enough to understand, he'd let her in on the secret. Their parents were still clueless about the calming and mood elevating effect gumdrops had on Amy but her siblings weren't and always pestered their parents for them so there would always be some in the house in case Amy needed them.
Amy quickly grabbed a handful and shoved them in her mouth in a very unladylike manner. As she chewed the tasty treats her sniffles began to subside and she felt just a little calmer. Robbie and Ashley took handfuls of gumdrops as well but only popped a couple at a time in their mouths.
"It's gonna be alright you know," Robbie told her matter-of-factly.
"No it won't," Amy declared resolutely. "First of all, I don't have a clue how I'm gonna take care of a baby and stay in school. It's not like I can afford daycare or anything else a baby needs without a job and what kind of job can I get that'll let me work only after school?" Ashley shrugged as though these were minor details to be ironed out.
"So you'll find a job that'll let you work after school so you can pay for daycare and that'll let you stay in school." Amy rolled her eyes and popped several more gumdrops in her mouth.
"Ash, babies need all kinds of things and that takes a lot of money, money I don't have." Robbie laughed.
"Amy, it's not like mom and dad aren't gonna help you out as much as they can. I'm sure they'll help you buy some of the things you need if you can't afford them. It's not like they're gonna turn their backs on their grandkid. Besides, if you're so worried about the money then I'll get a job and help you out." Amy turned shocked eyes towards her brother.
"You can't! The coach said you could get full ride sports scholarships for college! If you get an afterschool job than you can't play sports! I won't let you do that!" Robbie leaned forward and kissed her forehead to calm her down a little.
"I didn't say an afterschool job, gummie, I said a job. I can get a part-time weekend job. Family comes first, Amy."
"But it's not your responsibility to help me take care of a baby. It's mine and right now I don't see how I can do it." She started to tear up and her eyes filled with worry. "Maybe it's better if the baby's adopted," she said dejectedly. "This kid deserves a mom and dad who love them and I can't give my baby that because I don't want anything to do with the dad, a guy who doesn't want anything to do with me, well, anymore."
"So don't have anything to do with him," Ashley said matter-of-factly, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Amy looked at her uncertainly and then popped several more gumdrops in her mouth. "I went online and looked it up. You can get him to sign a declaration giving up his rights as a dad and then you don't have to deal with him unless you want to." Robbie nodded in agreement.
"You should totally get him to sign something like that. Where do we get it?" Ashley smiled and then left the room for a moment. She returned holding a form.
"I already printed it out. It's totally legit too, straight from the city's family court website. All you gotta do is get his signature, take it to the courthouse to get notarized and then you're free of the guy." Amy took the piece of paper and read through it quickly. She popped a few more gumdrops in her mouth as she mulled over the idea of being free of Ricky Underwood for the rest of her life, legally at least. The mountain of gumdrops had dwindled to a small molehill, mostly thanks to Amy but at least she was much calmer and was starting to think more rationally instead of being ruled by her emotions.
"I need to talk to mom and dad about this." She grabbed another handful of gumdrops as she made her way downstairs, her siblings right behind her to help offer explanations and moral support. They found Anne making meal preparations in the kitchen but didn't see George anywhere. "Mom, where's dad?"
"Looking for something in the garage," she answered without stopping her task. Robbie quickly went into the garage and asked his dad to join them in the kitchen.
"What's up?" George asked when he entered the kitchen, heading to the sink to wash his hands.
"I wanna talk to you about something," Amy stated.
"Oh?"
"I wanna ask Ricky to give up his parental rights so I won't have to deal with him." Anne stopped grating vegetables and looked at her daughter with surprise.
"Are you thinking you want the baby adopted?" Anne asked.
"WHAT!? WHY!?" George bellowed. Anne narrowed her eyes at her husband.
"It's her choice, George, and if that's what she thinks is the right thing to do then she's gonna need Ricky to waive his parental rights." George sputtered for a moment and then looked at Amy.
"But you don't have to give the baby up for adoption, sweetie, you can take care of him or her, I know you can, you just have to believe that."
"George!" Anne scolded. Robbie interjected before his parents started a full blow argument.
"She hasn't decided anything about the baby, just that she doesn't want anything else to do with someone who doesn't want anything else to do with her." Ashley chimed in.
"And I was looking around online while she was at her appointment about babies and stuff and found a legal form that once Ricky signs it will mean Amy doesn't have to deal with him while she's figuring out what she wants to do about the kid, unless she wants to." Ashley's explanation pacified George but Anne was unconvinced.
"Amy, you realize that once you tell Ricky he's the father of your baby he may decide he doesn't want the baby adopted. Are you prepared for that possibility?"
"Trust me, mom, he's not interested in me and he's certainly not interested in raising a baby with me," Amy told her, a note of bitterness and hurt in her voice.
"If you're sure this is the next step you wanna take then we'll need to meet with Ricky and his parents, and by 'we' I mean you, me and your father." Robbie crossed his arms and pouted and Ashley rolled her eyes.
"So we can't meet and bash the guy who hurt our sister? So unfair, mom," Ashley proclaimed, rolling her eyes. George tried to hide a smile at Ashley's statement, having no problem with his other two children giving this jerk a hard time about what he'd done to Amy. He caught Anne's eyes and quickly composed himself back into a responsible adult.
"Your mom's right. The fewer people at this uncomfortable meeting the better."
"I'll call the school and ask the counselor to arrange a meeting." Amy blanched.
"Do you have to tell the counselor?" She whined. Anne smiled at her sympathetically.
"Amy, at some point you're going to start showing and the counselor's gonna find out." For some reason that fact had completely escaped Amy's mind.
"I don't have to go back to Grant though, right? Aren't there schools for girls like me?"
"Girls like what?" George asked, his anger rising again, but only slightly.
"You know. Girls who are….knocked up, and not married. I can't go back to school and have everyone staring at me and talking about me."
"Amy, you have every right to go back to your high school if you want to and anyone who wants to talk about you just because you're pregnant isn't worth the time of day anyway," Anne told her firmly.
"She's right, Amy," Robbie agreed. Suddenly he smiled. "Besides, your best friends go to Grant and you've got three big brothers who will look out for you. We won't let people get away with giving you a hard time." Amy was suddenly overcome with the need to hug her brother and did so. There were times it was kinda annoying having Robbie constantly tell guys to stay away from her but there were also times, like now, when it was such a relief knowing she had a big brother looking out for her.
"Thanks, Robbie."
"Anytime, gummie," he told her, kissing the top of her head. Anne began rummaging through a small drawer in the kitchen and moments later retrieved the school directory. She flipped open to the page for the high school and dialed the number for the counselor.
"I'll call the counselor now and I'll let you know how soon we'll be able to have this meeting." The teens nodded and headed back up to Amy's room to finish off the gumdrops while George returned to the garage to continue his quest for some unknown item. The counselor picked up on the second ring.
"Mark Molina speaking."
"Hello. My name is Anne Juergens, my daughter Amy is a freshman this year. She has a problem involving another student and my husband and I'd like to have a meeting with him and his parents, and of course our daughter would be present as well."
"Alright. What's the name of the other student?"
"Ricky Underwood."
"Okay, Mrs. Juergens. What exactly is the problem?"
"I'd rather not discuss it over the phone."
"Alright. Can you tell me how long ago the problem began?" There was a pause as Anne considered her answer. "Mrs. Juergens?"
"Again I'd rather not explain over the phone."
"Very well. I'll contact his parents and see when they would be available for a meeting. Is there any preferred day or time that works best for you and your husband?"
"The sooner the better, please."
"Very well. I'll call you after I've spoken to them."
"Thank you." Mark hung up and then went to the front office to pull the names and contact numbers of Ricky's parents from his file. Having copied down the names and numbers, he returned the file to its location and then returned to his office to make the calls. As both parents had work numbers listed, he called those first. He was able to reach Ricky's mother, Margaret, first.
"Hello, Mr. Molina is it?" she asked politely when she picked up the phone.
"Yes, ma'am."
"What can I do for you Mr. Molina?"
"I've received a complaint from the parents of another student about a problem their child has that involves your son. They would like to meet with you, your husband and your son to discuss it."
"Did they say exactly what the problem was?"
"The parent wasn't comfortable discussing it over the phone." Margaret sighed.
"Mr. Molina, is this other student a female?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because if it is then I have a pretty good guess as to why they didn't want to discuss the issue over the phone. Did the parents say when they wanted to meet?"
"The sooner the better."
"I can be at the school in twenty minutes. And I'll call my husband on the way to see if he can meet me there."
"Very well. I'll let the other parents know."
"I'll see you soon." Margaret ended the call and speed dialed her husband's direct line. Luckily he was in his office finishing paperwork and picked up when he saw her name on his caller ID.
"Hello, sweetheart. Is everything alright?"
"No, Shakur, it's not. The parents of another student called the school and requested a meeting with us and Ricky but they didn't want to disclose to the counselor what the issue was over the phone, which leads me to image it's a female student he got mixed up with. Anyway, the counselor just called me and I'm on my way to the school."
"I'll meet you there," Shakur replied with a tired voice. What is it this time, Ricky? Meanwhile Mr. Molina called the Juergens household, as promised. George picked up.
"Hello?"
"Yes, may I speak to a Mr. or Mrs. Juergens."
"This is Mr. Juergens."
"Hello, sir. I spoke to your wife earlier about setting up a meeting with Ricky Underwood and his parents. His mother is on her way here and should arrive in about twenty minutes."
"We're on our way." George hung up without saying goodbye and turned around just as Amy came into the kitchen.
"On our way where?"
"The counselor called. Ricky's parents are on their way to the school right now. ANNE!"
"WHAT!" Anne called down the stairs. She was busy putting away freshly washed and folded towels in the linen closet. George went to the bottom of the stairs and yelled up to her.
"THE COUNSELOR GUY CALLED. HIS PARENTS ARE ON THEIR WAY TO THE SCHOOL RIGHT NOW!"
"BE DOWN IN A MINUTE!" True to her word Anne came down the steps a minute later and placed the now empty laundry basket on the kitchen island. Having heard the shouted exchange, Robbie and Ashley came to see them off. Anne quickly grabbed her purse and Amy double checked that she had the form folded and in her own purse before the three of them quickly rushed out the door.