With Eric having been kidnapped, and the State of California having dropped all charges against him – including that of Erica, who recanted her allegations against her uncle – Hope saw no point in staying in Glenoak. So later the same day, she flew back to Saint Louis. Upon arrival, she ran into Roxanne. After sharing a hug, Hope thanked her sister-in-law for helping Ruthie take care of Rita in her absence. Roxanne then boarded a plane for LAX.
Four weeks later, both Ashleigh and Samantha went into labour. While they were in their delivery bays with their respective husbands, Peter, Ruthie, Felicity, and Hope were in the waiting room, along with James, Heather, and Rita, who had managed to get out of school early so they could attend the birth of their cousins. After a while, two teenage girls walked by. For a moment, the children didn't recognize them. But then, James said, "Charlotte? Is it really you?"
During spring break, Charlotte went the second to last stage of her physical transfiguration to a woman – breast augmentation surgery. She had gone from a B-cup to a C-cup.
Fighting hard not to gawk, James said, "Wow, you look great! Who's your friend there?"
"Hi, Jim, girls ... and thanks," said Charlotte. "This is my girlfriend, Brenda Carlton. Brenda, these are my friends, James, Heather, and Rita – they're siblings."
"Pleased to meet you," said Brenda.
"What are you doing here?" asked Heather.
"Just post-op, making sure my new boobs healed properly," said Charlotte. "And also, I visited the chaplaincy office, asking for a minister to pray for me before I have my reassignment surgery this summer."
"Did they assign someone?" asked Rita.
"Actually, I asked for one in particular," said Charlotte. "Your aunt, Tamara."
"Tammy?" asked Felicity, surprised. "Well, I think she's a great choice. She's very empathetic, and practical as well."
"Well, if you don't mind, Brenda," said Peter, "can you tell us something about yourself? I don't recall you or your parents being members of our church."
"I live on a ranch about a half hour out from Saint Louis," said Brenda. "I bus in because Charlotte's high school has a gifted track, which I'm on. We've been together for about three years."
"Any plans together?" asked Ruthie.
"We're getting married the summer of next year, before we head off to Texas A&M. We're doing that mainly to make sure we have the same dorm. And we've already gotten prospective athletic scholarships."
"Wow ... congratulations, on both counts!" said Hope. "I hope you find happiness in your marriage. If you don't mind my asking, what are your majors going to be ... and what sports?"
"I'm going into equestrian," said Charlotte. "Since it's a co-ed sport by nature, there will be no issues as to having an 'unfair advantage' having been born male. I love the feeling of jumping over fences, and the fraternity the sport has. And my major will be sports psychology."
"My major will be veterinarian medicine," said Brenda. "And I've gotten a rodeo scholarship."
"The NCAA has a rodeo league?" asked James in disbelief.
"Mostly schools in the Upper Midwest and Southwest, but yes. And while there is a separate women's division, I can compete against the boys. Do, in fact." Brenda smiled.
"Well, good luck to you both," said Peter. "You deserve to be proud of yourselves."
A commotion emerged from a set of sliding doors, First came out Sam and Ashleigh, with their newborn daughter, Harriet. Then emerged David and Samantha, and their twins, Ryan and Abigail.
The reactions of the family, as well as Brenda and Charlotte, were as what could be predicted. All managed to hold back tears of joy. Except for Rita, who became emotional.
"What is it, Rita?" Hope asked her daughter.
"It's just my birth parents had no siblings, meaning I had no cousins, until you and Ruthie adopted me," said Rita. "Gaining a whole bunch of sibs and cousins with one signature was a big deal, the biggest. But to see cousins before me, like this ..." She trailed off.
James, anticipating what his sister was going to say next, said, "Yeah, sis. It's cool."
There followed a few minutes of silence as everyone inspected their new family members. Then Ruthie's phone rang. It was Lucy.
"Hey, Luce, you picked the right time to call!" said Ruthie happily. "They're here, and they're perfect ... "
What followed was Lucy talking rapidly.
"Whoa, Luce, slow down ... you're talking a mile a minute!" said Ruthie. "What's going on?"
One minute of silence followed. Then two. Three. It was a full four minutes before Ruthie said, "Okay, Luce, I'll tell them."
As Ruthie hung up, Peter said, "What is it, sweetheart?"
"Dad's been found," said Ruthie. "He's alive, and none the worse for wear."
"Praise Jesus!" said Felicity. "That's just what we've been praying for." She was sure her unborn son was leaping for joy inside of her.
"I wouldn't be too enthused, sister," said Ruthie. "The devil is in the details, and this one is really complicated."
"How so?" asked Charlotte. Eric's kidnapping had been national news. She and Brenda had been praying for his safe return as much as the Camden family had been.
"Well," said Ruthie, "he was recovered, and the kidnapper who had him the whole time was arrested on the spot. Her name is Wanda Pinkerton."
"Dad's dermatologist?" asked David. "What does she have against him?"
"I know," said Hope groaning. Her belly was in a grumbling mode. She rubbed it to make sure her unborn son was alright, then said, "I should have seen it as soon as I got the news he had been snatched. Why didn't I?"
"What is it, pal?" asked Peter.
"Do you remember when I bailed out your father," said Hope, turning to the adult siblings, "that the first thing I asked of him was list all the women he had fucked."
"Sure," said Sam. "You reckoned if you could get women to testify on his behalf, that he treated them at least with respect if not love, it would help his case."
"Yes," said Hope. "During pretrial motions, the judge ruled the defence could only call four character witnesses, to save the court's time. So I went through my notes trying to figure out which women would make the best cases for him. But even before that, Eric told me there was one woman who was not to be contacted under any circumstances. Wanda Pinkerton. He insisted their relationship, which lasted six months while he was jumping in bed with a half dozen other women, was entirely consensual. But she would call out his philandering, which might sink his defence.
"Something didn't seem quite right. So one evening, I knocked on Dr. Pinkerton's door. She was more than willing to talk. But coming right behind her was someone else. And I had my answer."
"Dad has a love child!" said Ruthie. She knew this from what Lucy had told her, but she didn't know the gender. "He or she?"
"She," said Hope. "Her name is Tiffany, and she's four and a half. Very smart for her age – she has the vocabulary of a high school student. Wanda already put her into a gifted track kindergarten class."
"We have a sister," said David. "Wow. And let me guess, Dad denies paternity."
"Oh, quite the contrary," said Hope. "He was there for the birth, and his name is on the birth certificate, as well as her name – Tiffany Camden Pinkerton. But ... he refuses to pay child support."
"Now there's a motive," said Felicity.
Charlotte and Brenda looked at each other. Charlotte was familiar with the quirks of the Camden tribe, but this was out of left field.
"Why does he refuse to pay?" asked Peter.
"Because," said Hope, "he reckons that since Wanda's billings are well into the seven figures, she can afford to raise her daughter on her own, without any help."
"That's not the point!" said Brenda with anger. "If you have a hand in the creation of someone beautiful, someone who didn't have a say in it, you stand behind her. Even if it's a nominal amount, you step up. This man sounds like a coward to me."
"After several years of trying," said Ruthie, "Wanda decided to confront Dad on the first day of his scheduled trial, offering reasonable terms for a payment plan. When he refused, she pulled out a gun, dropped the ransom note on the doorstep, and dragged him into the car – after first having dropped off Tiffany at the home of her twin brother, Sonny, and saying she needed to get out of town for a few weeks. Even he didn't make the connection, until yesterday. The cops did a run on her credit cards, and she and Dad were found in a hotel room in Salem, Oregon."
"That's quite a drive from Glenoak," said Sam. "Why Salem?"
"I don't know," said Ruthie. "All I do know is, she's been arrested for kidnapping and extortion. Meanwhile, he's waived extradition in the case with Daphne. As we speak, he's on a flight to Buffalo, with a stopover in Minneapolis."
"Well, what matters is he's safe," said Felicity. "Any idea if he'll be able to bond out when he gets there?"
"Well, he'll have to find someone other than me," said Hope. "I got my money back, but I'm not going to be made a fool again. Especially after lying to me about something that important."
Brenda and Charlotte offered the family their best wishes, then headed to the cafeteria. Meanwhile, the new parents and their babies were wheeled back to their delivery bays.
"I want to be a mother someday," said Rita. "I just hope the father doesn't come from a family as complicated as this. I love being part of it, I just don't care for the bullshit."
"Amen, sister," said James. "Your Sunday school students are teen moms. What are you going to tell them this weekend?"
"Like the man said, 'Stand up for your rights, fight back, and don't let anyone rip you off!'"
