"Perhaps Mary Ellen could convince her mother to allow the baby to be born and then placed for adoption. That would solve a lot of problems."
"That won't happen," Karen said with unblinking conviction.
"Why? It sounds reasonable. Sheila probably thinks Mary Ellen wants to keep her child and as the grandma, she'll end up responsible for the child."
"No. That's not it."
"There's more?"
"It's supposed to be a secret."
"You don't sound as if it's a secret that should remain a secret."
"I guess maybe it shouldn't."
"Time to put trust to the test, if you haven't already exhausted it."
A deep sigh. "Buddy won't let her baby be born. He's afraid it's his."
The fucking son of a bitch! If he were here I'd rip his balls off and stuff them up his nose! I exhibited remarkable restraint in not saying that out loud.
"How long has that business been going on?"
"It started almost when Buddy moved in with Sheila. Mary Ellen was thirteen."
"Does Sheila know?"
"Mary Ellen thinks, maybe. Sheila knew Mary Ellen and Swifty were doing it. She bought her pills. She heard Buddy laughing about Sheila's daughter giving it away and she ought to be generous closer to home."
There was no way I'd release Mary Ellen into the hands of her mother and that son of a bitch! Let the bastards sue me.
"That's not a secret worth keeping. I wished you'd told me sooner."
"I just found out. That's why I let Mary Ellen stay here. I wanted to tell you."
"You did wrong for a very good reason, Honey," I said. "It's time for me to do the same. We're both in hot water together."
"May I sleep here tonight? My bed's not big enough for two."
I lent Karen one of my shorty pajamas which she modestly donned in my bathroom while I slipped into a flannel night gown and put out the light. I heard the soft pit-pat of feet on the steps and a door open and close down the hall. When Karen slid in beside me, we kissed good night. She bent over and kissed my belly over the covers.
"Good night little sister," she said.
God, two pregnant females in a house that was sterile just weeks ago.