PREGNANT WITHOUT A CAUSE: the serial {chapter eleven continues: Gomer?] Callie was in the kitchen getting dinner ready when the phone rang. She didnât usually answer the home phone anymore. For something important theyâd leave a message. But the caller screen said it was some adoption agency, and she wondered what in the Hull House an adoption agency was calling them for. A lively voice gave her a name, which Callie immediately forgot. Then the woman said something that made her quiver. âAre you the sister?â âThe sister of who?â âGerald?â This was a true dilemma. Her fake adoption of Booms required a complete separation of school and home because Michelle still had to deal with doctors and so forth. Most of the time it was not too difficult, but it kept Callie on her toes. This seemed to be a person to whom she should not lie, but tell as little of the actual truth as possible. âWho wants to know?â Callie pulled the eggplant dish out of the refrigerator. It was almost too heavy for one hand. âIâm from the adoption agency. Iâd like to speak to Michelle.â Callie set down the dish. Was her mom planning to give Booms up for adoption? Or had someone blown the whistle on them? Like Zam. Or Edouard. She needed to find out as much as she could. âMy mom just called. Sheâs going to be late.â âOh, thatâs unfortunate.â âYes.â âWell, all right,â said the voice. âIâll try again sometime. So how is everything with you guys?â The overly friendly tone gave Callie an unpleasant needly feeling on her neck and back. âWe are fine. But I donât think this is a good time for my mom to be adopting a child.â As Callie had hoped, the voice laughed at her childish bafflement. âOh, dear, I would think not.â âMy mom is a very good mom, and weâre really doing well.â Callie said it as sweetly as she could manage. Sheâd grown a little out of practice on the good-little-girl bit. âI take care of the baby a lot, even though Iâm not experienced, of course. And my grandma is here almost every day. We are doinâ well, I must say. Iâm even taking a child development class at school. Sometimes my grandma brings him over when Iâm there.â âTo the school?â âYeah, to play with the other babies.â Callie wanted to explain that, in case this lady had been checking up on her. She could play it either way, depending on what the lady said next. She said, âItâs wonderful that they let you do that.â That seemed pretty safe. âYeah.â âYour motherâs working a lot?â âOh, not really. Itâs spotty.â Callie turned the oven dial to 350. âBut when she needs to go, grandmaâs always there. So weâre doing fine. Nothing for anybody to be concerned about.â âThatâs good to hear.â âHow do you know my mom?â âSince youâre her daughter, I can tell you. She considered giving the baby up for adoption. Iâm just trying to follow up. What would you think of that?â âOh, god no! That would be terrible for all of us. No, we are keeping this baby. It would be terrible if someone were to take him or something.â âWho would ever take him? Your father?â Callie laughed. What was she saying? âNo, thatâs silly. My father is not Boomerâs father. He lives up in Showlow with his friend.â Static crackled in her ear, and the lady came back on. âWho did you say? Gomer? Are you talking about Gerald?â The longer this conversation went on, the more suspicious it seemed. Despite what this lady said, was her mother actually considering giving up the baby for adoption? Callie had seen the fitful bouts of depression and worry, and Callieâs foolish, so selfish fiasco of a baby shower had only made her motherâs mood worse. Or was the father making a moveâwhoever he was? âYou call the baby Gomer?â the voice prompted. Maybe if the name were hideous enough the lady would go away. âYes, Gomer. Sometimes we call him Gomer.â Callie had called him that twice now, so that qualified as sometimes. âWhat does your momâs boyfriend think of that name?â âShe doesnât have a boyfriend.â Every question could be a trap. Would it be better if Edouard were in the picture? Callie didnât see how. âThereâs a man she hangs around with, she works with on the TV show. He used to be her boyfriend last year.â âLast year?â said the voice. âLast winter? Are you speaking of, ofâŚâ âEdouard.â âYes, exactly, Edouard. How does Edouard feel about your mother keeping the baby all to herself?â Callie forced herself to laugh. âTo tell you the truth, Edouard could care less. He doesnât like kids. He likes dogs.â Perhaps she should push him further out of the picture. âIn case you are wondering, Edouard is not Geraldâs, or Gomerâs father. There may be a lot of men who it could be, but itâs definitely not Edouard.â The lady said goodbye. Too late, Callie realized her last sentence didnât come out the way she intended. Definitely not. It could be seen as an admission that her mother slept with gobs of men. That was not a horrible thing, just an untrue one. Bollocks! Gomer on over to Amazon to download PWAC--cheap!
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 14:16:11 +0000
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