Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
Garrick thought he knew everything about Happily Inc, but he was wrong. He never would have guessed the hospital offered birthing classes to expectant mothers.
“Welcome,” a fifty-something woman said when he and Joylyn entered. “I’m Serenity, your instructor.”
Serenity? he mouthed, looking at his daughter.
She rolled her eyes, then looked at Serenity. “Hi. I’m Joylyn Kaberline.”
He held out his hand. “I’m Garrick.”
“Joylyn and Garrick Kaberline,” Serenity said, checking her clipboard.
“Not Kaberline,” Joylyn said quickly. “I mean that’s my last name, but it’s not his.” She sighed. “He’s not my husband. Chandler’s still deployed. He should be back before the baby’s born. This is my dad.”
Garrick did his best not to chuckle. “I’m standing in for Chandler.”
Serenity offered him a glowing smile. “What a wonderfully supportive thing to do for your daughter.” She patted Joylyn’s arm. “You’re a lucky girl to have such a caring father.”
“Thank you,” she muttered.
Serenity pointed to a few empty chairs. “Have a seat. We’ll get started in a few minutes.”
“Did you hear that?” Garrick asked as they walked into the room. “I’m wonderfully supportive.”
“Be quiet.”
“You’re a lucky girl.”
“Stop it.”
But she was laughing as she spoke.
They sat next to a couple in their thirties. The very pregnant woman smiled at them. “Hi. I’m Jill and this is my husband Jack.” She held up a hand. “Please don’t say anything. We’ve heard it all before.”
“I won’t say anything,” Joylyn promised. “I’m Joylyn and this is my dad. My husband is deployed so he’s filling in.”
Jill looked at him. “Are you? That’s so nice. My dad would never do that. You’re really lucky to have him.”
Joylyn groaned. “So I’ve been told.”
Garrick winked at her. This had been a great idea. While he was always happy to help out his daughter, he hadn’t expected so much praise. To be honest, he was feeling pretty damned good about his parenting skills right about now.
The glow lasted nearly thirty minutes, which was about the time it took Serenity to get the meeting started and everyone to introduce themselves.
Less than two minutes into the actual instruction part of the evening his stomach was in knots, and he had a very strong need to wait for Joylyn in the safety of the parking lot.
He’d been fine with the course outline at first. The birthing process was a given, and dealing with pain, while not pleasant, wasn’t a surprise.
But “Common Complications”? That was wrong.
Complications shouldn’t be common, and while he knew that wasn’t what the title meant, he didn’t want to think about any complications when it came to Joylyn and his soon-to-be grandson.
“Finally, we’ll tour the maternity ward and, if you’re having your baby here, get you preregistered.” Serenity smiled. “One less thing for you to deal with while you’re in labor.”
Joylyn leaned close. “Dad, are you okay? You’ve gone white.”
“I’m fine. Just paying attention.”
She didn’t look convinced. “If you’re this tense now, how are you going to get through the videos?”
“I have no idea.”
An hour into the evening, they took a fifteen-minute break. When Joylyn returned from her bathroom visit, she waddled back to her seat.
“I’m feeling so much better,” she said. “Having this information makes me feel like I know what I’m doing. Or I will. I should have signed up for a class a long time ago.”
He stared at her. “Are you insane? You’d want to know sooner? Why?”
She smiled. “I just told you. Dad, are you going to make it through this? We have three more nights.”
“I’m fine,” he said automatically.
He was doing his best to take in all he’d learned. The entire process was iffy at best, and they hadn’t even touched on “complications.”
“What was God thinking?” he demanded. “You can’t do this. There’s no way something that big can pass through any part of your body. There are major design flaws. And how does the baby tell your body it’s time? It’s a baby. It can’t communicate.”
Joylyn grinned. “Dad, there’s no talking. It’s a chemical thing, not an email.”
“Still. The whole process is beyond comprehension.” He looked at her. “You are the bravest person I know. I mean that. You, especially, but all women. Why would you do this? If it were up to me, the human race would be done. I’d refuse. There is no way I would go through any part of having a baby.”
She patted his arm. “I know. It’s okay. I’ve got this.”
“I’m glad someone has, because it sure isn’t me.”
***
Wynn walked into the kitchen the next morning to find Hunter already up. He was sitting at the kitchen table, still in his pajamas. His face was blotchy, and he looked like he hadn’t slept.
Her first instinct was to rush over and check if he had a fever, but she knew that wasn’t the problem. He’d been thinking about what he did and wrestling with the consequences. Now she was going to find out if she’d been right to trust him with the decision about what to do.
She sat across from him and waited. He drew in a breath, then looked at her.
“Can you meet me at the JROTC office after school?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I’m going to tell them what I did.” He swallowed. “I don’t think they’re going to let me into the program after they find out about how I lied and stuff, but telling them is the right thing to do.”
Relief was instant. She did her best not to show her feelings, nor did she rush over to hug him. He had to manage this on his own.
“All right,” she said. “You’ll make an appointment and text me the time?”
He nodded.
“Okay, then. Want some breakfast?”
“I’m not hungry.”
He rose and walked out of the kitchen. She stared after him, her heart aching.
Nothing about this was easy, but she knew it was the right decision.
Hunter would learn from what he’d done—at least that was the plan.
As much as she didn’t like the idea, she was also going to have to punish him herself.
She wanted to say not getting into the program was enough, but she knew there had to be more.
He’d in essence lied to her—and he’d betrayed her trust. That had to be dealt with.
She turned on the coffeepot and thought how life had been so much easier when he’d been little and most of his transgressions could be solved with a time-out.
***
Major Orin Rumsey was a stern looking man, with graying hair and glasses.
Wynn would guess he was in his late fifties—still fit and strong, and plenty intimidating.
His desk was neat. The only seemingly out-of-place object was a small ceramic cat wearing a red bow tie and glasses, sitting next to his computer.
The incongruous item added a touch of whimsy to an otherwise plain space.
As promised, Wynn met Hunter at the JROTC office just after three. Hunter was pale and she suspected he was shaking, but she didn’t try to comfort him. She was there as a witness and possibly to answer any questions, but this was her son’s meeting.
Major Rumsey smiled at them as he indicated chairs in front of his desk.
“What can I do for you, Hunter?” the older man asked.
“I need to withdraw my application.”
The major raised his eyebrows. “All right. Want to tell me why?”
Hunter looked at her, then at the floor, before raising his gaze to the instructor. “I lied on my application.”
Wynn gave the other man credit. His expression didn’t change at all.
“In what way?” he asked.
“I faked my mom’s signature.”
“I see.” Major Rumsey looked at her. “So you didn’t know Hunter had applied.”
“Not until I got a call from Camilla, asking a few questions.”
The major’s expression turned thoughtful. “I’m sorry to hear that, Hunter. Why didn’t you talk to your mother about the program?”
His shoulders hunched. “I don’t know. I really wanted to do it, and I was afraid she’d say no. A couple of my friends wanted to apply and their moms said they couldn’t.”
Major Rumsey kept his gaze on the teen. “But you never discussed the program with your mother?”
“No. I thought...” He sighed. “I was wrong. I should have had the conversation with her. She’s not unreasonable. I just kind of reacted and that was dumb. Then I signed her name.” His shoulders hunched more. “I don’t know why I thought that was a good idea. It wasn’t.”
He straightened. “It’s all on me. She didn’t know any of it. Once she found out, she said she was in an impossible situation. If she ratted me out, I’d get kicked out of the program. If she didn’t, she was teaching me the wrong lesson.”
“I see. So how did you come to be in my office today?”
“She said it was up to me. That she would do whatever I decided.”
Major Rumsey looked at Wynn. “You took a chance.”
She managed a slight smile. “I hoped for the best.”
“And it happened.” He glanced between them. “I assume that your presence here today means you’re not opposed to JROTC.”
“No. I’m not sure what I would have thought before, but from what I’ve read about the program, I’m impressed. I think Hunter would have done well here.”
Major Rumsey turned his attention back to Hunter. “How old are you, son?”
“Fourteen.”
One corner of his mouth turned up. “I made a lot of mistakes when I was fourteen, and they all had consequences. What have you learned from this?”
Hunter shifted in his seat. “That I need to tell the truth. That there’s a price for screwing up and it’s really high.
” He stared at Major Rumsey. “I really wanted to do this. I think I would have been good at it. I like the training and the guys already in the program. I wish...” He hung his head. “I’m sorry.”
“How are you going to punish him?” Major Rumsey asked her. “Take away his phone?”
“That’s an ordinary punishment. This isn’t an ordinary infraction.
” She glanced at Hunter. “I’d planned to talk you about this later, but as it came up, I’m thinking you can pressure wash and paint the deck in the backyard over your holiday break and do twenty hours of community service between now and the end of January. ”