The Newcomer

“I wonder if you know—Downy and Ashley broke up.”

There was a heavy sigh from Marjorie. “I did hear that. I can’t say I’m surprised. I thought that when they were apart for a while, at different schools, it might end up like this. That’s too bad for Ashley, Gina.”

“She’s devastated. She said Downy has a new girlfriend.”

Marjorie sighed again. “Well, look, Crawford is in a new place now, a different place. Their worlds...you know what I mean. Their worlds are now orbiting different suns. There’s college and there’s high school.”

“He promised to take her to her prom,” Gina said because she just couldn’t help it, though she didn’t have any intention of Marjorie helping with that problem.

“I know. I have to be honest with you, Gina—I never approved of that idea. Crawford should be spending what little money he has for dating on college events, fraternity events, not on high school dances.”

Gina stiffened. “Well, then, perhaps he shouldn’t have promised,” she said. “Poor Ashley.”

“Oh, Gina, I do feel sorry for Ashley, I do. I’m sure she’ll be all right.”

“She’s not all right at the moment. She’s shattered. Heartbroken. Downy wasn’t very nice to her.”

“Poor thing. But I worried about this from the start. Crawford is quite the catch at State—handsome, athletic, fun, smart. I knew it was only a matter of time before some pretty college girl caused him to forget the girl back home. Ashley really shouldn’t have pinned her hopes on him.”

Gina felt her heart squeeze. “Maybe not,” she said weakly. For a moment she felt as though she should have found a way to prevent this romance, a way to keep Ashley from being hurt.

“Despite what Crawford and Ashley might’ve thought, I knew this wasn’t a lasting thing. The age difference...”

“But Downy told me you knew they were sexually active. Involved. Committed.”

“I found packages of condoms. It broke my heart. I was extremely disappointed by that. In my day young ladies were much more cautious with their bodies, with their virtue.”

Gina’s eyes grew round and her neck nearly snapped from straightening so fast. She was instantly on her feet. “And in your day, were young men also cautious?”

Marjorie actually laughed. “I wish I could say they were. You’d understand if you were the mother of sons. Boys—a different animal entirely. Which is why it’s important to raise young ladies with strict standards. You know what I mean, Gina.”

She hoped she wouldn’t break a molar, clenching her teeth so hard. “I’m sure I have no idea what you mean.”

“I mean that invariably it’s up to the girl.”

Gina was speechless. “You’re not serious,” she finally said.

“I couldn’t be more serious!” Marjorie insisted. “Men are men—they’re single-minded and a little crazy. But my boys were raised proper—if the girl says no, the answer is no. They’re not villains, they’re just men.”

“You really can’t believe this,” Gina said.

“Gina, perhaps Ashley thought there wouldn’t be any consequences for having sexual relations at the tender age of sixteen. And as you can see from your poor darling’s broken heart, having a baby out of wedlock isn’t the only consequence.”

Gina felt her face burn. “You didn’t just say that to me,” she said. “You didn’t.”

“Oh, Gina, please! I meant no offense, it’s just that—”

“Is that what you teach your sons, Marjorie? That if they can pressure a girl into giving it up, all’s fair? It’s not the boy’s fault or responsibility?”

“No! Oh, God, no!” Then she was quiet for a second before she muttered, “I wouldn’t teach them such a thing. I’m not surprised that they think that way, however. I live in a house full of males. For all I know, my husband could have conveyed the message.”

“If he did, he should be hung up by his balls!” Gina snapped, disconnecting the call. She sank to the bench once more. She leaned over, elbows on her knees, her head resting in her hands. She couldn’t believe comments like that could still be so painful. And she knew that wasn’t how she was commonly regarded in this town—the unwed mother. She knew she and her mother were both respected citizens here. Ashley, a lovely girl and good student, was thought of highly.

But there were still a few, like Marjorie, who put it all on the woman. As if a girl gets pregnant all alone.

For a moment, she felt hot and damp at the same time. Mortified. Humiliated, as if it had been yesterday that she’d said to Carrie, Oh, Mama, I’m pregnant! And I don’t know what to do!

“Hey,” a familiar deep male voice said.

She looked up to see Mac standing in front of her. Looking down at her.

“You okay?”

She let out a breath and stood. “I called Marjorie Downy. Stupid thing to do.”

“What happened?”

“From her perspective, Ashley held him down and forced herself on him and he is completely blameless in this situation. Kind of a boys-will-be-boys attitude. And she couldn’t convey that without a dig or two at me for bearing a child out of wedlock.”

“Did she actually say that?”

“Pretty much. In her day girls were held to a higher standard and her boys were raised to understand that if a girl says no, it’s no. And having a child out of wedlock isn’t the only consequence of being sexually involved. In other words—”

“Jesus,” he said. “She’s as stupid as she is ugly.”

That almost made Gina smile. “I should never have called her. I knew Marjorie and I weren’t on the same wavelength. I always liked Downy, even before he started dating Ash. I think he’s basically a good kid. I want to think this just went the predictable course—he grew away from her when he went to college and they broke up. And yes, it hurts her terribly, but she’ll have more than one boyfriend before all is said and done.”

“Downy’s not a bad kid. But his mother is as dumb as a box full of hammers.”

“Yeah, Downy’s all right, even if he did upset my girl. And I bet in a few weeks I’ll stop hoping he gets a disease and his dick falls off.”

Mac smiled at her. “I need to take you somewhere. Dinner, maybe. Or just out of town for a few hours. Or maybe to some sleazy motel with mirrors on the ceiling—but if you say no, hey, nothing will ever happen....”

She put a grateful hand on his arm. “I gotta get my girl out of bed first, Mac. She’s a mess. Then I’ll be ready for a dinner out of town and some time alone with you.”

“You know all you have to do is snap your fingers.”

* * *

Lou McCain had raised her nephew since his parents—her brother and sister-in-law—were killed in an accident. He had been only ten years old at the time and lived with her until he married. And for about the past ten years she had lived with him to help him raise his three children. They had moved to Thunder Point from Coquille four years ago when Mac had been given the Thunder Point substation to manage for the Sheriff’s Department. When they first discussed the possible move, Lou hadn’t been very keen on it—she’d lived in Coquille her whole life. She had a good teaching job and friends there. She suggested he commute to Thunder Point instead of moving there, which is what other deputies tended to do.

But the move had turned out to be a good idea on many levels. Lou was able to get a teaching job at the middle school right away—eighth grade English. She liked the town and the people. Eve’s instant friendship with Ashley had resulted in Lou’s friendship with Carrie and Gina, two women she’d grown very close to. And of course, there was the simple fact that in a little town like Thunder Point, a place with only a small fishing industry, she and Mac could pool their resources and afford a home large enough for himself, three kids, two dogs and an aunt.

Lou knew a lot about kids. She was working on raising a second generation of them, for one thing. She was a very intuitive teacher, for another. Mac’s kids, her nieces and nephew, hadn’t presented too many challenges yet. But they were definitely getting there. Eve was pretty serious about Landon Dupre. There hadn’t been too much drama yet, but as Lou knew only too well, that was probably coming—teenage love could be complicated. In fact, Eve’s best friend was going through it right now; Ashley was devastated by her breakup and was acting out in bizarre and frightening ways. Ashley needed an intervention.

To that end, Lou grabbed ten-year-old Dee Dee and twelve-year-old Ryan after school and took them with her to the diner. This wasn’t exactly rare for Lou—she enjoyed stopping off there for a cup of coffee on the way home from school at least once a week on days the kids didn’t have lessons or practices of some sort.

Ryan and Dee Dee ran straight to their favorite booth. “Can you get those hellions a couple of colas and an order of fries?” she asked Gina.