Judy Christenberry - Rebecca's Little Secret

“No! I wouldn’t do that. But I feel guilty for not having told him before now.”

“Will’s right, dear. Better late than never. I’m sure he’ll understand when you explain.”

Rebecca wasn’t sure Jeff would understand. She felt sure he would acknowledge Joey as his son, but he might never speak to her again.

“Are you sure?” she asked faintly, giving them one last chance to tell her she should run away and hide. Joey had been her only family for so long. She was a little worried about sharing him, even with Jeff. Jeff and his wife.

“If you want to do the right thing, Rebecca,” Will said slowly, “then, yes, you have to tell Jeff about Joey.”

“I know. I just dread facing him.”

“I’ll go with you when you tell him if you want me to,” Will offered.

Rebecca actually smiled at his gesture. “Thank you, Will, but I think I’d better face the music alone. Though I guess I’ll be looking for a new job after Monday.”

“We’ll help you find one, dear,” Vivian assured her. “There has to be another job available.”

All Rebecca could do was smile gratefully. Already she was struggling with how she would face Jeff and tell him about his son.

JEFF JACOBS WAS DISTRACTED all weekend long. He tried to hide it, but he felt sure Chelsea realized it. And the reason for his distraction. He’d tried to explain the surprise of seeing Rebecca there in his own office after having looked for her five years ago. But he hadn’t succeeded.

He needed time to absorb Rebecca’s return to his life. And he needed the answers to a lot of questions. Like why had her parents kicked her out of their house. Her father had been difficult, but he hadn’t threatened to disown her before. But when Jeff had called the house, her father had told him she didn’t live there anymore. Then he’d hung up.

Jeff had called back the next day when he knew her mother would be the only one at home. She had said the same thing, only in a nicer tone of voice. But she’d added that she couldn’t say anything else.

He’d flown up the next weekend and visited their old haunts. He’d already discovered that Rebecca was no longer attending classes at university. He checked with Information, too, but she wasn’t listed. He even went so far as to check with the police.

He’d come back to Dallas distraught. His uncle had just lost his wife to cancer, after their trip to Arkansas. That was the reason Jeff hadn’t managed to call Rebecca right away. He’d done what he could for his aunt and uncle. After all, they had taken him in and raised him.

So he and his uncle mourned together. After a year or so, his uncle began to push him to date. Jeff did so, because he understood his uncle’s reasoning. He met several nice women, but still, he kept Rebecca in his heart. Gradually his memories dulled.

After a while, he began to think about his future. After his uncle’s death, he realized how important family was. When he met Chelsea, he didn’t “fall in love” with her, as he had with Rebecca, but she was a nice woman and they became friends.

When she pushed for something more than friendship, he agreed and proposed marriage. Now he wondered why he’d done such a thing.

When he got to work Monday morning, he questioned Harriet about Rebecca.

“I only know she’s Vivian’s daughter’s sister. And she’s living with them. She’s a lovely girl.”

“Yes, she is. When does she come in to work?”

“At one, after her classes.”

“Fine, I want to talk to her when she comes in.”

“Yes, sir.” Harriet didn’t make any comment, but Jeff avoided her knowing gaze and escaped to his office. He didn’t need anyone to remind him about Chelsea.

He settled into his office, trying to concentrate on business while he waited to see Rebecca again.

AFTER REBECCA’S LAST CLASS, she darted into the ladies’ room and combed her hair and powdered her nose. It was going to be hard enough to face Jeff without knowing her nose was shining. When she’d done all she could to improve her appearance, she reluctantly gathered her books and walked the two blocks to her job.

As she entered the office, she immediately said to Harriet, “I need to speak to Jeff as soon as I can.”

“Really? Well, he wants to talk to you, too. Just a minute.” She picked up the phone and said, “Jeff, Rebecca is here and would like to meet with you as soon as possible.”

After she hung up the phone, she said, “Go right in, Rebecca.”

Rebecca had expected questions from Harriet, and she hadn’t been sure how she would answer them. But there were no questions. Oh, well, she would face questions when she talked to Jeff.

He stood and came across the room to greet her. “Come in, Becca.” He reached for her, as if he were about to hug her again.

Rebecca drew back. She couldn’t bear such close contact with what she had to tell him. “I—I need to talk to you.”

Jeff frowned. “Of course, I want to talk to you, too.”

Without waiting to be asked, Rebecca sat down in one of the big leather chairs in front of his desk. She didn’t think her legs would continue to hold her up.

To her surprise, Jeff sat down in the other chair, close to her. “Aren’t—aren’t you going to sit in your chair behind the desk?”

He laughed. “This isn’t a legal matter, is it? We’re just friends talking, aren’t we?”

Rebecca didn’t smile. And she couldn’t answer his question. Looking away from him, she said, “Look, Jeff. I’m sure you have many questions for me, but I need to tell you the truth about why my parents disowned me.”

“Okay, but whatever it was that you did, I doubt that I’ll agree with their decision. That’s not how parents should behave.”

“It’s not something I did,” she protested indignantly. “It’s something we did.”

He stared at her.

Without waiting for him to ask a question, she stumbled on, hoping their conversation would soon be over. “After you left, I discovered I was pregnant.”

Jeff continued to stare at her, horror dawning in his eyes. “That’s why your parents—damn! I’m sorry. I should have been there for you. I guess you had no choice about what to do. Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because it was obvious your aunt and uncle considered me unsuitable. If my own parents thought me white trash, I figured your relatives would, too.”

“Surely you didn’t think I would think you below me?”

“I don’t know. I was in shock. I had a little savings, and my mother slipped me some money. It was difficult at first.”

He reached over to take her hand, but she wouldn’t let him touch her.

“I’m sorry, Becca. I wish I’d known and we wouldn’t have lost our baby.”

She stared at him. “You think I had an abortion? You think I killed our baby?” Her voice rose in horror.

“I understand. You were all alone. You didn’t have many options.”

“I came to tell you that my son will be four on October 2. I don’t know if you have any interest in him at all, only learning about him now. That’s fine. I thought I owed it to you to tell you that you are a father.” She got up out of her chair and headed for the door.

He grabbed her arm, stopping her. “I have a son? You’re telling me you had the baby and all this time you neglected to tell me that I had a son?”

“Yes,” Rebecca said succinctly, a mixture of guilt and irritation affecting her.

“And you think I might not care? Do you think I’ve changed that much, Rebecca? Do you not know me at all? Do you think I don’t miss having family, someone of my own blood? Yes, I want a part in my son’s life.

“In fact, I think you owe me the next four years, since you managed to take the first four years without me.”