“You vent on this girl?” Jack asked.
“I vented in her. She’s pregnant.”
“Well, holy shit. That was brilliant. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking we were protected. I’d been with her a couple of times before. You know—before Matt was killed. How impressed are you with my timing, huh?”
“What are you going to do?” Jack asked.
“I’m going to support her, naturally. She’s having the baby, so I’m going to do my part. I’m not going to marry her because I don’t…Aw hell, I wouldn’t be doing her any favors. I met her in a bar a while back—little over a year ago. I wasn’t seeing her regularly. I feel terrible about this.”
“Man,” Jack said.
“What’s your best advice, bud?”
“How pregnant is she?”
“It happened after I got back to Grants Pass. A couple of months now. I’m going to have to tell Vanni. Pretty soon. I tried last night, but I screwed up. And even without knowing the details, she flipped out, tore my head off just thinking I had a girl back home I hadn’t mentioned. Man, that woman has a real short fuse. She’s going to kill me. No figure of speech here—she’s good with a gun.”
“Hold on there,” Jack said. “One thing at a time. You should probably get yourself tested for STDs—do that tomorrow. If you used protection, I don’t know…maybe there’s a chance this baby isn’t yours…”
“I thought of that. Thing is, she says she hadn’t been with a guy for so long, she got a little lazy with the pills and I used a condom I’d been carrying around for months…”
“She suggest marriage?”
“Yeah, that was the first thing…”
“Listen, Einstein—what if she’s not even pregnant, huh? Outside chance, but possible. Before you make a lifetime commitment to support someone you don’t know very well, you better get all the facts. Just don’t move too fast here, pal.”
“I gotta call Vanni tonight, and tell her. I’ve got her all confused and totally furious…”
“Paul, you can’t tell her on the phone,” Jack said.
“But—”
“Paul! She’s gonna hang up on you! And then the next time you show your face, she’s going to put a bullet in your head. And Walt will help her line up her shot.”
“Well, what am I gonna do? Huh? She thinks I have a woman back home—she wouldn’t give me a chance to explain any—”
Mel appeared in the doorway, her robe covering her huge pregnant tummy. Her face was freshly scrubbed, but her hair was mussed from sleep. She gave Paul a smile, then went to Jack, sitting on his lap.
“Morning,” she said to Paul. “I heard that. I can’t wait to hear why you’re going to be shot.”
“Aw, man…”
“Relax,” Jack said. “Really, this is the person you should talk to. And she never tells. It’s infuriating.”
Paul went through the facts slowly, embarrassingly. It made his neck red. He was not able to make much eye contact with Mel while he spoke, but at the end of the story he was amazed to look into her crystal-blue eyes and find they weren’t wide with shock. “I guess you’ve heard it all, huh?” Paul asked.
“Pretty much. This must be very difficult for you, Paul,” Mel said. “You’re worried.”
“You have no idea,” he said.
“Of course I do. I guess your first concern is whether you’re actually the father of this baby?”
“Um, I figure I am—but…”
“You should probably verify that as soon as possible. Remember, Paul—the lady knows who the mother is. You’re entitled to the same assurance. Ask her to offer that to you.”
“Mel,” he said pleadingly. “How in God’s name do you suggest I do that?”
“In an honest and straightforward manner,” she said. “You might be able to learn something from an ultrasound. It will at least show exactly how pregnant she is, and if you can narrow down the times you were in contact—”
“Time,” he said. “Just one time.”
“Then you know exactly how pregnant she is and an ultrasound will either verify or dispute the gestation. But if there was another partner involved at approximately the same time, it will require a paternity test. Blood types, DNA, etcetera.”
“I don’t want to upset her. Offend her.”