Marta's Legacy Collection (81 page)

The following Saturday, Dawn brought her backpack full of books, and they did study, for a little while. She left an hour before Georgia Steward was due home. The Saturday after that, they didn’t even bother to open a book.

38

The next Saturday, Georgia Steward’s white van with
Georgia’s Housekeeping Services
painted in red on the side was parked behind Jason’s white Honda. Disappointed, Dawn figured she and Jason would just have to study today. At least they’d be together. Grabbing her book bag, Dawn slid out of her Sable. Mrs. Edwards wasn’t sitting on the porch this morning, but movement in the front curtains told Dawn the old lady was still watching. Annoyed, Dawn went up the steps and tapped at the door, expecting Jason to answer. His mother opened the door. “Hello, Dawn.”

“Hi.” Dawn plastered a smile on her face despite the cool look on Georgia’s. “I’m here to study with Jason.”

“Come in.” Georgia opened the door all the way. The drapes had been pulled back, allowing sunlight to stream in. Jason’s bedroom door was wide-open. She had seen his car in the driveway. Where was he? “Have a seat.” Georgia closed the front door.

Dawn felt her body tense. She put her book bag down and took a seat at the table. “Where’s Jason?”

Georgia sat across from her and folded her hands. “He’s gone for the day.”

“Gone?” Dawn’s heart pounded in alarm. Why hadn’t he called her? She felt increasingly uncomfortable under his mother’s scrutiny.

“He and Pastor Daniel took a little fishing trip. He didn’t know he was going until early this morning.”

Dawn felt the urge to take flight. “I should go then.” She reached for her book bag.

“Not yet.” Georgia’s tone was firmer this time, colder.

Leaving the book bag on the floor, Dawn eased back into the seat, knees trembling beneath the table. “Is something wrong?”

Georgia’s expression turned to one of disdain. “You could say that, couldn’t you?” Her knuckles whitened. “I knew what was going on between the two of you when Jason came home from Jenner. He couldn’t look me in the eye. I watched him sweat for a month and thought maybe the two of you had learned your lesson. And then Mrs. Edwards told me yesterday that you’ve been coming over every Saturday . . . to study.”

“We do study.”

Georgia reached into her pocket and put a crumpled, empty condom wrapper on the table between them.

Dawn felt all the blood draining from her face. She met Georgia’s glare. “I love him. And he loves me.”

Georgia’s face flushed. Her brown eyes grew hotter. “You don’t know anything about love! You’re a spoiled, self-centered little girl who wants what she wants and wants it
now
.” She leaned forward. “Your
love
has single-handedly ruined most of Jason’s chances to escape this trailer park. His grades have dropped. He no longer has the qualifications to get into UC Berkeley—or get a full scholarship to Stanford. He spent most of his savings buying that car so he could take you out. He hardly reads his Bible anymore, and his relationship with God used to be
the most important thing in his lif
e
!”

Dawn flinched as Georgia stood abruptly and stepped away from the table. After a moment, she continued in a taut, restrained tone. “If you get pregnant, Jason will do the right thing. But I’d like to give you a picture of what your lives will be like if that should happen.” She sat again, more in control, eyes like black ice.

“Jason will have to give up all his dreams of college. He’ll have to find a job to support you and your baby. And what sort of job will he find with only a high school diploma? Minimum wage. Of course, he won’t make enough working nine to five to pay rent on a place as grand as this.” Her eyes swept the room derisively. “So Jason, being Jason, will want to do better. He’ll get a second job, which won’t please you because you’ll never see him. He’ll be working all the time just to keep a roof over your head and food on the table for the three of you. And then there are the utilities and medical expenses. Of course, you’ll be lonely. You’ll carry the full responsibility of taking care of your baby: changing diapers, nursing, getting up at all hours of the night. You’ll be exhausted. You’ll feel overwhelmed. The baby will be your only company. After a while, you’ll get bored sitting around the trailer. When Jason finally does make it home, you’ll complain he’s never around. He’s no fun anymore. He doesn’t make you happy.”

Dawn started to cry.

“Tears don’t work with me, honey.”

“Why do you hate me so much?” Wrapping her arms around herself, Dawn fought for control.

“I don’t hate you. I just don’t like you. Why should I?
You’re ruining my son’s life
!
” Georgia sounded distraught, close to tears. She released her breath slowly. “He’s in love with you. Anyone can see that. He’s so in love he can’t think straight. He won’t listen to a word of caution. You’ve stripped him of his dreams, taken his innocence, and now you’re on the road to destroying his potential.” She let out her breath in frustration.

Dawn couldn’t raise her head.

“Look at me, Dawn.” When she managed to raise her head, Georgia stared at her. “What I see in front of me is a very pretty sixteen-year-old girl with no character and no substance. You have nothing at all to offer Jason, and you’re too willfully stupid and selfish to see or even care about the damage you’re doing to him. That’s not love. Not by any stretch of the imagination. You think you can live with your romantic daydreams. Fairy tales always end with ‘happily ever after,’ don’t they? You don’t know how wrong you are.”

When Georgia didn’t say anything more, Dawn spoke in a small voice. “Can I go now?”

“Please do. And don’t you dare come into this house again, not unless
I
invite you.”

Dawn got up quickly and headed for the door.

“One last thing.” Georgia still sat at the table, face turned away. “You’ll probably run straight to Jason and tell him everything I’ve said to you . . . or those parts that serve your purpose.” She looked at Dawn then, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “But remember this: Someday, Jason will grow up. And when he does, he’ll see the truth for himself.”

Dawn’s first instinct was to go to Granny and sob out her woe, but she quickly dismissed that idea. Dawn knew she could do no wrong in Granny’s eyes. Granny always took her side. If Granny knew she’d seduced Jason in the downstairs apartment, she’d be deeply hurt. She might start thinking Dawn was the kind of person who could live the wild life in Haight-Ashbury like her mother had.

What was Pastor Daniel saying to Jason right now? Was he hearing the same things Georgia Steward believed?
That girl isn’t good enough for you. She has nothing at all to offer. She’s selfish, spoiled, carnal, and probably not even a Christian. What are you thinking, Jason? Why would you want to be with her?

She drove aimlessly for an hour, then went home. Her mother had an open house. Mitch and Christopher had gone bowling. Dawn went straight to her bedroom. Stripping off her clothes, she took a long, hot shower. She scrubbed and still felt unclean. Hunkered in the corner of the shower, she sobbed as the water pounded her. The air thickened with steam. She felt no better when she stepped out and dried off. Pulling on sweats, she got into bed. She lay there for the rest of the day, going over and over what Jason’s mother had said.

“Dawn?” Mom tapped at the door. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

“I’m not hungry.” When Mom opened the door, Dawn covered her head with a pillow.

“Are you sick?”

Lovesick. Heartsick. Sick with shame. “Just go away, Mom. Please.” She half hoped her mother would press harder this time, but she left quietly, closing the door behind her.

Hours later, the door opened again, a spear of light from the hallway intruding. Mom came in this time. She didn’t turn on a light. She sat on the end of the bed, but didn’t say a word.

After fifteen minutes, Dawn couldn’t bear the silence. She whispered, “Would you hate me if I told you Jason and I have been having sex?”

“No.” No questions, just a firm response, then silence again.

Dawn sat up slowly, bunching the pillow tight against her chest, thankful for the darkness. She wouldn’t be able to see her mother’s disappointment. “I went to see him this morning. He wasn’t there. His mother talked to me.”

When Mom still didn’t ask anything, Dawn went on talking, slowly, painfully, until everything spilled out in a flood of tears. When Dawn finished, she pressed her face into the pillow already damp from an afternoon of weeping. She felt her mother’s hand on her head.

“Words can be a sword to the heart, Dawn.” Mom ran her fingers gently through Dawn’s hair. “Sometimes there’s truth in them. Sometimes there isn’t. Go over what Jason’s mother said to you. If there’s any truth in it, you’ll have to decide what to do with it. As to the rest, try to let it go.” Her hand lifted.

Dawn curled into a fetal position. Her mother stood and pulled the covers up, tucking them in around her as though she were a little girl again. Leaning down, she kissed Dawn and whispered, “And try to forgive.”

Jason called Sunday night. He said his mom told him she’d come by. He apologized for not being there. “Pastor Daniel took me out to the coast. I didn’t know he was coming until he showed up.”

She said it was okay. She and his mother talked. He wanted to know what about. She said nothing much. Just small talk.
No character. No substance. Nothing to offer . . .

“Dawn . . .” She knew by his tone what was coming. “I think maybe we should stop hanging out for a while.”

She couldn’t have prepared for the pain his words brought. She tried to press her lips together to keep from crying out. She hunched over, mouth open in agony. Shutting her eyes, she wanted to beg. She wanted to remind him they said they loved each other. Instead, she heard the echo of Georgia’s voice.
Someday, Jason will grow up. And when he does, he’ll see the truth . . .

“Are you okay with that?” Jason sounded uncertain. Did he want her to say no? Did he want her to talk him out of it? And if she did, what then?

You’ll ruin his life. . . .

Dawn had spent all of Saturday night and all of Sunday thinking about what Jason’s mother had said, seeing the awful truth in it. Only one thing was false. She did love Jason.

She’d dreamed about Oma last night. She’d come like a vision, speaking words of wisdom.
“When you know what you want in life, May Flower Dawn, go after it. Sometimes it doesn’t end up the way you planned. Trust God and it’ll turn out better.”

Dawn knew what she wanted. She wanted to be Jason’s wife. She wanted to have his children. She wanted to spend her life with him. And now she’d ruined it all. What had she brought into his life? Sin. Regret. Fear. Shame.

“Dawn? Are you there?”

Her breath caught softly, throat thick with pain and tears. “I think you’re right.”

She went into the kitchen and told Mom and Mitch she and Jason had broken up. She asked if she could transfer to the independent study program. She didn’t have to explain why. Mom said she’d call the school Monday morning and do everything she could to make that happen.