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, and Herb Fowler didn't know the man's first name. Angel knew he couldn't call everyone named Hood and ask, each time, if this was the abortionist. Angel also knew he'd have to speak to Candy and his father in order to get the money, and so he didn't delay in telling them the whole story.
"God, what a good boy Angel is!" Wally would say later. "He never tries to keep anything from anybody. He just comes right out with it--no matter what it is."
"She wouldn't tell you who the father is?" Homer Wells asked Angel.
"No, she wouldn't," Angel said.
"Maybe Muddy," Wally said.
"Probably Peaches," Candy said.
"What's it matter if she doesn't want to say who the father is? The main thing is she doesn't want the baby," said Homer Wells. "The main thing is to get her an abortion." Wally and Candy were quiet; they wouldn't question Homer's authority on this subject.
"The problem is, how do we know which Hood to call, when the phone book doesn't say which one is the doctor?" Angel asked.
"I know which one it is," Homer said, "and he's not a doctor."
"Herb said he was a retired doctor," Angel said.
"He's a retired biology teacher," said Homer Wells, who knew exactly which Mr. Hood it was. Homer also remembered that Mr. Hood had once confused a rabbit's uteri with a sheep's. He wondered how many uteri Mr. Hood imagined women had? And would he be more careful if he knew a woman had only one?
"A biology teacher?" Angel asked.
"Not a very good one, either," Homer said.
"Herb Fowler has never known shit about anything," Wally said.
The thought of what Mr. Hood might not know gave Homer Wells the shivers.
"She's not going anywhere near Mister Hood," Homer said. "You'll have to take her to Saint Cloud's," he told Angel.
"But I don't think she wants to have the baby," Angel said. "And if she had it, I don't think she'd want to leave it in the orphanage."
"Angel," Homer said, "she doesn't have to have a baby in Saint Cloud's. She can have an abortion there."
Wally moved the wheelchair back and forth.
Candy said: "I had an abortion there, once, Angel."
"You did?" Angel said.
"At the time," Wally told the boy, "we thought we'd always be able to have another baby."
"It was before Wally was hurt--before the war," Candy began.
"Doctor Larch does it?" Angel asked his father.
"Right," said Homer Wells. He was thinking that he should put Angel and Rose Rose on a train to St. Cloud's as soon as possible; with all the "evidence" that had been submitted to the board of trustees, Homer didn't know how much more time Dr. Larch would have to practice.
"I'll call Doctor Larch right now," Homer said. "We'll put you and Rose Rose on the next train."
"Or I could drive them in the Cadillac," Wally said.
"It's too far for you to drive, Wally," Homer told him.
"Baby Rose can stay here, with me," Candy said.
They decided that it would be best if Candy went to the cider house and brought Rose Rose and her baby back to the house. Mr. Rose might give Rose Rose an argument if Angel showed up at night, wanting Rose Rose and the baby to go off with him.
