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“Adam never looked in my direction when we were kids so I didn’t expect him to give me the time of day. Anyway, I was already engaged to Terry, who will probably divorce me when this gets out. But yes, there was a certain attraction there. You know what I came from. My father is a drunk here in town. I should have never come back to teach but I thought I could prove something if I did, returning as an educated woman, a teacher. My family still lives in the swamp. You probably know that.”
“They’ve been quiet for last few years, Ashlie. We’re all getting old.”
“Is that what you attribute it to?”
He didn’t reply, waiting.
“So, yeah, the daughter of a drunk moonshiner, hooking up with the son of the local grocery store owner; everyone thought Spencer’s was the coup de gras. No one knew I was with a doctor, so when Terry cheated on me and Adam was available, it was natural that I’d take advantage of him. Everyone at school was thrilled that we were together. The nuns prayed for us. The kids told their parents; all people we’d gone to school with, too.
“But then it wasn’t really working out for us; he lives back in the swamp and I just couldn’t deal with that. And Terry, that’s my husband, promised to clean up his act and wanted to get back together. But I found out I was pregnant right away, so we pushed our wedding date up a year to get married this past June instead of next June. I knew it wasn’t Terry’s baby almost from the start, but I was in denial.
“Terry wanted nothing to do with the baby. At his insistence, I terminated my parental rights. But I regretted it immediately. It’s in court now to get reversed, but I’m sure this is going to nix anything positive.
“This morning, I was at Café Delphine having coffee when I saw Adam stop at the hotel and take the baby in. He drove off and I concocted my story about him giving permission for me to take her. That’s all it was. Sheryl didn’t believe me and the next thing I knew, you were there.”
The door to the interview room opened and an officer with an arrest warrant walked in and handed it to Dave.
“Ashlie, you’re being arrested for the attempted kidnapping of Adelaide Spencer, a minor. You have the right to remain silent…”
That night after his family left and Adelaide was in bed, Adam did FaceTime with Katy.
“You’re finally alone,” she said.
“It’s okay. My sister came and they focused their attention on her boys. It was nice having them here, but now I’m beat.”
“I’m so sorry.”
She’d been thinking during the hours they were out of touch, while she was on the plane for five hours and when his family was at the house. Angus was right. Maybe, if she could get the financing, she should go to medical school. It would make life so much easier for Adam if she could be the breadwinner and he never had to leave his child again.
“I’ve been thinking,” Adam said, like he was reading her mind.
“About?”
“Yeah, I wonder if your dad isn’t right,” he said. “You should consider going to medical school, after all.”
They looked at each other on the phone screens, poker faces in place. This wasn’t the time for emotion.
“You will not believe this, but I was thinking the same thing.”
“No way,” Adam said. “You’re just saying that.”
“No, I was. It’s gotta be the stress of what happened today. It wouldn’t change our relationship that much from what it is now,” she said. “I’d still come home during breaks and once the baby is older, you could come here,ifI decide that’s what I want.”
“When do you have to decide?”
“It’s late, but now. But I just had an idea, Adam! Why don’t I apply there?”
“Where? LSU?”
“Or Tulane!”
She bounced a little in her seat, looking so cute Adam got a little choked up.
“Hurry and do it,” he said. “Itiskind of late.”
“It’s super late. They say even excellent candidates might as well hang it up if they don’t apply before July and it’s almost February. I might be able to get on a waitlist. I’m going to call my adviser now.”
“Call me back and let me know what she says.”
