Rory wondered how that sounded to Zack. He had known nothing of Chloe’s relationship with Sean Macy. Zack was sitting very still on the couch, not moving, barely breathing.
“I cried and berated myself,” Chloe said, “and Sean told me that God loved the truly repentant sinner. We talked for a long time, and I knew I could trust him. He made me feel forgiven and safe. I knew right then that I wanted to be a part of the Church forever. I hoped that taking a vow of chastity would somehow erase my sexual side. Of course, that had been an unrealistic expectation, but I was young. I didn’t know.”
She blew her nose, then sat hunched over her lap, Daria’s hand on her back, and Rory knew he had to speak. Chloe had gone through that pregnancy alone. He wasn’t going to let her carry this burden by herself, as well.
“Chloe’s left out one important fact,” he said slowly. Chloe raised her head sharply to look at him.
“This is hard to say.” He looked at Daria, squarely, trying not to flinch.
“I believe I’m Shelly’s father.”
No one said a word. Daria looked at him hard, a crease between her eyebrows.
“What?” Andy finally broke the silence.
“You don’t have to do this, Rory,” Chloe said gently.
“Yes, I do,” Rory said.
“It’s time for the truth.”
“You’re…” Daria shook her head with a frown.
“Have you known this all along?” she asked.
“No,” he said.
“I had no idea. Not until the bonfire tonight. When Chloe said that she was Shelly’s mother, I could tell… She gave me an unspoken message…” He looked at Chloe, and she nearly smiled at him.
“And I knew,” he said.
“But she was seventeen,” Daria said.
“You would have only been…”
“Fourteen,” he volunteered. He wondered how to say anything more without painting a worse picture of Chloe than she had already painted for herself.
“I was fourteen,” he repeated, “and anxious to experience anything I could.” He still remembered that night vividly. The dunes at Jockey’s Ridge had been chilly, the sand downright cold. It was October, Columbus Day weekend, when most of the homeowners of the cul-de-sac came to the beach for a three-day getaway. He’d been naive, but willing—no, eager—to learn, and Chloe had been an excellent teacher.
Rory smiled weakly at his son. “I owe you an apology, Zack,” he said.
“I came down on you pretty hard this summer for your relationship with Kara.” He had even used Shelly’s birth and desertion as an example of one young couple’s poor judgment and irresponsible behavior. He waited for Zack to rub his nose in it.
But Zack surprised him.
“It’s okay, Dad.” His voice was husky, and he put an awkward arm around Rory’s shoulders.
“Everybody makes mistakes.”
“Daria.” Chloe turned to her sister, taking both Daria’s hands in her own.
“I’m so sorry you had to take such complete responsibility for Shelly. When Mom died, I probably should have taken over, but it would have meant leaving my order, and you never seemed to mind being in the position of caretaker.”
“I never did mind,” Daria said. She sounded flat, and Rory had no idea how she was handling the revelations filling this tiny room. She had to feel betrayed by both Chloe and himself. But he guessed that right now, her mind was on Shelly. Nothing else—no confessions, no disclosures—could eclipse that primary concern. “If Shelly lives…” Chloe pressed the tissue to her eyes, and it was a moment before she could continue.
“If she lives,” she said, “I’ll take care of her, Daria. I’ll stay in Kill Devil Hills with her.
It’s time you were able to live your own life. Move to California with Rory, if that’s what you want. “
Daria said nothing. She avoided Rory’s gaze, and he could hardly blame her.
Andy suddenly spoke up again. “What did you mean at the bonfire, Daria, when you said that Shelly overheard you and Rory on the porch?”
Daria pressed her fingers to her forehead, rubbing her temples.
“I
think Shelly must have heard us talking about how Pete broke up with me because of her. And she heard us talking about. ” Daria’s voice trailed off.
“Do you remember the plane accident back in April, Andy?”
she asked.
Andy nodded. “Remember how Shelly swam out to help us? The pilot was this young, eighteen-year-old girl,” she explained to Chloe and Zack.
“It turns out she was Grace’s daughter, but none of us knew that at the time.”
