“Not Ivy!” Mayor Henderson folded his newspaper and pondered for a moment. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“Same thing I said.” Grey poured another glass of scotch.
“Easy on that boy. It won’t help. Believe me, I know.”
“Yeah, I’m sure Mom’s stepped out on you and gotten pregnant a few times,” Grey said sarcastically. Mayor Henderson shot back a brutal look that made him remember his place. “Anyway, the only thing that will help is an abortion. The problem with that is that even if I could bring myself to ask her to have one, I’m sure that she would not.” The thought sickened him.
“Abortion is legal not moral. The Henderson men have been fighting abortion for thirty years. It’s a politician’s cash cow. More lobbyist pay to fight that than they do clean air or education just ask your uncle.”
“Well, when I run for Congress next term, I’ll remember that.” Grey sighed heavily exhaling the large upheaval trapped air in his lungs. “Right now my issues include a pregnant fiancée, a bastard child and a postponed wedding.”
“How far are you planning to push the wedding back?” It was already hard enough to keep Grey’s many indiscretions out of the hands of the wrong people, but it would be even harder to keep such a scandalous incident out of gossip columns. All of Memphis would be buzzing.
“She’s not due until July 29th. The wedding was set for the end of May, so we’ll have to push it back until the middle of September.”
“Why so late?”
“I can’t bring myself to marry a pregnant woman. If we’re going to get married, I want to at least know what I’m up against. Besides that I’m not going to have some over exaggerated wedding and not enjoy the honeymoon. You know how irritating pregnant women can be.”
“Do you really think that she will leave that child right after she has given birth?”
“The child will be six weeks old. Mom can watch it, or Ivy’s mom or a sitter. Hell, I really don’t care.” Grey hadn’t given much thought to babysitting before and refused to do so now.
“Your mother may watch the babyif the baby is yours. If the baby is not yours, someone else will have to baby-sit. Look into hiring a good nanny, now. And stop saying it. There is no it involved here. There is a child involved. Don’t be caught referring to a child as an it. You get quoted, and you’ll never live it down.”
“Something else to remember.” Grey sighed. “This has been more than a notion.”
“I can only imagine. I love your mother, but I can tell you now that she won’t be a damned bit tolerant with this situation.” With Mayor Henderson, everything translated into approval or disapproval of his lovely wife, Maple.
Grey looked up surprised but in agreement. “You’re right. I’ll look into some reputable nanny’s later in the pregnancy.” His mother’s wrath worried him more than the situation.
“Always remember to plan ahead.” Grey’s father smiled as he put his cigar back in his mouth. “And meet this man as soon as possible.”
“Why would I want to meet this guy?” Grey didn’t want to lay eyes on him. He hated him already and didn’t even know him.
“Don’t you want to know who this remarkable fellow is? After eight years, he steps in and in a matter of moments…steals your fiancée. Now, I don’t know about you, but I would want to know whom the son of a bitch was that so damned cunning. Plus, you need to evaluate who could possibly be in your life for the rest of your life, and decide if it’s worth it. Ivy’s a nice girl, but you should cut your ties now. It’s not like everyone won’t understand.”
“I gave Ivy an ultimatum. If we marry, even if the baby is his, he can’t be connected to it.”
“Did she accept?” Grey’s father looked surprised.
“No. Not yet.”
“She won’t either. Take my advice. Just go and meet the man face-to-face. Come to some type of agreement. Believe me, he won’t just go away.” Grey’s father picked his newspaper back up. “Besides that, don’t be so hard on her. If I recall correctly, you had a scare what two years ago now? The doctor from the abortion clinic that you were seeing on the side thought she was pregnant. You could have easily been in the same situation.” It was important not to let his son forget that he was no angel.
“I wish that it was me. Maybe, I’d be able to take it better. Every time I think of another man touching Ivy, I swear to God I feel like killing someone.” Grey could feel his veins bulging out the side of his neck.
“Well, let me ask this…why are you marrying her at all, if this is going to be such a big issue for you?”
“Well, for one, I love her. And I think if the shoe was on the other foot, she would still marry me. Second, I can’t run for office next term with a bastard child in the limelight. The media will eat it up, especially the republicans here. They have been looking for a way to hang our ass since we moved into this house.” He knew that his father already knew that answer to the question, but Grey voiced it just to give him ease.
“I just wish that you would have listened well to my advice,” Mayor Henderson said sighing.
“What’s that?” Grey rolled his eyes again. He was in no mood to hear one of his father’s long drawn out speeches, but considering he was sitting face-to-face with him in his house, he had no choice.
“Don’t let a woman wrap your personal life and career around her finger,” Mayor Henderson said with a slighting tone in his voice.
“So, how do you explain Mom having you by the balls?” Grey asked frustrated. He had had enough of playing the role of the man. It was time to actually stand
