"What do you mean?" he gasped. "What are you going to do?" He waited through my silence a moment. "Surely you realize this wouldn't do either of us any good, Olivia. This town feeds on nasty gossip. There are real sharks in these waters, Olivia," he continued, his voice rising with warning. "Don't underestimate any of it. Please consider both our families and . . ."
"Belinda is pregnant, Nelson, pregnant with your child," I blurted.
Even in the dim light, I could see his face turn blood red. He seemed unable to speak, unable to move. Finally, he released a small gasp and then took a deep breath. He shook his head.
"No, she can't be. She told me she was on the Pill. She even showed me the packet. She can't be pregnant. She's lying."
"It's been confirmed by a doctor, Nelson. Belinda might have taken one or two or even a dozen pills, but I'm sure she missed days and neglected them, leaving what what we would euphemistically call a window of opportunity, and since she's been only with you these past few months, repeatedly with you as evidenced here," I continued, indicating the packet of papers and pictures and driving nail after nail into his weakened manly armor, "there is no doubt you are the father of Belinda's illegitimate child."
"Oh no," he cried covering his face with his hands. "This can't be true." His shoulders shuddered. "What was I thinking? How could I be so weak."
I couldn't permit myself to feel sorry for him, but a small warm feeling managed to penetrate my fortress of anger. I had hoped to sit and enjoy his turmoil and squeeze his remorse dry, but the affection for him I carried in the secret places in my heart sounded a note of mercy.
"There's no point in dwelling on what happened. It's happened and it's done," I said softly.
"What are you going to do about it?" he asked, dropping his hands from his face, still handsome but dark and grave. "If she's having an abortion, I'll pay for it, of course, and do anything . . ."
"She's not having an abortion," I said. "It's too late."
"It can't be that late, Olivia."
"I don't mean physically or medically too late, Nelson."
"What do you mean then?" he asked, almost in a whisper.
"Belinda has made this sort of mistake before," I began. "We've always cleaned up her messes and limited her suffering to a minor inconvenience."
"Yes, but using this as a means of teaching her a lesson . . . I mean . . ."
"I'm not just teaching her a lesson, Nelson," I said sharply. My eyes held his for a long moment.
"What do you want to do?" he asked, practically pleading.
"She's having the baby and the baby will live here, with me," I said. "No one will know the identity of its father."
He sighed with some relief. Then his thoughts turned charitably to Belinda.
"You know of course that this will destroy her in this community, Olivia."
"I really haven't held up any hope for her in this community or any community for that matter for some time now, Nelson. Belinda is never going to amount to anything," I pronounced with the certainty of a Biblical prophet.
"Do you really think you should decide all that for her, Olivia?"
"The decisions were made long ago, Nelson," I replied. "I'm just carrying them out, trying to cope."
He shook his head.
"Well, if you're determined to do this, I suppose there's nothing I can do to stop it."
I laughed.
"No, hardly," I said. He looked at me sharply. "What do you want from me? Money?"
"I'll call on you from time to time to help in little ways, always discreetly of course," I said nodding. "As long as I can depend on your cooperation, that is."
"That sounds almost threatening, Olivia."
"It's not meant to sound that way," I granted. "However, you should never underestimate my determination."