Chapter 19

Sophie hung up the phone thinking to her what the hell, she is worried about doing laundry and him not getting pissed, yet she cheats on him and does not worry much about that. Fuck it, I have better things to worry about, now where the hell did Kay-Leah put the phonebook that had Austin’s phone number on it? Ahhh, here it is. Now what the hell do I say to them? Hey, your son got my daughter pregnant, what are you going to do about it? No, that is too harsh. Does your son know that he got my daughter pregnant? Fuck thinking this one through just dial the damn phone. It will all come together.

Sophie nervously dialed the phone, it started to ring, when a man answered the phone, “Hello.”

“Is this Mr. Bright?”

“Yes, it is. May I ask who is calling?”

“This is Mrs. Sharp. My daughter Kay-Leah was dating your son Austin.”

“Oh yes, I remember him mentioning her. Austin had told me that the two of them had encountered a little bit of trouble. In all honesty your call was expected. My wife and I had been discussing the situation, we had plans to call you, and our plan is to help as much as we can until Austin can get a job. For now we thought ten thousand dollars when the baby is born, of course to do with it as you see fit. Also, we will pay for the medical bills for Kay-Leah and the baby. The rest is up to you and Kay-Leah. We felt that to be fair. Austin explained to us that you have two other children to take care of and recently divorced, I know you did not need the added expense. Austin will be working for me over summer to work off the money we are giving you, and when he is old enough to work he will be continuing to pay for what he did. He is finishing school as well, and will make something of himself.”

“Thank you Mr. Bright. That was a whole lot easier than I thought it would be. I really had my doubts about you being cooperative. I really do much appreciate the understanding in this situation.”

“Not so fast Mrs. Sharp, I am not quite done yet. The child carries our name, we see the child as we see fit, and you will sign legal documents that you agree to all of this which we have discussed.”

“That is not a problem for us. Although I must say that your request is a bit unusual. Normally these arrangements are fought out in court. I am not arguing with you. Again I am saying thank you.”

“Mrs. Sharp, let me assure you my family believes in taking responsibility for their mistakes, secondly needing to go to court is not necessary, as I am a lawyer, as is my father. I was raised in a strict home and was taught to take responsibility for what mistakes I make in life, my children are being raised the same way. Now if you prefer we can do this through the courts, but I really do not think that what I have requested is all that bad nor is it necessary to take the whole thing into court.”

“Neither do I. The arrangements are fine. You have been most helpful and we will be in touch.”

“We will need to attend the doctor appointments with Kay-Leah as well, and to make sure she is taking care of herself.”

“No problem. I will keep you informed. Although I feel as though you are accusing me of not taking care of my child.”

“Mrs. Sharp, please, does not make me take back the arrangements which have been made. Take care.”

Mr. Bright hung up the phone before Sophie had a chance to respond any further. Sophie pinched herself to make sure she was not dreaming. She found it hard to believe that Mr. Bright was being so generous and easy to deal with, although some of his requests were a bit unusual she still wondered if he was too good to be true. In most cases she had been told about the father of the boys normally would say he is a minor, he has no money, he cannot get a job he is to young, what do you want me to do about it, maybe you should teach your daughter self-control or put her on birth control if she is going to sleep around like that. Now Sophie had one problem solved and could put that one to rest. Shit, I need to call and tell Jewel what happened.

Sophie dialed the phone to call Jewel, as the phone rang she looked at the time, if she answers it will be a miracle, she is never home after Josh goes to work, that is…..”Hey, Jewel, you would not believe what just happened. I made that dreaded call to Mr. Bright, I explained who I was to him, of course he said that Austin had told him that Kay-Leah and he were in a bit of trouble, but he said he would pay the doctor bills, and give us ten thousand dollars if we agreed to his terms. All he asked is that the baby have their family name, they see the baby as they see fit, and I have to sign a contract with the terms on it and agreed to, then when Austin is old enough he will still pay for the child. I really expected him to give me a hard time, like most fathers do, but he said he was raised to take responsibility for his errors, and he is raising his children the same way. What I did not know, he is a lawyer, and so is his father. I guess I better not push my luck with that one. Now I can relax, that is one problem solved, finally something is going right.”

“I told you. Some people are easier to talk to than others are. Are you relieved enough to say I was right. What he wants you to agree to is not that bad, it is a pretty sweet deal. The money may not seem like a lot, but it will last long enough to allow Austin to get a job, well it should last the first year anyway, maybe, as long as you do not let Kay-Leah waste it and she uses it for the baby.”

“Thanks Jewel. You did help me out on this one. Like I said until you said something, I never really thought much about calling Austin’s dad.”