Mindy clicked the thumbnail. Cynthia’s face popped onto the screen, a gorgeous, blue-eyed blonde with a dazzling smile. Mindy thought of the baby and how pretty he or she would have been. Her grandchild. Mindy had looked forward to the day when she’d be a grandmother, since all of her older friends at the club talked about their grandchildren all the time. They said it was an experience like no other.
Mindy felt tears well up, but blinked them away. She looked at the Facebook page and, unfortunately, couldn’t learn more about Cynthia Caselli, since the girl kept her page private except for the profile picture and the basic information.
Mindy opened a new window, went into White Pages, and typed in Cynthia Caselli, which called up a list of names and addresses. At the top was Paul and Gloria Caselli, 383 Hilltop Drive, Rocky Springs, PA, with a telephone number.
Mindy picked up her phone, then hesitated. She didn’t know why she had the urge to call. On the one hand, it was a dumb idea, and she didn’t know what she would say. On the other hand, she didn’t like being left out of the equation, and at the very least, she owed them an apology. Paul could call the Casellis lowlifes, but Mindy and her spoiled son were no better than this girl or anybody else.
Mindy called the number, and the phone was answered after two rings by a woman. “Hello, is this Gloria Caselli?”
“Yes, who’s calling?”
Mindy felt her heart start to pound. She couldn’t believe that she was actually talking to the other grandparent of her grandchild, and it was strange to be connected through blood to a woman she had never met. But now that connection was gone, making it even stranger. “This is Mindy Kostis, Evan’s mom.”
“Oh, yes, how are you, Mrs. Kostis?”
“Please, call me Mindy. In the circumstances, I think it’s appropriate.” Mindy’s mouth went dry. Now she had to think of what to say, and it was awkward. She wished she had a drink, but those days were over, so she had to tough it out.
“Okay, call me Gloria. Now, can I help you with something?”
“I don’t know where to begin.” Mindy felt so ashamed of Evan, Paul, and herself. “I guess I’m just calling to say that I didn’t know what was going on with Evan and Cynthia, and I’m sorry about all of it. I am truly sorry.”
“Well, there’s nothing to be sorry for. They’re young. It happens.”
“It does?” Mindy asked, surprised. She would have expected Gloria to be furious with her and Evan.
“Yes, sure. They dated awhile, and Cyn was very hurt when Evan broke up with her. But she has a new boyfriend, so all’s well that ends well. I don’t like when teenagers get serious too soon, do you?”
“Well.” Mindy felt flabbergasted. She’d been trying to be delicate, but it wasn’t working. “I meant about the baby. I’m sorry that that happened. They didn’t tell me about it. They kept it from—”
“What baby?”
“The baby, you know, their baby. Cynthia and Evan’s.”
Gloria gasped. “Wait. What baby? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Mindy froze. Paul and Evan had told her that Cynthia’s parents knew about the baby. But what if they had lied to her? What if the Casellis hadn’t known? What if they were hearing it for the first time from Mindy? And now the baby was gone. Mindy didn’t know what to say. Anything she said would break Gloria’s heart.
“Mindy? What baby?”
“They got pregnant,” Mindy blurted out, stricken. “Cynthia got pregnant and she had an abortion out-of-state, in New York. Evan and my husband gave her the money and put her up in a hotel. I thought you and your husband knew about it—”
“Are you serious?” Gloria sounded shocked. “That’s not true at all! Cyn didn’t become pregnant or have an abortion! Nothing like that happened.”
“Yes, it did.”
“No it didn’t,” Gloria shot back, firmly.
“I’m sorry if you’re hearing this for the first time from me, but they told me you knew.”
“There’s nothing to know. It didn’t happen. Trust me. You’re wrong.”
Mindy didn’t understand. “I’m not, we just discussed it. They just told me. Maybe she just didn’t tell you, or maybe she told your husband and not you. That’s what Evan did, he told his father and not me.”
“No, wrong. It’s just false.”
Mindy felt completely bewildered. Maybe Gloria was in denial. “Believe me, I don’t mean to offend you, but sometimes we don’t know what’s going on in our own houses—”
“Mindy, if you really must know, my daughter had a torsed ovary at fourteen, and it was removed in emergency surgery. She’s been on birth control ever since, to make sure she doesn’t lose both of them. So the odds of Cyn’s getting pregnant are slim to none. Now, I’m done with this conversation.”
“Oh, my I’m sorry. Good-bye.” Mindy hung up, shaken. She had no idea what was going on, but she didn’t cry, and she didn’t hesitate.
She got up, left the bedroom, and went downstairs to find Paul.
Chapter Forty-four
Mindy reached the bottom of the stairwell and didn’t have to go any farther, because oddly, Paul was in the family room, where he never spent any time. He was sitting on the couch and staring at the ceiling, his head resting backwards in the cushion. A crystal tumbler with two fingers of Scotch rested near his hand.
Mindy entered the room, and Paul shifted his gaze to look at her. His gaze looked weary, exhausted, and bleary from the alcohol, but she still didn’t feel sorry for him. In fact, she felt nothing for him.
“Paul, I just got off the phone with the Casellis.” Mindy stood over him. “Would you like to explain to me what the hell is going on?”
Paul blinked, dully. “You called the Casellis,” he said quietly. “Of course you did.”
“What does that mean? What’s going on?” Mindy didn’t understand the way he was acting. He seemed to be decompensating, which was completely unlike him. “Did Cynthia Caselli have an abortion or not?”
“No, she didn’t.”
“What?”
“Evan didn’t get her pregnant. It was a total lie.”
Mindy had no idea how to react. She felt dumbstruck, astonished, and shocked. “Is this a joke? Are you kidding? Evan didn’t get that girl pregnant?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Did you? Did you get somebody pregnant?”
“Of course not, nobody got anybody pregnant.” Paul sounded almost bored, reaching for his Scotch.
“Don’t say ‘of course not’ to me,” Mindy said calmly. She didn’t feel the need to shout, with him acting so strange. “Are you telling me that you and Evan lied to me?”
“Yes. Well, to be precise, Evan made it up and I went along with it.”
“What do you mean? Why? What’s going on? Did you plan this?”
“No, we didn’t plan anything. I didn’t think you’d find the withdrawals and neither did he.”
“Paul, why would you make up such a horrible story? I was so upset that he got a girl pregnant, that he aborted the child, our grandchild.”
“I just told you, I didn’t make up the story. He did, on the spot.” Paul sighed. “He’s a teenager. He was making it up as he went along. The good news is he’s not that good a liar.”
“Not as good as his father.”