Two Paths: Saul Heath Series, #1

By J. R. Caldwell

The positive test stunned the traumatized seventeen-year-olds. His parents and her mom were devastated. It was only a one time experience!  It wasn't very   romantic. Both of them knew they had none of the emotional, financial or physical where-with-all to raise a newborn let alone two. Abortion was never an option from the start. They would, in due time, together sign away their parental rights in favor of separate and closed adoptions of the twin babies. They broke up for the last time. 

Eighteen years later, although neither one knew the other existed, their stories collide with the homicide of a well-known individual.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.R.Caldwell
• Release date: Sep 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215507568

Book preview

Prologue

Red and blue and purple and yellow and magenta flashes of light, emanating from the spinning crystal ball hung in the center of the gymnasium,   darted and crisscrossed the ceiling. The music was soft; the house lights down; young couples swayed and moved in sync, body to body. It was prom night at Woodrow Wilson High.

I love you, Chad whispered into Holly’s ear, his lips pressed against the soft waves of her chestnut brown hair. He sniffed the floral fragrance from her perfume. It gave him a rush in his thoughts. She, in turn, had her head tilted on his chest resting under his bow tie, smashing her right ear into the wide black lapel of his tuxedo.

I love you so much, she muffled into his white ruffle shirt. This is the best night of my life and I would not want to be with anyone else but you.

The teenage pair swooned, engrossed and lost in each other’s arms amidst the crowd of juniors and seniors. Many of the girls surrounding them on the dance floor sang along, mouthing the words of the Spice Girls’ hit song: Come a little bit closer, baby, get it on, ... Come, tonight is the night when two become one ...

Chad had a hidden macho smile as he hummed along himself.

Holly felt a willingness within one side of her heart, while the other side fought against her mother’s admonitions and learned morality.

Guys gave thumbs up to each other for inappropriate touches as the tune ended and the DJ followed with a jump n’ disco melody.

The male clique huddled behind Michael’s Chevy. One for you, one for you, as he handed each a can from one of the three six-packs concealed in his trunk. And none for you. He laughed as he passed over Chad, shoved him backwards and then returned to give him his alcoholic brew for the occasion. The group laughed and chugged.

"What do you think? Is tonight the night?" Markus quizzed him.

Chad raised one eyebrow and tossed his head. "I think maybe, although I really didn’t ask outright. But I sensed her vibes as we held each other close and she sang 2 Become 1.  He bobbed his head up and down as though convincing himself as well as the others that it would happen. I’m thinking that Holly wants it as much as me; as a make-up after our recent break-up, he added. Lowering his head, he raised his face to the sky like a proud stag on the top of a mountain, as well as extending his arm and index finger to further dramatize the time had arrived. It’s in our stars and astrological signs for this day.  He fist bumped Danny and winked. If you know what I mean?" The foursome all gave him a high five.

Michael opened the same brown bag for the empties as he broke out the second pack. But no more for you, Chad. Just one to loosen your inhibitions, but not another that might, shall we say, impede your performance.

The group joked as Chad grabbed it from his hand and snapped the tab.

They returned to the dance.

The Georgetown University sophomore that the committee had signed for the event was superb. His mix of selections created a magical atmosphere. He interjected the few group fun numbers like the Holly-Golly, the Bunny-hop and the Chicken. He found regal sound effects for the crowning of the king and queen; he had a great mix of the eighties and nineties during the hour and a half while the couples came and went to have their pictures taken under the flowered trellis in the hallway. However, overall, he spun a plethora of romantic ballads that cuddled the couples on the wooden floor closer and closer. As the sun set on the nation’s capital and the hours wore on, the love songs heightened the inner adolescent hormones.

It was senior prom night for the class of ’97.

It was the apex of their high school years.

It was the night for the making or breaking of relationships.

It was a night of memories that would become fodder for future reunions.

It was a rite of passage.

It was everything Holly dreamed and hoped for her and Chad.

Celine Dion’s melodious voice crooned the words of the final selection for the evening: I'm everything I am because you loved me. Chad kissed her at the final note as the main chaperone switched on the lights. Not the kiss she had from him often during their last months together, but rather a tongue filled and amateur expression of desire. With a weakness coming up from her toes, Holly submitted and returned the yearning.

Are you chilly? he asked as he held the car door open.

I am.

Chad wrapped his coat around her shoulders. Now I’m glad I put out the expensive bucks to rent this monkey suit. He kissed the back of her neck. Are you warm now?

Her initiated kiss in return answered the question in the affirmative.

Chad drove past the house in the Washington, D. C. suburb of Shepherd Park where her mom had the porch light lit.

Chad! You missed my place.

He smiled. I thought we could walk awhile in Rock Creek before we end the night.

But I have to be home before midnight.

Hey, your mom wouldn’t mind. I’m sure she remembers how special this night is. None of us ever wants it to end. He reached over, laid his hand on her prom dress as she sat beside him in the passenger seat. His sensual touch high above the knee on the inner thigh caused the battle to rage once more in her gut. Holly blushed. The feeling inside was one of longing and fear bound together.

Come on, just a little walk. You’ll be back in forty-five. Worse case, you’ll only be a few minutes late. She wouldn’t get that mad. She may even be sound asleep. He ran the back of his hand down her cheek as he turned the corner at the end of the street with his left hand on the spinner knob on the steering wheel.

I suppose, she mumbled. I am wound up and probably couldn’t sleep right now. She returned the gesture with her hand on his leg. But no later.

The May darkness was calm; no breeze whatsoever. The park teemed with vibrant foliage, the spring wildflowers having burst forth with the April rains; the air permeated with the floral scents. The paths and the benches were quiet and empty. Chad and Holly found themselves alone. They strolled with the fingers of their hands entwined.

I love you, he said once more with a puppy-love singsong.

The three words repeated the whole evening caused her emotions to soar beyond the tips of the trees to the clear sky and the fantasy world of glorious teenage, infatuated love. I love you so much, she repeated as they brushed their bodies, walking side by side.

He guided her, wrapped in romance, towards the stables where the members of the local Chevy Chase equestrian club housed their personal horses as well as the mares the park used for riding lessons. Let’s go inside.

Her mind said no; her beating heart pounded yes. Her rational side said no; her emotions screamed yes. Her conscience said no; her fertile body cried yes.

They laid down together on a bed of hay bales. He stroked her hair; kissed her and moved on her with his hands on her breasts.

No, Holly garbled in a low voice.

But we love each other.

But, she had her hand on his chest. But I’ve never ... and you’ve never ... She searched his eyes, have you? And did you bring something? I mean, you know? Protection?

He did but forgot it in the car. But we love each other. And besides it never happens on the first time. That’s what I’ve always heard. So. He lifted his leg and placed it atop of hers. Let me show you how much I love you.

Chad fumbled with her panties; she, his pants zipper.

It was quick.

It was not super great as advertised by their peers.

It was not glorious with background music like in the teen chic movies.

It was awkward afterwards for both of them as she lowered her ruffled gown.

Holly’s lower back smarted from the cord knot on one of the bales that crushed into her with the full weight of Chad on top, thrusting.

They swore each other to silence. There would be no bragging on his part in honor of her reputation.

Chad did not kiss her good night when they returned to her house; he didn’t walk her to her door; he was nervous to even look at her as she got out of the car by herself.

Holly lay awake wondering to herself and her bedroom ceiling if she regretted what had happened an hour earlier? Yes and no, yes and no, in total confusion. But everybody does it on this special night, don’t they? she reasoned with uncertainty.

Six days later as she slept, one of Chad’s millions of spent virile sperm fertilized a single egg; four more days and the impregnated egg split into two embryos as both of them implanted themselves in the lining of her uterus.

The positive test stunned the traumatized seventeen-year-olds. 

His parents and her mom were devastated.

It was only once!

... and besides it never happens on the first time ...

And it wasn’t very romantic.

Both of them knew they had none of the emotional, financial or physical where-with-all to raise a newborn let alone two. Abortion was never an option from the start. They would, in due time, together sign away their parental rights in favor of separate and closed adoptions of the twin babies.

They broke up one last time.

One

Paul Boucher ushered the guests from Tokyo down the assembly line that manufactured rail switching equipment at the General Electric Locomotive plant in Erie, Pennsylvania. Being   the lead manager of that division in the well-known international company, he was tasked with entertaining the potential customers. The interpreter walking between him and his two visitors had leaned closer in his direction to translate the foreigners’ concerns about redundancy in a system should the primary trip fail, when Paul heard his name blare from the public address system.

Paul Boucher! Call for you on line ten! Paul Boucher! Call for you on line ten!

He excused himself, motioning to his co-worker to resume the tour. He lifted the phone off its cradle on the wall next to the men’s room at the south end of the factory floor.

This is Boucher.

The voice was animated to the point of almost being unrecognizable. "Paul! The ecstatic person on the other end shrieked his name again in child-like elation. Paul! Nelson called! She was out of breath, overwhelmed with exhilaration.  He has a baby for us," Lori Boucher exclaimed in shrill tones.

What?

Nelson called from the law office. They have a baby for us. A few weeks old and waiting in foster care!

His mind gyrated. A baby ... after  four years of waiting, of yearning, of nights filled with tears and holding each other for comfort. A baby ... finally after many times being disappointed each month. A baby ... that would take them from being a couple to complete them as a family.

Paul and Lori, now in their thirties; he, thirty-three, she, thirty-one, had decided after these long years of trying everything from the temperature method, to unusual positions recommended by an article Lori researched, to long periods of abstinence to build up a huge amount in Paul in case he was the problem. However his tests always showed he had a sufficient sperm count. The two even, though feeling squeamish about doing something that might border on voodoo against their religion, dangled a cross over her womb with a special pRoner nine nights in a row. Lori suffered with endometriosis, but they never confirmed that was the sole reason they did not conceive. With a calm resignation, they decided that they were meant to be childless with no offspring of their own. They contacted the Nelson Murrin Adoption Law offices on the west side of Erie.

Nelson, the owner, told Lori and Paul upfront that if they wanted a newborn or an infant, it would take time. It might be years, he said in that very first consultation visit. Would you consider an older child, maybe ten or eleven? A racial baby, which might take less time than a Caucasian?

Lori had a cousin in Detroit who, along with her spouse, had adopted an eight year old girl. Within a year, it did not work out. Having been mal-treated in more than one foster home, she found it hard to trust and believe that anyone cared for her. There were more problems than the average raising of a daughter at that age. The entire family suffered.

Paul and his wife did not have the money for an international adoption. They decided they wanted someone to become theirs from the beginning and form their conscience and guide them as they learned right from wrong.

Race is no problem, Paul said, speaking for the two of them.

We will wait, is all Lori offered to his question without filling in the background story for her reasoning. We have learned to live in patience after much frustration. She held Paul’s hand as the two sat before his desk. We know what it’s like to wait. She turned to her husband. "You and I know there is a baby boy or girl meant to be ours someday."

Fine, said Nelson. I can assure you we will do all we can to find you a child within a reasonable amount of time. Our firm has served couples in this northern Pennsylvania area now for some twenty-nine years. We have adoption agency contacts in at least eight states up and down the Eastern United States, as well as Washington D.C. He sat up straighter as a signal that he wanted to be honest. However, he softened his voice, at this moment I have a number of couples waiting for infants and I have tried to honor each request in the order in which they came. He parched his lips as though it sounded cruel to speak about adoptions with any cavalier attitude as though they were people waiting in line at a deli counter in a supermarket. I hope you can understand what I am trying to say. I do not mean to be so business-like about it. Adoption is such a personal life changing experience. But. He trailed off.

We understand, Lori said.

Nelson opened the top right drawer of the desk and laid an application form on top. Let’s get some up front information for our counselors. He snapped a ball-point pen. Your address, ages, and how long have you two been married? Are both your folk still living?

Lori did the answering. 2548 North Pearl Street, North East, PA. I’m thirty-one; Paul is thirty-three. He is a floor manager at the General Electric Locomotive Plant in Erie. We’ve been married eight, almost nine years.

Do you work outside of the house?

I do some embroidery work and sell it at vendor and craft shows in the area. It’s not really a steady job or income but a bonus source of money. It’s more of a hobby that I have pursued the last couple years. I have my B.S. degree in accounting from Gannon and worked at one time for a small firm on 12th street. However, when we were struggling to have a baby ourselves, we determined that maybe my staying at home would relax me to the point of conceiving. She deferred to Paul. He’s been with GE since college and this past summer became a manager in his department with a decent and stable salary.

Where did you go to school, Paul?

Likewise Gannon. We met there. I’m originally from Meadville. My folks still live there. Lori’s folks are three blocks from us.

Nelson made a number of notes down the margin of his personal notebook as well as filling in the official application. Tell me a little more about yourselves. Are either of you athletic? Would you say you are both in good health with no long term ailments? Do you have other siblings living near you that might be a support? Are you religious and do you belong to a church? Things like that. You know, so I can present you in the best light. As he offered his thoughts, he sounded more like a priest or minister than a lawyer. You must realize, I’m sure, that when some young girl or older couple decide to give up their baby for adoption, it is a loss and a time of grieving. Giving them a rounded profile of the couple that would like to provide a life for their baby helps alleviate the hurt in that process.

How well I understand, said Lori as she leaned her head onto Paul’s shoulders and squeezed his hand harder than ever. I know ... err ... we know full well the pain and human agony of not having a baby of our own. I ... err ... we can only imagine that it must be a thousand times more painful for someone to give up their flesh and blood.

Well, that’s not always the case, sad to say. Each story is unique. Most of the time, it is unforeseen circumstances or outside situations that brings a woman to give up her child, but, let’s be honest, there are also those who are so self absorbed that they do not want the responsibilities of raising a child and are furious that they didn’t take the precautions. He frowned. And everything in-between. He softened again like a father himself talking. Human stories can be everything from uplifting to disgusting and crude. However, no matter the story, every child conceived and brought into this world deserves a good life from the beginning, a chance to excel and one day add something to our society. He rose from the desk. That is our mission. Has been and always will be. I hope you can understand that this aspect of lawyering is very personal for me. Our oldest is adopted. He is now thirty-seven, married with a child of his own. I pride myself on being a bridge between innocent babies and children to loving parents and a better life.

Lori had tears. She and Paul had picked the best to help them become adoptive parents. The whole four years, Nelson stayed in regular touch, counseled them in their impatience and promised  that it will happen. I know it.

And today he called.!

What did he say for details, Lori? Boy or girl? From where? What’s next? Paul was dancing while on the phone and a couple co-workers passing to enter the men’s room laughed, surmising that he too had to relieve himself badly and was trying to get off the call.

It was just the opposite! Paul danced with