The Gettysburg Zone Part 12

The house was dark when Marjorie and Richard arrived from Richmond. Karen had promised not to leave. Richard took all the heavy luggage in while she grabbed the light stuff. She heard the Charger pull up. When she turned around, she saw Paul open the door for Karen. She'd told her that she was only five or six months along! She looked so much bigger than that! He handed her some shopping bags and then she kissed him. Marjorie felt her chest constrict. Karen was kissing him with more passion than Marjorie gave Richard! She cleared her throat and Karen froze. She whipsered something to him and stroked the side of his face before turning toward the house with the bags. Marjorie watched Paul meditate for an instant and then get into the Charger and drive off. She surveyed her daughter's condition and frowned. "Five or six months?"
Karen looked at the doubt in her mother's eyes and felt her heart crack a little. Her mother was the only one besides Paul who'd ever believed in her. But she wouldn't back down on this issue. She thought that she'd might've gotten pregnant on her wedding night. "Yes, Mom. Roughly June thirtieth...maybe as late as July twentieth."
They started up the steps and Marjorie watched her daughter walk into the foyer. "The doctor doesn't know?"
Karen made the left into the living room. "I haven't been to a doctor yet and I was there." Before her mother could say anything in response, Karen felt herself being hauled up by the back of her jogging suit. The hand that cracked along the side of her face was massive and it didn't stop. Before she saw her mother grab the invader she guessed she'd been hit three times. She thought her nose might be broken because of the amount of blood and snot that coursed down over her lips. She took the hankerchief her mother offered as she led her to the couch. She sat down and held her head back as per her mother's instructions while Marjorie Hampton ran for ice. Didn't they say that a broken nose gave one character? Again... who were they? She pressed the ice to her nose and felt the throbbing in her brain ease up a smidge. Nothing like an enthusiastic welcome home, she thought. But she knew better than to vocalize such a thought.
Richard Hampton paced fanticaly in front of his daughter. She'd betrayed him, her faith and his generosity. "Don't you fear God, girl?"
Karen discovered that too much pressure on her nose made her see double. "Not as much as I fear you, Dad," she replied honestly.
"You take off and have the whole congregation holding prayer vigils for your safe return." He clenched his fist and slammed it into his palm.. "Then you come back like this and make a fool of me."
"It was beyond my control. All of it. I awear!"
"He raped you and held you hostage until he was sure you were pregnant?" her mother chimed in.
"No!" The ice was reducing the pain to a dull ache. The bleeding was reduced to a dribble so she brought her head down but held the hankerchief to catch it.
"Well, I think the police will agree with that scenario," Richard threatened.
"Chris, Mike, Paul, Gearge Robin and Traci know what I'm telling you is the God's truth." Karen saw her mother wince at the last name.
"What, Mom?"
"Traci Cord? The lesbian?"
Karen felt sick. "Mom, it's not what you think!"
"Jezebel! Harlot! Did you let all of them have their way with you?" her father spit out finally. She shook her head furiously. "Then tell me where you were!"
"I-I can't, daddy. You would never believe me!"
Richard Hampton breathed heavily. "Did I not say under my roof, my rules?"
Her head was starting to hurt. She'd told Paul to come back for her in two hours. She needed at least a half hour's nap and another half hour to pack. "Yes, sir," she agreed as she got up. "That's why I'm leaving your house tonight."
When Karen woke up it was well past dark. Paul had never shown and she didn't have a back up plan. She made two calls to Paul's house and was hung up on both times. She didn't know how to contact anyone but Traci. And Traci hadn't seen Paul since they came home. Before she hung up, she had Traci's promise that she would try to track him down for her. She hoped that he hadn't left for Philadelphia for the construction job. But as the night wore on into the wee hours of the morning, she got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Paul was gone without her. She finally fell asleep ar four thirty. When she woke up at ten thirty a.m., Karen had entered yet another twilight zone and she would find herself stuck in that one for the better part of two months. Richard Hampton had slipped out the front door without anyone noticing. By the time he slipped back inside, Paul Jefferson was on his way out of town, heading off for Philadelphia. He'd promised to explain all of that to his daughter. But that was a promise that he would conveniently forget. The next day was Friday. He was make a quiet call to the phone company and have the home number changed and unlisted. Out of sight, out of mind. It never occured to him that absence makes the heart grow fonder would be more accurate in Karen's case. No, he wasn't thrilled about being made a grandfather under the circumstances but that was a minor detail. He needed to get her head back on the right track: her salvation. And with Paul Jefferson out of the picture, things would go back to normal. She'd sowm her wild oats. Now it was back to the status quo.
Paul Jefferson sat in a hotel room in Philadelphia and poured out his heart to his wife on paper every night. Christmas was just another day to him While folks got outrageously drunk on New's Year's Eve, he sat alone in the same hotel room drinking a six pack and watching Dick Clark on television. He'd tried calling but he was getting real tired of hearing the same message over and oever again: the number you have reached is no longer in service. But his heart started to break when all the letters he'd sent started coming back marked "return to sender". He was worried but he just couldn't go back broke. He wanted to provide for her and the baby and that meant money. When he was flush with cash he'd return to Gettysburg and make her see that he was doing everything for her.
Marjorie made sure that Karen got regular medical checkups. With Karen's history of anemia, it was important that she get good medical care. They'd kept paying the premiums on the health insurance Karen had signed up for when she took the job at the church. Good thing, too. With Paul vanishing into thin air, Karen needed all the help she could get. If she had him close to her, she'd wring his neck! Eveyday she saw her daughter's spirit break a little more. Karen loved Paul, but he obviously didn't share that emotion. If he did, he wouldn't have left Karen alone and pregnant. The bright spot in the whole ordeal was how well Richard was taking the situation. He had stopped using words like Jezebel and harlot. He made it quite clear that Karen needed to repent but he didn't browbeat her into it. But for the life of them, they couldn't get Karen to open up about where she'd been or why. Her response was always the same. They wouldn't believe her.



Karen went through her day to day existance in a daze. It was unthinkable that she could have been dumped so unceremoniously. And all they'd been through together, too. See if she'd ever go time tripping with him again, she thought to herself. If she didn't work hard at keeping her sense of humor, warped though it was, she knew she'd lose her mind! She also couldn't stop thinking about Angus MacTavish. What did he think when they just vanished into thin air? It must've broken the old man's heart! Then she comes home to break her parents' hearts, getting her own broken in return. It was neverending circle of pain. The only two time travellers who didn't seem to be affected negatively by their skip to and from the past was Robin McNeal and Mike Nichols. They were getting married in the summer...during a re-enactment, no less! Well, Traci Cord was still the same, much to Karen's chagrin. And George Anderson had been humbled by his experience. All the angry rap music no longer appealled to him. He knew what it was truly like to be in chains, even imaginary ones. He knew that he had a much kinder "Mistress" than most and he saw the looks on the faces of those who risked their lives for freedom from the monsters they knew as Masters. He had seen first hand the Underground Railroad. But what had had the most powerful effect on him was the realization that taking a life, even the life of a cruel white man, didn't make it any better. And Chris Connors? Nothing could change him. It was best just to ignore him. And Karen did just that.
There was snow on February tenth. She had to be very careful navigating the steep steps at her parent's house. Her mother was driving her to her doctor's appointment at he medical building by Annie M. Warner Hospital. She had very little interest in what was being said and only spoke when absolutely necessary. She did listen when the doctor gave her an approximate due date. She had concieved sometime toward the end of July and the due date was in mid-April. But she still felt way too big and uncomfortable. She just wanted it to be over. The doctor had insisted that she do yet another sonogram and she had done it that morning. She didn't notice anything particularly different. The baby's heartbeat still sounded like awashing machine on crystal meth. Lord, she hoped and prayed that she'd start feeling something soon! Adoption was not an option for her, a fact that her father strongly disagreed with. She wanted to be able to love and cherish her own child...like she loved the baby's father. It would be so much easier if he was there with her to share in it. But she didn't think he was coming back.
"Did you hear me, Ms. Hampton?" Dr. Gregory asked.
Karen snapped herself out of her dreamlike state. She never let her mother go in to the examining room with her. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't. What did you say?" He began explaining that a fetus can sometimes "hide" in a sonogram behind it's sibling so there appear to be only one when, in fact,there were two. She could only stare at what had to be a crazy man sitting at the desk across from her! "You're telling me that I'm having twins?!?!?"
"You said you quit the pill suddenly and didn't use any alternate means of contraceptive. It's possible that your ovaries released two eggs instead of one."
He was such a patient man but she didn't want technical at that very moment. She wanted errors and mistakes. Someone needed to tell her that it was just one little boy or girl and not a whole frigging litter! "I-I can't deal with this right now!" She got up and ran from the office and didn't stop until she was out in the frosty February air. Her mother ran to catch up with her. "I need to go home and lie down."
"But you didn't get your next appointment date," Marjorie said as she unlocked the door.She didn't like the darkness in her daughter's eyes. "Should I go back in?"
"I'll call for the damned thing. Right now, I need to go home, Mother!"
Marjorie picked up a UPS package that had been delivered while they were gone. Karen unlocked the door, took the inside stairs two at a time and slammed her bedroom door. Was the whole world going crazy? Karen didn't curse! She looked at the box. It was addressed to Mrs. Marjorie Hampton but there was no return address. She opened it. There was stack of letters tied with purple string. All had been addressed to Karen and all had been marked return to sender in an all too familiar hand. The letter on the top of the stack was simply marked "Karen, please read". And there was a cassette tape and a folded note.

"Dear Mrs. Hampton,
I don't know what is wrong with Karen. I came back for her that night but she didn't want to see me. I didn't want to upset her because of her condition. Do you have a word for it in Virginia that's not so...so crude? Anyway, I can't get her on the phone because the number's changed. And she's returned all of my letters. Can you give them to her and give her the tape? PLEASE!!! Tell her to PLEASE listen to the second song on side one of the tape! I'm coming back for her on Feb. 11th....IF she still wants me.
Thanks, Mrs. Hampton!

Sincerely,
Paul"

Marjorie had to laugh at Paul's dancing around the word "pregnant." He'd been reading too many civil war novels! No matter how he sidestepped it, the word for what Karen was was definitely pregnant! And not a very happy pregnant either. She could still hear the echo of the slamming bedroom door. But Marjorie's laughter quickly turned to anger as her eyes came to rest on the return to sender inscription. Karen hadn't sent those letters back. She probably never knew they existed! Richard had returned them. And, unless she missed her guess, he'd told Paul that their daughter didn't want to see him! And that's why he changed the number, too! She was ready to kill him! But she needed to get the letters and the tape to Karen before the girl's blood pressure went through the roof!




She couldn't be having twins! She didn't know how she'd raise one gerbil without Paul by her side, let alone two! Oh brother! She'd tempted fate and sinned and whatever else and God was getting even with her! That was the only way to explain it! She was even babbling to herself! It had to be a bad dream. She'd go to bed and wake up in an hour or two to realize that it had all been a bad dream. She'd still be a virgin, she'd have her figure back, her back wouldn't hurt and she certainly would never have travelled back in time! Yeah, right! She still had the damned lavender dress and undergarments she'd been wearing when they'd been sling shotted back to the twentieth century hidden in the back of her closet! Her head was starting to hurt and she didn't like taking over the counter or prescription medicines because of the baby. No, scratch that. Babies! She laid down on the bed and rubbed her forehead and her fingers lightly brushed over the scar to the left of her temple. Oh, what had she gotten herself into?
Marjorie knocked on the door and peeked around to make sure she wasn't in the line of fire should Karen let something fly. She was lying on her side when she opened the door the rest of the way. She put the box down on the bed and started to walk away when she noticed her daughter's eyes. Karen had been crying! "Honey, what's wrong?" Marjorie got a glare in return. "I mean besides the fact that you can't see your feet."
"Not funny!"
"That box is from Paul. Whatever is wrong, I'm sure that will fix it."
"He can't fix this."
"You knew about Chip, didn't you?"
Karen's head shot up and she met her mother's eyes. "You mean his engagement? Yes. But I was already in love with Paul. Don't try to make my baby some kind of revenge, Mom. You're above that. And Paul left me so..."
Marjorie decided not to pussyfoot around the issue. "Your father has been sending back his letters. Paul's coming for you tomorrow night. You have to go, honey. You belong with Paul. He loves you and you love him. Time to move on."
It took an hour or so to read all of his letters. Every one of them spoke of how much he missed her, how he was looking forward to being a fatherand how close he was to having the money to provide for them. She had gotten used to the fact that he never said those three words. But, when she listened to the song he specified, she felt that he might actually have the feeling, even if he couldn't say the words. The tape was "Faith" by George Michael. She might've figured as much! The first song was "Faith" The second song, the one she was supposed to pay special attention to was "Father Figure". She didn't understand that until she heard the words. As an afterthought, he'd scrawled that she should listen to the third song, too. She had to laugh, and it had been so long since she'd done that. That song she understood straight off. Of course, it was "I Want Your Sex"!
Marjorie decided not to confront Richard until after Karen was gone. She was doing that for Karen, not necause he deserved any special consideration. She wanted her daughter kept calm and she wanted her leaving to be without incident. But it was all she could do to keep her mouth shut. She made supper and took a tray up to Karen. She didn't know what the doctor had told her, but it had obviously upset the girl. Discovering that her own father was a sneaky, meddling bastard certainly hadn't helped. But knowing that Paul was coming for her in less than twenty four hours had improved her mood somewhat. Marjorie knew when to let go. She hoped that Richard would learn as well before it was too late. What she didn't know at that time was that over the next two weeks, she would be condemn herself over and over again.
Richard wasn't home when Paul knocked at the front door. But he would be at any given second. Karen was packed and ready to make the break. She led Paul up to her room so he could grab her suitcase. They were barely inside the door when he whirled her around and kissed her. She nearly panicked and explained that they needed to go before her father got home. Paul didn't seem the least bit worried. In the coming weeks he would would be kicking himself, too. Just as he picked up the suitcase they heard the stomp of footsteps coming up the stairs. With a steely reserve that her eyes said she didn't feel in the least, she pushed Paul toward the stairs. "Go on. I'll be right behind you," she assured him.
"But..."
"No buts." She turned to her father. "I love you, dad, and I've always understood that I was a bit of a disappointment because I wasn't a boy. But when you interfered in my personal life, you crossed a line. I'm out of here now!"
"And what about college?"
She started toward the stairs. "I'll go after I deliver."
"You're letting him ruin your life and compromise your teachings!" He grabbed for her shoulder just as her foot left the top step. He would replay the scene over and over in his mind for the rest of his life.
Karen felt her foot miss the step. Her center of gravity was way off and she made a mad grab for the banister but missed by a country mile. Paul watched in horror as she came down the stairs with the force of a runaway train. She landed at his feet. Her left leg was twisted so badly under her that he knew it was broken. He fell to his knees beside her and lifted her head. His eyes grew wide with horrorand her felt the nausea rise in his throat.. His hand was not only sticky and red, but he felt her skull move and shift. Marjorie Hampton ran for a towel and carefully rested her daughter's head on it. He had a penlight somewhere in his pocket. After too much fumbling, he finally found it. Paul opened her eyes one at a time and was horrified by what he saw. The pupils in both were dilated and neither followed the light. Had he done something when he lifted her head? He'd never been so damned scared in his life! He looked up at the top of the stairs where Richard Hampton seemed frozen in fear and horror. He pressed Karen's hand to his lips for a second.
"Are you happy, you sonofabitch? You might've just killed her!"
"I-I didn't mean to hurt her," he muttered, but no one in the foyer heard him. "It was an accident!"