Abandoned at Christmas Time

By William J. Smith

Rebecca Fillmore is a hard-working,single mother who must juggle trying to pay the rent,and raise a young,five-year-old daughter,named Caroline,in the year 2012,that she had during a night of hard love-making with a fellow college co-ed named Thomas McGlover,who ends up abandoning their relationship.Rebecca is then left with a dilemma, as Christmas approaches,and she gets so behind on her rent that her landlord threatens to throw her and her daughter out in the street,and she ends up deciding to abandon Caroline into the care of a middle-aged police detective named Paul Dablonski,who also has to decide whether to leave this poor,innocent,frightened,little girl in the care of Child Protective Services,who will put her into "the system",during the holidays,or will he take her in as he tries to find her mother?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781300358855

Book preview

Abandoned at Christmas Time

Prologue

Michael Fillmore and his wife, Dorothy, were a very wealthy, well-to-do couple who have been living the good life for over twenty years in their Upper West Side high-rise penthouse with their two children, Rebecca, who was born in 1987, and had wavy blonde hair, and deep blue eyes, and a gorgeous figure, and their son, Rick, who was equally tall, blonde and handsome, who was born in late 1990. It was Christmas-time in the year 2006 (December 20, to be exact), and their two children, Rebecca, who was to turn twenty in late March (March 23, to be exact), 2007, and was in her second year of college, at the famed Harvard University, and Rick, who was a sophmore in a prestigious, private high school in Connecticut, near Greenwich, were coming home from school for their Christmas break, that afternoon, so Michael and Dorothy got their palatial, high-rise abode ready for the arrival of their children, and while their son, Rick, was a straight-A student, and Rebecca was also a straight-A student, until junior year of high school, Rebecca’s grades have been slipping of late. Rebecca was also known to be very popular, with the guys in school, from high school on, and had many boyfriends over the years, so it was no surprise when she started dating college men almost immediately after she arrived on campus. Almost like clockwork, Rebecca would come home with a new boyfriend, especially when she was in high school, so Michael and Dorothy were expecting her to come home from her latest semester at Harvard with her latest boyfriend, but when she came in the door by herself, Michael and Dorothy were surprised, as Michael asked his daughter, as she put down her bags, and then went over to hug her father:

Ah, so I see that you’re alone. So, couldn’t get your latest beau to come home and meet the family?

No, not this time, Dad, but I do have some news for you and Mom, and I’m not sure you’re going to be too happy, Rebecca then nervously said to Michael, in response.

Oh, don’t tell me that your grades are slipping again. I hope for your sake, they’re not, because if they slip any further, they’re going to kick you out of there, and your mother and I would’ve wasted all that money sending you to Harvard!, Michael then, rather angrily, speculated to Rebecca, in response.

No, it’s not that, Dad, but even still, I don’t think you and Mom are going to really like the news that I have for you, but here goes: I missed my period!, Rebecca then announced, not only to her father, but her mother, in response.

Wait a minute! What are you talking about?, Dorothy then asked her daughter, as her ears perked up, knowing what Rebecca meant by this, but wasn’t sure if she heard this correctly.

Yes, Mom, I’m pregnant! The baby’s due next summer, Rebecca then explained to Dorothy, in response.

Oh, now you’ve done it, Becky! I knew it! I just knew that this was going to happen, with all those jocks and preppies you’ve brought home over the years, but you had to go and get yourself pregnant, and effectively ruin your life, as if you don’t have enough drama in your life!, Dorothy then angrily said, Rebecca knowing that her mother wasn’t too happy with her, at the moment, mainly because she always uses her nickname for Rebecca, Becky, whenever she’s mad at her daughter for something.

Mom, come on, give me a break! I didn’t ruin my life! Having a baby is not the end of the world, Rebecca then said to Dorothy, in response, as she rolled her eyes at her mother.

Oh yeah? You haven’t ruined your life, huh? Do you know what it takes to raise a baby, especially as an unwed mother, as you will no doubt be?, Dorothy then, quite angrily asked her, obviously naïve, daughter.

Oh, come on, Mom, how hard can it be? Don’t be so melodramatic. Just change a diaper and give the thing a bottle every few hours, how hard can that be?, Rebecca then, naively said to her mother, in response.

No, that’s not it, Rebecca. Taking care of a baby is a huge responsibility, and even if that were all it was, I don’t think you know just what you’re going to be in for, with all the sleepless nights, having to get up to prepare a bottle, or change a diaper, and if you think we’re going to help you all the way, while you don’t have to lift a finger to do anything to take care of your own baby, well, you have another thing coming, Dorothy then fumed, with her arms folded against her chest.

Okay, then, I won’t have it! I’ll have an abortion, or something!, Rebecca then, quite angrily countered, in response, and then angrily continued, You happy now, Mom?

Oh, no, you’re not going to have an abortion. No daughter of mine’s going to have that barbaric proceedure done on her and her baby, Michael then loudly thundered, in response.

Well, then, what do you want me to do? I’m going to have a baby, it’s been confirmed. I took a pregnancy-test a few days ago, and it registered positive, meaning that I’m pregnant, so if you don’t want me to keep it, or abort it, then what do you want me to do with it, throw it in the dumper, like some piece of white trash, or gutter slut, or something?, Rebecca then curiously, and angrily, asked her enraged parents, who were handling this news from Rebecca exactly like she knew that they were going to.

There is a third, or fourth option that no one’s considering here! You can give it up for adoption, Dorothy then suggested, in response.

Okay, then, I’ll give it up for adoption!, Rebecca then said, in response, just as her teenage brother, Rick, was coming into the ritzy, palatial penthouse apartment of his parents, as he just caught the end of what everyone was talking about.

Who, and what is everyone giving up for adoption? Did someone bring home some puppies, or kittens?, Rick then asked the rest of the family, as he came in the door and put his bags and things down in the family’s humongous foyer.

Oh, honey, I’m so glad you’re home! You don’t have any bad news for us like your sister here, do you?, Dorothy then came over and asked her son, as she gave him a big hug, and kiss.

Well, Mom, what do you mean by ‘bad news’? What happened now? Did Rebecca flunk another class at Harvard? She‘s not being kicked out of Harvard, is she?, Rick then asked, being all smug and arrogant, for the fact that he’s been getting all the good grades over his older sister, particularly over the last two or three semesters now.

No, it’s nothing like that, son, although, this bit of news certainly ranks right up there in whoppers!, Michael then explained to his young son, in response.

Well, then, what is it, if it’s not Rebecca brought home kittens, or bad grades and an eviction-notice for her dorm at Harvard?, Rick then, curiously, and smugly, asked his mother, in response.

Son, you’re sister’s pregnant! She’s going to have a baby this upcoming summer, Michael then explained to Rick, in response, in a tone of voice that conveyed that he was none too happy about this so-called news.

Oh my God! I’m going to be an uncle? Do you know what it’s going to be, a boy, or a girl?, Rick then, excitedly, asked the rest of the family, in response.

I don’t know, yet, Rick! I haven’t seen a doctor since I took the pregnancy-test telling me that I was pregnant, Rebecca then explained to her younger brother, in response.

So, how do you even know that you’re pregnant? Those pregnancy-tests are known to give false readings, you know?, Rick then curiously, matter-of-factly, asked Rebecca, in response.

Because, dumb-dumb, I missed my period when I usually have it; a clear sign that I’m pregnant! Duh!, Rebecca then agitatedly said to Rick, in a matter-of-fact manner, in response, shaking her head at her little brother‘s naivety.

Then, once Rebecca and Rick put their bags and things away, and got settled-in, the Fillmore family tried to enjoy the Christmas holiday together as best as they could, under the circumstances, Michael and Dorothy especially making sure not to even mention that Rebecca’s pregnant, whether to their neighbors, friends, or, least of all, their relatives and outside family members.

*****

Shortly after New Year’s, as 2006 became 2007, Rebecca went to see her doctor, Dr. Phillip Vanderson, on the afternoon of January 4, 2007, and after he ran some of the usual, official pregnancy tests on Rebecca, Dr. Vanderson reported the findings/results of these tests to Rebecca, once they came back several days later, as Dr. Vanderson explained to Rebecca, after he had her enter his office, on the afternoon of January 8, 2007, so that he could speak to her there, in private:

Rebecca, I have looked at and thoroughly reviewed the results of your tests from the other day, and for all practical tense and purposes, these tests have confirmed that you are, indeed pregnant, and are due to give birth this upcoming July Tenth

Oh, okay, well, thank you, Doctor Vanderson, Rebecca then nervously said, but in a none-too-thrilled, tone of voice, in response.

Do you want to know the gender of your baby, or would you like to wait until you give birth?, Dr. Vanderson then curiously asked Rebecca, a bit taken-aback by Rebecca’s sounding stunned and unhappy by the news that her suspicions and that pregnancy-test she took several weeks before, were correct; she was, in fact, pregnant with her very first child.

No, Doctor Vanderson, I would rather wait. Besides, if I knew the gender of the baby, I might get too attached to her. I’m planning on giving her, or him, up for adoption after I give birth. I would have an abortion, but my parents are adamantly against that, and they have raised me to be against that, as well, so I’m just going to give her or him up for adoption, instead, Rebecca then explained, in response.

Well, it’s up to you, but most mothers decide that they’d rather wait, anyway, so I’m not surprised, Dr. Vanderson then warmly said to Rebecca, in response.

Then, after Rebecca got ready to leave, Dr. Vanderson showed her out, and then she got into the waiting limousine out front. Then, Rebecca had the family chauffeur, named George, a tall, strapping man in his own right, drive her back to her parents’ high-rise penthouse suite. Then, by Saturday, January 20, 2007, as the spring semester was about to start, Rebecca packed her bags, and then went right back to the campus of Harvard. Then, when Rebecca got back to campus, a few, or several hours later, she decided to tell the guy who she just knew (after eliminating all other possibilities, of course), was the birth-father of her baby; a guy just a couple of years older than her, named Thomas McGlover, what she was able to find out.

Tommy, I have some news for you, and please, don’t be mad at me, but I’ve eliminated all others who might be the father, but I’m pregnant, and you’re the father, you’ve just got to be, Rebecca announced to this Thomas-fellow, once she was able to meet up with him at his dorm, on the afternoon of Sunday, January 21, 2007.

Wait, what are you talking about? What do you mean that you’re pregnant, and that I’m the father, I just have to be?. Thomas then asked Rebecca, in response, as he seemed totally stunned that he could’ve possibly gotten anyone, much less a girl by the name of Rebecca Fillmore, pregnant, even though he was the last person that she made hot, passionate sex to, or with, earlier in the fall 2006 semester.

I mean that I’m pregnant. I took a home pregnancy test, just before the semester ended, because I missed my period, and then went to see my doctor, just a couple of weeks ago, and he confirmed that I was, in fact, pregnant with your baby. He told me this a week, or two ago, before we all came back up here for the start of the spring semester tomorrow, Rebecca then explained to Thomas McGlover, in response.

No, that’s not possible! It’s just not possible!, Thomas then said, vehemently denying what Rebecca was telling him was, in fact, the truth.

What do you mean, that I’m pregnant, or that you’re the father?, Rebecca then curiously asked Thomas, in response.

Well, let me put this in terms that you can understand. I’m not denying that you’re pregnant, but that I can possibly be the father of your baby!, Thomas then angrily explained to Rebecca, in response, practically insulting Rebecca’s intelligence.

Face it! You are the father. You have to be. It all fits. You’re the one that took me to bed with you a few months ago, at the beginning of the semester, back in early October of last year, or do you not remember that?, Rebecca then asked Thomas, in response.

Look, I’m not ready to be a father, okay? I still have another semester or two to go before I graduate. If my parents find out, that I got a girl pregnant, they’ll send me to military school, or to my Aunt Gertrude’s in California, and make me go into hiding, Thomas then explained to Rebecca, in response, trying to come up with excuses (all of them lies, of course), for why Rebecca must be wrong about him being the father of her baby.

Yeah, and you think that I’m ready to be a mother? It was your idea that we go to bed that night, anyway!, Rebecca then, quite angrily, said to Thomas, in response.

Now, at first, Thomas McGlover didn’t want to have anything to do with Rebecca Fillmore, as he did everything that he could to avoid even being near her, whether on campus, or outside it, but as January of 2007 became February of 2007, Thomas warmed up to the idea of being a father, after having some time to think about it. Then, on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 7, 2007, Thomas McGlover ran into Rebecca (who was only just starting to show signs that she was pregnant, being that she was halfway through her pregnancy, by then), and then said to her:

Rebecca, I’ve given it a lot of thought, about what you said about my being the father of your baby, and I’ve decided that if…………..you’re really sure that I’m the father…………..I want to help you take care of the baby

Well, I’ve been thinking about it, too, and that night that we had sex was back in the middle of October, and I only got pregnant around November Twentieth, or so, at least that’s when I bought that home pregnancy test, after missing my period, so there is a possibility that you might not be the father, although I don’t recall having sex with anyone after I had sex with you, Rebecca then explained to Thomas, in response.

Okay, well, then, if you want, I’ll submit to a paternity test and if it’s determined that I am the father, I’d like to help you raise our baby boy, or girl, Thomas then conceded, in response.

Well, even if you are the father, my parents want me to give the baby up for adoption, so you won’t have to raise the baby anyway, Rebecca then calmly explained to Thomas, in response.

Now, at first, Thomas took Rebecca’s response to his overture of helping her raise her baby as an invitation to turn his back on Rebecca, but he did submit to a paternity test, towards the end of February of 2007, and when the results came back, about a week later, just as February of 2007 was about to become March of 2007, Thomas got the results that he was hoping not to hear, as the doctor who gave him the tests, said to him (on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 27, 2007):

The results of the tests confirms that you are the father of Rebecca Fillmore’s baby!

Rebecca, Doctor McGregor said that the results came in and he said that I am the father of the baby, Thomas explained to Rebecca, just hours after he got the results of the paternity-test from this Doctor McGregor.

I know, the doctor called me earlier, and told me the same thing, since I’m the mother, after-all, so I had to take part in these tests, as well, Rebecca then informed Thomas, in response.

Well, that means that I will help you take care of the baby, unless of course, you still want to give up the baby for adoption, Thomas then explained to Rebecca, in response.

Yeah, well, I’m still thinking of giving the baby up for adoption, but you know, now that I’m almost five months pregnant, or I will be in a couple of weeks, I can feel the baby. I even felt it kicking me the other day, Rebecca then excitedly, yet lamentably, explained to Thomas, in response.

Then, after a couple of months past, and the 2007 spring semester was coming to an end, and Rebecca’s belly ballooned and she showed other signs of being pregnant, Rebecca started really having second thoughts about giving her baby up for adoption, especially as her latest boyfriend, Thomas McGlover, got more and more interested in, not only being in Rebecca’s baby’s life, but being in Rebecca’s life, as well. Then, as they were about to get out of school for the summer, as final exams were wrapping up, by the middle of May 2007, Thomas came to Rebecca and then, quite excitedly, said to her:

Rebecca, I’m going to be graduating after this semester, at the end of this month, and I was going to go onto graduate school, but I’ve decided that I’m going to forgo graduate school and devote myself full time to you and the baby

Wait, you’re going to give up graduate school, for me?, Rebecca then asked Thomas, in response, a hint of total surprise and shock in her voice.

Not only that, but, I want to settle down and help you raise that baby, and not just as a boyfriend coming over to your parents’ house, or your dorm here, to help you change a diaper, or feed the baby a bottle. I want to raise a family with you, Thomas then excitedly explained to a totally shocked and stunned Rebecca Fillmore, and then continued, after a brief pause, to gauge Rebecca’s reaction to what he was telling her. Rebecca Fillmore, will you marry me?

Wait, you want to marry me?, Rebecca then asked Thomas, in a surprised, shocked tone of voice, in response, as she really couldn’t believe what she was hearing come out of Thomas’ mouth. Tom, we’ve only just met. We’ve only known each other for seven or eight months. I mean, I know we went to bed together only a few weeks after we met, but I think it’s a little too soon to get married, don’t you think?

No, I got you into this mess by getting you pregnant. The least I can do is be there for you and the baby, all the time!, Thomas then explained to Rebecca, in response.

Now, at first, Rebecca remained skeptical of Thomas’ decision to help her raise the baby, and even more about his idea that they both get married, but as Thomas’ Graduation Day came and went, and May, of 2007 became June, of 2007, and Rebecca’s due-date approached, as the 2007 summer season was about to get underway, by mid-June (of 2007, of course), Rebecca started changing her mind, not only on giving up her baby for adoption, but also marrying Thomas, though her parents were just as skeptical of the idea as Rebecca was, at first.

Mom, Dad, guess what? Tommy asked me to marry him. He said that he wants to help me raise our baby, what do you think?, Rebecca asked her parents, Michael and Dorothy, when she announced this to them when she first walked in the door, from completing her latest semester (Spring 2007), at Harvard.

Rebecca, honey, I don’t know if it’s such a good idea for you and this Thomas boy to get married. I mean, I know he just graduated college, but you still haven’t, and you two are only in your early twenties, you don’t have your careers lined up or established yet, and you don’t have any job to be able to support yourself, and I doubt this Thomas-boy has any steady job to be able to support you and the baby, Michael explained to Rebecca, after she told him and Dorothy, about Thomas McGlover’s marriage proposal.

I know, Dad, but I have some ideas where I can apply for a job, and I’m sure Thomas has some ideas. I mean, it’s not like we’re dumb people. He’s a graduate of Harvard now. That should account for something, Rebecca then explained to her father, in response, trying to reason her father into accepting the idea of her and Thomas McGlover getting married.

Look, I still don’t like the idea of you keeping this baby, but if this Thomas-boy is serious about helping you raise the baby, and he’s willing to even go so far as to ask your hand in marriage, I think you should accept his proposal, and me and your father will support you every step of the way, Dorothy then said to Rebecca, Rebecca smiling from ear-to-ear, to hear that at least her mother supported the idea of her and Thomas getting married.

Okay, well, as long as this Thomas-boy is serious about getting a job, and you can get one, as well, to support yourself, and this baby, then, I guess you’re going to have to do what you’re going to have to do, Michael then lamentably explained to Rebecca, in response.

Tom, I have great news! My parents gave us their blessing that we get married!, Rebecca then said to Thomas, moments later, as she called him to give him her decision. So, as long as you still want to get married, yes, I will marry you!

Oh, that’s so wonderful, Becky. Yes, I still want to marry you!, Thomas McGlover then, excitedly, said to Rebecca, over the phone, seconds later, in response, and then Thomas and Rebecca went on to talk about the particulars, from where they were going to get married, when, who they were going to invite to the wedding, and the like.

Of course, with just weeks before her due-date, and her parents still not being totally on-board with Thomas and Rebecca getting married, Thomas and Rebecca decided to have a justice-of-the-peace marry them, so on the afternoon of Saturday, June 30, 2007, at around 3PM, that afternoon, Thomas and Rebecca took a trip up to Albany, New York, and had a justice-of-the-peace help them enter into the sacrament of marriage, and though they had a nice, little reception, later that evening, of mostly friends of the bride and groom, Rebecca and Thomas decided to skip the honeymoon, what with Rebecca just two or three weeks from giving birth to her first child.

*****

On the afternoon of July 12, 2007, Rebecca Fillmore McGlover finally went into labor, with her first child, and was rushed to the hospital, at around 2:30PM, that afternoon, and then, after nearly nine hours of labor, at a few minutes after 11PM, that evening, Rebecca gave birth to a healthy, bouncing baby girl, who weighed a few ounces over eight pounds, as the doctors announced:

Congratulations, Mommy and Daddy, you have a healthy, and beautiful, bouncing baby girl!

Oh, yes, I always wanted a little girl!, Rebecca then said, to the doctors, and her new husband, Thomas, in response.

So, what do you plan on naming her?, one of the nurses then asked Thomas and Rebecca.

Of course, at first, Rebecca and Thomas really didn’t know what to say, for they had spent little, if any time, thinking of what they were going to name this baby, since they spent all their time just trying to get ready for his or her arrival. Then, after Thomas and Rebecca racked their brains for nearly twenty minutes, trying to come up with a name for their baby daughter, Rebecca eventually settled on Caroline, and Thomas, feeling that Rebecca should be the one that ultimately decides on the name of their baby, let her go ahead and name their baby girl Caroline, after a character in Rebecca’s favorite Neil Diamond song, named Sweet Caroline, as Thomas said to Rebecca, with a smile (upon her telling him her idea for the name of their newborn, baby daughter, Thomas then kissing her right on the lips, like all proud, first-time father’s do when their wife had just given birth to their very first child together):

Caroline! That’s a very lovely, pretty name, Mommy! It most certainly fit’s the prettiest baby girl in the world!

Then, after spending a few days in the hospital, Rebecca was released and allowed to go home. Now, those first few days and weeks after Rebecca had her baby girl were real challenging for the young mother, and her new husband, Thomas, but eventually they started getting used to the routine of being parents, and they spent the next couple of years enjoying sheer wedded bliss. By the summer of 2009, however, things were starting to, inevitably fall apart for the two lovebirds, since they had married more for convenience, than out of true love for each other, as Rebecca and Thomas were struggling to keep up with the rent and all the other expenses that they were incurring, as even though Thomas got a job at a brokerage firm, he was only making fifty or sixty grand as a starting salary, and Rebecca was struggling just to get dead-end jobs at grocery-stores and department stores, eventually landing a job as a waitress at a local diner by the summer of 2009. Unfortunately, by the end of that year, of 2009, that wasn’t the end of their problems, as Rebecca started noticing signs that Thomas might be cheating on her, starting with her finding lipstick stains on his work-shirts, and of course, Rebecca started assuming that it was one of the secretaries in his office, that Thomas was cheating on her with.

Admit it! You’ve been making love to one of those floozies in accounting, or is it one of those bimbo secretaries that your company employs!, Rebecca quite angrily said to Thomas, one evening, in November of 2009, when he came home with lipstick stains on his work-shirt.

"Come on, don’t be ridiculous, Becky! I am not cheating on you with any bimbos or