Starting Now (Blossom Street #9)(65)

Libby reached for Ava’s hands and held them in her own. “I don’t want you to be afraid of seeing the doctor. You need to do this if you’re going to have a healthy baby. It’s for you, too, Ava. This is important.”

“I know. But Grandma will be upset and I … I just can’t do that to her.”

“But she needs to know, Ava,” Libby told her, not for the first time.

That apparently wasn’t the only problem that worried Ava. “What if the lady from the state makes me tell her who the father is? I don’t want anything to happen to him … We were …” She didn’t finish the sentence and shook her head, indicating she was unwilling to say anything more.

Knowing how resistant Ava had been regarding the baby’s paternity, Libby didn’t feel she could pressure her. Again she suspected the boy next door, Jackson’s basketball friend. Beyond Peter, she couldn’t imagine, didn’t want to imagine. Libby was fairly certain that Ava would tell her if she’d been raped or abused, but then, maybe not.

“Why don’t we cross that bridge when we need to, okay?”

Ava sucked in a deep breath. “Okay, but I’m not telling. No one can force me to tell, right?”

“Right.” Libby decided to let it go for the moment. The girl was terrified enough as it was. “Why are you so afraid of letting anyone know the name of the father?” she asked.

Ava hung her head low. “Because he might go to jail and … and I don’t want that to happen.”

“The sex was consensual?”

“If that means we both agreed, yes, then it’s that word you just said.” Blushing, Ava looked away.

Identifying the father wasn’t important for now. Libby would let the social worker get the answers to the difficult questions.

“Will you go to the doctor with me?” Ava asked.

“If that’s what you want.” Libby had offered to be with her once already. She assumed the caseworker would also be present, but Libby didn’t know that for a fact.

“I don’t know if I can do this if you aren’t with me.” Ava squeezed her hand. “I don’t like needles and I don’t want anyone touching me … there. I feel …” She paused and her lower lip trembled as she struggled not to cry. “I’m afraid, Libby.”

“I know, but I’ll make sure you aren’t alone.” Libby wrapped her arms around the teen and hugged her tightly. “Don’t you worry. Everything will turn out all right. Do you know how far along you are?”

Ava sniffled and nodded. “Eight months. Maybe a week or two more. It could be more. The book said the baby is ready to be born after forty weeks.”

“Yes, and the closer you carry the baby to full term the better it is for the health of the baby.”

Ava nodded. “But I feel sick almost all the time.”

“That’s one reason why it’s so important for you to see a doctor.”

“Okay, but what will happen to him after he’s born? Or she. I hope it’s a she. Is that wrong?”

“No, not at all. As to your questions, you have a couple of options. You could let a family adopt the baby.”

“Adoption,” Ava repeated. “Would anyone want my baby?”

“Oh yes. There are families on waiting lists who would take your baby and love him or her so much. Some women are unable to have children for a number of reasons and they want a baby badly. They often turn to adoption agencies. They would love your baby, Ava.”

She smiled. “But what if I want to keep the baby?”

“Then that’s another option.” Warning bells rang like a tornado warning system in Libby’s head, but she didn’t want to say or do anything to sway the girl’s decision. This was one Ava would need to make on her own or with her grandmother.

“Grandma wouldn’t want me to do that; we can’t afford to feed anyone else.”

From everything she’d heard about the older woman, Libby had to agree finances were a major concern. Darlene Carmichael already had more than she could handle with Jackson and Ava.

“What about, you know, an abortion?” Ava whispered, lowering her voice.

“It’s too late for that, Ava. Can you feel the baby move?”

She nodded.

“That’s a real person inside of you.”

“I know.”

Libby had strong feelings on the subject, but she left it at that. Again, it was better to keep her opinions to herself.

“If I decide to let one of those families who can’t have children adopt my baby, how will I do it?”

“The state has an adoption agency and there are private agencies, too. They would help guide you through the process. They will take care of your medical expenses, too.”

“They will?”

“Yes. And you can meet the parents, if you want.”

Her eyes widened. “Would I be able to visit the baby, too?”

“You could, if that was what you wanted. They call that an open adoption. You could have contact with the parents, receive pictures and updates on the child, and …” The sound of a door closing came from the area of the kitchen.

“Jackson?” Ava called, her voice trembling slightly.

No answer.