Chapter 20
The tension in the air felt like the beginning of a thunderstorm. The family members sat around the hotel room looking at each other; none of them were able to conceal emotions they felt. The muscles in his face pulsed as Ed Biggers clenched and unclenched his jaw in anger. Terrified at what was going to happen next, Linda and Kelly were sitting as far back in their chairs as possible. Leroy and Dan looked at the door wondering if there was any excuse that would allow them to leave the room. Claire was staring at William wondering if he had suddenly become suicidal.
Ling glared at William unable to believe what her son had just said to her. Crossing her arms, she asked, "Are you fool enough to repeat that?"
"I am not a fool, but what I said bears repeating. You are out of control," William said looking at his mother. When she started to rise out of her chair, he added, "If my father were alive, he would be very unhappy with you at the moment. You push the rules to their very limits. One day you will cross the line and Daddy Ed will be forced to kick you out of the family."
"He wouldn't do that," Ling said dropping back into her seat while glancing at Ed. Seeing the anger on his face, some of her anger had been suddenly replaced by doubt.
In a tight controlled voice, Ed said, "Yes, I would. While your behavior in San Francisco could be called self defense, you could have chosen to fight your way out rather than fight to be the last one standing."
"You are teaching Betsy to resolve her problems with the same lack of restraint. She's in trouble now and it could get worse," William said jabbing a finger in the direction of his mother. Kelly and Linda held their breaths expecting an explosion any minute.
"She's young and exuberant," Ling said in defense of Betsy's actions.
"That's not an excuse," Ed shouted. He took a deep breath to calm down. Once he had control over his emotions, he gestured in the direction of William. He said, "William is probably more dangerous than any one of us, but he's never gotten into trouble with the law. He stays well away from that line of bullying people into changing their behavior from harmful to helpful. You bullied his bodyguards into accepting marriage as a partnership that can include more than a couple."
"Look, they are physical kind of people. They know how to take a blow. We were just talking in a language that we all understood," Ling said crossing her arms.
William shook his head in disappointment despite the fact that he had known the bodyguards wouldn't have let the problem escalate out of their control. He rose from his chair. Turning to his mother, he said, "You don't get it. My father was not afraid to use force, but only in response to force. John Carter fought evil, not bad attitude. Your first response to any challenge is to use intimidation and, if that fails, force. That is wrong."
"My willingness to use force has saved lives," Ling said.
"And put lives in jeopardy," William replied.
"Whose life did I put in jeopardy?" Ling asked.
"Betsy's life," Ed answered. He glared at her; daring her to disagree. When she looked like she was about to say something, he added, "That little stunt with the gang leaders could have escalated into violence. Walking into their den and challenging them like that has to be the most stupid thing I've ever heard you do."
Ling paled at Ed's admission that he knew about her little visits to the gangs. She had hoped that he wouldn't learn about them. Rather than admit that she had used bad judgment she said, "We could have handled any problem that came up."
"It doesn't require skill to kill someone, only luck. There were more than enough guns there that one person could have gotten lucky. Rather than being here to watch our daughter go to trial for sexual assault, we would have been here visiting her grave," Ed answered. He had just learned about what Claire, Ling, and Betsy had done in San Francisco and was still furious about it.
The reminder of why they were all sitting around in a hotel room in San Francisco caused Lucy to look at her watch. Seeing that it was getting close to the time when they had to leave, she said, "It is time that we went to court."
"I'll get Betsy," Ling said and stomped out of the room.
The hallway outside the courtrooms was crowded with people. Some had finished their business with the court and were discussing the consequences of the actions that had occurred inside. Others were waiting their turn with the judicial process. All kinds of cases were pending; most were minor, but a few were serious.
The tension among the members of the Carter Clan had broken them into little groups. Betsy, Ling, and Claire were together talking about the likely outcome of the case. Ling and Betsy were upbeat, but Claire looked worried. She knew that a judgment against Betsy would have long term consequences.
Kelly, Lucy, Ed, and William were gathered together discussing the likely outcomes of the case as well. William and Ed were both worried that no matter what was decided that the result would not be good. Lucy and Kelly were trying to deflect the men's concerns.
Linda, Dan, and Leroy were watching the two groups from a small distance away. They were not so worried about Betsy, but they were worried about the family as a whole. The discussion in the hotel room had not been pleasant. They were worried that Ed might find it necessary to kick Ling out of the family. It would require a majority of the family to agree to the action, but they doubted they would stand in the way if things escalated to the point where Ed felt it was necessary to take action. He wouldn't do it unless Ling did something really bad.
Unaware of the tension among the family, Betsy's lawyer walked down the hallway with a smile on his face. He stopped in front of Ed and said, "They dropped the charges."
"Why?"
"The victim refused to testify," the lawyer answered pleased that he had represented his client well. He had been pretty confident that the man wouldn't want to testify that a young girl had stuck her thumb up his ass. He had dropped hints that he would use the standard rapist justification that the man had been asking for it.
On hearing the news, Betsy jumped up and down. Excited, she said, "See, I told you it would all work out in the end."
William frowned at hearing his sister's comment. Ling said, "I knew you'd be okay. You did the right thing with that man. I would have probably hurt him a little more than you did, but you did good."
Giving a little victory dance, Betsy said, "You're always right, Momma. Maybe next time I'll squeeze the balls a little harder."
Glancing over at Ed, Lucy could see that he was about to explode. She put a hand on William's arm and looked at his face. His eyes had narrowed to thin slits. Speaking to no one in particular, she whispered, "This isn't good."
Taking a deep breath, William turned to face the two happy women. In a voice that brought chills to their spine, he said, "Momma Ling. Betsy. I am disgusted with you both. You are celebrating that you got away with using your strength to harm a weak man. You are celebrating the fact that you've violated both rules that John Carter gave his life to teach all of humanity."
Both women turned to stare at William with wide eyes. In a flat voice, he said, "You are banished from my house and my presence for a year. I do not want to see you or have you contact me in any way during that time."
Turning, William walked away leaving a stunned family behind. Lucy quickly caught up to him and took his hand in hers. She had expected to find his hand hard with tension, but the slight squeeze he gave her hand was gentle. He wasn't angry, just very sad.
Linda, Claire, and Kelly stood in the hallway staring at William open mouthed. Claire ran a hand over the swell of her pregnant belly. Even the child she carried had reacted by suddenly becoming perfectly still. She didn't relax until the child kicked her.
Unable to breath, Ling stared at William's retreating back. It felt as if he had managed to hit her in the stomach with a perfectly executed kick. She swayed for a moment and then collapsed to the ground. While Dan and Leroy were surprised by William's action, they were even more surprised by Ling's collapse. Concerned, they knelt down to take care of Ling. She had taken a very nasty fall and cracked her head on the floor. There was a small cut that bled far more than was reasonable.
Tears welled out of Betsy's eyes in response to her brother's actions. The brother that she adored had said she disgusted him. Her happiness at having escaped a trial collapsed into despair. She called out, "William!"
When he didn't turn around, Betsy knelt on the ground sobbing out of control. Her entire body shook. She let loose with a pitiful wail of anguish and curled into a fetal position.
Linda and Claire slowly turned to take care of the distraught young woman. There was no way for the pregnant woman to kneel down next to Betsy. When she started to say that William didn't mean it, Kelly stopped her with a quick wave of her finger.
Looking down at her daughter, Kelly said, "Betsy, you'll see him in a year. Until then, don't bother trying to talk to him. He won't answer your calls or open the door for you."
Ignoring Betsy and Ling, Ed smiled with pride as he watched the young couple leave. While the courts hadn't punished Betsy for her actions, at least William had. He hoped that both women had learned something from his son's actions. He turned to look down at Betsy. In a cold voice, he said, "Remember this day."
Kelly put an arm around Ed. She said, "Let's get a cup of coffee."
"That's a good idea," Ed said after looking down at Ling. Shaking his head, he turned and walked away. William had really done a great service to the family.
Kelly and Ed walked off leaving the rest of the family behind to deal with the two distraught women. Betsy was shocked that they left. It seemed to her that her whole family was abandoning her. Claire said, "I've never seen Ed so angry."
Ed and Kelly left the courthouse holding hands. Kelly said, "I'm proud of William.
"He always has managed to surprise me," Ed said with pride.
"His timing was impeccable," Kelly said. In one masterful stroke, he had ended their celebration of the fact that Betsy had avoided having to take responsibility for her actions. She patted Ed's hand and said, "He's strong enough to see it through."
William and Lucy climbed into the jet and took their seats without saying a word. They hadn't said anything to each other since leaving the courthouse. They had stopped long enough to pack up their clothes and check out of the hotel at which they had been staying. Lucy watched William fiddle with his seatbelt. She said, "You did the right thing."
"Why do I feel so horrible?"
Lucy shrugged her shoulders and said, "You don't like conflict."
William pulled out his cell phone and dialed the house. When Barbara answered, he said, "Barbara, this is William. For the next year, we are not accepting any calls from Ling or Betsy. Let the bodyguards know that if either one of them shows up at the house that they are to turn them away. If they threaten violence, the bodyguards are not to stop them. I'll take care of that problem."
"Yes, William," Barbara answered. She wondered how the bodyguards would react to that news. The last thing they wanted was to have to face Ling with bad news.
"Thank you, Barbara." William hung up the phone and looked out the window. He sighed and said, "Let's go home."
Claire and Dan sat in the stands watching Betsy run around the track at the university. A significant sized crowd had gathered to watch her run. The young woman had been running all out for five hours. Even after living around Betsy for so many years, Claire couldn't believe that anyone could run with that kind of energy non-stop for so long. She looked over at Dan and said, "She's really upset."
"William's rejection really hurt her," Dan said.
Claire felt a rather unpleasant twinge in her stomach. She ran a hand over her distended stomach and asked, "What's going to happen when I give birth to the baby?"
"What do you mean?"
"Will William come to see the baby?" Claire asked. She burst into tears at the idea of not being surrounded by the family when she gave birth. Nothing was working out the way she had planned.
"I'm sure he will," Dan said hugging her.
There was another unpleasant twinge of pain in her stomach. Frowning, Claire said, "I think I have heartburn or something. I keep getting these little spasms in my tummy."
"Uh, are you sure that it is heartburn?" Dan asked.
"Yeah," Claire said dismissive of his concern. She watched as Betsy flew past. There were tears running down the young woman's face. Shaking her head, she said, "She's still crying."
"I know," Dan said. He put an arm around Claire and hugged her close in an attempt to comfort her.
"I wonder how much longer Ling will stay locked in her bedroom," Claire said. William's words to his mother had shaken everyone to the core with the exception of Ed and Kelly. She assumed that it was a Druid thing on their part. It was obvious that they were clearly on William's side in this argument.
"I don't know," Dan said. He felt Claire flinch in his arms.
"Uh, I don't think this is heartburn," Claire said clutching her stomach.
Propped up with pillows, Claire held the tiny infant in her arms. Staring down at the baby, she said, "It's a boy."
"What are you naming him?" William asked. He held out a finger and watched as the baby grasped it. He smiled at the intense look of effort on the infant's face.
"Michael," she answered with a smile. There were already too many males named John and Ed in the family.
"Ah, you decided to name him after your grandfather," William said glancing over at Claire. The infant pulled on his finger to regain William's attention. Lucy watched in disbelief at the interaction between William and the baby.
Claire was surprised that William knew her grandfather's name. She asked, "Did you ever meet my grandfather?"
"No. I never had that pleasure," William said. He waved a free finger to and fro in front of the infant's face watching as the eyes tracked the movement. He grinned and said, "You can expect great things from Michael. He's a smart one."
"As smart as you?" Claire asked.
"I don't know, but he's plenty smart," William answered.
Kelly asked, "When are you going to make us grandmothers?"
Surprised by the question, Lucy exclaimed, "What!"
"When are you going to have a baby?" Kelly asked, rephrasing her previous question. It seemed to her that she was never going to become a grandmother. None of the other kids were even making sounds like they were going to have children.
Lucy looked over at William for a second before she answered, "We've talked about it a little, but we haven't come to a decision."
Smiling, Claire said, "Talking doesn't make a baby. Making love makes a baby."
William snapped a finger as if realizing something important and said, "That's what we've been doing wrong. We've been talking too much."
Lucy smiled at her husband before she asked, "Do you mean that we were supposed to be doing something while talking about love?"
"Yes, it appears so," William answered.
Claire and Kelly laughed at the exchange between the young couple. After the laughter died down, Kelly asked, "I'm serious. Are you considering having a baby anytime soon?"
"Well, not within the next nine months," William answered winking at Lucy.
"Right. It takes that long to hatch a baby," Lucy said.
"Hatch a baby?" Claire asked surprised at how Lucy had phrased her answer.
"Sure. My mom told me all about the birds and the bees. Baby birds come from eggs after Daddy Birdie and Mommy Birdie get married," Lucy answered. She posed with a finger to her chin for a second while looking thoughtful and then added, "That's right. First the Daddy Birdie and the Mommy Birdie get married, then they have the baby bird."
"Ah, that it explains it," William said.
Kelly looked at William for a second. She tried to resist the temptation, but it was impossible. Dreading what she was going to learn, she asked, "Explains what?"
"I always wondered where the stork entered the picture. Of course, that doesn't explain the cabbage patch," William said straight faced. He turned to look at Lucy and asked, "Why does the stork leave the baby in a cabbage patch?"
"Economics," she answered.
Laughing, Claire asked, "Economics?"
"Sure, cabbage is such a horrible vegetable that the only way to convince people to grow it is for the storks to leave the baby there," Lucy answered.
"Eureka! That's what is missing from our economics model," William said pointing up in the air with a finger. Little Michael made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
Surprised by the noise, Claire looked down at the baby. Smiling, she said, "You're already giving the baby a sick sense of humor."
Everyone in the room laughed. William reached out and touched Claire on the side of her face. In a soft voice, he said, "We had better go. I'm pretty sure that Ling and Betsy want a chance to see Michael."
"You don't have to leave," Claire said.
"Yes, I do," William replied. He turned and faced Dan. Taking the man's hand, he said, "Congratulations on the birth of your son."
"Thank you, William," Dan said pleased that William had traveled there to see the baby. There had been a time when he had been very uncomfortable around William.
"We'd better go. I'm sure that Ling and Betsy are about to go crazy," William said. He looked over at Lucy and gestured towards the door. She nodded her head and took his hand in hers. Together they left the room.
Outside the waiting room, they paused for a second and listened through the door. Lucy tugged his hand and the pair walked past the door. Halfway down the hall, Lucy said, "Betsy is still crying."
"I know," William said with a frown.
"She's devastated," Lucy said.
"It is for the best. Betsy needed to learn restraint. Momma Ling needed to see what she was doing to Betsy. They may be hurting, but surgical procedures to remove cancerous growths are not without pain," William said.
"You didn't remove a cancerous growth," she said looking at him. She viewed what he had done was to teach them both an important lesson. She added, "You taught her an important lesson."
"It wasn't a lesson that I taught. I removed a cancer from her spirit that would have eaten away everything that was good within her. She'll be a much healthier person as a result," William replied. He paused and looked back down the hallway. Sighing, he added, "I wish it didn't hurt so much."
Lucy said, "You did the right thing."
"Knowing that doesn't make it any easier."