Chapter 16
Carrington House
Searcy, Arkansas
February 2013
Bennett, Poppy, and Ben were in the middle of dinner. Ben recounted a funny story in his Next Level GT class when Bennett’s cell phone rang. Glancing at the screen, Bennett could not suppress the look of surprise that flew across his face.
Since he had resigned from office and was mainly just focused on them, the number of calls that Bennett fielded each day had dropped dramatically. It was rare now for him to get a call at night, so it had to be something serious.
“Who is it?” asked Poppy.
“Taylor,” replied Bennett, getting up and leaving the table to talk privately.
Poppy hated that even after several months of happy marital bliss, her first instinct at hearing Taylor’s name was always jealousy. Memories of the past when Bennett seemed to get wrapped up in Taylor and forget about everything else still had a hold on her. Determined to rise above them, Poppy forced herself to concentrate on Ben’s story and trust that the Taylor show days were behind them.
After a few minutes, Bennett came back into the kitchen. Poppy could tell by the look on his face that he was pretty worried. “Is everything okay?” she asked.
“That was Taylor. Baby Rosie is very sick. She has been diagnosed with aplastic anemia.”
“Oh no, that is terrible. What does that mean?” asked Poppy.
Before Bennett could answer, Ben asked, “Who is Rosie?”
Bennett and Poppy looked at each other as they tried to decide how best to answer that. Finally, Poppy said, “Rosie is Taylor and Greer’s daughter. She was born in late December.”
“Taylor? The lady Dad was married to before you?” asked Ben, looking confused.
“Yes, Dad and I will talk about this later.” Giving her son a reassuring smile, she added, “Why don’t you back up and start your story over? I know Dad will enjoy hearing it.”
Later that night, after they had sent Ben up to get his shower and get ready for bed, Poppy said, “Okay, since Ben is upstairs, tell me about Rosie.”
Bennett shrugged, saying, “All I know is that the baby needs a blood transfusion. I am not really clear on the science of it all, but the gist is that neither Taylor nor Greer are a match. Typically, when a kid has this, the parents give blood, and it fixes the problem. In this case, since neither is a match, they are frantically searching for someone who is. Taylor thought I might still have some contact in DC who might help her get a match quicker. The best option would be a family member. Most likely, they would work, but as we know, Taylor does not have that. They have reached out to Greer’s family, but no one has matched. I will call my friends at the Capitol tomorrow and see if they can help.”
“Do you know if this could be fatal if she does not get the transfusion quickly?” asked Poppy.
Shaking his head, Bennett said, “I did not ask that. Taylor is pretty upset. I gathered that the faster they get the transfusion, the better. Evidently, Rosie is in a lot of pain and has been crying for days. Taylor sounded like she was at the end of her rope.”
Poppy was silent for a moment and then said, “I can, or at least, I might be able to.”
“You can what?” asked Bennett, unsure what his wife was saying.
“I possibly can help, or Ben might be able to,” replied Poppy.
Giving her a look of confusion, Bennett asked, “How?”
“Because I mean because…” Suddenly, Poppy could not get the words to come out.
“Because of what?” demanded Bennett, getting frustrated from having trouble following what his wife was trying to say.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Poppy looked Bennett dead in the eye and said, “Because Jonathan Stroupe was my father.”
Whatever Bennett thought his wife would say, it sure as hell was not that. He knew better than to doubt his wife. She did not say things she did not absolutely believe. Giving her a frank look, he barked, “Explain.”
Over the next hour, Poppy told Bennett about finding her mother’s journal the day before she was to leave for school. She explained that while she wanted to demand her grandmother tell her everything, she had held off because Gran was caring for her sister. By the time her grandmother was in a mindset to talk about her mother’s secrets, Poppy had her own. After a while, it did not seem so necessary to know who her father was. She just let it all go until Gran had her heart attack.
Worried she might never know if Gran passed, Poppy waited until her grandmother was healed, gathered her courage, and broached the subject.
