than Olive Worthington was prepared for it. The other and more probable cause for a change in the wedding plans of her son and Candy Kendall – had been foreseen by Olive. It was an unwanted pregnancy. But it was not foreseen by either Candy or Wally.
Thus, when Candy got pregnant, she and Wally were much upset, but they were also surprised. They simply couldn't believe it. They were not ashamed or unable to tell their parents; they were simply shocked by the prospect of destroying their perfect plans.
“We're not ready, are we?” Candy said to Wally. “Do you feel ready?”
“I love you,” Wally said. He was a brave boy, and true, and Candy loved him, too.
“But it's just not the right time for us, is it, Wally?” Candy asked him.
“I want to marry you, anytime,” he said truthfully, but he added something that she hadn't thought of. He had thought of the war in Europe. He said, “What if there's a war?”
“What if what?” said Candy, truly shocked.
“I mean, if we were at war, I'd go,” Wally said. “Only, if there was a child, I couldn't go to a war.”
“When would it be right to go to a war, Wally?” Candy asked him.
“Well, I mean, I'd just have to go, that's all – if we had a war,” he said. “I mean, it's our country and besides, for the experience – I couldn't miss it.”
She slapped his face and started to cry – in a rage. “For the experience! You'd want to go to war for the experience!”
“Well, not if we had a child,” Wally said.
“What about me?” Candy asked, “With or without a child, what would it be like for me if you went to a war?”
“Well, it's all What if, isn't it?” Wally asked. “It's just something to think about,” he added.
“I think we should try not to have the baby,” Candy told him.
“But we need a real doctor,” Wally said.
“Of course,” she agreed. “But are there any real doctors who do it?”
“I haven't heard of them,” Wally admitted.
But Wally Worthington hoped to get advice about an abortionist. He knew that the orchardmen at Ocean View liked him and that they could be trusted to keep Wally's secret.
He went first to the only bachelor on the orchard crew, supposing that bachelors might have more use for abortionists than married men. Wally approached a member of the apple crew named Herb Fowler, a man only a few years older than Wally.
Herb Fowler's present girlfriend was younger than Herb, just a local girl, about Candy's age – her name was Louise Tobey, and the men called her Squeeze Louise, which was okay with Herb. It was said that he had other girlfriends, and he always carried lots of condoms – at all times of the day and night – and when anyone said anything about sex, Herb Fowler reached into his pocket for a rubber and threw it at the speaker. He usually said, “Do you see these? They keep a man free.”
Wally had already had several rubbers thrown at him, and he was tired of the joke, but he thought that Herb Fowler was the right sort of man to ask.
“Hey, Herb,” Wally said to him.
“Yes, that's my name,” Herb said.
“Herb,” Wally said. “If a girl is pregnant, what should one do about it?”
Herb Fowler disappointed Wally. All he knew was something suspicious about a butcher, and five hundred dollars.
“Maybe Meany Hyde knows about it,” Herb added. “Why don't you ask Meany?” Herb Fowler smiled at Wally.
Meany Hyde was a nice man. He'd grown up with a lot of older brothers who beat him. His brothers called him Meany – probably just to confuse him. Meany was friendly; he had a friendly wife, Florence; there had been so many children that Wally couldn't remember all their names, or tell one from the other, and so he didn't think that Meany Hyde even knew what an abortion was.
“Meany listens to everything,” Herb Fowler told Wally.
So Wally went to find Meany Hyde. Meany was waxing the press boards for the cider press. Wally watched Meany Hyde waxing.
“Say, Meany,” Wally said, after a while.
“I thought that you forgot my name,” Meany said cheerfully. “Meany, what do you know about abortion?” Wally asked. “I know it's a sin,” Meany Hyde said, “and I know that Grace Lynch has had an abortion – and in her case, I sympathize with her – if you know what I mean.” Grace Lynch was Vernon Lynch's wife; Wally – and everyone else – knew that Vernon beat her. They had no children.
“Who needs an abortion, Wally?” Meany Hyde asked.
“A friend of a friend,” Wally said.
“That's a shame, Wally,” Meany said. “I think you should speak to Grace about it – just don't speak to her when Vernon's around. And don't tell Grace I told you to ask her.”
So Wally went looking for Grace Lynch.
Grace was cleaning one of the shelves of the pie oven when Wally found her; he startled her, and Grace made a little cry and banged one of her elbows against the oven.
“I am sorry that I scared you, Grace,” Wally said. “I've got a problem.”
She stared at him as if this news frightened her more than anything anyone had ever told her. She looked quickly away and said, “I'm cleaning the oven.” Wally suddenly realized that all his secrets were entirely safe with Grace Lynch.
“Candy is pregnant,” Wally said. She looked at Wally again with her eyes as round as a rabbit's.
“I need advice. Please just tell me what you know, Grace,” Wally said.
“Saint Cloud's,” she whispered. Wally thought that it was someone's name – the name of a saint? Or was it a nickname for an evil abortionist – St. Cloud's?
“I don't know the doctor's name,” Grace said, not looking at Wally. “The place is called Saint Cloud's, and the doctor's good,” she whispered. “But don't let her go alone – okay, Wally?” Grace said.
“No, I won't let her go alone, of course,” Wally promised her.
“You will ask for the orphanage when you get off the train,” Grace said. She climbed back in the oven before he could thank her.
Grace Lynch had gone to St. Cloud's alone. Vernon hadn't even known she was going. Grace had arrived in the early evening, just after dark; she'd been so nervous that Dr Larch's sedation had not affected her very much and she'd been awake during the night. There had been no complications. (There had never been any serious complications following any abortion Dr Larch had ever performed.) But still Grace Lynch hated to think of St. Cloud's. It was because of the atmosphere of the place in the long night she'd stayed awake. The disturbed river smelled like death; the cries of the babies were frightening; there was a sound of a machine (the typewriter).
That night Wally sat on Ray Kendall's dock with Candy and told her what he knew about St. Clouds.
“I knew it was an orphanage,” Candy said. “That's all I knew.”
It was clear to them both that they couldn't explain their absence during the night, so Wally arranged to borrow Senior's Cadillac, so that they could leave very early in the morning and return in the evening of the same day. Wally told Senior it was the best time of year to explore the coast.
“I know it's a workday,” Wally told Olive. “But it's only one day off, Mom. It's just to have a little journey with Candy.”
Ray Kendall knew that Candy would be happy to take a drive with Wally. Wally was a good driver, and the Cadillac was a safe car.
The night before their trip, Candy and Wally went to bed early, but each of them was awake through the night. Wally worried that an abortion