Read Online Family Dynamics (Pam of Babylon Book Five) by Suzanne Jenkins - Free Book Online Page A

and to raise as their own. They picked up the slack when we had our heads up our asses.” Ashton rolled his eyeballs.
    “Great imagery for your new daughter, pal,” he hissed.
    “Sorry, dear,” Ted said. “Let’s take this slowly. You are staying with your boyfriend, correct?” She nodded. “Well, then, you don’t have to worry about going back to Princeton. But I just don’t feel right about not getting in touch with them myself. What do you think, Mother?” Both Ted and Ashton had taken to calling Natalie “Mother,” and when they first said it in front of Deborah, she looked confused. She was ready to call her “Natalie,” as she called her adoptive parents “Beverly” and “John.” Ted was “Ted” and Ashton was, strangely, “Uncle Ashton.” Zach was obviously as uncomfortable as Deborah was happy. Natalie nodded, indicating that she agreed they should contact the Mr. and Mrs. Phillips.
    Addressing Deborah, Natalie said, “To be respectful, we should contact them right away. The last thing we need is bad karma. You may change how you feel in time, and I don’t want you to have any regrets.” They decided that Deborah would call her adoptive mother and father and share the news. It would be up to them to decide whether or not they wanted to meet the new family. Ted secretly hoped they wanted to stay involved because he didn’t know if he had the stamina to be a real father to Deborah. Ashton, on the other hand, was ready to take it on.

Chapter 10
    P am’s attorney got back to her that afternoon.
    “A warning letter doth not a lawsuit make,” he said condescendingly. She wasn’t to worry, he said; he lived in the neighborhood and would pick up the letter on his way home if she would stick it in her mailbox. It would be one less thing for her to worry about.
    The thought that it could easily be made public bothered Pam enough to finally have to call a friend, quagmire or not.
    “Sandra, it’s Pam,” she said. Sandra was surprised and pleased that Pam was calling her again. “Is this a bad time for you?”
    “No, no, not at all. Tom’s not home yet, and I was puttering around. What’s new?”
    “Well, I do have a reason for calling. More drama about Jack. If Tom’s not home yet, can you talk?” Pam asked.
    “Yes, sure. What’s wrong?” Sandra’s heart had picked up a few extra beats; she could feel the reaction that Jack’s name caused in Pam.
    “Did you ever hear the name Cynthia Thomasini?” Pam asked, slowly pronouncing the name so she’d get it right.
    Sandra didn’t answer right away. “Yes, unfortunately. Why do you ask?” Sandra was playing it cagey; if Pam wanted facts, she was going to have to dig. Sandra wasn’t willing to initiate anything that might hurt Pam.
    “What do you know about her? Her family is suing Jack’s estate on behalf of her estate. Wrongful death. I am assuming she died of AIDS and her family knew it was from him.” Boom! Boom! Boom! Sandra’s heart beat wildly in her chest; the pounding was nauseating, frightening. Cindy Thomasini dead? Why? Oh, no. But so quickly? She thought of Marie, dead. And her own nebulous health. She’d go along, feeling fine and then suddenly, out of nowhere, lose ground. Like Pam did. But they’d all been with Jack much longer than Sandra had.
    “How do you know her?” Pam asked, her voice clipped. Sandra could tell she was annoyed.
    “She came to the office looking for Jack a few weeks after he died. She claimed not to know he was gone. She explained he stopped calling her and she was looking for information about what had happened to him,” Sandra said. “I told her he was dead, and she reacted the way you would expect, but she recovered quickly and started telling me about their ‘friendship.’ They were together for three years. He was seeing her while he was seeing me. Payback hurts.
    “What grounds does she have for a lawsuit? He didn’t force her,” Sandra said, immediately sorry she said it