Different Circles

“I will,” Jake promised. “And she knows that you’re sorry. She’s sorry too.”

Elsa fed them her famous chicken parmesan, angel hair pasta, and a tossed green salad. They washed it down with a bottle of high-end chianti imported from Italy. They ate ravenously and then retired to the deck to watch the sunset while sipping scotch and smoking Cuban cigars. None of them had watched the television or paid any attention to the news since Jake and Greg had arrived, but Laura had informed them that as of 6:00 PM, when they had arrived from the airport, the biggest questions being asked were: Is Mindy going ahead with the induction despite being condemned as a bad mother? And just where had Greg Oldfellow gone and what was he doing? His trail had grown cold in the vicinity of Burbank Airport. Had he perhaps flown from there to somewhere else? And, if so, where?

Just past nine-thirty, as they were all back in the house and enjoying more scotch, the telephone began to ring. Elsa had already finished her nightly cleanup and had retired to her guest house, so Jake checked the little caller ID box and, seeing that it was Pauline’s number, picked up the phone.

“Hey, Paulie,” he said into it. “What’s up?”

“Have you been watching the news?” she asked him.

“Not since I left the studio,” he said.

“Why don’t you let me talk to Greg for a minute?”

“Uh ... sure,” he said softly. “Is it bad news?”

“That depends on one’s perspective,” she said. “It is not unexpected news, however.”

“Uh ... okay,” he said. He turned to the actor. “It’s Pauline. She wants to talk to you.”

“To me?” he asked, surprised.

“To you,” he confirmed, handing him the handset of the phone.

He took it hesitantly and then put it to his ear. “This is Greg.” He listened, his face souring a little. “She did? It was?” Another pause. “And this is official? Really? Grand? Seriously? Wow.” A shake of the head. “I see. Well ... I suppose that’s good to know. It doesn’t change anything, but I appreciate you letting me know. Okay ... I will. And you do the same. All right. Goodbye.”

He pushed the button to disconnect the handset. He then slowly handed it back to Jake.

“What was that all about?” Laura asked. “Did she have the baby?”

“She did,” Greg said. “Pauline says it was officially announced by Mindy’s agent ten minutes ago. She had a baby boy. Seven pounds, two ounces. Healthy in all respects. A routine induced delivery.”

“Wow,” Laura said. “I honestly didn’t think she would go through with the induction after all the negative media coverage of it.”

“You can’t steer Mindy off a course if she decides she wants to be on it,” Jake said.

“That is very true,” Greg agreed.

“Did she tell you if they know the name?” Laura asked.

“They do,” he said. “She named him Grand, no middle name. She apparently made sure to specify that.”

“Grand?” Laura asked.

“Yes,” Greg said sourly. “Grand Oldfellow.”

They paused and let that sink in for a minute.

“I knew she’d give him a fucked-up name,” Jake finally said.

Pictures of Grand Oldfellow were printed in the LA Times on Sunday morning, the shots released by Georgette, Mindy’s agent, who had reportedly been by her side during the labor, the delivery, and the immediate postpartum period. He looked like a typical baby that had been delivered vaginally, his head somewhat misshapen from having been squeezed through the birth canal, a blue hat on his head, no particular expression on his face. He was neither beautiful nor ugly at this point in his life, though it was plain to see that he shared Greg’s nose and Mindy’s cheeks. There were no pictures of Mindy and no quotes from Mindy other than that she would just like to be left alone to care for her child in privacy. As if that was going to happen.

Speculation remained rampant about just what had happened to Grand’s biological father. Though it was well-established by this point that Greg had no intention of being a part of the child’s life, this did not prevent the various reporters from accusing him of being a bad father. He had not been there for the birth! He had not even offered her congratulations! He was not returning any of their calls or reporting his whereabouts so they could harass him! In their eyes, this last was particularly unacceptable behavior.

About an hour after reading the copy of the Sunday Times that Jake had arranged to have delivered to the mailbox at the front gate of his property—Elsa enjoyed making the hike down each morning to collect it—Jake, Laura and Greg climbed into Jake’s car and made the drive to SLO Regional. It was time to get Greg to Coos Bay. Obie offered to let him stay in his house while he was there—he and Pauline and Tabby were currently staying in LA—and Greg took him up on it, though he did plan to start scoping out a house of his own while he was there.