Chapter EighteenThe next day Beverly quit her job at the club and left a note for Howard there in a sealed envelope. It was brief and came straight to the point:
“Howard, I've decided to have an abortion. I'm leaving town. Please don't try to find me.”
She told her parents everything. She would like to have handled things on her own, but she needed them, especially her mother. Her relationship with Howard came as a complete shock to them. Her father was furious and his first instinct was to say “I told you so.” His second was to strangle Howard Forester. Beverly and her mother quickly talked him out of that.
Her mother had a sister who lived in Gary, Indiana, only about thirty-five miles east of the city. It was decided that Beverly would go there to have the baby and that they would st
