The Ties That Bind

Chapter 26

     "Heiress and socialite Aletha VanPelt Abondoned Son at Orphanage"

     The headline was sensational, the story salacious. It was everything that a gossip columnist could have hoped for as she penned it; and best of all, the story had simply fallen into her lap. Maxine Deveau was ecstatic. How many times had she thanked God (ignoring the hypocrisy of thanking God for gossip) for her chance visit to 'Sweet Treats & Breads Bakery' that day.

Though she was now banned from the place for hounding the young worker who was one of the subjects of her latest column. Who could have guessed that the snooty Aletha VanPelt had had a child out of wedlock and simply dropped that child at an orphanage. Oh, how Maxine trembled with excitement at the column she was about to write.

Maxine knew to do some minimal amount of research on this story because she'd been forced to print a retraction to the previous column she'd written, claiming Aletha was involved in an illicit affair with a much younger man. That had been most embarrassing, and she didn't want to go through that again. Although, truth be told, she hadn't gotten nearly as much information about this as she'd hoped to get; she decided to wing it for the rest - it was a gossip column, after all.

That damn Matron at the orphanage refused to give any information whatsoever about Kasden Williams claiming that his privacy was of utmost importance. The local schools hadn't been much more forthcoming, although after speaking to some of the students she'd met there, she had learned that he'd attended the Wattston High School and graduated top of his class, and that he had a full-ride scholarship to Trenton University where he was currently enrolled as a freshman.

Oh well, she thought to herself, she could fill in the blanks of the column with speculation and conjecture - that was what she was known for, and it didn't bother her in the least whether or not any of it was true. She did try, sort of, to find out who the boy's father was, but the last name Williams was fairly common, and she didn't want anyone else scooping her story before she could send it to her editor. Besides, knowing who the father was, while titillating, wasn't really necessary for the column.

In the end, she knew that the Barnes family would clean up any mess the article caused the Barnes or VanPelt families; to her, the boy was of no consequence either. Maxine was not oblivious of the chaos her gossip often caused in the lives of others, she simply didn't care about it - all that mattered was the column and how many subsequent columns could be milked from the original piece. She was in gossip columnist heaven, and nothing was going to stop her from marching onwards. She settled herself in front of her computer and began to write.

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Heiress and socialite Aletha VanPelt Abondoned Son at Orphanage

     As a columnist, I often run into information that is just too incredible to be true; so, when I encounter such information, before I share it with my loyal readers, I do my utmost to search out the truth so my readers can trust my columns about the goings on of the Rich and Powerful whose lives we find so intriguing.

     This latest bit of information, however, has shaken me to the core; I never imagined that such things still happen in this day and age. Sadly though, it appears they still do.

     In previous generations, when a young woman found herself with child, the family would often send her away to a convent, or a home for young women for the duration of the pregnancy. Once the baby was delivered, it would be given up for adoption, and the girl would come back home from her 'vacation' and life went on with nobody the wiser.

     This story begins some 19 years ago when the young miss Aletha Barnes found herself in just the condition described above. Pregnant, unmarried, alone and scared with only her family to turn to for the help she desperately needed.