Chapter Two

Joe was in prison. He hadn't heard from Dolly. Had Dolly turned her back on him. Everyone else had. His mother was angry with him. His father was disappointed in him. They had big dreams of Joe being a professional football P-shift. His parent’s thought Dolly was nothing more than trailer park trash. Joe should have left her alone years ago. This garbage had destroyed his life. He would now be called a drug user. People in the city were already talking about him being a drug dealer. It was the fault of this trashy girl.

Joe already had a tough time adapting in prison. He was told how late to go to bed. What time to get up. What a time to the east. What a time to get a shower. He felt that he no longer had control over his life. Someone always stood over his shoulder and watched him. Always tell him what to do. He was new to the prison. Other inmates threatened him. Big Boy wanted him to live in the dorm for a week. If he didn’t, he would kill him.  He was new and the other inmates tried to intimidate him.

Every time he didn't call home and talk to his parents, no one would answer the call.  He even tried to call Dolly and talk to them. Her mother answered the phone and blocked the calls from prison. He was left in this terrible place. He didn't know anyone and didn't want to be friends with them. He was imprisoned with murderers, drug dealers and everything else. I grew up in a trailer park, but I was never exposed to such behavior.

His parents did not drink, smoke or curse. Now they weren't just smoking around him, they were on drugs. Tiny went into the bathroom and smoked some K2. The next thing you know, he lay dead on the floor. The inmates of the dormitory began arguing about the K2 falling to the ground. He was in the dormitory with some people. How could someone want to smoke something that Tiny just killed. They were real drug addicts. Joe had never seen such a mess in his entire life. That was something people would never believe. It would be changed forever.

The inmates fought, stole and smoked drugs every day. The gangs threatened to beat him up. Every gang wanted him to join him. Joe knew nothing about gangs. He knew enough to know that he didn’t want to be there. All he wanted was to do his time and leave. He was shocked. He was in an environment he had no idea about. If most people were told they would never believe it. He also had no one to talk to.

Dolly was all alone and no one. Amy did the paperwork to take Dolly to see Joe. The paperwork was rejected. It had to be notarized. Dolly would never be able to get her parents to do it. Had given up life. She hadn't heard from Joe. No letter. No phone calls. No attempt to contact them. He had blamed them for what had happened like everyone else. Amy was the only one who knew she was pregnant. Dolly promised Amy not to tell anyone.

Dolly lay in bed crying. Dolly knew that the best thing she had to do had an abortion. She could not support the baby. No one loved her anymore. If they knew she was pregnant, her parents would deny her. They would throw them out of the house. They have nowhere to shoot. The only thing she could do now was get an abortion. Dolly contacted a doctor to perform the abortion.

It was Monday night Dolly lay nervously in bed. The abortion was scheduled for the next day. She had made it this far and her parents knew she was pregnant. Dolly told her parents that she would spend a few nights with Amy. They agreed to let them. She lived a few streets away from Dolly. It was Tuesday morning, which was a day she would never forget.

Amy had written Joe a letter telling him that Dolly was pregnant. She had planned an abortion. Everyone had turned against her and convinced her that you had Joe too. Dolly believed that Joe turned his back on her. She had no one. Dolly felt that she had no other choice. Nobody wanted her and nobody wanted her baby. She thought about running away. She had nowhere to go. She wanted to stay with Amy. Amy was still in high school. She couldn't ask her parents   to let Dolly move in.   Dolly and Amy went to the clinic. They waited for them to call Dolly to the back. Amy's phone rang. It was Joe.

Joe asked Dolly for a conversation. Dolly was surprised. Joe told her he loved her. He wanted them to be together. He knew she was pregnant. He asked her to keep the baby. He promised to be there for them. Dolly was surprised when he told his parents. They were willing to help her if she kept baby. The baby would be her first grandchild. They didn't want to lose it.  Joe jokingly asked tears in his eyes. Dolly could tell through the sound of his voice. He meant every word he said. Dolly started crying and agreed to keep the baby. She hadn't told her parents. She asked him please don't let anyone tell you before I do. Joe was afraid that she would tell her parents. She agreed to tell her parents. She asked Joe and Amy please don’t tell anyone that I was going to have an abortion.

Dolly went home and sat down with her parents. She told them that she was pregnant. They reacted as she knew this was the aftermath. Dolly's parents told her what a shame she was to the family. She was pregnant, unwed, teenager. It would bring disgrace to the family for generations to face. No one in the family had ever brought dishonor to the family as she did. She must get an abortion and not tell anyone what happened. Dolly told them that she planned to keep the baby. They said she had to leave the city and never come back. Dolly didn't have the support to do it on her own.

Dolly couldn't live with Amy. She couldn't live with Joe's parents.  She was faced with all the demands of parenthood, as a teenager, no means of financial support. Joe was in prison and could not support her. She was confronted with homeless people. She knew that the baby could not survive if she was homeless. It could not survive. Homeless shelters battered women's shelters and transitional shelters would not accommodate teenagers under the age of seventeen. The shelters would not take in small children. Young mothers who are homeless face many small hurdles such as poverty and education.

Dolly found a second chance home. The second chance home would give him a secure place to stay, support and she would be able to continue her education. It would need to learn parenting skills, child development, family budgeting, health and nutrition, and other skills to promote long-term economic independence and well-being of children. Some maternity hospitals were funded to meet the needs during pregnancy and prepare for the transition after childbirth, and therefore often allow residential stays only during pregnancy and very short-term after delivery. Dolly would have been eligible for government medical care programs.

Dolly's first day at home everyone welcomed her with open arms. Dolly was surrounded by strangers. Everyone there was in the same situation as Dolly. Every teenager was given a task every day. They were responsible for going to a special school for pregnant teenagers. After school, they had to clean, cook and get a normal household. Every day they would have different tasks to do. The teenager with a baby had to take care of the baby all the time. There was a nurse on duty to help train new mothers. Once the teenager leaves the house, they will be able to take care of themselves and a child. They were offered the opportunity to look for a job. Before they can leave the house, they must hold a high school diploma or general education degree.