At the same kitchen table where Nicholas had sat three days prior, Dustin filled in the blanks for Marcy and his dad: the rehab girl, the stolen money, the Good Will Hunting reference. His father listened to the tale without interruption, just letting his son talk until he was finished, something his mother never did. Jason was relieved that they had a lead as to where Nicholas was going; stealing a car and money to drive across the country to see about a girl was far better than stealing a car and money to buy drugs and get high. Having been an ER nurse, Marcy said she was positive Nicholas wasn’t high when he came over.

Marcy apologized over and over for forgetting to tell them about Nicholas’s visit, but his father comforted her by explaining it wouldn’t have made any difference. He was positive that when Nicholas left the apartment, he had walked straight to the garage and embarked on his cross-country road trip right then and there.

The next decision was whether to tell Dustin’s mom what was going on. Dustin voted no, reminding his dad they had agreed to be the ones to step up and deal with Nicholas’s care for a while. Sure, the reunion dinner had gone well between mother and son, but it would be a shame to demolish the rebuilding of their relationship over this latest development.

“I’m sorry, Dustin, but I don’t agree,” Marcy said. “I know it may not be my place to get involved, but as a woman who’s going to be a mother, I would want to know.”

It took Dustin a moment to understand that Marcy was pregnant. Dustin had had no idea his father had planned to have children with her, but it made sense. Marcy was only in her late thirties, so why wouldn’t she want to have a family of her own? Dustin offered his hearty congratulations to them both, although the joyful news was overshadowed by the current Nicholas fiasco.