When her mother proposed the idea, fourteen year old Rebecca Abramowicz was totally and completely against the idea. Summer Camp? Sure, it sounded fun in theory but being away from home was the girl’s least favorite thing in the world. That however was what made Abi Abramowicz push her daughter into going, and signing her up despite her tearful protests. The summer before high school and Becca still hadn’t brought home, been caught talking to, or had a date with a single boy. To Abi, this was humiliating so off to camp Becca went, alone, with no older brothers or sisters to hold her back or scare any boys that might be interested in her away. Three days into camp in an empty boat beside the lake Becca made her momma proud and got her cherry popped.
Until Ruthie came along, Becca was the youngest girl out of thirteen children. Her brothers glared at any boy within five feet of her and even her sisters would drag her away or start up a ridiculous conversation if they caught a guy glancing at their baby sister. It also didn’t help that compared to her siblings Becca was painfully shy, unsure of herself, and lacked any sort of confidence. For years she had watched her oldest siblings find boyfriend after boyfriend or girlfriend after girlfriend and even the ones closer in age seemed to have luck finding puppy love. For Becca though, it just wasn’t happening and every time one of her siblings found someone else it kicked at her even harder. Abi had changed that though, by sending her baby girl off on her own for eight entire weeks. When Becca returned she was still as quiet as ever, but her Abramowicz instincts had kicked in and there was no way of holding her back.
She was quiet about it, just like she was quiet about everything. Becca was never one to want to gobble up attention, she withered in the spotlight. In high school Becca got around, sure, and everyone knew about it. It was just hard to hate on her though. She dressed modestly, she had good grades, she didn’t shine neither academically nor athletically. For two years Becca did what she did and no one ever said a word. One day in November of her Junior year, that changed. She was caught in a bathroom stall with the wrong girl’s boyfriend. By the end of the week, Becca was shattered. People whispered when she entered a room, things were thrown at her, she was tripped in the hallways, and her locker was vandalized. The next Monday Abi transferred her daughter into a new school, despite the fact that she had a strange sense of pride over the entire situation. The damage however had been done. For years she had gone through school being just an Abramowicz. Having a name attached to her, having all the negative attention thrust at her did a number on her and sent her confidence to a new low.
Starting a new school in her junior year wasn’t so easy either. Sure, she was a pretty girl but Becca only spoke when spoken to. She was the new girl and not many cliques were willing to let her in. She spent her mornings and lunch in the library, and during her two years there she had not stepped foot into the cafeteria even once. From the moment she woke up until she got home from school not a morsel of food entered her mouth, and when she was home Becca would pick at and hide her food in the napkin that she kept folded in her lap. She was good, and she knew it. But, with thirteen siblings, someone was bound to notice that by the time Becca graduated high school she was nearly ten pounds below the hundred pound mark.
Before being confronted, Becca had plans. Not having friends, she had thrust herself into her studies and managed to graduate with honors. Her grades had landed her a scholarship to FIT in New York City, and she was set to go. After failing test after test that her siblings and even her parents has set in front of her, when it came time to leave, Becca was halted. Her argument of being eighteen was silenced, and she lost all say in what she did. She was driven to school, home from school, to her counselor and home from it. College wasn’t just about attaining a degree for Becca, it was about recovery and with the help of her family she slowly but surely conquered her disease while achieving a degree in sociology.
While her eating habits steadily returned to normal, so did other habits. After a two year dry spell, which caused her mother’s heart to ache, going to a new school allowed Rebecca to go right back to her old ways. This time however, she wasn’t dealing with high school boys. She was dealing with college men, most of which wanted commitment from the tiny, beautiful brunette. It took awhile, but by her senior year someone did it, someone got her. The next two years she dated him on and off and he was her father’s dream boy. He was Jewish, polite, but still masculine enough to protect his delicate flower. Becca however, wasn’t so keen. Throughout their relationship she cheated on him on and off aka whenever he bored her. Eventually, he got the memo and the relationship fizzled. Exactly two weeks later, Becca found herself pregnant. All of a sudden Becca was wishing she had been faithful, and less like Abi Abramowicz.
Three years later, and Becca still hasn’t confront a single man on the paternity of her precious three year old daughter Kady. Three different men over the past three years should have gotten phone calls. Three different men are possibly the father of her child. None of these men however, were ever given a chance. She’s seen them all since, but never have they met or even seen a picture of Kady. Sure, they’ve heard of her, but no one seemed to even speculate that the beautiful little girl might be theirs. Why would they? For years she toyed the idea of telling at least one of them, but her gut always go the best of her. She didn’t need them. She had her family. Kady however is nearing four, and Becca knows that questions are bound to come up.
