Gloria Dunbar

Up the Downside Gloria Dunbar

Valerie Taylor is a young lady who has it all--beauty, brains, and a bright future. She yearns for romance, but she just doesn't seem able to get it right. She has a couple of back-to-back affairs with Anton, who deceives her for another, and Bobby, who is staunchly married to his career. Valerie discovers herself with child, not certain who the father is. She's devastated and left alone with Clare, her snobbish, racist, puritanical mother. Being a single mom was absolutely not in her plans.

Valerie and her young son, Barry, glide through the years. Valerie has given up on love, or at least she had until Andrew, a successful physician, pops into her life. In time, Andrew loves Valerie, and Barry too. He's the dad Barry has always wanted.

Clare thinks he's perfect for her daughter. Andrew wants to tie the knot, but Valerie is reluctant. Love hasn't worked for her in the past. Why would it now? With the constant coaxing of Barry and Clare, Valerie finally allows Andrew to slip a ring on her finger. They're a happy pair until tragedy occurs.

Valerie's proud of Barry, who is now a college student. Barry has proven to be a great football player. He's in his junior year, and his team makes it to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Bobby lives in California. He sees Barry's picture in the LA Times and recognizes his resemblance to Valerie. He thinks this might be the kid he fathered with Valerie and has been secretly supporting for the past nineteen to twenty years. Maybe he wanted nothing to do with the kid all those years ago, but it's different now. Bobby wants to know his son, although Valerie might object. No matter. Bobby calls Valerie. And, with a bit of turmoil, love persists.