That Was Then... Read Free Page B

yourself totally on your own?”
    She looks down at her drink. “I know…”
    Although I know it could get me in trouble, I decide to take the next step. “And it wasn’t that long ago that you wanted to get rid of the baby completely. Remember? But wouldn’t it be much braver of you, and much better for the baby, to allow some really good parents, people who have a good home and money and everything, to raise this child?”
    I can tell she’s thinking about this, but she doesn’t say anything.
    “I know that I’m really thankful my birth mother did that much for me. And my parents were thankful too.”
    Now she sits up straighter, and I can see this look in her eyes, this look that’s slightly hard and cold and somewhat calculated. “Ben promised to marry me. He said he wants to be a father to our baby. He knows it’s the right thing to do.” She pushes her hair out of herface. “And that’s what’s going to happen. Even if it looks bad and dark right now, I know God is going to work this out for good. I just need to have faith, Kim. And that’s what I plan to do.”
    Well, that seems to end our conversation, which is a good thing since it’s getting pretty hot in the Jeep now. So I start up the engine and drive us home in a silence so thick I can feel it pressing against me.
    “Thanks for the ride,” she says in a stiff voice as I stop in front of her house.
    “No problem.” Then I drive a couple houses down to my house, get out of my Jeep, and now I slam the door. Poor Daisy.
    There’s a message from Caitlin on our answering machine. She’s helping me plan Nat’s bridal shower, which is supposed to be at my house, but at the moment I’m not feeling too enthusiastic about it. Even so, I call Caitlin back. And I guess she senses that all’s not well by the edgy tone of my voice.
    “I’m sorry, but I just dropped Nat at home and she’s making me crazy.”
    “What’s up?”
    Since Caitlin and I have already discussed this, and since she’s Ben’s sister and has promised me confidentiality, I feel fairly safe telling her. Without going into all the gory details, I admit that I still think this marriage is a great big mistake. I also tell her how I probably offended Nat by bringing up the adoption option again. “I really blew it.”
    “You shouldn’t feel sorry about that,” Caitlin says. “And Nat should respect your advice.”
    “I’m worried about her,” I finally say. “The scariest part of this whole thing is the way she believes that if they get married—or as she says, ‘do the right thing’— they’ll automatically be blessed and live happily ever after. Like God is going to miraculously make everything wonderful. But I think it’s going to be hard. Really hard. Their chances of making a marriage work are pretty slim. And if it doesn’t work…well, where does that leave Nat? She’ll be stuck with a baby and nothing more than a high school diploma. Where do you go from there?”
    “I know…”
    “You do?”
    “I’ve got an idea, Kim.”
    “What?”
    “Oh, it might be crazy. But it just might be a good wake-up call for Nat too.”
    Then she tells me about one of her high school friends and how this girl got married when she was just a little older than Nat and under some very similar circumstances.
    “That first year was really hard on Anna and Joel,” she continues. “And they’ve struggled ever since. They just had their second baby in June, and shortly after that, well, Joel decided to call it quits. He left Anna a couple months ago. According to Anna, it’s hopeless. She sounds fairly certain that they’ll be divorced before Christmas.”
    “That’s too bad.”
    “I know. It’s really sad. And Anna’s so sweet and so smart. But she’s so stuck too. She never finished college either. She worked to support them while Joel finished up and finally graduated. Anna’s working at a restaurant now.”
    “So what’s your idea?”
    “Anna just moved back