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Esther
Esther sat on her couch trying not to agonize over Jason’s predicament. “Knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one,” she muttered, trying to stay focused.
Zoe came through the door like a whirlwind smelling of sweat and McDonald’s. She dropped her bags and collapsed on the couch beside her.
“It’s not Alita.”
Esther’s needles paused. “What do you mean it’s not her? He got a different girl pregnant?”
Zoe leaned back and closed her eyes, obviously exhausted. “Yes, that’s what it means. Apparently Jason DeGrave gets around.”
Esther didn’t like the sound of that. “Who is she?”
“You don’t know her.”
“You don’t know that. I know lots of families in this town.”
“Well, I’m not going to tell you who it is. I just wanted to tell you that it wasn’t Alita so you don’t bake her a pie.” The words were pretty sassy, but Zoe’s tone was gentle, so Esther let it slide.
“How was your game?”
“Terrible. I only played for like ten seconds, and I had no idea what was going on.”
“Well, I’m sorry to have missed it.”
Zoe opened one eye and looked at her. “No, really. I meant it. I didn’t want you there. I’m embarrassed.”
“Well, I hope you don’t think you can keep me away from your home games. And you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You’ve never played this game before, and you are doing the best you can. You’re part of a team and you’re getting lots of exercise. You should be proud.” Esther was certainly proud of her. And she couldn’t wait to go to one of her games.
Zoe groaned. “All the coach wants me to do is make little baby shots, and I can’t even do that.”
Esther didn’t know much about basketball and didn’t know what to say to that. “You don’t have to play next year.”
“I shouldn’t have played this year! But Jason ...” she started but then trailed off. She yawned. “So, I had an idea.”
“Yeah?” Esther asked while counting her stitches.
“I know you’re not going to like it and I feel like if you haven’t already mentioned it then it’s probably a no-go but just in case you haven’t thought of it yourself, I thought I should mention it.”
Esther could not imagine where she was going with this. “Go on.”
“You know how our church gives money to people in need?”
“Sure.”
Zoe looked at her. “Jason needs a thousand dollars.”
Before she could catch on, Esther said, “For what?” But then she realized what Zoe meant and gasped. “Zoe, you can’t be serious.”
Zoe rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know if I’m serious. It was just a thought. I’m trying to figure out how to help.”
“Helping them get an abortion is not helping!” Calm down, she told herself.
“I’m sorry, Gramma. I know that people your age think abortion is this big crime, but I learned a long time ago that it is just a few cells at this point. It’s really not a big deal.”
Esther’s heart nearly lurched out of her chest. No big deal? What was this child thinking? She doesn’t know, a soft voice whispered into Esther’s heart. She doesn’t understand.
Esther put her knitting down and turned her body to face Zoe. “I don’t know much about science. But I know that every single human being is unique. And I know that God designs them one by one to be unique. Brothers and sisters can be so different. That means that every single person starts out different. So even if this person in this girl’s womb is just a few cells, it’s still a person God has specifically designed. If that baby’s heart isn’t already beating, then it will be soon. Think about that, Zoe. There is a teeny tiny beating heart, designed by God, with a whole life in front of her. An abortion would kill that person. It would stop her heart from beating.” She paused. “Abortion is murder.”
Zoe looked thoughtful.
“Does that make sense?”
“I guess. Honestly, I’ve never really thought much about it.
“You shouldn’t have to. And I didn’t mean to get all morbid on you. But it’s a very, very big deal. It’s a matter of life and death.”
