Hi, Mom,” Michele said. She stood up and pointed toward the house, letting Allan know she would take the call inside. He nodded and smiled, then turned his eyes back on the courtyard and his attention, no doubt, to memories of Africa.
“I’m sorry,” her mom said, “I just looked at the time. We’re not eating for a couple of hours. But I just called you at dinnertime, didn’t I?”
“Not a problem. It’s still in the oven. I can’t talk long, but I can talk a few minutes.”
“Just stop me if you need to go.”
“So, what’s up? How did your big surprise go last night with Tom and Jean?”
“It couldn’t have gone better. It’s one of the reasons I called. Did you see Audrey Windsor talking with your dad on Sunday?”
“I did. And I figured it must have something to do with Tom, because Dad kept looking at him while they talked. But I haven’t been able to figure out what.”
“Looks like your brother and his family will be moving out of our house fairly soon.”
Her mom spent the next few minutes filling her in on the news about Tom and Jean suddenly being able to buy Audrey’s house. “I’m so happy for them. This is so wonderful!” Michele was almost yelling. “I wish I could’ve been there to see their faces. You told them right there in front of the house? What a clever idea.”
“It was your dad’s. I was just gonna tell them over dinner.”
Her father still continued to surprise her. “When is all this supposed to happen?”
“Your father said it should only take about a month or two.”
“Is that all?”
“Cutting out the real estate agent and mortgage company gets rid of most of the red tape.”
“So how are you doing with this news? With Doug back at school, you guys really will be empty-nesters. Are you still looking forward to it?” Michele stepped into the kitchen and turned on the oven light. Good, the casserole still had a few minutes.
“Well . . . we won’t be, not exactly.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s another part of the reason why I called. I’ve got some other news.”
The joy in her mother’s voice had dropped off considerably. “Is it bad news?”
“No. In some ways, we think it’s very good news.” But she definitely didn’t sound upbeat.
“By ‘we,’ do you mean Tom and Jean?”
“No, your father and me.”
“So, what is this good news?”
Her mother hesitated. Michele found herself tensing up.
“To be honest, I meant to call you earlier today, but I’ve been struggling a little. When this idea first came to me, it seemed totally from the Lord. It’s kind of a big thing. Your dad responded so well to it, and even Doug did when we talked to him.”
Oh great, Michele thought. They had even talked to Doug before they talked to her—the son who was hardly ever home and mostly disconnected from the family. “What is it, Mom? Would you stop setting it up and just tell me?” A long pause. Michele had gone too far. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to say it like that.”
“I’m messing this all up, making it way bigger than it is,” Marilyn said. “I should have just said what it is from the start. It’s just . . . we’re not going to be empty-nesters because someone’s moving into Doug’s garage apartment. Pretty soon, actually. Even before Tom and Jean move out.”
This didn’t sound so bad. “Who is it?”
“It’s this young girl I met. Well, here I go again.” A short pause. “The next part is the part I thought you might have trouble with. I want you to know, your dad and I gave this girl the okay without even thinking. I probably should have talked to you first, to make sure you’d be okay with it.”
Michele was tensing up again. She reminded herself that her mom was just nervous and that she tended to beat around the bush when she got nervous. This was probably nothing. “That I’d be okay with what?”
“With her moving into the garage apartment, where Doug’s been living the last two years.”
“Why would I not be okay with that? Doug’s hardly ever home anymore.”
“I know,” her mom said, “but there’s more. I met this girl down at the Women’s Resource Center. She’s seven months pregnant. She just recently became one of my clients, and we found out she was about to lose her apartment. This way, she’ll have a safe place to live until the baby is born, and I’ll be able to look in on her.”
“Oh.” Michele wasn’t sure if this new information mattered that much. With all this buildup, she was thinking it should bother her more than it did. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing for her that the two of you met.”
“So you’re okay with it then?”
“I think so. Is there some reason I shouldn’t be?”
“I just thought that you might, you know, because you . . . you haven’t been able to get pregnant yet. And you’ve been trying all this time. We’ve talked about how much it bothers you how easily some women who don’t even want children get pregnant, or can’t take care of them. And other women like you are totally ready to be moms and want children desperately, but can’t.”
Michele heard the patio door open and turned. Allan was coming inside. “I remember talking about that, and when I do think about it, it does bother me. So I try not to think about it very much.”
“See, that’s what I’m talking about,” her mother said. “Having this girl living in the garage apartment, won’t her presence constantly force you to think about it? Every time you see her? Every time you come over for a visit? Especially in these next two months. She’s really showing now, but in a month she’ll be even bigger. A month after that, the baby will be here.”
Allan walked past her and motioned that he was heading upstairs to wash his hands. Michele nodded. She was actually glad he was out of earshot, so she could speak more freely. “Mom, I don’t see it being too much of a problem. I see pregnant women all the time at church. Quite a few of my students’ moms are pregnant. Just as many push little babies in strollers. I think I can handle this. Are you thinking she’ll want Allan and me to adopt her baby? Is that what all this is about?”
“No, I don’t think that has anything to do with this. She’s planning to go through an adoption agency anyway. I just didn’t want to cause you any pain. I know how hard this whole thing’s been on you. I didn’t want to do anything to add to it.”
“That was very thoughtful. But let me put your mind at ease. I’m really okay. Well, most of the time I am. Allan and I haven’t really begun to explore all the medical things available for couples going through what we’re dealing with. Actually, that’s the next big conversation I want to have with him. I’m just waiting till he recovers from this trip. But I’m not even thinking about adoption right now, so hanging around this young girl shouldn’t cause any more pain than usual. At least that’s how I’m seeing it now.”
“I’m really glad to hear that, Michele.”
“We keep talking about ‘this girl.’ What’s her name, anyway?”
“We’re really supposed to keep that confidential. But I guess that’s kind of silly if she’s going to be living here with us. I think you’ll really like her once you get to know her. She’s a little rough around the edges, but she’s very sweet.”
“And her name is . . .”
“Her name’s Christina.”