23

It was like being in a movie.

That’s what it felt like to Christina. Sitting around the Anderson Sunday dinner table. Everybody talking, several conversations going at once. People passing food; people asking other people to pass food. Listening to family jokes, being the only one who didn’t get them. The dad, Jim, sitting at one end of the table; the mom, Marilyn, to his left. None of them seemed to realize how unusual this was. Didn’t people stop doing this, like, decades ago?

But she loved it. Every bit of it.

She especially liked that no one made her feel strange. Marilyn had introduced her before they’d sat down, though it seemed everyone already knew who she was. They all said hi, some other nice welcoming thing, then life went on as usual and Christina was allowed to be a part of it.

There were two empty seats in the middle. Christina understood they belonged to Michele and Allan. She had met Allan at church. Marilyn said they should be here any minute. Doug sat next to Allan’s empty chair. He had been polite to Christina, but that was about all. It was hard to stop looking at him, but she had been relatively successful. Of course, they had only been sitting for ten minutes. In any case, no one seemed to notice her looking at him, especially Doug. She knew this because every time she did look, his eyes were somewhere else.

“When are you heading back to St. Augustine, Doug?” his brother Tom asked.

Doug took a roll and passed the basket down. “About an hour after dinner. I got my stuff together in a couple of boxes by the apartment stairs. Once I’m gone, the place is all yours, Christina.” He smiled at her.

“Can’t wait,” she said. “I mean, till it’s mine. Not can’t wait till you’re gone.”

“I know.”

“Did you strip the bed?” Marilyn asked Doug. “And scrub that bathroom real good? The way I taught you when you first moved in?”

“I did better than that. I not only stripped the bed, I put the dirty sheets and pillowcases in the washer and put fresh ones back on the bed. And the bathroom is so clean, you’d never know a guy had been there.”

Christina smiled. The bathroom was probably cleaner than the one in her old apartment. “That’s very kind of you, Doug.”

“No problem.”

“Think you can help her get her stuff up the stairs after we eat?” Marilyn asked.

“I was planning on it.”

The front door opened. Everyone turned and started greeting Allan and Michele. A few of them stood, so Christina did too. But she stayed back by the table.

Michele . . . she looked way too familiar. She seemed to look at Christina the same way.

Marilyn walked Allan and Michele toward her. “Allan, you met Christina at church. But you weren’t with us at the time, Michele. Well, this is Christina.”

Michele stuck out her hand. “We’ve actually met before, Mom. In a way.” She looked at Christina. “Remember, that day at the playground?”

“That’s where it was. I knew you looked familiar.” Oh my, Christina thought. She’s the woman who was crying as she watched the kids play, because she can’t have kids of her own.

“What playground?” Allan asked.

“Just one in River Oaks,” Michele said. “Well, let’s get seated. I’m starving.”

“We haven’t started eating,” Marilyn said. “We’re just yakking and dishing out food.” She took her place at the end of the table.

After everyone sat again, Doug said, “Any chance we could say the blessing before Michele and Allan get their food?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” Allan said.

“All right,” Jim said. “Let’s pray.”

Everyone reached for each other’s hands and closed their eyes. Before she closed hers, Christina saw Tommy stretch and reach for his sister’s hand. So cute. Then Jim prayed a nice, short prayer. She didn’t remember all of it, but she felt especially blessed when he spent a few moments talking about her. It was hard to fathom. He was thanking God for her, for God bringing her into their lives? Everyone said amen and started eating. She wished she could have been a little bolder. If anything, she was the one who should be thanking God for them.

When she opened her eyes and looked around the table, three people were looking back at her: Doug, Marilyn, and Michele. Michele’s look was the only one that troubled her, and only a little. The other glances were light and friendly.

Michele definitely had something going on behind those eyes.

Michele wasn’t really starving. She had just said that to change the subject. She still hadn’t told Allan about her trips to the playground. It wasn’t as though she’d been doing anything wrong. So why hadn’t she told him?

Christina certainly looked a little different than she did that day. She looked better. Cleaner, happier, and definitely more . . . pregnant.

“How much more time before your baby is due?” Jean asked.

“Six or seven weeks,” Christina said.

Michele wondered if she’d made a decision about whether to keep the baby or not. This wasn’t the right time or place to ask such a thing. And really, it was none of Michele’s business.

Allan passed her the plate of roast beef. “So you two met at the playground? Was that while I was on my trip?”

“What trip?” Christina said.

“A mission trip to Africa.”

“Yes,” Michele said. She took one slice of beef and set the plate down in front of her.

“Which playground was it?”

Why did he care? “The big one. The one closest to the downtown area.” She didn’t look at him, thinking he might get the hint and drop it.

“I was there trying to think through a pretty big decision,” Christina said.

“Which decision is that?” Doug asked.

“Doug, don’t be nosy,” Marilyn said.

“I don’t mind. Whether or not to keep my baby and raise her as a single parent or put her up for adoption, let a married couple be her mom and dad.”

“Wow,” Doug said. “That’s a biggie.”

“It is. Biggest decision I ever made.”

“Sounds like you’ve already made it.”

“I have.”

“Well?”

“Christina, you don’t have to get into all that here,” Marilyn said. “Doug, don’t be so curious.”

Michele wanted to know the answer too. She couldn’t tell if her mom was trying to protect Christina’s privacy or to signal her not to discuss the situation over the dinner table. She got her answer quickly, when her mother’s eyes instantly shifted to Tommy and Carly. Probably wasn’t the best dinner conversation for little ears.

Christina leaned toward Doug and said quietly, “I’ll tell you later if you really want to know.” She looked up at Michele and smiled, then back at Doug. “But talking with your sister that day at the playground really helped me.”

Michele quickly looked at Allan. He had definitely heard this exchange.