36

Michele had just hung up the phone a few minutes ago, after a quick conversation with her mom. Now she was in the car and so nervous. Christina’s contractions were ten minutes apart. It was happening. Today really was going to be the day.

She said a prayer for Christina as she backed out of the garage. They had become very close over the last four weeks, and Michele’s respect for this young woman had grown deeper. She had never known anyone in a “crisis pregnancy,” had never really pondered the physical and emotional challenges they faced. It was a scary time.

So many young women of her generation, millions, had chosen the easy way out when they had gotten pregnant unexpectedly. Michele had forgotten how many abortions were performed each year, but the number was staggering. There were so many, because it was so easy.

But Christina had said no. No to herself and yes to her baby.

A few days ago, Michele had asked her, now that things were getting so close, did she have any regrets about going through with the pregnancy. “Not one,” Christina said. “I won’t lie to you, it’s been a lot harder than I expected. But my baby’s not gonna pay for my dumb mistakes.”

No, she wasn’t. And Michele had no doubts, either, about Christina changing her mind today, once the baby was born. She would put that baby in the arms of a nurse, and they would take her away. Christina would probably cry, but then with a heart full of faith, she would entrust her baby’s future to a young couple not that much different from Michele and Allan, and entrust her daughter into the hands of God.

Michele felt emotional now as she thought about it.

Lord, help me be a good friend. Help me not to lose it completely when I see Christina. Help me to share with her your encouragement and a sense of how very proud you are of the young woman she’s become.

Michele pulled into the parking lot of the River Oaks hospital and stopped her car under a section of shady tree limbs. The hospital was an attractive facility built with a Mediterranean flair. Theme-park-worthy landscaping lined the walkways. She was hurrying through the front door to get directions on Christina’s whereabouts in the building when she bumped into her mom heading the other way.

“How’s she doing?” Michele asked.

“Pretty good for someone in labor. I wish I could stay.”

“How far apart are the contractions now?”

“I think I heard about eight minutes. She’s in there now, getting a pep talk from one of the nurses. They’ve got a great staff here. No one’s treating her like, well . . . you know.”

“How’s she doing . . . emotionally? Now that it’s really happening?”

“Very well, as far as I can see. I’m sure it’ll be hard when the moment comes to actually . . .” Her mom paused, as if she couldn’t bear to say the words. “Let’s just say, I think Christina’s got a lot more courage for something like this than I would have. Have you called Allan?”

“I have, but he can’t get off work. He wanted to, but he’s got a job out in the field. He was driving there when I called.”

“So you’re going to be by yourself?”

“I’ll be fine.”

Marilyn looked at her watch. “I better get back. Harriet’s all alone in the store, and it’s almost the lunch hour. You call me if anything happens.”

“I will.”

“I get off at five. I’ll come right over after that.”

They hugged and parted ways. Her mom had given her directions to Christina’s room. When she got there, she was told Christina was still talking with the nurse. She mentioned she was there as Christina’s birthing coach, and they led her to a comfortable chair next to the bed. A chair Michele figured was normally used by anxious husbands.

She probably wasn’t as anxious as they were, but now that she was here, she was feeling pretty tense. She wondered how Allan would do when the time finally came for them to share a room like this.

They had been doing well over the last four weeks. Allan especially so. He had made good on his decision to shift his focus from all-things-Africa to supporting their efforts to start a family. She knew he was serious when he had moved all the money from his mission’s savings account to a new “Our Child” account he’d set up to cover the significant expenses they would incur. And he agreed that all of Michele’s teaching money could go into the fund. Every single penny.

That wasn’t all. They had agreed he would devote only one evening a week to the new orphanage project for Ray. Several times, Allan worked on his computer until well after midnight, but he kept that boundary line in place. She was proud of him, and this restriction didn’t seem to hurt his ability to fulfill his commitment to Ray. That morning at breakfast, he’d told her he had finished the orphanage proposal and sent it off to Ray for final review.

He was so pleased. Not just that he’d finished the proposal but that he had been able to keep his heart in check this past month. He’d gotten everything done for Ray and had still kept their relationship in first place the whole time. “I have, haven’t I?” he’d said.

It was so sweet. This little boy look came over his face when he’d said it. Michele was glad she could say, “You definitely have, hon. I’m really proud of you.”

Her cell phone rang, startling her. She looked at the screen. It was Jean.

“So Christina’s in labor? I just read it on Facebook.”

“Who posted it?” Michele asked.

“Christina. Looks like from her phone. Maybe twenty-five minutes ago.”

“She definitely is,” Michele said.

“Are you with her now?”

“I haven’t seen her yet. But I’m in her room. She’s talking with the head nurse in another room. I guess she’s explaining everything to her. They told me they’ll be bringing her in any minute.”

“How far apart?”

“The contractions? Mom said eight minutes.”

“Is your mom there?”

“No, just me. And Christina. Mom just dropped her off. She had to get back to the store. She won’t be back until after five.”

“You think she’ll have the baby before then?”

“I guess it’s possible. You’d probably know better than me. You’ve done this three times.”

“It’s hard to say,” Jean said. “The first one’s always the hardest to predict. You could be there all day today and still be there tonight.”

“I hope it’s not that long.”

“Wish I could be there with you, but Mom’s usually my babysitter during the day.”

“I’ll be all right. Christina’s the one with the hard part.”

“Well, call me if you have any questions. And definitely after the baby’s born.”

“I will.”

“And tell Christina we love her. The kids and I are praying for her.”

Michele hung up and was just about to put the phone back in her purse when it rang again. This time it was Doug. Why was he calling?

“Hey, Michele, it’s Doug.”

“I already knew that.”

“So Christina’s gone into labor. I just saw it on Facebook.”

“It definitely looks like today is the day.”

“You know how much more time she has left? Before the baby comes, I mean?”

“Not really. It could be a couple of hours or anytime between then and sometime tonight.”

“Good. Then I’ve got time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m coming down. Christina and I have become pretty good friends on Facebook, and we send each other emails every now and then. I just want to be there to support her. I think it’s a pretty brave thing she’s doing.”

Wow, this was unexpected. “I think so too. Are you hoping to get here before the baby comes?”

“Not so much then. But after, when, you know . . .”

“She has to let the baby go?” Michele choked up saying it.

“Yeah, then,” Doug said.