Tracie Peterson (24 page)

Tess did the only thing she knew to do. She opened her arms and pulled Sherry close. Stroking the girl’s hair, she spoke soothingly. “I want to help, but I don’t know how.”

“I’m so afraid,” Sherry said, clinging to Tess’s neck.

“Of what?”

“Everything,” Sherry replied. “The future.”

The future? Tess couldn’t help but wonder what she meant by that. Was she afraid of having the baby?

“Dr. Zeran thinks you’ll do just fine when the baby comes. He says you’re strong and healthy and so is the baby. It’ll pass before you know it. Don’t worry about the future.”

Sherry pulled away. She looked at Tess with such longing that for a moment Tess thought she might open up and speak about all of her concerns.

But the moment was gone in a flash. Sherry suddenly seemed embarrassed by her tears and her actions. “I’m sorry for waking you up. Really, I’m okay.”

“I know you’re okay,” Tess said, disappointed that Sherry was hiding her feelings. “I just didn’t want you to think you couldn’t talk to me. We have a new friendship going, right?”

Sherry sniffed and turned away. “Right.”

Tess lingered for a moment, disheartened because she couldn’t seem to break through Sherry’s tough façade. “I’m just down the hall if you need me.”

But despite the sincerity of her words, Tess knew Sherry had no desire to hear them. She was closing herself off again—protecting herself from further hurt.

****

The next morning Sherry acted as though nothing had happened the night before. She took up her studies and devoted herself to her books in a manner that made it clear to Tess that the subject was not open for discussion.

Tess, in turn, buried herself in her work because she had no idea what else to do with herself. She was troubled that Sherry was suffering, but she knew she could do very little unless the girl opened up to her.

Bored with issues of retirement communities and their benefits, Tess finally took a break and went into the living room with a new catalog from her favorite mail-order store. She stretched out on the sofa and began flipping through the pages.

She found herself in the teen section and saw a darling dress on a model whose features were not too unlike Sherry’s.

That would look perfect on Sherry
, she thought. It would be great for next spring—maybe an Easter dress. Then it dawned on Tess that Sherry wouldn’t be with them next spring. The thought brought a cloud of gloom over her.

When a knock came upon her door, Tess was happy for the distraction. Getting up, she opened the door to find Kim.

“Hi.”

“Hi, yourself,” Tess said, smiling. “Come on in.”

“I can’t stay long, but I had to see you. Tess, I feel just terrible about the way things stand between us.”

Tess shook her head. “You’ve endured a great deal. I’ve been praying for you—hoping you would come.”

Kim surprised Tess by hugging her tightly, then just as quickly she stepped away. “I was wrong to be so horrible. It just hurt so much. I haven’t been myself at all and it took Travis leaving me to make me realize how far down I’d sunk.”

“What? You and Travis are separated?” Tess asked in disbelief.

“We were,” Kim replied, “but we’re back together now. He made me see that I needed help to get past my depression. He made me realize that I couldn’t do this alone.”

“I’m so glad you listened. I’m just sorry I wasn’t there to help you. I wanted to be,” Tess said softly, “but I figured under the circumstances I would just be a painful reminder.”

Kim shifted and looked down the hall. “Is everything going all right? Is she still going to let you have the baby?”

“Everything is fine,” Tess replied. “We still have our own brand of stress going on, but I figure that’s just part of living together as a family.” The words pricked Tess’s conscience. It wasn’t the first time she’d thought of their life with Sherry as being that of a real family.

“Well, like I said, I can’t stay. Travis is waiting for me in the car. We’re heading over to the Faith Family Church for some counseling. My aunt Ida goes there and said they were really good. So far, I have to agree. I just wanted you to know how sorry I am for acting the way I did. I want to be there for you, but it may take some time.”

Tess was the one to initiate the hug this time. “You take all the time you need, so long as you don’t shut me out.”

Kim pulled back, nodding. “I promise.”

Kim’s visit had given Tess just the right lift for her afternoon. By four o’clock, Tess realized she needed to start thinking about something for dinner. Brad had promised to be home early and she had figured to fix something simple
for the trio. But before she could even get up from the sofa, Tess heard the front door open.

“Brad? Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me. Justin’s here, too.”

Tess grinned. It was just like her husband to bring home strays. She went to greet them. “Well, you caught me offguard. I knew you said you’d be home early, but I never expected it to be this early.”

Brad nodded. “We’ve got problems, Tess.”

She looked to Justin, whose expression confirmed this. “What’s wrong?”

“I think we’d better sit down together with Sherry,” Brad suggested.

Tess felt her stomach tighten. “All right,” she said, turning to go get the girl.

Sherry was just as surprised as Tess to be called to the gathering. She eyed each of the adults almost fearfully, then settled on Tess. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but Brad and Justin are about to tell us.”

Justin cleared his throat. “I’m just going to lay this out on the table, but I want you to know I’m already taking care of matters.”

Tess nodded. “All right, so go on.”

“The Delbertos were not happy to learn that Sherry opted to have the baby instead of an abortion,” Justin began. “Mrs. Delberto in particular is afraid that Sherry will change her mind and keep the baby and she wants no part of that. She has petitioned for custody.”

“What!” Tess exclaimed. “How can this be? She has no right.”

Sherry sank into the nearest chair with a look of complete shock on her face. “She can’t take my baby, can she?”

“She has certain rights as a grandparent,” Justin replied. “But ultimately it will have to be decided by the courts.”

“But she wanted the baby dead,” Sherry countered. “She said she didn’t ever want to see us again.”

Justin nodded. “Look, I don’t want you to worry about this. It’s just something that you needed to know, and other than that, all you need to concern yourself with is that I’m on the job and will take care of all the details.”

Tess refused to be comforted. “I can’t believe this. I read the report. She didn’t want anything to do with this baby. She didn’t even believe it was her son’s child.”

“I know,” Justin replied. “But now she does and now she wants the baby to be raised as a Delberto.”

When Sherry got up in her awkward slowness and headed for the balcony, Tess couldn’t help but follow her.

“Please try not to worry,” Tess told her, even though her own heart was tight with concern.

“That woman is just doing this to get back at me,” Sherry said, looking out at the ocean. “I know I did wrong. Mr. D helped me to see how it was a sin to do what I did, but I’m sorry for that.” She turned to Tess. “Is this God’s punishment?”

Tess shook her head. “I can’t explain why things like this happen, Sherry, but what I do know is that in spite of how things look, we have to trust God for the outcome.”

“Does He really care about me?”

The words nearly broke Tess’s heart. Partially because she felt guilty for never having really shared God’s love with Sherry, and partially because the longing she heard in Sherry’s voice was no different that the longing in her own heart.
Could God really care about me?
was a question Tess had often asked herself as a child and then as a young adult and even now. Now, when she couldn’t conceive the child she so longed to have. But the peace that settled over her heart after prayer told her that God not only cared—He was already tending to the problem.

“Sherry, God cares,” Tess finally answered. “He’s already seen the future—He knows how this will all turn out. He has a plan and we have to trust that His plan is better than our plan.”

“Would you pray with me?” Sherry asked, her voice sounding awkward and weak.

Tess held open her arms and without hesitation, Sherry came forward. “Of course I’ll pray with you,” Tess whispered. “I should have been praying with you from the start.”

CHAPTER 23

The first of November arrived with the Delbertos as determined as ever to fight for custody. Sherry and Tess waited daily for reports from Justin, but they still hadn’t heard the words they wanted to hear. Tess was nearly beside herself, but she wasn’t about to let Sherry know. She had worked too hard to calm Sherry’s fears. The teenager had asked repeatedly for prayer, and now it had become a part of their daily routine.

The stress had been enormous on the trio. Brad had buried himself in work and when Tess finally got him to talk to her, he admitted that he was terrified of losing the baby to the Delbertos. Tess hadn’t even considered how hard the entire affair might be on her husband. Huddled together in the darkness of night, they had prayed for over an hour that God would deliver them from this nightmare. After that, they had lain awake—wrapped in each other’s arms until dawn. This and prayer were their only comfort.

Sherry was holding up no better. She couldn’t study and she couldn’t eat. Tess tried everything from cajoling to promising the teen the moon, all in hopes of keeping mother and child healthy.

“You’re just nagging me because of the baby,” Sherry said. “That’s all anybody cares about! The Delbertos want the baby. You want the baby. The baby is all anybody wants. I wish I’d never gotten pregnant! I wish this baby had never existed!” With that outburst she doubled over as if punched in the gut.

Tess was used to her tirades. The last few weeks had them all on edge, but it was clear that this outburst had caused Sherry some kind of physical discomfort.

“What’s wrong? Did you pull a muscle?” Tess asked, moving toward Sherry.

“No.” The teen straightened. “The baby just kicked me extra hard.” She hung her head. “He hadn’t been kicking at
all since early yesterday. I figured he was mad at me.” Sherry shook her head. “I didn’t mean what I said. I’m just so tired.”

“I know you are. But it won’t be long until the baby’s here—”

“Then what?” Sherry questioned, moving away from Tess to pace the living room. “What do we do after the baby is born? I don’t want that woman raising my baby. She’s mean and she’s only in foster care for the money.”

“Sherry, all we can do is pray and trust God. Trust that God will show Justin the right way to handle this case, and even trust that God will change the hearts of the Delbertos.”

Sherry started to say something, then held her hand to her stomach. “I don’t feel good,” she said, looking up at Tess. “Maybe it’s the baby.”

Tess felt her breath catch in her throat. “Do you really think so?”

The child’s face blanched as she held her stomach. “I’m all crampy. I have been all morning.”

Tess nodded, trying her best to stay calm. “That sounds like you could be in labor. I’ll call Dr. Zeran.” She went to the telephone and dialed the number. Her heart was racing in fear.
It’s too soon
, she thought. Sherry isn’t due for another three, almost four weeks. It’s too soon.

The receptionist came on the line and Tess quickly explained the problem.

“Let me have the nurse talk to you. Just hold for one moment.”

Tess waited impatiently. “Sherry, why don’t you sit down and rest. You don’t want to bring this on any faster than necessary.”

“This is Sarah, Tess. What’s going on?”

Tess was relieved to hear the familiar voice of one of David’s nurses. “I think Sherry might be in labor, but it’s early—about three and a half weeks. What should we do?”

“That’s not so bad. Look, have her rest and keep track of
the pains. If they get to be five minutes apart and last at least sixty seconds, then head for the hospital.”

Tess helped Sherry to stretch out on the couch. “You rest here and I’ll get the stopwatch. We’ll see if this baby is serious or not.” She smiled and tried to sound reassuring.

“But it’s too early,” Sherry said, rubbing her swollen abdomen.

“Three and a half weeks isn’t too early—the nurse said it’s just fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Tess reached out and pushed back a strand of blond hair. “I wouldn’t lie to you, Sherry.”

“Promise?”

Tess cocked her head to one side. “What?”

“Promise you won’t lie to me, even if it’s hard to tell me the truth?”

Tess sat down beside Sherry and took hold of her hand. “I promise not to lie to you. I know that it’s important to you that someone be open and honest, and I promise to be that person.”

“Thanks, Tess . . . aghhh,” Sherry moaned in pain. “This really hurts.”

Tess looked at her watch, knowing full well it hadn’t been five minutes. She tried to mentally keep track of how long the pain lasted. Thirty seconds, forty, forty-five. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, Tess thought, remembering back to the vast number of books she’d read regarding labor.

Tess saw the teen’s face relax a bit. “Is the pain fading?” Sherry nodded but said nothing. Tess got to her feet. “Look, I’m going to get the watch. You just try to rest.”

But neither one had much of a rest. Before Tess could return with the watch, Sherry was crying out for her to hurry.

“Oh, hurry, Tess,” Sherry said, struggling to get up. “I think that water sack the baby’s in is leaking. Oh, look. I got the couch wet.” Sherry’s misery sounded in her voice. “I’m so sorry, Tess.”

“That’s no matter,” Tess said. “If your water has broken, we need to get to the hospital. I’m not even going to bother calling back. Let’s just get your stuff and go.”

Tess drove like a madwoman through the crowded streets, then finally she pulled into the emergency-room drive and hurried to get the attention of the staff.

Sherry remained in misery, although the pain was irregular and often not that bad. At one point Tess had even thought the pains had stopped, but she knew from things David had told them that they would still need to come to the hospital if Sherry’s water broke.