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A Second Chance for Grace

By Karen Malley

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1
“Aunt Susan, I’m pregnant.”
Susan Montgomery almost dropped the phone. God, no. She’s only 16. She took a deep breath. “Are you sure, Claire?”
“I took the test. I’m sure.” Her voice shook, and Susan could hear her sniffling.
“OK, hang tight. I’m coming over.”
Susan grabbed her jacket and purse and drove to her sister’s house, praying all the way. God, how could this happen? Claire was such a good kid. Susan’s hands gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white. She parked in front of the 3-car garage for a moment and slowed her breathing. This wasn’t the kind of neighborhood used to dealing with teen pregnancy. People in this neighborhood were more concerned with their golf scores and their beauty salon appointments. Before she could get out of the car, Claire pulled open the passenger door, breathless.
“Mom and Dad will be home soon. Can we get out of here?”
Susan took in Claire’s swollen eyes and makeup-streaked cheeks, and her heart melted. Claire was far too young to be dealing with all this.
“Sure, Claire-bear,” Susan said. “Have you told your parents?”
“No way,” Claire said, as she got into the car.
“Do you want to get a milkshake or go back to my place?” Susan asked.
“Your place,” Claire said. “I can’t even think about food.”
Back at Susan’s apartment, Claire sank into the plush sofa, hugging a pillow to her chest. Susan sat next to her, cross legged, and ran her hand along her cheek. “Are you ready to talk about it?”
Claire picked at the pillow. “What’s to say? Mom and Dad will kill me.”
Susan started to object, but clamped her mouth shut. Claire was right. Her mom was a control freak. A pregnant teenage daughter wouldn’t fit into her perfect plans. An involuntary chuckle escaped from Susan’s lips.
Claire turned to her, aghast. “What could possibly be funny to you right now?”
Susan bit her lip. “Sorry. I was imagining your mom’s face when she realizes she’s about to be a grandma.”
Claire’s eyes narrowed in anger before softening. “Yeah, that would be perfect, wouldn’t it?” She turned to Susan. “Are you sure I shouldn’t take care of the problem? No one would need to know.”
Susan clenched her fists. “Claire, absolutely not. It is a child, not a problem. No matter how inconvenient this may be for you, it’s not the baby’s fault. Do you understand?”
Claire shrank under Susan’s gaze. “Yeah, I kind of figured you’d say that. Fine. I’ll talk to them.”
Susan touched Claire’s hand. “Did you tell Jake yet?”
Claire shook her head. “No. He’s so busy with basketball.”
“I hope you’re more important to him than a game,” Susan said.
“It’s not like that. I told you he got a basketball scholarship. His dad is super excited.”
“I didn’t think his dad was around,” Susan said. “Doesn’t he live with his mom and stepdad?”
“Yeah, but his dad lives nearby. He sees him a lot,” Claire said.
“Wow—two dads. Poor guy will get double the lectures,” Susan said.
“No, his step-dad doesn’t care much. He pays about as much attention to Jake as my parents do to me,” Claire mumbled.
Which is exactly why she got herself into this situation. Susan rubbed her temples. “Listen, Claire, I’m sorry. I never thought about talking to you about sex. I assumed your mom would. I knew you and Jake were pretty serious, but I thought you’d have made better choices.”
Claire’s gaze dropped to the sofa pillow. A tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m sorry I disappointed you.”
“Hey, now, none of that. What’s done is done. But your choices led to consequences you need to face.”
“What am I going to do?”
Susan gazed into the trusting eyes of the girl that was more of a sister to her than a niece and sighed. “We’ll pray. And you’ll call your mom and tell her you’re staying here tonight. You can go to church with me in the morning, and afterwards we’ll face your parents together.”
That night, after getting Claire settled in the spare room, Susan lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Claire was counting on her to take care of her, but that didn’t mean she had all the answers. There wasn’t anything easy about this situation. If only her sister wasn’t so difficult. Or her brother-in-law. Emily and Darren were nothing but proper. This would tarnish their stellar reputations. Susan sighed. She and Emily were never close. You’d think since they were the only family left, things would be different. Still, Emily was 18 when Susan was born, and they couldn’t be more different. Emily was through college and married before Susan was even out of elementary school.
Their mom tried to bring them together over the years, but it wasn’t until Claire came along that there was any reason to. Susan was 12 when Claire was born, and she loved her from the moment she laid eyes on her. She baby-sat every time she could, and Emily was more than willing to let her. But now, that baby was about to have a baby of her own. Susan fell asleep praying for her small family.
The next morning, after finally finding clothes Claire was willing to borrow, they entered Faith Community Church.
“This church is nothing like ours,” Claire said. “My parents wouldn’t approve.”
Susan huffed. “I’m not concerned about their approval. I love this church. I get a lot more out of this church than I ever did at theirs. Pastor Mark is awesome.”
Claire shrugged. “I’m surprised they let me stay over on a Saturday night. You are a bad influence on me.”
Susan smiled. Claire joking around was a good sign. She was right, though. In all these years, Claire never attended church with her.
A deep voice interrupted her thoughts. “Hello again, Susan.”
Susan turned to see Christopher, or Mac, or whatever he was called. Her friend Adam stood beside him, balancing on crutches. With everything going on with Claire, her encounter with the man a few days earlier was all but forgotten. As those eyes twinkled at her, she wondered how that was possible.
“Christopher, hi,” she breathed. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Please. Everyone calls me Mac.” He grinned at her.
“And Adam, you’re finally out of the hospital. It’s great to see you up and around,” Susan said.
A moment later, a young woman approached Adam. He beamed at her, and they took seats in the row behind them.
Susan glanced back at Adam and the woman. She seemed familiar, but Susan couldn’t place her. And since when did Adam have a girlfriend? There was no mistaking the way they gazed at each other.
“Who’s the guy?” Claire whispered to Susan. “He’s good-looking for an old man.”
“Shh.” Susan whispered back. “He’s a friend of a friend. I met him the other day.”
“He seems happy to see you again.”
“Will you stop? The service is starting.” Susan whispered. As they rose to sing, she couldn’t help sneaking peaks at the man beside her. He stood a half head over her, which was saying something. At five foot-eleven, she rarely looked up to anyone. Mac’s rich deep singing voice warmed her. She’d need to ask Adam more about this guy. She and Adam attended Bible study together since he moved to Pine Springs the year before. When Adam was injured in a construction accident, she and Mac met in the hospital while visiting him. Mac definitely caught her attention. She sighed. What did it matter? Nothing would come of it. Nothing ever did. At twenty-eight, she was tired of being alone, but that seemed to be God’s plan for her. She had enough to deal with right now with Claire, anyway.
As the singing drew to a close, Pastor Mark announced it was time for the congregation to greet one another. Mac turned to Susan and held out a hand. As she put her hand in his, a shiver ran down her spine. His hand was warm, rough, and huge.
“Hi, I’m Claire.” Claire reached around Susan to Mac. As Mac released Susan’s hand, the warmth drained away. What was it about this guy?
Mac and Claire shook hands, and Susan turned to speak with Adam.
“Susan,” Adam said. “I want you to meet someone special. This is Kathryn.”
Susan shook her hand, studying Kathryn’s face. “It’s great to meet you. When did you two get together?”
Adam grinned at Kathryn, then answered Susan. “We met over the summer, and our relationship has gradually grown since Kathryn accepted the Lord early this year.”
“That’s great. I’m happy for you.” Susan said.
Kathryn smiled. “Me too.”
“You look so familiar to me,” Susan said.
“Kathryn is Anne’s brother’s widow,” Adam told Susan.
Susan’s eyes went wide. “Robert’s wife? Really?” She smacked her forehead. “I knew I recognized you. I’m so sorry about Robert. We were all rocked when he got in that accident,”
Kathryn gave a weak smile. “Thanks. It’s possible we met, but I wasn’t particularly good about making it to church with Robert.”
“Robert and Adam and I were in the Campbells’ Bible study together,” Susan said.
“Robert spent a lot of time with Mark and Anne,” Kathryn said. “I’m glad to meet you.”
Adam turned Kathryn’s attention to Mac as he shook Mac’s hand. “And this, Kathryn, is the famous Mac.”
Kathryn’s eyes lit with recognition. “Nice to meet you, Mac.”
Mac rolled his eyes and greeted Kathryn. “Don’t believe anything he says about me.”
Susan watched the exchange, about to ask what that meant, when Pastor Mark signaled it was time for the service to continue.
***
The drive to Claire’s parents’ house was strained and silent. Claire stared out the window, chewing on her fingernails.
“Claire-bear, it will be OK. They love you.” Susan said.
“Sure, they do. As long as I follow all the rules and do exactly what they say,” Claire said. Her phone chimed. As she pulled it out, relief crossed her face. “It’s from Mom. They’re going out to lunch with some church people. Guess we don’t need to do this now, after all.”
“Claire, you need to tell them. This isn’t something you can hide for long.”
“Yeah, whatever. They probably wouldn’t even notice,” Claire muttered.
“Claire, give them the benefit of the doubt. They do love you. Now go get your homework done. Baby or no baby, it’s a school day tomorrow. Call me whenever you need me.”
“I will, Aunt Susan. Thanks.”

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