Grace

the eyes of one brand new human being.

When Judge Solomon slammed his gavel down again, it was only after he had taken off his glasses and rubbed his eyes with his thumbs and blew his nose with a loud honk into his handkerchief. He sent everyone back to their seats, and he called Leah and Grace, and everyone who had come with her that day, to approach the bench.

“Young lady,” the judge began, shaking his gavel at Leah, but he was looking at Grace. “You have turned my courtroom upside down!”

“I’m sorry, Your Honor,” Leah apologized, but she was grinning from ear to ear, still holding the bottle Gertrude had handed over for her hungry little piglet.

“Judge,” Donald interrupted. “I’d like to file a motion to have Joan Golden’s license revoked.”

Judge Solomon smiled. “That would be delightful. I look forward to it. So I think we’re done with this case for the day?”

“Well there’s still the matter of the assault charge against Mrs. Nolan, filed by Joan Goulden,” Donald reminded him.

The judge rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Considering the Goulden woman’s actions today in my courtroom, I wouldn’t doubt that Mrs. Nolan acted in self-defense. Is that your contention, Mrs. Nolan?”

Leah hesitated, glancing up at Donald, who gave her a nod. “Yes, Your Honor.”

“Good. Case dismissed.” The judge gave a satisfied nod, stamping something on the file on his desk and tossing it aside. “Now, I still don’t understand your relation to the Nolans, Mrs. Webber?”

“Well, I’m not.” Gertrude glanced over at her son. Clay was hanging back, holding Erica’s hand. “That’s my son, Clayton, right there. He’s dating Erica. She’s Robert Nolan’s daughter.”

Close enough, Leah thought. If they tried to explain it fully, they’d be there all day, and she was pretty sure the judge didn’t want that.

“And the Goulden woman placed the baby she was trying to hide with you?” The judge slapped his forehead with his palm. “Only stupid thieves get caught, right? That’s what they say!”

“Well to be fair,” Gertrude interjected. “Erica and Clay weren’t dating until recently. I don’t think the Goulden woman had any reason to suspect we would run into each other. And don’t they also say the best hiding place is in plain sight?”

“Do they?” The judge laughed. “I think it must have been divine intervention,” he countered, looking at Leah. “Sounds to me like someone up there likes you, Missus.”

“Well, we do go to the same church,” Clay interjected.

“Oh my God!” Gertrude exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand, eyes widening in horror. “I almost forgot! That’s why I came here to find Clay! He told me he was going to Erica’s and I heard on the radio about the fire at the warehouse and I rushed right over!”

“Warehouse?” the judge asked, confused.

“What?” Rob interjected. “What warehouse? My warehouse?”

Gertrude nodded at Robert Nolan, covering her mouth with her hand again before exclaiming, “I ran right over and Solie told me you were all here. I’m sorry to be one to tell you, but the fire department is there right now. I heard on my way over here, they suspect arson-Mary Magdalene’s was on fire too, last I heard.”

“What about Solie?” Leah gasped. “Was she okay?”

“The church too?” Erica exclaimed, looking at Clay, both of them wide-eyed.

“Yes!” Gertrude shook her head in disbelief. “The church too! Connie, our nanny, took the bigger kids to the park, but I had Lily with me, and when I heard it on the radio, I rushed right over. I’m so glad Father Patrick called me last night and told me he didn’t need me to come in today.

Clay and Erica exchanged looks, but Leah didn’t understand what it was all about. She was more concerned about the Nolans’ housekeeper.

“What about Solie?” Leah asked again.

“Yes, yes, Solie was fine.” Gertie turned to Leah, looking down at Grace resting in her arms. “Shaken up, but she was okay. She said the fire was already out of control by the time she got there.”

“For pete’s sake!” Judge Solomon burst out. “You people wouldn’t have any luck if it wasn’t for bad luck, would you?”

Leah looked from Rob over to Erica and Clay holding hands, to her mother and back to Rob again in the stunned silence, and then down to the little baby in her arms, and she couldn’t help it-she burst out laughing.

The poor man had no idea!

“When it rains it pours, I guess!” the judge threw up his hands, and it just made Leah laugh even harder, and pretty soon, were all laughing, laughing and hugging and leaning on each other as they left Judge Solomon’s courtroom, headed back into God only knew what next.

But none of that mattered. Leah looked around at her crazy little family and down at the now sleeping baby filling her once empty arms and knew, in spite of everything, this was all that mattered-all that ever would matter. The wish she and Erica had made together on Christmas Eve, two sister angels in the snow, had come true.

Grace had returned to them all.

Epilogue

Erica poked her head into Father Michael’s office-his makeshift office, a supply closet they’d cleared out in the girls’ school that still smelled a little like paste, construction paper and bleach. He looked up from where he’d been sitting at his little desk, head down, eyes closed, hands folded, the epitome of a man in prayer. He smiled at the sight of her, motioning her in.

“Am I interrupting?” Erica hesitated. “There are a million people crowded in the chapel. It’s almost time.”

“They can’t get the new church built soon enough.”

“I’m just glad you’re going to be the one heading it.” She smiled, sitting in the chair across from him. “So any official word?”

“They’ve sent Father Patrick to a rehabilitation facility called Via Coeli in Jemez Springs, New Mexico.”

“They think he can be rehabilitated?” Erica scoffed. “He should be in jail!”

“The church felt it best to handle things internally. There was an investigation. My hands are tied.” Father Michael shrugged, turning his hands up. “Besides, what evidence did we have? Father Patrick had it all burned to the ground. There was nothing left.”

Nothing except the memories of all the Marys and the Magdalenes who had participated in Father Patrick’s sick, twisted rituals, Erica thought with a shiver, but she didn’t say anything. The man was, after all, Father Michael’s father.

“So I guess the Hitler scandal didn’t turn out to be that much of a big deal?” Father Michael asked.

“Nein. “

He laughed. “Who knew Robert Nolan would turn out to be a spy for the CIA-before there even was such a thing as the CIA?”

“I guess they figured it’s been long enough now since the war, they could declassify it,” Erica said. “Leah keeps teasing him, calling him Mein Fuhrer.”

“Sounds like fun at your house.”

“Speaking of houses… what about Magdalene House?” Erica asked. “How’s progress there?”

“Good!” He smiled. “Thanks to the leadership of Patty and Gertie, things are moving along. It should re-open again in a month or so.”

“But this time, they’re going to provide job training and child care for mothers who want to keep their babies, right? No more giving away babies for big donations to the church?”

“Right,” he agreed. “And thanks to your referral, your friend, Yvonne, is going to head up the social work team to make it all happen.”