What about you?
“Not because of him!” she muttered underneath her breath, but her face was hot with irritation. Guy Pierre wasn’t going to be the cause of any transformation within her.
“Chelle, will you stop talking to yourself. What’s going on with you?”
Michelle flopped onto the floor. She hadn’t taken a shower yet and refused to sit on her clean bed. She watched as Jo lowered herself to the floor. “Chloe asked me to find her father.” Not that it was her only focus, just the one she would bother to talk about.
“What?” Jo looked at her incredulously. “Since when does she care?”
“I know, that’s what I thought, but you should have seen her, Jo. She was broken up.” She took a deep breath, remembering the tears in Chloe’s eyes. “Did you know she’s seen her mother before?”
“Yeah, when we came back from our freshman trip.”
“You knew?” She frowned. How come no one shared anything with her?
Maybe because you don’t share with them. Michelle’s face contorted. It was the truth. The weight of her secret grew with Guy’s return. And I still can’t bring myself to reveal it.
“Chloe called me later that day.” Jo stated. “She was pretty upset that her grandmother had known all along where her mother was. And pretty upset to find out her mother was using.”
“Is that why her mother didn’t want to raise her?”
Jo looked down at her hands.
What wasn’t she saying? “Jo?” she asked cautiously. Suddenly, her stomach clenched with dread. Somehow, she knew whatever Jo had to say wasn’t going to be good. “Jo Ellen.” She laid a hand on Jo’s shoulder.
“Chloe’s mother was going to sell her for money. That’s the only reason she didn’t have an abortion.”
“Oh, no,” she closed her eyes. She had seen some horrible things as a lawyer, but it never failed to break her heart. How could people be so heinous? And why do You let them?
But Michelle had begun to realize it wasn’t a matter of God allowing evil. “I hate free will.”
Jo sighed. “People won’t always make the right choices, but God can turn them to good.”
“How? We’ve had this discussion numerous times. I still don’t get it.”
“Think, Chelle. Chloe’s mom didn’t have an abortion because she wanted money. So, point one for God, Chloe was born.”
She couldn’t argue with that.
“Point two for God. Chloe’s grandmother saved her from a life we couldn’t even imagine. If she hadn’t become Chloe’s legal guardian, then she could have ended up on the streets or worse.”
Michelle ran a hand through her hair. Jo was right, but that didn’t make her like it. There were too many issues in the world today. How could God be good?
“I know what you’re thinking. And I’m not going to even answer you, but I’ll leave you with these words. Think about the worst thing you’ve ever done.” Jo paused and met her gaze.
Michelle tried to stare back unfeeling, but tears clouded her vision. She knew what she’d done. And she knew no amount of forgiveness would cover it. Heck, her own bravado merely kept it beneath the surface.
“I see you’ve thought of something,” her friend said softly. “That thing. Whatever it is. God sent His Son as payment. Your debt to society. Your debt to evil. It’s over. You’re forgiven. Because you’re loved by Him.”
The tears spilled over. She couldn’t hold them back any longer. Jo couldn’t realize the impact of her words, but their truth seeped into the wounds of her sin. Truth she wanted to believe and hold on to. Could God really have enough grace to cover her sins?
“PAPA, BEKAH’S SICK.”
Guy tried to open his eyelids but they were so heavy. He pried them open, trying to ignore the grit that seemed to rub his eyes raw. Hadn’t he only been asleep for a few minutes?
He grabbed his cell to check the time. 3:00 am. Would he ever get a good night’s sleep? He looked back at Rachel. “How are you feeling, Peanut?”
“Okay, but Bekah’s sick. Come on.” She pulled at his arm.
“Okay, okay, I’m up.”
He slid his feet into his slippers and followed Rachel down the hall. Yesterday, he had been all too grateful that both girls weren’t sick, now he wondered if it wasn’t better to have it done and over with.
Rachel led him into the girls’ bathroom. The smell of vomit greeted him, curling his nose. Poor Rebekah sat on the floor in a soiled nightgown. The gown had been yellow once. He wasn’t too sure what color it was supposed to be now. Puce?
A glance at the rest of the bathroom told him most of her projectile had missed the toilet. Guess, I’ll be cleaning the bathroom again.
He kneeled down and felt Rebekah’s forehead. “Rachel says you don’t feel well. Does your tummy hurt?”
Bekah’s bottom lip quivered and her eyes filled with tears. “Huwt bad, Papa.”
A heavy sigh escaped. “I’m sorry, Jellybean.”
She reached for him and he picked her up, hugging her close. Although he knew getting the vomit out of their clothes would be a hassle, what mattered most was the comfort he could offer her.
If only Charlene were here.
Rebekah jerked in his arms and warm liquid slid down his chest. Guess you shouldn’t have picked her up.
She looked up at him, her ebony eyes shining with unshed tears as her bottom lip quivered. “Sowy, Papa.”
“It’s okay, Jellybean. It’ll clean.” He wasn’t so sure it would, but she didn’t need to worry about that.
Guy put her down and turned on the bath water. The tub had been cleaned yesterday and it looked like
