A surprise visit thrust Anna into telling the pastor and his wife, Eleanor, before some family members. The doorbell sang out and Pastor Harry and Eleanor waltzed in. They carted a huge box, happily announcing a gift compliments of the church—a new crib for the baby.
“After I tell you what I need to, you’ll more than likely want to cart that right back out,” Anna confessed. “So, just leave it by the door.” She ushered the stunned couple in and had them safely tucked into chairs before she started. She didn’t want to have to catch them as they fell down in shock.
“There’s no way to say this, other than say what I should’ve told you months ago. Steven is not my baby’s father.”
“Why, Anna dear, surely you can’t mean that—” Eleanor sputtered and shook her head as if in a daze.
“Yes, my dear, that’s exactly what she means.” Pastor Harry reached out and patted his wife on the knee. Without words, he conveyed a message.
Eleanor gasped, and then pierced her lips tight as if to stem off a flow of words best left unsaid.
Pastor Harry shifted forward in his chair and took over. “Well, Anna, this does indeed put us in a predicament.”
Anna nodded, as a tear snaked down her cheek. “I never meant for this to happen. I came that morning preparing to tell the truth and you—” She stopped herself. “Nope—no more excuses—I was wrong, and let’s just leave it there.”
A frown puckered Pastor Harry’s forehead and then a lift of one eyebrow as truth dawned on him. “I kind of jumped in and made up a perfect story for you, didn’t I?”
“Why, Harry, whatever do you mean?” Eleanor questioned.
Harry shook his head in sorrow. “Oh, Anna, it would’ve been so hard for you to face the music, and then I just went straight ahead and sang a song you liked a whole lot more, didn’t I?”
“Harry, for heaven’s sakes dear, quit talking in riddles.” Eleanor huffed. “I’m so confused.”
Anna spoke up. “Eleanor, when I told Pastor Harry that I was pregnant, he immediately assumed it was Steven’s and started in about a modern-day miracle. Then you entered just as I was going to correct him, and between the two of you a perfect escape presented itself. Only it wasn’t perfect … to tell you the truth, it’s been perfectly horrible.” Tears flooded down her cheeks.
“My, oh my … sweet Jesus, please help us muddle through this mess.” Eleanor got up from her chair and pulled Anna into a hug. “There, there, child, no sin is too big for our Jesus to handle.” She hugged Anna tight and wouldn’t let go.
“Anna—”
Eleanor interrupted Harry, “Not now dear … give us a moment. But don’t just sit there. Pray. I’m not in the least bit worried about our Jesus forgiving this dear one. But I can’t say the same for all of our fellowship. Some are going to need a miracle of muteness to shut them up.”
Anna started to tremble, half laughing and half crying. She snorted so loud they all started howling.
“Well, now, that’s just the comic relief we needed. Sometimes God works in mysterious ways.
“Harry, what’s the plan?”
“I think your first suggestion was a solid plan, Eleanor. Let’s pray for wisdom.”
Eleanor drew a chair close to the couch where Harry was seated and escorted Anna over as if she was a fragile piece of pottery. “Sit, dear.” She plunked her jolly girth close to her husband and grabbed all their hands together.
Five minutes turned into ten, and ten into twenty. A sweet communion of voices cried out to the heavenly Father, and peace descended in such a way that silence fell upon them. They basked in the presence of the surreal.
“Whew!” stated Harry. “That was beautiful, just beautiful.” He pulled a rumpled tissue from his pocket and dabbed at one eye. “While we were praying, Anna, some clarity came to me.”
“Normally I like to handle indiscretions of this nature between the couple at hand. Only in extreme cases, when it involves members of leadership who require more accountability, do I require a public apology. But when you let me believe it was Steven’s baby, and that belief turned into a message from the pulpit that a miracle had happened among us, well it became a public affair. Then the whole church rallied around you in prayer and gave out of their generosity … do you see the situation this has put me in?”
Anna nodded in agreement. “I’ll make a public apology.”
“Yes, Anna. I can tell you are sincerely sorry, but I believe that it is necessary.”
“We’ll not expect you to do this until after the baby is born and you are home and rested. But I’ll have to discuss this with the board directly. I can’t guarantee their silence. Although I’ll instruct them to keep it in strictest confidence, sometimes news of this magnitude slips to a spouse and then out into the community.
“Now about the funds—” Pastor Harry scratched his head. His brow knit together.
“I really didn’t want to take the money, but once I let you believe that lie, I felt trapped, especially when you kept insisting it was what Steven would have wanted. The child’s father has already offered to pay that back.”
“Is the father in the picture?”
Anna nodded. “He is now. After that one night, I told Dr. Carmichael I couldn’t see him again.”
“Dr. Carmichael?” Pastor Harry said, scratching his head. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“No, he doesn’t go to the church and isn’t a believer. We met a few years ago when Steven needed surgery. And though we never did anything inappropriate when Steven was alive, we did forge a friendship. Apparently, it was a short trip from friendship to a whole lot more.”
