Page 139 of My Vows Are Sealed

“That’s amazing,” Marie said. “No bed rest?”

“Nope. She still wants me to take it easy, but it’s not an official order. But I’m also nursing two broken ribs, so I’m not doing much of anything anyway.”

“Well, the good news is, I made enough food to feed a small army, so you two will have some leftovers for a few days. That’ll make it a little easier on you.”

“Thank you,” I sighed as I lowered myself into a chair at the table. “Um, Mom, didn’t you put the rest of that ginger ale in the fridge?”

“I did. I’ve got it, sweetheart. And Brendan, this isnotfor you. Get your own soda,” she said sternly as she pulled a can of ginger ale out of the refrigerator and opened it for me. “It’s to help with her nausea.”

Brendan chuckled as he reached for some plates and silverware and carried them over to the table. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll leave it alone. I promise.”

“Right answer,” Marie laughed. “You donotcome between a pregnant woman and her nausea cures. Peter learned that the hard way.”

“How was I supposed to know that ginger snaps were the magic cure for morning sickness?” he snickered.

After Marie got the spaghetti and garlic bread all dished out and we’d all figured out how to huddle around the tiny card table that Brendan and I used for a kitchen table, Peter said grace and we dug in. We ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes before he spoke again.

“So, I met with the church elders this afternoon,” he started. “I couldn’t say anything officially until I talked to them, but they’re going to recommend to the congregation that I take your father’s place.”

I grinned. “I was hoping you would.”

He smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. But that’s only half of what I wanted to talk to you both about. My promotion means that there’s a vacancy in the youth pastor department now.” He looked at Brendan. “Brendan, I recommended you for the job, if you want it. You’ll have to interview with them, but they’re open to giving you a trial run for a couple of months to see if you’re a good fit. And if you are, we’d hire you on and provide tuition assistance for you to go to school and get your youth ministry degree.”

Brendan’s eyes grew as wide as saucers, and I would have loved to see my face too. Honestly, though, as much as it wasn’t even remotely similar to the job he was doing now, that job was a perfect fit for him. Especially at our church, because all the kids already knew and loved him, and we all knew how good he was with kids.

“Um, can I think about it?” he asked after about ten seconds.

“Of course,” Peter assured him. “Fred was going to talk to you on Sunday.”

“Would I still be able to keep my hours at the construction company during the trial run? I can’t afford to quit and not get paid until the decision is made.”

“We know that, and they’ll talk through a schedule with you. I’m sure we can work something out.”

Brendan nodded, still looking a little shell-shocked. “I’m not going to lie, the regular hours would be amazing, since Darla’s still planning on going to college. It’ll mean I can be home with her and the baby most nights.”

“Speaking of home…Gloria, I overheard you and Brendan talking at the hospital,” Marie said, giving my mom a sympathetic glance. “I had to use the restroom, and you were standing close by. I heard you say something about how you’re concerned about making your mortgage payment now.”

My mom’s eyes started to tear up, and my eyes stung too. I remembered her saying a long time ago that one of the reasons she couldn’t say anything about what my dad was doing to us was that she couldn’t afford to support us if he was arrested. But now, she hadn’t had a choice but to speak up, and she was still living on just her disability check. I hadn’t even thought about that until now.

“I’m still looking into options, but I’m thinking about selling the house,” she sniffled. “Maybe see if I can find a small apartment or something. I can’t do anything until the divorce is final, though. The house is still in both Abraham and I’s names. Oliver Hart talked to me about taking my case pro bono because I know it’s not going to be as simple as asking him to sign the papers. He’s not going to want to let me go.”

“We might have a solution for you,” Marie told her. “Peter and I have a mother-in-law suite on our property that’s going unused at the moment. You’re welcome to stay there until you can get on your feet and maybe find something smaller. Then you’d be able to rent out the house.”

My mom covered a gasp with her hand as her tears flowed more freely, and I wrapped my arm around her and leaned my head against her shoulder. I’d always loved Peter and Marie, and I’d always known they were uncommonly kind and giving people, but to actually give my mother a place to stay was above and beyond the call of duty for them.

“Sweetheart, what would you think about moving back into the house?” she asked, looking at me. “You’re going to need to find somewhere to live that has a little more space before the baby comes, and I’d much rather rent the house out to you and Brendan than someone I don’t know.”

I paused for a second, considering. I had a lot of traumatic memories attached to that house. My father had done some horrible, unspeakable things to me and my mom there. But at the same time, I had a lot of good memories there too. Memories I’d made with my mom and Brendan and Naomi.

Maybe if we moved back into that house and made itourhome instead of just the house I grew up in, we could turn it into a house full of love and faith and hope and joy and acceptance. We could erase the ghosts of the past there and make a brighter future for ourselves and our child.

“How much would the rent be?” Brendan asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“I wouldn’t want to make a profit off of you,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I’d just want you covering the mortgage, which is a little over seven hundred a month.”

“Baby, that’s not much more than our rent now,” he pointed out. “And I don’t think we’ve got room for a crib here. I’ll just have to scrape some money together to get out of our lease.”

I nodded as I wiped my eyes. “Yeah, I think it’s a good plan. We wouldn’t be able to find anything else nearly that big on our budget.”

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