Page 78 of Absorbed

Murphy wriggled out from between them and settled on the carpet beneath the coffee table.

Stacey’s mom slid her fingers through Stacey’s hair and made shushing sounds. “You did some stupid things. That doesn’t make you stupid.”

“You must hate me.”

“Why would I hate you? All teenagers make mistakes. But I’d be disappointed if you chose to live your life this way. Listen…” Stacey continued to sob. Her mom moved her lips closer to Stacey’s ear. “Are you listening?” she whispered

Stacey nodded, trying to catch her breath.

“I may not always like what you do, but I’ll always be grateful if you talk to me about it. Okay? We can get through anything together.”

Stacey sniffed and choked back tears. She pulled herself upright.

“This is too big for you to deal with alone.” Her mom pursed her lips and lowered her head. “We need to take you to a doctor. Figure this whole thing out.”

Stacey nodded again, staring at the ribbons of light from the rising sun shining through the window beside the front door..

“Let’s get cleaned up, then we’ll go, okay?”

Tears continued sliding to Stacey’s chin and dripped to her tank top. She exhaled. “Okay.” She pushed the blanket aside and was about to stand.

Her mom stopped her. “One more thing: who’sBelvedere?”

Stacey’s brow furrowed. She wiped her chin and cheeks.

“After Gabe brought you home, on the bathroom floor, you said ‘Belvedere.’”

“Umm…Belvedere is Desiree’s dog.”

“So, you really were sleeping over at Desiree’s house? What happened to the other girls you were with? Why did Gabe have to bring you home?”

“I lost track of them.” Stacey picked at a snag in the corduroy on the arm of the couch. “Melissa tried to tell me to stop drinking, but I didn’t listen. Once I was drunk, I don’t remember seeing anyone I knew again.”

“That’s dangerous. You’re lucky Gabe was looking out for you. He’s a good friend.”

“I don’t think he wants to be my friend anymore.”

“He was pretty upset.” Her mom nodded. “He really cares about you.”

“Maybe he shouldn’t. Not everyone deserves to be forgiven.”

“He wouldn’t have a fat lip if he didn’t care. But you are the only person who can prove to Gabe whether you deserve to be forgiven or not.”

By nine o’clock Thursday morning, Stacey and her mom were showered, Stacey’s foot was wrapped in an ACE bandage, and they were pulling into the parking lot at Planned Parenthood. It was in an industrial complex a couple of cities away. The entrance and signage faced away from the street. There were no windows, just dark tinted glass doors at the end of a handicap ramp.

Four women in their mid-forties stood outside the building with signs showing enormous fetuses in utero. The signs read “Abortion = Murder” and “Planned Parenthood does the Devil’s work.” The women chanted, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

Her mom turned off the engine and rotated in her seat. She looked quickly over her shoulder at the protesters, then placed a hand on Stacey’s knee. “Whatever happens in there, I love you. You are not stupid or evil. We’re here to get information so you can make a choice. Whatever you choose doesn’t have to define you. Don’t let other people determine how your life turns out.”

Stacey nodded, her stomach fluttering. “Can we get this over with?”

Her mom took a deep breath, and they both climbed out of the minivan. Stacey hobbled to the rear bumper where her mom was waiting. She slid an arm around Stacey and helped her cross the lot to the ramp that led to the front door.

“Every life is precious,” a woman shouted in her face as Stacey tried to steady herself on the ramp’s railing.

Stacey’s heart raced. She tried to look away from the signs and the people carrying them.

A woman stood in front of Stacey and her mom, her hands splayed toward the sky, her voice that of a preacher’s. “For the Bible tells us in Psalm 139 that God knit us in our mother’s womb, and sees us before our body is even formed.”

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