Page 13 of Look for Me

Several months ago, Wanda was complaining that her hips hurt.

“It’s my knees this time. I might need to replace them.”

“Is that what the doctor said—knee surgery?” Corinne made a beeline for the kitchen sink. She put on one of Wanda’s old aprons, and began to sort the dishes.

“I want to put it off as long as possible.”

“And suffer the whole way there?” Corinne filled a basin with soap and water.

Wanda laughed.

No, I cannot leave her.Corinne’s eyes stung. She knew that if she and Dahlia left Key Largo, they’d have to take Wanda with them.

A life on the run wouldn’t suit the eighty-nine-year-old.

Still, Flavian had found her. If he did, then Nikos wasn’t too far behind.

Corinne knew she needed a champion.

Well, anyone but Martin.

Corinne didn’t know how she got herself into such a mess. As she scrubbed the pots and pans in the sink, she prayed. At first, she rambled. Then her prayer became more desperate.

Please, God of heaven, I beg You to get me out of this mess.

Tears dripped into the sink, mixing in with the dishwater.

Forgive me, Lord. Help me. Protect my daughter. She’s innocent. She did nothing wrong. Don’t let my past mistakes harm her.

She prayed the same prayer on repeat the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, when she made them sandwiches for dinner and washed the plates again.

After watching some cartoons with Dahlia, Corinne heated up some canned soup for the three of them. They shared some crackers. Then each had a banana and slices of peaches.

After Dahlia changed into her thrift-shop pajamas, Wanda read the Bible to both of them in the living room. The ceiling light was dim because one of the two lightbulbs had gone out.

There was no money to replace the bulbs until Corinne got paid. Then she could pay Wanda the rent. And Wanda could buy a lightbulb.

When they all said “Amen!” together, Corinne thanked God again in her heart for bringing Wanda into their lives.

God had sent Wanda for such a time as this.

If not for Wanda, both Corinne and her daughter would still be unchurched. No Bible studies for kids. No salvation in Christ.

Of course, it wasn’t the church that had saved Corinne. However, it was in church that she had heard the Gospel message of how Jesus paid for all her sins—past, present, and future.

Jesus Christ was her rescuer.

Corinne wondered what her future would look like now that she was a believer.

And what could have happened if she hadn’t left Savannah four years ago. Would she still have gotten saved at some point?

She had been saving up her salary from Tina’s Turn to go to a four-year college. Maybe get an accounting degree or something substantial. She had a certificate from a community college, but had always wanted to go to university. Maybe even go to graduate school.

All those hopes and dreams shattered when Martin had something else in mind. His newfound faith caused him to make the rash decision of forcing her to move out of their apartment and then offering her marriage to absolve his guilt.

I wasn’t ready for any of that.

They had sinned together, but Martin had cast her away.

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