Page 37 of Look for Me

To pray.

And if there was any time left, he’d call his sister. He liked to hear Tina’s voice. It reminded him of Mom’s voice.

I miss Mom.

But we can’t roll back the clock.

Martin realized then that he couldn’t roll back time with Corinne either. Maybe their relationship was best left in the past. Maybe what they had four years ago was all there was to it.

On Sunday at church, Martin had found out that Corinne was the mother of a three-year-old.

On Monday, he found out she was pregnant again.

Two kids and unmarried.

He replayed their conversation at the bench at lunch time.

It was against my will, but I’m keeping the baby.

What did she mean? Had she been…

Martin couldn’t bring himself to think the word, let alone say it aloud—although there was no one else in the car.

“Lord Jesus, I have no idea what Corinne is going through—or has gone through—but I pray that from this point forward, she would be in Your perfect will for her life. I hope that’s a good prayer, Lord.”

He stopped at a gas station to fill up the tank, and to get some cold bottles of water.

Then he drove in silence all the way to Key West.

Chapter Seventeen

By the time Corinne finished Erika’s shift, it was nine o’clock at night. She worried about walking home in the dark, but she didn’t want to spend money calling Uber.

Erika had a family emergency at the last minute, and Corinne felt obligated to fill in for her.

The new hire, Pilar, had offered to give her a ride. Although Corinne had seen her at church on Sunday, she was wary about trusting a stranger. Corinne didn’t want Pilar to know where she lived.

Usually, if she had to work late, she would wait for Erika to get off work, so that she could get a ride home. Sometimes Erika stayed for a late dinner as her payment for the trouble. Most of the time, Erika didn’t want Corinne to pay her back.

If Erika wasn’t available, the owner’s son usually was. Hardin was a nice boy, though Corinne had repeatedly turned down his invitation to go to the movies with him. Thing is, not only was he Sandra’s son, he was also at least ten years younger than Corinne. She was sure Hardin wasn’t ready for her problems.

Tonight, none of that mattered. Neither Erika nor Hardin was available.

Corinne would have to close up the shop and walk home.

The back parking lot was dark since one of the streetlights was broken. Corinne decided to leave from the front entrance instead.

The sidewalk was crowded with tourists. Corinne could hear bar music come from up and down the street on both sides of her. People talking, laughing. Cars honking, engines running.

The night air was warm, and Corinne wanted to take off her long-sleeved blouse. Nobody would see her bruises in the dark, she figured.

Her arm muscles were still sore every now and then, but the generic ointment she had bought at the pharmacy helped quite a bit. As soon as she reached Wanda’s house, she would get into a hot tub. She’d feel better after that.

Crossing a corner, Corinne debated whether to take the short cut. She could be home in twenty minutes if she took the lane to her left. If she kept walking, there would be streetlights, but it would take her another fifteen minutes of navigating through more roads.

She hesitated.

Lord Jesus, which way should I go?

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