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<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:normal;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none" align="center"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif">HEAVEN</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:normal;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none" align="center"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:normal;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none" align="center"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">A light illuminated the
dilapidated barn. Was it the
moon or the Star of David? Mary Ellen didn’t know or care.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">The pain sliced through
her, taking her breath away.
Her stomach tightened, and her back ached. Gasping and crying
out, she grabbed
Bobby Joe’s hand. As the pain subsided, she said through
clenched teeth, “Who’s
crazy idea was this, giving birth in a barn?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Bobby Joe wiped the sweat
from her brow. “This wasn’t
my idea. I tried to get you to the hospital. It’s not my fault
the car ran out
of gas.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“I know.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“You’re doing fine. When
the Virgin Mary gave birth to
Jesus in Bethlehem, she didn’t even have a midwife. If she can
do it, so can
you. Besides, you said yourself nine months ago that this baby
was conceived by
an Angel of the Lord. Maybe He’ll look out for you.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Very funny,” said Mary
Ellen, as she remembered when
she first discovered she was pregnant.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">At sixteen, she was living
with her father in Casper,
Wyoming, and attending high school. Her grades were good. She
participated in
the concert choir, speech team, drama club, and cheer leading
squad. At her
father’s insistence, she was also involved with the Catholic
Church’s youth
group. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Although her father was
against dating, she became
involved with a boy. When she told him she was pregnant, he
swore he wanted
nothing to do with her or the baby. Since abortion was out of
the question, she
came up with a plan she thought would work.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“An Angel of the Lord came
to me last night,” she told
her father one morning at breakfast. “He told me that I have
been chosen to
give birth to the second Messiah.”<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“What?” asked her father,
glancing up from his
newspaper.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“I’m going to give birth to
a second Savior. The Angel
said His name will be Jesus Christ II, and He will save the
world.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Tell me this is another
play you’re doing at school.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“This is no play. I’m
pregnant with the second
Messiah.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Pregnant!” He threw aside
his newspaper and glared at
her. “Who’s the boy?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“There’s no boy. The child
was conceived by the Lord.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“That’s the most ridiculous
thing I ever heard! Go up
to your room and stay there.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Mary Ellen looked at her
untouched plate of eggs and
bacon. Since she was already feeling nauseated, she didn’t
mind leaving it. As
she rose to her feet, she asked, “What about school?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“You’re not going to school
today. Go upstairs. I
don’t even want to see you.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">As she climbed the stairs,
the nausea increased.
Leaving the door to her room open, she flopped onto the bed.
The nausea
subsided. She waited to hear her father rinsing the dishes and
putting them in
the dish washer and the slamming of the back door, but there
was only silence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">She finally pulled herself
to her feet and descended
the stairs. She stopped on the landing and looked down. Her
father sat at the
dining room table. The newspaper lay where he’d tossed it. He
stared into
space. “Dad, aren’t you going to the office today?” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">He jumped and glowered at
her. “Of course I’m not
going to the office today. I need to figure out what to do
with you. Get
upstairs.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Mary Ellen’s stomach
heaved. In the bathroom, it all
came out, the bile, the tears of desperation.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">That afternoon, her father
said, “Go live in sin with
your cousin Agnes.” He handed her a one-way bus ticket to
Sheridan, a smaller
town approximately 150 miles north of Casper.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">The bus wound its way east.
After about an hour’s
layover in Gillette, it headed west, pulling into Sheridan
late that evening.
She took a cab to Agnes’s address.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
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text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">The house was white with
green trim. The porch light
was on, and a light shown in the front window. A nearby street
lamp illuminated
the area. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">As she stood on the
sidewalk, she was filled with a
sense of foreboding. She’d only met her cousin once years ago
when she was
eight and Agnes was about ten years older. When Mary Ellen was
fourteen, Agnes
announced that she was a Lesbian and that she had a partner.
The family refused
to have anything more to do with her.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">As Mary Ellen stood gazing
at the house, she wondered
what kind of people Agnes and her partner were. Would they
invite her to engage
in sexual activities? Would they force her? Her upbringing
taught her that
homosexuals were sinners. Was she a sinner?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Cold blasts of icy wind
blew wet, heavy snowflakes
that covered her in minutes. She shivered, despite the warmth
of her winter
coat. She pulled its hood over her head and tightened the
strings. Clasping her
hands in prayer, she murmured, “Heaven help me.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">A moon appeared, and the
snow lessened. A car turned
into the driveway of the house next door. A figure emerged
from its interior
and came toward her. She saw a boy about her age, tall and
slim. Most of him
was hidden by his winter coat and hat, but she liked his face.
His blue eyes
gazed at her with concern. “Are you lost?” he asked with a
smooth, southern
drawl.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Not exactly,” she said.
“I’m here to see my cousin,
but I’m wondering if this is such a good idea.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">His eyebrows raised. “If
you’re not sure you want to
visit, why did you come?” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Because I have nowhere
else to go,” she answered,
struggling to keep the tears from escaping. “My dad kicked me
out because I’m
pregnant. He told me to go live in sin with my cousin and her
partner who are
Lesbians.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Whoa. You know, Agnes and
Kim aren’t so bad. I
deliver their paper every day, and they’re actually very nice.
Kim even gives
me homemade cookies. They teach at the college.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Okay,” she said, feeling
somewhat reassured.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“I’m Bobby Joe Harper. My
family moved here from
Alabama last year. My folks work for the veterans
administration, and they were
transferred here. What’s your name?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Mary Ellen Carson.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">The front door of Agnes and
Kim’s house opened, and a
woman appeared on the porch and called, “Hello there.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Hi Agnes,” Bobby Joe
called. “I was just talking to
your cousin.” With a wave, he hurried away.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">With trepidation, Mary
Ellen sauntered up the walk and
climbed the steps to the front porch. “Look at you!” said
Agnes with a broad
grin, as she pulled the girl into her arms. “You were just a
little thing when
I last saw you.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">To her surprise, Mary Ellen
found herself crying on
her cousin’s shoulder. She hadn’t been comforted by another
woman since her
mother passed away three years earlier. “Let’s get you and
that baby of yours
inside before you both freeze to death.” With an arm around
Mary Ellen, she
guided her into the house. “Let’s get that coat off. Sit here,
and I’ll get you
some hot chocolate.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Mary Ellen sank onto the
couch, enveloped by the
room’s warmth. Besides the sofa, there were two arm chairs. A
coffee table
stood in front of the couch, and end tables next to each arm
chair. A book case
dominated one corner. Another woman sat down next to her and
took her hand. “Hello,
you must be Mary Ellen. Agnes told me about you after your
father called this
afternoon. I’m so glad to meet you. I’m Kim.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Mary Ellen smiled. She was
reassured by Kim’s warm
grip, as they shook hands.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">When Agnes appeared with a
tray, Mary Ellen was
surprised to find that the two women looked alike. They could
have been twins
with their identical brown hair and blue eyes. “A penny for
your thoughts,”
said Agnes, as she handed Mary Ellen a steaming mug of cocoa
and Kim a cup of
coffee and settled herself on the couch on Mary Ellen’s other
side with her own
cup.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Mary Ellen turned to Kim.
“Are you sure you’re not my
cousin too? You guys look like sisters.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Agnes laughed. “That’s one
of the things that
attracted us to each other.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Stewart had a cute birth
mark on his nose,” Mary
Ellen found herself saying about the father of her unborn
child.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">As tears threatened, Kim
squeezed her hand. “I know,
sweetie. People say they love you, then desert you when you
need them the most.
We’ll take care of you.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“She’s right,” said Agnes,
putting a hand on Mary
Ellen’s shoulder. “We’ll stand behind you, no matter what you
decide to do
about the baby.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“I don’t know what I’m
going to do,” said Mary Ellen,
as she gulped back tears.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Kim and I have been trying
to have a child of our
own, but it’s not easy,” said Agnes. “Adoption can be a pain
in the anatomy,
and there’s no sperm bank here in Sheridan.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Mary Ellen brightened. “I
could give my baby to you
and then go back home, couldn’t I?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“I hate to say this, kid,”
said Agnes. “but when I
talked to your dad this afternoon, I got the impression he
doesn’t want you
darkening his door again.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“You’re probably right,”
said Mary Ellen, as tears
threatened to fall. “What am I going to do? Where will I go?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Stay here with us,” said
Kim, squeezing her hand.
“We’ll raise the baby together. It’ll be the closest we’ll
come to having a
child of our own.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Mary Ellen could no longer
control the tears that
cascaded down her cheeks. “I don’t know why you’re being so
nice to me,” she
said, as she buried her face in Agnes’s hair. “I’m not even a,
um, Lesbian.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Family should stick
together,” said Agnes. “Your
religious beliefs and sexual orientation shouldn’t matter.
Your family should
stand by you, no matter what. It’s too bad our parents don’t
realize that.
We’re going to stick together, and to Hell with the rest of
them.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">When Mary Ellen finally
managed to dry her tears and
blow her nose, she said, “Thanks, guys.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Of course, sweetie,” said
Kim, patting her shoulder.
“We wouldn’t have it any other way.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Agnes wasted no time
enrolling Mary Ellen in school.
Bobby Joe drove her there and home every day, and they became
friends.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Eight months later at
Thanksgiving, they were standing
on a swinging bridge a block away from where they lived. A
moon illuminated the
snow-covered creek bed. Bobby Joe removed Mary Ellen’s mitten.
“What are you
doing?” she asked with a giggle. “It’s cold out here.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“I won’t let your fingers
freeze,” said Bobby Joe, as
he clasped her hand between his gloved ones. “I’ve got
something for you.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">He reached into his pocket,
and Mary Ellen gasped, as
she felt a ring being placed on her finger. “It’s not much,”
Bobby Joe said. “I
bought it at a pawn shop, but it sure is pretty, isn’t it?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Mary Ellen turned her hand
this way and that until the
ring was caught in the glow of moonlight. “Yes, it’s
beautiful.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“You know what it means,
don’t you?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“What it means?” Mary Ellen
couldn’t believe what she
was hearing. “Bobby Joe, are you asking me to marry you?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Of course, silly,” said
Bobby Joe with a laugh.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Why? You haven’t even
slept with me.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“That doesn’t matter. This
kid needs a dad. I know
yours wasn’t the greatest, but mine is, and I could be a good
father and… I
love you.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Stunned, Mary Ellen gaped
at him for a moment before
saying, “I love you too, but what about Agnes and Kim? They
want to help me
raise the baby.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“I know. They’re nice
people, and they’ve been good to
you, but this kid needs a mother and a father.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Mary Ellen thought of her
own childhood before her
mother died. Because her parents were unable to have more
children, they doted
on her. After cancer took her mother unexpectedly, her father
became more and
more distant, and she felt more and more neglected. She
realized that she
wanted her baby to have the same happy childhood she had when
her mother was
alive.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">When they returned home,
they found Agnes and Kim
drinking coffee with Bobby Joe’s parents in the Harpers’
living room. “Dad,
Mom,” said Bobby Joe, taking Mary Ellen’s hand. “Mary Ellen
and I have decided
to get married.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“What do you mean you guys
are getting married?” said
Agnes. “Kim and I thought we were going to help you raise the
baby, Mary
Ellen.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“You guys could still
baby-sit while we’re in school,”
Mary Ellen said. “Maybe Bobby Joe and I could live with you
until we find a
place of our own.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“You’re too young,” said
Mr. Harper.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“I know,” said Bobby Joe.
“but this kid needs a
father, and I know I could be a good one like you, Dad.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“I’m sure you can,” said
Mrs. Harper. “Wanting to take
responsibility for this child is admirable. Mary Ellen, you’re
a good girl.
It’s a shame this happened to you, but let’s not make any
hasty decisions.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Hasty decisions,” said
Bobby Joe. “I’ve known for
months that I love Mary Ellen, and I want to marry her. I just
now worked up
the courage to ask her.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“And I realized I love him
too,” said Mary Ellen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Marriage is a big
commitment,” said Mrs. Harper. “You
two have your whole lives ahead of you and college to think
about. As long as
Agnes and Kim are willing to help with the baby, maybe you
should wait.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">After a few minutes of
interminable silence, Mr.
Harper blew his nose and said, “Son, you can’t get married
without our
permission. Your mother’s right. Why don’t you wait a couple
of years? If you
still want to get married, you’ll have our blessing.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">In the minutes that
followed, it occurred to Mary
Ellen that they could run away, somehow get false
identification cards, drive
to Los Vegas, get married there, and start over somewhere
else, but what about
the baby? Bobby Joe interrupted her thoughts. “I suppose we
could wait,
couldn’t we, Mary Ellen?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“I guess,” she answered.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Bobby Joe surprised her by
pulling her into an embrace
in front of everyone. “Mary Ellen, I promise I’ll still love
you in two years.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“I hope so,” she said,
fighting back tears. ‘I’ll
always love you.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">A month later as they were
driving home on a
little-used country road late on Christmas Eve, Mary Ellen
said, “Bobby Joe, I
think I’m in labor.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Okay,” said Bobby Joe. He
pulled to the side of the
road and reached for his cell phone. “I’ll call Agnes and have
her meet us at
the hospital. Oh shoot, my cell battery’s dead.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Oh God, I think my water
just broke!”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Just relax,” he said,
taking her hand and surveying
the surrounding landscape. A bright moon illuminated the newly
fallen snow. “I
think I see a house in the distance. We’ll go there and ask
for help.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">He put the car in gear, and
they soon pulled up in
front of a broken-down house that looked deserted except for a
light shining in
a front window. “I don’t know about this,” Mary Ellen said, as
Bobby Joe helped
her from the car.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Don’t worry. If no one’s
home, the door might be
unlocked. We can at least go in and use the phone to call
911.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">They climbed a rickety
flight of snow-covered steps to
a sagging porch. Bobby Joe banged on the screen door. Mary
Ellen gazed at the
little brown house. Its paint was peeling in places, and a
nearby window
sported a shattered pane.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">She gaped at the man who
opened the door. He wore
nothing but white boxer shorts, and his hair was as white as
the snow. He
almost lost his balance, as he teetered in the doorway. She
smelled alcohol on
his breath mixed with the odor of his unwashed body.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“We need help,” Bobby Joe
said. “My wife’s going to
have a baby.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">The man stared at them in
disbelief. His voice slurred
as he spoke. “Sorry, buddy. There’s no room at the inn. You
can use the stable
around back if you want.” He slammed the door.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Back in the car, Bobby Joe
tried to start the engine
several times, but nothing happened. After glancing at the
fuel gauge, he said,
“We’re out of gas.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“Oh, that’s just great,”
Mary Ellen said, tears
welling in her eyes. “Now what are we going to do?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Bobby Joe took her hand. .
“I think we’d better find
that stable. We’re not going to make it to the hospital
tonight.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Now here she was, several
hours later, lying on the
hard cement floor in a deserted barn behind the house. “We
could have made it
to the hospital if you’d only made sure the car had a full
tank of gas before
we left town.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“How was I to know you were
going to give birth
tonight of all nights? Besides, the pains seem to be getting
closer together.
It can’t be too much longer.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">Mary Ellen raised herself
on one elbow and surveyed
the dim interior. “What can we wrap the baby in? I don’t see
any swaddling
clothes, do you?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“We’ll figure something
out,” Bobby Joe said, as he
eased her onto her back and wiped the sweat from her brow.
“Maybe my sweatshirt
will work.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“You already gave me your
coat as a cover,” she said,
shivering and pulling the garment more tightly around her. “If
you give the
baby your sweatshirt, you’ll freeze to death. As a matter of
fact, I may freeze
to death before I have this stupid baby.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">“No you won’t,” Bobby Joe
said, as he lay down beside
her and took her in his arms. “I’ll keep you warm tonight. In
the morning, the
old man should be sober enough to help us.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">As they lay huddled
together, she experienced more and
more pains. Soon, they came one after another. He murmured
soothing
endearments, as she strained to bring forth whatever life was
inside her.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:
.5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:
"Times New Roman",serif">After she pushed for the
last time and heard the baby’s
cries, she saw light and heard murmuring voices. Hands touched
her. She was
enveloped with a sense of peace. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
normal;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:normal;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none" align="center"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New
Roman",serif"> </span></p>
</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Abbie Johnson Taylor, Author <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://abbiescorner.wordpress.com">http://abbiescorner.wordpress.com</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com">http://www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:abbie@mysero.net">abbie@mysero.net</a>
Order my new memoir at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com/memoir.htm">http://www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com/memoir.htm</a></pre>
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