Take Three

  “No.” Andi’s answer was quick. “Nothing like that.”

  “What about your parents? Where are they?”

  Andi explained that they were in Bloomington, and that they knew she was okay. She had a feeling Lucia could see house-size holes in her story, but not once did Lucia push for details. Andi knew her parents were worrying, so she tried to text them more often. But she couldn’t talk to them, otherwise she’d break down. She’d made up her mind—now she had to follow through.

  On Saturday night they ate roasted chicken, and after dinner, Felix—Lucia’s husband—poured himself a second towering glass of milk. “Best drink ever,” he raised his glass. He nodded to the jug of milk. “You want some?”

  It’d be good for the baby, she thought. Then she dismissed the thought in horror. What did it matter? Her baby would be dead in a few days. “No,” she looked down, certain he could see the guilt in her eyes. “No thank you.”

  Felix and Lucia talked to her about school, her major, and her interests. Watching them was a lot like watching her parents. The two of them were clearly in love, sharing a chemistry and private sort of love that time had only made stronger. Later, Andi watched the way Felix related to his kids, getting down on the floor to wrestle with them, or hovering over his oldest son’s algebra homework. The sort of dad Taz never would’ve been. It was another reason to go through with the abortion. Why should her baby have anything less than what the Kunzmann kids had?

  Andi learned quickly that the Kunzmanns loved playing board games—more than any family Andi had ever known. It was Apples to Apples Friday night when their movie ended, and Pictionary on Saturday night. Sunday they played Catch Phrase, and everyone was glad for Andi because her presence meant the teams were even. “Finally,” Lucia announced as they settled in to play, “Felix has no excuse if he loses!”

  The family laughed, and Nathalie giggled so hard she spilled her milk. The ordeal sent everyone into action, helping clean the mess. The whole time Andi could only watch them and long for what they shared. Long for it and mourn it at the same time. She’d made her choice. She’d walked away from the chance at having what the Kunzmanns had. She resolved to enjoy the time there while she could.

  Monday was coming soon enough.

  LISA FELT LIKE SHE WAS GOING crazy. Andi wouldn’t answer her phone, and her text messages were so brief they felt cryptic. She and Keith had been praying all weekend, and now that it was Sunday, Keith could barely focus on the meetings with Brandon Paul. This morning they’d all gone to church, and Brandon had stayed at the Matthews’ house—reading the newest script.

  “I might have you hang out with him the rest of the day.” Keith told him as they left the service.

  Dayne nodded. He had Sophie in his arms, and he reached for Katy’s hand. “He might open up more to me if you weren’t there right now.”

  “Exactly.” Keith put his arm around Lisa. “I couldn’t concentrate anyway. We’re worried sick about Andi.”

  Lisa worked to keep from crying. “We both feel the situation’s dire—but we can’t do anything to help until she comes home.” Lisa shared a look with Katy. Her new friend already knew how grave Lisa’s concern was for Andi. “I’m afraid if we wait till she comes home it’ll be too late.”

  She didn’t have to explain that she was worried Andi was pregnant. But after days of praying for their daughter, that’s what she and Keith had come to believe. If she was pregnant, then she might be in Indianapolis for an abortion, or worse…because she no longer believed she had a reason to live. The idea made Lisa sick to her stomach, and she’d begged God all day for a sign, a clue. A way to reach her before it was too late.

  With Brandon taken care of, Keith talked the whole way home about what they might do to find her. They could talk to her other friends—starting with Bailey—and find phone numbers of Andi’s classmates. Anyone. Eventually they might come across someone who would know the names and whereabouts of the girls Andi was staying with. Another plan was to call the phone company and see if her phone had a GPS finder built into it. Maybe then they could pinpoint exactly where she was and be at her side in an hour.

  They decided on that plan, and Lisa had the phone company on the line minutes after they walked through the door.

  “We need to find our daughter. She has her phone, but we don’t know where she is.”

  “Yes, ma’am. How old is your daughter?” His tone suggested he’d been through this before.

  “She’s nineteen.”

  “She’s an adult, ma’am. We can’t give out the whereabouts of the cell phone of an adult unless there’s reason to suspect foul play. When’s the last time you heard from her?”

  Lisa wanted to lie, but she couldn’t. “She’s been texting us off and on.” She pushed her fingers through her hair and stared helplessly at Keith. God was aware of their problem. If doing things His way meant missing out on this information, then He would have another plan.

  “Ma’am, if you’re hearing from her and she’s an adult, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do. She has a right to her privacy.”

  Lisa tried once more. “She isn’t acting like herself. If you could just tell us—”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am.” And with that the man hung up.

  She dropped the phone on the kitchen counter and moved into Keith’s arms. “What are we supposed to do?”

  For a long time neither of them said anything, but then Keith stepped free and studied her. “What about her room? You sure there was nothing? No sign, nothing she might’ve written down?”

  Lisa sucked in a quick breath. “Yes!” How could she not have thought about this sooner? She hurried down the hallway to Andi’s room, with Keith behind her.

  “What is it?”

  “Notes. Papers I found in the trash.” She rushed through the doorway and grabbed the stack of papers, the ones she herself had collected from the can and set there on Friday afternoon. Why hadn’t she thought to look at them sooner? If something happened to Andi, if she did something she would regret, Lisa could never forgive herself. She sat on the edge of Andi’s bed, and Keith sat beside her.

  “What are these?”

  “I’m not sure. They have to be recent. She hasn’t been home long enough to have anything old in the trash.” Her hands shook as she sorted through the papers, scrutinizing the scribble marks and bits of writing. Suddenly one of them practically screamed at her. “Look at this.” She held it out for Keith to see. In Andi’s printing was this notation: Indianapolis Family Planning Center. The words were followed by an address and a phone number.

  Lisa felt the floor give way. She lowered the paper and looked at Keith. No matter how often they’d mentioned the possibility, Lisa had never really believed it until now. There could be only one reason Andi had written down the name and address of a family planning center.

  “You think…” Keith’s face was ashen.

  “She must be.” Lisa hung her head as the reality shot shrapnel across her heart. Their precious daughter—the one who had taught countless village women about Jesus and His plan for their lives—was pregnant. Worse, she was clearly considering an abortion. That’s what family planning centers did.

  Lisa sat up straighter. She couldn’t afford to break down now, not when Andi clearly needed her. There were other notations, scribbles on the pieces of paper, and after a few seconds she made sense of something else. Written at the bottom of one page were the words, Sarah’s House—Crisis Pregnancy Center. Bloomington. Surrounding it were a dozen question marks, each of them heavily doodled over. Not far from that were the words free ultrasound and more question marks.

  Suddenly Lisa’s heart leaped with hope. “Sarah’s House is here in town, remember?”

  A dawning came across Keith’s expression. “Dayne’s talked about it. His sisters run it.”

  Lisa couldn’t move fast enough. “Come on, we have to hurry.” She and Keith ran back to the kitchen and Lisa handed him the phone. “Call Dayn
e.”

  As fast as his fingers could move, Keith did as she asked. Three minutes later he had Ashley Baxter Blake’s phone number. “Dayne told me she might not be able to talk about it. Confidentiality rules.”

  “I’ll call her.” Lisa felt like a mother bear, ready to tear doors off walls if it meant getting to her daughter. She dialed the number and waited until Ashley picked up.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Ashley. This is Lisa Ellison. Keith’s wife.” She worked to keep her tears from taking over. It was important that she sound calm and clear-minded. “We have reason to believe our daughter Andi is pregnant. She’s in Indianapolis and she won’t answer our calls. Did she come to your clinic?”

  There was a long pause on the other end. “Mrs. Ellison…Lisa…our clients trust us with their confidentiality. I’m not sure how much I can—”

  “Your center, it’s there to save lives—isn’t that right?”

  Another long beat. “Of course.”

  “I have the name of a family planning center in Indianapolis, and if I’m right about this, I think Andi might be planning to have an abortion. “Please…tell me if she’s been to see you.”

  Another long pause across the line. “I’ve seen her. Yes.” Ashley hesitated. “Andi’s in trouble, Mrs. Ellison. I’m sorry…I can’t say much more. She only came in once.”

  “So she’s…she’s pregnant?”

  Ashley’s silence clearly conveyed the truth.

  Lisa closed her eyes and grabbed for Keith’s arm. “Dear God…why didn’t she tell us?”

  “We give all of our clients information about raising their babies or releasing them for adoption.” Ashley sounded broken by the situation.

  For a split moment, Lisa wanted to be angry with Ashley. If she’d known about Andi, why hadn’t she come to them? Told them about their daughter’s pregnancy before this weekend? Then they wouldn’t be in this situation.

  Ashley seemed to read her mind, because she explained again that the reason pregnant girls came in for a pregnancy test was because they believed the results would be private. “Have you talked to Bailey? She might know something, a way you could reach her.”

  “We’ll try that next.” Lisa’s anger dissolved, and all that remained was gratitude. “Thank you, Ashley. If we have to go camp outside the abortion clinic Andi wrote about, we will. At least we know what she’s up against.” Lisa thanked her again and the call ended.

  Keith looked despondent. The news was overwhelming, and Lisa felt practically paralyzed by it. First, their daughter was definitely pregnant. And second, she clearly planned to end the life of her baby. At least that. There was no telling what else was going through her mind while she was in Indianapolis this weekend.

  “What next?” Keith took the phone from Lisa and set it back on the base.

  There was only one answer, one way to get another step closer to Andi so they could help her. Lisa grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter. “We need to go see Bailey.”

  They reached the Flanigan house in ten minutes. Much to Lisa’s relief, Bailey answered the front door and invited them in. They must’ve both looked crazy with worry, because Bailey froze in place. “Is this…about Andi?”

  “Yes.” Again Lisa fought to keep control. “She’s in a lot of trouble. We’d like to talk, if you have a minute.”

  Bailey called her parents to join them, and the group went into the Flanigans’ living room. It was the first day in a week that hadn’t been brilliantly sunny, and Lisa found it fitting. The clouds cast dark shadows through the wall of windows, and even though it was late June, Lisa began to shiver as she sat down. Keith took the spot beside her, the two of them opposite Jim and Jenny Flanigan. Bailey sat in the closest chair.

  “You’ve heard something from Andi?” Jenny started the conversation.

  “Not really.” The mere fact that this kind woman knew even that much—that Andi was out of town and not communicating much—was proof that Bailey told her everything. The way Andi used to tell Lisa everything. She focused her thoughts, as she squeezed her husband’s hand. “We found out today. Andi’s pregnant.”

  Bailey groaned and gripped the arms of the chair, her eyes downcast. “I was afraid of this.”

  “Us too.” Keith sat rigid beside her. His posture told Lisa he wasn’t willing to give up. “She’s in the city, and she’s texted us now and then. But she won’t answer our calls. We think she’s scheduled an abortion there. We found the name of an Indianapolis clinic.”

  They were quiet for a few seconds, each of them grasping what Andi might’ve already done, what she might be going through this very moment. And how they could possibly reach her.

  “Wait!” Bailey looked up. “Tim talked to her yesterday afternoon. He called her around noon. She told him she was staying with friends, thinking of taking classes there.”

  “Same thing she told us.” Lisa frowned. “We’re here because we hoped you might know these girls, the friends she’s staying with.”

  “No.” Bailey frowned. “I have an idea who they are. One’s a girl named Sherry. She’s involved in theater.”

  “Do you know her last name?”

  “No.”

  Lisa’s mind raced. “There has to be someone who would know. Maybe if we talk to Tim.”

  “Absolutely. He might not have told me everything.” Bailey rattled off Tim’s number and Lisa dialed it.

  But after a brief conversation, the call ended. “He doesn’t know anything. Just that she sounded upbeat.”

  “Which maybe does tell us something.” Jim had been thinking. He put his arm around Jenny and looked from her to the others. “If she just had an abortion, I doubt she’d be taking a call from Tim Reed.”

  “True.” This was helping. Even if no one had any exact answers, they were getting somewhere.

  “You’re pretty sure you know which clinic she’s been in contact with?” Jenny’s tone was grave.

  “We found the name and an address written on a piece of paper in her room.” Had the expectations they’d placed on her really been so hard to live up to? So much that she couldn’t face them in her greatest hour of need?

  Please God…we need an answer, some sort of direction. We’re getting nowhere, and Andi needs us. “Maybe…maybe if we pray for her.”

  They all agreed, and for the next several minutes they took turns asking God to protect Andi, to prompt her to call home. And they asked Him for a sign, some sort of direction so that if Andi was resistant to their help, they could find her.

  The prayer ended and Lisa was about to thank the Flanigans for their time when her phone vibrated. It was still in her hand from the call to Tim, and Lisa saw that a text message had come in from Andi. “It’s her!” She tapped a few buttons and there it was, Andi’s latest message.

  She took a quick breath and read it out loud. “It says, ‘Hi Mom…I know you’re mad at me, and I’m sorry. I’m really okay. But it looks like I won’t be coming home until Tuesday evening.’” Lisa paused, distraught at this latest news. “‘The girls and I are having fun, and we want a few days to look around the campus here. Thanks for understanding.’” She shrugged. “That’s all she said.” In the old days, she never would’ve texted Lisa without saying she loved her. But now…she must’ve been so racked with guilt and shame she couldn’t even think clearly.

  “You know what that means…” Jenny looked at Lisa.

  “Her appointment—if she has an appointment—must be Monday morning.”

  “Exactly.” Bailey hadn’t said much. She still looked pale and shocked—worried sick about her friend. “Someone has to be there.”

  Jim clasped his hands hard, his knuckles white. “If she were my daughter, I’d be waiting at the clinic for her tomorrow morning.”

  “Absolutely.” The idea was the most natural answer of all. Lisa’s heart lifted for the first time since they’d heard the news about Andi’s pregnancy. “We can see if the clinic has a website. Find out their hou
rs and be there first thing in the morning.”

  “We could wait in the parking lot and pray for her.” Keith looked relieved. “Just in case. I mean, the text coming when it did. We have to believe that’s a sign, that God’s leading us to her.”

  They talked for a few more minutes, and the Flanigans promised to keep praying. Before they left, Bailey hugged Lisa. “When you see her, tell her I love her. I’m here for her.”

  “I will.” Lisa couldn’t express how much Bailey’s comment meant.

  With that, Lisa and Keith hurried home again. On the way, Lisa texted Andi, asking if she’d please call. But there was no response. They tried several more attempts at reaching her, but she didn’t answer, and no more text messages came the rest of the evening. They found a website for the Indianapolis Family Planning Center, and they learned that the clinic opened at nine the next day. After that there was nothing to do but pray and wait.

  They’d be on the road to Indianapolis first thing in the morning.

  Twenty-Five

  LUKE BAXTER HAD BEEN ON THE road far more often than usual, and he was grateful for a weekend at home. Even still he’d be back in Los Angeles by tomorrow night for one more round of meetings. He’d talked to Dayne, and for now at least it looked like Jeremiah Productions was ready to finalize the deal with Brandon Paul.

  “We have our reservations, but that’s where you come in,” Dayne told him. “The contract has to be a steel trap. No loopholes, brother.” Dayne laughed. “Of course, that’s why we have you. You’re the best.”

  Already Luke was hammering out a first draft of the contract. Money wouldn’t be an issue. Any studio in town would take on the movie and pay Brandon’s considerable salary for a chance to have a picture with him. It was the other details that concerned Dayne and Keith—the morality clauses, that if broken, could destroy the movie.

  Luke loved the challenge as much as he loved the personnel changes at Jeremiah Productions. Chase would be missed, of course. But he needed to be home with his family, and now Luke could work more closely with Dayne, his brother. After a lifetime of missing out on having a brother, these days were golden—getting to work with Dayne, being close to him.