The Choice (45 page)

Butterflies fluttered in Sandy's stomach during the twenty-minute drive to Tryon. She was looking forward to seeing Jeremy and meeting Leanne but was anxious she might say or do the wrong thing. The church parking lot was crowded. Sandy had put on a blue dress and a lightweight white sweater. A necklace around her neck was complemented by matching earrings. She saw people wearing jeans and felt overdressed. When she reached the church entrance there was no sign of Deb Bridges or Jeremy and his family.

“Good morning,” said a male voice behind her. “What brings you all the way over here?”

Sandy turned around. It was John Bestwick.

“Uh, meeting a friend,” Sandy replied. “I didn't know you attended this church.”

“Just started a few months ago. A guy I know from college goes here with his family and invited me. There's been a big change in my life since then, but I guess you haven't noticed.”

Sandy remembered the kind note John wrote when she returned from her first meeting with Dr. Vale.

“Maybe a little,” she said.

“When was the last time you heard me lose my temper with a player and cuss him out?”

“Never.”

John pointed to his head. “But there was plenty of that going on in here.”

Deb came up to them, and Sandy introduced them.

“If you have any influence with Sandy, put in a good word for me,” John said to Deb. “I've been trying to buy her a steak dinner for months.”

John entered the church.

“He seems like a nice guy,” Deb said after John left. “And he seems very interested in you.”

Sandy noticed that Deb wasn't wearing a wedding band.

“Don't let that keep you from getting to know him. He's the boys' basketball coach at Rutland High. If he offers to buy you a steak dinner, let him do it.”

They went into the sanctuary. It was a long, rectangular metal building.

“Where do Jeremy and his family sit?” Sandy asked.

“Usually in the back on the left.”

“Then let's sit on the right.”

“I thought we'd worship together.”

“Not today,” Sandy said firmly.

The sanctuary started to fill up. Sandy kept glancing over her shoulder until she saw Jeremy and Leanne enter the room. Jeremy was looking around and their eyes met. He smiled and waved before whispering something to Leanne, who looked intently in her direction and nodded slightly. Jeremy and Leanne continued up the aisle and sat on the left side of the sanctuary. Sandy could see Leanne lean in close to Jeremy and start talking.

“There're Jeremy and Leanne,” Deb said, nudging Sandy.

“Yes, I saw them come in.”

The service reminded Sandy of Ben and Betsy's church. She could see John Bestwick's head close to the front of the room. It warmed Sandy's heart that the basketball coach was connecting with something other than the squeak of shoes in a high school gym. The songs were new to Sandy. Deb sang boisterously and didn't seem to notice that Sandy held back.

The sermon topic for the day was taken from the story of the prodigal son. The pastor, a man named Mark, was in his early forties and seemed comfortable in his role as a speaker. He read the famous passage from Luke's Gospel, then focused on the need for every person to have the perspective of the father who wanted the son to return home without recrimination. Sandy was grateful that her son wasn't a prodigal.

At the conclusion of the message, the congregation was encouraged to divide into groups of four or five and pray for the prodigals in their families. An older couple in front of Deb and Sandy turned around, and the four of them became an instant small group. Deb prayed for a sister, an uncle, and a woman she'd known for more than twenty years who'd recently turned away from God. The older couple added a few more names to the list. While the wife prayed, Sandy racked her brain to come up with someone to mention. When the couple finished, Sandy sat in awkward silence for a moment, then prayed for her nephew Robbie. She wasn't sure Robbie qualified as a prodigal; he just liked to sleep late on Sunday mornings and went to church only when visiting his parents in Rutland. But as she mentioned his name, Sandy knew that Betsy would appreciate the prayer.

The end of the service left Sandy with a logistical dilemma. How was she going to separate from Deb so she could spend private time with Jeremy and Leanne?

“What did you think?” Deb asked. “Isn't Pastor Mark a good speaker?”

“Yes.”

Sandy saw Jeremy and Leanne moving toward them.

“Go ahead,” Sandy said to Deb. “I'm fine on my own.”

“I thought we could go to lunch,” Deb replied. “There's a cute spot with scrumptious sandwiches not far from the church. It's the sort of place I think you'd enjoy.”

“Uh, I'm sure I would, but I wasn't going to—” Sandy stopped as Jeremy came up to her.

He leaned over and gave her a hug. Deb's eyes widened. Leanne extended her hand to Sandy.

“Jeremy hasn't stopped talking about you since he got home on Thursday,” Leanne said.

A big grin on his face, Jeremy turned to Deb, who was gawking at Leanne.

“Deb, you may as well find out now, since it will come up at the office soon enough. Sandy is my birth mother.”

Deb took a step back, then looked at Jeremy and Sandy in quick succession.

“Wow!”

Jeremy leaned over so his face was beside Sandy's.

“Does that help?”

Deb stared at them for a few seconds.

“Yeah, it's uncanny.” She nodded. “How in the world did you figure it out?”

“I'll fill you in later,” Jeremy said. “I wanted Sandy to meet Leanne before we pick up the kids. I'm not going to say anything to them until I talk to my mom. So I'd ask you to keep a lid on this too. If I didn't think you could, I wouldn't tell you.”

“Sure,” Deb said, glancing at Sandy again. “Amazing.”

Deb moved away but looked over her shoulder twice before she'd gone ten feet. Sandy turned to Leanne.

“I know this is a shock,” Sandy said. “And I hope Jeremy told you that I don't want to disrupt your family or cause any problems. It was so unexpected, and I wasn't sure—”

Sandy saw tears come into Leanne's eyes and stopped. Jeremy put his arm around Leanne.

“What is it?” he asked.

Leanne wiped away the tears with her hand.

“I suddenly thought how I'd feel if I had to go through my life without seeing Zach until he was a grown man.”

Within seconds, tears were streaming down Sandy's cheeks. Leanne stepped forward and hugged Sandy as tightly as a best friend. Sandy felt Jeremy's hand on her shoulder. She and Leanne parted. Leanne, her eyes red, looked in Sandy's face.

“I don't know you, but I hope you feel what is in my heart for you.”

“I do.” Sandy managed a small smile. “I feel like the prodigal mother who has come home to open arms and a big feast.”

“But you didn't do anything wrong,” Jeremy quickly cut in.

“She knows what I mean,” Sandy said, keeping her eyes on Leanne. “I walked away from my babies. And now one of them has been brought back to me.”

Leanne briefly hugged Sandy again. Jeremy had a confused look on his face.

“Don't worry, honey.” Leanne patted Jeremy on the arm. “You're a smart lawyer, but you're not supposed to understand everything a woman thinks and feels.”

“Obviously.”

Leanne took a packet of tissues from her purse and offered one to Sandy. They both blew their noses and laughed.

“What's funny?” Jeremy asked, bewildered.

“We need to get the kids,” Leanne said. “Chloe is going to wonder why her mommy has been crying. Jeremy, what are you going to tell her?”

“That she should know because she'll be a woman someday.”

They walked out of the sanctuary together. The sun was shining, and the air had the comfortable cool that only autumn provides.

“There's not much time for us to talk now,” Leanne said to Sandy, “but there's one question I have to ask you. Why did you send the boys to different families?”

Sandy didn't feel threatened by Leanne.

“I thought it was the right thing to do. Someday I'll tell you the whole story.”

Leanne took both Sandy's hands in hers and peered into her eyes.

“I think having two mothers-in-law is going to be a blessing.”

Sandy wasn't sure if she drove her car back to Rutland or if it flew a few inches above the pavement. When she got home, she knew it was time to call her mother. Linda was visiting in Florida for a few weeks. That way Sandy could tell both women at the same time. Her mother answered the phone.

“Hey, Mama,” Sandy said. “Where are you?”

“In my bedroom. Why?”

“Would you please ask Linda to pick up the phone in the kitchen? I have something important to tell both of you, and I don't want to repeat it.”

“Are you sick?”

“No, no, I'm fine.”

Sandy heard her mother call Linda's name.

“This had better be important,” Linda said when she came on the line. “I'm near the end of a good book and want to find out what happened.”

“This is better than fiction,” Sandy replied. “I have some exciting news. I've met one of my sons.”

The two women's initial reaction was total silence.

“Say that again,” her mother said after a few seconds passed.

“I've found the younger of the twins. He's a lawyer in Tryon named Jeremy Lane.”

“Are you positive it's him?” her mother asked. “How can you be sure?”

Sandy repeated her story. When she mentioned the card on Baby Smith's bassinet in the infant nursery at the hospital, Linda interrupted her.

“I remember that card. I never told you, but I took a picture of the cards on both bassinets. The photos are in a box in the guestroom closet at my house.”

“Jeremy's mother has the original. When he asked why his birth weight was so low, I told him he had a fraternal twin.”

“How did he take that news?” her mother asked.

“So far, he's not seemed that interested.” Sandy paused. “He really wants to get to know me.”

“Did he ask about his father?”

“Yes, but only to find out who he was. If he wants to track down Brad, I won't try to discourage him.”

“I would,” Linda grunted.

“I know why you're saying that,” Sandy replied. “But when you meet Jeremy and see his family, the negative things of the past will seem unimportant.”

“Do you have pictures of him?” her mother asked.

“Yes. I'll e-mail some to you later. Oh, and I haven't told Jack yet, but I'll try to call him this afternoon. Other than Ben and Betsy, the only person who knows is Jessica. She was over here the other day and saw some photos lying around. There was no hiding the truth from her.”

Sandy heard someone blow her nose.

“Are you okay?”

“That's me, crying like a baby myself,” Linda said. “All the memories of those months we spent together hit me like a flood. It was one of the happiest times of my life. And to think about seeing one of the boys is unbelievable.”

“Maybe I could ride back to Georgia with Linda and we could all get together,” Sandy's mother said.

“I think that would be a great idea,” Sandy said. “Let me mention it to Jeremy and see what he thinks. I'm trying to let him set the pace for the relationship.”

“Good idea,” her mother said.

“Maybe, but you've ruined the rest of my afternoon,” Linda said. “There's no way I can get back into my book.”

When the call ended, Sandy waited a few minutes, then phoned Jack. After listening to her story, he asked so many questions that Sandy finally had to suggest that he send an e-mail so she could make an effort to find out everything he wanted to know about Jeremy.

Monday morning Maria came to Sandy's classroom before first period started. The Hispanic girl looked tired.