Abide With Me (23 page)

S
unday services had been part of Madge’s life for as long as she could remember, and this church held memories of the most important days in her life. She had grown in faith here. She had been married here. Drew and Brett had learned Bible verses here as little boys—Bible verses they still carried in their hearts when they came home last week to meet their new little sister. Mother and Daddy, Kathleen and Sandra had been here to receive one final blessing before being laid to rest. And it was here that Madge would find her way back to the loving marriage she so desperately wanted.

Today’s service, however, was the first time she and Russell and Sarah would appear in public together as a family, although word of the adoption had spread quickly. Madge had had butterflies in her stomach when she woke up this
morning. By the time she and Russell walked Sarah down the aisle and took their seats, there were only moments before the service was set to begin. She was half afraid to sing the opening hymn for fear a flock of Monarch butterflies would escape and really give the congregation something to talk about!

Reverend Staggart had been extremely helpful and very supportive when they had all met together several times over the course of the past week, and she kept her attention on him during the entire service. With her heart wrapped around the hope that the congregation would be just as accepting as the pastor had been, she tried to quell the guilt she carried for misleading everyone about how Sarah had come into their lives. It was harder to control the resentment that Russell had put her into this position in the first place.

She would have felt a whole lot easier if the adoption had already gone through and she had a new birth certificate for Sarah stored in their safe-deposit box.

She had seen more than a few shocked faces as the three of them passed down the aisle to their pew at the front of the church. Fortunately, Jenny and Michael and Andrea were already there, and Madge focused only on their smiles of support as they slid over to make more room.

Madge was not surprised to hear a few whispers behind them, either. Who could blame them anyone being surprised or curious? Madge and Russell were both old enough to be grandparents, not the adoptive parents of this little charmer.

She glanced at Sarah. She was sitting quietly. Next week, they might try letting her go to the nursery Sunday School,
but not today. Poor little lamb. She still asked for help to find her mommy occasionally, and Madge prayed time would heal this little one’s heart and leave room for Madge to fill the void left by her birth mother’s passing.

As the voices of the congregation rose to sing the closing hymn, Russell reached over and squeezed Madge’s hand. They still had a long, long way to go before they fully reconciled, but he was trying hard to make amends. His show of support now meant the world to her, but it would be her heavenly Father who would carry her through the next half hour after services ended and Sarah became the focus of everyone’s attention.

The hymn ended. Instead of sending his flock back into the world to do the Lord’s work in the coming week, the pastor urged everyone to be seated. “Today we have the pleasure of welcoming a new member into our community of faith. The Stephens have adopted a little girl. Madge and Russell? Would you bring Sarah forward at this time?”

Madge’s heart flip-flopped. Sarah had already been baptized as an infant. What was the pastor doing? He had not mentioned anything about—”

“Madge?” Russell’s voice cut through her panic. “We should take Sarah up now.”

Madge nodded. Hand in hand, with Sarah in the middle, the three of them approached the altar. The pastor met them with a smile. “Relax,” he whispered. “And smile!” he urged as he turned them to face the congregation. He stood behind Sarah to address everyone. “As you all know, we have a new women’s ministry here and they’ve asked for a moment today when everyone was here. Mrs. Hadley?”

Eleanor Hadley and two other women stepped forward
and took places to Madge’s right. Madge recognized Millie and Grace Hudson at once. They were carrying a pale pink shawl. She looked to Andrea for an explanation, but only saw a mirror of her own surprise and curiosity.

Eleanor began speaking in a clear but gentle voice. “As some of you know, I’ve been honored to be part of the women’s Shawl Ministry. We’ve been meeting for some time now on Saturday afternoons to pray together and knit together, creating shawls we hope will bring joy and comfort to those who receive them. Together, we decided that our first shawl should be presented today to little Miss Sarah Stevens. Ladies?”

At her invitation, Millie and Grace approached Sarah, who let go of Madge’s hand to cling to Russell’s leg. She did not balk, however, when the two women wrapped the shawl around her shoulders and showed her how to tuck in the ends and hold the shawl in place with her arms. As they worked with Sarah, Eleanor recited a prayer. “With loving hands and giving hearts, we have made this shawl and present it to you, Sarah. We welcome you to our community of faith and promise to help you love and serve the God who has chosen Madge and Russell Stephens to be your loving parents. As you wrap yourself in the shawl, always remember that He is the source of all goodness and comfort and you are never, ever alone. He will stay with you always.”

With one voice, the congregation said, “Amen.”

Madge had not been present when Sarah had been baptized as an infant. The ceremony today and the words Eleanor had spoken went a long way toward easing her disappointment. Still, she wished Sarah had come into the
family as a newborn. At three, she was too old for the traditional family ceremony Madge and her sisters used to welcome each of their children.

The spontaneous applause that erupted and the genuine smiles of welcome from the congregation, however, left Madge in tears that quickly turned to laughter when Sarah proceeded to pirouette and show off her shawl. The next few minutes were a blur, and before Madge knew it, she was standing next to the pastor in a receiving line in the church foyer. Russell stood on the other side of her with Sarah in his arms as friends and neighbors passed by to offer their congratulations.

True, there were more than a few raised eyebrows. Madge even overheard a few snide comments about her age, but by and large, most people seemed genuinely happy for her, which only added to her fear of what might happen if anyone discovered the truth. Madge was not Sarah’s adoptive mother yet, and she wouldn’t be for several years.

When Andrea appeared at the end of the line with Jenny and gave her a hug, Madge whispered in her ear, “You could have warned me what they were going to do today!”

Andrea hugged her back. “I didn’t know a thing about it. I guess the other women were afraid I might have told you and ruined the surprise,” she whispered back before Jenny playfully nudged Andrea aside. “I want a hug, too.”

Madge hugged her baby sister, felt Jenny’s extended tummy press against her and set her back. “Are you sure you’re not due until February?”

“Positive.” She kissed Sarah’s cheek. “I like your shawl.”

Sarah pulled away. “Mine!”

“Yes, sweetie, it sure is,” Jenny assured her. “Uncle Mi
chael went to get your cousins from Sunday School. Would you like to play with Katy and Hannah?”

Sarah buried herself deeper in Russell’s arms.

“She’s still a little shy,” Madge explained.

Russell laughed. “Except when she’s standing in front of the entire congregation!”

“Russell, why don’t you take Sarah with you to find Michael and the girls while we make a quick stop back inside for a minute?”

Russell nodded, and Madge linked her arms with her sisters and ushered them back inside the foyer of the church before either one of them could argue. The church was empty now, but the memory of today’s ceremony was still vivid enough to reignite Madge’s fears. She paused just inside the foyer, forcing her sisters to stop as well, and bowed her head. “I can’t do this. I can’t mislead everyone. I can’t lie like this,” she whispered.

“Lie?” Jenny asked.

“About Russell. About Sarah,” Madge whispered. “It’s going to take a year or two for the adoption to go through and to get Sarah’s birth certificate changed so both of our names are on it, not just Russell’s. Until then, I have to continue to lie and pretend Russell isn’t already her father—”

“That’s not true,” Andrea argued. “The circumstances of Sarah’s birth and her adoption are private, and they should be. You and Russell have decided to raise Sarah together as her parents. That’s all anyone needs to know.”

“She’s right,” Jenny argued. “Listen to her.”

“But if anyone finds out the truth, they’ll know I misled them.”

“They won’t,” Jenny insisted.

Madge took a deep breath. “But they could.”

“Not if you could get the adoption approved and a new birth certificate issued quickly. Once that’s done, the original can be sealed, even with the proviso that the records can be unsealed at Sarah’s request when she’s an adult, which she probably won’t do because you and Russell are going to tell her the truth anyway. I assume Russell has her mother’s death certificate?”

“I guess so.” Madge’s eyes lit with hope that quickly dimmed. “It’s a good idea, Andrea, but I told you. Going through with the adoption and getting the birth certificate changed will take a good year, maybe longer.”

“But what if you could get it done in a few weeks? What then?”

“Then I guess I’d feel much better than I do right now.”

Andrea smiled. “Consider it done.”

With her eyes wide, Madge leaned back, looked at Andrea, and sputtered. “C-consider it done? J-just like that?”

“Just like that. I have a friend, Trish Montgomery, who practices family law. She’ll do it for me as a favor. I’ll call her tomorrow for you.”

“But you can’t just call up your friend and expect her to drop everything to handle this for us. And what about the courts? They’re clogged with enough cases to last through this millennium and the next, or so they say.”

Andrea’s smile turned into a grin. “Yes, I can. What did Sandra do every time she wanted something near…near the end when she was sick?”

“She played the cancer card.”

“Right. Now it just so happens you have another sister who can do the same thing. I’ll call Trish tomorrow and if
I have to, I’ll play the cancer card. If it worked for Sandra, it’ll work for me.”

“You…you said you’d never do that! You told Sandra you thought it was terrible to play on people’s sympathies like that!”

Andrea swallowed hard. “I know I did, but well, sometimes we have to do things because there’s no other choice. I wouldn’t play the cancer card otherwise. There’s nothing I can do to make this all go away for you, so let me try to make it better. Please.”

Madge did not bother to swipe away the next barrage of tears. “You’d do that? For Sarah and Russell and me? You said you didn’t want anyone else to know your cancer was back.”

“You’re my sister,” Andrea whispered. “Of course I will.” Before they both got teary, she pinched Madge’s upper arm.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“Just a little victory pinch. I was right, wasn’t I?”

Madge rubbed her arm. “Right about what?”

“Cancer. It isn’t always so bad. Sometimes it’s just plain good. Or it can be. It all depends on what you do with it. It’s about time I made it work for good, don’t you think?”

Madge sniffled. “I suppose.”

“I suppose, too,” Jenny teased before they shared a group hug.

Madge did not argue when Jenny and Andrea led her back outside where folks were still gathered, chatting together in groups on the church lawn. While searching for Russell and Sarah, Madge saw the leading members of the Shawl Ministry—Eleanor, Millie and Grace—talking with several women, no doubt recruiting new members. The sun
felt warm on Madge’s face, but her heart was already filled with enough peace now to make the weeks ahead easier. When she saw Bill Sanderson start walking toward them, she whispered in Andrea’s ear. “There’s someone coming who has his eye on you. I think he’s a keeper, too.”

Andrea scanned the crowd, saw Bill heading their way and nudged Madge with her elbow. “He’s just a friend.”

Jenny peered around Madge and made a face at Andrea. “A friend? How many dates have you had with him so far?”

“Two by your count, but it was really only one date,” Andrea retorted.

Jenny’s eyes sparkled when she looked at Madge. “The man can’t be that much of a keeper if he’s let the past few weeks go by without asking Andrea for another date. Do you think he’s changed his mind about being interested in her, or is she just a little too cranky for his taste?”

Madge replied as if Andrea weren’t even there. “I don’t know. Maybe we should ask him.”

“Good idea!”

Andrea groaned. “Have fun, ladies. I’ll see you Tuesday for breakfast,” she said, slipped free, and went to meet Bill before he got anywhere close to her sisters. Half the congregation might be watching, but together, Madge and Jenny were far more dangerous. “How are the renovations going?” she asked him as they met.

He held up a key ring with a set of keys on it. “I was coming over to ask if you’d like to see them if you’re not busy. I wasn’t sure if you’d be going out with your sisters to celebrate or not.”

“No, I’d love to see them.”

“We can walk or take my car. Maybe have some lunch
afterward? I know it’s Sunday, but I have a little business proposition for you.”

She nodded. She had a hunch about the business proposition, but let it go until later. “A walk and lunch sound perfect.”

Before they left, she waved goodbye to her sisters. At least Sarah waved goodbye back. Her sisters gave her smirks.

Using the back streets, getting from the church to the old schoolhouse that he had purchased took about fifteen minutes. ET, the elevated train, passed by less frequently on Sundays, and Bill and Andrea walked beneath the tracks without a train rumbling by overhead. The parking lot, normally full by eight o’clock on weekdays, held only half a dozen cars.

“The contractor tells me the renovations will be finished by Thanksgiving. From the progress he’s made so far, I’d say he’s about on target. I’ve got my offices earmarked. Now all I need are some tenants.” Bill nodded toward the tracks. “Having easy access to Philadelphia should help.”