Christmas Eve. Oh, I’m Pastor
Dan Jacobson, pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church. I came to check things out
for my Christmas Eve service and there she was standing kneeling next to the
Nativity Scene. She stood and turned toward me. I sensed the tension in her.
I’m sure with the light behind me, she couldn’t see who I was right away. She
was holding a baby.
I approached slowly and she immediately relaxed when she
realized I was a man of the cloth, immediately mistaking me for a priest.
Normal mistake, many people mistook me for a priest.
The baby wasn’t hers, she explained. She found it next to
the crèche. Naturally, I was suspicious. Was she trying to pull a fast one? Her
annoyance didn’t escape me as she pushed the note in my hand. Not that it
proved anything, she could have written it. Thing is, she looked me in the eye
and I’ve discovered people who are lying don’t look you in the eye.
Her eyes held sorrow, grief. This was a woman who was
suffering. We sat down and I asked if she had children. Tears instantly sprang
to her eyes. Slowly but surely, the story came out. She had a two year old
daughter, whose father demanded custody, threatening Vanessa if she didn’t
agree. She had no choice or chance of getting her daughter back if she didn’t
take the money he offered and leave.
It wasn’t long before someone else entered the church. The
baby’s mother raced toward us, crying. The poor girl was at wit’s end, not
knowing where to turn. When she saw Vanessa come into the church, something
made her scribble a note and run out. But, she couldn’t do it. Couldn’t leave
her baby.
I knew I should call the police, but Vanessa came to the
rescue, insisting the girl and baby stay with her. It was Christmas Eve and
after the tale Vanessa just told me about her own child, well heck, how could I
possibly call the police? So I got the address where they were staying and let
them go, figuring I’d check on them later. Besides, I wanted to see Vanessa
again.
To find out what happens next, you’ll have to read the book.
It’s available from Amazon
EXCERPT
Vanessa’s
stomach tensed. She had to get out of here. Needed some air, needed to escape.
She
got in her car and started driving, to where was anyone’s guess. The quaintness
of Strongsville, Ohio, especially the town square with the gazebo with all the
Christmas decorations, brought tears to her eyes. Vanessa wiped the tears away
and parked the car. Shoppers and carolers filled the sidewalks. Ignoring them,
Vanessa hurried past decorated shops until she came to a small church. St.
Matthew’s Lutheran Church, the sign out front said. Two huge wreaths hung
on the heavy oak doors. The small white building beckoned to her.
Vanessa
opened the door, walked up the steps and stood at the entrance. The quiet of
the empty church filled her soul. It had been too long since she had attended
services. Charles wasn’t particularly religious, but at least he had allowed
her to have Alyssa baptized. She should have gone to church more often by
herself, but after spending Saturday evening at the club, it was all too easy
to sleep in on Sunday morning.
Light
showed through the stained glass windows, illuminating the red carpet-covered
aisle way. A nativity scene at the front captured her attention and drew her
forward. Memories from her childhood flashed through her mind.
Her
father always helped set up the nativity at church when she was a little girl,
and they let her put Baby Jesus in the crèche. A noise came from the side
aisle, interrupting her thoughts. Vanessa stopped, saw a flash of red and the
side door slammed. Funny, she hadn’t noticed anyone else when she came in.
Oh,
well, Vanessa shrugged and continued to the front and knelt down. What in the
world? Next to the nativity scene sat a car seat. An infant, three, maybe four
months old with dark curly hair, opened its almond shaped dark eyes and reached
its chubby arms out to her.
“What
have we here?” Vanessa unbuckled the seat belt. “Hello, precious.” She picked
up the baby and a note fell on the diaper bag next to the car seat. Vanessa
picked up the paper and read the scribbled words.
Please
take care of my baby. Her name is Grace. Mary.
“Who
could leave someone as precious as you?” Vanessa looked around. No one lurked
in the shadows. Who left the baby? How long had she been here? God, what should
she do? The baby cuddled against her. Vanessa inhaled the sweet smell of baby
lotion, bringing back memory of Alyssa. Tears filled her eyes. For a minute,
she was tempted to take the baby and leave, but she couldn’t do it.
Startled,
when the door at the back of the church slammed, Vanessa turned toward the
sound. A shadow loomed at the entrance and moved toward her. A tall figure
walked down the aisle, checking the pews along the way. Vanessa hugged the baby
against her, held her breath, and let it out when she saw who it was.
“Father,
I’m glad you’re here. I came in here and found this baby. I was just about to
call the police.”
“I’m a
minister, not a priest. Pastor Dan Jacobson, Pastor Dan will do,” he said. “You
found a baby?” His brown eyes sparkled with a glint of gold below raised
eyebrows. “Who do you suppose it belongs to?”
“Yes, I ... uh.” The look on his face told her he
didn’t believe her. Heck, she could have pretended Grace was hers. He wouldn’t
have known. “When I came in someone ran out through that side door. I came up
here to see the nativity scene and….” Vanessa walked away and sat in a pew,
cradling the baby against her chest. What was the use, he didn’t believe her.
She didn’t need this. Not now. She had enough problems of her own.
“I
see, pretty little thing, boy or girl?” Vanessa stood and took a step closer to
him. “Girl.” She stopped next to him. “You aren’t suggesting this child is
mine, are you?” Vanessa looked him straight in the eyes. How dare he? Minister
or not, what gave him the right? “Look, I came in here and found the baby. I
told you someone ran out that door.” Vanessa took a deep breath, let out an
angry sigh. “Here.” She pushed the note toward him. “This was lying on the
diaper bag. I didn’t touch anything else.”
Pastor
Dan stared at her, like he was studying her.
Vanessa
stared back at him. Disbelief showed in his face. Like she’d try to pull off
such a stunt? Imagine her abandoning a baby like this. The memory of Alyssa,
clinging to her when Charles tore her away, flashed in her mind. Even now,
Alyssa’s cries when Charles slammed the door ripped her apart.
Pastor
Dan brought her back to awareness. “I see. Well, I guess we’ll have to call
Social Services.” He read the note, then picked up the diaper bag and looked
through it.
Grace
squirmed in Vanessa’s arms and began to cry.
“Probably
hungry.” Vanessa hummed and cuddled the baby and rocked her.
Pastor
Dan pulled out a bottle of formula.
The
warmth of the baby against her chest opened a hole in her heart, missing Alyssa
even more. Her insides trembled, tears burned her eyes, threatened to fall.
“You
have children?” Pastor Dan’s tone softened.
A tear
escaped, fell on her cheek. She nodded, a lump caught in her throat.
“How
many?”
“One.”
Vanessa choked out the word.
How
old?”
“Two.”
The tears burst forth as if a damn had been unleashed. “I’m....” Vanessa
couldn’t speak. She turned away, held back the tears, and paced across the
front to the nativity scene, leaving him standing there.
***
Attractive
woman and she held the baby like she cared about it. Was she trying to pull a
fast one? Yet, something about her suggested she was telling the truth. Her
eyes—that was it. She had honest eyes. Dan laughed inwardly. What was it with
him and people’s eyes? He’d learned over the years that people telling the
truth looked you in the eyes, whereas liars looked away, over your head, or
down at the floor. This woman looked him full in the eyes.
And
he’d gone and made her mad. She didn’t look like the sort of person he wanted
mad at him. No, she looks like the sort of person who needed help. Like someone
he wanted to know better. No wedding ring, but the pale mark on her tanned
finger indicated she wore one recently.
Something bothered her, an inner conflict. The baby wasn’t
hers, but there was something. A sorrow in her eyes, a deep hurt on her face.
He had seen that look before, usually someone suffering from grief. He wanted
to know more about this mysterious woman who showed up in his church and
discovered the baby.
“Yes, I ... uh.” The look on his face told her he
didn’t believe her. Heck, she could have pretended Grace was hers. He wouldn’t
have known. “When I came in someone ran out through that side door. I came up
here to see the nativity scene and….” Vanessa walked away and sat in a pew,
cradling the baby against her chest. What was the use, he didn’t believe her.
She didn’t need this. Not now. She had enough problems of her own.
“I
see, pretty little thing, boy or girl?” Vanessa stood and took a step closer to
him. “Girl.” She stopped next to him. “You aren’t suggesting this child is
mine, are you?” Vanessa looked him straight in the eyes. How dare he? Minister
or not, what gave him the right? “Look, I came in here and found the baby. I
told you someone ran out that door.” Vanessa took a deep breath, let out an
angry sigh. “Here.” She pushed the note toward him. “This was lying on the
diaper bag. I didn’t touch anything else.”
Pastor
Dan stared at her, like he was studying her.
Vanessa
stared back at him. Disbelief showed in his face. Like she’d try to pull off
such a stunt? Imagine her abandoning a baby like this. The memory of Alyssa,
clinging to her when Charles tore her away, flashed in her mind. Even now,
Alyssa’s cries when Charles slammed the door ripped her apart.
Pastor
Dan brought her back to awareness. “I see. Well, I guess we’ll have to call
Social Services.” He read the note, then picked up the diaper bag and looked
through it.
Grace
squirmed in Vanessa’s arms and began to cry.
“Probably
hungry.” Vanessa hummed and cuddled the baby and rocked her.
Pastor
Dan pulled out a bottle of formula.
The
warmth of the baby against her chest opened a hole in her heart, missing Alyssa
even more. Her insides trembled, tears burned her eyes, threatened to fall.
“You
have children?” Pastor Dan’s tone softened.
A tear
escaped, fell on her cheek. She nodded, a lump caught in her throat.
“How
many?”
“One.”
Vanessa choked out the word.
How
old?”
“Two.”
The tears burst forth as if a damn had been unleashed. “I’m....” Vanessa
couldn’t speak. She turned away, held back the tears, and paced across the
front to the nativity scene, leaving him standing there.
