Saturday's Warrior
When we got to the bank, I withdrew everything from my bank account except for the minimum balance. I was grateful that my parents had always taught me the value of saving money. Of course most of what was in that account had been gifts which were intended to be saved for the future. I really wasn't supposed to just take it all out like that, but it was an emergency. Hopefully I wouldn't need to spend it all, and I would have some left over to put back later.
After dinner Rex took me aside to speak privately. "Jake just
called," he said. "He says to be ready because you're leaving first thing tomorrow morning."
That was pretty fast. I had only told Jake's mom about my problem the day before, and already everything was arranged for tomorrow. I was beside myself with gratitude to her. It meant I would miss one Thursday rehearsal, but that was no big deal considering the situation.
I gathered up a few items of clothing to pack in a small backpack. I put in the money I had withdrawn from the bank. Then I went to the box in my drawer where I kept the money I'd been setting aside to pay to the church as tithing. I figured I'd better take that money too, just in case.
Then I asked Joy to cover for me at Sister Sanderson's, and I told Mom and Dad about how I was going to spend the weekend with Paige's family. They had no problem with that, and in fact didn't seem even remotely suspicious.
Going to bed, I allowed myself to indulge in one dangerous fantasy. I imagined what would happen if I chose to keep the baby. I imagined getting a little apartment with Walter where we could raise it. There were a couple of pretty moments in this image, setting the table for dinner at home, the baby playing sweetly on the floor.
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