A week after we had met Nicole at the abortuary, it seemed as though she was going to keep her abortion appointment on December 12. Reluctantly she agreed to meet with us one more time; during that meeting we again emphasized that we were going to stick with her through and beyond the pregnancy. Learning that she and her sister were piling eight children into a Ford Escort to take them to school each morning, to prove our sincerity I promised her that I would be back the next day with a minivan. When we showed up the next evening and handed her the keys, she guardedly asked how long she would be able to use it. It’s yours, Alicia told her, and then handed her the title.
December 12th came and went. No Nicole at the abortuary. We visited her again yesterday, taking Christmas gifts for her and for her children. Alicia described the glow that she saw in Nicole’s face. I think she called it a “baby glow.” She has placed herself in our hands. We have become the family that she never really had.