John crawled back under the covers, laid his head down. Just as he felt the warmth of the blankets returning, the phone again rang. “Oh, come on!” Hero hoped that he didn’t say that out loud.
Just as before, he answered the phone, “Hello, this is John.” Hero waited and then a small voice began to speak. He could not hear clearly what she was saying, but the voice seemed familiar. Rubbing his eyes, John tried to remember where he had heard that voice. She talked like they were old friends and the longer she talked the more he thought that he should know who it was on the other end of the line. The voice told him that she had to get out of town soon. Finally there was enough of a pause in the conversation that John could ask, “Where are you?”
“I’m in North Bend .”
“When are you coming this way?” John figured that he could bluff his way since the voice was obviously far away and probably not sober. But he still wanted to remember who it was that was speaking to him. Suddenly the phone went silent. John looked at the phone. Again the call was disconnected. Not sure what else to do and really too tired to care in that moment, John again plugged the phone back in and went to bed.
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Angel again rolled over and laid on her back staring at the bunk above her. The shelter really was not too bad. These people seemed to really care about her. Several times since she got back from having her procedure; the staff and volunteers had checked on her to see if she needed anything. A couple of them had prayed with her and one had given her chocolate. A smile escaped her face. For a moment she felt the love that they had talked about in the small group that first night that she was at the shelter.
Then the tapes in her head started playing again. It was her boyfriend’s mom screaming at her. “You are so stupid. You need to get that fixed. You slut! What are you doing to my son?”
As she replayed the tapes she had to ask herself, “Where was he?” Nowhere in the scene could she find him. Where would he have gone? Then she remembered. He was pretending to be asleep on the couch.
“What am I doing with this guy?” Then she remembered his eyes and the sweet things that he had said to her. The voice in her head said, “That’s the best guy you will ever get. You got the procedure done to keep him. True, he had not had a job since they met. Also true, he was thirty years old and still lived with his mother. But he at least was out looking for a job and he made her laugh many times. He was the one. Her heart raced a bit with the thoughts of him.
Then the memories of the clinic came flooding into her mind. She was alone there as well. It was like the dentist office. They called her name, escorted her to a back room and an emotionless doctor explained what was about to happen. Not once did she feel like she had a choice. It was too late now. A little bit of discomfort and the problem was solved. Again her eyes filled with tears as Angel realized that she had killed her baby.
