*****
Janie’s parents wouldn’t let her date boys until she was a junior, so most of her time with Eldon was at school and in very brief increments. As expected, four weeks after the JV squad was picked, the time came for half of that squad to move up to varsity. Janie was petite but very athletic. She was also quite perky and energetic, loud and boisterous, and her enthusiasm was infectious. It inspired not only the fans to cheer louder for their team but also her squad members. Those qualities combined into her being one of the girls chosen to move up.
Weeks afterwards, Janie realized something: If not for the promotion things would have turned out very different. Her parents’ rule against dating might have protected her for another year at least. Sadly, the time she spent cheering for the varsity football team on Friday nights opened up windows of time for Eldon and her to spend alone together, and that was not a good thing, but she didn’t know it at first.
The first time Eldon was able to encourage Janie to go too far with him she put up no resistance. It was the first time a boy had been interested in her in that way and she liked the attention he gave her. The next few weeks she wanted it to happen again, but the opportunity just didn’t come. They saw each other at school and stole a kiss or two, but they were unable to find any substantial time alone. Then something quite unexpected happened.
Janie waited for Eldon in the cafeteria. She told him between first and second periods that they needed to talk. She sat by herself, telling her friends to leave her alone when they tried to sit by her. She had already gone through the cafeteria line, so her tray of food was sitting in front of her, still uneaten. She was too nervous to take a bite. She just sipped water from her cup a few times. Then Eldon dropped his plastic food tray in front of hers. It slammed down on the table, startling her out of a daydream, and bounced a centimeter off the top of the table. “Hey, darlin’,” he said as he slipped onto the bench seat facing her.
“Hey,” she said. She was staring down at her food. Then she glanced back up at Eldon. She wasn’t sure how to begin the conversation and hoped he would say something that would get it started.
“So what did you want to talk about?”
There it was. She had thought through what she needed to say and do for the past two days, ever since she found out. Eldon was handsome and for a time she had been truly smitten. However, there were too many things about him that only now made her worry about what any sort of future between them would bring with it. He smoked marijuana. He drank beer. Not just a little drinking, but a lot. Every chance he got, given his underage status. He was also not very smart. His grades were bad and even if he were to be able to go to college on a football scholarship, she knew school wouldn’t last very long. Any future with Eldon, or anything that would force her to continue any sort of relationship with him, was unthinkable.
She looked up at him intently and said, matter-of-factly, “I’m pregnant.”
When she shared the news with him he had just taken a bite of his hot dog. He stopped chewing. His mouth dropped upon and the bite of bun and wiener fell onto his plate. He hunched over his plate and motioned her to move her head closer to his, as if he was about to share a secret. After setting his hotdog down in his plate, he put his right finger up to his lips and said, “Shhh.”
Janie was angry at first. She knew at that moment that the only thing that worried him was the damage impregnating a fifteen-year-old girl would do to his reputation. Then she realized what his attitude meant. He would probably agree with her solution to the problem.
She responded to his urging by moving in closer. Her concerned expression turned into one of anger. “Don’t worry,” she said almost in a whisper. “I don’t expect you to marry me or anything. But I do expect you to help me while I’m pregnant and that you will sign off on an adoption.”
His jaw firmed up and his eyes took on an intensity that told her he was no longer shocked. It was the same look of intensity he showed on the football field. “Adoption? I was thinking abortion.”
“No. That’s up to me and I won’t kill the baby.”
Janie told her parents that night. Her dad was furious. He didn’t say a thing to her after she broke the news. He just stood up, grabbed his car keys, and left the house. She later found out he drove straight over the Eldon’s parents’ house and confronted them with the news. He threatened to report their son to the police for statutory rape, even though the offense was technically indecent liberties with a minor, still a felony and sex offense in Colorado. They threatened to make Janie’s life a living hell by hiring an attorney and suing for custody. As Eldon had already suggested to Janie, they even suggested she get an abortion.
Ultimately, all agreed to the adoption. Eldon’s life barely hit a speed bump. He went on to be selected All-State Quarterback, first team, and was awarded a full scholarship to play football for Colorado State University. No surprise to Janie, he lost the scholarship after just one season due to poor grades. Janie’s future, though, was dramatically altered. She dropped out of school as soon as she started to show. Her mom did what she had wanted to do for years—she homeschooled her youngest child for the rest of high school, hoping it might protect her from further corruption. The following summer, just one month after she gave birth to a son and gave him up to two loving, adoptive parents, Janie was sent off to help with youth at a summer church camp, Desert Flats Youth Ranch, Colorado.
Broken: A story of hope and forgiveness Page 18