“Hi Talia, I think maybe I sort of believe.”
“In what?” she asked.
“In Jesus…” I told her about my prayer, as best I could remember it.
Talia was overjoyed and said I had certainly made a leap of faith.
“Now the fun begins! If you have opened your eyes to Jesus, you begin to see Him everywhere. I don’t mean literally of course, but you see His work in your life and in others’ lives more clearly. I would love to do a Bible study with you if you are willing. I have some great studies for new believers.”
“I will think about that,” I said. Then I told her about Timothy and how he had walked in and heard my whole confession of faith. And then he’d asked me to marry him.
“What did you say?”
“Yes.”
At that, Talia started crying. Her voice cracked as she said she had been praying that would be my decision. Since I had no mother and no father (that I wanted to walk me down the aisle), I asked her if it would be ok if she walked me down the aisle.
That made her cry harder.
Then I told her about the discussion with Mr. Zeller and how his answers left me more worried than ever about the contract with Dr. Thanatos.
“I pray God will give you a spirit of discernment,” she said, still sniffling. “With Timothy, I am sure you will find a way to determine that you are still making a good decision in going to college. I will be praying for you.”
Even knowing about Talia’s prayers and with my hand clutching Timothy’s, I was a nervous wreck as we walked into Mr. Zeller’s office for the meeting. As we sat at his desk, I noticed the same two file folders as before in front of him. Dr. Thanatos’ file with the college agreement presumably was on top. I couldn’t see the underlying folder but I strongly suspected it was Margaret’s Will.
Mr. Zeller shook our hands and then sat across from us.
“I want you to know that if I could tell you more, I would,” he began. “You can ask whatever you would like, but I cannot reveal anything that my client has asked remain private.”
“Even if it harms Ruth?” Timothy asked.
“I can report any criminal intent if it has been voiced or illegal activity. However, I cannot divulge any other confidential material or discussions.”
“So is there any criminal intent or illegal action in the contract Ruth signed?” he asked.
Pause. Then Mr. Zeller slowly shook his head.
My guess is from the body language that it was not overtly criminal, but shady enough to cause him a moment of reflection.
He looked up as a fellow banker poked his head through the door.
“Marcus, can I have fifteen minutes of your time when you are done here?”
“I can give you that now,” he said. Then standing, he handed me the top file, Dr. Thanatos’ contract. “You two take that time to look this over carefully. When I get back, you can ask what you would like. I will do my best to help.”
I was about to object, thinking that him cutting out on us was highly unprofessional, but then I saw the tab on the file left on the desk. Dr. Margaret Thanatos Last Will and Testament. I am certain he saw me look at the name of that file. He nodded slightly, and followed the banker out of his office.
I glanced at my watch. Fifteen minutes. Without hesitation, I grabbed Margaret’s will. If it wasn’t the Holy Spirit guiding me, so be it. I was almost certain Mr. Zeller had just figured out how to let me get answers without him divulging the information himself.
“Is that…” began Timothy.
I nodded and pulled the will out where we could both read. We only had fifteen minutes so we skimmed all the sound body and mind stuff. Running my finger down the page and speed reading, I quickly came to the most interesting paragraphs. Here are the critical points.
A portion of the estate will go each year to cover basic running expenses of New Life Pregnancy Center.
Then there were specifics of how those expenses were allocated, how the director was appointed, and operating procedures per her requests. The following paragraph was how funds were to be allocated to heirs!
To her only son, not one penny was to be given as long as he worked as an abortionist. If he quit the abortion industry and instead devoted himself as director/administrator of New Life, he could draw a specific percentage of the estate funds each year until his death.
Mortimer Thanatos is not to receive any portion of the inheritance as stipulated in this last will and testament unless he is no longer employed in any aspect of abortion industry work. If there are no verified grandchildren, the full estate is to go to New Life Pregnancy Center. Conditions under which Mortimer Thanatos is to receive any portion of the estate will follow.
Now that was all very interesting.
If there were any verified grandchildren, they were to be funded through the college years until age 26 or graduation, whichever came last, including any major expenses such as rent/college tuition/college supplies. She specified she was NOT to be divulged as the benefactor but wished to remain anonymous until the grandchild graduated.
I couldn’t imagine why that stipulation was there, but had so little time left to cover the whole document that I moved on.
Any verified grandchildren that complete their college education shall receive and equally split half of the remaining inheritance. My son, Mortimer Thanatos, will receive the other half, with 10% yearly donated to New Life Pregnancy Center.
If the grandchildren do not complete their college education, Mortimer Thanatos shall receive the full amount of the inheritance, from which 10% each year for New Life will be deducted, and each year, he shall deduct an additional 25% to any verified grandchildren.
It was clear Margaret knew that given his business and his lifestyle, she was not likely to have any living grandchildren unless she bribed him. She also had obviously been wily in offering a salary if he took over as manager of New Life, but knowing that was unlikely, had shown mercy in letting him receive a portion of the inheritance if he left the abortion industry.
I wondered if I had been spared and rescued from abortion because he knew he would receive no inheritance at all if he didn’t save at least one of us! It was also clear that Margaret valued education and wanted her grandchild, if one existed, to complete college. But no matter what, that grandchild would be included in her inheritance. Dr. Thanatos was trying to find a way to overwrite her desires and cut me out. I don’t know how he intended to do it, but he clearly intended to sabotage my graduating from college. Then, per that suspicious line he had added to the document I signed, I was giving up any other inheritances. Of course, I had signed that never knowing of my grandmother’s existence or will.
There was more about who got what upon Mortimer’s death, but I was almost out of time. I slammed the folder closed and popped open the college contract just in time to hear Mr. Zeller’s footsteps returning down the hallway.
When he walked back in, Timothy and I were huddled together over the college contract, looking guilty for anyone with eyes to see. Mr. Zeller however chose not to see.
He sat down, glancing at Margaret’s file. Without a word, he slipped it off the desk and turned his chair to slide it into a cabinet. He made no attempt to hide it anymore, however. He did all but wink at me.
“So, any questions now that you have had a chance to review the contract again?”
“Yes,” I said, pointing to the strange section where Dr. Thanatos had said that all other contracts were null and void if I didn’t complete my education. “If there were a will, say by my grandmother, could this part of the contract I signed affect what that will stipulates?”
He smiled at me. “It could if you signed it in full knowledge of the other will.”
“But if I had never been aware of another will or allowed to see it, would me signing an agreement to have all other inheritances withdrawn be legal?”
“I do not believe so,” he said. “But I am not adverse to amending this document so tha
t a statement to that effect is included if that would make you feel more comfortable.”
“It would,” I said.
“I will amend that section and have you back in to sign.”
“Will Dr. Thanatos have to sign as well?” I asked, thinking that could be a problem.
“He will, but I will explain to him that it is to his benefit to be sure he is not giving an appearance of attempting to tamper with legally binding contracts formerly procured which could tie up any inheritance in legal action for years. I am sure he will comply.”
I walked out with Timothy, barely able to contain myself. I was a boiling mix of fury over what Dr. Thanatos had tried to do, and joy over how his plot had been foiled. I was also glad I had been right about Mr. Zeller. He struck me from the start as a good man. I was glad my instincts were on target.
“Your grandmother must have been a very wealthy woman,” Timothy said. “She’s been supporting new Life Pregnancy Center for decades, and apparently there is plenty of money to continue to do so.”
“I don’t understand why she didn’t want me to know about her until I was 26.”
“The only reason I can think of is to know the extent of what your father had done, and the likelihood that he destroyed all your other siblings is a heavy burden for a young person to carry. Maybe she felt by age 26 it would not harm you, at least not as much.”
“That makes sense,”I said. “I wish I could see his face when he reads the new addendum Mr. Zeller is adding. How do you think he thought he could make me drop out of school?”
Timothy shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t really want to think about it.”
“The sad part is, at least a tiny part of me thought he had really changed. I thought his desire to help me maybe showed he had a soul.”
“He spent a long time in a very destructive work. I imagine that eats away at one’s soul.”
“Talia said the longer people stay in the abortion world, the harder their hearts get. She said some become so calloused to what they are doing that all life loses its dignity in their eyes. Not just the unborn. I think that is true. The nurse I worked with who had been there as long as Dr. Thanatos was almost as mean and hopeless as him.”
“Well, it’s over,” Timothy said. “I know you are disappointed even more in your father, but what a wonderful lady it sounds like your grandmother was. And clever. She is probably the reason you are alive.”
“I guess she is the one who has been paying my rent. I thought it might have been Talia. Oh, just so you know, I asked if Talia would walk me down the aisle. She is the closest thing I have to a parent…or one I want at my wedding. Are you good with that?”
“I think that would be great. And the dogs? Will they be the ring-bearers?”
We both pictured Dumbo being responsible for safeguarding the rings, and said , “NO!” simultaneously.
The sun was setting earlier each day, and as we walked down the quiet sidewalk, lamplights flickered on. As soon as the sun dipped behind the trees, the air noticeably cooled. Winter was coming!
“I wish I had known my grandmother, and especially that she had known me. In that pamphlet about her…from New Life…it mentioned she was so pro-life because she was deeply religious and believed all human life was made in the image of God. How hard it must have been to have a son who rejected that so completely. How sad for her not knowing if she had any grandchildren or not.”
Colors gathered on the horizon in the last moments before the sun dropped out of sight. A break in the trees gave us an unobstructed view of the bright yellow and orange streaks as they stretched across the clouds.
Timothy pointed to one cloud that was shaped just like a cross. It reflected the last gleaming yellow rays of the sun.
“Maybe she knows now,” he said, pulling me close as we watched the sunset, illuminating the heavens.
Chapter Eighteen
As Mr. Zeller predicted, Dr. Thanatos agreed to the amendment to our contract. I guess he knew his plan was thwarted. The victory was a hollow one. Part of me had hoped that he was able to be redeemed out of his terrible past. Now, with all that had been disclosed, it didn’t seem likely.
I didn’t dwell on it. Timothy asked if we could get married in the spring. He would have graduated by then and hopefully found a job. He saw no good reason to wait, and neither did I. But we were then in a flurry of planning.
Talia was my stand-in mom in every way. One day when she was visiting with Flim and Flam, the rambunctious pups, I told her I’d like her to go with me to pick out a wedding dress. Her eyes welled with tears, and she couldn’t speak. I have a feeling she was thinking of the children she never raised, and the joys of motherhood she had never known. I think God brought that thought to my heart. I could not heal all her wounds, but I was glad that perhaps I could heal that one just a little.
The weather took a definite steep drop into winter, and I worried about her out there on that frigid sidewalk. I even bought her a pair of warm woolen gloves. I made sure they were not too thick so she could still hold the literature she offered to the women. She was very grateful.
Some Saturdays, I joined her. I wore the same coat she had given me so long ago when I first left the abortion center. One Saturday as we stood together, she handed me a pamphlet. It had information about New Leaf Pregnancy Center on it.
“Want to see if you can encourage someone to take that information?” she asked. “I hear you have an in with the founder.”
As if on cue, a car slowed down and pulled alongside me. The driver, a young woman, rolled down her window. I would have recognized that frightened, conflicted expression anywhere. This was a woman on her way to the women’s center to abort her baby.
“You headed to the clinic?” I asked.
She nodded.
“You don’t really want to do this,” I said. “I know. I used to work there. You may think this is going to solve whatever it is you face, but I guarantee, it will only bring new problems. Worse problems. It will suck your soul right out of you. I’ve been there.”
“I don’t want to do it,” she said, “But I don’t know what else to do.”
“Here.” I handed her the New Life pamphlet. “My grandmother founded this! I was almost aborted and I am the only grandchild of this great woman. Abortion kills more than just one generation. Go see them. You can get a free ultrasound and they have other resources too. But don’t kill your baby. Please.”
She looked at the pamphlet. Then she looked at me. “You were almost aborted? Your mom told you that?”
“No. My dad. It’s a long story. But abortion ruined my life, my grandmother’s life, and my father’s life. Don’t let it ruin yours.”
“The ultrasound is free?”
“Yeah. They do classes too, in exchange for resources. Really cute place. Only five minutes away.”
She opened the pamphlet. As she looked over the information, I felt a small nudge. It was either from God or maybe Talia had snuck up behind me.
“Do you believe in God?” I asked.
She looked up from the pamphlet. “Yeah.” Her eyes watered and I knew just what she was thinking.
“What would He have you do?” I asked.
“Not abort.”
“Well I don’t know much about God but I will tell you what I do know. When you listen to Him, He makes things work out.”
“Well when I didn’t listen, they sure didn’t work out,” she said.
“Tell me about it,” I agreed. “I am the queen of not listening.”
“Hey, thanks. Maybe I will go get this ultrasound. I guess it can’t hurt, right?”
As she drove away, I looked back at the curb. Talia was still standing there. The nudge had not been from her. We both followed with pleading thoughts and prayers, (yes prayers!), the path of the car as it drove past the abortion center driveway and on down the street, heading to New Life.
“You’re getting to be good at this,” Talia said.
“
I think Lakisha aborted,” I said. “So not good enough.”
“Remember that God has the victory when you show up. When you do what you know God has called you to do, He is glorified. It is up to God and that woman to choose what happens with the information you give. You really can no more take credit for the victories than you can for the defeats. The results belong to God.”
I nodded. She had shared that before. Not that I didn’t need the reminder. I did. I was happy the lady who had just stopped had decided to go see her baby on the ultrasound. Talia told me that most women who saw their baby chose life. That’s why in the abortion clinic we used to turn the ultrasound screen away from them.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t rejoice when a life is saved. I do!” Talia said. “And it doesn’t mean I don’t grieve when someone chooses to abort. I do grieve for that child. At least there is someone who is there to mourn that tiny person’s death. I guess if I wanted work where results were always as expected, I would have become a mathematician. I mean one plus one equals two. Always.”
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