I had no idea where I was going. I rode the bus until my ticket expired, and then I got off and saw where I was. Strangely, I had arrived just outside of the church my family went to on Christmas and Easter. We never really did the whole religion thing, but for some reason we always pretended on those holidays, pretty much out of guilt. But now I felt my self compelled to go inside, maybe I could find someone that would help me.
It was a small church, instead of being cold and stone like all the cathedrals you see in pictures, it was small, warm and mostly made of wood. I never really liked church, because I didn't get it, but as soon as I walked inside, I felt strangely comforted. It felt like the kind of place where a reject like me is welcome. So I scanned the lobby, hoping to find someone who looked like they could help me. I spotted a man in his early 20's wearing jeans and a dress shirt standing by the door to the sanctuary. He was tall with dark brown hair, and when he turned around and spotted me, I saw that he had a warm, friendly smile. "Hello there! Can I help you with anything? I'm Dan Clarke, but you can just call me Pastor Dan." He walked towards me and held out his hand, which I shook.
"Hi Pastor Dan…uh, I'm Andrea Morris. I was just wondering if you could help me with something. It's just that I don't know who else to go to, and I know this probably isn't the best place for me to go, seeing as how God probably hates me, but I just need someone to tell me what to do!" I was surprised to feel tears streaming down my face. Pastor Dan wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and said in a firm voice, "First of all, God does not hate you, and second of all, you came to just the right place, because I would love to help you as much as I can. Now come to my office for some tea, and you can tell me about it."
So I followed him through a door into his office, which was a small room with a desk and a counter holding a kettle and mugs. Other than that the only thing the room contained was papers. Everywhere. They were strewn across every available surface, including the chair that Pastor Dan told me to sit in. I politely grabbed the papers and put them on the desk.
"Yeah, it's a bit of a mess in here," he said, sheepishly, "I haven't really been keeping up with my paperwork…it's the only unpleasant part of my job. Not that I'm complaining! Now what is this all about Andrea?" So I told him everything, although I had to struggle through the tears, especially when I told him about the fact that my mother had kicked me out, and I had no place to go. He listened intently, and although I kept waiting for him to judge me, he never did. When I was finally finished, he sighed and said, "Wow, that is pretty heavy stuff for a sixteen year old to handle."
"Pastor Dan, please tell me you know of a place I can stay for at least a couple nights. I need to figure out how I'm going to get money to take care of all the medical bills, and when the baby comes…oh I don't know what I'm going to do!!"
"Well OHIP will pay for your bills, so don't worry about that, and as for a place to stay, I have the perfect solution. My wife and I often let people stay at our house when they're in trouble. You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like!" Was this guy for real? He was going to let some strange, pregnant girl stay in his house?
"I don't think I can do that. I would hate to impose."
"Oh nonsense! Last year we had a girl like you who was also pregnant stay with us for the whole year; she had her baby and then stayed on while she tried to find a job and a home. She just left a few months ago actually. We still keep in touch."
"I can't believe your actually going to let me stay in your home! If you really think its ok…I would love to." A weight lifted off my shoulders in an instant. I may have been a pregnant sixteen-year old, but at least now I had a home again. "Thank you so much. You don't know how much I appreciate it!"
"It's not a problem. You need someone to take care of you, and my wife, Caroline, is just the person; she loves babies!" I laughed, and he joined me. I couldn't believe how good I felt! Just an hour ago my world was crashing down on me, and now I had a home with a family that appeared to be pretty fantastic. And they didn't care that I was pregnant; they didn't care that I had done something so terrible. Maybe God wasn't so bad after all.
So the chapter is really really short. I know. I promise I will start to lengthen them as I keep writing, but I just felt like those were the natural breaks in the story! BTW, If anybody can think of a better name for the story, please let me know! And as usual...Review! It actually helps so much just to know that people acually are reading the story...you don't even have to say anything...just let me know you read it, and I'll be oh so happy! (Although I would prefer some constructive critism!) )