Page 141 of Sunday Morning
“We’ll get it later.” Dad eyed Isaac instead of me.
But Isaac didn’t flinch. After six years as an MP, it took a lot to make him cower. As he walked out the door, I felt naked. He’d been my home for six weeks, and in his arms is where I felt most secure. The house I stood in felt like astranger’s home. I barely knew the girl who used to live there.
“Where are Eve and Gabby?” I asked Mom because I wasn’t as brave as Isaac. I still cowered under my father’s scrutinizing gaze.
“They ran to the store to grab a few things for the rest of the soup,” Mom said. “Are you okay?” She offered a hesitant smile. “Was Isaac good to you?”
I narrowed my eyes. Did she think he would hurt me? “Yes. We’re in love. And we’re moving to Nashville. And?—”
“Sarah, let’s go out back before you dig yourself into a hole again.” Dad nodded toward the deck door. He didn’t wait. It was just expected that I would follow—I would obey.
Mom squeezed my hand. “Just listen to him. Be patient. This has been terribly hard on him.”
I returned a slight nod before heading to the deck.
“Have a seat.” Dad pointed to the folding chair facing his.
I sat with my arms crossed over my chest, then I quickly unfolded them to appear open to his words, even though I knew I was going to be with Isaac no matter what.
“Does your mom need to get a pregnancy test from the pharmacy?”
My mouth opened to protest his implied accusations that Isaac was the guy who got girls pregnant and drove them to get abortions. I promised not to say anything about the truth, but it was hard because I wanted to defend him. So I returned a headshake.
“You’re living in sin and throwing your life away.”
Swallowing hard, I nodded. “You’re right. It is my life.”
He gazed off into the distance, the sun setting over acres of farmland. “It’s not too late to do the right thing. You couldstill enroll in community college. Everyone in the choir misses you. And I want to forgive you.”
I wanted to forgive him too, but he was making it impossible.
“I’m moving to Nashville with Isaac.”
“How will you support yourself?”
I shrugged. “I’ll be with Isaac. And I can get a job during the day so I can perform at night.”
He rubbed his temples. “What happens when he finds someone else? Will you come crawling back to us?”
“What makes you think he’s going to leave me?”
Dad grunted. “Don’t be naive. I love you. I see all the things that make you a wonderful young woman, but that’s not what he sees. And he’s going to get bored and move on to the next young woman who’s vulnerable and …”
“Naive? Stupid? Gullible?” I laughed, shaking my head. “Wow. What’s harder to believe? That a guy would want to be with me for the right reasons or that Isaac isn’t a monster who preys on young women?”
“He smokes, drinks, and yes, gets young women pregnant.”
"He quit smoking," I said, even though he occasionally sneaked one when he was really stressed.
“So he just still drinks and impregnates women.”
I fisted my hands at my sides and gave him a fake smile. “I’ve been singing. And I love it. I’m happy.”
“Heather and—” He pressed his lips together and closed his eyes for a few seconds.
“Heather and Joanna are gone, and I will live with that unimaginable reality for the rest of my life. But I’m alive, and they would want me to live. They would want me to followmy dreams, fall in love, and do all the things they never got to do.”
The muscles in his jaw flexed.