The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught Read Online Free PDF Page A

too. Got this invitation from one of my cousins to a family reunion.Wasn’t sure I was going to go. You know, after . . .” Her voice trailed off.
    Yes, I knew. After finding herself pregnant, abandoned by the father, embarrassed and afraid to admit it to her ultraconservative family. So Stu had just dropped out. Got an abortion. Got a new life—new job, new suburb, new friends. Until earlier this year, that is, when she’d stopped running from her past, from God, from the forgiveness and unconditional love she needed so badly.
    â€œHey, it’s OK.” I stepped out onto the porch. “I know, you didn’t make the decision until yesterday.” She grinned sheepishly. Bingo . “Will you see your parents? Where do they live? ”
    â€œIndianapolis. Don’t know for sure if they’ll be at the reunion. I hope so. I think.” She sniffed the steam rising from my mug of coffee. “Got any more of that in a travel mug? Can’t believe I haven’t had any coffee yet. See? I’m a wreck already!”
    Had to admit, I enjoyed seeing Stu get flustered. She had a habit of getting me all flummoxed by her keen ability to do everthing right and be one step ahead of me. But I gave her a big hug, took two minutes to pray with her, and sent her off with Denny’s travel mug of fresh coffee.
    â€œOh God,” I murmured as Stu’s silver Celica zoomed out of the alley. “Open the arms of her family. Make this a real reunion.” Then I added, “Thank You, Jesus!” As Florida Hickman always said at Yada Yada,might as well start the thanksgiving early, since we know God’s gonna come through. Somehow.
    Florida . . . I wondered what the Hickman family was doing for the Fourth of July. Fourteen-year-old Chris was at the Cornerstone Music Festival with Josh and Amanda and the Uptown youth group. That in itself was probably a real holiday for Flo. She was so worried about her eldest son hanging out on the streets too much. She and her husband, Carl, wanted to move from their old neighborhood to get Chris away from bad influences, to get Carl closer to his job working for Peter Douglass . . .
    Peter and Avis. I knew they were out of town.Drove to Ohio to visit Avis’s oldest daughter and the twins. Delores Enriques had to work. Ditto Yo-Yo. Edesa Reyes, Lord help her, was at Cornerstone—Josh’s idea to invite the attractive college student from Honduras to help him chaperone the younger teens. Chanda . . . she’d said something about winning a free vacation to Hawaii. Huh. What was that all about? After winning the Illinois lottery,why did Chanda George, of all people, need to get a free anything?
    My mind sorted through the rest of my Yada Yada sisters as I stripped sheets off beds, started a load of laundry, and unloaded the dishwasher, stalling for time until I could reasonably call Ruth Garfield.Maybe go visit. She and Ben never went out of town. Real homebodies, those two. But maybe they should have. Taken a cruise. Gone to Hawaii or something. If they were gong to have a baby— at their age—they’d both be ready for a retirement home by the time the kid left for college.
    Sheesh.
    I waited until ten o’clock to dial the Garfields’ number. Ben answered. “Yeah, she’s here. Fanning herself like a geisha doll. I tell ya, Jodi . . .” He didn’t tell me, just yelled, “Ruth! Pick it up!”
    An extension picked up. Ben’s line went dead. “Ruth? It’s Jodi. Am I calling too early? ”
    â€œEarly, smearly. You’re fine, Jodi. It’s Mr. Grumpy who got up on the wrong side of the bed. I’m pregnant. I’m up and dressed. What more does he expect? ”
    I stifled a laugh. “I was wondering . . . what are you doing today? Can I come over to see you? Take you out for coffee or something? ”
    â€œCoffee! Ugh.” Ruth made a retching noise on the other end of the