“You really think so? But you don’t know her boyfriend. This Craig is such a loser.”

“I think Brian pressed Melissa pretty hard. But she stayed strong. She made the right decision.”

“I hope Reese can do that.”

“I’m going to be praying for her tonight.”

“Yeah, you and me both,” Nate said. “But do you think that really works? I mean, sometimes it just feels like I pray stuff and it bounces off the ceiling.”

“My mom says prayer is pouring out your heart to God. And when you give Him the things that are troubling you, something happens inside. You find peace by giving God the things that wrap you up. If you trust Him to take control, He can do that.”

“Would you pray for Reese?”

“I’ll do better than that. I’ll pray for her and her baby.”

The next day Melissa drove to the corner of Parker Avenue and Thirteenth Street near Indianapolis. She parked and stood at the iron gate in front of the building with a heavy heart. She hadn’t been here in years and had no real reason to visit now except to remember and meet with David. The railing around the parking lot was the same as she remembered, and when she closed her eyes, she could hear the voices and see the nurses walking toward her with a blanket and the radios.

She shook off the memory and walked around the block, noticing houses and trees. How many lives had been taken here? How many futures altered forever? Her own future had been changed with a decision made inside the redbrick building. She recalled Brian driving to the clinic in silence and parking, then handing her money, as if he didn’t trust her enough to give it to her before they arrived.

The vivid images she recalled surprised her. Just the sense of the place was enough to awaken memories that had been dormant for nearly two decades.

The Coltons’ minivan pulled up and parked along the street. Melissa stood by the fence and watched David get out first. Nate was busy with his phone, capturing the walk of the family along the sidewalk.

“Hey, thanks for meeting me here,” Melissa said, hugging David.

“Of course. So where are we?”

“Nineteen years ago, when I found out that I was pregnant, Brian and I drove here together. This fence was lined with protesters.” The emotion snuck up on her and she faced the fence. “I came here to have an abortion.”

She glanced at David and he was clearly shocked at what he was hearing. She turned back to the fence. “When I got out, they put a blanket over my head and a radio beside each ear to drown out all the noise. But as I was walking in, I could still hear their voices. I heard this woman say, ‘Your baby has ten fingers and ten toes. Please don’t kill it!’