Reese didn’t respond. She seemed to be struggling, like a person walking a tightrope and trying hard not to fall.

“You asked me if it was weird having two sisters now,” David said. “I think life is what it is. It’s weird and it’s surprising and it’s scary and wonderful and unpredictable. Weird’s okay if you embrace it, you know?”

Reese pursed her lips and made a fist with her hand. Then she got up from the steps and crossed her arms again and shook her head as if she didn’t want to hear any more. She hurried to the sidewalk and David watched her walk away.

He couldn’t help feeling that he had failed. Maybe he had even made things worse. But he had tried.

He hung his head and closed his eyes. God, You know what’s going on inside Reese. You know how much Nate and his parents care for her. Would You use my story for good? Help her choose life. Give her hope, I pray. And I trust You to do it.

CHAPTER 32

TEN MONTHS LATER

The sky was overcast and dark clouds threatened rain at the March for Life rally. There were only about a hundred people gathered on the plaza steps, but David felt like he would have had just as many butterflies in his stomach if ten thousand had been there.

His father straightened his tie. “You nervous?”

“Just a little,” David said, holding up his hand to show how much he was shaking.

“You’re going to be great. Just tell your story, right?”

“That’s all I can do,” David said. “And hope someone is here who needs to hear it.”

His mother handed him a bottle of water. “Guess who’s here? Melissa drove down to see you. I saw her a minute ago.”

“Wow,” David said. “Doesn’t Courtney have a game today?”

“Shawn is with her. Melissa said she wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

One of the organizers walked up to David. “The director is going to make some introductory remarks and then introduce you. You ready?”

“Let’s do it,” David said.

When he was introduced, there was polite applause and he took his place behind the podium. As he looked out over the crowd, he noticed Melissa and she smiled and clapped her hands and mouthed, “You can do this.”

Suddenly, with his mother and father watching, and other friends and strangers as well, David felt at peace with himself and his story. His dad had been right. All he had was his story and he just needed to be faithful to tell it.