“I will give his testimony the weight it deserves, Counselor,” Judge O’Neill says.
Wade turns to Pastor Clive. “I’d like to direct your attention to the pre-born children at the root of this case,” he says. “When did you learn about them?”
“Max came to me for counseling, very upset after having a conversation with his ex-wife. Apparently, she is now living a life of sin—”
“Objection!”
“Please strike that from the record,” the judge says.
“Max’s ex-wife wanted to get custody of these pre-born children so that she could transfer them to her lesbian lover.”
“How did you advise Max?” Wade asks.
“I told him that this might be God’s way of trying to tell him something. We discussed what sort of family he wanted his children to grow up in—and he said a traditional, good Christian one. When I asked him if he knew anyone like that, he immediately mentioned his brother and sister-in-law.”
Liddy,I think and feel a pang in my chest.
What if I suggested we raise the babies together?We could tell Wade, and he could tell the judge, and then all of a sudden the biological father—me—would be added to the equation. Then I wouldn’t be giving the babies away; I’d be keeping them for myself.
Except that Wade’s made a whole case about me not being ready to be a father.
And Liddy.
Even if she was willing, I couldn’t take her away from everything she’s got. The money, the home, the security. How could I even come close to measuring up to Reid?
Reid, who’s never done anything but help me and who gets, in return, a brother who sleeps with his wife.
Yeah, I’m the perfect father. A real, upstanding role model.
“Reid and Liddy have been praying for children for years,” Pastor Clive says. “They’d recently considered adopting through the Snowflakes agency. When Max came to me, I thought that maybe God was offering us a different solution, one that would benefit everyone involved. That perhaps Liddy and Reid were the best parents for these particular pre-born children.”
“How did Max react?”
“He was cautiously optimistic.” Pastor Clive looks up. “We all were.”
“Thank you, Pastor,” Wade says, and he sits back down.
Angela Moretti starts talking before she even rises from her chair. “A solution that would benefit everyone involved,” she repeats. “Is that what you thought?”
“Yes.”
“Doesn’t seem like much of a benefit for Zoe, the biological mother of these embryos.”
“As much as I understand the need to cater to Ms. Baxter’s concerns, what a child needs is far more important,” Pastor Clive says.
“So you think that picking nonbiological parents for these embryos is a better choice than picking a parent who has a direct gametic relationship to them.”
“What I think matters far less than what God thinks.”
“Oh yeah?” Angela asks. “When’s the last time you talked to him?”
“Objection,” Wade says. “I won’t let her mock my witness.”
“Sustained . . . watch yourself, Counselor.”
“You said you’ve known Max for half a year, Pastor?”
“Yes.”
