The Gift

“I've done a lot of thinking about this,” Maribeth said anxiously. “I don't know what you'll think, or say, but … I … I want to give you my baby.” She almost held her breath after she said it.

“You what?” Liz stared at her, as though she didn't absorb it. The enormity of what she had just said defied the imagination. “What do you mean?” Liz stared at her. Babies weren't something you gave away to friends, like Christmas gifts.

“I want you and John to adopt it,” Maribeth said firmly.

“Why?” Liz was stunned. She had never thought of adopting a baby. Of having one, yes, but not adopting one, and she couldn't even imagine John's reaction. They had talked about it years ago, before Tommy was born. But John never wanted to do it.

“I want to give you the baby, because I love you, and you're wonderful parents,” Maribeth said softly. It was the ultimate gift she could give them or her baby. She was still shaking but she sounded calmer. She was completely sure of what she was doing. “I can't take care of a child. I know everyone thinks I'm crazy to give it up, but I know I can't give it what it needs. You can. You would love it and be there for it, and take care of it, just like you've done for Annie and Tommy. Maybe I'll be able to do that too, one day, but I can't now. It wouldn't be fair to either of us, no matter what Tommy says. I want you to have it. I'd never ask for it back, I'd never come back to bother you, if you didn't want me to. … I would know how happy the baby was with you, and how good you were to it. That's what I want for my baby.” She was crying then, but so was Liz, as she reached for her hands and held them.

“That's not a gift you give to someone, Maribeth. Like a toy or an object. It's a life. Do you understand?” She wanted to be sure she understood what she was doing.

“I know that. I know all of it. It's all I've thought about for the last nine months. Believe me, I know what I'm doing.” She sounded as though she did, but Liz was still shocked. And what if she changed her mind? What about her son? How would he feel if they adopted Maribeth's baby, or any baby for that matter? And John? Liz's mind was whirling.

“What about you and Tommy? Are you serious about him?” How could she even know at sixteen? How could she make that kind of decision?

“I am. But I don't want to start off like this. This baby was never right for me. I don't even feel like it was meant for me. I just feel like I was meant to be here for it, for a time, to bring it to the right place and the right people. I'm not the right one. I want to marry Tommy one day, and have children of our own, but not this one. It wouldn't be fair to him, even if he doesn't know that.” Liz agreed with her, but it impressed her to hear Maribeth say it. She thought they needed a fresh start one day, if it would ever work for them, and there was no way anyone could know that. But starting at sixteen, with another man's child, was a tall order. “Even if we got married, I wouldn't try to take the baby away from you. It wouldn't even have to know I was its mother.” She was pleading with her, begging her to take her child, to give it the love and the life it deserved, and that she knew they could give it. “I feel like it was meant to be your baby, that that's why I came here, because it was meant to be …because of what happened …” She choked on the words and Liz's eyes filled with tears, “because of Annie.”

“I don't know what to say to you, Maribeth,” Liz said honestly, as tears streamed down her cheeks. “It's the most beautiful gift that anyone could give me. But I don't know if it's right. You don't just take another woman's baby.”

“What if that's what she wants, if it's all she has to give? All I have to give this baby is a future, a life with people who can give it that and love it. It's not fair that you lost your little girl, it's not fair that my baby will have no life, no future, no hope, no home, no money. What do I have to give it? My parents won't let me bring it home. I can't go anywhere. All I can do is work at Jimmy D's for the rest of my life, and I can't even pay for baby-sitters on my salary, if I keep it.” She was crying as she looked into Liz's eyes, begging her to take her baby.

“You could stay here,” Liz said quietly. “If you have nowhere else to go, you can stay with us. You don't have to give this baby up, Maribeth. I won't make you do that. You don't have to give it up to give it a good life. You can stay with us, like our daughter, if you want, and we'll help you.” She didn't want to force this girl to give her baby up, just because she couldn't support it. That seemed wrong to her, and if she took it at all, she wanted to do it because Maribeth really wanted her to, not because she couldn't afford it.