Make No Mistake - Chapter 1

Let the resistance begin

“One day, an army of grey-haired old women may quietly take over the world.”

~ Gloria Steinem

Maggie’s world shattered on a quiet Saturday in June when she stepped onto her front porch. As she pulled the morning newspaper from the mailbox, a headline caught her eye.

“Oh…my…God,” she said, sinking down on the top step. “It’s begun.”

BREAKING NEWS. In a late-night session, the Supreme Court voted to strike down Roe v. Wade. According to a statement released by newly appointed Chief Justice Daniel Power, the ruling gives state legislatures the ability to restrict or eliminate access to abortion. In states with existing trigger bans, abortion is illegal effective immediately, overturning nearly fifty years of women’s rights. Details to follow.

Maggie dropped the paper. Hundreds of women’s faces paraded through her mind, women she had helped, women who had helped her. All that work. All those years. Gone, like dust in the wind, because of a few white men in black robes.

She headed back into the house, tossed the paper on the kitchen counter and called her best friend.

“Ali, drop everything. Did you see the paper?”

“Yes, Maggie.”

“Since when does the Supreme Court meet on a Friday night? I mean, we saw the signs, but I never thought they’d go through with it.”

Silence.

“Al? You know what this means, right? It’s a declaration of war. Against women. We have to do something.”

“We, Mags? Count me out this time. Jerry’s starting chemo next week, my dad’s being assessed for Alzheimer’s this aft, and I’m run off my feet trying to help Abby with the twins.”

“I know but…”

“There’s no ‘but’ here, Maggie. We aren’t twenty years old anymore. I don’t have the energy to take a stand. Heck, I can barely keep myself upright most days. And you, have you forgotten what it was like? The death threats? Being afraid to walk past your kitchen window for fear someone would take a shot at you? I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation.”

“Ali, this could affect your granddaughters. They’ll be teenagers in just a few years. It’s about their future. Their rights, as young women. Somebody needs to do something.”

Maggie slammed a pot on the stove, sloshed in some water and oatmeal, and flipped on a burner.

She heard Alicia sigh.

“Okay, Maggie," Alicia said, "maybe somebody does need to do something, but does it have to be you? You’re retired now. And you’ve got some serious health issues. Are you willing to put your life on the line again?”

Maggie stirred the pot.

“Yes, I am. If we all stand back and say, ‘Somebody else will take care of it’, it’s game over. We’ve been here before, Al. This is just the beginning and it’s a slippery slope. If they get away with this, there’ll be no stopping them.”

“Aren’t you being a tad dramatic?”

Maggie banged the spoon down, splattering oatmeal across the stove.

“This isn’t just about women, Ali. Don’t you get it? If men like Daniel Power are allowed to twist and bend the rules of our society to meet their needs, we all suffer.”

“Maggie, I’ve gotta go. Promise me you won’t do anything foolish. You sound like your old self, full of spit and vinegar. I love that about you, but times have changed. Let the next generation deal with this.”

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Maggie opened the drawer of her night table and pulled out a worn notebook with a black leather cover. She sat on the edge of the bed, leafing through the pages until she found what she was looking for.

She tapped her fingers on the open page, staring at words she had written during nights of rage, days of hesitation. Smatterings of ideas scattered across pages and years of her life.

The phone rang.

“Hey,” Maggie said.

“Okay, listen,” Ali said, “because I’m only going to say this once.”

“Right,” Maggie said.

“And after this phone call, I’m not going to speak of this ever again. Got that?” Alicia paused and added, “I have two words for you. Book club.”

Maggie was silent.

Alicia groaned. “Plan B, Maggie. Remember?”

“Of course, I remember. It was my idea.”

“Well, just thinking maybe the time has come to use it. I know you, and you’re not going to let this go. So that’s my contribution. You’re welcome, by the way.”

The phone clicked.

Maggie smiled.

A few hours later, Maggie sat back and studied the email she was about to send.

Blind copied to a network of over five hundred people in the United States and around the world. From an anonymous email address she had hoped she would never need to use.

Book Club.

Just two words.

Enough to launch a revolution.

She clenched her jaw and gazed out the window. In the golden glow of the midday sun, kids ran back and forth in a game of street hockey. A roar echoed off houses whenever one team scored; arms and sticks held high as the players surrounded the one who had made the winning shot. Solidarity, she thought. It’s the only way.

She pressed Send.

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Intrigued? Stay tuned for the next installment of Make No Mistake. I plan to post twice a week, so if you subscribe (free), you won’t miss any chapters (hint, hint).

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