by Lexi Ryals
Thirty minutes later, Guy buzzed the intercom in front of Miss Hannigan’s apartment.
“Who is it?” Miss Hannigan asked through the speaker.
“Guy Danlily,” Guy answered. “I work for Will Stacks.”
Miss Hannigan looked out the window at the door. When she saw handsome Guy in his tuxedo, she buzzed him up right away and then hurried to change into a dress and touch up her makeup.
By the time Guy knocked on the door, Miss Hannigan was waiting breathlessly to open it. “Hello there,” she purred.
“Colleen Hannigan?” Guy asked.
Miss Hannigan giggled. “My maiden name. But I’m not married to it. If you know what I mean.”
“Sorry to bother you so late,” Guy said. “But can I … buy you dinner?”
Miss Hannigan reached out to take his arm. Those were the sweetest words in the English language.
Guy took Miss Hannigan to a jazz club. They sat at a small table where they could talk, although Miss Hannigan was more interested in flirting than talking. But Guy was all business.
“I want to talk to you about Annie,” he said.
“Ugh,” Miss Hannigan groaned. “Of course you do.”
“What do you know about her parents?” Guy asked. “Any and all details.”
Miss Hannigan glared at him. “What’s your game, dude?”
“What?” Guy asked innocently.
“I know who you are,” she told him. “You’re that guy in all the photos lurking in the background, pulling strings, cleaning up messes.”
Guy looked offended. “I don’t lurk.”
She raised an eyebrow at him, and then asked, “So what is this? Are you pulling, or are you cleaning?”
Guy looked at her carefully. “If Will wins this race for mayor,” he said, “I get paid a fortune. More than anything I’ve ever made, combined.”
That got Miss Hannigan’s attention. “Why so much?” she asked.
Guy shrugged. “It’s like getting paid long odds on a dark horse. Do you know how hard it is to get Will Stacks elected?”
“There have been worse politicians,” Miss Hannigan pointed out.
“I know. I’ve gotten them elected,” Guy told her. “But I’m over it. Over being the cockroach everyone needs but treats like …”
“A cockroach?” Miss Hannigan finished.
“Exactly. This is my last roll at the table. Get paid and I’m out.”
“There’s no such thing as a way out,” Miss Hannigan said with a bitter little laugh. “Trust me.”
“There’s always a way out,” Guy countered. “Trust me. And in this particular case, it’s all about finding Annie’s parents.”
“They don’t exist,” Miss Hannigan told him. “That little brat has no one, and somehow she still ended up on top, while I’m stuck down in the gutter.”
“We can make them exist,” Will assured her. “Get two people to pretend to be her parents. They’ll know every detail and miraculously show up right before the election. Add water, instant parents! I’ll find the parents. I just need details from you — everything you know about Annie. Anything that a parent would know. Any secrets she has.”
Miss Hannigan thought for a moment and then nodded. It could work. But she wasn’t about to give up the information she knew for free.
“What’s in it for me?” she asked slyly. “Other than seeing Annie get what she deserves?”
“Same as me,” Guy assured her. “Money. And no more being the cockroach.”
“I knew I liked you,” Miss Hannigan said with a smile.
Guy raised his drink. “To a way out. To easy street.”
They clinked glasses.
Meanwhile, back at the penthouse, Will walked into the living room. He had just tucked Annie into bed.
Will looked at Grace and shook his head. “I’ve been telling her she can do anything she wants in this city, but we haven’t even taught her to read. How does this happen?”
“A lot of kids get lost, Will,” Grace said gently. “A lot of people get lost.”
“That’s unacceptable,” Will said, slamming his fist down on the table. “We’ve got to get her a tutor.”
“For her, though, right?” Grace asked. “Not just for the press.”
“Of course for her,” Will said. Grace smiled, and that caught Will off guard. “What?” he asked.
“Your secret’s safe with me,” she told him. “You know, that you care.”
“About kids in New York? Yeah, I care,” Will said.
Grace took his hand. “And Annie.”
The next morning, Annie packed her bag and took Sandy to the kitchen to say good-bye to Will.
“Where are you going?” Will asked when he saw her bag. He didn’t understand what she was doing.
“Thanks for everything,” Annie told him. “Sorry I messed up last night. Hope it doesn’t hurt your chances too bad.”
Will was completely confused. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s okay. I’m good at this part. I’ve had a lot of practice leaving places,” Annie assured him.
Will shook his head. “Put your bag down. You’re not going anywhere,” he said firmly.
“Sandy’s gotta go,” Annie said.
“Stop it. You’re both staying. I don’t care what happened.” Will put his hand on her shoulder.
“No,” Annie insisted. “I mean, Sandy’s gotta go.”
She nodded down toward the little dog, who looked like she was about to burst.
“All right,” Will said. “Then let’s take Sandy out, together.”
Annie and Will went down to the street and walked along the block, letting Sandy sniff wherever she wanted.
“So you can’t read,” Will prompted. “But I saw you sign your name.”
“That’s all you’ve got to know how to do,” Annie replied.
“None of your teachers know? How is that possible?” Will asked.
“I’m good at hiding it.”
“What about at home? Didn’t anyone catch it?” Will pushed.
“At home?” Annie scoffed. “Are you crazy? Miss Hannigan never cared about that stuff.” Just then a bus went by. “Let me show you how I do it,” Annie said. She pointed to the bus. “That’s an uptown bus. You can tell by the numbers.” She pointed across the street. “That’s a pizza place. And that’s an ad of you running for mayor.
“I listen to the news,” Annie continued. “‘It’s going to rain today and hand sanitizer is bad for you and Will Stacks is sinking in the polls.’ So people think I’m smart.”
Will took Annie’s shoulders. “You are smart. It won’t take you long to learn to read. I’m getting you a tutor.”
“It’s okay, I don’t —”
Will cut her off. “Let me help you. Why didn’t you tell anybody?”
Annie snorted. “It’s not like the whole world wants a foster kid to begin with.”
“You could’ve told me. Or Grace,” Will said gently.
Annie shrugged and looked down at her feet. “Didn’t know what you would’ve done with me.”
Will couldn’t bear to see her so hurt. “Let’s go,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her toward where Nash had the company car parked. “I want to show you something.”
Nash drove Annie and Will up to the Bronx, where Will grew up.
“Thanks, Nash. We’ll find our way back,” Will said as he and Annie got out of the SUV.
Nash waved and drove away. Will led Annie down the sidewalk. “Everybody’s got something they don’t want other people to know. Including me,” he told her. They turned a corner and were standing beneath an overpass. “This is it. My family.”
Annie looked around. There was no one there. She looked around again … and then up at Will. “Uh … can you see them right now?” she asked.
“In my head,” Will answered. “My dad built this section of the track. Worked twenty hours a day. He died when I was twelve.”
“What was
he like?” Annie asked, curious.
“Barely saw him,” Will told her. “He was always working.”
“What about your mom?” Annie asked.
“Never knew her. I lived with my grandma when my dad died.”
Annie thought for a moment. Will wasn’t so different from her. He didn’t really know his parents either. But he did know one thing about his father: He had worked hard all his life. “That’s why you work so hard?” she asked. “Because he did?”
Will nodded and then made a fist with his hand and held it up for Annie to see. “But I think that’s also why I got this.”
By holding up his fist, Will meant that he had gotten his strength by working hard like his father. But Annie could tell it also meant he thought he was on his own. No people to count on. Just himself.
“That’s what you don’t want people to know?” she asked.
Will nodded.
Annie reached out and put one of his fingers up. “Let me help you. I’ll be one of your people.”
Will and Annie spent the rest of the day hanging out in the Bronx. They went to play ball in the park. Will pushed Annie on the swings. And they ate hot dogs from a street cart — all with no photographers in sight.
Annie fell asleep on the subway car and Will carried her the rest of the way home. Back at the penthouse, he tucked Annie into bed.
As he left her room, Will couldn’t help thinking about how much his life had changed in just the past few days. How much he had changed. All this time, he had believed that if he ran for mayor, if he grew his company even larger, then he would feel fulfilled. That maybe, somehow, his father would be proud.
But there was a little sleeping girl in that room who was already proud of him. Even more than that, she needed him. And that made Will Stacks feel fulfilled.
Will quietly closed the door to Annie’s room. Then he pulled out his cell phone and called Grace.
“Let me ask you something,” he said. “How hard is it to become a foster parent? I don’t mean temporarily, I mean, like a permanent situation.”
“You mean adopt her?” Grace asked.
“Whatever the word is.” Will nodded.
“That’s the word,” Grace assured him.
“Then let’s do that,” Will said with a smile.
Annie had her first meeting with her tutor the next day in Will’s conference room. While Annie practiced with the tutor, Will and Grace worked in the room next door.
Will tried to focus on work, but he kept getting up to peer through the glass conference room windows and see how Annie was doing.
“It’s only been two hours,” Grace teased him. “I don’t think she’s completely learned how to read yet.”
Suddenly, Guy burst into the room. “We got our game-changer!” Guy announced excitedly. “Every election needs a game-changer, and we got our game-changer.”
“Stop saying game-changer.” Grace rolled her eyes.
“Well, whether I say it or not, Annie’s parents are ours,” Guy told Will, handing him a file. “They saw a picture of Annie and called us. It’s a miracle!”
Will and Grace exchanged an astonished look.
“They’ve been trying to find her for years but there’s nothing in the system,” Guy continued.
“How do they know she’s their daughter?” Grace asked.
“They know everything about her — the note, the locket … and, oh yeah, I ran a DNA test,” Guy explained with a smile.
Will flipped through the papers in the file. He was shocked. He knew he should be happy for Annie, but he didn’t want to let her go. Not now, after he had just decided he wanted to be her father. “I want to meet them first. Before Annie finds out,” Will told Guy firmly.
Guy could see Annie standing in the doorway, although Will couldn’t. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. You should totally be the one who tells Annie we found her parents,” Guy said loudly enough for Annie to hear.
“You found my parents?!” Annie exclaimed, running into the room.
Will glared at Guy, but Guy just shrugged, playing innocent.
“Yes, honey. I think so,” Grace said gently.
“No way! Really?” she cried.
Will had never seen Annie so excited.
“We’re meeting them this afternoon,” Guy told her enthusiastically. “At this place called … Domani?”
“That’s where the note is from! I knew they’d come for me! I told you I’d find my family!” Annie cheered. She couldn’t contain her excitement.
“I’m happy for you, Annie,” Will said kindly, trying to hide how crushed he was.
“It’s all because of you.” Annie hugged Will as hard as she could. “I found my real parents!”
A few hours later, when they arrived at Domani, there were huge crowds of reporters and photographers waiting outside.
“Why are they all here?” Annie asked nervously. She didn’t really want this first meeting on camera.
“I said no press until after it’s confirmed,” Will said harshly, looking from Guy to Grace to Nash.
“This isn’t me,” Guy lied. “Someone must’ve leaked it. Grace?”
“Say my name again,” Grace threatened him. “Will, you know it wasn’t me.”
“I don’t get why everyone wants to be famous,” Annie muttered.
“They think it means people like them,” Will explained.
Will and his team led Annie into the restaurant and back to where her parents and Ms. Kovacevic were waiting. The man and woman stood up, and Annie gazed at her parents for the first time.
After so many years of waiting, so many years of longing to meet them, Annie wasn’t quite sure how to feel. Her father had smooth dark skin. And her mother had pretty braided hair. Neither of them quite resembled Annie, or perhaps what Annie had always imagined they would look like. But then again, Annie only had her imagination to compare them to. Seeing them in person for the first time somehow made Annie feel anxious and nervous and awkward all at once.
Of course, only Guy and Miss Hannigan knew that Annie’s “parents” were really actors, paid to play the part.
Annie’s favorite waiter came over and pulled out a chair so Annie could sit down. “I’m very happy for you,” he told her. She smiled up at him. Then Annie’s “parents” rushed forward to hug her.
“Annie!” her dad exclaimed.
“My girl!” Her mom pulled Annie in close. Then she revealed a locket from under her collar that was a perfect match to the locket Annie always wore. “We thought we had lost you forever.”
“Me, too,” Annie said. She couldn’t believe this was really, finally happening.
“We were going through some tough times and thought it would be best if someone else looked after you,” her dad explained.
“I’ve never forgiven myself for it,” her mom said, looking choked up. “When we got back on our feet we couldn’t find you. But the angels were looking out.”
Off to the side, Miss Hannigan approached Will while Annie was telling her parents about her school. “Hi. Remember me? From before?”
Will grimaced. “Sorry about that. I didn’t realize you were Annie’s foster mom.”
“Among other things,” Miss Hannigan said flirtatiously.
“She said you have a great voice,” Will told her kindly.
“She did?” Miss Hannigan asked, taken aback. She never thought Annie would compliment her.
“You do,” Annie assured her, having caught the end of Will and Miss Hannigan’s conversation.
“I loved C+C Music Factory,” Will volunteered.
“Should we get started?” Guy asked. Before anyone could answer, he brought Ms. Kovacevic over to help them fill out the forms to turn Annie back over to her mom and dad.
Ms. Kovacevic skimmed through the papers. “Everything is in order, DNA test; the judge signed it. We just need signatures from the parents.”
Annie’s mom and dad both signed while Will pulled Guy aside.
/> “Are we sure about this?” Will asked. He had a bad feeling about Annie’s “parents.” Something felt off.
“That this is going to win you the election?” Guy asked. “Yeah. Game-changer!”
“No, I mean Annie,” Will insisted.
“You don’t pay me to worry about her,” Guy replied.
Just then Ms. Kovacevic called Will over to sign as the temporary guardian. Will looked at Annie. Annie smiled at him, nodding encouragingly, and that made Will feel better. He signed.
“According to the state of New York, you are officially reunited,” Ms. Kovacevic announced.
“Hooray!” Guy cheered.
“Where do you live?” Annie asked her parents.
“New Jersey,” her mom said.
Annie cringed.
“But we’re moving to Brazil for my job,” her dad added.
“I think you’re going to like it there,” her mom said, brushing some hair from Annie’s face.
Annie suddenly felt a shiver run through her. These were her parents … but somehow it didn’t feel quite right. Or at least the way she had always imagined it.
“Can I go back with Mr. Stacks? To say good-bye?” Annie asked.
“Sure,” her mom said. “We’ll pick you up at four.”
Annie looked back at Will. He looked kindly at her, but Annie could tell he was a little sad, too.
Annie didn’t understand. This was what she had always wanted.
So why did it feel so weird?
Miss Hannigan pulled Guy aside on the way out. “How’d you do the DNA test?” she asked in a harsh whisper.
“You can do anything with money.” Guy chuckled.
Miss Hannigan looked over at Annie. It was true, the little brat annoyed her more than anyone. But now that this was all actually happening, Miss Hannigan suddenly wondered what exactly would happen to Annie.
“Who are those people? What’s your plan with her?” she hissed.
“Doesn’t matter. She served her purpose,” Guy replied, uninterested.
“What does that mean?” Miss Hannigan asked sharply.