Family Tree

by Barbara Delinsky

  Holding Lizzie in one arm, Hugh held the door for Dana with the other. She barely had a foot over the threshold when she caught her breath. The front hall was filled with balloons, an endless bouquet of yellows, pinks, greens, blues, whites, peaches, and lilacs. Some were anchored to the floor, others climbed the banisters on each side of the hall, still others clung to the cathedral ceiling high above.

  Dana was entranced. “How did you get all these here?” Tulip petals were one thing, easy to transport and strew. Balloons were something else.

  Hugh looked proud of himself. “We had three delivery vans outside and had to struggle to get a few of the biggest balloons through the door, but they look pretty good, don’t you think?”

  “I do think,” Dana declared. “What’s the occasion?”

  “We’re starting over. It’s like Lizzie was just born. But here’s the best.” With a hand on her back, he guided her through a maze of balloons to the staircase. A box sat two steps up. Perhaps ten inches long, eight wide, six high, it was wrapped in fuchsia foil and decorated with a white satin ribbon.

  Dana grinned. “What is it?”

  “Open it.”

  She lifted the box. One pull, and the ribbon was gone. Sliding her finger under a single piece of tape, she removed the wrapping. Recognizing the box underneath, she gave him a curious look. “Stationery?”

  “Open it.”

  She raised the lid. There, in two neat stacks, were elegant white birth announcements. Each had a photo on the front and, beneath it, a bold raised script said, Hugh and Dana Clarke proudly announce the birth of their daughter, Elizabeth Ames Clarke. Lizzie’s birthdate was at the bottom of the card.

  “What do you think?” Hugh asked.

  Dana couldn’t answer at first. Her throat was too tight. The photo was of the three of them, exquisite in every regard—the parents’ devoted expressions, the baby’s perfect features. Lizzie’s pink romper even matched the pink ink of the script.

  “Who took this?” she whispered.

  “Julian. What do you think?”

  There were tears in her eyes when she looked up at Hugh. “I’m stunned.”

  “Better than the balloons?”

  “Omigod.”

  “It was a rush job. I had to pay double, but worth every cent. There’s another box just like this—another hundred. Think we can use them?”

  “Omigod.”

  “Is that a yes or a no?”

  Dana’s heart was so full she thought she would burst.

  “Dana?”

  “Yes.”

  This was what she had wanted—a sign, a gesture, a declaration. She wrapped an arm around Hugh’s neck and hugged him, holding on even when the baby rebelled against the crush. She heard the little cry, felt the beat of Hugh’s pulse, heard the waves pounding the beach behind the house. “He’s proud enough to tell the world,” she imagined her mother was saying.

  But, of course, the thought was her own.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Prior to writing Family Tree I knew precious little about the genetics of race, and while I read a good deal on the subject in preparation for writing this book, I still needed help. For their assistance, I thank Dr. Theodore Kessis and Vivian Weinblatt, as well as Bea Leopold of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. I am especially grateful to Jill Fonda Allen, who put not only her expertise as a genetic counselor to the task but her imagination as well.

  My thanks to Martha Raddatz and Shameem Rassam for information on Iraqi life and speech, to Helen Dempsey for helping shape Jack Jones Kettyle, and to my husband’s friend, David, for helping conceptualize Jay.

  My assistant, Lucy Davis, was as indispensable as ever. I thank her for showing me what real family history is about.

  I am particularly grateful to Phyllis Grann for caring enough to offer me the chance of a lifetime, and to Amy Berkower for making it happen.

  And finally, I thank my family for its steadfast support.

  Also by Barbara Delinsky

  THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR

  COAST ROAD

  THREE WISHES

  FOR MY DAUGHTERS

  MORE THAN FRIENDS

  PUBLISHED BY DOUBLEDAY

  Copyright © 2007 by Barbara Delinsky

  All Rights Reserved

  Published in the United States by Doubleday, an imprint of The Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  www.doubleday.com

  DOUBLEDAY and the portrayal of an anchor with a dolphin are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Delinsky, Barbara.

  Family tree / by Barbara Delinsky.

  p. cm.

  When a white couple gives birth to a baby with distinctly black features, a family is thrown into turmoil.

  I. Title.

  PS3554.E4427F36 2006

  813'.54—dc22

  2006046303

  eISBN: 978-0-385-52157-4

  v1.0