Laynie blinked her eyes. They glittered for a moment and then turned a soft opaque, as though blinds had come down. “Our parents have always been candid with us about our adoption.”
“But the adoption was a closed one? You never knew who your birth parents were? Never knew their names?”
“No.”
“And were you three years old when you were adopted?”
“Yes. I hope you are coming to a point here.”
Anthony pursed his lips for a moment. “I don’t wish to overwhelm you. Perhaps I may relate a story to you?”
Laynie sighed. “If you must.” She glanced at Kari and Ruth. As she examined Kari, a split second of uncertainty crossed her face—and disappeared as quickly.
She turned her attention to Anthony as he said, “Miss Portland, on the night of October 8, 1958, a married couple, Michael and Bethany Granger, were on their way to Albuquerque when their automobile broke down.
“The road was narrow and had no shoulder to speak of, so the Grangers took their three children from the car. They placed the children on a blanket a safe distance from the car while they attempted to fix it.
“It was a very dark night and the road out there in the desert was not lit. Not long after the Grangers moved their children, a semi tractor-trailer swept down upon them, hitting their vehicle, killing them both.”
Kari saw Laynie shiver and frown. Laynie glanced at Kari and Ruth again and this time she focused on Kari. Her frown deepened.
O Lord, please help me to hold it together! Kari prayed.
Anthony was saying, “The police picked up the three children and took them somewhere nearby. The tale becomes a bit complicated at this point, so I will skip all but the pertinent facts.
“The two younger children, a girl, approximately three years of age, and an infant boy, about six months, were handed over to an adoption broker. I can tell you that the transfer was an illegal one, but we are not here to dwell upon that point. I only wish to provide you with a sequence of events.
“A girl age three. A boy six months.” Laynie’s voice was mechanical.
“Yes.” Anthony waited, knowing how the year 1958 and the children’s ages would be striking her.
However, when Laynie said nothing and kept staring at her hands, he asked, “Should I continue?”
After a moment, Laynie nodded, and Anthony resumed.
“The oldest child, a girl age six, saw her parents die. As you can imagine, it was a horrible experience, and she was, for a while, unresponsive to the police and to those involved in the illegal adoption. When the, er, adoption ‘broker’ arrived to take the two younger children, their sister snapped out of her unresponsive state and protested her siblings’ removal.
“The unscrupulous people involved slapped and threatened this little girl. They vowed to drown her little sister and brother if she ever told anyone what had happened—if she ever spoke of them or even thought of them again. The horrors she experienced so traumatized her, that it was thirty-two years before she remembered the events of that night and the days that followed.”
“Stop.” Laynie was breathing hard. “Stop, please. Let me think.”
No! You can’t take them away! You can’t take them!
Laynie shook her head, trying to dispel the voice. “Care . . . Care said,” she murmured, distracted and somewhere else.
Kari started, but Anthony shook his head as Laynie asked, “What-what were their names? What were the children’s names?”
“The boy was Samuel. The girl was Elaine.”
“Samuel. Elaine . . . Care said Laynie.” The woman was floundering, and Kari could stand it no longer.
Ignoring Anthony, Kari knelt by Laynie’s chair. “Laynie, I’m Kari. I was the oldest of the three children.”
Laynie searched Kari’s face. “Care . . .”
Kari nodded and placed her hands upon Laynie’s. “Laynie, I am your sister, Kari. You and Sammie are my brother and sister.”
Laynie stared at Kari. “Care . . . Kari.”
Kari was weeping. “Yes. You called me Care. I called you Laynie. I had forgotten! But I remember . . . I remember always calling Samuel ‘Sammie.’”
Laynie blinked back tears of her own and shivered. After a long moment, she withdrew her hands from Kari’s and stood up.
“I-I need some air.”
Without another word, Laynie stood and left the room, leaving Kari weeping into the chair Laynie had vacated.
~~**~~
Chapter 28
THE REMAINDER OF STEPHEN AND KELLY PORTLAND’S friends and coworkers had departed. Only family lingered at the funeral home—family and Kari’s little entourage.
Kari and Ruth sat at the back of the auditorium. Owen and Anthony waited outside where their presence would be less intrusive.
The family was viewing Stephen’s body a last time.
Kari was trying her best to behave in an inconspicuous manner, hoping no one would ask them to leave, but when the funeral workers closed up Stephen and Kelly’s caskets and readied them for transport to the cemetery, she clutched Ruth’s hands and moaned.
Kelly’s sister and her family went on ahead to the cemetery. “The boys need to burn off some energy,” Kari overheard her say to her parents, “And I could use a stretch myself. We’ll meet you there.”
That left the grandparents and the nanny to care for the other grandchildren. Robbie was awake now, and he and Shannon chased each other up and down the side aisle of the room. Robbie shrieked with glee and toddled on chubby legs first toward Shannon and then away when she chased after him.
Kari devoured them and their antics with hungry eyes.
Sammie! You have such beautiful children! They look so much like how I remember you and Laynie.
Gene Portland, himself filled with anxious energy, paced near his wife. He noticed Kari and Ruth at the back and said something to Polly. Polly lifted her weary head and twisted to look at Kari. Then she said something to her husband.
“I don’t know how you intend for this to play out,” Ruth murmured. “I mean, I’ve been in awkward positions before, but this takes the cake.”
Kari lowered her head. “I can only let the Lord lead, Ruth. It won’t be easy or convenient, but I can’t let Laynie just fly back to Europe.”
They both glanced up as Laynie, now quite composed, strode into the room. She glanced at them and nodded once but continued up the center aisle to her parents. She said something to them and they nodded their agreement.
Laynie then spoke to the funeral attendants, who began to wheel the caskets toward the door and the waiting hearses.
Kari and Ruth stood up as the caskets rolled by, and Kari wiped away more tears.
Even though I won’t see Sammie again until the resurrection, I thank you, Lord, for using his death to cause Laynie and Ruth to meet. I acknowledge that their encounter was a miracle.
I also confess that I don’t understand why you didn’t allow me to find Sammie before he died! But I cannot deny your sovereignty in bringing Laynie and Ruth together like that. And so I give myself to your will, Lord. Blessed be your name.
Kari sniffed. “Come on. We’ll go to the cemetery and watch from afar.” She pulled Ruth from the pew and they followed the family out.
—
THE RAIN-SWEPT SKIES WERE CLEARING when they arrived at the cemetery. Within the wrought iron gates, they found a lush, tree-lined park. The grounds glowed a vivid green, washed clean by the latest shower.
Kari spied Kelly’s sister and her family and pointed toward her. “Over there, I think.”
Talia wandered slowly over the grass, reading grave inscriptions. She held her bulging belly protectively. Her husband and the three boys played tag, keeping to an as-yet unused section of cemetery lawn.
Not far away a tent had been erected over two open graves. The mounded dirt beside the graves was covered in green cloth.
“Shall I park here?” Owen asked.
“Yes, thank
you. Ruth and I will wait in the car until the service starts.”
A full half hour passed before the family and the minister were assembled.
“Ready, Kari?” Ruth asked.
“I guess I am.”
Anthony opened the back door for them and patted Kari’s shoulder when she stepped out. “We are here for you, Kari.”
“Thank you. I’m so blessed to have the three of you as friends.”
Ruth and Kari crossed the grass but stopped yards shy of the small assembly. Perhaps fifteen souls, counting children, stood around the graves. Gene and Polly, Bill and Mary Greene, and Talia sat in the short row of chairs. Laynie stood directly behind her mother, one hand on Polly’s fragile shoulder.
Kari stared at the two caskets and the small family circle of which she was not part. She was surprised and relieved that the exclusion did not pain her.
She looked down with gratitude at the grassy, emerald green beneath her feet and prayed.
All my life, up till the last three years, I had felt alone, Lord. I had no family, no abiding home, no one to call my own. My heart was an open, bleeding wound.
How I thank you for allowing me to find Rose’s journal! It was your divine provision to save and heal me. Through her words, I found you, discovered my family’s roots—and, at last, remembered the sister and brother I had forgotten.
And so I thank you for the Body of Christ and the large extended family that welcomed me. Because of your grace toward me, I can stand here today, an outsider looking in, and yet a whole and healed person. Thank you for your never-ending mercy.
Kari had not noticed two individuals walking from the graves toward them until their shadows fell upon her feet. Her head jerked up.
Sammie and Laynie’s adopted father observed her. Laynie at his elbow, was silent. It was Gene Portland who spoke. “Miss Michaels, is it?”
“Yes. But please call me Kari.”
Even when they ask me to leave, it will be all right, Lord.
Gene’s gaze intensified. At last he spoke. “Kari, were you aware that this service is for family only?”
Kari raised her chin. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, but she managed, “Yes, I was aware.”
“Are you family, then?”
Kari’s answer was calm. Steady. “Yes. I am.”
Laynie’s expression gave nothing away, but Gene looked from Kari to Laynie. “She looks like Sammie, doesn’t she? Same hair. Same brilliant blue eyes.”
Laynie offered a minute nod of her chin. She, too, studied Kari, but from behind a mask of detachment.
With tears pooling in his eyes, Gene held his hand out to Kari. “Please, Kari. Polly and I wish you and your friend to sit with us . . . and with your sister while we . . . bury your brother.”
Kari’s breath caught and next to her, Ruth sobbed.
O Lord! Your unexpected, unmerited favor!
“Th-thank you.”
Gene tucked Kari’s hand in his arm and led her to the graveside. Curious and speculative eyes considered Kari but, at Gene’s request, the mourners moved down one seat, making space for Kari next to Polly. Laynie returned to her place behind her mother. Ruth stood behind Kari.
Polly took Kari’s hand and searched her face. “We would like you to come home with us afterwards. We have a lot to talk about. Will you come?”
“I-I would be honored.”
—
GENE AND POLLY’S HOME WAS MODEST, PLAIN, and comfortable, a home to be lived in rather than displayed. Friends from church were waiting and had prepared yet another meal that Kari knew she would not touch. She and Ruth sat in a corner of the living room while the family and a few close friends mingled and talked in low tones. Owen and Anthony had gone to a restaurant and would return for them when Kari or Ruth called.
Shannon ran past their chairs. She chortled as Robbie careened along behind her—but he crashed into an ottoman and fell to the floor where he burst into tears. The nanny, showing the fatigue of the day, picked him up.
“Come along, little man.”
He screamed louder over her shoulder until he caught sight of Kari. He shushed and poked a thumb into his mouth and, with the other hand, pointed to her.
“Da-da.”
He pointed and strained toward Kari.
“Da-da.”
Kari was on her feet before she knew what she was doing. “May I take him for a while?”
The nanny was grateful to relinquish her charge, so Kari hefted the boy from her shoulder, amazed at how solid he was. She plopped back into the overstuffed chair and smiled at the boy.
“Hello, Robbie.”
“He’s beautiful, Kari,” Ruth whispered.
“Isn’t he?”
Robbie touched Kari’s face and studied her with serious eyes. Bright blue, familiar eyes. Then, of his own volition, he leaned against her chest. As Kari’s arms curled about him, tears welled again and dribbled down her cheeks.
“He’s gone out like a light,” Ruth murmured a minute later.
“Poor boy. He has to be so confused and tired.”
From the corner of the living room, Laynie watched, her expression unreadable.
—
ALTHOUGH IT WAS ONLY EARLY EVENING, winter darkness had fallen when Gene Portland addressed his guests. “Thank you all for your love and support this day. Our family and the Greene family appreciate everything you have said and done for us on this difficult day.
“As much as our Lord has kept us strong through today’s ceremonies, they have taken a toll on us, but especially on Polly. I hope you’ll understand if we draw this gathering to a close.”
Kari saw what he meant: The tiny woman sagged in her wheelchair, exhaustion written in the slump of her shoulders. Nevertheless, as Gene mentioned her name, she lifted her chin and smiled at Kari, weary grief intermingled with hope.
And Kari felt Bill and Mary Greene’s eyes upon her, as well as Talia and her husband’s. They remained where they were while Gene and Laynie saw friends to the door.
Laynie or Gene has told them who I am, and they expect to hear from me. Kari shifted Robbie’s sleeping body a little and prepared for the long conversation ahead.
Lord, please help me.
Gene returned and sighed. “Yes, we are all exhausted, but before we disperse, we need to talk. As a family.”
He addressed the nanny. “Mrs. Brown, would you be so kind as to take the boys and Shannon upstairs?”
Gene wheeled Polly’s chair close to Kari. Polly’s sweet smile was pained as she observed her grandson sleeping soundly on Kari’s lap.
Kari’s thighs had gone numb from the weight of the toddler and now, with little fanfare, she was the object of everyone’s attention. She tried to shift again.
“He’s heavy, isn’t he?” Polly asked.
Kari nodded. “It’s all right. I’m just not used to children.”
Gene cleared his throat. “Miss Michaels—I’m sorry, Kari—your appearance today has given us quite a shock. Laynie related a little of what your private investigator told her earlier.”
He looked around. “Does anyone doubt that Kari is Laynie and Stephen’s sister?”
No one disagreed, although Talia’s husband, Don, looked unconvinced.
Under Gene’s questioning, Kari related an abbreviated version of her life. She directed much of her tale toward Laynie who, despite everything, remained distant. Remote.
“After I recovered my memories, I actively searched for Sammie and Elaine. My investigators ran down every lead we had—even though they were precious few. They traced Sammie and Elaine to an unlicensed adoption broker, but then the trail ran cold. We had the broker’s name, but he had died. We also had what we believed was the name of a city: Portland. We never dreamed it was a name.”
Excited murmurs ran across the room.
“And because we thought ‘Portland’ referred to a city, my investigators told me that the search was over. Hopeless. I-I confess that I was devastated.�
��
A sob broke from Polly, interrupting Kari. “Gene and I wanted children so badly! But back then, no one would give a baby or a child to a mixed-race couple. We-we were forced to seek out a private adoption—but we had no idea! No idea it was illegal. No idea someone had stolen those precious babies.”
She broke down and wept and Kari rubbed Polly’s arm and shoulder, hoping to soothe her. “It’s all right, Polly. I understand. And-and I’m so grateful for you and Gene . . .”
“Grateful?” Gene asked, bemused.
“Yes, Grateful. Grateful that you loved Sammie and Elaine and that you are Christians, that you raised them to know Jesus. When the service today began and the minister talked of Sammie and Kelly’s faith, my heart was thrilled and comforted because, you see, Sammie and Elaine and I come from a family whose faith is everything.”
Kari looked from face to face and saw their amazement. “Through them I have learned—and have seen them live out—this precious principle, that our lives here last only a moment. In the end, Jesus is everything. To know that Sammie and Kelly are with him, that I will meet them some day in heaven? That gives me such comfort. So I am grateful, so very grateful.”
“Amen,” Mary Greene whispered.
Kari saw damp eyes and agreement. She also saw Laynie. Still standing, apart from the others, staring at the floor.
Please tell me what is going on in Laynie’s heart, Lord, Kari prayed. Something is very wrong.
“Go on, Kari. Finish telling how you found us?” Gene asked.
“Well, as much as it pained me to do so, I had to surrender the search for Elaine and Sammie to the Lord. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done—but I trusted that the Lord would honor his promises.
“Two more years went by—and then out of the blue, you, Laynie, sat down on the plane next to my good friend Ruth—not once, but twice.”
Kari choked up and could only point her chin in Ruth’s direction, so Ruth took over the narration. “I felt something special about you as we talked, Laynie, but it wasn’t until we were seated together for a second time, on the flight from Chicago to Denver, that the Holy Spirit broke through and impressed upon me the need to know your name and have a means to reach you later.”
All God's Promises (A Prairie Heritage Book 7) Page 32